Only 4 times she ever said the words to him, and his answer was always the same
PLEASE DON'T GO
Mission Ops
"We got him, Hetty. Cruz is in custody" Callen reported over the Coms.
Eric, Nell and Hetty all breathed a sigh of relief. "Excellent work, everyone. Hand him over to LAPD and come home." Hetty ordered. "The goes for the two of you as well. Very good work." She smiled.
Nell and Eric both smiled and nodded their head. Hetty turned and left the ops center.
Eric went to sit down at his computer. He started finalizing everything to send off to LAPD. After a few moments he glanced over and noticed that Nell was not sitting next to him. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw her standing there, staring at the screen, frozen.
"Hey, Nell. You ok?" He asked, turning his chair around. She didn't respond to him.
He knew she was taking this case really rough. All the victims of this psychopath had hit really close to her. Each one seemed to mirror part of her, from the red hair, to the short stature, to the intelligence.
He stood up and walked over to her. "Nell?" He asked, quietly to not scare her. He could see a tear welling in her eye. He softly took the tablet from her hand and punched a few keys, taking the images of the bodies off the screen. The room was dark now as he set the tablet on the table.
"It's over, Nell. We caught the bastard." He said. She slowly turned her head to look at him. She didn't say a word but her eyes told him everything. They lacked that fire he always saw in them. He grabbed her shoulder gently and pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her.
Her breathing started to intensify, then become ragged as soft sobs started to escape her. Eric didn't speak, he just held on to her, encircling her in his arms. He laid his head on hers and squeezed her gently.
She moved her head to the side, pressing an ear to his chest. She sniffed a few times before she was finally able to make the words come out.
"Please don't go."
LA Mercy General Hospital
The last thing she remembered was stumbling into tech area on the bottom floor of the Mission. She was clutching her stomach and whincing. Eric was working on a computer trying to repair some damage to it when he looked over and saw her. He took off the magnifying hat he wore and threw his glasses on.
"Hey, are you ok?" He asked.
"I don't know." She was able to make out. "I was sitting in Ops working when all of the sudden my stomach starting hurting. At first it was an ache but it's gotten worse." She said.
"Where does it hurt?" He asked.
"Right here." She rubbed her right lower side where her stomach met her hip.
"I'd better get Hetty." He rolled a chair over. "Sit down." He said.
"Eric…" She tried to protest but he cut her off.
"Nell, sit down." He said.
"Ok" She said, knowing that she wasn't going to win that battle.
After a few moments Eric came walking up with Hetty in tow. Hetty knelt down in front of Nell.
"You said it was right here?" She felt the area Nell had shown Eric.
"Yea." She said.
"Hmm. I don't like this." Hetty mused as she though. Eric grabbed Nell's hand in support.
"Ms. Jones, we need to get you to the hospital. Eric, go get her things from Ops. I'll get a bag packed for her just in case." Hetty said as she stood up.
"On it." Eric said as he took off, and climbed the stairs with a speed Nell didn't think was possible.
"How bad is it?" Nell asked.
"Well we won't know for sure until you can be examined properly but I'm glad you made us aware of this now." Hetty said as she went to wardrobe and pulled out some clothes for Nell.
5 min later they all got into Eric's car, Nell and Hetty in the back seat and were driving to the hospital. Thankfully it was early afternoon so it was not quite Rush hour but the Lunch rush was over. Eric broke more than a few speed limits, looking back at Hetty consoling Nell.
After a 20 minute drive they pulled up to the entryway for the Hospital. Eric ran out of the car and inside. He found the receptionist.
"I need help. My partner is having severe abdominal pain that has been getting worse over the past hour." He said, trying to calm his nerves.
The nurses sprung into action. One grabbed a wheelchair and went outside to Eric's car while the other one processed the info Eric had given them as well as reviewed her history, generating a chart.
Eric turned to see Nell be wheeled in followed by Hetty. Through the pain Nell managed to look at Eric. "Thanks, Eric." She said.
Hetty turned to Eric. "Eric, I know you want to be here with her and under any other circumstances I would let you but the Team need you right now to be focused. I'll will keep watch over her and let you know the second I know anything." She said, placing a hand on his arm. He knew she was ordering him but she did it in a way to not demean him.
"Ok. Hetty. I trust you." He said.
After a quick examination by the doctor it was found out that Nell had developed an acute case of appendicitis and had to have surgery to remove her appendix. When she woke up 8 hours later she turned her head and saw him sitting there, watching her. She couldn't help but smile. "Hi." She whispered.
"Hi, yourself. How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Well, my stomach doesn't hurt, everything else does though." She said.
He reached out and took her hand. "I'm just glad you are better." He said.
"How did the case go?" She asked. Eric filled her in with the details, letting her know they were able to make an arrest and close it.
"How long have you been here?" She asked.
"3 hours. I came here as soon as the arrest was made. The paperwork can wait." He said.
He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "You are more important."
She closed her eyes and sighed at the kiss. She opened them to look at his eyes and smiled.
"Please don't go."
Nell's apartment
Eric opened his eyes to see the first beams of light coming through the window. It was still dark in the apartment so it took his eyes a few moments to adjust. He was in Nell's apartment, in her bed, with her curled up against him. It took him a few moments to remember the last 24 hours.
It was Eric's birthday and Nell was determined to make it special. He had always gone out of his way to do nice things for her birthday and she wanted to repay.
She had started planning a month in advance and went to everyone for advice and ideas. At that point everyone in the entire Mission knew of Nell's plan. The only person who didn't, which still surprised Nell given that OSP was a huge vortex of gossip, was Eric.
The day had started with Nell waking Eric up at his apartment way earlier then he would get up for work. She claimed she was going to take him surfing, a proposition that raised a tired eyebrow from him. "Did I wake up in opposite land?" He asked.
"What? You don't think I could take you surfing for once?" She said, in a mock huff. "Hurry up! We have to hurry if we want to make it there on time."
When they arrived at the beach Eric noticed it was not the usual spot they went to. He was about to ask why there as they climbed out of her car when he caught the sight and stopped dead in his tracks. Eric had been surfing all of his life and had seen countless waves. But nothing could have prepared him for the waves today. They were easily the biggest; most beautiful he had ever seen. He looked over to her and she gave a slight grin.
"How did you know?" He asked.
"I've been studying currents and weather patterns for weeks trying to find the best place for you." She said as they walked onto the sand. She laid a towel out and sat down, curling up with a blanket. The sun was barely coming up so it was still cold outside. Eric didn't seem to mind it though. "Go. Have fun." She said as he ran with his board out onto the water.
3 hours later they came into the Mission. Eric was all smiles as he made his way upstairs as Nell went over to the Bullpen with the team. Deeks lit up when he saw her.
"How did it go?" He asked, quietly.
"It was amazing. I have never seen him that excited before." She smiled. She kissed Deeks on the cheek. "Thank you so much." She said.
"Anytime." He smiled and went back to work.
Nell went upstairs and joined Eric in Ops. Hetty walked in shortly afterward.
"Mr. Beale. I take it you had a fun time surfing this morning?" She asked.
"Is it that evident?" He asked.
"Only person I have ever seen with a bigger smile on your face was Jack Nicholson, and he was playing the Joker at the time." She said, eliciting a laugh from the both of them.
"Any cases this morning?" Eric asked.
"Thankfully no. We have been so busy lately that it is nice to step back and work on some other projects." Hetty said.
"I can't agree more." Eric said.
As the day went on they were able to knock out a bunch of small projects. Nell had left to go take care of some document disposal when Eric's phone rang.
"Eric?" He answered.
"Mr. Beale. We seem to be having some issues with the electronic equipment in the boatshed. Would you please head down there and take a look?" Hetty said.
"Yea. I just need to finish up a few things and I'll head right over." He said.
"Thank you, Eric." She said and hung up.
Eric grabbed his tool kit and left the Mission to head to the Boatshed. When he got there he was expecting it to be empty but as soon as he opened the door he smelled the wonders aromas of food. He stepped inside and saw a whole lunch spread on the table and Nell standing there with a smile on her face.
"There is no broken electronics, right?" He said, grinning.
She shook her head. "Nope." She stepped around the table and threw her arms around his neck.
"Happy Birthday" She whispered, bringing her lips to his. They stood for a few moments, lips locked against each other before they finally broke.
She leaned to his ear and whispered again. "The first of many."
They had finished their lunch and spent an hour just sitting on the couch, cuddling and enjoying the serenity of the day. Nell thanked whatever God could hear her that the world decided to give them the day off. There were no terrorist threats, no WMDs, no murders, not even a parking violation to interrupt the day.
"I guess we should be heading back. Don't want them to send a search party." Eric said as she got off of him and helped him up.
She gave an exaggerated sigh. "I guess." She said, smiling.
The rest of the day went by quickly. After the day was over they all went out to a tavern that Hetty had reserved a private room at. They spent the next few hours drinking, toasting to Eric, and over all having fun. They all agreed that it was something they were lacking.
That night Eric, having too much to drink to drive, was helped into Nell's apartment. He wasn't falling down drunk but he did feel light headed at times and his balance was off. She sat him down on the couch and climbed on top of him. They sat there for what seemed like an hour, just holding each other.
"This was the best day of my life." He said, softly stroking her hair.
She leaned in and whispered. "The day may be over, but the night is still young." She said as she stood up. She grabbed his hand and pulled him off the couch and into her bedroom.
The memories that came to him were just a cacophony. They must have made love multiple times over the night. It was not their first time but it was defiantly the time he would always remember.
He reached over and grabbed his phone to check the time. It was 4:15 in the morning. Way too early to be up, especially on a weekend. He set his phone down and rubbed his face. His motions must have been enough because he heard her moan.
"Please don't go"
Ops Center
All he could see was Red in his vision. How could she be so bold? Any other person would have chalked her filtrations with the tech as her undercover training. But Eric knew differently. He knew Nell like the back of his hand. That was not just some idle flirtation to get Intel, it was something else entirely. When she returned from the field he barely said a word to her for an hour. Finally she had reached her limit.
"Do you have a problem, Eric?" She finally turned and blared out.
"No," He said shaking his head. "No problem at all." He returned to his typing, not even looking in her direction.
"That is crap and you know it." She said.
"I said there was no problem." He said.
Her face turned red as his obvious deflection.
"I thought after 5 years of working together, 3 of them being together, you would at least have the balls to tell me the truth." She said.
"I guess that explains why you were drooling over pretty boy over there." He said.
"Is that what this is about? Poor Eric is Jealous?" She said, throwing her hands up in frustration.
"No, that is not what this is about. This is about you slapping me in the face!" His voice started to rise.
"How am I slapping you in the face?" Her voice started to rise to match.
"Did you not hear yourself out there?" He said.
"I did what I needed to do to complete the op!" She said.
"And felt like you needed to rub it in my face?" He replied.
"Why are you getting bent out of shape about this?" She asked.
"You talked to him exactly like you talk to me! That is why!" He yelled out.
She got caught off guard by his outburst.
"I thought what we had meant something to you." He said.
The words were out of her mouth before she knew she said them.
"I guess it doesn't, now does it?"
His eyes grew wide as the realization dawned on her. She covered her mouth to stifle the sobs as she ran out of the Ops center. She found a rarely used file room, closed the door and locked it. She leaned against the wall, letting her body slide down the wall to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and started to cry.
Eric stood dumbfounded for a few minutes. He sat down at his computer and started typing, or at least tried to because he couldn't will his fingers to move. He just sat there, with his eyes closed, trying to fight back his emotions.
A hour later the door to Ops opened. Eric knew who it was before he felt her arms snake around his neck. One hand rested on his opposite shoulder and the other on his chest. Her head leaned against the back of his.
"Please don't hate me, Eric." She whispered in a low voice. "What you and I have doesn't mean something."
He clenched his fist, preparing for the exact moment she was going to rip his heart out.
"It doesn't mean something because it means everything to me." She said.
She rested her chin on his shoulder, the feeling of her breath was like a ghost on his skin.
"Do you know why I talked to him like that?" She asked. "It's because when I was out there I was thinking I was talking to you. You always put me at ease. I don't get nervous around you. You make me a better person."
Eric reached up and grabbed her hand, clutching it gently. She turned her head to kiss his neck and without removing her lips from his skin whispered the words
"Please don't go"
She moved her head to the side, pressing an ear to his chest. She sniffed a few times before she was finally able to make the words come out.
"Please don't go."
She closed her eyes and sighed at the kiss. She opened them to look at his eyes and smiled.
"Please don't go."
He reached over and grabbed his phone to check the time. It was 4:15 in the morning. Way too early to be up, especially on a weekend. He set his phone down and rubbed his face. His motions must have been enough because he heard her moan.
"Please don't go"
Eric reached up and grabbed her hand, clutching it gently. She turned her head to kiss his neck and without removing her lips from his skin whispered the words
"Please don't go"
She had said the words to him 4 times. And every time his answer was the same.
She moved her head to the side, pressing an ear to his chest. She sniffed a few times before she was finally able to make the words come out.
"Please don't go."
"I'm not going anywhere, Nell"
He said as he kissed the top of her head.
She closed her eyes and sighed at the kiss. She opened them to look at his eyes and smiled.
"Please don't go."
"I'm not going anywhere, Nell"
He softly stroked her cheek
He reached over and grabbed his phone to check the time. It was 4:15 in the morning. Way too early to be up, especially on a weekend. He set his phone down and rubbed his face. His motions must have been enough because he heard her moan.
"Please don't go"
"I'm not going anywhere, Nell"
He said as he rolled onto his side and pulled her against him.
Eric reached up and grabbed her hand, clutching it gently. She turned her head to kiss his neck and without removing her lips from his skin whispered the words
"Please don't go"
He stood up and turned around. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him as he kissed her, all the pent up emotions erupting forth from them. Finally they broke the kiss, both panting to catch their breath. Their foreheads touched and they stared into each other's eyes.
"I'm not going anywhere, Nell"
Episode 20!
I wanted to play with the one event repeating over and over. Ive seen it happen other times and really felt it fit in this episode. I also liked playing with their emotions. You have Happy Nell, Scared Nell, Angry Nell, Happy Eric, Determined Eric, Pissed off Eric. It was alot of fun.
Thanks for the continued Reads, Reviews, Favorites, and Follows.