There comes a time where one has to man up, or shut up

WHAT I REALLY MEAN

Mission Ops

"So Arkady has gone missing?" Nell asked as she gathered up her papers and placed them in her bag.

Eric nodded as he finished cataloging the evidence they found. "Yea. After he left the boatshed he vanished. Not surprising considering his was KGB." He said.

"Is KBG. They are like the Marines. No one ever stops being KGB" Nell said.

Nell sat down to review some things before they left for the day. They sat in awkward silence for a few moments.

"Great job by the way with the camera's earlier" Nell broke the silence, playfully elbowing Eric in the side.

"Thanks, but you were the one to come up with the idea in the first place." Eric said, glancing over at her while typing away.

She shook her head. "Nah, that was all you. I just pointed you in the right direction." She genuinely meant it. Eric was too modest for his own good she felt. He needed to take more pride in himself.

"Done and done. Ready to go when you are." Eric said as he stood up and went to pack his bag.

"I'll see you downsairs." Eric said as he went to the door. Nell typed in a few commands and the door promptly shut on him, causing him to walk right into it.

"Oof! What the hell?" He asked. "Something is wrong with this door. Nell?" He said as he turned around. He saw her standing there with her arms crossed around her chest. Why does she have to stand like that? It makes it really, really hard not to stare at her chest. Eric thought before mentally slapping himself.

"Is something wrong?" Eric asked. She was deadpan and he couldn't read her.

"That depends on your definition of wrong, Eric. There is something I need to say to you and it can't wait any longer." Nell said.

Eric felt his heart race and his throat clench.

"Earlier today you said that you loved me." She began.

Eric's brain came to a screeching halt. Panic started to set in as he started to babble on about his whole "loved her brain, wanting to take a piece of it" rant he went off. He went on for a few moments before Nell tried to stop him.

"Eric…" She said but he still rambled on.

"ERIC!" She finally yelled.

That caught his attention.

"Damn it, Eric! You and I have been doing this dance long enough. I'm sick of it. I am sick of the ambiguity. I am sick of the back and forth." She said, her voice still raised.

She stopped, closed her eyes and turned away from him. She took a deep breath and turned back around. Eric was frozen in place, watching her.

"I want you to answer me one simple question. Don't think about it. Just answer it. When you said that you loved me earlier what did you mean?" She asked.

"Huh?" He wasn't sure.

"Was that just a slip of the tongue? Was it your actual feelings? I want to know. What did you mean when you said you loved me?"

Eric said there for a few moments, his head low. He fiddled with his hands trying to find a way out of this.

This is it! Tell her, you moron! I am sick of you not telling her what we really want! One side of his brain cried out

But what if she doesn't feel the same way? I don't want us to get hurt! Remember Becky? She said she loved us, then shacked up with that wanna be at the surf shop The other half said.

In case you hadn't noticed this isn't Becky we are talking to. This is Nell! This is the woman we have been dreaming about nonstop for 4 years. This is the same woman who doesn't just tolerate us. She wants to be around us. And she has made us happy. Do you honestly remember the last time we were happy? The first half said.

The other half had only one answer to that question. No

She said so herself. She is sick of the purgatory we have been in with her. It's time to man up!

"Ground control to Major Beale!" Nell said.

Eric shook his head. "Huh?"

"Were you listening to anything I said?" Nell said, gripping her arms tightly.

"Yes, I heard you. Sorry, I was trying to think what to say." Eric said.

"Well? I'm waiting for an answer." Nell said.

"Nell. You asked me what I meant when I said that I loved you. To be honest for the longest time I wasn't sure of the answer myself. But I do now. What did I mean when I said I loved you? I meant exactly what I said." Eric said, looking down embarrassedly.

He didn't see her face soften with a surprised look on her face. She stepped up to him and took his hands in hers. "Good" was all she said.

He looked up. "Good? I just bared my soul to you and all you can say is Good?" He said.

"And I mean it. Because it means I can finally do this anytime I want." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss her. It caught Eric off guard for a few moments before he responded by wrapped his arms around her waist. They held each other for what felt like forever as they kissed, pouring out all the emotions they felt for each other for 4 years into the kiss. Finally they broke it.

"I love you too, Eric." Nell whispered, staring into her eyes.

They both jumped when the door opened, even when Nell activated the security lockdown protocol. Hetty walked in right as they were beginning to pull away from each other.

"I hope you have a very good reason to use the Emergency Lockdown Protocol, Miss Jones, especially when it is called an Emergency Protocol for a reason." She said.

Nell hung her head. "Sorry, Hetty." Eric joined her hanging her head.

"It's just that…" Nell started

"You see, Hetty…" Eric said at the same time.

They both stopped and looked at each other.

Hetty's eyes moved from Eric, to Nell, and then to Eric again.

"I take it some congratulations are in order then?" Hetty said with a knowing smile.

"Huh?" Nell said, dumbfounded.

"While my intelligence pales in comparison to each of yours individually it is still significant. And it doesn't take much to see what has been going on with the two of you for the past few years. While personally I had hoped this would have happened sooner I am glad it finally has." Hetty said.

"You mean you knew that Nell and I would…?" Eric said.

"I am a student of the human condition, Mr. Beale. It's my nature. It is why I handpicked this unit and the people that make it. Tell me. What is the one major aspect that most of the team share?" Hetty said.

"Well Callen is an orphan, Deeks doesn't have any family, Kensi just has her mother here but they aren't super close, my family is back east and Eric…" Nell trailed off when she realized it.

"Most of us don't have close family." Eric figured it out with her.

Hetty nodded. "There are a few exceptions to the rule, mainly Sam. But I specifically picked people who did not have close family. There are a number of reason behind that and we could spend days discussing it. But one reason is because the best teams are the ones that have only themselves to rely on. They become like a family." She explained.

"Sam and Callen are paired because they offset each other. Sam is very much military, everything has to be structured for him. Callen is a lone wolf, never really relying on anyone. They pull each other out of their comfort zones. Kensi and Mr. Deeks are paired for a similar reason. Kensi is always uptight, keeping her emotions clutched away. Mr. Deeks on the other hand wears his emotions very much on his sleeve. Again they pull each other out of their comfort zones." Hetty explained.

"The two of you are a little different. You are not polar opposites like the others. You two have a lot in common. And it's that common ground that has helped both of you grow into more confident people. When I brought Nell in to assist you, Eric, you were struggling emotionally with Dom's death. You hid it very well from the others but I knew you were. Everything I had read about Nell's record told me she would be a good fit for you. Not only to recover from the tragic events but also regain your confidence in yourself."

Nell stole a quick glance at Eric and the look on his face told her everything about Dom. He had told her the story and had got more of the details from Nate. She remembered one night she was drinking with Eric and he drunkenly said he felt it was his fault for not finding him fast enough

"And you, Miss Jones, were always very timid around everyone except Eric. He was the gateway for you to ingrain yourself with the team and become part of this family. And I knew that one day that there was a very likely possibility that you two would fall for each other. And I, for one, couldn't be happier for you two." Hetty smiled

Nell and Eric reached out and took each other's hand.

"Now I hope the two of you do not have any plans this evening?" She said.

They looked at each other and then back to Hetty, shaking their heads.

"Good. Because I have a private table in my name at San Apollo reserved." Hetty said.

"San Apollo? That high end Italian Restaurant and Winery?" Nell said.

"Hetty, food there is easily $60 a plate!" Eric said.

"Yes, Mr. Beale. Fortunately the owner is a good friend of mine and I have taken care of everything. Now since it is so late it would be best for the two of you to get ready here. I have some shower supplies you can use. When you finish meet me in wardrobe. I will have suitable clothes ready for you." Hetty said.

Hetty turned and walked out, leaving Eric and Nell to look at each other.

"Well I guess this takes all the awkwardness of asking you out to dinner for our first official date." Eric said, eliciting a smile from Nell.

"See what good things happen when you finally say what you mean?" She said, squeezing his hand. "Come one, Wolfram. Let's go get ready." She said as she pulled him out of Ops.

"Right behind you, Rockstar." Eric said

Post "Beacon". Im a little dissapointed that they didn't at least follow that scene up later on. Maybe in the final two episodes since we know the events in this episode tie into it.

Thanks for Reading, Reviewing, Favoriting, and Following.

Please check my profile for other projects that are comming up, not only with Tales from the Mission but from my other stories. I updated the profile frequently so check often