READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
When someone close to you gets hurt, there is no telling what you will do
DEMON I HAVE BECOME
Eric's Apartment, Late night
The sound of his phone buzzing slowly woke him. He reached over and grabbed his phone, not checking who was calling. He flicked it to answer it before it went to voicemail.
"Hello?" He answered, groggily.
There was no answer but he could hear soft sobs in the background. He answered again. "Hello?"
His stomach dropped to his knees when he heard her. "Eric?" She was able to force out between sobs.
Eric shot up, fully awake now. "Nell? Where are you? What is going on? Are you ok?" He peppered her with questions.
"I'm outside the Starfire Club. Please Eric. I need you" She said between sobs.
"Wait right there. I'll be there soon." Eric said as he lept out of bed and hurriedly got dressed.
"Please hurry, Eric." She said, beginning to cry again.
"I'll stay on the phone with you the entire time. Just focus on my voice, Nell." He said.
He heard her give a faint acknowledgement as he started rambling about his recent adventures in an MMO he had started playing. Telling her a few funny stories elicited a light chuckle out of her which made him feel much better.
Starfire Club
Eric pulled up to the curb and scanned the crowd. His eyes fell onto Nell and he jumped out. Almost running up to her he grabbed her in a hug.
"I'm so glad you're safe." He said.
"Thank you so much, Eric." She said in a low voice.
"Come on. Let's get you home." He said as he walked her to his car. After getting her situated he climbed in and drove away.
"So what happened tonight?" Eric asked. It was not a regular occurrence that she would call him this late crying like that.
"Eric, do you trust me?" Nell asked, staring outside the window.
"Of course I trust you, Nell." He said.
"Can I trust you?" She replied.
He reached over and touched her leg gently. "You know you can always trust me." He said.
"I need to go to the hospital. I think I've been raped." She said.
Eric felt every muscle in his body freeze when the words came out of her mouth. Without hesitating he started driving to the hospital.
"Do you want me to call Hetty?" Eric asked.
Nell turned and looked at him.
"I don't know. This is all my fault. I don't want to disappoint her." Nell said, tears welling in her eyes.
Eric took her hand. "Nell, don't you even think for a second that any of this was your fault. You are not to blame for this. Let's get to the hospital, get you checked out, and go from there."
Nell squeezed his hand, grateful that she had a man like him to look out for her.
LA Mercy General Hospital
Eric found a parking spot and got out of the car. He opened the door for Nell and took her hand, helping her out.
"I shouldn't have involved you in…." She said before Eric placed a finger over her lips.
"Don't Nell. You did the right thing calling me. I am not upset with you. I just want to make sure you are ok." He said, not giving her a chance to reply.
They entered the waiting room for the ER and Nell took a seat while Eric went to the counter.
"Hi. My friend needs an examination." He said, looking around for others nearby. He leaned in close to the nurse. "We think she has been sexually assaulted. She doesn't have any memory of it." He whispered.
The nurse nodded understandingly. "I'll have someone look at her shortly." The nurse said, giving him a form to fill out.
Eric went back and sat down next to Nell. She filled out the form and he took it back to the station. After a few minutes a female doctor came into the room. "Miss Jones?" She said.
Nell and Eric stood up. "Do you want me to go with you?" Eric asked. Nell just nodded and took his hand.
The woman introduced herself. "I'm Dr. Stevens. You can call me Cynthia though. Come this way."
She led them through a few halls and into a room. Closing the door behind her Nell sat down on the bed.
"The nurse filled me in on the situation. I want to assure you that we will do whatever is necessary to help you. I want to do a full examination as well as a blood test. Is that alright with you?" She asked.
Eric softly patted Nell's shoulder reassuringly and Nell nodded.
"Ok. I am going to need to you change into this gown. Your friend and I will step outside to give you some privacy." She said as she pulled out a hospital gown and set it next to her. Eric softly squeezed her hand.
"I'll be right outside." He said, reassuring her.
Eric followed the doctor outside and closed the door behind her.
"Can you tell me what happened?" The Dr. Stevens asked.
"She called me about an hour ago crying asking me to pick her up. I knew she was going out tonight but she said she was going with friends. When I got there she was alone." Eric said.
"She does show signs of emotional trauma. I'm worried she might have been drugged and that is why she doesn't remember anything." She replied.
There was a light knock on the door. Dr. Stevens went to open the door slowly. "I'll be back in a second. I need to make a call to our boss." Eric said.
"Ok. Just knock before you come in." She replied.
"Thank you, Doctor." Eric smiled as he walked to find a private corner. He pulled out his phone and dialed.
"Mr. Beale? Is everything alright?" Hetty's voice asked. She didn't sound like she was woken up. Does this woman ever sleep? Eric thought.
"I'm not sure, Hetty. Nell called me an hour ago and asked me to pick her up. We are at LA Mercy General right now…She thinks she was raped." Eric said, the familiar feeling of dread returning.
"I will be there shortly. Thank you for calling me." Hetty replied before hanging up.
Eric went back to the room and softly knocked. "Come in" He heard a voice say.
He slowly opened the door and stepped inside, giving Nell a smile as he closed the door.
The doctor was finishing up drawing blood to send for analysis. "Now I am going to need to examine you physically, Nell. Do you want him to leave?" She asked.
Nell shook her head. "No, I want him here." She said. Eric took her hand gently and squeezed it.
"Hetty is on her way." Eric whispered at her, softly stroking her head to keep her mind off of the exam. It was over quickly.
"I will get the tests run and be back within the hour. You can change back into your normal clothes now." Dr. Stevens said, giving them both a reassuring smile as she left.
Eric turned to Nell. "Do you want me to step outside while you change?" He asked.
She shook her head. "No, just turn around please." She said. He turned at stared at a large medical chart until he heard her. "Okay." She said.
He turned around and saw her lying on the bed with her arms crossed over her stomach. He climbed onto the bed next to her.
"Please don't hate me, Eric." She said, not looking at him.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. She tried to fight him but she eventually gave in.
"I could never hate you, ever. I don't blame you, I don't despise you, and I don't think you are worthless. I care about you, Nell." He said, softly stroking her hair. He placed a gently kiss on her head.
"Thank you, for everything." She said.
He felt her body relax against him as she fell asleep. He just sat there for a time, holding her close to his body. He periodically stroked her cheek with his thumb, praying to whatever God would listen to him that the worst case scenario didn't happen.
After almost an hour there was a faint knocking on the door. The door opened slowly and Hetty stuck her head in. She saw Nell was asleep and she looked at Eric. He slowly tried to untangle himself from her. Nell gave a slight whimper as she felt his arms leave her. Eric knelt down and whispered in her ear. "I'll be right back. I'm not leaving you, now or ever" He kissed her cheek gently before stepping outside into the hallway. He closed the door behind him and looked at Hetty.
"How is she?" She asked.
"Shook up. Worried about what we think about her more then what happened." Eric said.
"Do we know what happened?" She said.
"The doctor hasn't returned with the results yet. She called me and woke me up crying asking me to come get her. I picked her up and was on the way to drop her off when she said she needed to go to the hospital. Shortly after we got here and the doctor started her exam is when I called you." Eric explained.
Hetty gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. "You are doing fine, Mr. Beale. You did the right thing." She said, giving him a smile.
Dr. Stevens walked up to the two of them.
"Are you family? Miss…?" She asked Hetty.
"Hetty Lange. And I am Miss Jones Emergency Contact." She asked.
Dr. Stevens nodded. "I just got the lab results back. There is some physical trauma so intercourse did happen. There was no DNA so her attacker must have used a condom. We showed traces of GHB in her system too."
Eric felt his heart get crushed. He turned and braced against the wall to keep himself upright.
"I would like to keep her overnight to make sure the drugs get flushed out of her system and be sure no infections set in." She continued.
Hetty nodded. "Whatever you think is best, Doctor." She said.
"Can I tell her?" Eric said, breaking his silence.
"I think that would be the best. She obviously has great trust in you." Dr. Stevens nodded.
Eric opened the door slowly and stepped inside, followed by the doctor and Hetty. Eric stepped over to the bed and softly stroked Nell's cheek. "Nell? Nell, wake up" He said. She slowly opened her eyes.
"Eric?" She said.
"The doctor is back." He said.
She sat up slowly. She picked up on his mood almost instantly.
"Eric, what is wrong?" She said.
Eric took her hands in his. "Nell, there isn't any easy way of saying this so I am just going to say it. Nell, you were raped."
Nell's eyes grew wide and tears welled up in them. He grabbed her and pulled her to him as she started crying. Eric's mind ran a mile a minute thinking of many ways to hunt down the person reasonable for damaging her and making his life a living hell.
Hetty walked up and wrapped an arm around Nell as well. After a few minutes her sobs receded. Eric let her go as she pulled back.
"So…what happens now." She asks.
"I would like to keep you here overnight to make sure you are healing properly and the drugs are flushed out of your system." Dr. Stevens stepped up.
"Do you want me to file a report with LAPD?" She continued.
Hetty shook her head. "That will not be necessary, Doctor. We can handle that." She said. Dr. Stevens knew not to ask.
"There is little else we can do here. Nell, you are safe here in their care." Hetty said, giving her a reassuring kiss on the forehead.
Eric pulled her against him. "I swear I'll be back tomorrow as soon as I can" She said.
"Nell, it probably shouldn't come as a surprise but I am going to recall Nate. I know he will help you through this. We all will." Hetty said.
"Thanks, both of you." She said, smiling weakly.
Eric bent down, cupped her cheek, and gave her a kiss on her forehead.
"See you soon, Rockstar." He said.
Nell kissed his cheek in return before Eric and Hetty walked out of the hospital.
"I know it will be hard, Mr. Beale, but I suggest you go home and get some rest. Tomorrow morning I want you to find out any surveillance from where she was attacked. If we find sufficient evidence then we will get LAPD involved." Hetty said, again giving Eric a pat on the arm.
Eric could only nod. "Ok." He said. They both knew he probably wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. But he figured he should at least try.
He silently got in his car and headed home.
Mission Ops, the next morning
The team met in the bullpen in the morning and was working on odds and ends when Eric trudged in. Anyone with half a brain could see he didn't get any sleep.
"Woah, dude. You look like hell." Deeks said.
"Not the time, Deeks" Eric said as he walked to Hetty's desk. They exchanged a brief quiet conversation before they both walked back to the team.
"I sense some very bad news coming." Sam said.
"I am afraid you are correct, Mr. Hannah. The reason for Mr. Beale's disheveled state is due to a situation we both dealt with late last night into this morning. Before I go any further this information does not go beyond the ears of those present. Understood?" Hetty said.
They all nodded. Kensi took Deeks' hand and squeezed it.
"Last night Nell went out to a club called the Starfire Club. At some point that night she was drugged and sexually assaulted." Hetty said.
Kensi gasped and covered her mouth with her free hand. Deeks threw a comforting arm around her. Sam hung his head and gripped his chair so hard Eric thought he was going to crush it. Callen got that blank expression on his face when he was trying to process information.
"Is she…?" Deeks was the first one to break the silence.
"She is in the hospital currently getting treatment for the drugs in her system. She should be released in the next few hours. She does not remember the attack but the blood tests that were done showed that she was drugged and assaulted." Hetty said.
Everyone breathed a small sigh of relief.
Callen looked at Hetty. "What happens now?" He said.
"There is not much we can do. Eric is going to see if we can find anything but with Nell having no memory it is going to make investigating this problematic. Technically this isn't really our jurisdiction, it is LAPDs. Mr. Deeks, I assume you have a few friends that can look into things discreetly?" Hetty said.
"I'll make a few calls." He said.
"I know you all want to help Nell. Right now she needs to recover. I would ask that you all wait a few days before reaching out to her. Give her time to adjust to what has happened to her. Nate will be arriving this afternoon to assist. He will be available to anyone, not that the lot of you will ever take him up on it." She said, eliciting a small smile from them.
"There are no cases today so I recommend you keep yourself busy by any means necessary." Hetty said as she walked away. Eric went to turn away when Sam reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
"Eric, you know if you need anything. We are all here for you too." He said. Eric scanned the faces and they all said the same thing. That Sam was right.
"Thanks guys. I might need it." He said as he trudged up to Ops.
Mission Ops
Eric sat down at his computer and logged into everything. He started to run some routine diagnostics on the systems when Hetty walked in.
"Mr. Beale. I need you to read and sign this." She said as she handed him a sheet of paper.
"What is this?" He said.
"This is your Get out of Jail Free card. Agent Gibbs gave a similar one to Agent McGee a few years ago." She said. Eric signed the paper and handed it to her.
"Why do I need this?" He said.
"Because I want you to leave no digital stone unturned with that club. Whatever you need to do, whatever tricks you think I don't know that you know. I want you to find the monster that did this to Nell." Hetty said.
Eric's face turned serious. "You got it."
A few hours later
The team were all getting some practice in the range, or at least that was their official reason. They all knew they wanted to blow off some steam. They hated that they couldn't do anything to help Nell. After a few rounds they were all reloading their guns when Sam's phone dinged.
"Eric has found something." He said.
They all put their equipment away and went upstairs to Ops. They all piled in with Hetty waiting for them.
"You found something?" Kensi asked, with a softness to her voice.
"Uh yea, I did." He said, pointing at the big screen but facing away from it. A video played showing Nell sitting at the bar of the club. She was chatting with a friend of hers when a man stepped up to the bar next to her. Nell didn't pay him any mind. As the bartender gave him his drink the man passed his left over the Nell's drink which was a bit far back because she was turned toward her friends, they saw the liquid move slightly as something was dropped in it.
"There. That is where she was drugged." Sam pointed it out.
"Yea, a few minutes later she leaves to go to the bathroom and then this happens. " Eric said switching the video to one in the hallway. Nell came stumbling down the hallway and leaned against the wall. The same man came down and under the guise of helping her led her to a storage room. Eric fast forwarded until he came out. The camera got a perfect view of his face.
"Do we have a facial rec hit on this son of a bitch?" Callen said.
"Working on it right now." Eric said. Deeks stepped over and grabbed his shoulder.
"It will be ok, man." Deeks said.
"I know. I've just watching that damn video 5 times now." Eric said.
Eric's computer dinged. "Got a hit." He said as he pulled it up
The face of a man in his early 20s showed up on the screen.
"Jessie Bonds." Kensi read the name. Deek let out a groan. Everyone looked at him.
"Guy's been arrested a half a dozen times for assault and battery, almost all against women. Was suspected of numerous sexual assult charges too. Nothing has ever stuck to this guy." Deeks explained.
"Why?" Callen asked.
"Because of who is dad is. Michal Bonds is a high powered attorney that represents all the upper class scum of LA. He is buddy buddy with numerous politicians and business men and has been known to buy off a jury or two, provided he ever makes it there." Deeks said.
"The question is this. Is LAPD even going to touch this case with a 10 foot pole? Nell doesn't remember anything, there is no DNA, a video that we obtained through dubious means I'm sure, No offense Eric." Sam said.
Eric just shook his head. "None taken"
"I am afraid Mr. Hannah is right. There is little LAPD or we can do to bring him to justice." She held her hand up to silence any protests "I don't like it any more than the rest of you. I suggest you keep your mind focusing on Nell and being there for her when she needs you all." Hetty said.
The moon went sour quickly as the realization set in that she was right. They all piled out of Ops leaving Eric alone, facing the face of the man who took the perfect woman and destroyed her. He sat down at his desk and filed all the info away in the archives. He sat for a few moments before his emotions got the better of him and he shoved the desk lamp off causing it to crash to the ground. He looked at the broken pieces of the bulb before grabbing a broom and cleaning up.
Mission, Evening
Everyone was packing up when Eric came down.
"Hey Eric, wait up." Sam said. Eric walked over to the bullpen.
Kensi walked over to Deeks and kissed him gently.
"I'm going to go see Nell. I see you later." She said, giving him a knowing glance.
She walked up to Eric and gave him a hug. "Good luck" She said.
"Uh..thanks." He said.
Kensi left leaving the men standing there. They exchanged glances between them.
"Do you want to fix this? Do you want to make this sick bastard pay?" Sam said, in a low voice.
"You know I do." Eric said.
"If we do this, we do this dark. IDs, phones, weapons, they all stay" Callen said, pressing his finger down with each item he listed.
"I hope you aren't thinking of doing what I think you all are doing?" Hetty said as she walked around the corner. The grimace on Callen's face looked like a pane of glass just shattered in his head.
"Would you try to stop us if we were?" Deeks said.
"In any other circumstances I would. But I think this is one the few times you deserve a pass." She said pulling a lockbox from behind her back and setting it on Callen's Desk.
"There is a car waiting in the motor pool. Use it. You have 3 hours to do what you need to do. Be back here before then. Do I make myself clear?" Hetty said.
One by one they walked up to the box and removed their personal items and placed them in the box. Each gave Hetty a knowing look as they walked away. Eric was last to step up.
"Mr. Beale. I just want you to know that you do not have to do this. It's not in your nature and no one will think less of you if you chose to walk away and go see Nell." She said.
"I have to do this. I have to make that monster see who he used and discarded like trash." He said as he pulled out his phone and wallet.
Hetty gave him a reassuring nod. "When someone close to us gets hurt, there is no telling how far we are willing to go. Just make sure you don't go so far out that you can't come back."
Eric nodded and swallowed to quench his dry throat. "I'll try, Hetty." He said as he turned and left.
LA Streets, Late Night
The 4 rode in silence with Sam driving, Deeks in front, and Callen and Eric in the back.
"One of my old Club CI buddies told me Bonds is going to be there tonight. He is a regular every Friday Night. Back alley of the club is dark and no cameras nearby. We get him back there and take care of business" Deeks, explained showing a map he printed out before they left.
"How are we getting him out?" Callen asked.
"He said he would take care of it. Wasn't specific how, and I wasn't asking." Deeks said.
Sam looked at Eric in the rear view mirror. "You ok with this, Eric?" He said.
Eric was broken out of his silence. "Huh? Yea, I'm good." He said.
"Just let us do the heavy lifting on this." Callen said, patting him on the shoulder.
The continued to drive in silence, lights speeding by as they all felt their thoughts turn to Nell.
Callen remembered Nell's adventure just getting to the location in the field
Nell: Uh, sorry that took so long. I was stuck behind an old man on a scooter for the past six blocks.
Callen: I'm sure he appreciated your patience.
Nell: Well, he flipped me off before I finally passed him.
Callen: He was probably just waving.
Nell: He called me a ginger bitch.
Callen: Yeah, I got nothing for that.
Deeks found himself flashing back to some stakeouts he did with Nell while Kensi was in Afghanistan. He never openly admitted it to her but Nell's presence was a big help keeping Deeks grounded while she was gone.
Sam remembered the night Nell offered to watch Kamran while Sam and Michelle went out to dinner. Kamran instantly fell in love with Nell and constantly asked her father when Nell was going to come back over again.
Eric's brain ran a mile a minute. Try as he might he could not focus on anything except Nell and not just one memory of her. He remembered every Friday night they spent together, the time they went into the field together, the times they spent in Ops playfully working together. Eric wanted those days back, before this animal got to her. His thoughts were jostled by Sam pulling into an alley.
"We're here" He said.
Deeks looked at his watch. "Should be out any moment" He said.
"Let's do this." Callen said.
"For Nell" Sam replied.
"For Nell" They all repeated.
They pulled dark masks on and zipped up coats, doing what they needed to do to hide their identities. They climbed out of the car and took up hiding in a dark corner, watching the back entrance.
Eric clenched his fist to try to calm his nerves. He was shaking, thankfully not visible in the darkness.
After a few moments the back door opened and a woman led a man out and down the stairs.
"Come on, baby. Let's take this party to my car." She said, laying the seduction on thick it almost made them hurl.
He was putty in her hands as she led him straight toward them. When he was close enough Sam, Callen and Deeks all stepped into the light.
"Jessie Bonds?" Callen said.
"Who wants to know?" Bonds replied.
Sam and Deeks sprung forward and grabbed him, holding him while Callen threw the first punch, landing right below his ribs, knocking the air out of him. Deeks looked to the girl and told her to scram, giving her a subtle wink as thanks.
She obliged and went back inside. Deeks and Sam lifted him back up to face Callen.
"You have been sticking things where they don't belong for a long time now." Callen said as he punched him in the face. "But that is going to end, right here, right now" He said as he threw another punch right to his ribs.
"I don't know you man!" Bonds said, trying to catch his breath between punches. Callen didn't respond as he threw blow after blow. After awhile he switched places with Deeks who started to work him over. Bonds was crying as blood poured out of his nose and his mouth, his eye swollen shut. Deeks could swear he heard a couple of his ribs crack with one of his punches. Bonds was pleading for his life, offering money when Deeks changed places with Sam.
"This isn't about money. This is about justice." Sam said in an eerily calm voice that even gave Eric goosebumps. Sam, being a methodical man, targeted Bonds in a way to hurt him the most without severely injuring him. After a few minutes he stepped away, looking to Eric as Bonds went limp.. The only thing holding him up was Callen and Deeks currently. Sam nodded to Eric as he stepped behind bonds, grabing a handful of his hear and pulling his head up to look at Eric.
Eric reached into his back pocket and pulled out a photo of Nell that he always kept. He shoved it closed to Bonds' face. "Do you know who this is?" Eric said. Bonds could only cry out. "Do you know who this is!" Eric repeated in a louder voice. Thankfully the area had a lot of ambient noise so no one could hear him.
"Her name is Nell Jones. She is one of the smartest people in the country. She speaks 3 languages, knows how to program in 5. She loves video games, Oreos, Thai food, and biking. She is the youngest child of parents who love her very much. She works with people who treat her like she is family. But none of that matters to you, does it? All she is to you is just a hole to stick your dick into. Well I am here to tell you now that you will never touch another woman again. And do you know why? Because of who we are. We do not exist. We are powerful. We can make you disappear in the blink of an eye. And no one, not even your vaunted daddy can save you. You can try to go to the cops but it will mean little. No one is going to believe you. And I hope every time to look at another woman, you see us. Because if we ever hear this happening again, you taking advantage of a woman, then we will hunt you down. And we will hurt you. And there is nowhere on earth you can run." Eric said in a low voice to him. He stood up, went to turn away, but then quickly turned around and threw one punch at Bonds, knocking him out. Callen and Deeks dropped him to the ground as they quickly piled into the car and drove away
Mission Bullpen
The 4 shuffled back into the Mission and found Hetty standing there with her hands behind her back. She didn't say anything, just gave them all a nod which they returned as they gathered their things to leave. As Eric turned to leave Hetty called out to him
"I wanted to let you know that I have placed you on a partial schedule for the time being. Nell is going to need your support over the next few months." She said, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Thanks, Hetty" He said.
"And Mr. Beale? Welcome back from the edge" She said. Eric nodded, turned around and left
Outside Nell's apartment
Eric pulled up and got out of his car. Climbing the steps to Nell's apartment he fished her key out. Unlocking the door and stepping inside he was greeted to the sight of Kensi and Nate sitting there. Nate was reading a book and Kensi was watching the TV. They both looked over and saw Eric. Nate smiled.
"Good to see you, Eric." Nate said as he stood up.
"You too, Nate. Just wish it was under better circumstances." Eric said.
"You good?" Kensi said, turning the TV down and standing up.
Eric nodded. "I'm getting there." He said. In truth his hand hurt like hell.
Eric looked back to Nate.
"How is she?" He asked.
"As best as can be expected. She went to bed about an hour ago. We wanted to stay here until you got back." Nate said.
"Thanks for that." Eric said.
"Anytime." Nate said.
The late news started to play and the top story drew their attention
"Police report today that Jessie Bonds was found in an alley outside a Los Angeles night club tonight. He had been brutally beaten and was found unconscious by a passerby. He was taken to a LA hospital where he is in critical condition. Doctors say his injuries range from a broken jaw to 4 cracked ribs, 3 broken ribs, and internal bleeding. When questioned by police he simply replied that he 'fell down the stairs'. Bonds, who is the son of famous attorney Michael Bonds, has had a history of run-ins with the law, usually stemming from sexual assault charges." The anchor reported.
Eric went to explain himself when Kensi cut him off.
"You don't have to explain it. We understand" She said.
"I'm going to call it a night. Give me a call tomorrow if you need to talk." Nate said, patting Eric on the shoulder.
"I'm going to head home, too. Let me know if there is anything you need." Kensi said, giving him a hug.
"Thanks, both of you." Eric said as he followed them to the door, locking it behind him.
He made his way into the bedroom and saw her curled up on her side, the lamp next to the bed casting a soft light on her. He walked over and knelt down, softly running his fingers across her cheek.
She breathed in deep before opening her eyes, giving a small smile to him.
"Hi" She whispered.
"Hi. Sorry I couldn't come sooner." He said, running his thumb over her temple.
"It's ok." She said, reaching up and touching his hand.
"Are you ok?" She asked him
He chuckled. "Really? You are asking me?" He said.
"I know it's weird but I'm serious." She said, her eyes telling him she meant it.
"I am. It's over now." He said.
"What happened?" She asked.
"I'll tell you later." Eric said.
She reached out and stroked his cheek.
"Can you stay tonight?" She asked him.
"I'll stay as long as you need me." He replied.
"What if I never stop needing you?" She said.
"Then I guess I'm stuck here, aren't I?" He said, smiling
"Poor you." She replied with a fake pout.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Meh, I could think of worse places to be." He said as he stood up, grabbed his bag, and went into the bathroom to get ready. He came out after a few minutes and climbed into bed next to her. She spooned herself against him as he wrapped an arm around her waist. She laid her hand on his and intertwined her fingers with his.
"Eric?" She asked.
"Yea, Nell?" He replied as he laid his head down on the pillow.
"Thank you so much." She said.
"Anytime, Rockstar." He said as he felt her relax against his body, which in turn allowed him to relax and fall asleep soon after.
This was inspired by an event actually in my own life. My girlfriend at the time was sexually assulted by someone she knew. She refused to tell me who it was but my exact words to her were "He better be thankful I don't know who he is".
Thank you for Reading, Reviewing, Favoriting, and Following.
With the season over I can start working on episodes that are longer reaching, like Pages. It will require me to rewatching a lot of episodes since it is first person thoughts and there is alot of ground to cover.
If you havn't already go check out the sister piece, Tales from the Navy Yard, There are two episodes up and a 3rd on the way.