He can only take so much, and it will take everything she has to get him back

BAGGAGE

Mission Ops

Nell pulled into her parking spot and climbed out. Grabbing her bag she slung it over her shoulder and entered the Mission. The place was buzzing with activity, which was normal after the weekend. Waving to the team in the bullpen she bounded up the stairs and into Ops. Setting her stuff down she realized Eric was not there. It wasn't really a cause for alarm. Usually they traded off who arrived first and this was simply a day where she beat him. She started to power everything up and get logged in. She sat down to review the latest reports when the door opened. Expecting Eric she looked up and saw Hetty walked in.

"Good morning, Hetty" Nell smiled.

"Good morning, Nell. How was your weekend?" She asked.

"It was good. Had fun Saturday night with my date, Josh, from the Hospital." She said.

Hetty nodded. "Excellent. We have a new case. Please get the others." She said as she handed her a folder.

"Heard anything from Eric?" Nell asked as she stood up.

"I have. I will explain once everyone is up here." Hetty said.

Nell left to whistle for the others. She came back in and after a few moments the team piled in. Everyone was questioning why Nell was the one who whistled when they received their answer and found Eric was not there.

"Where is Eric?" Kensi asked.

"Mr. Beale asked for a few days off late Friday after the last case was completed and I granted it. We are going to be a little short handed for a bit while I find a temporary replacement. Now, Nell, my dear, if you please" Hetty said.

Nell stood there for a second. She racked her brain trying to think why Eric took time off. And the stranger question was why he didn't tell her. He told her everything, they were partners. Hetty's voice broke her train of thought.

"Miss Jones? The case?" She said.

"Right, sorry." Nell said, breathing out as she began the briefing. After Callen doled out the assignments the team left. As Hetty turned to walk out Nell stopped her.

"Did Eric say why he needed time off?" Nell asked.

"He did, but I am not at liberty to discuss it." Hetty replied.

"Oh…ok" Nell said. Hetty turned and left leaving Nell to run Ops by herself.

She sat down at her desk and willed herself to start the searches Callen requested of her. She just stared at her phone though. Finally she grabbed it and shot off a quick text.

Hey, missing you this morning. Hope everything is fine. See you soon!

4 hours later

Nell had returned from a quick lunch. She still hadn't heard from Eric so she decided to call him. When she reached his voice mail she left a quick message.

"Hey, it's me. Just calling to see how you were doing. Let me know if you are ok. Talk to you later" She said as she hung up.

She bounded up the stairs and into Ops. She froze when she realized someone was sitting in Eric's chair.

The man was dressed in a pair of slacks, shirt and tie with his hair tied back in a pony tail. He looked over and realized she was standing there.

"Oh, you must be Nell. Hi, I'm Jason. I'm the new Tech Operator." He said as he stood up and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you." Nell said.

"You too. I know I'm new to all of this but I promise you I'm a fast learner. I'll be up to speed in no time." Jason said as he returned to his work.

Nell sat down, shaken by the thought of someone else in his chair but she hid it well.

Early evening

Nell packed up her things, worry starting to plague her face as she still hadn't received any response from Eric.

"Not bad for my first day in the fire." Jason said as he powered everything down.

"So how long are you filling in?" Nell asked.

"Filling in?" Jason asked.

"Yea. You're just here to help out temporarily, aren't you?" Nell said.

"Uhh, not to my knowledge. I was told this was permanent" Jason said, a puzzling look on his face.

"Oh…I see." Nell said. "Have a good night" She turned and walked away quickly.

She came down the stairs and made a bee line for Hetty's desk.

"What can I do for you, Miss Jones?" Hetty asked, setting her tea down.

"So is Jason here to stay?" Nell asked.

Hetty nodded. "I am afraid so. As of today his is your new partner." She folded her hands on her desk.

"And what about Eric?" Nell asked.

"Are you asking as his partner or something else?" Hetty asked.

"Both." Nell said.

"Please, sit down." Hetty waved to one of the chairs.

Nell sat down, her heart beating rapidly.

"Mr. Beale has requested a transfer to the NCIS office in DC. He will be taking over one of the supervisory positions in Cyber Division." Hetty said.

"What?! When did this happen?" Nell exclaimed, catching the attention of the team in the bullpen.

Hetty raised her hand to calm Nell down. "Eric asked to speak to me Friday night after you left. He requested the transfer and I arranged for him to fly to DC over the weekend and meet with Director Vance. I decided he should have a few days to experience what he is considering and given ample time to decide if this is the right thing for him or not."

"But why DC? I thought he loved it here." Nell said, tears starting to well in her eyes.

Hetty sighed and looked down, contemplating. She looked up.

"Miss Jones, I am about to break an oath of confidentially I have with Mr. Beale. I do not do so lightly but I feel it is in the best interests of all involved." Hetty said.

"Some months ago Mr. Beale came to me one night after everyone else had left for the evening. He was troubled by something and felt he could trust me. It was regarding you." She said

Nell nodded, wanting Hetty to continue.

"He had asked about rules relating to interpersonal relationships between coworkers and my thoughts on the matter. He explained that he felt he was developing genuine feelings beyond the friendship you two shared." Hetty said, pouring a cup of tea for Nell.

Nell took it without taking her eyes off of Hetty.

"He actually asked for my permission to court you. At first I did not think it was a smart idea but he insisted. He promised me that if it became an issue and he was no longer able to perform his duties effectively then he would request a transfer." Hetty said.

Nell felt tears well again. She sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "He asked me out to dinner Friday night. I told him I already had a date with an amazing guy I met. I didn't even know." She said.

"He came to me shortly after you left and handed me the completed transfer papers. They are here, waiting for his final approval." Hetty said.

"And you made no attempt to make him stay?" Nell said, anger started to show in her voice.

"No, Miss Jones, I did not. Eric is able to make his own decisions. And I will support whatever he decides. I know you want otherwise but I will not interfere in the professional development of my employees, not matter what reason." Hetty said, making it abundantly clear that she was not going to be of any help to Nell.

Nell stood up and walked toward the couch. Sitting down she pulled out her phone and called Eric. It went to voicemail again.

She ran a hand through her hair. "Hey, it's me. Please call me. I need to talk to you. It's very important. Please?" She said as she hung up. She hung her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

Kensi looked over. "Everything alright, Nell?" she asked.

"No, everything is horrible right now." Nell said, trying to fight back tears.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Eric is gone. He is transferring to DC." Nell said, staring at her phone, willing it to ring.

"Why is he doing that?" Callen asked.

"Because he can only take so much." Deeks said, not looking up from his paperwork.

Nell looked up at him shocked. "You knew?" She asked.

Deeks said his pen down and sighed. He rubbed his face in his hands before he looked over at Nell. "Yes, Nell, I knew. I've known for a long time that he was considering it." He said.

The rest of the team looked at him.

"And you conveniently forgot to mention that this morning?" Callen said.

"I didn't forget anything. Wasn't my place to tell." Deeks said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"That still doesn't answer why he left." Sam said.

"Seriously? None of you realize it? For being a bunch of federal investigators you all can be so dense sometimes." Deeks said, earning a threatening glance from Sam.

"If you guys would take the time to get to know Eric other than relying on him all the time you would realize that he is head over heels in love with her. " Deeks continued, pointing at Nell.

"But every time he tries to make a move she ducks him. Then she walks around rubbing her happiness with another man in his face." Deeks said.

"Deeks." Kensi said.

"He has asked her out almost every other week and every time it's something new. Then every Monday it's the same thing. She talks about how amazing her weekends are and he gets to wallow in self pity." Deeks said.

"Deeks." Callen said, his voice threatening.

"No, I'm not shutting up, not this time. I've kept silent about all of this for months, but I can't sit by and watch my best friend fall apart. And if leaving is what is best for him then so be it. I'm sorry you have to hear it like this, Nell, but it's the truth." Deeks said as he stood up and grabbed his things. He turned to walk away but Sam stood in his way.

Deeks looked him square in the eye. "Excuse me." He said as he stepped around Sam and left.

Nell started to cry in her hands. Kensi walked over and knelt down.

"You know none of what he said is true." Kensi said.

"No, you idiot! Everything he said was true, every word of it!" Nell yelled out, returning to crying in her hands.

Sam and Callen tried to find something to say but they couldn't. Nell stood up and ran toward the door.

"I have to go" Was all she said as she ran out the door and to her car.

Two days later

The following two days went by agonizingly slow for Nell. Jason fell into the swing of things but Nell still could not get over looking over and seeing him instead of Eric. During a lull in work she went downstairs and ducked into Nate's old office. She hooked her computer to the large monitor on the wall and started a video conference. She prayed the person would pick up.

The image of a women wearing black and a white lab coat came on the screen. She had her arms crossed and a smug look in her face.

"I was wondering how long it would take you." She said.

"Look, Abby. I know I am the last person you want to talk to…" Nell began.

"You got that right. Why would I want to talk to the woman who is breaking the heart of an amazing man and one of my closest friends?" Abby interrupted.

The reaction from Abby shocked Nell. Fighting back tears she responded, her voice cracking.

"Yea, I guess I deserved that." Nell said.

"What do you want, Nell? I'm busy." Abby said.

"Look. I'm not going to plead with you to convince him to stay here. I don't even feel I deserve to talk to him. Can you just give him a message, please?" Nell said.

Abby's features started to soften slightly.

"Please tell him I'm sorry. Tell him I'm sorry that it came to this. Tell him I'm sorry that I caused him to feel this way." Nell said.

"I will." Abby said, her voice taking on a hint of sadness.

Nell closed the connection just as the tears started to flow again. She sat back in the chair trying to will herself to stop crying but she couldn't. Thankfully she remembered to lock the door. After 30 minutes she composed herself and walked out and back to work.

Late Friday Night

Hetty stood in the middle of the Mission with her hands behind her back as the door opened and Eric walked in dragging a suitcase.

"Mr. Beale. How was your trip to DC?" Hetty asked.

"Informative. It was nice to get away from here too." Eric said.

"Have you made your decision?" Hetty asked.

Eric nodded. "Yes. I want to go through with the transfer." He said.

"Are you sure? It would be a monumental change for you. Cyber Division is not as laid back about their dress code as I am, there is no surfing in DC, and it is a lot colder there in the winter." Hetty said.

"I made up my mind, Hetty. Stop trying to convince me otherwise." Eric said, veiled annoyance came out of his voice.

"I am just trying to prevent you from making a grave mistake." Hetty said.

"You can't change my mind." Eric said.

"Then maybe I can?" A voice came from behind him as he looked and saw her coming down the stairs.

"I don't have anything more to say to you, Nell." Eric said, his tone so harsh that it even caught Hetty off guard.

Nell nodded, not missing a step. "I know. That is why I don't want you to say anything. You have said enough. It's my turn." She said as she stepped up to him.

"Eric. I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I've treated you the past few months. I am not going to make excuses for it." Nell began, staring at the floor but then looking into his eyes.

"I want you to be happy. And if my presence here is causing you to be unhappy then you shouldn't be the one to leave. I should." Nell said.

"No, Nell…" Eric went to say but Nell politely cut him off with her hand.

"Let me finish, please?" She asked.

Eric nodded.

"The truth is I was scared. I know you have feelings for me and I wanted to return those feelings but I was scared I would cause us to break apart and ruin our friendship. You are special to me, Eric, more than anyone else in my life. And I don't want to lose you. But if you honestly think that this is the best decision then I am not going to stop you." Nell said, her voice cracking and her eyes started to well.

Eric stood there, trying to figure out what to say. Tears started to flow down her cheeks as she waited for his answer.

"It is way too cold in DC for me, anyway." Eric said, giving a slight chuckle.

Nell grabbed him in a hug and squeezed him. Eric wrapped his arms around her and held her against him.

"I'm sorry, Eric. I'm so sorry." Nell said, her ragged breaths gave way for a few small sobs.

"Shh. It's ok, Nell. It's ok." Eric said.

Nell pulled away for a second before she grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss. It was more than the simple one she did at Christmas. She poured everything she had into it. They parted for air but kept their foreheads together.

"That was so different then Christmas." He whispered.

"That was a promise, Eric. It was my promise to you to make this right." She said. They separated and she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"How about we go back to your place? You can unload your bags while I unload some baggage of my own." She said.

Eric smiled and held his hand out for her. She took it, clasping her fingers in his and together they silently walked out leaving the mission.

Hetty stood by her desk, watching the whole thing as 4 figures came out from behind the wall. They stood next to Hetty in silence for a few moments.

Deeks hooked his thumbs on his belt loops. "You think they are going to be ok?" He asked.

"I hope so, Mr. Deeks. I think they are on the right track now." Hetty replied.

And there you have it. Episode 40 of Tales from the Mission. Thank you to the 4 people who voted. It came out in a tie for Baggage and Breakdown. I was having some struggles writing Breakdown though so Baggage it is.

I have an idea for a new story called When Hetty Met... Each chapter will deal with Hetty's initial meeting with different members of the team. This one will probably will be on the back burner for a while just an FYI

Thank you for Reading, Reviewing, Favoriting, and Following.