They spent 7 years, but couldn't waste another second

NOT GOING TO WAIT ANY MORE

Mission, Ops, Early Afternoon

The sliding doors opened and Eric stepped in.

"Just got the notification. Team is wheels up" He said.

Nell exhaled the breath she felt she was holding for hours. She leaned against the table facing the giant screen.

"How are they?" She asked him.

"Sam had to be stitched up again, Callen has a separated shoulder. Deeks broke his leg, Kensi has some post-concussion symptoms, and Hidoko is a little worse for wear but they are all safe now." Eric reported.

Nell rested her elbows on the table and rubbed her eyes.

"What do you think is going to happen now?" She asked.

Eric set the tablet down and leaned on one elbow facing her, his hand gently brushing her shoulder.

"I think Mosley is going to have some questions to answer, I'm sure Vance isn't too thrilled having to smooth things over with the Federalies. I'm sure once they found out some of their officers were assisting a wanted arms dealer in their own back yard that they were willing to overlook our involvement." Eric said.

Nell sighed deeply. "I feel like I could sleep for a week." She said.

"Yea, me too. Things are going to be quiet while the team recovers." Eric said as he started to shut everything down.

"I don't know if I can handle that level of quiet." Nell said as they walked out of Ops and down the stairs.

"We could still take that trip." Eric said, reaching out and taking her hand.

"True. Spain sounds amazing right now." She said

He softly tugged on her hand to get her to stop by the bullpen.

"We don't have to go to Spain, you know." He said.

"Where would you want to go?" She turned to ask him.

"I don't really care where we go." He said.

"You just said no to Spain." She replied.

He shook his head. "I never said that. Just saying that Spain isn't our only option." He smiled.

"You aren't making any sense, Beale." She replied.

"All I am saying is that I don't care where we go for our honeymoon. I know it will be the best trip of my life as long as my wife is with me." He said, his hand sliding into his pocket.

Eric could swear he heard popping noises coming from her brain. He fully expected steam to shoot out of her ears from the friction of the gears in her brain coming to a screeching halt.

"Wha….." She started to say but her voice gave out.

Eric knelt, pulling out a ring he had kept for years out.

"Nell. I want you to marry me. Not next month, not next week, not even tomorrow. I want you to marry me now. I don't want to waste any more time not having you as my wife. Please, Nell Jones. Will you marry me?" He said, holding the ring up to her.

Nell's eyes welled up. She covered her mouth to stifle the sobs threatening to escape. Her brain tried to think of every way this could go wrong for her but memories of her time with Eric always chased them away. Her brain tried to think of every possible bad ending to their story but her heart kept yelling over it. Her body was fighting against itself to the point she felt like she was about to pass out. Not trusting her mouth to be able to say the words she swallowed another sob before closing her eyes and nodding enthusiastically.

Eric lept to his feet and wrapped his arms around her, spinning her in circles before setting her down and planting the longest, most passionate kiss he had on her lips. She responded in kind, gripping his neck and his shirt, not trusting her legs to keep her up. Her brain slowly started to catch up to the fact that nothing would ever be the same, and yet it will be no different. Now she would just have a daily reminder of the man she loves.

As if right on queue he lets go and slides the ring on her hand. Her body finally calmed down but she couldn't stop looking at it.

"You really want to do this right now?" She asked.

"I know it's not how you envisioned. And we can have the big ceremony that you want for your family. But I want to get married right now. No more time wasted." He said.

She leaned in. "It wasn't wasted." She whispered, kissing him gently.

"If you want this to go through you will need a witness. I would be honored to fulfill that role, if you will have me." A voice broke the silence as they both turned. Hetty stood, hands behind her back and the biggest smile they had ever seen on her face.

"The honor would be all ours, Hetty." Eric said.

Hetty stepped forward and gave Nell a hug. She stepped back and took Eric's hands, squeezing them reassuringly.

"But if we are going to do this we have to do this right. Go to wardrobe and find some suitable clothes. Yes, Mr. Beale, that means pants. I will call a friend of mine at the courthouse to get the ball rolling." Hetty said, taking both of their hands and leading them toward wardrobe.

Short and sweet little preview for Season 10. I know this isn't how it is going to go but hey, I can dream, can't I?

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