Author note - there's no reasonable excuse for the length of time this has taken, but this has been one of my hardest chapters to write. I've had a firm plot in mind for this story before I even began to write it... But the words won't cooperate. I knew the intent of this chapter and it's taken at least half a dozen complete rewrites to make it bend to my will. I wasn't sure I believed in plot bunnies until now, but I will tell you they did not want to cooperate here! It was like herding cats... So apologies for the numerous times this seems like it could derail into something else. It probably tried to and I had to reign it back in and remind it who was boss. Thanks always to Dubigail for helping herd a few stray bunnies and being my Neric expert.

The tension at work had decreased significantly, but a dark cloud seemed to replace it. While ops had once been a place where case tension collided with humour from their techs, now it seemed that it was simply a room of high stress and depression. By Tuesday, the four agents were plotting and scheming, and trying to figure out what on earth had happened. Deeks had pulled Eric aside numerous times, trying to get him to say something, but Eric said nothing. Kensi showed up at Nell's place with wine and ice cream, but despite her best attempts, all she got from her were tears and silence. Realising that her interrogation was getting her nowhere, Kensi gave up and just held Nell as she cried herself to sleep.

On Wednesday morning Callen went to Hetty to see if she had any idea what had gone wrong, but she had none and seemed as confused as the rest of them, and even more bothered, but before they had a chance to discuss things further, Callen's phone buzzed. He looked at the text to see it was from Eric, announcing a case. He shook his head - Eric had even given up whistling it seemed. As it had been the previous two days, Ops felt dark and depressing. Eric and Nell briefed them on the case, lacking their usual playfulness. There was no banter, and they took turns instead of finishing each other's thoughts. Were it not for the missing navy officer pictured on the screen, Callen was sure that Hetty would have locked the doors and forced them to sort out the issue right then and there. The case, however, took priority, and everyone was put to work. It was a credit to Eric and Nell that despite the clear depression that had taken over them, they were still effective at their jobs.

By Friday, the missing officer had been found safe and sound, and his kidnappers arrested. Eric and Nell were beginning to find a new rhythm, but both were still miserable. At the end of the case, Hetty sent her agents home early and invited her two techs to join her in her office. They exchanged looks and ducked their heads, both making excuses as to why they couldn't but Hetty didn't seem to hear any of it as she left and went to prepare a pot of tea.

Eric and Nell made their way awkwardly to Hetty's desk, and nervously took their seats. Eric was sure this was it - she knew what had happened and one of them was being sent away. As he shifted nervously in his seat he made up his mind that he would resign rather than be sent away, and he would not let Nell be uprooted either. She belonged here. Nell was more stressed about how things had been between her and Eric recently and was determined to plead their case to Hetty and explain that they would be better off being allowed to be together than being separated or depressed. She opened her mouth to begin pleading her case, but the words wouldn't come out. As much as she loved Eric, and trusted Hetty, she was still afraid of what Hetty could do.

Hetty watched as her techs floundered with their thoughts and feelings before pouring them each a cup of tea, and passing it to them. "I believe you are both aware of why you are here. Whatever is going on, it needs to stop," she said firmly. "I cannot have the two of you so miserable. It is affecting not just the two of you, but the rest of us as well. We are concerned, and we want to help. I do not know what has been going on, but I will give you the weekend to solve the problem. Unless you are willing to discuss it?"

Both Eric and Nell were silent, looking up at Hetty and then at each other. They were having a silent conversation with looks, one Hetty couldn't follow. Eric decided to speak up and plead their case, but before he could do so, Nell's phone began to ring. She looked at it in a panic.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It's my mom, and she only phones at this time of day if it's an emergency," Nell explained frantically, before running out of the building to take the call. Eric was left looking at Hetty and suddenly felt sapped of all the courage he'd had just a moment before. Hetty, fortunately, was distracted by the fact that Nell had just interrupted her and run out of the building to take an urgent call. Eventually her gaze returned to Eric, who found himself now torn between running after Nell to see if she was ok and staying put lest he anger Hetty further.

"Is there anything you would like to discuss, Mr. Beale?" Hetty asked gently, hoping he could give her some insight into what was going on.

"Please don't send me to Tokyo," he pleaded. Hetty was only more confused. She took a moment to try to figure out what he was talking about, but was interrupted by Nell.

"That... That was my mom. My sister was in a car accident. She's pregnant, but they have to deliver the baby tonight." Nell paused to brush back tears. "She's only 29 weeks. They don't even know if the baby is going to be ok, or if Nora is going to be ok." Nell sniffled. "I need to go home. They need me. My sister needs me, and my mom, and..." She choked on her tears.

"Of course, my dear. Take all of the time that you need, do not worry about work. Is there anything I can do?" Hetty asked.

"No. Um... I just need to go home and pack and book a flight..." Nell began, feeling overwhelmed.

"Mr. Beale, please take Ms. Jones home and help her pack. I will arrange a flight and send you the details. Can you get her to the airport ok?" Hetty asked.

"Yeah, of course," Eric said, totally forgetting all of their earlier issues. "Come on Nell, let's go," he said, gently wrapping his arm around her and letting her cry on him. "It's going to be ok," he whispered into her hair. Hetty slipped from the room to phone and arrange a flight, leaving Eric to comfort Nell and take her home.

The drive back to her place was silent as Nell brooded and worried, and Eric had no words to comfort her. He drove quickly but carefully, keeping one hand on her arm for comfort. When they arrived, she remained unmoving so he went around the car and opened her door, then took her hand and led her to her door. Shakily, she unlocked the door and let Eric follow her to her room. She sank down on the bed, and tears overtook her again. Eric could do nothing but sit down next to her and hold her as she cried.

"She's having a boy," Nell finally said. "My first nephew. We were all so excited. And now this..."

"She's going to be ok. And so is her baby. Twenty nine weeks is early, but lots of babies at that age survive," Eric said. "And you know Hetty will pull strings if need be to get her the best care possible. I'd be surprised if she hasn't already started." Nell just nodded.

"I need to pack," she said. "I don't know where to begin."

"Why don't you start with the basics...? Clothes, toiletries. I'll go pick something up for dinner ok? Airplane food sucks," Eric suggested. Nell nodded, and went to her closet to pull out her suitcase. "I'll be back in twenty minutes, and then I'll give you a hand, ok?" he asked. Again, Nell nodded. Impulsively he pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be ok, rock star."

Half an hour later, he rushed through the door.

"I'm sorry I'm late! Dinner took longer than I expected," he called out. "Everything ok?"

Nell emerged from her room, her face still tear streaked.

"Yeah. I think I'm packed. Could you, um, check things over for me?" she asked timidly.

"Of course. Why don't you sit down and eat. Hetty sent me your flight info, you fly out at nine pm. She's arranged for someone to pick you up and take you to the hospital and your stuff straight to your parents' place," he explained, going over the details Hetty had given him. He left out that she was flying first class, figuring it would be a nice surprise.

Nell sank down at the table and pulled out a container from the take out bag, smiling when she saw he had gone across town to get food from her favourite Chinese place. He must have nearly flown to get there and back in time.

"What's in the bags?" she asked, gesturing at the shopping bags he had with him.

"Oh, nothing really. Just some stuff for the flight, and a few things to take with you," Eric said, blushing slightly, then pulling out his own dinner. "We've got three hours before we have to go. Is there anything you need to do, or anything you want to get?" Nell shook her head. Eric took a deep breath and then passed her one of the bags. Nell opened it and smiled.

"How did you even get this? It's not being released for another month," Nell exclaimed with a grin on her face, as she pulled out his gift. They had been talking about these jackets a few months ago when they had seen them on Kickstarter, but production wasn't even due to start for another week.

"A magician never reveals his secrets," Eric said with a wink, glad that he was able to distract her and make her smile. "I pulled a few strings. Thought it would be useful for the flight."

"Thank you so much," she whispered before getting up to kiss him on the cheek. Then they finished their dinner in silence.

After eating, Eric gave Nell the other shopping bag, full of things he thought would be helpful on the flight. She smiled at the giant box of Oreos, puzzle books, earplugs and gum. She had no idea how he had found everything so quickly.

In her room, Eric went through her suitcase as requested to ensure she hadn't forgotten anything important. He carefully placed the extra boxes of Oreos in her suitcase, along with spare chargers for her phone and tablet and a box of her favourite tea.

He carefully went through her backpack, ensuring she had nothing that might be confiscated by security. He checked that her tablet and phone were charged, with chargers packed where she could get them. Last, he slipped a note in the front pocket where he hoped she would find it on the plane. Then he returned to the kitchen where she was trying on her new jacket.

"Looks like it fits perfectly," he said, breaking the silence.

"It does. I don't know how you did it, but I can't thank you enough. I'm going to live in it," she insisted. "We need these for everyone on the team."

"You can test drive it and then tell Hetty," he suggested. "She's more likely to listen to you." Nell just shrugged. Then she began to tear up again, feeling overwhelmed. Eric reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"We still have over two hours before we have to go. Do you want to try to rest?" he suggested. Nell shook her head.

"I should call my mom again. Let her know I'm coming and I'll be there tonight, or early tomorrow morning I guess."

"Ok. I could go out if you want to be left alone," Eric began to say before Nell cut him off.

"Don't you dare. I need you here," she insisted. Eric nodded and allowed her to lead him to the couch where he sat down. She retrieved her phone and then sat down beside him and phoned home.

While he did his best not to eavesdrop, Eric couldn't help but notice Nell tearing up again so he put his arm around her. He gently stroked her arm as she talked with her mom and promised she would be home soon. From what he did catch, it sounded like Nora was going in for surgery now and the baby would be delivered before Nell made it home. He could only hope everything went well. When she hung up the phone, she buried her face in his chest and cried again.

"They managed to give her steroids to help the baby's lungs but they can't wait any longer. She's on her way in to surgery, I couldn't even talk to her first. They'll call me again if there's any news before the flight leaves..." She sniffled and swatted at her tears. "Mom promised that everything looks as good as it can but the odds still aren't great. We could lose them both before I even land."

"It's going to be ok," Eric reminded her, stroking her hair. She looked up at him and nodded. She wanted to ask how he knew, and what he meant by ok... But she knew he had no more answers than she did. He just had an outsider's perspective.

"You're right," she agreed. "I need to be positive. They are going to be ok," she stated firmly, wiping the tears off her face. Then she looked up at Eric, and remembered the mess that they were still in, even if they had been granted a temporary reprieve. "And so are we, Wolfram. When I get back, we will figure this out somehow." He tried to smile at her confidence, but he wasn't so convinced. Seeing the doubt on his face was too much for her and without thinking she grabbed him and kissed him. "We will work this out," she repeated. "You're my best friend and my co-worker and we will find a way to be more. But right now we have two hours alone and I want to make the most of it," she insisted, feeling bold, and she leaned in to kiss him again.

Just over two hours later, they found themselves pulling in to the airport. Eric parked the car and insisted on carrying Nell's bags for her. He waited with her while she checked in, and smiled at the shocked look on her face when she was given her seat assignment. Once finished, she grabbed his hand and they found a quiet place to talk. Before she could speak though, her phone rang. It was her mom with another update. They spoke for fifteen minutes or so until boarding was called for Nell's flight. She hung up quickly and smiled at Eric.

"Baby is ok. He's in the NICU but he's a little fighter. Nora is still in surgery but things are looking better," she told him, then took a deep breath. Her flight was called again. Both she and Eric had a hundred things to say, but no time to do so. He reached out to hug her and hand over her bag, but once again she pulled him down into a deep kiss. They pulled apart, with tears in both their eyes but no words. They hugged tightly once more, and Nell turned to rush through security and get to her gate. She turned to wave at him once more, and he felt his heart clench. He really hoped she was right... He needed everything to be ok between them.