In Between

Pairing: G. Callen/Nell Jones

Disclaimer: These characters belong to CBS, Paramount, et al. No copyright infringement is intended.

Spoilers: General show spoilers. Specific spoilers listed with each chapter.

Author's Notes: The "In Between" series is intended to take place in between the scenes (which includes immediately before/after an episode) of every episode of NCIS: LA since 02x04 - Special Delivery, when Nell Jones is first introduced. I haven't written them all, so I'm posting as I do them. The newer episodes are being written first but I do intend to go back and write for the earlier episodes. Thus, this could get messy, as I want this to be in order so the chapters will likely get re-ordered. I apologize in advance for any heartache in reading this may cause.

First Impressions

Rating: PG-13 (for curse words)

Spoilers: 02x04 - Special Delivery

The moment Callen meets her, he knows Nell Jones is trouble. Or in trouble. He isn't sure which and, really, it's possibly both. There's a confidence and boldness about her that he recognizes (in himself, if he's completely honest). He's not fooled by her short stature; after all, he knows Hetty.

He doesn't really pay her much attention after the initial meeting. Callen knows she'll either be gone or brought into line by Hetty by the end of the week.

A week passes and Nell's still with them. When she whistles for their next case, though, and Callen sees Eric's exasperated look, Callen's eyebrows go up. Somehow, Nell's managed to maintain her personality, enthusiasm, idealism, and just about everything else new hires usually come in with (Deeks calls it the "new employee smell").

The team files into Ops and Callen can tell Nell is excited. She hasn't been part of a full briefing, yet, and her interruptions amuse him at first. Callen knows she's just trying to fit in and be useful. It's never easy being the new one. He should know; he's had more than his fair share of time being the new one in his life. After all, he's spent his life either changing foster homes, jobs, or places to live. "New" is pretty much Callen's default position.

But when Nell interrupts Hetty, that's the first time Callen thinks Nell is headed straight for the "in trouble" category.

The pause in the briefing extends way beyond the "awkward" moment and goes into "shit's about to go down" territory and Callen wonders if he should be thinking of an exit strategy.

Hetty moves on, though, and so does the rest of the team. Nell, Callen thinks, is safe. For the moment.

It isn't until the end of the mission that Nell enters Callen's thoughts again. This time, though, he fears for her life. Nell has managed to do something no one he knows has ever done and lived to tell about it. She has surprised Hetty. The jury's still out on whether or not Nell will survive the event, though.

Balloons are still bouncing around and Hetty's expression is a mixture of shock and delight at the scarf Nell's given her. Callen's pretty sure his own face is stuck on a look of "oh, my god, Nell's going to die." The rest of his team is about the same.

But, once again, the unexpected happens and Hetty not only accepts Nell's gift but thanks her for it and invites all of them to join in a celebratory drink.

"Bold move," Sam says. They're hanging out on the outskirts of their little impromptu party, observing.

Callen shrugs. "Or stupid. She's still alive, though, so that's gotta count for something."

"How do you think she did it? We've known Hetty for years and thought about this for days and couldn't come up with anything," Sam muses.

"Well, she is an intelligence analyst," Callen reasons.

"Maybe so," Sam replies. "Maybe so."

Callen excuses himself and, after wishing Hetty a happy birthday, finds himself wandering the less populated areas of the old water planning administration building. He's never been comfortable in gatherings like birthday parties, and while most of the people involved are his friends—his family, really—sometimes it's a bit much.

By the time he gets back to the main building, everyone else is gone. Well, almost.

Callen leans against a door frame and watches as Nell gathers up the balloons. He's curious what she'll do with them, but for the moment he's highly amused at how methodical and focused she is.

Nell has a pair of scissors in one hand and a nearly endless supply of balloons at the ready in her other hand. He can hear her humming to herself as she snips the ends of the balloons one by one and lets them go, deflating the balloons quickly and efficiently. Callen grins the few times a dying balloon flies into her face and she literally squeaks.

The pile of balloons goes quickly, which is amazing given the sheer number of them, but soon Nell's looking around for stray balloons. Callen's surprised she hasn't yet spotted him.

He spies a lone balloon that didn't manage to make it to the floor just before she does. It's caught on the corner of some partitions.

"Well, what are you doing up there?" she asks it, and Callen covers his mouth to muffle a laugh. "I'm surprised you didn't pop."

But Nell's just a little too short to reach it. She tries valiantly for a few moments, stretching up as far as she can go, but ultimately she can't get to it.

Callen's about to speak up and offer his assistance when Nell suddenly turns to the side and grabs a chair. With wheels. Immediately, Callen starts to walk forward. This can't end well.

Nell hesitates for a moment and, to the chair, echoes his sentiment, "This probably won't end well."

But she does it anyway, balancing precariously on the chair which not only has wheels but also tilts and swivels.

As he gets closer, Callen can hear Nell talking to herself. "This was so not a good idea," she says even as she's standing up and reaching for the wayward balloon.

And then the inevitable happens. Nell moves just so, the chair wheels follow, and then she's falling.

Callen sees her shut her eyes before he sprints forward the last few steps and catches her in his arms.

"Wha-?" Nell's eyes pop open in surprise. "Agent Callen!"

He can't help but grin and he shakes his head at her. "You know, I saw that whole exchange."

"You did?" Nell's eyes open impossibly wider and he's pretty sure she's blushing.

"You knew that would end badly, but you did it anyway."

Nell quickly looks down, not meeting his gaze. "I'm a little impulsive sometimes."

Callen's eyebrows go up. "A little?"

"Yeah, one of my many personality flaws. I seem to be demonstrating all of them today..."

Callen smirks but lets the comment slide. He steps past her and reaches up for the wayward balloon.

"Thanks," she says, automatically snipping the end after Callen hands it to her.

"So, what made you..." Callen gestures vaguely.

"Throw a party?" Nell finishes.

"Yeah."

Nell shrugs. "Special occasions should be celebrated. And, since Hetty's the Operation's Manager I figured something...significant would be appropriate."

"Well, I think this was significant," Callen muses, nodding at the trash bag full of balloon carcasses.

Nell smiles up at him and he can't help but grin back at her enthusiasm. "I think it worked out well, although the clean up was a little more than I had anticipated. Maybe a couple hundred balloons was a bit much."

"Maybe."

They stare at each other in silence for a few moments.

"So..." they both start.

"You first," Callen says.

Nell nods. "Thanks. For earlier. For catching me, I mean."

He shrugs. "Don't mention it. But next time, a tilting, rolling chair is probably not your best choice."

Callen helps Nell wrap up—there isn't much left to do anyway—and they say their good nights.

He watches as Nell leaves the compound and shakes his head in wonder as he mentally replays the night's events.

"Yep," he says to himself. "Trouble and in trouble."

End Part