The Christmas party at OSP had started out like many of the team gatherings before, but there had been a genuine happiness that was new. The agents had exchanged gifts (and respected Hetty's wishes to be excluded), Kensi and Deeks had enjoyed the mistletoe a bit too much, and the bowl of eggnog had seemed to drain much more quickly than years before. When it was empty, Hetty had pulled out an expensive bottle of Scotch for the discerning palate, while Kensi had produced a frozen mojito mix for the cocktail lovers. The merriment had continued well into the wee hours of the morning, before everyone was finally ready to go home.

Eric had stopped drinking hours before and was now sober - which was more than he could say for the petite redhead he was carrying out to the car. She was babbling incoherently but adorably about Hetty's special whiskey made from wheat and not rye. He couldn't quite make out her words but caught some of what she meant.

He carefully poured her into the passenger seat of his car as she giggled at him. Once her seatbelt was buckled, he carefully ensured no limbs were in the way before shutting the door. He shook his head and wondered what had posessed her to try to outdrink Kensi. Not even Sam was willing to take on that challenge! He saw Deeks performing a similar maneuver with Kensi, while Callen and Sam continued an earlier discussion about holiday plans on their way to Sam's Challenger. This was his crazy, dysfunctional family.

As he observed his still very drunk partner in her seat, he knew he didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone.

"OK RockStar, you're not in any shape to be alone right now. Are you coming back to my place, or am I staying at yours?" He asked her. He was surprised at the giggle that came from her mouth.

"I like the sounds of that. Take me home with you, Beale." She told him. He rolled his eyes, and headed off. She very quickly fell asleep. It was a good thing he had everything to survive a hangover at home. Tomorrow, she wasn't going to be feeling so great.

When he parked his car, she woke up, seemingly recharged from her brief nap. She managed to pull herself upright and start heading for the door before she stated to stumble. He quickly put his arm around her, and helped her inside.

"I'll just go grab something for you to sleep in." He said as she made herself at home on his couch. When he returned a few minutes later with a tshirt and a pair of drawstring shorts, he saw her sitting up watching him.

"Come here, Beale." She said. "Give me a hand" When he was within arm's reach, she grabbed him and pulled him down on top of her, reaching up to kiss him. For a moment he was stunned before he quickly scrambled up.

"Nell, no. This isn't right." He told her, out of breath from her surprise attack. While he had dreamed about kissing her again (after the mistletoe kiss a few years before), this was not how he had imagined it going.

"Come on." She pleaded. "I like you. You like me. You know you want to, and it'll be fun." She tried to persuade him. "I can be VERY fun."

"Nell, no. You're drunk. Your judgement is off. And I'm not going to take advantage of that or take advantage of YOU. You mean too much to me. I can't. Not like this." He told her.

"See, you DO like me. Don't be so uptight." She told him as she stood up. She started to walk towards his room. "Just you. And me. Allllll night. Isn't that why you brought me home?" She pouted. He shook his head.

"You're drunk, Nell. I brought you home to keep an eye on you, and to take care of you in case you needed anything. Not for this."

"I do need something. I need you." She told him, shooting a seductive look over her shoulder as she unbuttoned her top and shrugged it off onto the floor. He couldn't believe this was happening. Of COURSE he wanted to kiss her... and more. But not like this. He followed her, grabbing her shirt, and then the skirt and tights she had shed on the floor on the way to his room. He stepped in cautiously and saw Nell in his bed, fortunately with a sheet pulled over her. The remaining garments on the floor indicated she was completelt naked. Mustering all his willpower, he put her clothes on the end of the bed, along with the shirt and shorts he had pulled out for her to wear before exiting the room.

"Get some sleep." He told her from the doorway. "I'll be on the couch. Let me know if anything else." He heard her mumbling something about him being a spoilsport and no fun, but chose to let it go. He sank to the floor outside the bedroom door and hit his head against the wall.

"Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid. I've ruined it... Things between us are ruined. She's going to think I don't like her or I'm not attracted to her... But it wasn't supposed to be like this! The first time should be sweet, and loving, after a date... Not like that's going to happen now. She's going to think I don't like her... or worse, that I'm gay. " He berated himself.

He settled on the couch with a blanket and rubbed his head. Tonight had been a very... interesting night. If he hadn't seen it with his own two eyes, he wouldn''t have believed it. God, she was sexy. He groaned, realizing it was going to be a long night, and a very awkward morning.

Nell woke up with a killer headache, her mouth bone dry. As she tried to pry her eyes open, she could feel the sun on her face. She sat up and groaned. As her eyes adjusted, she realized with a shock that she wasn't in her room. A moment later, she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes. All she could think was "oh, shit."

She quickly found her clothes folded neatly at the end of the bed, and recognized Eric's shorts and shirt beside them. This was only getting worse. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on them. If only she could remember what had happened... Not that it would make the walk of shame any less humiliating, but at least she would know. She realized the bed was empty, and she heard no sounds coming from the rest of the apartment. Maybe she could dart out and at least grab a drink to help her headache and the awful feeling in her mouth. After putting on his shirt and shorts, she slowly opened the door and ducked her head out. Seeing no sign of Eric, she went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As she reached the fridge, she saw a note taped to it.

Gone surfing with Deeks. Tylenol is on the counter, and there's some Gatorade for you in the fridge. Didn't know what kind you like, so I got a few. Get some rest, and help yourself to anything you want to eat. Bread and toaster are on the counter, cereal's in the pantry, yogourt is in the fridge. I'll be back around 11.

She glanced at the clock and saw it was already 10:45. He would be home soon, and she'd have to face whatever happened last night. She grabbed a bottle of gatorade from the fridge and made herself some tea and some toast. She was grateful for Hetty's influence - his tea chest was nearly as well stocked as her own.

At exactly 11:00, she heard the key in the lock, signaling that Eric was home. She resisted the urge to run and hide in his room, knowing she would have to face him at some point. If she had been thinking, she would have left before he returned. He entered the front room, putting his board in the closet near the door, and greeted her with a relaxed smile.

"Did you sleep ok?" He asked. She nodded, unsure what else to say. "You tried to outdrink Kensi last night. You were pretty drunk. I hope you don't mind, I brought you back here to keep an eye on you." He told her, watching for any sign that she remembered the night before. Slowly, bits and pieces of the night were coming back to her, but how she ended up naked in his bed was still a big blank.

"Did we... I mean... What happened last night. Between us." She asked nervously. Eric looked unsure, which only made her feel worse. "Oh God, I'm sorry." She told him, thinking that he must be hurt that she forgot what had obviously happened. "I'm sure it was great." She reassured him.

"No! No, no, no! Nell, that's not what happened. Nothing happened. Between us, I mean. I mean, not nothing, but not what you're thinking. We didn't do anything together." He reassured her. "You just... you'd had a lot to drink and you were acting a bit, uh, out of character?" He tried to explain. "I slept on the couch" he gestured to the blanket and pillow still resting there. She put her head down on the table where she sat, feeling embarassed and not even knowing exactly why.

"What did I do?" She finally managed to mumble, not ready for the answer.

"It doesn't matter Nell. You were drunk. I mean, not even Sam tries to out-drink Kensi, you didn't stand a chance. So don't worry about it, ok?" He told her. She looked at him suspiciously.

"So we didn't sleep together?" She questioned.

"No." He replied

"We didn't do anything inappropriate?"

"No."

"So how did I end up naked in your bed?" She finally asked. He thought about feigning ignorance, not wanting to embarass her, but he knew she would want the truth.

"You may have started stripping in an effort to get me into bed with you." He finally said quickly. She stared at him in stunned silence.

"Oh. God." She replied, slowly remembering her efforts to seduce him. She put her head back on the table. "But you said no. Why?"

"I didn't want to take advantage of you. And I knew you'd be embarassed enough, didn't need to make it worse." He replied with a shug.

"How can you even look at me?" She asked. "I kissed you. And I threw my clothes at you! And crawled into your bed naked!"

"Don't worry about it." He told her. "We'll just pretend it never happened." She nodded, unconvinced. "Let me go get a shower, wash off this sand, and then I'll make you some lunch, and take you home." He suggested. She nodded into the table, still not daring to look at him.

"Yeah. Ok. If I don't die of embarassment first." She mumbled.

While Eric showered, she went over to the couch and flopped down, pulling his blanket over her. She was slowly remembering everything that had happened the night before and was completely mortified. But then she remembered Eric sitting outside the door after saying good night. She had heard a loud thump and gotten up to investigate, but stopped when she heard him mumbling about having ruined everything by wanting their first time to be perfect and loving, not an alcohol fueled accident.

As she sat, lost in thought, she remembered something her father had said.

A good man is hard to find. But the best way to know his character is if he respects you enough to not take advantage of you. If you can find a man like that, Nelly, hold on to him with both hands.

She smiled to herself as she realized Eric was the exact picture her father had painted of a good man. And he was right - so she was going to hang onto him, with both hands.