Author's Note: This is a continuation of a previous story called Callen's Psych Eval. Nate is by far my favorite character on the show, but because his story line always feels incomplete to me I filled in the blanks with a little creativity. There is a LOT of fiction in this story. Finally, you won't find any Nate and Kensi pairiings in my stories because I work with psychologists and I know that if they were to ever become emotionally involved with a client then they would never be able to help that client. I wanted to keep Nate in a position where he could help Kensi, not 'help' himself so to speak. I appreciate your reviews and encouragement, it makes me want to post more stories. Thanks so much for reading. Enjoy!

I own no characters.

After Callen's psych eval Nate interviewed Eric and Sam, both evals he knew would be less emotionally tiring as Callen's. By the time he had finished, it was nearing the end of his day and he decided to work with Kensi and Dom tomorrow. He was dreading Kensi's interview almost as much as he did Callen's, but for very different reasons. Before he headed home for the day he stopped by Hetty's office to brief her on how the evals were going and on Callen's status.

He knocked on the wood post once again and Hetty looked up from her computer, "Nate? How goes it?"

Nate stepped forward and sat down in the chair facing her desk. "Long day."

"I can only imagine. I hope your day is ending better than it started today?" Hetty asked with a hint of curiosity.

"It went well. I've started interviewing everyone accept Dom and Kensi." Nate replied.

Hetty nodded her head, "Mm. I see. Callen and Kensi all in one day might be too much."

Nate nodded his head, "Yup."

"How are our agents fairing? So far everyone ok?" Hetty asked.

"Sam and Eric are doing well minus a few traumas here and there, but they seem to be coping sufficiently. I gave them both some psychological homework and told them I'd check back at the end of the week." Nate responded.

"And Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked.

Nate took a deep breath in thinking of the words to say without breaking Callen's confidence, "He needs more time."

"I see. Anything I should be worried about?"

"I can't recommend him for duty right now Hetty." Hetty seemed concern, but Nate continued, "I gave him a week to show me some progress. If he can do that, then I think he'll be fine to return to the field." Nate replied.

"I see. And he knows this?"

"He wasn't happy about it, but I made him aware."

"I can't imagine he was happy at all. I'm surprised the walls of the Ops Center didn't come crashing down when you told him." Hetty said surprised.

Nate smiled, "As far as anyone is concerned, he's been pulled out of the field for being shut down and non-cooperative with his psych eval."

"I'll talk to him." Hetty replied.

Nate continued, "As far as you and I are concerned, that's not why I stood him down. That's all I can say Hetty. I'm sorry."

Hetty looked at Nate processing in her mind what he meant, "I see Mr. Getz." A slight smile came across her face as well as Nate's. She understood that her advice from earlier worked on getting Callen to open up. Nate stood up to leave, satisfied with the information he gave Hetty, but before he walked out she called him back, "Nate?" Nate turned around. "If Callen is down, then his team is down. Do they know that?"

"They will tomorrow," Nate smiled and walked away.

Hetty chuckled to herself and said, "Ah, a mental health holiday."