Author's Note: I swore I'd finish and I did! I sincerely apologize to anyone who waited for the end of this story. If it helps, finishing this has weighed on my mind for the past year, as I wondered how to end it. I decided that I wouldn't post anything more until it was finished, so this is the end. And I kept my promise to finish any story I started, even though this took me much longer than I intended. To those still around who have followed this from the beginning, sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy the ending.

XXXXXX

Nell couldn't believe what she was hearing. Actually, she sort of could, but it was infuriating all the same.

"It's too dangerous," Callen repeated, and though he didn't outwardly show it, she could tell (his eyes, his tenseness, the way he leaned slightly toward her) that he was getting angry. "You shouldn't be there."

"Honestly, I don't want to go," she told him, wondering if everyone could see the abject truth of that statement. "But I have to do this."

"You don't have to do anything," he argued, "especially not if I'm ordering you to stay here."

"You can't order me to do anything!" She shot back, feeling her blood pressure start to rise.

Deeks cleared his throat from somewhere off to her right. "Actually, Nell, he can order you to stay here."

Nell turned to pin him with a death glare. He held up his hands in surrender and backed up a few steps. "Kensi, save me."

His partner responded by shoving him, hard, in Nell's direction.

"Ow," he wailed dramatically, rubbing his arm. "That's going to bruise. What's our policy on workplace harassment, again?"

"I'll show you harassment," Kensi threatened.

Deeks smirked. "Actually, could you? I think I'd enjoy that."

"Seriously?" Callen arched a brow at them and Nell couldn't hide her smile. As if he sensed her amusement, he spun back to Nell. "You're still not going."

Sam interjected, trying to play peacemaker before Nell could escalate her argument. "G's just concerned for you, Nell. We all are. Facing Walsh again? If you don't have to do it, then you shouldn't."

Nell took a deep breath and reminded herself they were trying to look out for her. That didn't make their ultimatums any easier to tolerate, though. She knew it wasn't their intention, but it stung that they kept insisting she shouldn't accompany them to take down Walsh. It felt like they thought she wasn't capable of being an effective field agent. She knew that wasn't how they meant it, but it was still how their protests came across.

"I know I'm not usually in the field," she allowed, trying to radiate the calm that would cause them to relent, "but I've kept up my certification, and I've more than proven myself capable in the past few years. In the past few months, especially."

Callen winced at the reminder of her close encounters with Walsh. "We all know that, but getting this close to him again…I can't help but think it's an unnecessary risk."

Nell appreciated his concern, and in any other circumstance she would have relented and agreed to stay behind, but this time, she just couldn't do that.

"I'm coming with you," she said again, silently willing him to understand it. She was proud of how steady she sounded, when the only thing she wanted to do was plead with them to try and see where she was coming from.

Callen must not have understood her silent pleas, as he only got more agitated. "You're not; you're staying here if I have to tie you up!" He declared.

The entire room seemed to freeze, everyone holding their breath in some bizarre suspended animation as they processed Callen's words. No one was more stricken than he was, though, and Nell started shaking her head as she moved to stand right in front of him. She reached out to grasp one of his hands as he opened his mouth, but she beat him to it.

"No, don't. It's okay. I know you didn't mean that how it sounded. And," she added, glancing around, "no one has to worry that I'm going to break because of an ill-advised choice of words." She ignored the way everyone sheepishly looked away from her, unwilling to admit they had been thinking that very thing. The only person she cared about in that moment stood right in front her.

She was close enough to Callen to hear his slight exhale of relief, and she knew he'd been horrified by his own words.

"Maybe next time think twice before threatening to detain someone who was only recently held captive by a sociopath?" She couldn't resist teasing him, because her automatic instinct was to try and lighten the mood. She regretted it when he only paled further and tried to pull his hand out of hers.

"Nell," he breathed, her name barely a whisper. He shook his head, seemingly at a loss of how to go on.

"I'm kidding," she said, leaning into him, and he automatically wrapped his arms around her in return. She lowered her voice so that only he could hear. "You and I both know that I was trained for this kind of thing, just like the rest of you were. You can't keep me from seeing this through to the end. If you were in my place, you know you'd insist on doing the same thing."

She felt him breathe quietly next to her ear for a few moments. "I know, you're right. Try to see it from my perspective, though. I thought I lost you before. Then I found you, and it was like a miracle, like someone had woken me from my worst nightmare and answered all my prayers. And now you want to deliberately put yourself in danger, I just…I don't know what to do. If something happened to you, I don't know how I would…"

Nell shut her eyes and tightened her own hold on him. "I know what you're saying, but it doesn't change anything. I still need to go with you. Nothing is going to happen to me."

"You can't promise that."

"No, but you can't promise me your own safety, either, and when has that ever stopped you?"

He thought about that for a moment, realizing he had no good response. He tried anyways. "When I make that promise…I'm promising to be as careful as I possibly can, to do everything in my power to come back safely."

"And I make the same promise, even though there's no guarantee." She leaned back, moving her hands so that she held onto both his arms and had his full attention. "We chose this life, both of us. We chose to be NCIS agents, knowing it was a dangerous job, but we both wanted to help this country, to help its citizens. I don't regret that."

"I don't either," he said, and she smiled at the conviction in his voice, loving him even more.

"You know as well as I do that there are no guarantees with anything, Callen." She swallowed as he took hold of her hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead. It felt like he was trying to reassure himself of her presence. "Anyone can die any day, everyone knows that. No one can ever promise they are going to be fine, and safely return to the people who love them. It's awful, but that's just the way our world is."

Callen nodded. "I know that, Nell. I don't like to think about it, but I know."

"Then you also know that it's going to be dangerous for me to come with you, just as it's dangerous for you and for Sam, Deeks, and Kensi. Just like it's dangerous for all of you every single time you go out into the field. But I'm coming with you, because if anyone has a right to see James Walsh brought to justice, it's me. I have to do this, as much as you do."

Callen sighed, hating what she said, but knowing it was true all the same. "Okay," he relented.

"Okay?" She asked, confused at his change of heart. She had a half dozen more arguments planned to get him to see her point of view. "I wrote a list..." she muttered, checking her pockets.

"I love you," he said, inwardly smiling at the way her entire body stilled momentarily when he said it. Sometimes he wondered if she still didn't quite believe him; it only gave him more incentive to say it as often as possible. "I know that I don't get to control you. You make your own decisions, even if I hate them."

She smiled slightly, and though she didn't want to argue with him and make him reconsider, she was still confused. "You could order me to stay here if you wanted to, though."

He nodded. "That's true, but I was coming at this personally, instead of objectively, like I should be. I could still order you to stay here, but I won't do that to you. Not when there's no valid reason for me to keep you here and I know this is something you need to do. The only reason to order you to stay behind is if I thought you weren't going to be able to handle coming along, that your emotions might compromise you or the rest of us. I know that isn't an issue."

He said the last part as a statement, but she saw it as the veiled question that it was. "No, it isn't an issue," she said firmly.

"Good," he nodded and gestured for Eric to come forward and start laying out their plans to apprehend Walsh. Despite all they'd just said, Callen couldn't help but keep looking at Nell, the feeling of dread in his stomach intensifying with each minute that passed.

XXXXXX

"Of course it would end at a warehouse," Nell muttered wryly. "Why change things up for novelty's sake?"

"Are you narrating this?" Callen asked from a few feet to her left. She hadn't realized he'd heard her.

"Um, no," she blatantly lied, ignoring his look of amusement.

Deeks stepped up between Callen and Sam, putting one hand on both of their shoulders. "Come on, you guys are great at this kind of thing – easily defended from the inside, poor vantage points for us, seemingly no way for all of us to get in and out alive, yet we always do – you should be right at home."

Callen ignored him and turned to Nell. "I wish you'd go back behind the perimeter." He'd relented to her coming along, but that didn't mean he wanted her directly in the line of any potential fire.

"Not a chance," she shot back, just as vehemently. She'd come this far, there was no way she would back down now.

"Watch your back," he said, motioning for her to accompany him to the front entrance. Sam, Kensi and Deeks left to move around back, and other SWAT team members were fanning out around the building. It didn't seem like any alarms had been raised, so if Walsh had allies inside, there probably weren't many.

Callen didn't want to let Nell out of his sight, which was why his plan had them breaching the building together. He figured it went against all kinds of protocols for him to partner the two of them together on an operation when they were personally involved, but he also made it a point to avoid reading most protocols. And rules for that matter. It made things a hell of a lot easier. Well, for him at least, not usually so much for Hetty.

Nell followed his motions without question and stepped up beside him at the front entrance. He couldn't resist reaching out to brush his hand along her face, and she shut her eyes briefly. He supposed he should have cared that the men behind them were watching them, but he didn't.

"Ready?" He whispered, and at her nod, he waited another few moments, listening to the comms. Once everyone was set in place, he counted down with his fingers and then kicked open the door at the same time as all the other teams breached the building.

After that, it was instant chaos. The sound of gunfire filled the air, as well as distant shouts from deep inside the building. Nell couldn't tell if it was from Walsh, any potential collaborators he had, members of her team, the SWAT team, or any other innocent people who happened to be in the building. Their surveillance hadn't indicated anyone else in the vicinity, but surveillance could always be wrong.

Smoke filled the air and she knew that was courtesy of the SWAT team, but it was disorienting even though she'd been expecting it. She ducked down behind some packing crates and forced herself to breathe slowly despite her pounding heart and rapidly escalating feelings of fear and anxiety.

She'd been through a lot in the past few months, enough that she'd thought she'd be more prepared for a return to the field.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

She raised her arm to cover her face as she started coughing. Her eyes watered from the smoke and she suddenly felt like she couldn't get enough air. She didn't know where anything or anyone was, and as she began to panic, Callen dropped down to crouch at her side.

"You okay?" He asked urgently.

Just hearing his voice was enough to start calming her and she nodded even though she felt anything but okay.

"Stay close," he said, in a tone she had never heard before. She tried to meet his eyes but he was already looking away from her, scanning the surrounding area with intense and deadly focus. She realized that she had never really seen him in the field, at least, not in any situation like this. He was completely focused, and it was somewhat scary.

He stood and she automatically followed suit, not wanting to get lost in the warehouse. She followed him as he moved from spot to spot with a quickness that she found hard to keep up with.

She had become so used to the background noise that it was a jarring change when the gunfire stopped and an eerie silence engulfed the building.

"What's going on?" She whispered.

Callen shook his head, either as an indication that he couldn't answer or he didn't know – she had no idea.

The smoke was starting to clear, but since several smoke bombs had been set off, it was still difficult to see more than a few feet. Nell prayed the sudden silence was a good sign, but she didn't have the best feeling about it.

"Callen, do you –" She broke off abruptly at the sound of a click right behind her. Thought it barely registered for its quietness, the intensity of it had her shutting her eyes and cursing everything. Maybe even herself for insisting she come along for this.

"Nell!" Walsh said cheerfully from behind her, where he held his gun to her head. "I was hoping to see you again after the terrible way we parted before."

"You mean when I escaped from you?" She asked, ignoring the sense of self-preservation that was begging her to stay quiet. From the look on Callen's face, she knew he was feeling the exact same way and didn't want her to speak.

Walsh just laughed and grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her to stand up next to him. "I always did love your acerbic wit. Give me your weapon."

Nell didn't really know what was witty about saying she had escaped from him, but she said nothing to that effect as he took her gun.

"Your problem is with me, not her," Callen said with forced calm. Nell would have kissed him, if she could.

Walsh merely laughed, and Nell flinched at the desperate sound of it. "Are you sure about that?" He leaned in so he could speak right into her ear, "because I think I do have a problem with her."

Nell shuddered and watched Callen's hands tighten around his weapon, currently aimed at Walsh. She found herself praying that neither of the men would do something drastic, and also recognized that was a futile wish when one of them loved her and the other wanted nothing more than to kill her.

"You're looking lovely this evening, Agent Nell Jones," Walsh continued. Without warning, he hauled her even closer against him so that she was pressed along the length of his body. His actions had the added benefit of mostly shielding him from Callen, while his gun never wavered from where it was pressed to the back of her head. "After the abrupt way we parted, I have to admit I was left longing for more time with you."

She wanted to close her eyes at his thinly veiled sexual threat, but forced herself to look at Callen instead, willing him to understand – she knew Walsh said it as a ploy to try and enrage Callen. He wanted Callen to do something rash and tip the balance in his favor. Walsh had never showed any interest in her that way; if he had, he could have hurt her many times over back when he'd held her captive.

Callen still looked in control of himself. He hadn't wavered in the slightest, and against all odds, she relaxed at that. She had absolute faith in him and his ability to get both of them out of this. Maybe it wasn't realistic, but it was still something she believed.

"I love you," she said, registering the way Callen's eyes softened at her words, ignoring how Walsh tightened his grip on her and hissed some more vague threats. Maybe it was a result of the imminent danger she knew herself to be in, a way for her mind to disconnect, but in that moment, she didn't care about anything other than Callen. Her most important priority was for him to know, to understand, how much he meant to her.

The rest of their team was slowly closing in; she caught glimpses of them and the SWAT team out of the corner of her eye. She didn't know if they would help or hurt the situation, but she was in no position to control them either way.

A violent explosion from somewhere behind them gave Nell an unexpected opportunity – she dropped to the ground when Walsh's hold on her loosened slightly, and immediately rolled sideways, evading his grasp. He wasn't quick enough to hold onto her, and when he reached for her and came up with air, she wanted to laugh at him. Well, either that or shoot him between the eyes. Probably both.

She hurriedly stood up next to Callen, reveling in her triumph at getting away, even if "getting away" only meant moving a few feet out of Walsh's reach. Still, he knew he'd lost his advantage, and since his gun was no longer aimed at her head, he couldn't risk moving the aim without being shot. He slowly lowered it to the ground and raised his arms in surrender.

"Looks like you've got me this time," he said, somehow still sounding superior despite being forced to give up.

She glanced at Callen and drew in a slow breath at his intensity – he hadn't lowered his gun and had a bullet ready to end Walsh at the slightest provocation. In fact, it seemed to Nell like he was waiting for any excuse he could find to kill the other man.

"Nell." He said quietly, and her name was a question, a declaration, a promise, a vow. It could be a beginning, or it could be an ending. It was whatever she wanted it to be. She knew that if she wanted, it would be the end of Walsh. Walsh seemed to know it, too, as his eyes flicked back and forth between them.

Nell thought about it, she really did. But asking Callen to kill someone for her…it was a line even she couldn't – wouldn't – cross. No matter how much she wanted it.

"I want you to kill him. I do," Nell said softly, leaning toward Callen and stopping just short of touching him. "But this is not who you are."

"It is," he said adamantly, gripping his weapon tighter, imagining how wonderful it would feel to pull the trigger. He wanted, desperately, to end the life of the man who had terrorized Nell – not his co-worker, fellow agent, or friend – but Nell, the woman he loved. "You seem to think I haven't killed anyone before."

"I know that you have," she said, recognizing the slightly haunted look in his eyes. She wondered if anyone else knew about that, but she couldn't dwell on it now. "You've killed in the line of duty."

"Because it's my job."

"Because it was the right thing to do," she corrected, emphasizing each word a little more strongly than necessary, but wanting him to really hear her words. "You've killed to save people, to protect them, to protect yourself. You've done what needed to be done." She waited until he looked at her. "But you will never be the person who kills an unarmed man just because you want him to die."

"Maybe that's who I am today," he said, tightening his hold on his weapon.

"It is never who you are. Not on any day," she spoke with a conviction she hadn't known she possessed. "I know who you are. Killing a man in cold blood, no matter what he's done to anyone, to me –" she had to pause as her voice broke, "– nothing justifies this. You can never come back from this."

"What if I don't want to come back from this?" It was only because she was watching him so closely that she noticed the fine tremble in his hands.

Nell swallowed, wondering for the first time if she was having an argument that she might end up losing. Self-doubt began to creep in, a thought she hadn't entertained before that moment. Maybe she really couldn't talk him down. Maybe there was nothing she could say to get him to let Walsh go. The thought caused tears to well in her eyes, because she knew the driving force behind this was her. His love for her.

Walsh chose that moment to be particularly unhelpful. "You want to kill me Agent Callen? Exact justice? It's perfectly within your right, you know."

"Do you want to die?" Nell spun to face him. Just hearing his voice caused her rage to reignite.

"Maybe I do," he admitted. "What else do I have to look forward to? A lifelong stay at a nice government facility? Going to trump up some terrorism charges to have me locked away without a trial?"

"Shut. Up!" Callen warned. He sounded too out of control for Nell's liking. It was the kind of reckless anger that she feared would cause him to do something just because he had been goaded into it. She had known him for a long time, seen him in all variety of stressful situations – situations much more intense than this, where innocent people's lives were on the line – and still, she had never seen him look the way he did right then.

She knew it was because of her that he was becoming so undone, and the thought somehow terrified her, humbled her, and thrilled her all at the same time. She didn't want him to do something crazy because of her, but it was a strangely powerful feeling to know she had that effect on someone. On him.

She had to mentally shake herself and figure out another way out of this.

"I know you think you're doing this for me," she said carefully, fighting the insane urge she had to try and wrestle his gun away from him. She could not let him throw his life away on someone like Walsh, of all people.

Her words got his attention. Callen shifted his weight back a step and looked at her warily. "What do you mean, everything I have done is for you." He sounded hurt and…betrayed. As if he couldn't possibly understand how she wouldn't know that he had risked his career by going against regulations. He had risked his life to find her when she was missing and to ensure her safety afterwards.

Nell wanted nothing more than to take back her words, but the situation had gone too far and she wouldn't risk doing anything that would give him an excuse to kill Walsh while she and the rest of their team watched.

"You're not doing this for me," she nodded toward where he was holding Walsh at gunpoint. "You're doing this for yourself."

"How can you think that?" He was almost yelling.

Nell let out a silent breath to strengthen her resolve. "You've dedicated your entire life to protecting those in need. You've protected me, I'm not denying that. But look around, Callen. Right now, I'm not the one who needs protecting."

He clenched his jaw and visibly gathered himself before speaking. "You're saying Walsh needs protection." The absolute bitterness in his words shook her, but she couldn't back down. Sam, Deeks, Kensi, and the rest of SWAT were watching her in absolute silence, and she felt the pressure on her to end this, along with something else – their complete faith in her; their faith that she was the one person who could get through to Callen in that moment.

"No, Walsh doesn't need protection." She steadied herself. "You do."

"Me." His tone was filled with disbelief.

Nell gestured around them to where the other members of their team were fanned out in the room. She knew that their silence, their lack of response – it wasn't a failure to act, it was a measure of their trust in her, their faith that she could resolve this situation. It gave her a confidence she didn't know if she truly felt. But she would believe it, because of them.

"I'm not telling you what to do. You decide that on your own." She let out a shaky breath, getting right to the heart of it. "We need you," she said simply. "I need you." She trusted that he would make the conclusion on his own – that if he killed Walsh, he would be gone from them. Though willing to overlook numerous things, none of them were naïve enough to believe their superiors would overlook Callen killing an unarmed man trying to give himself up for arrest. He would lose his badge at the very least, maybe be imprisoned at the worst, if they felt like proving a point.

That was the ultimate issue, wasn't it? He had to choose to get his revenge and leave them, or choose to back down and stay with them. There was nothing more she could say – he knew the consequences for whatever he decided. If that still wasn't enough for him to stop, then she had done everything she could.

Callen shifted slightly, met her eyes, and what he saw there made him pause. Her eyes. Filled with a mixture of sorrow, fear, and overshadowing those – faith. In him. He didn't know if he'd ever seen that much devotion, that much belief, from anyone. It was humbling, and it was enough to make him take a deep breath and lower his gun. The second he did, Deeks and a member of the SWAT team moved in to cuff Walsh, everyone ignoring his protests and pleas for Callen to end him.

"I thought…" he trailed off, not needing to say the words.

She took a step toward him. "It doesn't matter if I want him dead or not," she said. "It's something I have no right to ask of anyone. I know that."

"You do, though," he insisted, "you do have a right to get revenge on the man who abducted you, who terrorized you, who –" he broke off, unable to go on.

"No," she insisted, shaking her head. "I don't have that right. And even if I did, I'm not willing to accept the consequences of it! I would rather have you with me. You, Callen, not some other version of you who would kill a man in an act of revenge, consequences be damned."

He wouldn't meet her eyes, staring instead at the ground. "Someone who would get justice for you, that's what you deserve."

"I don't know if I deserve anything," she allowed. "But I know I want you."

She reached out, tentatively, unsure how he would react. He beat her to it, pulling her to him so quickly that she was caught off guard. He enfolded her in his arms with such a fierce hold that it felt like he was trying to hold her together, and she clung back just as hard, trying to do the same for him. And maybe they both had their weaknesses, but together, she didn't think they could ever break.

XXXXXX

"So this is how it ends," Hetty said, taking a sip of her drink. "Walsh is in custody and another case is wrapped up neatly. It amazes me sometimes, Agent Callen, how your team always manages despite the bleakest of odds."

"We are that amazing," Callen said, deadpan. He had his own drink in front of him, courtesy of Hetty, but he hadn't taken a sip. He simply swirled the liquid in his glass.

She ignored his slightly self-deprecating remark and nodded solemnly. "That you are."

Callen was still visibly tense. He raised his glass as if to take as sip, then sighed heavily and placed it back on her desk.

"Out with it, Mr. Callen. What's the matter?"

Callen glanced at her, and she recognized the look in his eyes. He was determined, but also worried about what might happen next. "I know you've had your issues with Nell and I becoming…involved."

Hetty sipped her drink again, taking the moment to compose herself. "Involved is a rather loaded word, don't you think?"

"We're in a relationship," he said bluntly, and she was impressed with his conviction.

He paused, apparently waiting for something. She merely raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"And we could lie to you about it, but I won't do that. Nell won't do that. We love each other, and I expect you to respect that. Before, you thought we couldn't continue to work together because of it, and you allowed us an exception to capture Walsh, but I know you didn't mean for that to be an indefinite reprieve."

"No," she admitted, "I did not. Two agents personally involved…it goes against every official and unofficial rule of NCIS – of most workplaces, in fact – and only stands to compromise any future cases the two of you would work on together."

Callen nodded. "I thought you would say that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, sliding it onto the desk across from her.

"Do you seriously expect me to open that?" She asked.

He was as serious as she had ever seen him. "If I have no future here with her, then I'm leaving."

Hetty had honestly never expected it to come to this, at least not in the beginning. But after everything she had witnessed, from the way they interacted to how he had insisted on taking a leave of absence along with Nell, she couldn't say that she was that surprised.

Hetty picked up the envelope and tore it into pieces as Callen watched in disbelief. "I don't know what you expect of me, but if you think I'm going to let one – two – of my best agents go because they happened to fall in love, well…you've got another thing coming."

"I don't…Hetty…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"You can thank me, Mr. Callen, by continuing to close cases with your team, something at which you are exceptional. Oh, and invite me to your wedding, won't you?"

In lieu of an answer, he moved around the desk to hug her, and she wondered how she could have ever tried to deny this man – this man she'd always considered the son she never had – of any kind of happiness he'd found in the world.

She might be aging, but she wasn't yet senile enough to deny her own mistakes. And trying to keep them apart was one of her biggest regrets. Thankfully, Callen and Nell were willing to forgive her for it. As for rules, she'd deal with the rest of the fall-out as it came. She wasn't too worried; she had a way of getting people to come around to her way of thinking.

XXXXXX

"So we're okay, then?" Nell asked him quietly, trying to avoid attention. They were in ops, not for a case briefing, but because Eric was droning on about some new upgrade he'd made to their system and all the new ways they could track suspects with it. She took the chance to talk to Callen without anyone really noticing.

"We're okay," Callen affirmed. "In return for letting us be together and stay on the same team, Hetty just wants to be godmother to our children."

Nell blinked and felt herself turning all sorts of red. "What?!"

"Just kidding," he winked at her. "But it was implied."

She tried to punch his arm in retaliation, but he saw it coming and side-stepped, trying to grab her instead. She took a step back to avoid him and bumped into another analyst walking by. The girl shrieked and the stack of papers she was carrying went everywhere.

"Sorry," Nell said, helping her pick them up. "I was pushed."

"You were not," Callen argued, helping them both before pulling Nell back to her feet. The girl hurried away hastily.

When they turned back to Eric, they found that he was quietly staring at them. Along with everyone else.

"Look what you did," Nell hissed at Callen.

"Is there something you want to add, Agent Jones?" Eric asked, clipped and professional.

Nell looked around. "Um…Agent Callen had something to say."

He looked aghast at her throwing him under the bus. "I thought we had each other's backs!"

"We do," she said, trying to stay professional and contain her laughter, "which is why I'm giving you the floor, like you wanted."

He briefly glowered at her, both of them knowing he hadn't wanted any such thing, but he could never stay angry when she looked at him like that. When she looked at him any way, really. Besides, he realized, as long as he had the floor… "Actually, there is something I've been meaning to say."

Nell recognized the serious look in his eyes and the fight to contain her smirk instantly vanished as she sobered. "Really?"

"Really," he said, stepping closer to her until he was almost in her space, just far enough away to barely maintain propriety.

"Um…" she took a deep breath as he leaned into her.

"Exactly," he whispered in her ear, "maybe you'll think twice in the future about putting me on the spot?"

"Probably not," she teased, against her better instincts.

"I thought so," he whispered, then raised his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "In that case…marry me."

Nell inhaled deeply, shock running through her at Callen's words. She'd expected something significant, but certainly not this. "What?"

"Stay with me forever," he said seriously. "I'll do my best to make you happy." As if she hadn't been sure enough of what he was doing, he dropped to his knee in front of her.

Nell shook her head in disbelief, glancing around the room. Deeks and Sam were watching with slightly surprised, yet joyful fascination, Kensi had her hands over her mouth in shock while looking ready to cry, and Eric was staring at them in wide-eyed surprise, one hand absently pressed over his heart. The other analysts were watching in amazed silence, and Hetty – she hadn't even known Hetty was there – was smiling slightly at them from the corner.

"You don't have to make me anything," she protested to Callen, pulling him to stand up. "I'm already happy with you, you know that."

He smiled, blindingly bright and brilliant, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him smile that way. Maybe she never had. "I'm taking that as a yes, Nell, whether it is or not."

Nell laughed despite herself. "So you're saying you'd force me to marry you even if I didn't agree to it?"

"If that's what it took to keep you," he said thoughtfully, "then yes."

She kissed him enthusiastically in response, remembering just in time to keep it tame because of their rapt audience. She briefly wondered how someone saying they'd force her to marry them had become the most romantic thing in her entire world.

"Okay, then," she agreed, leaning back to look him in the eyes.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Yes," she affirmed. "Yes. How could you think I'd say anything but yes?"

He pulled her back for a kiss, hot and deep and full of passion, and apparently he didn't care about their audience, because it was entirely inappropriate given the other people in the room. She gave in, ignoring the whistling and clapping of their team in the background.

It might not be what she'd expected when she'd first become an NCIS agent, but if this is what she got – the love of this incredible man – then she would grab hold of it, and keep it, and fight for it to the death. And she suspected that he felt the same way.

She pulled away from him. "I love you," she swore, "to the end. To the end of everything."

He smiled at her, and she caught the hint of indulgence there, and the fact that he felt free enough to let it show gave her an assurance this was going to last. "To the end of everything," he promised. Or swore. Or whatever else anyone would call it – the fact was, Nell just took it as his declaration to her. He loved her and would do everything in his power to make sure she knew it. For as long as they both lived.

"To the end," she murmured, smiling against his lips when she felt him smile in response.

"Are you really ready to make Hetty a godmother, though?" He questioned, semi-seriously.

She laughed, because the thought honestly terrified her. "I don't know about that."

"I don't either," he admitted, meeting her eyes with a terrifying seriousness. "But as long as you're with me…I think we can do anything."

"I think we can, too," she said seriously. He kissed her again, and she shut her eyes, clearing her mind of all reservations, fears, and worries about their future.

"Hey guys," Eric broke into their moment, "hate to interrupt this very sweet if bordering on R-rated moment, but we just got an alert – the murder of an NCIS agent in Glendale."

Callen was instantly focused. "Pull it up, Eric."

Eric did just that, giving them the details as they listened, everyone focused on the unjust end of one of their own, all of them equally determined to find the person responsible.

Nell took a moment to look at Callen while no one else was paying attention. This was the man she loved, the one fully devoted to the pursuit of justice for everyone, whether it was a fellow agent or an innocent civilian.

She reached out and carefully touched the back of her hand to his. He responded instantly by linking their fingers together. Even as he did so, his expression never wavered, his voice never changed as he issued orders to his team – nothing gave away the fact that he was drawing silent support from her.

It was then that she knew, without a doubt, that they'd be able to do this. Instead of their relationship hindering each other, it would help them get through the terrible times.

She unconsciously gripped his hand tighter, and he glanced over, shooting her a quick, reassuring smile. Nell relaxed, because the truth of their relationship was visible for all to see, and no one batted an eye, no one was fazed. Their team simply accepted them as they were, separate or together, and she felt the ridiculous urge to hug each one of them in thanks for that – for not having to pretend to be anyone else, for not having to pretend she didn't feel the way she did, she was eternally grateful to them – to those who'd become her family. The most important of whom stood beside her, and always would.

XXXXXX