It was a particularly slow day at the Mission, no cases, it wasn't too hot, no one was rushing to finish work; everyone finally had some time to themselves. Up in OPS Nell and Eric were idly playing video games on the computers (the one was facing the doors so they could see if Hetty came in).

Nell had no idea where it came from, probably from boredom or the realization of how little she actually knew about her partners past. "How did you join OSP?" she asked. When she glanced at him, she noticed his fingers stop.

"I didn't say anything wrong, did I?" She turned around to face him.

He was silent for a moment before letting out a breath, "No, I just haven't thought about it in a while..." He ran a hand through his hair and watched as his hand landed on his lap.

Nell leaned forward. "Is it bad?" She was now slightly worried on how her partner got his job. Not that she was surprised he had it, he was the smartest person she knew, but she thought it may have come up in conversation before.

He finally turned to face her. "Yeah, from most angles it was pretty bad. Hetty actually offered this to me as a second option deal because of my skills, I got in a lot trouble."

Nell grabbed his hand. "Do you want to tell me? I only asked because if something ever comes up or you-"

"No it's fine, I actually haven't talked about it in ages. I'm trying to remember it all..." His eyes had a glazed over look, it was his thoughtful expression, panged with pain and grief.

"Tell me the first thing you remember. We'll make our way from there, there's no pressure," she reassured him. Giving his hand a squeeze, she could tell it was hard for him to bring up his memories.

"I had a sister," he started and he felt Nell's hand stiffen in his. "But she, uh, she died when she was young. She would have been fourteen in two months..."

X

Eric now knew the layout of the entire hospital, not from getting to its blueprints by hacking into their server, but he had been here more times than he ever dreamed one person could. Pediatrics were on the fourth floor, and he had picked up flowers for her just before he made it those several meters from the reception counter to her room.

She looked pale that day, and her head was half hanging off the bed, her hands curled up by her face. She was only six and the doctors said she didn't have long to go, that it was a miracle she even lived this long. Eric tried his best around her to act like nothing was wrong, but she was also smart and knew her own fate, which Eric hated as well. "Hey Kayla," he shifted her body back onto the bed, "How are you feeling today?"

She didn't answer. Her eyes were barely open as she stared back at him, slowly taking in short breaths through the tubes. Kayla had been diagnosed with Leukemia since a very young age, now at a stage four she was a living miracle, but Eric didn't see it as that; a miracle would be her being allowed to go and play like a normal six year old. She went through chemo once but she got her size from her nonexistent mother and was tiny and easily tired out. She had actually passed out during the session.

So other medication was their last chance, but that wasn't cheap and Eric was only 21. He had a part time job at a internet cafe down by the beach, that and his impressive hacking skills. His sister was the only thing he had left in his life. He loved her to death and knew that without treatment she would die. That thought had made him cross the line from harmless hacking to a federal crime. He was siphoning off small amounts of money from banks and government agencies, small enough so he couldn't be traced or in some cases even noticed, just to pay for her medical bills, never for himself. He knew it was wrong, he hated doing it, but he wanted his sister to be happy and have a chance at a normal life.

"Do you want me to read to you?" he asked sitting on the bed with her. He waited till she nodded before laying down next to her with an arm around her. He picked up "The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and held it in front of both of them. "Should I read it or do you want to help?"

"You." She managed to point back at him with a small smile.

He glanced to the door and noticed a small elderly woman outside looking in the window. Eric brushed of the bad feeling because his full attention had to be on Kayla while he was here. He opened up the book, Kayla lifting her fingers to the bright pictures as he read. "'In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf. On one Sunday morning the warm sun came up and - pop! - out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.'" Eric looked down to Kayla who was playing with the flaps of paper in the book behind the writing. "What does the caterpillar eat on Monday, Kayla?"

She looked at the book. Even though she had read it a million times she liked to act like she was guessing. "He ate through an apple on Monday but he was still hungry, then- then on Tuesday he ate through two pears," her fingers traced over the cut out holes in the fruit, "On Wednesday he ate through three plumbs, but he was still hungry. On Thursday he ate through four strawberries. I like strawberries," she looked to her brother.

"Well, I'll see if I can bring some in tomorrow, okay?" he kissed the top of her head before continuing, "What does he eat on Friday?"

"Five oranges but he was still hungry," Kayla loved the pictures in the book; one time it took them half an hour to finish because she loved to point out what she liked about it, and she added her own personal commentary on the book. "That caterpillar is going to have to go on a diet, who can eat five oranges!"

Eric grinned. "He'll have to run away from birds for exercise," she joked, making her grin again.

…

"He nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and... he was a beautiful butterfly," the book had taken a while to finish as she looked over the butterfly silently, her head now rested against him as she was too tired to keep it up herself. She was looking tired again.

"Hey Kay, you thirsty or anything?" He hugged her, but she shook her head slightly. "Okay, well I have to go to work for a bit, but I'll bring you back something when I'm done," he got off the bed and pulled the covers over her and she nuzzled her head into the pillow. "Sleep well and I'll see you soon," he kissed her forehead. Just before he turned around he stopped, "Oh I almost forgot, here," he pulled the lollipop from his pocket and handed it to her. "Don't tell the nurses," he smirked.

She finally smiled back at him, pressing her finger to her lips. "Okay, shh," she whispered and hid it under the pillow.

He always tried to leave the room with her either happy or sleeping, but it was still hard for him to leave because he knew she would get worse and worse. One day she would be gone, and he knew it would be way too soon.

As Eric walked to the car two men approached him, one was large with dark skin, no hair and a lot of muscles. The other was white with short dark blond hair, a cocky smirk on his face as he mumbled something to the other man. Eric began to walk backwards towards the hospital again, but as soon as he turned around he heard the footsteps getting closer and faster. Just before he started to run, two hands grabbed his shoulders to stop him, one around his mouth so he wasn't able to call out.

The next thing he knew, he was in a boat house, alone in the cold room. He could hear the water underneath him and he was fifty percent sure he was going to be injured. They had obviously found him out, if they were actually government people.

"If you're watching me, I didn't mean to do anything bad!" Eric called out, looking around the room. He spotted a camera in the corner. "I promise, it wasn't for anything bad. I'm not a criminal!"

"What exactly is your definition of a crime, Mr. Beale?" The voice came from behind him, and he almost jumped from his seat, his heart racing.

"Crap, I didn't see you there." He looked towards the woman. "Hey, weren't you at the hospital earlier?"

The short woman walked toward the table. "My name is Hetty Lange, and you have been quiet a busy person lately, haven't you?" she placed the papers on the table of money transfers from agencies and banks going through several different accounts until they came to his. "I must admit, you are good at what you do; you managed to sneak past some of the world's best."

Eric's heart beat increased to a higher tempo and his breathe was short as he replied, "Are those guys going to come back in and get me if I argue with you?" He was definitely caught now after four and a half years of hacking, and he didn't like the idea of prison.

"No, I've actually sent them home. I wanted to talk to you alone. Firstly, you are not in trouble... yet. Secondly, why did you do this?"

Eric coughed. "Shouldn't you know? It says right here on the... paper..." The woman now officially scared him; she looked like she could be a ninja/ assassin. "Right, okay, at the hospital... my little sister was diagnosed with Leukemia just before she turned two, me and my grandmother were looking after her until she was three. Our grandma died of brain hemorrhage, so it was just me and Kayla. We barely had enough money for ourselves but she needed different medication because her body couldn't take the chemo. So I started putting my skills to use. It's helped though, she turned six last week which is way more than anyone thought or hoped. Kayla is the only thing I have left, and I never used the money for anything else. I didn't mean any harm by taking the money. I am truly sorry and I know apologies cannot make up for my actions."

He felt his eyes sting as he talked about this sister and how he learned to hack for a good ten minutes. His hands were shaking slightly as he pinpointed what every amount of money went to.

"Hm, right. Well I'm sorry Mr. Beale, my condolences are with you and your sister. It says in your records that you graduated top of your class, why is it you only work at an internet cafe instead of a job more suited for your qualities? It seems from these that you could have had a good job, Mr. Beale."

"Again, Kayla. I can't be too far away or always working. I want her to know she still has me anytime she needs me. What if something bad happened and I couldn't get there in time? Like now, she hates it when I'm late... she gets scared for me, the terminal six year old worries about her criminal brother... I screwed up big time." Eric ran a hand through his hair.

Hetty looked at the distressed young man. He was in deep, wanted for many capital crimes of theft, and yet he was still worried about his sister. Hetty could tell he was a soft soul who had been damaged along the way. It was obvious he'd never meant any harm to anyone.

"When I go to prison what will happen to her? She's too sick to be out of the hospital for long without help." He looked to the woman, hoping she could find some sympathy for his sister. No matter what would happen to him, he just wanted a promise that his sister would be okay when he went away.

"Give me a second," she told him and placed her phone on the table. "Call your sister, talk to her until I get back."

Eric was confused by the woman's kindness, was this a scheme? But he thanked her quickly before dialing the number for the hospital. Once he got through he was transferred to the floor and then told to wait before his sister came on. He heard her sniffling against the receiver of the phone, her soft whimpers filling his ear.

"Eric, where are you?" she cried into the phone. "Why aren't you here?"

He could she her pale face, broken green eyes and her messy short cut blonde hair. "It's okay Kayla, I'm fine. I just got caught up in traffic. I'll be there soon, I promise, okay? I'll even pick up some of those little fruit candies you like-"

"No, come here straight away! I'm scared of the needles, you need to hold my hand!" Tears muffled most of what she tried to say and a lump began to form in Eric's throat.

"I will be there, okay? I will hold your hand and stay with you all night, but you have to be a big girl now..." the woman came back into the room.

"Eric please come back, don't leave me like Momma did..." Kayla's voice got softer. Kayla knew very little about her mother, but it still stabbed Eric in the gut to hear that.

"Listen Kayla, I will never leave you no matter what, okay? You don't need to worry; I'll be there soon. I love you, but I have to finished here so I can get to you sooner, do you understand?"

"Okay, I love you too." The line went dead.

Eric sighed, taking off his glasses for a second and trying to rub the red out of his eyes. He passed the phone back over and thanked her again. He pulled on his glasses. "Before I have to leave her can I at least say goodbye at the hospital?" He begged her.

She pushed the file forward without replying. She was taking a huge leap of faith with this man; it would either pay off or blow back in her face. She had been scrutinized by other agencies by thinking this, but she saw potential in him that would go to waste if she didn't take him in.

"Whoa, wait a second, you want me to join you and the two guys that attacked me before? You must be joking right?! Is this a trick?"

"I kid you not, Mr. Beale. See, I am putting together a special task force for NCIS. We are currently short one technical operator to help be our eyes in the sky, in charge of the technology. We have the muscle, we just need the brain."

He ran a hand through his hair, dumbfounded. "I steal thousands of dollars from the government and you want me to join with one of the people I stole money from to catch people that do what I did?!"

The woman looked dead serious. "Well, it's this or prison, take your choice. If you do join we can provide the care you need for your sister," she gave a warm smile and pushed forward a pen.

Eric couldn't believe it. A huge grin spread across his face. He wanted to hug her but felt that she wouldn't like that. He took the pen and after quickly scanning over what was a

legitimate contract, he signed his name several times in appropriate spaces. "Thank you so much, Hetty."

"You're quite welcome, but you do understand how short a leash you will be on when you start, right? Don't make me regret this." She took the documents from him. "You can go see your sister now."

He nodded, "You have no idea how thankful I am for this. You won't regret it, I promise," he thanked her before rushing out.

X

Nell now had both hands on his as she remembered every word of Eric's story. He had been incredibly lucky when getting this job, the talk about robberies and using tungsten instead of gold to make money now made sense. But then her heart fell. Kayla obviously wasn't around anymore. Her chest tightened, and she squeezed his hand. "How long after did... did uh- sorry stupid question..."

He let off a small smile. "It's fine. It was about six months later, we were reading her favorite book and it came up to her part and..." Eric trailed off, looking towards his hand. "She passed peacefully and that's all I could have hoped for." His jaw clenched, and he remembered he hadn't cried since it would've been her tenth birthday. That day while driving to her gravesite, he had seen a bunch of girls that would be her age at a party, and he had pulled over to the side of the road and cried.

"Eric... I'm so sorry," Nell was tearing up now, and she just wrapped her arms around him, unsure of any other ways she could comfort him when words weren't enough to convey her sympathy.

"I just do it all for her now. Anytime I can't stand this job anymore or when some case hits me too hard, I think of her and why I took this job in the first place."