A/N: So this is my first story and I'm kind of really nervous. If you left me some reviews I would really appreciate it (even if they are saying I wrote a horrible story). I have to thank a few people. First: to my very good friend who introduced me to fanfiction. And second: to Princess Tiva, another writer (and a very good one, you should check out her stories), who supported and helped me with this story. Thank you guys!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of NCIS Los Angeles. If I did Nell and Eric would have gotten together (Spoil Alert!) after they kissed under the mistletoe.

"What?" Eric asked looking at Nell's disapproving stare.

"Hetty is going to kill you." Eric looked terrified and guilty at the same time. His mouth was hanging open as he brought another Oreo to his lips.

"She's not here." He said to Nell, hoping to sound more sure of himself than he actually was, but Nell knew him. She smirked and said, "Maybe not, but I can always tell her you were eating Oreos in Ops." She didn't really want to get him in trouble (although she definitely could)—she just wanted some Oreos. She looked pleadingly at Eric. His face had fallen at the real possibility of Hetty finding out, but then he smirked too.

"You just want one. You wouldn't tell Hetty." She smirked again at his confidence and tilted her head to one side as if saying, You want to bet? Eric took one more look at her and knew she wasn't going to give up. He also knew that he could not resist that puppy dog look in Nell's hazel eyes. He picked up one of the cookies and held it out to her. He waved it in front of her face.

"You know you want it," he taunted her. Quickly, she reached up to snatch the Oreo. She missed and grabbed his hand instead. Nell felt Eric tense up and immediately stop moving his hand. She looked up into his green eyes hidden behind glasses. His smile faltered, replaced by that look he got whenever he did not know what to say. His mouth was slightly open and turned up the tiniest bit in the corners. It was a look that Nell knew Eric gave only to her and she thought it was cute. Suddenly, they both felt like they had held each other's gazes for a second too long. Eric glanced over to their hands.

"Sorry," Nell said softly as a deep red blush crept up her neck and over her face. She looked down as she let go and her hand dropped into her lap. She bit the inside of her lip to keep herself from smiling. A lot of emotions had burst out when they had touched—emotions that she tried to keep buried deep. Eric just kept staring at her. All he could think was how beautiful she looked when she was embarrassed. Suddenly, he too became embarrassed. He looked down and noticed he was still holding the Oreo out.

"Here," he said in a low, soft tone, shoving the cookie towards her face. The corners of her lips turned up. She leaned forward and took a bite of the cookie. She giggled a little and reached up and took the rest of the Oreo from his hand. Not until then did she venture to look up at him. He was still holding his hand out, so he dropped it. He turned and rested his hands on his keyboard, typing away rapidly. His face had turned bright red as he thought about Nell, thinking that she did not reciprocate his feelings for her. A few uncomfortable minutes passed.

"Oh! We got a case Nell. Do you want to whistle for them?" he asked trying to keep his voice steady. Nell stared at Eric with one of her eyebrows raised until he finally looked up at her. "What?" he asked defensively. Nell just smirked, got up, and walked out of Ops. Eric knew he had been caught blushing, but he did not know that Nell had been thinking about the exact same thing.

He heard Nell whistle and yell, "We got a case!" When the rest of the team heard a whistle that was not Eric's, they looked at each other slightly confused. Kensi and Deeks shared a look as Deeks mumbled, "Well something's up between them." His quiet comment got a smirk out of Kensi as they both knew about the feelings Nell and Eric had for each other. They all rushed up the stairs and into Ops.

As Eric and Nell briefed the team on the case that had just come in, suddenly, Callen said, "Wait, what's going on?"

"What do you mean? Petty Officer James Smith was killed and now we have to solve this crime," Nell said, trying to convince Callen that everything was fine with a falsely happy voice.

"Sure," Callen said rolling his eyes and giving his partner, Sam, a look. "And that's why you and Eric aren't even looking at each other." Now Eric looked at his computer screen, determined not to look up and meet anyone's eyes. He felt everyone's eyes on his back and felt that he had to look up. He turned in his swivel chair. Eric did not know where to look, so as though by instinct, he looked at his partner. When Nell felt his eyes on her, she looked up and smiled a real smile. The smile was contagious and soon Eric was smiling as well. With that shared smile, they both knew that it could never stay awkward between them. Eric tore his gaze away from Nell and redirected it over to Callen.

"Nothing's going on," Eric answered steadily, but he thought, But I wish there was. They went on with the briefing.

The case went well until Callen, who was undercover, got stuck in a room with poisonous gasses. There was a fingerprint scanner which unlocked the door. Nell was working on unlocking the door, while Eric was looking for other escape routes.

"No other ways out," Eric called across the room to Nell.

"Come help me unlock this door then," Nell shouted, obviously scared for Callen's life. Eric rushed over and took his seat next to Nell. They worked for what seemed like hours, but in reality it was only a few moments before the door clicked and unlocked. They watched on the big screen as Callen ran to the door and pulled it open. He sat down outside the room as he coughed and finally began breathing normally.

"Thanks guys," Callen said quietly, hoping no one had heard him.

"You're welcome," Eric and Nell said over the coms simultaneously.

"Well, that was a little weird," Callen said, not wanting to annoy them too much considering they had just saved his life. Eric held his hand out for their usual underhand high-five. Nell gave him the high-five, but her smile faltered.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked immediately concerned when he noticed that her smile had disappeared and she was visibly shaking. Nell did not respond immediately, so he turned her chair to face him. He placed his hands on her shoulders just as she once had and said, "Whatever it is, you're safe with me, Ununoctium." Her lips turned up slightly at the reference, but then she said seriously, "Don't ever go back out in the field, Eric, please. That room reminded me too much of the room you almost got frelted in." She looked at him as though she could force him never to leave Ops again. Eric's mouth dropped open slightly. He had no idea that was what she was going to say. Now he was at a loss for words.

"Uh, okay," Eric said, unsure if that was what she wanted to hear. "I'll only go out if I have my awesome partner with me." He smiled and nudged Nell gently, trying to get her to smile. It worked and she smiled a full smile. He always knows the perfect thing to say, she thought.

"I'll always have your back, partner," Nell said, but the last word tasted bitter in her mouth and she did not want to admit why.

"Ditto," Eric replied, even though he could have sworn he saw a disgusted look cross her face at her last word. He hoped it was the same reason he disliked that word so much. They smiled at each other.

"Umm…guys?" Callen said uncertainly, not wanting to break the moment between the two techs, although he was slightly amused. Nell and Eric tore their gazes away from each other.

"Yeah, Callen?" Eric responded over the coms.

"We've got everything we need to take this guy to jail. We're coming back." Nell took a shaky breath which made Eric take her hand and give it a squeeze. It surprised her, but gave her the courage to say, "Okay, see you back here in Ops," in a somewhat cheerful voice. Nell and Eric looked at each other and smiled. Neither one of them tried to pull their hands away. They went back to work, still holding hands, and waited for the team to arrive.

Half an hour passed. Suddenly, the doors swished open and Deeks walked in.

"Umm…" Deeks said awkwardly as he caught sight of them holding hands. Eric and Nell jumped apart as Deeks turned on his heels and left Ops.

"Uh, that was, uh, awkward," Eric said. Nell took Eric's hand and squeezed to reassure him. They had not figured out what the thing was between them, but Nell said, "He's such a gossip. I better go talk to him." Eric shook his head yes, but did not want to let go of her hand. She eventually pulled her hand away and walked out of Ops.

As soon as Deeks had left Ops, he had gone to the Bullpen and asked, "What's going on with Nell and Eric?" When all he got were blank stares, he proceeded to explain exactly what he had seen. When Nell walked out of Ops, Deeks was still talking to the rest of the team. Nell saw that he had the floor. That was something that did not happen very often. The other three just stared at Deeks in surprise. Callen had a slight smirk because he had overheard their earlier conversation. Nell turned around and walked back into Ops. She was still very confused about the whole situation. Eric spun around in his chair as soon as she entered.

"What did you say to him?" Eric asked as soon as the doors had closed. He was scared that she had said nothing was going on because that would have been a lie.

"Nothing," she answered truthfully. Nell really hoped that response would suffice because she did not want to explain, but Eric looked like he did not believe her. She sighed and said, "Deeks was talking to everyone else about me…and you, so I didn't go talk to him." During the last part of her sentence she looked down.

"Oh, okay," Eric replied, not really knowing what else to say because he did not know what it was between them. "I'm confused," Eric started and Nell nodded.

"I know me too," she admitted as the doors to Ops flew open. Kensi walked in with a look on her face that said, Obviously I'm here and it has nothing to do with the case.

"Hey, can you come with me for a second, Nell?" Kensi asked, not completely unaware that she had just interrupted something. Nell and Eric looked as each other for a second, then they both turned in their swivel chairs.

"Okay," Nell said. Once Kensi saw that Nell had started to get up, she left the room. Nell smiled apologetically at Eric. "We'll talk about this later, okay?" Eric nodded and Nell sqeezed his shoulder reassuringly as she left the room.

Kensi was unsure where to talk to her friend, so she decided on the Armory, where it was quiet. When they got there, Nell asked, clearly annoyed with Kensi's timing, "What do you want to talk about?" Kensi was a little surprised because Nell was almost never angry with her.

"What's going on between you two?" Kensi asked, getting straight to the point.

"I have no idea," Nell said quietly, but then she remembered that she was angry for a reason, "but I might have known by now if you hadn't come then!"

"Oh, Nell, I'm so sorry. I didn't know," Kensi said, suddenly feeling really bad. She gave Nell a heartfelt hug. She could see how confused and tense Nell was. "What are you going to do?" Kensi asked. Nell shrugged in reply, having no idea. "I think you should tell him how you feel," Kensi answered her own question.

"But what if I don't know how I feel?!" Nell asked, frustrated with this conversation that did not seem to be going anywhere. Kensi looked at her with one of her eyebrows raised.

"Oh really?" Kensi asked sarcastically and smiled a little. Nell smiled a little too. Of course she knew how she felt; she just had not admitted it until that moment. Kensi pushed Nell gently back toward Ops.

"Thanks Kens," Nell said as she hurried out of the room.

Eric waited nervously for Nell to return. He knew Kensi was going to ask if they were in a relationship. Oh, that r-word, he thought. He wondered what she would say becausethey had not figured things out. At least he knew he was not the only one confused.

Finally, Nell walked back into Ops. Eric was tapping his fingers. It had felt like hours even though he had filled the time by writing his case report.

"Hey Eric!" Nell said in a much lighter voice than when she left. "We need to talk without being interrupted again. Do you mind if I lock the doors for a little bit?"

"Go ahead," Eric said, glad because it seemed like Nell had figured something out. She took the key out of her pocket and carefully locked the door. She slowly turned around to face Eric. She knew exactly how she felt, but not how to say it. She was about to let a few words tumble out of her mouth when Eric stepped it and said, "Well you look less confused. Care to explain, so we can be on the same page?" Eric asked it in a very sweet, knowing voice.

Yes, Nell thought, we do know each other very well. She walked closer to him. "I…umm…err…," Nell started, but then suddenly felt his hand on hers. Her heartbeat sped up and her breath caught. How can he affect me like this? She had not expected him to hold her hand again. She looked up into his sea-green eyes hidden behind glasses and got lost in them. Eric stood up, keeping eye contact, and took her other hand in his.

"What's going on with us?" Eric asked in a whisper. Nell realized how insecure he sounded. She still could not say anything because her heart was beating so fast, "I…," Nell managed to get out without completely losing it. She knew what she wanted this to be. Her eyes involuntarily flitted down to his lips and back up to his eyes. His eyes sparked when he saw her eyes move. Nell had seen that sparkle before and now she knew what it meant.

Nell quickly took her hand from his and reached up to his neck to pull him closer. She pressed her lips against his and kissed him. He leaned into the kiss and kissed her back. All those words that they could not say suddenly did not matter. They understood each other. Eric placed his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Nell placed her arms around his neck. When they needed oxygen, they pulled away, both smiling. They rested their foreheads together.

"Nell, I lo-…"Eric began, but Nell cut him off by putting a finger to his lips.

"Shhhh. I'm not ready to hear that yet." Eric looked slightly downcast. "But, Eric?" Nell whispered, "I do too."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. They pulled away from each other slightly and Eric whispered, "What do we tell everyone?"

"Nothing, but I think most of them already know," Nell whispered back. She nudged her nose against his and gave him a soft butterfly kiss before reaching into her pocket for the key.

"Okay," Eric said in a somewhat normal voice as she walked to the doors and unlocked them. When the doors opened, Nell saw the four agents, obviously trying to listen to their conversation.

"Hi guys," Nell said with one eyebrow raised as if saying, Really? Are you serious right now?

Kensi, who had the best idea of what had just happened, said awkwardly, "Umm… we just finished our case reports and were going out for drinks. Do you guys want to come?"

"Well, I haven't finished my report. So, no, but I don't know about Eric," Nell responded, knowing that Eric had finished his report just before she came in.

"I haven't finished mine either," Eric lied, quickly catching on to the fact that Nell want to be alone with him. Nell looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.

"Okay, then we'll see you tomorrow," the rest of the team said and then they left. Nell sat down at her computer to finish her report. Eric slid his arms around her from behind and kissed her on the top of the head.

"How about I help you with that report and then we go out to get some dinner?" Eric asked, whispering in her ear.

"Okay," Nell whispered back. She turned her head and kissed him on the cheek.

A/N: So this is actually a late birthday present for my sister. Happy Belated Birthday big sister. Could you awesome people who just read my story please, please, please review it? As I said in my first (ever!) author's note I'm nervous about how this turned out. Thank you so much for reading this!

PS: Tell me if this should stay a one-shot or not.