Thank you to all who read and reviewed Ch. 2! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and Happy Holidays to those who celebrate others I don't know about!

Two days after Nell's discharge, and after some haggling, Nell convinced Mosely to clear her to come back to OSP. Her shoulder was still recuperating, and would be for several weeks, but Mosely was concerned that Nell's pain medication would cloud her mind. Nell assured Mosely that it would not be an issue.

Three days after returning to work, Nell began to think maybe, she had bitten off more than she could chew. When she took the bare minimum dosage (which was half of what the doctor ordered), it didn't make her mind fuzzy, but it also did little more than take the edge off the pain. When she took the proper dose, it took the pain away, but with it went her ability to stay awake or focus. Naturally, she tried to hide any sign of weakness for fear of being sent home, but not everyone was fooled.

Eric had been watching her struggle all morning; he had suspected since yesterday that Nell was hurting more than she let on, but his inquiries had been met with a perfunctory "I'm fine, really." response. Now, he could feel the tension radiating off of her as she tried to keep it together. Turning in his chair beside her, he decided it was time to act.

"Nell."

"What?" Came the strained response.

"Stop this." He said softly.

She tried to play dumb. "Stop what? Working? That's what we're paid to do, Beale." She continued to try and keep typing, but her left hand was still not cooperating as well as usual, making it difficult to type or hold her tablet so she could use it with her right hand, and it was adding frustration to her pain-induced short temper.

Eric reached over and took her hands in his, gently pulling her to face him. "Stop. Trying. To be. A hero. You have nothing to prove by hurting yourself. Why don't you ask the doctor to up your dose, if it's not working?"

Nell sighed. "It does work, Eric. It works too well; it takes away the pain, but then I can't work. It makes my brain fuzzy and slow, and I can't work in that capacity. Mosely already threatened to send me home if they compromise my abilities. I can't give her the satisfaction of winning."

Eric's face turned deadly serious. "Penelope Jones, are you saying you're not taking your meds at all?!"

"No! I've been taking halves. Instead of one tablet, I cut them in half." She explained hurriedly. Eric relaxed a little at her explanation, but still maintained his expression of concern and empathy.

"But this clearly isn't good for you, either! And you're not going to fool anyone else. Why don't you cut back to half days or something?

"Because I don't want to, Eric! I don't want to sit home and do nothing all day! I don't want to be the weakest link here. Callen and Sam and Deeks have all been shot and come right back; why not me?" Nell said, tears of shame and frustration threatening to spill down her face.

"Aw, Nell." Eric handed her a tissue. "Nobody here thinks you're weak! We all know you're tough as nails. But suffering like this isn't good for anyone, least of all you. Seriously, you should go home and rest. Don't make me tell Mosely on you." He added the last part with a humorous smirk.

Nell glared back at him through watery eyes. "You tell Mosely on me, and I tell her that you changed your login password to 'M0se1y_P1cks_Her_N0se1y'."

Eric gaped at her. "You win….for now." He said, and walked out of OPS. Meanwhile, Nell sighed and turned back to her station. A small smile formed on her lips as she reveled in her "victory", however minor it was.

But Eric had other ideas. Once he was certain he wasn't being followed, he went straight to Callen. He knew that if push came to shove, Callen could find a way to convince Nell to slow down.

He found Callen with Sam in the gym, engaged in a vigorous kick-boxing workout. Callen dropped his stance at Eric's approach, and Sam followed.

"Got some new intel?" Callen asked.

"Well, not exactly. Can I talk to you for a second, Callen?" Eric replied.

Sam and Callen exchanged a brief look; Eric didn't usually ask for private conversations with anyone. "Sure." Callen said. "It'll give Sam a chance to catch his breath." He said jokingly as he followed Eric into the locker room.

Once they were far enough from the door so that Nell couldn't possibly overhear them, Eric began. "Nell hasn't been taking her pain meds as instructed, and it's killing her. She doesn't want to miss work, but taking them correctly is messing with her head, and she said Mosely will send her home if they do…"

Callen felt a mix of emotions all at once: Anger at Mosely for a.) putting Nell in the position where she got injured in the first place, and b.) for issuing such a threat, knowing how dedicated his team was to doing their jobs. Anger at Nell for tormenting herself. Sadness that she was in so much pain due to his inability to protect her. Regret that he hadn't….

He sighed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He realized Eric was still talking. "…anybody could convince her, it would be you."

Callen nodded. "I'll talk to her right now. How long has this been going on?"

"Since she came back. I haven't seen her take anything this morning yet."

Callen swore under his breath and headed for OPS.

Two and a half minutes later, Callen all but stormed into OPS, barely waiting for the automatic doors to slide out of his way. He marched right up to Nell and stood over her as she leaned against the table in the middle of the room.

"Nell Jones, what in the name of all that is holy is this that I hear you're not taking your meds?!" He growled.

Nell looked toward the doors, where Eric stood with arms crossed over his chest. "You…you snitched-"

"I threatened to tell Mosely; you never said I couldn't tell anyone else." He said with an air of pride at having outwitted her. Nell, however, groaned and rolled her eyes.

Callen swiftly took her tablet out of her hand and set it on the table behind her. "You're going home. That's an order."

"But-"

"Unless you'd like me to get it from Mosely? I'm just saying for today; who knows how long she'll put you on medical leave."

Nell glared at him, her frustration at being beaten evident. "Fine. But what happens when she asks where I've gone? She'll find out, anyway."

"Let me worry about that, Nell. Are you able to drive yourself?"

She nodded; despite her anger at being sent home, she felt an equal part of relief to be able to escape the ever-present pain that radiated down to her very fingertips, up her neck, and down her ribcage. Eric helped her gather her things and go down to her car.