In the office, Jack finds Ellie on the floor under the window, her knees to her chest, her face buried.
"Hey, El." Jack says carefully. Ellie stands up and shuffles over to Jack. Wrapping her arms around her, she breaks down into Sloane's shoulder.
"Shh, shhh, it's okay. It's okay."
After a few minutes of heavy crying, Jack peels Ellie off her and places her hands on her quivering shoulders.
"You really love Nick, don't you?"
Of course, this just makes the tears begin again as Ellie whimpers "Yes." into Jack's shoulder.
After a few more minutes Jack sits them both on the couch.
"Why'd you take a break if you still love him?" My professional interest and personal interest fight on the line.
"I- I don't know. Communication problems. Already."
"Okay, what do you feel he failed to communicate?"
Ellie sniffles and sighs.
"How uncomfortable he was with the fact that I was married. He wouldn't even let me explain how horrible it was when Jake cheated on me."
Jack nearly chokes on her own saliva at these words. So that's how it ended. She was listening in the bathroom, but they could barely make out her words. Sloane can see how overwhelming that could be for Nick.
"Alright. How did he react?"
"You were there. You saw."
Blushing at her blown cover, Jack continues. "I saw it from my perspective. I want to see it from yours."
"He left for the bathroom, just like that. He didn't try talking to me about it. He just gave up."
"Okay. It's good to know how you feel. Now I'm going to to tell you how it sounded from my perspective. It's sounds like he knew he was going to blow something, and if he didn't go he would have gotten mad at you, and that's not what he wanted. So, he left for a neutral zone."
"What?" Ellie looks absolutely bewildered.
"Can I ask you something?"
Ellie nods and Jack continues. "When you found out Jake was cheating, what do you think happened that was the main cause of the divorce?"
"I changed jobs."
"And that resulted in...?"
"No... communication."
Verbalizing that single sentence seemed to make everything fall into place in her mind. Her mouth opens and Jack can see her eyes fill with tears once again.
"Oh my god." She whispers.
Jack puts my hand on Ellie's shoulder, ready to help her through the next few minutes.
"Nick's not the problem." Her voice is so low Sloane can barely tell what she's saying. "Jake never was. It's me. I'm the problem!"
"NO! No Ellie! That's not what I meant! That's not right at all!" Jack exclaims loudly as Ellie stands.
Suddenly Ellie's at the door, tears flooding her face. Turning to look at Jack, who jumps up to follow her, she voices a shaky statement.
"There's something wrong with me."
Bishop leaves the room, Jack chasing her but running into the closed door. Yanking it open, she sees Ellie's blonde hair whipping around the corner, headed for the squad room.
"Ellie!" She yells, running down the hall.
———
Poor Ellie
YOU ARE READING
Ellick "Painless"
FanfictionBetween surprise visits from former coworkers, arguments with father figures and unwelcome coordinations, it's a miracle Ellie and Nick are able to stay as close as they are.
