Ellick "Painless"

Chapter 54- In Love

I close his drawer and stand up. I'm almost sad that no one has noticed I'm here, but a sudden pair of arms around me makes me cry out in shock.

"Ellie! I'm so happy you're out of the hospital! How are you feeling?" Jack's voice asks.

"Jack! You scared me! I'm fine." I exclaim and turn around to give her a hug back.

"Have you been here very long? Are you staying?" She asks.

"I was just going to go to Nick's apartment, but I needed a key."

"Oh, I can drive you if you want." She offers.

"Could you? That would be amazing, thank you Jack."

She heads to the elevator and I follow behind her.

"So how are you feeling?"

"As good as I can be feeling. I broke my ankle and got a concussion."

"I know. That stinks." Jack agrees, making a sympathetic face.

"But um, how are you feeling... emotionally?"

Nick was right. I can practically feel the probe in my skull.

"Like I said. As good as I can be doing. I was kidnapped by my ex and had to rely on you all to save me because I wasn't strong enough myself."

"You were poisoned!" Jack cries out, trying to make me feel better. By this time we're in the car.

"Yeah. True." I nod as she pulls out of the parking lot.

"You're probably feeling pretty raw, maybe a little vulnerable after the emotional trauma Jake put you through."

I just sit silently next to her, thinking about the amount of near meltdowns I've had in the past day. They probably wouldn't have been near, they would've been full out meltdowns if I hadn't had Nick's support.

"You're going to feel very attached to the people around you." Jack glances at me, then focuses on the road again.

"Nick. You're both going through rough times, so you'll rely heavily on each other for support. I don't think you'll have any problems with that though. I can see how much you love each other."

It's not until Jack elbows me gently that I realize I'm playing with my hands in my lap, smiling to myself.

Nick.

How could you not smile at the thought of him?

I clear my throat quickly and try to change the subject.

"In love, yeah. Just like you and Gibbs."

The car gives a slight jerk and Jack begins laughing nervously.

"What- what do you mean like me and Gibbs?" She asks awkwardly.

"Oh come on, Jack! You two are the only ones who haven't noticed! Even Vance suspects there's something going on between you two!"

"There's nothing going on between us." Jack tries to fake smile.

"Maybe not yet. But you should tell him how you feel because I can 100% guarantee he feels the same."

"Really?" She asks eagerly and I snicker triumphantly.

"Yes really."

We sit in silence for the rest of the ride, my thoughts wandering off to the hospital room Nick is stuck in. No doubt Jack is thinking about a certain somebody at a certain desk in a certain federal building.

We get in the elevator and go up to the fourth floor. I unlock the door and go inside, Jack right behind me.

It's still clean, there's a few things out of place from when Officer Green broke in, but I'm just glad it's no longer considered a crime scene.

"Wow." Jack says in amazement and I laugh. "Nick really does have a lot of pictures of you. Green said he did over the phone, but this is a lot."

"What?" I ask, surprised. I hadn't noticed any pictures. "No he doesn't."

I follow Jack's gaze to a wall filled with picture frames that I had completely missed. There must be 30 pictures up there.

Jack's right. Of the 30 there, I count 25 pictures of either me and Nick or just me alone.

The other 5 are of him and Gibbs, him and Abby, him and McGee, him and Jack, and him, Lucia and Amanda.

"I... didn't notice those." I murmur in awe. My heart skipped several beats looking at them and I wish Nick was here so I could hug him again.

"So do you want me to stay with you for the night?" Jack inquires and I turn to her.

"No." I say abruptly.

"Oh, okay." Jack replies, taken aback by my short response.

"No," I repeat. "It's Friday. I want you to ask Gibbs if he wants a drink tonight."

"What? Ellie, no, I can't just-"

"You can just!" I interrupt her.

"But what if he says yes?"

"Ummm, then you take him?? Duh!" I play punch her and she looks at me. She genuinely seems to be debating it, just one more solid point and I think she'll do it.

"But what if he tries to kiss me? I don't want our first kiss to be in a bar, I want it to be romantic!" She whines.

"Okay, my first kiss with Nick was in a bathroom at our work place with Tony's daughter staring at us. I think the bar would be more romantic than that."

She sighs, but I can see that I've won.

"Fine." She agrees.

"Good!" I smile. "You have to text me after to tell me how it went!"

With that, I hop on my good leg and push Jack out of the apartment.

"Good luck!" I laugh right before I close the door on a stunned looking Jacqueline Sloane.