The next few days were very similar. Jack would go to Ellie's apartment, and they'd head over to the hospital together.
About 6 days later, they're all in Nick's room, laughing about something Jack had said.
The doers swings open and Nurse Broder takes a step in.
"Ellie!" He smiles happily. He had taken an unfortunate liking to her over the course of the past week, which made Nick almost as uncomfortable emotionally as he is physically.
"Jack." Broder acknowledges her and they exchange a rather unpleasant look.
Turning to Nick, he turns plastors on his doctor grin and begins speaking with a positive note in his voice.
"Great news Nick! If all goes well on the test you just had then you can leave whenever you like!"
Nick smiles and Jack cheers.
"Do you know when you'll have the results?" Ellie questions Broder and he grins at her.
"Hopefully within the hour." He replies, then excuses himself from the room.
"I can not wait to get out of here! I'm so confined! I haven't kicked down a door in weeks!" Nick sighs desperately.
Smirking, Ellie responds, "Even if they let you out, I wouldn't suggest going and slamming yourself into a door just yet."
"Silly Ellie. Shows how little you know about kicking doors. I don't slam myself against it, I slam my weapon."
"You kick it with your foot...?" Jack points out and Nick looks at her innocently.
"Yeah, and?"
"Your foot is your weapon?" Ellie snickers.
"Best one I got. It's with me all the time. Well that, and my bada** smack talk."
"What smack talk? You couldn't scare a bunny." Jack drawls.
Nick scoffs. "Ex-cuse me? I've smack talked guys with hands bigger than my entire head when I was undercover."
"You've got a pretty small head though." Ellie mentions and Nick glares at her, trying to look hurt.
"Gee thanks, babe."
"No problem, babe."
"She's not wrong." Jack puts in, and Nick gives her an exasperated fake glare.
"Well, I smack talked enough people to consider it a weapon."
After a few more minutes of Ellie and Jack roasting the life out of Nick, Nurse Broder returns.
Nick, who's well enough to have been pacing around the room while they wait, turns to him anxiously.
"Can I go?"
"All your tests came back negative, so yes, you're free to go."
"Thank god." Nick exclaims and grabs Ellie's hand, pulling her carelessly out of the room that had been his jail cell for the past week. Jack finds herself left behind with Broder to sort through all the paperwork regarding Torres' stay at the hospital.
Losing a crutch, Ellie hops after Nick as fast as she can on a single crutch.
"I can't wait to get out of here, El. I can eat real food again, go to the bathroom alone, and wear my own clothes. Why do hospital clothes have to be so uncomfortable?"
Nick asks, turning to look at her, surprised to see that he's practically dragging her down the hall as she bites her lip in pain.
"Oh no, Ellie. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been going that fast, you're on crutches. Oh... crutch. I guess you lost the other one when I yanked you out of the room, huh?" He looks at her apologetically as she re-centers herself.
"It's okay Nick, I get it. You want to go back to your normal life. I do too." She gives him a small smile as he takes her hand again, walking more slowly out of the building.
"Yeah, normal life will be nice. But you know what'll be great?"
Ellie gives him a curious look as he holds open the hospital doors for her.
"Going back to normal life with you."
Stopping in front of her, he wraps his arms around her small frame, hugging her tightly as she hugs back, neither of them feeling any of the pain they should be.
"I love you, Nicholas Torres."
"I love you more, Eleanor Bishop."
"Nuh uh." She grins, laying her forehead on his.
"Uh huh." He smiles back, and they exchange a brief kiss.
"Save it for the apartment, lover boy and... Ellie." Jack snickers, coming out of the hospital, carrying a medical folder in one hand and Ellie's second crutch in the other.
"Ooh, thanks." Ellie takes her other crutch back.
They all pile in the car and head off, Jack driving and Ellie in the back seat.
After a few unfamiliar turns, Ellie pipes up.
"Where are we going? I thought we were headed home."
"You'll see."
"Jack?" Nick asks cautiously.
"Don't worry about it. Ellie, remember that conversation we had last week, after I got back?" Jack tries to mention it slyly, but Nick wrecks her plans.
"You mean after you went to Gibbs'?"
"You told him?!" Jack exclaims, shocked by her friends betrayal.
"Oh come on, Jack. They'd have noticed eventually." Ellie rolls her eyes.
"Fine. Whatever. Yeah, before I went to Gibbs'."
Thinking hard, Ellie vaguely remembers a conversation she had with Jack about Nick. "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"
Jack just smiles into the mirror and Ellie feels herself getting excited while Nick becomes confused.
"But why are we headed for the office then?"
"Relax Ellie, honestly."
"That's like telling a cheetah to slow down. It's not going to happen." Nick smiles, reaching back and placing a hand on her knee.
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.
