What Rule 12?

Chapter 10

(three months later)
*Nick POV*
The last three months were crazy. Apparently people decided that January, February, March, and the beginning of April are great times to commit murders or things like that. We almost had a new case every week. I was just glad that last week things slowed down some otherwise Ellie and I would not be where we are. Right now we are on our way to Oklahoma to visit with her family.
"Nick you need to slow down" Ellie says
"You okay" I ask
"I don't feel well" she says
"I'm not even driving that fast." I say
"Just please pull over" she says
I pull over and she opens up her door. I look out my window and see that no cars are coming.  I get out and go over to Ellie. Before I can say anything she leans over and starts throwing up. I quickly grab the hair out of her face and just rub her back. Once she's done I grab a water bottle and give it to her. She rinses her mouth out and then I also give her a piece of gum.
"Thank you" she says
"You're welcome" I respond
I grab my phone and see that it's 7:30 in the morning. We've only been on the road two hours.
"You ready to get going again?" I ask
"Yeah." She says
"Do you want to try and get some sleep" I ask
"Ok" she says
I kiss the top of her head and it doesn't feel warm at all. I shrug it off and we both get back in the car. I get back out on the road and continue driving. Thirty minutes later I'm having to pull over again for Ellie to throw up.
"Cariño something is wrong. You do not feel like you have a fever" I say
"Uh Nick we should stop at a gas station or something" she says
"Why? Are you okay" I ask
"I'll explain after we stop at one" she says
"Okay" I say
We get in the car again and I start driving again. I get off at the next exit and go to a gas station. She goes inside and after awhile she comes back out and with a bag.
"So you want to explain now" I ask
"Y-yeah" she stutters
I grab her hand and rub my thumb in circles over the back of them to let her know I'm here for her.
"So you know how I told you about Oscar r-raping me" she asks
I nod
"W-well I'm late. I didn't think much of it because our job is stressful sometimes I'll skip a month. However, I didn't think about the fact that I'm three months late and well look for yourself" she says handing me the bag
I take it and see three different pregnancy tests all saying positive. I lean over and kiss Ellie on the lips.
"It's going to be okay. I will be there for you through the whole thing. You aren't getting an abortion right" I ask
"No no. I'm going to keep it. How am I going to tell my family? I never told them about the incident. Remember I told you not to tell them either. How are they going to react? Oh my gosh my brothers are going to kill you. They're going to think it was you" she rambles
"Hey hey hey, it's going to be okay. They're not going to kill me. If we explain what happened in vague details they will understand. They might be mad at me that I didn't tell them what happened but they will love you none the less. They are your family." I say
"O-okay" she says
"Do you want me to call Gibbs and we tell him first" I ask
"N-no we should tell my family" she says
"Okay. Let's get back on the road. We'll have to stop for the night at a hotel before we get to your parents place" I say
She nods and looks out her window. I start the car up and get back on to the highway. I grab Ellie's hand and rub my thumb over the back.
"It's going to be okay" I say
She doesn't respond so I turn the radio on and keep the volume down low. We stop a few time and then around 9 at night I pull into a parking lot.
"Ellie we're at the hotel" I whisper
"Okay" she says
We get out and I grab the bag that we packed for just tonight. We go into the hotel and up to the front desk.
"Hello. Do you have a reservation" the person asks
"Yes it is under Torres" I say
"Very well" the person says
They hand me the room keys and I thank them. We go up to the room and I open the door. We go in and Ellie starts getting ready for bed. Once she is she crawls into bed and falls asleep right away. I step out of the room and call Gibbs
G-hey Torres. You in Oklahoma
N-we're right outside of it. We stopped at a hotel for the night we should make it by ten tomorrow morning. We'll leave the hotel at 8
G-okay. You okay
N-yeah no I'm fine
G-Nicholas
N-no I'm not okay but I can't really talk about it right now
G-okay. Just know Jack and I are always willing to listen
N-okay.
I hang up and go back into the room. I lay down next to Ellie and she curls into my side like always. I wrap my arm around her protectively and drift off to sleep.
________________________________
I wake up the next morning to an empty spot next to me. I go to the bathroom door and hear Ellie throwing up. I twist the handle and the doors unlocked. I go in and see her leaning over the toilet. I go back to the room and grab a hair tie then return. I kneel beside her and put her hair in a pony tail then rub her back soothingly. Once she's done she rinses her mouth and brushes her teeth.
"How long has this morning sickness been going on" I ask
"Yesterday was the first day" she says
"Okay. Let's get dressed, eat breakfast, then head out. Your mom is expecting us there in like three hours" I say
"I'm not hungry Nick" she says
"You will eat a banana or something like that." I say
"Fine" she says
"We also need to schedule an appointment for you when we get back" I say
"Yeah. We'll also have to tell Gibbs and the director. Hopefully this doesn't cause another major riff" she says
"It won't. I promise" I say
We get ready for the day, grab our stuff and head to the lobby. We eat a quick breakfast, check out and then head to the car. I start it up and we get back on the road. At exactly 10 we pull into Ellie's driveway and I spot her mom and brothers on the front porch. I look at Ellie and she smiles but it soon fades.
"What's wrong" I ask
"It looks like my dad is away on a trip again" she says
"Hey lets just have a good time hanging with your brothers and mom" I say
"Yeah you're right" she says
We park the car and I look at her.
"I know I'm right" I smirk
She pushes me and then gets out of the car. I get out as well and grab our bags. I walk over to where Ellie and her family is. I drop the bags and hug her mom who comes over to me.
"Nick how are you" she asks
"I'm good Mrs. Bishop. How are you" I ask
"I'm good. Now stop calling me mrs. Bishop. We are family now." She says
"Yes ma'am" I say
George comes over and we bro hug. I do the same to Robert and John.
"Let's go inside. Ellie you and Nick have you're old room." Her mom says
"Remember Els the walls are thin" George says
Ellie turns around and punches him in the shoulder.
"Ow. Els you know I was joking" George says
"Yeah well I'm not in the mood for jokes" Ellie says
She goes upstairs and I follow behind her with the bags. We go into her room and we sit on the bed.
"You good" I ask
"Yeah. Maybe we shouldn't tell them. Maybe just wait until it actually happens" she says
"Nope. We need to do this. We'll do it after dinner tonight" I say
"Okay" she says
I give her a kiss and stand up. I hold my hand out and she grabs it. We go downstairs and we join her family in the living room.
"So how has work been going" Barbara asks
"It's been okay. I mean the past months have been crazy." Ellie says
"Really?" George asks
"Yeah. I mean normally we have one day off a week or a few days, but we were working pretty much every single day except for the ones where Gibbs and the director had to deal with some things" I say
"Yeah. How's your relationship? You treating my baby sis right" John asks
"She's our baby sis you idiot" robert says
"Boys calm down. No fighting" Barbara says
"Fine" Robert grumbles
"Yes I'm treating her fine. That's actually what Gibbs and the director had to deal with. Gibbs was okay with us being together but the director didn't. So I basically quit so Ellie and I could be together and so that she could still have her job. Finally after a week we were able to collectively convince him. This was two weeks or so after I got back from visiting" Nick says
"Wow. You really do love her" George says
"Yeah" Nick smiles
"Hey mom after lunch I want to go for a walk around the area with Nick is that alright" I ask
"Yeah that's fine" mom says
We all go to the kitchen and hold a conversation while mom makes lunch. After we're done eating Nick and I go outside and start walking.
"You good" Nick asks
"Yeah. I'm just nervous about telling them" I say
"I understand. But there's something else. What is it" he asks
"I just wish my dad could be here when we tell them" I say
"Hey why don't you call him when you tell the others so he can also hear" he suggests
"That's not a bad idea" I say
We share a kiss and continue on walking.
"This is a really nice area" Nick says
"Yeah. When I was little I would take a lot of walks around here. Especially to escape my brothers. However I could never escape them for long unless I went to my special place" I say
"Do I get to see this special place" He asks
"Sure. Why not. Just don't tell my brothers where it is. I still like to escape to it at some points" I say
"Why would I tell them about your safe haven" he asks
"I don't know. I don't know how much my brothers' stupidity has been rubbing off on you" I smile
"None of it is. I have you to keep me grounded" he smiles back
I pull on his hand and drag him towards the woods. We go some of the way in and I look up. Nick looks up as well and gasps.
"Who built this" he asks
"My dad one day felt bad for me because my brothers were terrorizing me so he asked me to go with him somewhere one day. We went into the woods and he had a lot of wood sitting here and we spent a month or two building this tree house. This was a year before he got a promotion that required him to travel for work." I say
"Wow. This is amazing." He says
I walk over to a tree with a rope and tug on the rope. After a few tugs and a ladder comes down. We go up and onto the tree house. We sit down and just sit in the peace and quiet. Well until my phone rings.
E-special Agent Bishop
G-hey Els where are you and Nick? It's fine for dinner
E-what time is it
G-almost 6 you guys have been out there for four hours. Mom thought you guys got hurt or something but then I reminded her that you guys are NCIS and can kick butt
E-yeah okay. We'll be at the house soon.
G-okay. Don't be late or we'll eat all the food
E-mom wouldn't let you. She cares about me and Nick too much
G-Nick yes. You, I don't know
E-please I'm her only daughter. Of course I'm her favorite
G-yeah whatever
I hang up and Nick is laughing.
"Let's go, dinner is ready" I say
We climb down from the tree house and I make sure the ladder is hidden again. We then run out of the woods and race back to the house. I win, but once he gets to me he surprises me by lifting me up in the air and it causes me to squeal. He sets me on the ground and we go inside. We go to the kitchen and go to sit down but my mom stops us.
"Uh-Uh go wash your hands." She scolds
We go to the sink and wash them then sit back down. We then start eating dinner.
"Thank you for lunch and dinner Barbara. It is all very good" Nick says
"You're welcome Nicholas" mom says
"Yeah thanks mom. I miss home cooked meals" I say
"Hey I cook for you" Nick says
"Yes you do and I love you for that, but nothing can beat my moms cooking. Plus you only cook for me because you won't let me cook" I say
"That's because you can't cook" John says
"Yeah sis. That is one thing you did not inherit from mom" Robert says
"Jonathon and Robert stop making fun of your sister and eat your food" mom says
"Yes mom" they say
We all finish eating and we then do the dishes together. Once we are done we go out to the family room.
"Mom, George, John, Robert, I have to tell you something. However, you have to promise me you won't interrupt me until I'm completely done. Also, promise not to get mad at Nick. None of this is his fault. He made promises to me and didn't break them because he's loyal and didn't want to ruin what we had going" I say
"Ok. What is it sweetie" mom asks
"Can we actually call dad so he's in on the conversation as well" I ask
"I'll call him" George says
I nod and he does so. Nick scoots closer to me and wraps his arm around me.
"I'm right here beside you. If you need me to continue the story at any point I will. Just tap me or something to let me know" he whispers
I nod my head and rest my head on his chest.
D-hey guys
B-hey honey. Ellie is here with her new boyfriend Nick. She's also about to share something with us
D-alright. Nick you better protect my baby girl.
N-I will sir. I promise.
E-dad I told the others not to interrupt me or to kill Nick. You can't either
D-I won't sweetie. I promise.
"Ok. Well you all know how Nick and I are now dating. Well the third day of us dating we were at Gibbs place. We spent the night there because we were talking about our relationship and he was telling us about he is burning his rule 12 just for us. We were then leaving for work and nick went with Gibbs and I went on my own. As I got close to work cars colored with me and people from them grabbed me. Well the person that kidnapped me turned out to be a stepbrother of Nick's that he never knew. He used me to get to Nick. After a few hours The team got to me, but Nick got shot. After a few hours at the hospital Nick was released and we went back to work. We told our co-workers about our relationship and they were thrilled. Nick told the director and he wasn't too happy. Nick quit just so that I could keep working there. After a week of Gibbs arguing with the director and a few more people helping out Nick got his job back and we are able to remain in a relationship. Then y-yesterday on the w-way h-here" I start stuttering
"On the way here Ellie started to feel sick. I had to pull over a few times for her to throw up. It was weird because she didn't have a fever and I knew she didn't get car sick. We then remembered, even though we didn't want to, that Oscar, the person who kidnapped her, raped her. We stopped somewhere and Ellie took some pregnancy tests and they all showed positive" Nick finishes for me
I look up at my family and no one says or does anything for awhile. It's just silent. An awkward silence. Nick just rubs my back and I lean Into him. My dad then says the first thing.
D-I'm so sorry you had to go through that baby girl. Thank you Nick for being there for her
B-thanks dad
N-always sir
"Oh sweetie why didn't you tell me" mom asks
"I didn't want you freaking out and flying out to see me or sending my brothers to check on me" I say
"I wouldn't do that" mom says
"Yes you would and you have" John says
"Hey Els I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm here for you. Whatever you need" George says
"Thanks" I say
"Of course. I love you baby sis" he says
We continue talking and we get deep in conversation that I don't see Nick step outside.
*Nick POV*
While Ellie is talking with her brothers and her mom is listening I go outside. I sit on the porch swing and look up at the sky. I then hear a door open and close. I look and see Barbara. I scoot over on the swing and she sits down.
"You alright Nick" she asks
"Yeah" I say
"Truth" she says
"Ok. I'm not completely okay. It's just seeing you all makes me sort of feel like I messed up my childhood. I feel that way whenever I see most families interact with each other. I guess it's just affecting me a bit more now since how close I am with Ellie" I say
"Why do you feel like you messed up your childhood" she asks
"Um well my dad disowned me and kicked me out when I was young. And then when he died I moved in with my mom and then I left her when she became a drug addict. My sister also disowned me. So I never had a good relationship with my family and I have always felt like it was my fault" I say
"Nicholas none of that is your fault. You are such a gentleman. They made their decisions. Just think about it, if none of that happened you probably wouldn't have worked at NCIS, never met Eleanor, and never had us and your team as your family" she says
"Yeah. I guess. Thanks for listening" I say
"You're welcome. Now let's go inside before my children start fighting. They may be in their thirties and twenties but they act like little kids when they're together" she laughs
I laugh as well and we go inside. We get in the living room and Ellie has John pinned to the ground.
"Eleanor release your brother now" Barbara commands
Ellie does and then comes over to me.
"You alright" she asks
"Yeah" I say
"Alright. Mom, brothers, Nick and I are going to head to bed." Ellie says
"Alright. Goodnight" Barbara says
We go upstairs and go to Ellie's room. We get ready for bed and then lay down. Ellie curls in to me and I play with her hair.
"Good night Luis" she whispers
"Good night Charlie" I whisper back
I then drift off to sleep thinking about us being parents together maybe.