Ellie x Nick Oneshots

Consolation

After sitting on the couch for half an hour, staring at the clock every few minutes as more and more time passed and it was getting even darker outside, waiting for Ellie to come out of the bathroom, he was officially worried.

He knew that something had to be wrong with her because usually, she didn't take more than 10 minutes to take a shower.

And he was pretty sure he knew about something that had happened earlier that day that would bother her, no doubt about it.

So he decided it's better to go check up on her, make sure that it was nothing else but her being shaken about the incident of that day and that she hadn't accidentally hurt herself or anything.

Nick went towards the bathroom door to find it unlocked, so he carefully took the door handle and slowly pushed the door open.

''Ellie?'' he called into the room, surprised that the room wasn't very warmed up from the shower and that the mirrors were not fogged either.

After the door was standing fully open and he had stepped into the room, he made out his girlfriend, who was sitting on the ground of the shower, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs.

With a worried frown on his face, he went over towards her and kneeled down beside the shower after he had pushed its door open.

''Why are you sitting on the ground? Ellie, you've been in there for a half-hour already.''

But she didn't respond to his question, showed no reaction, just quietly and absently stared straight ahead, not acknowledging his presence at all.

Nick moved to lay his hand on her shoulder and frowned once more when he felt the freezing cold water on his hand and arm.

''Shit, El, this water is ice-cold. Come on, I really think it's time for you to get out of the shower.

He grabbed a towel and then pulled her up onto her feet, his arms supporting her weight as he did so, after which he carefully led her out of the shower.

When she was out of the shower, he turned the water off and wrapped the towel tightly around her body so that she wouldn't get cold...Well, or any colder than she already was due to the water temperature in the shower.

Realizing that she still wasn't moving, Nick gently took Ellie's face into his hands and moved her head slightly upwards so that her eyes met his.
''Hey, El, I'm gonna go grab you some clothes, okay? I'll be right back''

After she gave a barely visible nod, he left her standing in the bathroom and went to grab her some underwear and sweatpants, as well as one of his t-shirts that he had left at her place some time ago, and then joined her in the bathroom again, where she was still stiffly standing, her still wet hair dripping onto the ground and creating tiny puddles on the floor.
Nick helped her put on her clothes and then grabbed another towel to dry her hair with, after which it was still wet, but much less so than before and had stopped dripping.

Afterward, he guided her towards her sofa in the living room and made her sit on the couch.
Ellie immediately positioned herself the way she had earlier in the shower, embracing her legs that were tightly pulled against her torso, seemingly staring into nothingness.

Meanwhile, Nick headed for the kitchen and made her a cup of tea to hopefully warm her up and calm her down a little.

With the tea in one of his hands, he walked back to the sofa where she sat and kneeled down beside it.

He put the cup into her hands and then took the folded blanket that was situated on the armrest of the sofa and arranged it so that it covered her up to her shoulders but left her arms out so that she could still move them freely and then sat beside her on the sofa.

Ellie started sipping the tea, but still kept quiet and refused to look at him. To Nick it seemed like she was lost in thought, her mind most likely going in directions that they shouldn't because these thoughts would only make her feel worse.

''You wanna talk about it?''
His question was only met with silence at first, but after a few moments Ellie put the cup down on the coffee table and finally turned her face towards him to look him in the eye, only to then give the slightest shake of her head.

''No...no.'' She sounded unsure at first, but when she spoke again her voice was firm instead of shaky.
''I don't wanna talk about it, Nick. Not yet, at least. Maybe at a later time...I don't know. But talking isn't going to change what happened...so...I just don't wanna think about it right now.''

Her boyfriend nodded at her words, a frown on his face because the way he sees it talking about it - getting it off her chest- would be better for her, but he wasn't about to argue with her now.

He knew that it was always hard when someone died, much less when they were killed in front of you and their blood splattered all over your clothes and face. Especially if they were your friend, no matter if you didn't have that much contact with them anymore after you had changed jobs.

And even though he knew that it was always tragic when a federal agent -or any good person- was killed, he was really glad and thankful that it hadn't been Ellie. Because considering the situation they had been in, it might just as well have been her instead of her friend from the NSA.

So he figured, if forgetting about the incident, for now, was what she needed to do, then he wouldn't force her to speak about it. Maybe that was even for the better since otherwise, she might just start overthinking it and blame herself, even though both knew there was no way any of them could have prevented what had happened, that it had been in no way any of their faults.
Tragically, it was just part of their jobs at times, and it's not like any agent- no matter which agency they are from- is unaware of the risks that come with their job choice.

Nick's thoughts were interrupted at that point though, by Ellie moving closer towards him on the sofa and snuggling up to him.

''Can you just...hold me for now...please?'' Her plea caused him to look at her face and wrap his arms tightly around her small frame, hoping to bring her the comfort she needed.
He noticed that her skin was still slightly cold from the ice-cold shower and rubbed his hands over the naked skin of her arms to warm them up, his arms still embracing her.

Ellie closed her eyes and breathed in Nick's scent, the familiarity of it comforting her.

''Thank you for being there for me, Nick'' Ellie told him, her voice now sounding sleepy and tired, which was to be expected, since the case had been tiring for all of them, and Ellie had been so determined on solving it that she had even stayed up the night before.

Therefore it came to no surprise to him that she now seemed to have trouble staying awake, she actually seemed to be already half asleep in his arms.

With as little movement as possible and without removing her from his arms, so that he wouldn't stop her from falling asleep, Nick moved both of their bodies so that they were now both laying on the sofa instead of sitting, her head resting on his chest.

Her expression now appeared to be utterly relaxed- a great contrast to the sad expression that had adorned her face just minutes earlier- which relieved Nick since he very much preferred that expression on her face.

So with a smile on his lips, he leaned over to place a kiss on her temple as he replied to her.
''It's no trouble at all, El. Really, that's what I'm here for, after all. And I promise I'll be there for you whenever you need me.''

At first, he wasn't sure if Ellie had still been listening to what he had said or if she had finally fallen asleep, but when he saw a tiny smile form on her face, he knew she had heard his words, and just a moment later, her slowed down breathing told him that she was asleep, at last.

Nick continued to watch her for quite a while, perfectly content like that, with the woman he loves lying in his arms, him apparently having been able to give consolation when she had needed it before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep as well.