Journey Series: Ellick

Reminiscing

Ellie Bishop sat at her desk biting on the end of her pen. Peculiar was the word that came to mind. Not the fact she was sitting at her desk. It was Nicolas Torres who was peculiar. After 8 years undercover, the agent supposed to have gone rogue was now working as her partner daily in the field. She vividly remembered the day she and agent Gibbs had accosted him at gunpoint just following his takedown of three of Silva's men. The men had tracked him after his disappearance from Buenas Aires and confronted him, beginning to attack him in an alley. Yet all three had been taken down effortlessly by Torres, who hadn't even broken a sweat. Impressive was the unconscious description that popped into her head. The day had continued like any other. Well, a normal day for NCIS at least. They had saved the judge and put away the bad guy. Watching Torres through it all was like watching a roller coaster. One moment relatively calm (Ellie thought back to the moment he told Gibbs about the bomb under his seat). In the next, he was yelling at both Gibbs and Director Vance. "16 different names, 16 different home addresses, no wife, no kids, I don't even know what I want anymore!" His voice had then lowered and muttered something incomprehensible. Those were the exact explosive words she had heard as she approached the director's office to update them on Kasie's findings. It had sickened her to her core to hear it. To think of the 8 years of service he had put in. Always acting like someone he wasn't. No longer able to recognize what he really wanted. But at the end of the day, there was a badge waiting for him. She recalled his words that had caused yet another point of soreness on her heart. "I've never been part of a team before. I'm not really sure I'm a good fit." Uncertainty and something resembling fear traced his face. She had smiled brightly and said softly, "well, there's a first time for everything." During her drive home that evening, for whatever reason, all she could think about was the starved hope and desperation that had shone out of his dark, soulful eyes. Since then, working with Torres had still been very much like a roller coaster. Except she was now on it. He was gruff, then sweet, angry, then funny, serious, then joking. Most of the time he would joke. Not as much as Dinozzo ever had but the humor was still there as a constant shield. He did his job well, Ellie could not deny that, but then he was always going to the gym or "a hot date" after work. He was very open about little things. His superpowers of breaking down doors, taking down bad guys, and of course, the tango. The music he liked.

Other than that, Ellie suddenly realized, she barely knew anything about Torres. He had been undercover for 8 years, but she knew almost nothing about what had happened. He wouldn't explain why he had a picture of himself on his desk, among other things. On a few rare occasions, something had popped up that provided new info. Either a case was related to an old undercover op, or on even rarer occasions, Nick would actually crack, ever so slightly. His eyes would take on a reminiscent glow that was dark, cold, and deliberate. His voice would become low and graveling as he related small details here and there, sometimes to help with a case, and sometimes solely to her. Then something would snap, he would realize what he had done and bury it down again. Ellie began to suspect that the humor and endless empty comments about gym workouts or dates were really just a shield for the real Nick Torres. So what is he hiding? What is the real Nick Torres like?

Ellie traded the pen, which now appeared horridly mauled, for her favorite ketchup and prawn chips. They saddened her, as memories of Reeves flooded her analytical mind each time she tasted them. But they also made her smile as she remembered all the good times they had together. And because Nick had gotten them for her.

About a month or so after Reeves's death, (and the issue of Nick getting into a fight, being sent home, then showing up drunk on her doorstep) Ellie had made a slight complaint after discovering that her stash from Reeves was almost gone. A few weeks following, she discovered that her supply had been resupplied. She made no comment on it as she was only happy to have food. But she made a mental note of it. She conjectured that he was probably the only one who would even think to do something like that. For her, no less. Being familiar with his other-worldly ability to know if she even glanced in the general direction of his desk, she said nothing, and continued to enjoy them in apparent ignorant bliss, but couldn't help wondering: Why would he care so much? "Why" was a popular word among her thoughts of Nick. Why was he invasive of her life, especially when it came to dating? Ellie felt as if her thoughts were becoming shallow but could not help being intrigued by his incessant need for his presence to accompany her all through her personal life. Geez, he was almost as bad as her brothers. But she still wouldn't call him one. Why? She wasn't really sure.