Another challenging case had been put to rest and all that remained was to finish the paperwork. Tidying up the evidence and sorting it away ready for it to be presented in court. Nell Jones knew that it wasn't enough to convince each other of a suspects guilt and the chain of events that had transpired. They needed to package everything in a way that a jury would be convinced also and the offender taken off of the streets for as long as possible. That was why she always liked to get everything squared away meticulously as soon as possible once a case was over.

She was focused, driven and had an incredible eye for detail.
At least she usually did. Tonight her eyes seemed more determined to wander to something other than her paperwork. Or rather to some one. She caught herself once again admiring the hands flying over the keyboard down the desk from her. The tanned forearms they were attached to and the hint of biceps she was sure she would find if she could finally peel that shirt off of him.

Shaking her head slightly at her inability to focus on the work at hand she forced her eyes back to the screen in front of her. The motion must have caught Eric's attention as she felt his eyes turn to her as soon as she did it.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"All okay," Nell assured him, trying to convince herself as much as him. Eric continued to watch her so she continued, "I just never cease to be amazed by the stupidity of certain individuals."

"Stupid is okay with me when it comes to bad guys," Eric offered. "The more mistakes they make along the way the easier it is for us to get to the bottom of. If they were all as switched on as you they would be a lot harder to catch."

"Why Mr Beale. Was that a compliment?" Nell teased with a smile.

Eric's face flushed and he awkwardly adjusted his position in his seat. "An observation," he told her, clearing his throat. "But I suppose a compliment also."

Nell shook her head once more, laughing inwardly. Five years of working together and he still couldn't even pay her a compliment without getting embarrassed.

"It is true though," Eric assured her, taking her head shake to mean she disagreed.

"Well thank you," Nell assured him even though it wasn't disagreement with his observation that had lead to the shaking of her head. Nell had no doubts about her degree of intelligence. She had a high IQ, a diverse range of skills and talents and not shortage of confidence in her own ability. When it came to her work Nell knew what she wanted and how to get it. When it came to her personal life on the other hand it wasn't quite so simple. It wasn't that she didn't know what she wanted. She definitely knew WHO she wanted. It was the getting it that she hadn't figured out. They had been dancing the same dance for too long and she was eager to step things up a gear. While the friendship they had was a lot of fun she had no doubts that there was even better in store if she could just get him to admit to what she was sure he wanted also. Any time she pushed the line into the personal however, a red faced Eric seemed to step backwards and shut down the flirty banter rather than stepping up and taking things to the next level.

In a different situation, one could take this behavior as a sign of disinterest but not with Eric. Nell was sure that her read on him was accurate. After all he was jealous enough at the thought of someone else having sent her flowers that he risked the wrath of Hetty by stealing one of her flowers for himself. Nell wasn't sure what it was that stopped him from taking things to the next level but she knew he wanted to.

In any other avenue of her life, armed with the confidence of having a good read on the situation, Nell would forge ahead, taking what she wanted. If this had of been work related she would have been all over it in less than a month. Less than a week more likely. There is no way she would have let things drag on this long without taking control. And yet when it came to relationships things were different. Grabbing a guy and kissing some sense into him was not her style. At least not without some mistletoe handy to blame. It wasn't the way she was brought up. Underneath the confident, independent shell Nell was actually a little bot old fashioned. Words her father spoke to her as a girl stayed with her always.

"Men will say yes to almost anything that is offered to them but the novelty wears off quickly. If you want a relationship that lasts, make sure they want it enough to fight for it. Let them do the chasing so that you are a valued prize and not just a way of passing some time."

And so the flirty banter and the stolen kiss was the limit to her pushing. She waited for him to admit to his feelings and push for more than what they had.

And she waited. And waited. And waited.

She waited so long that her sister decided she was in need of dating assistance and created an online profile for her. This had caught Eric's attention enough that he had gifted her a football DVD, not realizing the information contained was in parts more fiction than fact. In spite of the gift though and her attempts to encourage without forcing the issue the blush had crept in an ruined the moment once more as Eric retreated to his corner on Ops.

"Are you sure everything is okay?" Eric's voice broke through her haze. "You have been staring at that page for nearly five minutes."

"Um, yeah. Sorry. I'm fine. Just struggling to finding the motivation to get these reports finished tonight." Nell felt a blush begin to rise of her own. Telling him what had her distracted was not how she wanted to play things and yet letting things continue they way they were was equally unappealing. She needed a drink. Or five. Not that she was generally one to overindulge. Except perhaps for the odd occasion where she had found herself needing to spend the night on Hetty's couch rather than driving home.

An idea started to form in her mind. Maybe she wasn't the only one in need of a coupe of drinks. Maybe if she could lower Eric's inhibitions a notch she could get them to the place they both wanted to be.

Glancing over at his half completed report and seeing he was no closer to the end than she was her plan solidified.
"I need some added motivation to get this done," she told Eric. "Last one done buys drinks."
Eric nodded, reaching out a hand and giving hers a firm shake. "Deal," he said.

Releasing each others hand they both reached for their keyboards and turned to their reports with new determination. Nell wasn't too disappointed when Eric's keyboard stopped clacking away moments before she finished her last line.

"Done," she announced triumphantly.

Nell finished her sentence and pushed her own keyboard back away from her.

"Looks like the drinks are on me then Mr Beale. I'll just grab my jacket."