Re: Derek/Nell
"Unless you count Mrs. Barrish, I mean Margaret. I'm pretty sure Brian intends to invite her to watch and encourage the drinking." Nodding, she leaned against him, grateful for the silent support of that arm around her shoulders. "They may be different colors or shapes, but everyone's wearing a mask of some kind, even friendliness. But, yeah, as long as we know what's what, we're good."
Agreeing that they both knew there was no 'we' or 'us' despite circumstances or perceptions was a lot easier than dealing with some of those circumstances. And his momentary verbal fumbling was actually putting her more at ease than it seemed to be him. "Derek, relax. Same page and we're all good, remember?" She looked up at with a smile and winked. "It's not like none of them know, anyway. Troy's the only one I've talked to about it, but Brian's made it clear he knows something's up, but doesn't say anything. I think if John ever actually let on how much he sees we'd find he was giving Sam and Callen a run for their money on observation. So, they probably both know, especially after I woke up the entire floor a few weeks ago. If I had to leave, we can just go, no cover story required."
She bit her lip, frowning as she thought about it. "This is going to sound incredibly strange and it doesn't even really make sense to me. But, I do want to try it. I don't think it'll magically cure my low sex drive and I'll be honest, I don't know if I'm really ready for much. Not yet, anyway. But, I want to be comfortable again, to just enjoy human touch again. And, in a way, despite the default 'us', it feels safer in a group. Safer in that there isn't as much pressure as if we tried it while it was just us in private. It's more just hanging out with friends in various stages of naked than stressing about working through mental blocks and issues. Does that make any sense? Am I asking too much? I trust you, Derek. And, there really isn't anyone else I can ask to help me like this. But, I don't want this to turn into one big, frustrating cocktease, either."