NCIS:LA - 'Free Ride'

IT'S CHRISTMAS!!! And some soldiers are fighting onboard an aircraft carrier. Lovely.

Also, I want to point out something HILARIOUS that I noticed while the video was frozen and loading. See the guy on the right, wearing the red shirt? Look at his facial expression. Isn't that ridiculous? It's like during his audition, they told him to make his eyes and mouth as wide as possible, at the same time. And he did. So he got the part. Priceless.

There was supposed to be an NCIS agent onboard the ship, but he's dead...
Eric and Nell are in a room giggling, and when Hetty opens the door, she finds them trying to jam an elf hat on Eric's head. Awww! Apparent'y he's agreed to help her volunteer with a Toys for Tots drive with the Marine corps, and as they're leaving, Hetty informs Eric he has 'elf head' meaning it's all flattened, so he messes it back up. Makes sense.
Sam can't find the gift he got for his daughter. So Callen uses this to make fun of Sam calling him old because his 'memory is the first to go'.
DEEKS IS BAAACK!!!! And awkwardly flirting with Kensi. But they're not going to get their Christmas plans, because they have to go on the ship, undercover, to investigate the death of the NCIS agent. Also the two guys who were brawling had traces of cocaine in their systems.
Deeks is all mad at first because he can't go undercover as a Marine, he gets assigned to be a geek, but then Hetty threatens to cut his hair so he agrees. 

Come on Deeks, don't you know that pride is a deadly sin?

Eric walks in on Nell leaning on the table leaning on her hand and from her position and the way she was talking, I thought she was talking on the phone, but she's just sad because she can't be with her family at Christmas, and now her 'surrogate' family (the rest of the team) is gone too. Poor girl! But Eric promises to make it up to her. Awwe!!

They get onto the ship, and Deeks makes it evident that he doesn't belong there lol he knows almost nothing about a ship or miliraty protocol. Attaboy. He and his escort (a word he enjoys using), Agent Smalls, form a weird sort of bond, she's overly formal, and he makes fun of her. But when some soldiers hassle him, he holds his own, then Sam jumps in to rescue him, and punches him in the gut. Also, Deeks finds spinach. Which is significant because if means the body was dragged from where he was killed, to where they actually found him.

Kensi's escort is of the male variety; Deeks is jealous of his tallness and manliness (envy now? You're 2 for 2 there on the sins, Deeks!) but I am extremely excited to see him, because HE'S PLAYED BY THIS GUY!!! 

That's right, Beaver's in the Navy now!!

Also the command master cheif started acting crazy and attacking people with a wrench, and they take him down but they find out that he had - I guessed it - cocaine in his system. When they search the ship for cocaine, they don't find anything - yet, it's 'like searching Cleveland' says Deeks haha - and Beaver-man and Kensi have an interesting moment which causes a passing Deeks to walk into a pole and Smalls to say 'watch your head, sir!' to which he shoots back 'that's why it's calles FOREwarning there, Smalls!'
The Nellric cuteness continues, when she gives him an elf costume, including some green leggings (he calls them 'pantyhose' hahaha) and he gets all awkward and says no he won't wear them. So she mocks him on his pyjama choices (anyone remember the polar bears? And Spiderman?) She looks all disappointed and like she thinks he's a pansy, but leaves it alone.
Deeks finds the murder weapon, which is a pipe valve, and then gets attacked and strangled by someone. There was a faulty refrigeration container too. Which was being repaired but the same 2 guys who tried to beat up Deeks earlier. And when the rest of the team converge on the spot where Deeks last was, they find those same 2 guys and their boss, who is pushing a garbage container, with Deeks in it. And he shoots. So they shoot back and kill him.
They find out that the paint in one of the containers of food is part-cocaine, which is how random people ingested it, because it contaminated the food.
They're going to track the container when it leaves the ship, to see where the cocaine is headed, but the team is still stuck on the ship until December 27th (how depressing!) because Eric couldn't get anything better.
Then as they're sitting around looking glum, someone shows up - and it's Hetty!! She has a plane and lets Sam take it back to LA to be with his family, so he picks her up and hugs her! Aww haha so cute!
But on to more important things:

 She's got her priorities right.

Back at Ops, Eric walks out into the empty downstairs looking all sad, it's decorated SO lavishly, and then Nell walks out in her elf outfit, and it's perfectly adorable, she's got the ears and everything, and then - SHE KISSES HIM! Because - I KNEW IT! They were standing under the mistletoe Callen and Sam glared at earlier! HAHAHA but he's so smitten, she walks off and he goes 'wait I'm gonna go get my leggings and come with you!' Attaboy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!! And all the other Nellric shippers out there who thought this day would never come!