A/N: I had found this fic on my laptop. It is finished. Just a short one-shot. This is the first story I had tried, I just didn't post it. I also promise to post another chapter to "Between the Shadows" soon.

~ Requiem for a Hero ~

The roar of a raging engine, the sound of tyres squealing from being abused and the smell of abused tyres sent his instincts screaming of immediate danger, telling him to run and to seek cover. But there is something inside him that is telling him not to run. He is has been tired of late, and its not because of the lack of sleep either, but mentally. His life has been nothing more then an amusement park, or even a movie, and still the answer, and he has known all along that his life is meaningless and not worth preserving now. Now that he has gotten some of the questions about his past answered about the one person he trusts the most, perhaps even more so than Sam, to tell him the truth.

He even went through hell and back just to bring Hetty back home, and in a way he was indeed truly grateful for Sam, Kensi and Deeks come along to back him up. Some days Callen has been questioning himself, just is it that he had done to deserve so much trust and loyalty from his friends, when he still has trust issues. He is still afraid of being turned down or to be shoved aside for someone new.

Callen hasn't told anyone what he is truly afraid of, though he is fairly certain that most of them must be aware of it by now, yet.

He doesn't want to be left alone in the dark anymore.

How much longer will it take for them all to realise that he is just some stupid orphan boy in search of a family?

There are some days that he does feel that he has found it with his team, they have in some ways, in a lot ways, had become the family he has been searching for so long now that he doesn't even know what the true meaning of the word 'family' means anymore.

Callen glances to the side to catch a glimpse of said team, as they are about to raid an abandon warehouse, searching for a missing Staff Sergent, who is cable of arming a bomb and a few other things, and that is who they are searching for.

Sam Hanna, the man who just happens to have become Callen's best friend and confident after all of the years, who has also stood beside him during tough cases and Callen hopes that one day that he'll get to tell Sam just what he means to him.

The ex-Navy SEAL also glances quickly over his own shoulder to see the speeding SUV, with the squealing tyres, that was coming ever so closer to them all. One of it's sliding doors is wide open and there was these two masked men, holding automatic weapons in their hands, and they mean business. They mean to bring down the entire weapon.

But the SUV did not come alone.

The sound of weapons being fired caused all four of the team members to duck for cover. Kensi and Deeks ran, training their weapons on the men, who were responsible for shooting at them.

All for of them were trapped with no way out. The crates, which they taking are taking shelter behind, so they could protect themselves from all of that powerful firepower coming from the enemy, will not last for long with all of the firepower entering and exiting them like there is no more tomorrow.

Callen could hear Eric shouting something through his earpiece, but Callen was too focused on getting his teammates, his secret family, out of this hellhole.

Taking a pause ever so slightly when he felt something slam into his side, through the part where his bullet-vest does not protect. Nearly dropping his gun during the shock of it all. He'd been hit, just how bad it is – Callen does not know. But he knows that it'll only get worse if his team were to find out about this.

Seeing the bad guys fall as he continues to hit them with deadly precision. He doesn't how much longer he could continue to fire weapon accurately now that he has been wounded.

The adrenaline rush has masked the pain for now, which is what Callen needs right now if he were to get his team out of this mess.

He always knew that he might die in the line of duty.

Too many thoughts were rushing through his mind, along with a few regrets, which he'd gladly blurt out to the world right now if he could and he wouldn't care if the bad guys hear this one regret.

The one regret that is plaguing him right now, is that he never got to tell Kensi just the way she makes him feel. He has never this way towards anyone in a long time. He'd just been uncertain if she'd feel the same way. He has seen the way Deeks looks at her and how can anyone blame Deeks.

Kensi is a beautiful woman, who is perhaps one of the strongest people Callen has ever known. She is a fighter. Her strange quirks and the way she'd always find away to surprise Callen furthermore.

Callen has fallen in love with her, he wasn't too certain at first, but now that he is feeling that peaceful pull. He has finally come to realise that he is in love with his favourite agent. Callen is also aware that he was ready to let his feelings for her go if she and Deeks were to get together.

All Callen wants is for Kensi to be happy. That is all that he ever wanted for his team, his family and his best friend.

There is also a small part of him that wants to tell Deeks that he'd make one hell of an agent, if only Deeks could see it. Deeks has the makings of a good undercover agent and Callen can see, what Hetty had seen all along now.

Deeks is in someway a lot like Callen. They've both had tough childhoods and they've chosen a profession to help others . . . .

The time for dwell on his many regrets is beginning to come to an abrupt ending. He had ceased firing his weapon a while ago, not because it was empty, but because it was beginning heavy in his hand.

Firepower had ceased to fire it would seem, but Callen didn't take notice, he also didn't notice the way his team was shouting his name. They couldn't see him behind this crate, which he'd unsuccessfully taken cover.

He didn't see his team running towards him.

All he could see was darkness creeping in . . . . . . and then he new no more.

He's found the peace he has been searching for.

Peace has found him at last.

If only he'd find the chance to say good-bye.

~The end~