Disclaimer:

I don't own anything and I don't make any money of this. I just borrowed the characters - with the exception of Emma Beale - for my (and hopefully your) entertainment and will bring them back safely before the start of season 7, I promise!

Author's Note:

This is the first fanfiction I ever wrote for the NCIS: Los Angeles fandom. I have been writing fanfiction before, but for another fandom and it's been a few years since. Also I posted under another username back then, which I don't have access to anymore.

I am still a newbie to NCIS: LA, only recently stumbled across the series but instantly got hooked, so if there are any inconsistencies with the characters I apologize in advance. There's always that little thing called creative license, though, so you might have to bear with me there. Also, English is not my first language, so there are most likely some grammatical issues or incorrect use of vocabulary in there somewhere.

For your information, the story is inspired by a recently posted picture of Barrett Foa on Twitter, in which he is posing for the Alzheimer's Association.

Enough said. On with the story!

Fool's Gold

A persistent ringing noise penetrated his ears as he slowly came back to awareness from a deep yet restless sleep. Grunting, he ignored it and turned around in his bed, drawing his blanket higher in an attempt to block out any sound. After a few times the ringing stopped. He almost cheered contently only to be disturbed a second time. Whoever it was would have to have a damn good reason for waking him up this early. He had just gotten home from a deeply disturbing case that night. After five days, in which he had not seen anyone or anything else than his coworkers and his working space in ops, they had finally solved the case late last night – or rather early this morning – just after three a.m. and Hetty had been kind enough to send them home with the orders to leave the paperwork for the next working day and not to return to OSP before noon. While he had been ready to crash, sleep hadn't come to him right away, hence the exhaustion he felt right now.

He threw the blanket back with a groan. Without opening his eyes he blindly fumbled for his cell phone which sat on the bedside table to his right and answered it without a glance at the caller. "H'llo?"

"Eric, it's me."

Eric pressed his head deeper into his cushion and wiped his free hand over his tired face. "Emma?", he asked, although he didn't need confirmation. He'd identify her voice anywhere and everywhere.

"That would be me. Don't tell me you were still asleep?!" Her sassy voice drifted over the phone.

"Well, yeah. It's like what? Five in the morning?", he argued weakly, even though he had no idea what time it was and he was still too tired to open his eyes and take a look at the alarm clock.

"No, Eric, it's almost noon!"

"Really?" He was wide awake all of a sudden, his heartrate spiking dangerously. If it was close to noon, then he would be late for work. He was never late for work. Hetty would kill him. "Darn it." Then he heard a chuckle on the other end of the line and he frowned. "Wait, is it really?" He dared a glance at his alarm clock only to realize that it must have stopped a while ago since the clock hands were frozen at ten past three, which wasn't likely.

"Well, not exactly. I was just kidding. It's way past that."

"That's not funny!", he exclaimed, suspicious that she was still yanking his chain, but not really sure of it.

"Oh my god, did you – Eric Bartholomew Beale III. – actually oversleep? This is one for the books. I never thought I'd live to see the day!"

"Emma! Tell me what time it is, already", he demanded impatiently, then added in an afterthought, "My alarm seems to be broken."

"Alright, alright. It's actually 7:48 a.m." Finally!

"Now, that I believe."

"And still, it's unbelievable, that you – early bird extraordinaire – were still asleep a couple minutes ago. In all the time I've known you, you've always been up much, much earlier than that", she said in a light tone.

"Oh, shut up, Emma", he grumbled and heard her laugh at the other end of the line.

"So… What did you do? Party? Have a girlfriend over?"

"Neither." Eric rubbed at his tired eyes, drawing his long legs under his body, until he was sitting Indian-style.

"Then what is it? I'm curious. Now spill!"

"I had to work late into the night and wasn't home until three this morning."

"Oh okay. You're excused then."

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, Eric."

"So, why did you call exactly? You obviously didn't call for no reason and also not to tease me about sleeping in, which you couldn't possibly have known, I might add. So what do you want?"

"Can't a girl simply call her favorite brother to say hi?" He could hear the playful pout on her lips over the phone.

"I'm your only brother", he replied flatly. "And you never call just to say hi."

"True and true."

"So?" He encouraged her to elaborate by drawing the word out.

"Actually, I've been calling you, because someone forgot to call me, yesterday." While still kept light, Eric could hear the disapproval in her response now loud and clear.

"I didn't forget…", he started, as realization hit him square in the face.

"Well, did you take a look at today's date, by any chance?" Now she sounded – angry? Annoyed? Disappointed. Definitely disappointed. He cringed.

"I don't have to", he replied, his voice getting a tinge of sadness. How could he ever forget?

"Neither do I. So, since you forgot the initial call already, I do hope you remembered to take the day off."

He closed his eyes and drew a face that thankfully she couldn't see. "I didn't", he sighed regretfully and waited for the angry yelling that he was sure would come. But to his surprise, he was met with silence, so he continued. "We have a tight work schedule at the moment and I haven't been home in almost a week until early this morning, so… I didn't mean to, but in all the hectic I kind of forgot to ask my boss…", he trailed off, uncertain of her response, but also angry at himself for forgetting.

"Eric…!", she finally exclaimed after another long pause, but not nearly as angry as he would have expected. "I can't believe it! It's only been seven years and you already forget about the day?"

"I didn't forget about today. It just slipped my mind to request a leave of absence. I'm sorry."

"So, what? Can't you just call in sick? Tell them you ate some spoiled Chinese or something?"

"I can't. They'd know it was a lie", he answered warily, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"So what? Everyone calls in sick at some point in their life!" He noticed the repetition of the phrase as typical behavior on her end. She usually did that when she was very annoyed with him or his choices. It also reminded him, that she had missed out on a lot as a child and those childlike actions was her subconscious coping with it by living it out in adulthood.

"Not everyone", he mumbled, but loud enough for her to hear.

"Everyone but you, apparently."

He sighed, knowing it was time on acting like the big brother he was. 'Or like a parent', his brain reminded him, unhelpfully. When he spoke again, his voice had taken on a sobriety that he very rarely used with her. "Emma, listen. Like I told you, I've been very busy these last few days. Thankfully, my boss knows that and she technically didn't want to see me before noon. Now, I could defy direct orders and be at work by nine, if I don't get stuck in traffic. If I'm lucky and nothing's landed on my desk, I might be able to ask my superior, if I could leave once the paperwork is done. She might authorize it, just because of my recent workload. If everything works according to plan, I'd be out of the office by noon."

"It won't be the same, though", Emma grumbled over the phone, just a little bit whiny, but Eric knew she was right. He kind of felt the same way.

"I know. But I'll make it worth our while", he promised, softening his voice just a bit.

"Promise?"

"Promise. I'm really sorry, Emma. You know that this is just as important to me as it is to you."

"Yeah, I know." There was almost a minute filled with silence as they were each caught up in their own thoughts. She was the first to break it. "So, you're going to call me as soon as you are free to go?"

"I will. Later, Emma. I love you."

"Love you, too. Later."

Eric held the phone to his ear until he heard the beep indicating that she had ended the call, then threw the device on the mattress and let his fall back with a sigh. He felt conflicted about the way this had panned out. He felt angry with himself for forgetting not only one, but two very important tasks. The call to his sister and the request for a day off, both lost in a case. Today, June 17, was a very important day to him and his sister and it was the only day of the year that he would ever take a day off of work by his own request. He didn't care, if he had to work on the holidays or on his birthday, really, but this date was holy to him.

It was the birthday of his – their – mother. She had died just a couple of days before her fiftieth birthday, when her organs failed her after fighting against the disease for a decade. They had known for weeks that it wouldn't be long until her passing, but the knowledge didn't really prepare you. And in all honesty, Eric and Emma had been hopeful that she would at least live to see her anniversary – and hear about her sons' graduation. Unfortunately, she hadn't, but the siblings had decided to still celebrate in her honor every year to come. Today, she would have been 57.

Shaking his head, Eric pushed himself up from his bed and headed for the bathroom. He would grab a quick shower, skip breakfast and head straight for OSP. The sooner he got there, the sooner he would be able to leave. At least, it was what he hoped for.

So, this is a prelude of what is to come and I have a lot more written on my computer I'm not nearly finished with the story.

Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated!

- S.