Summary: Callen has a row with Hetty at the end of the day after he discovers she has been withholding information about his past.

AN: I have messed about with the timelines of the episodes that this story is based upon. Also this is my first published story, so please forgive any errors in any medical scenes.

Disclaimer: NCIS LA and its characters are owned by CBS, Shane Brennan and the various writers. Thank you for bringing them to life and allowing us to have fun with them

I Should Have Waited

Chapter 1:

Seeing Hetty, the Ops Manager, sitting at her desk, Callen walked over to her and broached a difficult subject with her. "I know you know more about my past – my family – than you've told me. Why are you still keeping secrets? Y'know what it means to me" pleads Callen, his blue eyes looking sad.

"It is for your own protection, Mr Callen. Some things are not safe for you to know" replied Hetty.

"Let me be the judge of that. I'll find out eventually," he responded.

"That is as may be, but I'm not going to tell you - not yet" answers Hetty.

"If you won't tell me about my past, then tell me about the orphans" he asks changing tactics.

"Hetty glared at him. "No!" she said her voice showing the irritation she was feeling.

"How many more like Sullivan, Hunter, Grace Stevens me? One? Two? More?" he persisted, his voice getting louder so others in the office turned to look at them.

Hetty remained quiet, fixing her lead agent with an icy glare, her lips pursed together in anger. They continued to stare at each other, neither backing down. Special Agent G Callen, the one she'd come to think of as a son she never had, broke the silence.

"How MANY?" Callen asked again, this time more forcibly. As lead agent he worked very closely with Hetty and they had a good relationship. They had also known each other for years, but he knew he was now overstepping the boundary, which could have disastrous consequences.

"Watch your tone, Mr Callen. You're treading on dangerous ground" Hetty warned him, her voice bristling with anger, reinforcing what he'd just thought.

"How many? A few? More?" persisted Callen, his own anger starting to show.

"More!" answered Hetty reluctantly.

"How many more? Ten? Twenty? Callen asked, his jaw clenched to stem his own anger.

"MANY, MANY MORE!" shouted Hetty "THEY'RE JUST ASSETS, YOU ALL ARE!"

Hetty put her hand over her mouth as she realised what she'd said when she saw Callen's jaw drop in stunned surprise and the barely disguised look of pain which flittered across his face. He felt he'd been punched in the gut. He didn't know what he'd expected but he hadn't anticipated that. Quickly recovering some composure, Callen slammed his hand down on Hetty's desk and in a low tone, much more menacing then when his voice was raised, he said: "You're just a lonely, manipulative, old woman, who enjoys controlling people's lives. And I've had enough of it!"

As Callen swiftly turned walked away, he didn't see the look of shame and hurt in Hetty's eyes, nor the tears that threatened to spill over. Sam, Callen's NCIS partner, and one of many who had overheard the argument, approached him, blocking his path. "G?"

"Stay out of it, Sam – it's none of your business" snapped Callen as he tried to walk past.

Sam grabbed him by the arm to stop him, spinning Callen around so they faced each other. "C'mon G, we're friends"

Callen shrugged off Sam's hand, and putting his hand on his partner's chest, roughly pushed Sam away, "I mean it, Sam, stay out it!"

At the same time, having gained control of her emotions, Hetty said: "Let him go, Mr Hanna" and Sam held both hands up in surrender, allowing Callen a clear path to the door. "OK, bro"

Turning to Hetty, Sam gave her a questioning look as she came to stand beside him as they both watched Callen storm out of the office. "What was all that about? I've never seen G like that before; he had tears in his eyes"

"I've made a terrible mistake, Sam and I'm afraid I've lost him for good this time" she said sadly. Turning to go back to her office, Sam followed her. "Come sit down" and indicated that Sam should sit in the chair opposite her desk. He waited for Hetty to sit down before sitting himself.

"Mr Callen is angry and upset – rightly so. He feels betrayed by one of those he trusts most – well, as much as he can trust. He's just found out that I've been withholding information about his past, about his family. When I didn't comply with his questions, he tackled me on another subject and I'm afraid I lost my temper and said something that I shouldn't. Something that isn't true at all but he goaded me I snapped"

Sam nodded in understanding and said "Yes, he has a habit of doing that!"

Hetty continued. "It was done with good intentions. I was trying to protect him."

"He'll come round – just give him time" said Sam.

"I hope so, Sam, I really hope so but I fear that is one thing we're running out of. Events are gathering momentum and I trust that I haven't completely ruined things," countered Hetty.

Hetty sat quietly for a moment watching Sam. When Sam, a former SEAL, joined NCIS she paired him with Callen, a brilliant agent with a natural flare for undercover work but had an inclination to be a lone wolf. She hoped that Sam, with his SEAL training and their tendency to work in pairs as part of a larger team, would tame Callen's reckless nature, which was deeply rooted in his unconventional upbringing in the welfare system where he had no one to rely on but himself. It had worked and they'd been together for 5 years. Hetty nodded as if satisfied of the decision she had made.

"Sam, I won't tell you all the details – certainly not before I tell Mr Callen – but I can tell you enough for you to understand the seriousness of the situation and why I've acted in this way." She paused looking at Sam's face before continuing. "What I've know about Mr Callen's past is sketchy to say the least and I wasn't even aware that he didn't know his own name till a few months ago. However the crux of the matter is that there's a blood feud between his family and another powerful Romani family, who have vowed to eliminate every living member of his bloodline."

Sam's eyes opened wide with horror and understanding. "G is the last living member of his family … so they are trying to find him to kill him?"

"I'm afraid so, Sam. Do you see now why I've kept information from him? If he didn't know anything, he couldn't go actively searching for information thus put himself in danger."

Sam nodded "Hetty, I do but wouldn't it be safer to tell him so that he understands what he's up against?"

"Perhaps you're right, Sam. I was so concerned with keeping him safe, I feel I've lost track of the fact that this family has connections and resources as well. I now believe a lot of the events involving the Russians and Romanians may be indirectly connected to Mr Callen". Again she was silent for a while before continuing. "We know that the drive-by shooting last year was to do with a joint mission he was on in Moscow, before he joined NCIS. Sam, you're a good man and a good friend to Mr Callen. I need you to watch his back, more so than ever. I need you to keep him as safe as you possibly can. But he mustn't know the real reason, not yet. Not until I've had a chance to explain it to him."

"Of course, Hetty, y'know I will, always. Especially now. I've been worried about him lately – he's been a bit withdrawn, not quite himself. Don't get me wrong, not during a mission or on a case – he's totally professional and focussed then – but outside of work; this fixation he has with his past. I get it – totally – but I'm worried what it's doing to him, emotionally I mean."

"Yes, Sam. I do. I've noticed it too, which is why I think I've made a dreadful error of judgement. Please go and find him bring him to me. It's time I made amends." And as she watched Sam grab his keys off the desk and walk out of the office, she said to herself. "And pray it's not too late."