Title: A Legacy of Their Own
Author: DizzyDrea
Summary: The future is stretching out before them, and they both know that it isn't the future they thought they'd have. But it's brighter now than they'd ever imagined it could be.
Rating: T
Spoilers: Nothing specific
Author's Notes: The first line of this story came to me in the shower this morning (the shower muse strikes again), so I sat down to write it this afternoon before the whole thing evaporated from my mind. I'll let you read it, then you can check the notes at the bottom of the piece for the why's and wherefore's. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles and all its particulars are the property of CBS, Paramount, Donald P. Bellisario, Belisarius Productions, Shane Brennan, Shane Brennan Productions, and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.
~o~
When the call comes in, it is a blessedly quiet and oddly crime-free Wednesday afternoon. They rush to the hospital and Callen is immediately ushered through the double doors at the end of the hall.
He's nervous, and it's to be expected. He's never done this before. Sam Hanna's got this been-there-done-that-got-a-closet-full-of-t-shirts smile on his face. Oddly, it's Marty Deeks who's a mess. One would think it was his partner in the ward beyond the doors. And she is, but when Kensi Blye emerges, he nearly passes out from relief.
Time passes, and eventually Hetty and Eric Beale join the vigil in the waiting area. Sam and Eric play cards to pass the time, and Kensi and Deeks—once he's calmed down—play the beanbag toss game Eric brought with him. Eventually they set up a tournament, and as people pass, they stop to watch for a moment or two, cheering for the various teams without knowing who's on which side or frankly, who they really are.
The night wears on, and still there's no news. Every once in a while, Sam will get a text from G, but progress is slow so he suggests they all just go home. No one does.
Morning arrives with no news, the sunlight filtering in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Hetty makes a phone call, and a short time later there's a small feast spread out on the table in the waiting area, complete with a large urn of coffee that they all serve themselves from gratefully.
Hetty's also had the foresight to have toothbrushes and toothpaste delivered, and so, one by one, the group excuses themselves to the nearby restrooms to brush their teeth and splash some water on their tired faces. They feel more awake, if not more presentable, but they still have no idea how much longer they'll have to wait.
The text messages have dried up, and Deeks is beginning to get fidgety. He's started making noises about checking with the nurses to see if they'll give him any information when Sam's phone pings. He thumbs it on, then breaks out into the biggest grin anyone's ever seen on him.
Mother and baby doing fine…
There are sighs of relief, shouts of joy, and more than one teary eye. Even the ever-stoic Hetty Lange appears to be moved to tears, but no one says anything because they know just how she feels.
It's another hour before they get the all-clear to come back to the room, and the nurses kindly refrain from saying anything when all five of them troop in at the same time.
When they walk through the door, they see their teammate standing beside the bed with a small, pink bundle cradled in his arms. Nell is stretched out on the bed, looking tired but radiant as she watches their daughter bond with her Dad.
Sam approaches first, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. Callen looks up, and the two men share a look. A conversation is spoken without a single word exchanged. Sam knows what lays ahead for his partner: three am feedings, pink bows and Barbie dolls, boyfriends and the inevitable driver's license. Although, given that this is Callen's daughter, it's more likely to be dirt bikes and skinned knees than anything else.
Still, he's excited for Callen. For both of them, really. They all are. G Callen and Nell Jones are an unlikely match: he's always been a loner, preferring a rootless existence to anything smacking of home and family. And Nell has relatives to spare, all loud and loving. But they are what each other needs, and everyone is glad for them.
Kensi declares little Alexa Claire to be perfect. Deeks is just glad that with a shock of red hair and round cheeks, she doesn't look like her father. Eric offers to teach the little girl how to hack into the most sophisticated computer networks known to man.
Hetty merely watches everything, a secret smile tipping her lips. She'd known that bringing Nell into the OSP family would change things. She'd had no idea that Callen would lower his now-legendary guard and let Nell in, but she's glad he did. She's always thought of him as family, and now her family has grown to include the daughter of a Marine, a former SEAL, a surfer-cop, a computer expert and a talented analyst. She has no doubt that Alexa will fit right in.
The team finally leaves, after passing the little girl from person to person so that everyone—even Eric, though he looked as though he'd have skipped the opportunity if given the choice—could have a moment with their newest addition.
Now, it's just Callen, Nell and Alexa. The lights are low, and night is falling outside. Nell scoots over on the bed, and Callen climbs up beside her, his daughter still clutched in his arms. They hadn't planned to have children. They hadn't really planned to get involved, either, but some things are best left to fate and Callen isn't one to disagree.
He shifts Alexa into Nell's arms, then scoots down to curl himself around them. The future is stretching out before them, and they both know that it isn't the future they thought they'd have. But it's brighter now than they'd ever imagined it could be.
Nell smiles up into the eyes of the man beside her, tears coming to her eyes at his heartfelt 'thank you'. She knows it's for more than just his daughter. It's for this life they're building, this future they can now look forward to. And for the legacy he'll be able to leave once his time here is done.
Sighing contentedly, she snuggles into his side as they both watch their daughter sleep, dreaming of the days to come.
~Finis
Author's Note Post-Script:
This is, quite surprisingly, my second Callen/Nell story. I thought long and hard about the pairing for this story, and decided that I wanted to do this as Callen/Nell because I'm still trying to work out my Callen/Nell muse and this seemed to be a good opportunity, and because the story just seemed to fit with the two of them.
My sister and brother-in-law had a little boy last September, and he has quickly become the apple of everyone's eye. This story is nearly an identical retelling of those experiences, right down to the toothbrushes in the morning and the crowd in their room that night.
I'd been looking for a story like this for NCIS: LA for a while, because I've played with this style for every other fandom I write for except this one. And then this story came to me, and practically wrote itself. It's special, for obvious reasons, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.