Family Day Out.
Callen woke up first, feeling the weight of his brother's dog on his legs. "Get off Monty!" he sighed and gently pushed the dog with his feet.
Monty stretched farted and fell off the end of the bed, as always after spraying the air with the now ever present can of air freshener, he leant over and checked the dog out to make sure he wasn't hurt, which as usual he wasn't. He stretched again and padded out of Callen's room to go and wake up his other master.
Callen stumbled into his bathroom and took a quick shower, within ten minutes he was in the kitchen putting the coffee on as his mother came out of her room.
"Good morning." Clara said as she gave him a hug.
"Morning mama." He said leaning back into it.
Hetty had given the family two weeks off, Clara freshly out of hospital needed to settle into her new room in Callen's home and her new place in her son's life.
Deeks bleary eyed and half asleep stumbled into the kitchen, "We're off for two weeks, why am I up at stupid o'clock in the morning?" he asked reaching for the coffee mug his brother held.
"Family day, remember?" Callen prompted.
Deeks took a sip of the coffee in his hand, made a face and promptly handed it back accepting the new cup Callen now held.
"Oh yeah." He said as understanding and brain cells filled his head and woke up with a caffeine jolt.
"So Grisha, where are we going today?" Clara asked as she sat at her table in his kitchen.
"We are going to build you some new happy memories." Callen replied, kissing Clara on the head, "You trust us don't you mama?"
"Yeah Mom, it's gonna be great, we're going to Monty's favorite place."
Callen went through his cupboard found a bag and boxes and packed a picnic for the three of them.
"Marty!" Callen called as he looked up and realized his brother had wondered off again.
"BATHROOM!" Deeks yelled back.
"Mama was he like this as a kid?" Callen asked rolling his eyes.
"Grisha khvatit pristavat' tvoyego brata!" Clara said.
"I wasn't!" Callen protested, "Well ok just a little, sorry mama."
Clara smiled, "What are you looking for?"
"A blanket to sit on." He said looking in the closet. "It was easier last week." He grumbled.
"You had nothing in your house last week, moy syn." Clara her chastisement of him light.
"That's true," He agreed, but I didn't lose anything either," He retorted.
"You lost something?" Marty asked walking freshly showered back into the room.
"Blanket….?" He asked.
"In the dryer, Monty slept on it the other night." He yawned.
"I have a dryer?" Callen asked shaking his head in wonder at the amount of items they had brought from his mother's house, "who packed that?"
"Kensi." Deeks said grabbing the toast out of the toaster.
Callen shot him a glare but really he loved this.
Clara handed Callen her plate, "I will do the dishes as soon as I am dressed." She told him.
"No, this is your day, go put on something comfortable, with some shoes you are comfy in." Callen said smiling as she left.
Deeks turned to his brother as their mother left. "Are you sure this is going to be a good idea?" he asked
"Mama's afraid of the beach because she thought Amy and I died on the beach, and we didn't, Surfing is a huge part of who you are and you are really talented, she should see that, with us both supporting her, she should learn to make new memories."
Deeks wanted to argue, but Callen was his elder brother and he was probably right.
Travelling in the car Callen had requisitioned for the week, His gut started to clench as he was sure he'd made a mistake.
"So why didn't Martin come with us?" Clara asked.
"He needed to pick something up." Callen said and turned into the car park.
"Grisha?" Clara said as she realized where they were. "No, I cannot?" she started breathing heavily.
"Mama, I'm here I'm alive, no one died on the beach, it was a lie remember." He said looking her straight in the eye.
She nodded her head she looked as she saw Monty, sat on the beach near a beach towel.
Callen smiled and grabbed the bag and another blanket.
He held out his hand and she held it tightly. "Come on Mom." He said.
She looked surprised, since they had met Martin had as he had always called her mom, but her eldest, her Grisha called her mama. This was the first time that he had used the Americanized version of her name.
She followed him and sat on the blanket he had spread out, next to the one Monty sat at, "Where is he boy?" Callen asked as the dog stared at the ocean.
"Is Martin watching the surfers?" Clara asked, still a bit shaky but rapidly calming down.
"Doubt it." Callen said, "See the large blue and white board," He pointed to a talented surfer riding a tube.
"He's good." Clara agreed, "I can see why you come here." She relented, "They are very talented, you surf?" she asked.
Callen shook his head, "Not really, I'm not as good as him."
Monty stood up as the surfer came back to shore and picked up his board, fist pumping with a few admirers as he made his way over to the dog.
"Martin? That was you?" Clara asked amazed.
Deeks looked slightly ashamed but nodded, "Yeah, I surf mom, have been since I was twelve." He admitted.
He waited for his dressing down but instead Clara got up and hugged him, "You were very good." She said.
Deeks smiled as Callen grinned from ear to ear at the happiness his mother and brother were exuding.
"Food?" he offered,
"Yeah, I'm starving." Deeks admitted, it was nearly lunchtime and all that surfing had made him hungry."
He sat down and grabbed a sandwich and ate.
Clara ate a sandwich and looked at her boys trying so hard to make her happy, her heart swelled, "I used to love the beach, as did you as a child Grisha,"
She looked over and saw Callen fiddling with something off to his side, "Grisha, what are you doing?" she asked.
Callen turned to show them the sand castle he'd been digging while they were eating.
"I'm changing my sad memories of the beach and making happy ones." He said. "Look Mama…a castle and I have a soldier." He pulled the tin soldier out of his pocket he'd been given last time he was on the beach with his mother.
Clara remembered the soldier and smiled. "It is as beautiful a castle as the last one you made me." She said.
"You saw it?" Callen asked.
Clara nodded, "I did."
Deeks watched his brother and mother and noticed the sadness in both of them, "Can I help."
He moved over to Callen's side and started building a castle too.
Clara took a sip of her coffee that Callen had brought with them and watched happily as her two boys made their first sandcastle together.
As a family she knew that they were still in for a few ups and down until they were functioning as a normal family again.
She relaxed as the day went on watched her two boys running in the ocean and Deeks trying to teach Callen to surf. She even closed her eyes and dozed in the afternoon sun as her boys sat nearby watching her.
"You think it worked?" Deeks asked shooting a concerned look at her.
Callen looked over at his mom, her eyes closed lying back on the beach, he didn't feel the twinge of fear he'd had before he got here, the feeling of panic when she had closed her eyes had dissipated and he smiled, "You know I think it did, for both of us."
He looked at the happy look on his little brother face and the look of peaceful contentment on his mothers face. "Marty, think of this as the first of many happy family memories."
Translation.
Grisha stop picking on your brother.