Author's Notes: This is unlike any NCIS: LA fic I've written before. My main story (the sequel) will take place when the three main canon characters are adults, but this story focuses on their childhood as siblings. This isn't an ordinary childhood, either. I am keeping as much canon things as possible - G still goes to foster care, Marty still shoots Gordon Brandel, and so on. The time flow of this story will often change per chapter, whereas other time periods might be focused on for several chapters. I am posting this story sooner than I intended as I want to use it to try even shorted chapters than I'm used to, which will enable me to update much faster and not take time away from my other stories.

Warning: The rating for this story may change to M later on. Note that this story contains violence, minor infrequent course language, minor suggestive adult themes, child neglect and abuse, and otherwise. This is not a story for children, despite this being a childhood story of four siblings growing up.

~ Prologue ~

1970

The maternity ward at the biggest hospital in Miami was filled with mingled cries of mothers and newborns, but not in the tiny room near the end. Lisa Linmore tried to tune out the loud sounds, and hoped they wouldn't wake her newborn son.

She'd given birth earlier that morning, and by nightfall she was still admiring his tiny form. His little blue hat had a "G" printed on the front, and she had no idea that one day her boy would spend years wondering what the singular letter stood for.

Lisa sighed and leaned back against the propped up pillows behind her on the bed. She hated hospitals, though it was necessary to be there and ensure her baby was healthy. She only wished her husband, Chad, could be there as well. He'd called once or twice, but Lisa had been resting and only knew he had a big car deal to close before he could leave work. When she'd met him at a rock concert three yeas ago, Lisa fell completely in love with his strength and charm. Now, after a year of marriage, Lisa just wanted Chad to join her in welcoming his son into the world.

The infant in her arms made a sound, and Lisa couldn't find the effort to be annoyed at her husband when she looked at the red face of their little boy.

'Hey, Gavin.' Lisa whispered, kissing his forehead. 'Let me see your eyes, little man.'

Gavin blinked his blue eyes and stared up at his loving, though tired, mother. She felt so joyful she might cry, as Lisa admired the tiny fuzz of blonde hair he'd inherited from Chad. Her own hair was light brown, though both her and her husband had bright blue eyes.

'You're perfect.' Lisa told her baby. 'You'll be with me, always, won't you? You're my son, so you have to stay with me forever, okay?'

Gavin watched her silently, then closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. She cradled her child in her arms, then handed him to a nurse who came to check on him since he was born a bit early. Lisa exhaled and glanced to the clock resting on the wall across from her bed. She hoped Chad would visit soon, but the sinking feeling in her chest meant she already knew her husband wouldn't be there on that special day.

Gavin had come into the world after almost nine months of waiting - yet only his mother was there to greet him.

~ S ~

1973

Three years later, Gavin's little sister experienced the same moment he had - with Chad once again working long hours even on such a crucial day. Except, little Vanessa wouldn't just have her mother to welcome her into the world. Gavin, by the age of three, was already determined to be the best big brother in the whole world. He stood at his mother's bedside that late afternoon, standing on his tip-toes in eagerness to catch his first glimpse of his baby sister.

Gavin hadn't been happy when his parents told him he was having a baby sister, as he'd wanted a brother instead, but when a nurse lifted up onto the bed to meet the baby – Gavin didn't mind. She was so small, and Gavin was scared of breaking her - he was extra careful when placing a quick kiss to her very light brown hair.

Her blue eyes watched his, and the siblings were lost to the moment.

'This is your little sister, Gavin.' Lisa smiled at her two children. 'Her name is Vanessa. Say hello.'

'Hi, Vessa.' Gavin said, touching her belly with his small hand. He cuddled up close to his mother, laying his head on her shoulder to watch his tiny sister sleeping in Lisa's arms.

Lisa wished she'd had a photo taken of the moment, so she could always look back on how happy and whole they were that afternoon in the hospital – even with Chad's absence. It was a moment to be cherished, but it was only a snapshot in time. And, like most things in life, time changed. The heart-warming picture of a happy family without any worries in the world could only exist in a photograph.

Gavin and Vanessa were about to learn some very harsh lessons about life, change, and family. That day in the hospital would be special for a whole other reason - it was the last time their family was picture-perfect.

~ Los Angeles ~

1974

'Maaaaaaaa!' Gavin yelled, as the four-year-old ran wildly down the main hallway of the house.

'Oh, for Beatles sake!' Lisa gasped when her son barrelled against her side. 'What is it, Gavin?'

'Vessa stuck in box!' Gavin said, shaking his head. 'Vessa not s'posed to be in box!'

Lisa frowned, and headed for the stairs with Gavin clutching her side. Unable to move fast enough with the boy hanging onto her skirt, Lisa picked him up and headed to the nursery. She'd been packing boxes for days, and had left the two children upstairs in the nursery to play while the moving men took out the rest of the downstairs furniture.

It had lasted a whole hour, before her son had came tearing down the stairs yelling.

'Oh, Vanessa.' Lisa sighed, seeing her one-year-old had crawled into an overturned box. She lifted the girl out, and placed her back on the mat. 'See? She's fine.' Lisa told her son, who she'd put back on the floor, then turned to leave the room.

'Vessa, okay?' Gavin hurried to his little sister and checked her over.

She giggled, and slapped his head with her hand. Gavin glared at her, then moved away to play with his wooden train. Vanessa crawled over and tried to take it – she wanted to play too, but didn't know how.

'No, Vessa.' Gavin whined. 'It's mine!'

Vanessa scrunched her face, which started turning red, and Gavin sighed with defeat. He didn't want her to cry, so he handed Vanessa the toy - making her giggle again, and shifted so his back was to her. While contemplating what toy to play with next, Gavin heard the downstairs door open and a grunt of someone bumping into furniture.

'Daddy!' Gavin jumped up, hurrying down the stairs to greet his father.

He halted at the bottom step, and waited while Chad put down his suitcase. He knew better than to ever interrupt his father when he had the suitcase.

'Hey, kiddo!' Chad grinned widely at his little boy.

'Daddy!' Gavin squealed, running to be scooped up into the air. 'Vessa was in a box.' He said, shaking his head with disapproval.

'Uh huh.' Chad nodded, distracted, as he looked around the house to check how fast it was emptying in their preparation to move. He looked at Lisa, who offered him a smile of greeting, and sighed.

'Daddy, Mama said the new house is really really big!' Gavin babbled. 'Bigger than a truck!'

'Yeah.' Chad said, not paying attention. He frowned with dread, and put Gavin down. 'Do play with your sister.'

'But, Daddy-'

'Now, Gavin!' Chad said sternly, catching Lisa's immidiate attention.

Gavin sulked, and made his way back up the stairs, but stopped halfway when he heard the conversation taking place between his parents.

'Pack this crap up.' Chad told his wife. 'We're not moving upstate.'

'What?' Lisa startled. 'Chad, you promised! With your promotion last week-'

'Damnit, Lisa, we're not going upstate anymore!' Chad growled.

'Why?' She demanded to know. 'You promised us a better life, Chad.'

'I know, and it won't happen here.' Chad said. 'We're going to Los Angeles. My brother set us up with a decent place there. We'll be right near the ocean, just like here.'

'What the Hell, Chad?' Lisa said angrily. 'How can you make those arrangements without asking me? What about our plans? You remember our plans, don't you?'

'Plans change!' Chad snapped. 'We're going to LA, so pack this crap up faster and direct it there.'

Gavin shuddered when the voices raised even higher. He'd heard them yell before, but not that loudly or for a long time. He considered running upstairs to hide, and make sure his sister was okay, but Gavin was too shocked to move.

'Damn it all, Lisa!' Gavin shouted. 'I lost my job, okay? We have to get out, so we're going to LA today. End of discussion!'

Gavin turned and scurried up the stairs, tripping at the top. He returned to where Vanessa was trying to put the toy train in her mouth, and dropped onto the mat in front of her.

'Daddy's yelling.' Gavin told Vanessa, reaching to hold her hand. 'But it's okay, Vessa. I won't yell at you like Daddy yells at Mama.'

~ S ~

That afternoon was the first time Gavin and Vanessa had ever left Florida, or been on a plane. The three-hour journey passed by for the two siblings, however, as they slept right through it. They were lucky to remain blissfully unaware of the building tension between their parents, brought on by Chad being fired from his formerly-successfully job as a car salesman – and their abrupt move across the country rather than a few miles upstate.

Gavin and Vanessa's first view of Los Angeles wouldn't be as they'd remember it while growing up – there was an unexpected downpour of rain the moment they'd left the airport., which blocked out the sun and dulled every street they drove by. Lisa glared out through the front passenger side of the car window, as if the rain was an omen of what was to come.

'How are you going to support us?' Lisa finally broke her silence on the drive to their new house.

'Can we not talk about this now?' Chad complained, steering them into the midst of traffic.

'Daddy, where are we?' Gavin wondered from the back-seat, playing with his wooden toy zebra.

'Los Angeles, son.' Chad answered, ignoring his wife. 'This is going to be our new home now.'

'Why?' Gavin asked.

'Daddy needs a new job.' Chad sighed. 'And this place is pretty cool, isn't it?'

Gavin looked at the window to his left and frowned. He didn't think it looked cool at all – it was all gloomy and wet, from what he could see. He thought Vanessa agreed, as she started crying in distress.

'Vanessa, honey, please be quiet.' Lisa sighed from the front seat. 'Daddy's driving.'

The toddler continued to cry; Gavin leaned over to her seat and tried to entertain her with his toy.

'It's okay, Vessa.' Gavin told her. 'You're okay. You're okay.'

'Would you shut her up?' Brad complained to Lisa.' I'm trying to drive. I hate traffic – one day we should move somewhere that doesn't have any cars.'

'Vanessa, be quiet!' Lisa hissed irritably to the one-year-old, turning in her seat to fix the small child with a stern look.

The little girl hiccuped, then whimpered. Gavin held her hand and kissed it, trying to let her know everything was alright. She sniffled, and looked at him, then stopped crying. Her face was still sad, but Gavin was able to distract Vanessa long enough for them to reach their new house without further conflict.

'We're here!' Chad soon announced, stepping out of the car and hurriedly opened the large umbrella.

He want around to protect his wife from the rain, and placed a hand on her back to steer her to face the house. He had a smile on his face, whereas Lisa could only stare at the fence-less yard, paint-peeled house, and overall small size. She glanced further down the hill towards her right where she saw the ocean horizon in the not-so-far distance.

'What do you think?' Chad asked, anxious. 'I know it's not the big house we wanted in Florida, but it's home now. The kids have a yard, and the beach is right there! It'll be great, just you wait and see.'

While Lisa continued to stare at the house with dread, in the car Gavin was crawling carefully over his sister to get a better look through her window. She made a sound of complaint, but otherwise merely shifted her interest to his discarded toy.

'I dunno.' Gavin frowned at the house, though the rain against the window lessened his perception of it. 'It doesn't look like home, Vessa.' The four-year-old sighed, and settled back in his own seat.

He watched his parents approach the house, and begun to panic. Gavin hit the glass of his window over and over, worried about being left behind in the unfamiliar car surrounded by rain. It took a moment for them to hear his frantic noise over the lessening rain, then Chad came hurrying back and pulled the door open.

'I'm sorry, kiddo.' Chad said, lifting Gavin out to place him on the puddled-splattered road. 'Go to Mummy.' He said, walking around the car to retrieve Vanessa.

She started crying again, and Gavin didn't move from where he'd been placed. The rain pressed his blonde hair to his head, as Gavin stood to stare in the direction of the house. It was a blur, and he didn't want to go over to it. He liked his other house much better - this one was scary and small.

Gavin watched his mother go inside without ever looking in his direction, and his father carried Vanessa inside soon after. The door shut, and Gavin was left standing alone by the car. He sniffled and rubbed eyes with his hands. Walking to the front door, Gavin sat on the hard ground underneath the cover of the alcove, and wrapped his arms around his knees.

No, he didn't like this new place at all.

Author's Notes: Marty and Eric aren't born yet, so they'll be introduced in due time. To clarify: Gavin is otherwise known as G Callen as an adult. Vanessa is an OC. I hope you enjoyed this so far - things will make more sense as their life unfolds in coming chapters. Thank you for reading, and I would really appreciate it if you could please send feedback so I know what you thought of the story so far.