Would it have really been eight years if he hadn't left the agency?
Eight Years
Eight years. This month would have marked eight years the two of them had been partners, if he and she had not of gone their separate ways. He weaved his way through the DEA and then landed here at NCIS, in the Office of Special Projects. He had no clue what had happened to her, she had dropped off the radar almost an hour after he had resigned from the agency. He still thought about her, wondered how she was, if she was okay. Hell, even if she was alive, but he wouldn't get any answers, at least not from the CIA.
As far as they were concerned, Anna Harding didn't exist. She had never existed, and for his career with them, he didn't exist either.
In the beginning, he had called her old friends, wondering if they had heard anything from her. Either she had sworn them to secrecy, or they honestly didn't know. After a while, he stopped calling, stopped trying to track her down because he knew that if she didn't want to be found, she never would.
Eight years. That was longest partnership he had ever had, at the CIA, at the DEA, and even here, at NCIS. He and Sam would be hitting their six year mark soon.
They had fought a lot, they had laughed a lot, and hell, he would even admit there were a few tears shed a long the way. They had lost some good friends, and they had gained a few more. They had went from being the lone wolf and his new unwanted partner, to being Callen and Anna, two of the best in the undercover sector.
He had gone from trusting no one, to having a best friend. She was there for him whenever he needed her, including when he showed up at her apartment in the middle of the night, duffel in hand, because his newest apartment didn't quite fit into his standards. He smiled at the memory.
He knew she was still up, not just because the light in her apartment was on, but because there was loud music blaring from behind her closed apartment door. He smiled, remembering the last time he had been here, he had opened the door to find her playing the air guitar in the middle of her living room to one of the many punk songs she listened too. After that, she made an effort to lock her door.
He knocked on the door loudly, that way it could be heard above the noise. He heard the volume go down considerably and knew that she had heard him. He heard the locks click and then the door opened fractionally. A pair of sea green eyes peered out at him. When she saw who it was, they narrowed in annoyance and then she swung the door open, her right hand behind her back.
"What the hell are you doing here this late at night G?" she asked and then she saw the bag in his hands. She rolled her eyes towards the ceiling and then stepped past to let him in. He stepped over the threshold and headed down the hall towards the living room.
"What was wrong with this place? Too small? Too big? Too loud? Too quiet? Come on G, I can keep this up all day" she said as she walked over to the gun safe, that looked more like a decorative box, sitting on her bookshelf. She placed the gun in it and turned to him, a small smile playing on her lips.
He shrugged. "I felt like I was being watched by the neighbors" he said. Anna laughed and headed over to her stereo.
"Good thing it wasn't because it was too loud. Honestly, I don't know how anything can be too loud after putting up with me all day. Come one, I just finished cooking dinner, there just may be enough for two" she said as she cranked up the volume.
Callen started to smile as Green Day's 'When I Come Around' started playing as he followed her into the kitchen.
Callen headed into work that day, and soon Anna Harding was pushed to the back of his mind as he, Sam, Kensi, and Deeks started working on a new case, but as the day rolled into night, Hetty Lange came up to him and put something on his desk. He looked down at the envelope and saw his name scrawled across the top in familiar looking handwriting.
He looked up at his mysterious Operations Manager and opened the envelope. Inside was a small note reading:
Eight years is a long time, huh G? Hope your new partner doesn't give you too much hell. That's my job. XO
There was no name, no return address, nothing, but he knew exactly who it belonged too. It could be none other than Anna. He smiled for a moment and then bid goodnight to Hetty, wondering exactly how she knew Anna, but he knew better than to ask, she would most likely give him a mysterious answer.
As he walked away he heard Hetty call after him, "Eight years is indeed a long time, Mr. Callen. It's a shame, the two of you aren't still partners, you two made a great team."
That they did.