Wildfire

Authors Notes:

Working with the idea that she was a good thing in his life, cause his life can't have been all bad or lonely or whatever. Figure she had to be something extra special to have him feel that way. It's, shall we say, suggestive but nothing graphic. Does contain adult themes, but I don't think anything that should need an M rating. However, as always, if you come across anything that makes you think otherwise, please pm me.

I've been sitting on this for a little while whilst writing a few others and, after completing "The Badge", a couple of the plot bunnies decided to come back to this, polish it off and put it out there for you to read and, hopefully review. Nowhere near as long as that story though.

Prompted by the following comment from "Keepin' it Real,"

Agent Giordano - Must have been some cop.

G -She was.

Vague spoliers for "Past Lives" and "Found".

Assumptions on Callen's background. Started with OSP LA just over three years ago.

This is the story of the woman, Erin, referenced briefly in my story "Lost and Found". There are also references to Rachel from that story in this toward the end, so if you want, a quick read of that might help before the end.

Yes, it's a romance/drama. My favourite kind.

Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer - Anything you recognise from TV, not mine. Just playing with the characters because it's fun. OC's I will claim, as well as the original parts to the story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o

Prologue

As she gathered up the paper-work that was in front of her, she heard footsteps getting closer. She turned to the sound and as she did, as strange voice came to her ear, from where she did not know. Just that she hadn't heard it before, yet somehow it was familiar.

"Eliana," it said.

Something in her mind clicked, like a door opening, and as memories came flooding into her mind, too fast for her to comprehend, a darkness started to descend and her body sank to the floor with a soft thud that she didn't hear; the darkness having completely taken over by then.

When she opened her eyes, how much later she wasn't sure, she looked into the eyes of the man she despised most in the world as he knelt beside her and taped her cheek. This was very wrong. Those were not the eyes she was supposed to wake up to. These were cold, shallow and evil, the others were warm despite their blueness, deep and beautiful. She quickly schooled her face into what she hoped was her usual cold and emotionless expression.

"Tanya, what happened?" he asked.

She narrowly suppressed a shudder and moved to stand up, forcing him to step back from her.

"Fainted," she stated as she turned to gather up the paper-work, as she had been before.

"You should see a doctor," he advised in that cold, sickening tone of his. She knew his concern for her had nothing to do with her, but with what he would lose if she couldn't function. "You have never fainted before.

"I am quite capable of knowing what I need to do, Garik," she replied, turning her cold look on him. Seeing him step back slightly, she felt relief that she could still pull off the character she had been before.

She felt her stomach churn at the thought of being in the same room as him any longer. She picked up the pile of paper-work, turned and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her. Her pace and outward appearance was that of her usual confident self. Inside however, was a completely different story. Something had gone very, very wrong. Showing no outward sign of it, she took some slow, deep, calming breaths in an attempt to settle the trembling that was going on inside her body and her mind. Relax. Make the call. Twenty four hours and this will all be over. She glanced briefly out the window as she passed by, saw the mass of trees and jungle, that surrounded the compound and wondered just where the calvary would come from.