I do not own NCIS: LA
#5 in the After the Fade to Black series
Tag to Predator
Season 1 Episode 3
Dominic Vale wondered for what felt like the millionth time in the last few months why he taken this job. OSP rarely took anyone just out of FLETC, but Hetty had offered him the job right after he graduated.
The death of the kid had hit him hard. The others didn't seem nearly as effected as he did. Callen had taken him aside after the case was over and told him that it takes years to be able to compartmentalize everything that you in this job until you have the time to decompress.
Callen had told him to find something that let him get it out of his system safely and then make a point to find time to do it often. "Everyone is different, Dom. Sam runs, Eric plays video games, Kensi shops or works on her car, Hetty reads, and I find a new language to learn or take things apart and put them bake together." Callen had said. "When you find the thing that helps you sleep at night make time for it."
G Callen was worried about his newest and youngest agent. This was Dom's first assignment with NCIS and he had no field experience. OSP had the tendency to throw you in deep in to see if you could swim.
The kid had good instincts, was smart, fast on him feet, and willing to learn. But he was green. Very, very green. They had been so busy lately that there was barely time for paperwork, never mind training an agent with no field experience. Sam was responsible for training Dom, but Sam had a family that also needed his time. So G had started to take some of the basics and had Eric teach Dom everything about how the computer system worked in Ops.
None of that however was a substitute for field experience and today had just driven that point home. Hetty said she had found him upstairs beating the crap out of Sam's heavy bag and had tried to make him feel better. But she said that he saw through her attempt's.
I hope we can get him the training and experience he needs. Hetty isn't going to make it through losing another agent even if it has been almost ten years since Sullivan died.