February 14th. For the most part, Sam had been successful in putting this upcoming date out of his mind. He'd managed to ignore the displays of candy and flowers and Valentine's Day cards in stores except for gifts for his children. However, now that the day had actually arrived, ignoring it was no longer possible. The day began like any other with his team members greeting each other that morning. Kensi and Deeks brought in some muffins as a special treat, and he and G said "Happy Valentines Day" to Kensi, Nell and Hetty, but that was as far as it went. There were some parts of the mission that had gone a bit overboard with the hearts and cupids decorating motif, but nothing like that was present in the bullpen or upstairs in Ops.
"So, do you two have special plans for tonight?" Sam asked, turning to Deeks.
Deeks lowered his voice conspiratorially as he glanced over at Kensi who was focusing her attention on Callen's laptop. "I'm taking Kensi to that that fancy new seafood place, The Captain's Choice. I made reservations for 7 o'clock. It's a surprise."
Sam nodded approvingly and smiled at Deeks. "Nice choice, Deeks," he said. "You did good, man. Kensi is going to love that."
"Yeah, I hope so," Deeks replied with a smile. "Last year, things weren't so good for her around that time and… I just want to make today special for her." He hesitated, looking a little bit worried and then went on. "I'm having flowers delivered to her here today…I hope that's okay…"
For a brief moment, Sam was confused, but then he understood what his teammate was getting at. "Of course it's okay, Deeks," Sam assured him with a warm smile. "I'll admit this isn't a great day for me, but I want nothing more for the two of you to be happy. And I agree with you that Kensi deserves to have a special day."
"Thanks, Sam," Deeks said, looking relieved. "I know this day has to be rough on you…I wish there was something I could do to make it better."
"You already have," Sam said. "Trust me, knowing the two of you are going to have a nice evening together actually helps. I'm happy for you both."
The two men exchanged a smile and Deeks went back to work. Sam on the other hand, found his memories beginning to drift, back to another time, many years ago, when he and Michelle had shared their own very special Valentine's evening.
xxxxx
"Is everything okay with your dinner?" Sam asked as he smiled over at the woman he loved more than he could have possibly imagined.
"Everything is perfect, Sam," Michelle replied, returning his smile. "But we didn't have to come here. I can't imagine how expensive it is."
"That's because there are no prices on the menu," Sam said, chuckling. "But I wanted you to have a special evening."
Michelle shook her head. "I hope you know you don't have to impress me. Any evening with you is special, whether we're at a fancy restaurant like this or a fast food restaurant going through the drive-through."
"Well, it's just one night, baby," Sam said. "Don't worry about it. I can afford one special night with my lady."
After dinner, Sam had driven them to the beach where they had taken a long walk, hand-in-hand, along the shore. Finally, he had stopped walking, then turned towards her and had knelt down on one knee in the sand.
"Sam!," Michelle had exclaimed, laughing. "What are you doing? You're going to ruin those good pants."
But of course, she had known what he was up to. Her eyes had sparkled brighter than the diamonds in the ring he had given her when he had asked her the most meaningful question he had ever asked anyone.
"Michelle…will you make me the happiest, luckiest man in the world and do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
"Of course, I will, you silly man," Michelle said happily.
He had placed the ring on her finger and she had sunk down onto the sand beside him and they had sealed the bond with a kiss. It had been one of the happiest nights of his life. Coming back into the present, he quickly swept the tears off his cheeks with the back of his hand and then looked up, hoping no one had noticed. For a brief moment, Callen's eyes were on him, but his partner quickly looked away, pretending to concentrate on his computer.
xxxxx
At a little after 1:30, Kensi's floral arrangement from Deeks was delivered. A beautiful arrangement of red roses and baby's breath with an accompanying teddy bear put a huge smile on Kensi's face and Deeks' face as well, as she thanked him profusely with a more than enthusiastic hug and kiss. "Thank you, Deeks. They're so beautiful. I love them. You really shouldn't have, but I'm so happy that you did."
He'd also noticed that Callen had flowers sent to Hetty as the two had shared a private, mother and son type moment a short while after Kensi's flowers were delivered. There were other such deliveries made throughout the day though they didn't really make Sam sad, however, they did send his memories back into the past once again.
xxxxx
"Happy Valentine's day, mom and dad," Aiden said as he handed each of them a handmade valentine which he had made in school.
"Thank you, sweetheart. This is just beautiful," Michelle said as she read his original poem on the card and pulled Aiden into her arms for a kiss.
"You did a terrific job on these, Aiden," Sam said. "Thank you very much." He ruffled his son's hair and smiled fondly at him.
"Happy valentime's day!" Kam squealed as she toddled through the living room and clapped her hands gleefully. "Happy valentime's day!" She had known something was up when Sam had arrived home from work with chocolate-filled hearts and stuffed animals for the children and a bouquet of roses for his wife.
Sam laughed as he picked Kamran up off the floor and swung her in the air high above his head, causing her to laugh and squeal. "Happy Valentine's day, baby girl."
It was just one of many happy and fun-filled valentine's day for the Hanna family. Some years they would go out as a family, but often they had just chosen to stay home where they would enjoy a home-cooked meal or maybe just order Chinese food. Whatever they had done though, the days had always been filled with laughter and love.
xxxxx
"Mr. Hanna?" Hetty's voice brought Sam out of his reverie and he looked at her questioningly.
"Yes, Hetty?"
"How are you doing?" Hetty asked, gazing at him sympathetically. "I realize this can't be a very easy day for you."
"You're right," Sam admitted, a trace of a smile on his lips, "but I'm doing okay. It helps, being here." It would have been so simple for him to stay on the boat for the day, but he had tried that in the past and usually his partner would arrive and force him into work anyways. Not that Callen really had the ability to force Sam to do anything, but Sam usually chose to give in to his partner and in the end would realize it was the right thing to do anyway. Being around his friends and losing himself in his work, in most cases, helped Sam to feel better.
"Well, just know if there's anything I can do for you, please feel free to ask. And if you'd like to leave early, that's also fine."
"I don't think G would let me do that," Sam said with a chuckle.
"You leave Mr. Callen to me," Hetty said, giving Sam a fond smile. She then patted his hand warmly and headed back to her office.
xxxxx
"Happy Valentine's Day, daddy," Kamran's voice over the phone put a smile on Sam's face. "Thank you so much for the chocolates and the flowers."
"You're welcome, baby girl," Sam said. He was so happy to hear her voice. He had already spoken to Aiden earlier. He missed his kids so much, but they were both doing well at their respective schools and Sam was extremely proud of them. "How are your classes going?"
"They're going really well, daddy," Kamran answered him enthusiastically. "And we have a Valentine's dance later on too!"
"With boys?" Sam asked, a little bit uneasily. His daughter's laughter did nothing to reassure him.
"Of course with boys," she said, still laughing. "But don't worry, daddy. They make sure we are very well supervised. The boys will be perfect gentleman."
Sam wasn't sure there was any such thing where teenage boys were concerned, but he kept his thoughts to himself. "Well you just have a good time, Kam and, well, be careful. I love you."
"I love you too, daddy and I'll be careful, I promise."
Sam clicked off his cell phone and looked over at Callen who was looking back at him in obvious amusement. "What?"
Callen shook his head. "Nothing. Were you talking to Kam?"
Sam nodded. "Yes. She called to wish me a happy valentine's day and thank me for the gift I sent her.
"Uh huh," Callen said. "She texted me earlier…did you really ask her if there would be boys at the dance?"
"Don't you have anything better to do than to eavesdrop on my phone conversations, G?" Sam asked, giving his partner a mock glare.
Callen grinned at him unabashedly. "At the moment, no, not really."
"I'm going back to work now," Sam said, shaking his head and making a concerted effort not to return his partner's grin. Sometimes G could be a bit annoying, but he knew that's how brothers could be. He also knew his partner would do absolutely anything for him and he appreciated that more than he could say. Just last year, the last Valentine's Day he would ever have with his wife, Callen had offered to stay with Kamran over the weekend so that Sam and Michelle could go away together for a couple of nights. He'd never really told G how much that meant to him, but he was pretty sure he knew.
xxxxx
"That was a wonderful show, Sam," Michelle said, smiling happily at her husband. "It was so sad, but just so beautiful and I loved the music." They were seated in the hotel restaurant where they were about to share a late night dinner. They had just returned from seeing Miss Saigon. "Thank you so much for planning this."
"Yeah, well, G offering to stay with Kam so we could do it, made it pretty easy to plan everything," Sam admitted. As far as musicals went, this one had been a good one. He'd been as caught up in the story and music as Michelle had been.
"That's a pretty special partner you've got there," Michelle said.
"Don't tell him that," Sam said grinning back at his wife. "One thing I don't need is a fat-headed partner."
"Stop it," Michelle said, laughing. "You're terrible. You know he'd do just about anything for our family."
"I do know that," Sam said, nodding as he turned serious. "He's the best friend I could have ever asked for."
"He's family, Sam," Michelle said, "just as much as if he was your brother by blood."
xxxxx
Thinking back on that night, Sam realized how prophetic the conversation had been. Callen had proven himself to be a loyal and steadfast friend through all the aftermath of Michelle's death.
"Hey Sam? You planning on staying here all night?" Sam looked over at his partner who had already packed up his laptop and had his jacket on, ready to go. Kensi and Deeks had already left to head home and change for their dinner.
Sam quickly got his stuff together and joined his partner who was waiting patiently for him. Then the two started to head out of the building.
"So…" Callen began as they walked. "The Clippers are playing the Celtics tonight. You want to come over to watch the game? We can order in wings or something, have a couple beers."
Sam's first instinct was to just say no, but when he thought about it, spending the night alone on his boat on Valentine's night had all the appeal of watching paint dry. "Are you asking me to be your Valentine's date, G?" Sam asked, smirking at his partner.
"Well, if you want to put it like that, I guess I am," Callen said. "So what do you say?"
"I say…" Sam stopped in his tracks and gave his partner a heartfelt look. "I say yes, G," he said solemnly. "And thank you…for everything."
Callen gazed back at his partner, looking a bit surprised, but seeming to understand Sam's meaning behind the words. "You're welcome, Sam," he replied.
Sam smiled at his partner and threw his arm around Callen's back, patting his shoulder. "We'd better get going. I think wings and rings will be a good accompaniment for the game. I'm not even going to think about nutrition tonight, buddy."
"Cool, a cheap, junk food date," Callen said. "Sounds good to me."
"Yeah…it sounds good to me too, G." Sam said. The two men then stepped outside and walked over to Sam's Challenger. Callen got into the passenger side of the car and Sam opened the driver side door and stared up into the sky for a long moment. "Happy Valentine's Day, Michelle," he whispered. "I love you and I'll love you forever."