Requiem
Author's Note: This is a songfic set after the events of NCIS:LA Season 1 episode 21 "Found." Spoilers for same, and Season 1 episode 13 "Missing". Watch those two before reading (if you haven't) or it may not make sense. Oneshot; may use this as a springboard for another fic in the same vein, a crossover involving the DC team, or at least Gibbs, McGee, and Abby. Lyrics are from Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which I first heard in the animated movie Shrek. Reviews are welcome, but please remember this is my first fic; be gentle with me.
Standard disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, NCIS:LA, any of the characters contained therein, or the song or lyrics used here. If I did, I wouldn't be paying for culinary school with grants and student loans. :-)
Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Two months. For two months, they had come in every day, hoping to have woken up from a bad dream, to find Dom at his desk, ready to join them on whatever op lay ahead. And every day, for two months, they had been disappointed. Every day, for two months, their hearts sank as they walked in, only for their hopes to be dashed, when they glanced over at Dom's empty chair. But through it all, they never gave up hope. They never stopped believing that they would find a lead, that someone would contact them, that there would be some shred of hope that Dom would make it back to them. Hetty, driven and determined as she was, never stopped calling her contacts at NCIS' sister agencies, working over contacts, following up on leads, searching for any shred of evidence that might crack open the most important case of her career.
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
When the video came in, it was almost too much to believe. He was alive! All their hopes, prayers, waiting, wondering, had finally been answered. Dom was alive, and they had a chance to make right what had gone horribly wrong. Eric sprang into action, calling the team members, barely noticing that he had apparently woken Kensi up. Somehow, he figured she'd forgive him when she saw the video. As they converged on the ops center, seemingly all at once, wondering what had Eric so worked up, he cued up the video. Sam translated as they watched, and the reality of the situation set in quickly. 24 hours. One day. It was all they had to get Dom back, or they'd lose him forever. The tension was palpable as Callen barked out orders. They couldn't give up. Not now. Not after they'd come so far. They'd keep fighting, in the face of the hard drive that had blown up in Eric's hand, the terrorist who wouldn't give them anything,
Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Racing through the halls of the darkened theatre, they knew they didn't have much time. It was incomprehensible that Dom had never even left LA, but when Kensi found herself in the room where the video had been shot, it was the only logical conclusion. He'd been right under their noses all this time, and they never knew. It was just one more wrong they would strive to make right when they finally found their friend. They pressed on, heading to the roof, where Sam found himself pinned down trying to save Dom's life, so soon after finally finding him.
There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Nate was a psychiatrist, and a good one at that, but he was also a friend, and at times like this, he wasn't sure which role was needed more. He waited in the command center with Eric and Hetty, with bated breath, waiting for news. Dom had been found, alive, and now the team had the additional task of bringing him back, made all the more difficult by the firefight they found themselves in the middle of. Kensi soon got a jump on one of the gunmen and took him out, and Callen took out the ringleader, not knowing the damage he'd already done.
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Sam bit back tears as he felt the strength draining from his body, much like the blood was draining from Dom's. He'd tried so hard, fought the emotions back, but slowly, the realization overtook him. Dom was dead.
Dead. Such a small, simple word, but in that moment, it carried so much weight. It carried a weight that fell over the mission, silencing everyone inside. Even the ever-present beeps and warbles from their phones and computers fell silent, as if they too were shocked at the news that had just been delivered to them.
Nate and Eric stood motionless, staring at the screen in the ops center, each willing themselves to wake up from the nightmare they'd found themselves in, while Hetty stumbled towards the door. It was Nate who moved first, looking around himself, looking for anything out of place. There had to be something. Someone who wasn't there who should be. Something in the lighting. A computer out of place. Anything to tell him that this wasn't real, that it was all in his mind. Eric wasn't known for being emotional. Crazy, sure. How many times had Kensi referred, only sometimes jokingly, to his Peter Pan complex? But in that moment, he couldn't hold this in.
Nate was a psychiatrist, but more than that he was a friend to the members of his team. At times like this, he wished he could separate the two, and he wished he knew which they would need more. Eric reached for Nate's shoulder, not knowing which side of him he needed, and the two men put their arms around each other and let out the emotions that threatened to tear them apart.
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Most nights would end with witty banter, playful teasing, a few jokes, maybe talk of plans for the evening. Tonight, the mission was silent, as if mourning the loss of Special Agent Dominic Vail.
Author's Note: Once again, this is my first fic. Reviews welcome, but please be gentle with me. If you liked it, please be on the lookout for my next fic in the works, tentatively titled "Stand," which will be an NCIS/NCIS:LA Crossover.