A/N: So this is my take on how Hanna and Callen first met…

xxxx

Sam Hanna blinked awake, glancing at the clock next to the couch that was serving as his bed. Great. He'd woken up five minutes before his alarm was set to go off. He hated it when that happened. Rubbing a hand over his eyes, he sat up slowly, stretching his arms above his head and cracking his neck. He turned off the alarm and went through the familiar motions of getting ready, dressing in a plain back t-shirt and jeans that he had retrieved from the bedroom the night before, brushing his teeth and gargling mouthwash, tucking his wallet into his back pocket.

Ready to go now, Sam looked at the bedroom door for a moment before walking inside. He leant down and gently kissed his wife's cheek, but Molly mumbled something under her breath and rolled over so that her back was facing him. Sam couldn't help but smile wryly. Molly managed to give him the silent treatment even in sleep.

Approaching the building that housed his new job, Sam took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. This new job would definitely be different from any jobs he'd worked before, but he had needed a change and was looking forward to the challenge that came with undercover work. Sam opened the door and was immediately struck by how disorganized things felt; there were people pushing racks of clothing, other people talking on the phone or shoving past him without a second glance. He stood for a moment, uncertain of where he should go, when a voice spoke up near him.

"You new here?" Sam turned around, eyes drawn immediately to the owner of the voice. It was a man with short buzzed hair, fairly small build but well toned, one eyebrow cocked and a half-smirk on his face. He was sucking on a tootsie pop.

"Yeah. Just got a job with the OSP."

"You look lost." The slight drawl the man added to the observation made it clear to Sam that he was being mocked, and he didn't like it.

"I'm not lost, I'm just fine. So why don't you go back to whatever it is you were doing, Kojak." The other man's eyebrows raised and he laughed, pulling the sucker out of his mouth.

"Kojak? You're a funny guy, Axel. Did it take you all day to come up with that?" Sam glared at him. Axel? Did this punk-ass kid really just refer to him as the Beverly Hills Cop?

"You should shut your mouth before I shut it for you," he growled. He was already in a foul mood, courtesy of his oh-so-loving wife, and he sure as hell did not need this crap to deal with.

"Oh, you think you could shut my mouth," the guy said, and the tone was not a question, but an observation. The man cocked his head to the side and blatantly looked Sam up and down, a curious expression on his face. "I don't know, tough guy. You got a lot of extra…weight you're carrying around there."

"It's called muscle, you should try to get some sometime." The other man had just opened his mouth to respond when a woman bustled between them. She seemed to only come up to Sam's knees.

"Ah, Agent Hanna. My name is Hetty. I believe we talked on the phone?" She stuck a hand out, and Sam awkwardly lowered his hand so that he could shake it.

"Yeah, nice to finally meet you."

"And I see that you've already met your new partner, G. Callen," Hetty continued, waving a hand at the man slouching against the door frame.

"He's- uh, he's my partner?"

"Oh yes. He's one of the best undercover agents this agency has." Callen waved a hand and smirked at Sam. Clearly, he had known who Sam was from the beginning, and the fact that he'd been playing him the whole time did not sit well.

"Why don't you two get to know each other a bit? I'll go and collect your badge and other necessities, Mr. Hanna." With that, the small woman walked briskly away, leaving Callen and Hanna to glare at each other. Well, Sam was glaring. Callen was smirking.

"That was funny, Callen," Hanna snarled, annoyed when Callen just laughed and plopped down into an overstuffed chair.

"It was funny. Thanks for noticing." Sam grumbled under his breath and sat down across from the other man. They simply stared at each other for a few minutes, before Sam rolled his eyes.

"Okay. So. I'm Sam. You're…G?" The other man nodded once, but didn't respond otherwise. "Alright. Well, I was a SEAL before coming to work here, and…I grew up in Pasadena…"

"And you like long walks on the beach. I get it," Callen snarked, and Sam grit his teeth.

"Look, I'm trying here, man. You could help me out a little," he muttered, and Callen shrugged.

"I could." When he didn't continue, Sam sighed loudly and crossed his arms.

"Fine. You want it that way, you can have it that way."

They sat there for minutes, neither of them breaking eye contact.

So you're the agent that Hetty said was 'charming and great to work with.' Ha. Charming my ass. Sam glared menacingly at Callen.

Callen stared back, his face practically begging Sam to take a swing at him. So you're the newbie. Let's see what you got, Axel.

"Ah. I see you boys are getting along well already," Hetty remarked as she re-entered the room, and Sam couldn't tell if she was trying to be ironic or not.

"Yeah, I think we're going to get along great," Callen said with a plastered smile aimed at Sam. Sam forced himself to smile back.

He had a feeling that it was going to be a long day.

xxxx

Sam got out of work later than he was expecting, and by the time he made it out to his car, his stomach was growling loudly. Finally deciding to pick some food up for dinner, he stopped by his and Molly's favorite Thai restaurant, employing every ounce of willpower he possessed to keep himself from eating the curry rice and pad thai that made his car smell absolutely delicious.

Finally arriving home, he stepped into his apartment and knew immediately that he'd made a mistake. The entire apartment smelled like Italian food, and he knew that Molly had made her special lasagna for dinner. And Molly only made special lasagna when she was stressed out, and if anything, anything went wrong, things would not be good for him. And his showing up late definitely qualified as something going wrong.

"Molly? I'm home, baby," Sam called, kicking the door shut behind him. Molly didn't answer, but he could hear dishes rattling in the kitchen. Damn it.

"Molly? Hey, I, uh, I brought us some food," he said, wishing he could sink into the floor.

"Oh, that's rich, Sam. You brought us food."

"Look, I'm sorry Molly, but it was my first day at work and I had a lot of stuff to deal with."

"And you couldn't call? Sam, I was expecting you two hours ago!"

"Well, we can eat now."

"I don't want to eat now, Sam! I want things to be like they were! I want us to communicate like we used to, I want you to be home more often, I want- I don't even know what I want! And I'm not sure you're the person to give it to me anymore." She wiped her hands clean on a dishtowel, then moved to go to the bedroom.

"Molly," Sam started, but Molly shook her head and shoved past him.

"Not right now, Sam. Just- just not right now."

Sam watched as she walked away, sitting down at the table and dejectedly dishing up some curry. He knew what she meant. Things were different now. Had been since... Sam rubbed a tired hand over his head. Things had been different since the miscarriage. And it was starting to look like they were too far gone to get any better.

Sighing, Sam washed and dried his dishes, then grabbed a blanket and made himself comfortable on the couch.