Where Rumor and Legends Collide
This story takes place after 'Aliyah.' Gibbs has brought over G. Callen (Legend Part 1 and 2) from Los Angeles after he recovers from his shooting. Callen needs a break from deep cover operations and Gibbs fears that given the shooting, Callen (Cal) won't be safe until the identity of the shooters is discovered. By bringing him 'in from the cold' he hopes to provide protection and a different life as long as Cal needs or wants it. Cal's specialty in NCIS is deep undercover operations. In addition to adding Cal to the team, Gibbs adds his sister Fiona Callen to the team as well. Fiona's talents run to the spy/Special Ops activities. Cal and Fiona were orphaned when they were in college. Cal met Gibbs on a mission in Sudan and Gibbs brought both Cal and Fiona under his wing, acting as a father figure to them both. What you recognize belongs to CBS and Bellarius. The plot, character background, and OC are mine. This is not a procedural piece, but more of a relationship story. Takes place a couple months after the end of 'Aliyah.' Cal and Fi have been a part of the team for a few weeks.
~Chapter One~
Cal and Tony DiNozzo were playing basketball one-on-one outside the NCIS headquarters in Washington DC. It was spring and the day was warm. They were both sweaty and enjoying the friendly, and equal, competition between them, joking and laughing breathlessly as they played fiercely against each other. It hadn't always been that way…
Gibbs brought two strangers into the bullpen, both with NCIS badges on. Tim looked up and stood with a smile on his face to greet Cal. Tony looked surprised at the greeting and acknowledgement from Tim.
"Nice to see you alive, Cal. How are you feeling?" Tim asked, shaking his hand and curiosity as to what Cal was doing here laced in his voice.
"Thanks Tim. Nice to see you too. I'm good." Cal was a man of few words, reminding Tim a lot of Gibbs. Their personalities seemed very much the same, leaning towards long on action, short on words, and his gut feel was as flawless as Gibbs'. He knew that Cal was a legend in the circles who knew of him, enough of a legend and a threat that someone tried very hard to kill him months ago.
Tim nodded to him and looked at Gibbs and then at the striking woman beside him. She had long red hair with lots of curls and waves that fell to her lower back. Her skin looked like peaches and cream and her eyes were emerald green, exactly as he always imagined an Irish woman to look. She wore crème linen pants and a crème blouse, emphasizing her coloring and her hair. She looked elegant, and not at all like a member of NCIS, except for the gun and badge she wore attached to her belt. Tim looked back at Gibbs and then at Tony, wondering what was going on.
Tony stood as Gibbs approached the bullpen with his two guests, but stayed behind his desk waiting to be introduced. After the ending with Ziva, and the disaster with Jeanne, Tony's sexual strutting and frat boy persona was gone, replaced by a serious and more mature man. It didn't mean he wasn't just as competitive, just as interested in women, and fun to be around. He was just a lot more subtle about it. Tony had of course heard of G. Callen before. He knew Gibbs was very close to him, although knew nothing more than that about the relationship or how it was formed. He did not know however about Callen's sister or why they were both here. Tony thought Gibbs was waiting for Ziva to change her mind and return to them (he knew HE was) and wasn't adding anyone to the team. That had to be the only reason for them to be here, it was probably the reason the bullpen had been slightly remodeled allowing for a 5 person team instead of four.
Gibbs looked at his team, knowing them well enough to know exactly what they were thinking.
"I'll answer all your questions shortly. Tony, call Abby and Ducky and ask them to join us in the conference room." Gibbs looked at the two people on either side of him and nodded for them to follow him, each of them carrying their coffee from Gibbs' dealer with them. Tony and Tim heard the three laughing softly at something one of them had said as they walked up the stairs to the conference room. While Tony called Abby and Ducky, his eyes followed the threesome wondering what was going on and what was going to happen to the team. As they disappeared from sight, Tim and Tony looked at each other, expressionless, neither wanting to give anything away of their concerns or their fears of what their future held.
After feeling threatened the first week or so as the team was shaken up and finding its new groove, Tony had grown to really like G. Callen and his sister Fiona. They brought a very different perspective to the team then they had before. Ziva brought some of the same perspective certainly, the undercover experience, the weapons' training, the instincts, but she also brought all her Moussad baggage with her. And despite their time together and the relationship he thought they had built, he still felt betrayed by her. And something about Gibbs's feelings for Ziva had changed as well, as if he knew something no one else knew and felt betrayed as well.
Once the team had assembled in the conference room, Gibbs made the introductions giving a brief background of each. The team learned of Cal's experience in deep undercover operations and his law degree with an emphasis on international terrorism. He was in fact a legend among a very small circle who knew of his talents. Gibbs spoke with quiet grace to his team, limiting the amount of information he shared, but sharing enough to establish Cal's credibility with the team. Cal squirmed under the information sharing and the attention. He preferred anonymity to praise, much like Gibbs. Tony knew he was clearly a Senior Agent, which caused a knot in Tony's stomach although he kept his face carefully blank. Gibbs went on to introduce Fiona Callen, who had yet to utter a word either in the bullpen or the conference room. Her background was in what Gibbs called 'training.' His tone communicated volumes about the kind of training she might have provided or received. She had degrees in Forensics, Languages, and International Studies. Gibbs was even more circumspect about Fiona's background than Cal's, indicating that it was top secret classified on a need to know basis. That raised a few eyebrows in the room, including Tony. Another beautiful woman with secrets joining the team, just what none of them needed.
TBC
PLEASE! Review...tell me if I should do more or not. I've got three chapters written and will wait to see what the response is to those before proceeding. After Chapter 3 or 4 it will progress to an M rating. Just hit the little button below and leave a review! They've made it so easy for you!!
