Disclaimer: I'm just borrowing the characters to have fun, they are not mine and I promise to leave them alone at the end of the story.

A.N.: It's been a while since my first and last story, but the end of season 8 compelled me to try my own version of the following days of the life of the N.C.I.S. L.A. team.

+++++Contains spoilers+++++ Please feel free to correct any mistakes (English is not my first language). I hope you'll enjoy it!

Chapter 1

- "Agent Callen."

Eyes closed, shoulder rested against the wall of the coroner office, G seemed oblivious to the call. The buzzing of his ears was competing with the headache installed once the adrenaline level started to fade out of his system, but both were far from winning the contest that the shooting pain on his back was determined to conquer. Sam's big hug before leaving, involuntary helped it to gain some points of advantage.

- "Agent Callen!"- Repeated Murphy -"Hey Callen!"- said the agent touching this time Callen's arm.

- "Yeah, Murphy, sorry. What's up?"- answered a startled Callen rubbing his face with a hand.

- "Are you ok, man?"

- "I'm good. What can I do for you?"

- "What do you want us to do? I mean, now that all this shit is over, can I dismiss the teams?"

- "No, no, not everybody. This is not over yet. I mean, Khaled is dead, but we know he was working with someone and we can't afford more mistakes. I need a guard permanently with Mrs. Hanna's body. N.C.I.S., not L.A.P.D. this time. Choose four people and make them to rotate each three hours for the next twelve; then choose another four. If anything happens I want to be the first one to know, and under no circumstances, nobody, I repeat nobody, must contact Agent Hanna. I made myself clear?"- asked G more abrupt than pretended.

- "Crystal clear"- sighed the agent.

- "Go home Murphy."-Added Callen softly closing his eyes for one second-"Kiss your wife and the baby. This is being a hell for all of us."

- "I'll pick the team and I'll be doing the first turn. For Sam. For his family and for mine."

- "Thank you, Murph, I appreciate it."

Making sure his balance wasn't going to betray him, G moved away from the wall. He needed to start working if he wanted to prepare the burial for the next day as Sam wished. The last words Michelle addressed to him were a pleading to take care of the big guy, and he was determined to fulfill his promise. Without any idea of the hour of the day he looked at the watch on his wrist, the one that the Hanna family gave him as a present the first Christmas they spent together, but, surprised, he only saw a mess of torn metal still attached to the strap and he noticed for the first time a wound on his wrist and some cuts on his forearm. As he quickly checked, the phone on his pocket had suffered the same fate than his watch and when he touched his ear looking for the earpiece he only found a scab of dried blood on it. Great. No GPS and uncommunicated. Well, at least he made sure a paramedic checked on Sam during the flight he arranged for him to the safe house.

- "Callen"-called a familiar female voice behind him.

- "Rose. Thank you for coming."

- "I'm so sorry, I've come back the moment I knew. How is Sam?"

- "He's on his way to see the kids."

- "Oh! Poor things! Wait, is this blood? - She asked signaling a trickle on the side of his hand – "Are you hurt?"

- "It's nothing, really."- He knew none of the injuries were serious, each had stopped bleeding, although bruises and scabbing would appear soon.

- "Let me have a look and we can discuss what I can do for you."

Without energy to argue, G followed Rose to one of the autopsy rooms and, as directed by the pathologist, he took the jacket off, rolled the sleeve up, sat at the stool and extended his left arm on the gurney trying not to think on the previous occupant. Gathering some instruments, gauzes and alcohol Rose put sterile gloves on and began to disinfect the wounds.

- "Sorry," – she apologized when G flinched at the sting- "not that we get many complaints around here. My patients don't need an antiseptic solution and alcohol is the only thing I have. I'd rather not ask how you got all these cuts."

Straight to the point Callen asked:

- "Rose, is there any possibility we can skip the autopsy? We know the cause of death and the killer is also dead, so…"

- "I'm sorry Callen, but you know that an autopsy is the standard procedure in a violent crime. Even in a case like this one we can discover important details."

- "Believe me when I tell you that nobody wants to know more details. We saw Michelle die, for God's sake! And Sam was hoping to bury her tomorrow"- added Callen raising his voice involuntarily and retiring his arm from the metallic table.

- "Callen, please…"- said Rose taking G's hand on her gloved ones-"I'll ask for some favors and I can start working on her right now. I promise you that my report will be ready first thing in the morning."

- "What if… what if her kids want to see her, you know, to say goodbye. An autopsy…"

- "No, no. I know what you're thinking. After the autopsy the body will be… how to say it?... presentable. Then the people of the funeral home can do miracles with make-up and all the stuff they use. The body will be nice and dressed to be buried tomorrow in the afternoon if you talk with the right persons."

- "Ok, I believe you. Do your best."- said Callen standing. Rose nonchalant conversation about cadavers was more than he could take. He needed to get out of there before getting sick.

- "Please Rose, let me know when you finish. Second thought, I'll call you, my phone is dead. Sorry, bad choice of words. And thank you for this." – he added rolling his sleeve down and running out the room.

- "But Callen… your wrist! I've not finished!" – shouted Rose.

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The first thing that took Nell aback when she entered in ops was the unusual silence. Nobody was there, but the agent's tracker was activated on the big screen. Eric! She thought alarmed, and quickly drew her weapon suddenly alert.

- "You can holster your gun, Miss Jones." – Ordered Hetty who appeared from apparently nowhere.

- "Hetty, you scared me!"- Exclaimed Nell securing the weapon as fast as she could.

- "Last thing I wanted, my dear."

- "What are you doing in here? Where is everybody?"

- "I dismissed the teams and we're ruling with the minimum staff, but if for "everybody" you mean Mr. Beale, he is sleeping on the couch downstairs. I'm afraid he is not ready to appreciate my 30 years scotch."

- "And you have the tracker on because…"

- "Just making sure that everybody is safe."- Added Hetty signaling two little points together on the screen with the tags of Kensi and Deeks on them.–"I'm afraid I can't locate Mr. Hanna or Mr. Callen."

- "Last time I saw them Callen was driving Sam to the morgue. He is taking care of him, Hetty. They were fine, all things considered. Today I… I don't know what would have happened if Callen didn't stop Sam… he was so out of his wits… I was even afraid he could hurt him… and then the explosion… it's just a miracle they've survived." – Nell suppressed a sob.

- "Come here." – Invited Hetty opening her arms and hugging tight her agent. – "You did well today, Nell. Under the worst circumstances you managed to control your emotions, the situation, and you were able to help your team members in the field. Now you can let it go, it's time for you to cry. Go downstairs, take your partner with you, and return home. I don't want to see both of you in here until further notice."

- "Thank you Hetty."- Said Nell wiping the tears of her face while she went out the operations center.

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Alone on the private flight that was taking him to the safe house where his kids were secured, Sam watched the beautiful sunset over L.A. A paramedic had just finished tending his wounds, some bruises, scratches mostly that needed to be disinfected, but once he applied an antibiotic shot, he retired to the cockpit discretely, leaving Sam dealing one-to-one with his thoughts and feelings. His physical pain was nothing compared with the one that was tearing his heart apart.

"How could this had happened? …Why Michelle, why her and not me?... What I've done?...What will my family become?…What I'm going to tell the kids? How I'm going to tell them anyway? Oh my little one. My baby girl without her mum…This is not fair! Oh God! Aiden's birthday… and Michelle's family… her mum, her sister…

The landscape on the other side of the window turned blurred. He was crying. For the first time since this nightmare started he was letting his emotions to flow out. He knew that he needed to find strength, that he can't afford to lose it in front of his kids. But the realization of Michelle's death made the pain overwhelming. And he cried, he cried with all his soul for the lost love, for him and for his family. He cried feeling all the sorrow of the world upon his shoulders. He was still crying when the night fell and the landscape turned black, just as black as he felt his soul.