A Christmas Carol - G Style.
A/N – Merry Christmas everyone.
So, being the Christmas loving girl that I am, and having been inspired by a Christmas story by Kavi Leighanna (it's over in the Castle fandom if anyone is interested) I played around and came up with the following story. The plan is to post every couple of days and have the story finish up on Christmas Eve.
Inspired by the story A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens and the numerous movies that followed.
I've had a great first year with FF (okay so it's eight months since I actually registered) and I guess in a way this is a thank you to those out there who have supported my stories by either betaing, reviewing favouriting, alerting or simply by reading. I hope you enjoy. I've had a lot of fun writing this and look forward to hearing what you think of it. It's fun, but a little sad in places, but ultimately happy of course. But then so was the book and movies so, there is my excuse. Now, I'm classifying it as AU, because it's Christmas 2010 and Nate is still around and there is no mention of Deeks. Also, it is entirely possible some of this will be OOC. Especially once the dreams finish, though I have tried not to go too far off course, because hey, we love our LA characters.
Now for that little thing called a disclaimer, which is going to be a little more than my short and sweet one.
I do not own: NCIS LA, A Christmas Carol (of any version), any other book reference, or movie reference, or carol reference, or anything else for that matter that occurs in this story, except for the OC's and the original parts of the story. There we go, that should pretty much cover all bases.
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Chapter 1 – I don't do Christmas, Hetty
It was the jingle of bells that set Callen on edge. Out in the shops, or on the streets, he was generally able to ignore it, just like every other noise that was pointless, that interfered with him hearing what was necessary to keep himself and those he cared about safe.
But in the office, where there weren't any bells that he knew of, except those on the tree that Hetty had put up and they weren't big enough to make the kind of jingling sound that Callen was hearing now. That ... That was different.
Callen turned his head to look in the direction of the annoyance. Hetty, Santa hats in hand and one on her head, complete with three bells that were obviously the cause of his current edgy state, was walking into the bullpen.
Callen took in the odd sight and glanced down at Hetty's feet as she got closer, half expecting to see jingling elf slippers on them. Hetty walked up to Nate, plopping one of the many hats she had in her possession onto his head and followed it up with one for Kensi. It was much more girly than the one Hetty had placed on top of Nate, all sequins and satin. Next stop for Santa's Elf of Christmas Hats was Sam, who raised an eyebrow at the little woman who dared to place that red and white furry hat on his head. Hetty returned the look with a stern one of her own and Callen saw Sam swallow nervously, and knew that he wasn't going to say a word.
Hetty walked toward him and Callen shook his head, sliding his chair back away from her as she advanced on him.
"You know I don't do Christmas, Hetty," Callen said firmly.
Hetty ignored him and stepped closer. Callen had nowhere to go; his chair was already back against the wall. She plopped the hat on his head, slightly crooked, and Callen shot Kensi a glare when she burst out laughing at him.
"Hetty," Callen warned as he reached up to pull it off. Hetty's hand shot out and grabbed his, quicker than he thought possible, stopping him. In hindsight, perhaps he should have stood up rather than try and wheel himself out of her reach.
"Plans have been finalised for the team Christmas function. I am assuming that all of you have followed my instructions and kept tomorrow free between the hours of ten am and four pm. If you haven't," Hetty eyed Callen as she said those words, "you still have time to rectify that mistake. So, tomorrow morning, Christmas Eve, ten am, I expect to see all of you on my doorstep. Do not forget your hats." There was a collective groan from the three males in the bullpen and a muffled giggle from Kensi before Hetty continued. "Remember, Christmas is a joyous time and so help me, joyous time we will have. Do I make myself clear?"
Nate raised an eyebrow at the ferocity behind Hetty's statement but wisely said nothing. Just nodded his agreement as did the rest, aside from Callen.
"Tell me again Hetty. Why aren't we just going out for drinks?" Callen asked. He could handle drinks but a full day of Christmas cheer; that he wasn't up to.
"Because Mr Callen, the last time we did Christmas at a bar, you slipped away after one drink, Nate and Eric got decidedly drunk and raucous on the eggnog."
Kensi chuckled at the memory and Callen gave her a knowing look. He had left before that but he had his suspicions that Kensi had something to do with the alcohol content in the eggnog, though she had never admitted anything.
Hetty continued.
"Kensi made a play for the hunky bartender and disappeared halfway through the evening which surprise, surprise, coincided when said bartender's shift ended."
There was the additional reasons why Callen had those suspicions. He had already suspected due to the flirting she was doing that night, but when Sam told him about her leaving, the suspicions had intensified.
Kensi had the grace to look contrite, albeit only slightly. There was a smile on her face that definitely implied she had enjoyed herself.
Hetty turned to Sam as she finished. "Which left Sam and myself looking like a rather odd couple. That won't be happening again. You are all mine from ten am until four pm at the earliest."
Nate opened his mouth but Hetty continued before he could say anything.
"And yes, I have every intention of locking the doors and setting the alarm if I feel the need to. Now, you may all go home," she finished rather magnanimously, before she turned and walked to her desk, four sets of eyes following her.
It was only three pm and she had just sent them home. Admittedly, they didn't have a major case they were working on. Miracle of miracles, really. They were just doing paperwork and following up on cold case files.
"Did she-" Kensi started to ask in shock.
"Yep," Nate agreed, still staring at their boss.
"Better make the most of it," Sam advised as he stood up and gathered his things.
Kensi moved even quicker and Callen rose as well. He didn't want to be left alone with Hetty in the office, knowing that somehow she would find a way to make him promise to be there tomorrow. So far, he had managed to avoid that particular conversation.
"So G, tell us, why don't you do Christmas?" Sam asked as the three of them walked out, Nate having had to return to his office to gather his things before leaving.
Before Callen could answer, a sound caught his attention and he turned to see Eric skipping lightly down the stairs, whistling some upbeat Christmas Carol as the light on the top of the Santa hat on his head flashed to a different beat. Callen turned away with a groan, not sure if he preferred the sight and sound of Eric or the interrogation that was starting from Sam.
"I just don't Sam. Not my thing," Callen gave his usual explanation with the faint hope that Sam would let it go at that.
"Bull. Four years G, and you still won't tell me what your deal is about Christmas."
Kensi looked at Callen curiously as they stepped out the office door, but didn't say anything.
"Look Sam, Christmas is about family. I never had one, so it's just not my thing." His heart ached at the lie he had just told, his chest tightening at the pain that flared in him but nothing on his face gave away that inner turmoil.
By this time they had arrived at their cars and Kensi was still looking at him funny.
"What?" Callen asked her impatiently.
Kensi shrugged. "All that food and toys. Good excuse to go buy some latest fancy gadget or toy just because. Really doesn't do anything for you?"
"Nope," Callen said, even as the old excited Christmasy feelings of a time long ago stirred deep down. He pushed them back and opened his car door. "Christmas just ain't my thing," he denied one last time.
"See you tomorrow G," Sam said with a shake of his head.
Callen could tell from Sam's look that he knew he was lying but had decided not to push. At least not yet.
"Not likely," Callen replied, stopping both Sam and Kensi in their tracks. They turned back to him.
Sam looked at him in confusion. "You willing to risk Hetty turning up on your doorstep and dragging your sorry ass there?"
Callen shook his head and gave them a trademark smirk. "She can't do that if she can't find me." And he had no intention of Hetty being able to find him tomorrow.
"You sure about that?" Kensi queried.
"Night Kenz, Night Sam." Callen got into his car, ignoring the trepidation that Kensi's question and look had caused in his stomach. Hetty was good.
Remember though, you're better ... Right?
Now why did that last word have to sound so filled with doubt?
"Night G."
Kensi leaned down and looked in through his open window, a teasing smile on her face. "Night Scrooge. Say hi to the Ghosts for me."
Callen glared at Kensi and her reference to A Christmas Carol. It was the one Christmas story he really hated. The idea of that last ghost in particular had haunted him for weeks the first time as a child he had watched a version of that movie. He'd never watched it again, even when she-. He cut his thoughts off there as Kensi pulled away from his car, laughing softly as she went to hers.
Callen drove home, listening to the loud thump of some rock CD he had in his car that enabled him to avoid the Christmas themed radio tunes that were sure to be on eight out of ten radio stations. He wasn't going to spend his trip home flicking to try and find something decent to listen to, that matched with his mood.
When Callen arrived home he threw some things into a bag ready for tomorrow morning. He was going to find some camping spot in the middle of some very dead zone for cellphone reception and spend some time communing with nature. Not something he normally enjoyed doing in his free time, but if it came down to that or Christmas, the idea became very appealing.
Callen sat back on his couch, beer in hand, put his head back and looked at the ceiling. He studied the cracks in the paint, knowing he should be doing something about it. A quick wash, sand and a fresh coat of ceiling white would make a huge difference, but he was wallowing.
Just a little.
Christmas.
It wasn't that he had always felt this way about Christmas. He used to just be indifferent, took whatever Christmas orientated things that made their way into his life, accepted them as part of the year and moved on when it was over. He'd learned early on in the system as a child that Christmas wasn't a priority, be it in the orphanages or even the homes. It was better to not expect anything than to get your hopes up only to have them dashed. He wasn't the kind of person who counted down to Christmas or anything like that. Most times he was shocked that it was already getting close to Christmas when he noticed all the decorations going up in the windows of the shops he rarely entered and the lights that appeared on the houses.
No, he wasn't usually a Grinch at Christmas.
There was a time when he had really enjoyed it. When she'd helped him see the fun, the family, the miracles. Not simply the commercialism, but the real meaning behind Christmas, well at least her version. She'd shown him something he'd missed most of his childhood. But she wasn't around anymore and since she had gone, he hadn't done Christmas. To explain the real reason to Sam would mean talking about her and talking about her was something he wasn't up to doing, especially at Christmas. Maybe if the topic came up outside of that particular season he might tell him.
As if, a voice inside his head retorted. The voice was right. There had been opportunities. Sam kept referring to his need to find him a good girl. Any one of those times would have been a good starting point.
Callen put down his beer and went for a shower. His neighbours next door had just arrived home and the carols had started playing loudly from their stereo. Not loud enough to report, just loud enough to interfere with his thoughts. A shower would help drown out the sound.
Callen was seriously tempted to leave now to find his camping spot, but that would give Hetty too much time to find him. He wouldn't put it past her to have a spy camera somewhere trained on his place, and someone reporting back to her that he had just left the building. He had a plan and he would stick to it and, if everything panned out as he hoped, Hetty's Christmas Party would be well underway before she realised he wasn't coming and she wouldn't be able to leave all her guests to come "drag his sorry ass" to it. The others enjoyed Christmas, in their own way and, as much as he cared about his team, he didn't want to drag them down into his miserable world at this time of year.
Later that night, after he'd actually washed and sanded the ceiling, with some heavy metal music blaring on his stereo to drown out the still playing carols, and had yet another shower, he laid back on his bed and closed his eyes. He tried to sleep, but his mind kept drifting to her.
Eventually he gave in and pulled out her picture from the envelope he kept hidden under his mattress.
He ran his fingers gently over her face, remembering the softness of her skin, the way her cheeks had coloured when she was embarrassed or turned on. A small laugh, with just a small hint of pain, slipped past his lips as he remembered the number of times he'd taken advantage of that. She'd be embarrassed about something but he'd deliberately take it the other way and followed up appropriately. She'd always found him hard to resist, but then so had he her.
Callen studied those beautiful grey eyes. He'd felt he could see right through to her soul when he'd looked in them. To the sweet, loving soul that had loved his, even though his was nowhere near as sweet, innocent or as bright as her own.
The black, silky and soft, curly hair that he'd loved to thread his fingers through.
With the Santa hat that was on her head and the green shirt she was wearing, she looked every bit the gorgeous Christmas Elf that she was. She was smiling at him, her eyes sparkling with the Christmas spirit that filled her all year, but especially from the 1st of December when she always had a touch of green and red somewhere on her. She'd loved Christmas and everything about it. He'd loved sharing it with her. If only she was still alive. He felt the tears push at his eyes and took one last look at the picture.
"Merry Christmas, Faith," Callen whispered, before slipping the photo back in the envelope and putting it back under his mattress.
Callen laid back again and focused on the coming days. No interruptions, just him and nature. No tinsel for miles, no carols making their way into his mind and certainly no jingling of bells on hats. With those thoughts still drifting through his mind, he managed to fall into a fitful sleep.
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A/N 2 - If anyone has any idea what Hetty would give Callen, Sam, Kensi, Nate or Eric for a present, please let me know. I haven't been able to figure that out yet. Hope you enjoyed Chapter 1.