Protection
She yawned as she typed the final line of her report, she re-read the final paragraph then saved it. Shutting down her computer she picked up her handbag and slipped her cell phone inside. She stood, grabbed her jacket and pushed her chair in with her hip as she slipped in on. She walked down the aisle of cubicles, then turned and entered the elevator bay. She pressed the down button and was glad when an elevator opened only a few seconds later. She stepped in and pressed B2, the doors closed and she felt the elevator start to descend.
She pulled out her car keys as the doors opened and started towards her car. Halfway there she thought she heard a sound, she slowed and looked around but saw nothing. She walked quickly the rest of the way and once she was close she pressed the button on her key fob. She saw the headlights flash as the sound of her car unlocking filled the parking garage. Immediately after there was a second weirdly familiar click sound. She turned to her left to see a man pointing a gun at her, she didn't even have time to take a step before he began firing on her. She felt a searing pain rip through her left shoulder and she took off running to her car. As she climbed in and started the engine he continued to fire on her. The sound of gunfire echoed around the parking garage as she reversed quickly out of her space. She raced out of the building, the back windshield shattered and she heard bullets whistling past her head. She sped away from her office building heading towards the centre of town. She took a circuitous route in case he was following her, after several minutes of driving and in a lot of pain, she turned into a small side street and pulled over.
She looked down at her left shoulder and saw her jacket and shirt was covered in blood. She reached into her purse for her phone but paused unsure whether to call the police and then seek medical treatment or seek medical treatment first. She sat, hand in bag, debating which order she should do things. He fingertips brushed her wallet and she remembered something she had been given a long time ago. She pulled out her wallet and opened it, she reached into the slot behind the credit cards and pulled out a small, timeworn, white envelope. 'In case of a life or death emergency' was written on the front in a familiar hand. She turned it over, unsealed it and slid out a small folded piece of paper. Unfolding it she saw a handwritten letter addressed to her containing a set of instructions. She skimmed over it, typed the address mentioned in the body of the letter into her phone's map app and pulled out into the street.
Following the phone's directions she drove toward the harbour, she turned into a no exit street and followed the directions to the end. She slung her handbag over her uninjured shoulder, grabbed the piece of paper and climbed out of the car. She crossed the street and found herself standing outside of what looked to be a boat shed. Holding pressure on the gunshot wound with her right hand and holding the letter in her left she re-read it and trusting its author she made her way to the boat shed. She went inside and walked down a short hallway until she entered the main room. As described in the letter she saw a table and chairs near a large TV screen, she went over and saw in the middle of the table was a speaker phone with a keypad. She placed her handbag and the letter on the table and typed in the phone number provided. It rang twice before she heard the sound of the call being picked up, at the same time the TV screen came to life. She looked up to see a blonde man with glasses and a brunette woman looking at her through the screen.
"The yacht has been anchored off Catalina since dawn." She spoke unsurely reading out the strange phrase written below the phone number. She looked up from the letter and saw that the man and woman seem to recognise the phrase.
"Hi, which agent are you trying to get a hold of?" The woman asked.
"Henrietta Lange." She replied and watched the man and woman share a look.
"Okay, and who should we say is looking for her?" The man asked.
"My name's Isobel, I'm her niece." She informed them and watched their eyes widen in surprise.
"Please, I need help." She added as she lowered the hand covering her shoulder to reveal the gunshot wound.
Hetty walked quickly into the boat shed followed closely by Callen, Sam, Kenzie and Deeks. When she entered the main room she was momentarily stopped by the sight of her beloved niece injured and scared.
"Aunt Hetty!" Izzy called out, relieved to see her aunt arrive.
"Izzy." Hetty called back concerned as she hurried over to her.
"What happened?" Hetty asked as the two embraced on Izzy's uninjured side. Callen, Sam, Kenzie and Deeks stopped just inside the room and stared at the petite, attractive, thirty something brunette woman hugging their boss. They all briefly looked at each other and quickly ascertained that none of them had had any idea Hetty had a niece.
Once she let go of her aunt Izzy looked behind her to see three men and one woman standing just inside the room staring at her, they all looked very surprised and curious.
"Izzy this is my team." Hetty explained once she saw what Izzy was looking at.
"This Callen, Sam, Kenzie and Deeks." As she introduced each one they nodded their head.
"Everyone this is my niece Izzy. Kenzie, could you?" Hetty asked gesturing to Izzy's shoulder and Kenzie immediately made her way over. Izzy sat and Kenzie placed a first aid kit she had brought with her on the table and opened it.
"Mind if I take a look?" Kenzie asked as she took a seat opposite Izzy.
"Not at all." Izzy confirmed, removing her hand from her shoulder.
"So when you say niece, you mean the biological child of your biological sibling right?" Deeks inquired feeling the need to check as Izzy removed her jacket.
"Yes Mr Deeks." Hetty confirmed glancing at him. Kenzie noticed Izzy wincing as she began to clean the wound.
"Sorry." Kenzie apologised and tried to be even more gentle.
"It's okay, I'm just a wuss." Izzy assured her and the women shared a smile.
"My dad is Aunt Hetty's older brother." Izzy elaborated helpfully glancing at Deeks who nodded.
"Older brother?" Callen repeated surprised, his eyes fixed on Izzy.
"Izzy what happened?" Hetty pressed her niece.
"I don't know, I was leaving work and when I got to the parking garage there was a guy there waiting for me, as soon as he saw me he just starting shooting." Izzy explained and saw her aunts face fall.
"You think it's because of lunch." She guessed and everyone looked between Hetty and Izzy.
"Lunch?" Sam asked as Kenzie put a bandage on the front of Izzy's shoulder.
"Aunt Hetty and I catch up for lunch about once a month or so. She always insists we have it at her house or my apartment. Lately I've been going on and on about this new cafe and earlier this afternoon she relented and we had lunch there." Izzy told them as Kenzie got to work on the wound on the back of her shoulder.
"You think she was targeted because you had lunch together? That's a bit of a leap isn't it?" Callen asked, briefly looking at Hetty before looking back at Izzy. Their eyes met inadvertently and they stared at each other for a moment before both averting their gaze.
"Izzy doesn't have any enemies. Today we had lunch together in public for the first time and now she's been shot. I think it's more than likely someone is going after her because they can't get to me." Hetty replied a hint of sadness in her voice.
"It's not your fault." Izzy insisted and Hetty gave her a small smile.
"The wound is a through and through, I've put a bandage on each side but it's at the very least going to need stitches." Kenzie informed Izzy and Hetty as she stood up.
"Alright, Callen, Sam I want you to take Izzy to the hospital to get her stitched up, then to her apartment to collect her things. After that you are to take her to a safe house and stay with her until this is over. Kenzie and Deeks go and check out the crime scene and see if you can find anything that can help us." Hetty ordered.
"Did you get a look at the man that shot you?" Sam asked her.
"Not really, I only saw him for a second and it's not a very well lit parking garage." She answered feeling unhelpful.
"It's okay, we'll find him." Callen assured her then turned his attention to the TV screen.
"Eric check Izzy's office building and the surrounding area for surveillance cameras." He instructed him.
"On it."
Callen and Sam led Izzy outside and over to Sam's car, Callen opened the back passenger side door, Izzy smiled appreciatively and climbed in. He closed the door after her and climbed in the front.
"This is a nice car." Izzy commented as Sam started the engine and he and Callen shared a look.
"Thanks." Sam gave her a small smile as he pulled the car into the street.
"Dodge Challenger right?" Izzy asked and Sam nodded.
"Knows her cars." He pointed out to Callen.
"Just the nice looking ones." She mentioned having overheard him and Callen smiled.
"So tell us about Hetty." He suggested and Sam glanced over at him.
"What do you want to know?" She asked noticing his eyes staring at her in the rearview mirror.
"Everything." He smiled and she smiled back.
"Aunt Hetty's the best. My mom passed away when I was four and Aunt Hetty has kind of filled that role in my life ever since, she's always been there for me." Izzy spoke fondly of Hetty.
"So is it just you and your Dad?" Sam inquired, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"No, I have an older brother. It's always just been the three of us and Aunt Hetty visited whenever she could." She explained.
"She travelled a lot, huh?" Callen supposed.
"Yeah, she was always travelling for work when I was a kid but she always came to see us when she got back, and she always brought a gift." Izzy confirmed and Callen and Sam shared a knowing look.
Several minutes later Sam parked the car at the hospital and he and Callen took Izzy into the ER. Her shoulder was examined, X-rayed and it was determined that she had a small fracture to her clavicle and some muscle damage. The doctors told her the internal damage would heal on its own and they would only need to stitch closed the entrance and exit wounds. Izzy sat on a hospital bed and watched nervously as a nurse wheeled over a tray of medical instruments and began preparing a not so small syringe. Callen, standing over by the window with Sam, noticed Izzy's anxious expression and made his way over. Izzy felt the bed shift and turned to see that Callen had taken a seat beside her.
"So, what does your brother do?" He asked.
"He's a lawyer." She replied and went to look back at the nurse.
"What kind of law does he practice?" Callen quickly followed up. She looked at him again and smiled gratefully as she realised what he was trying to do.
"He's a civil rights attorney." She answered him and he continued to distract her with small talk as the doctor came and stitched up the wounds on the front and back of her shoulder. She was fitted with an immobilising sling, discharged from the hospital and walked back to the car with Sam and Callen. She gave them her address and Sam drove them to her apartment building.
When they arrived Sam got out of the car first and checked the area for any signs of danger before motioning to Callen and Izzy that it was clear. Sam and Callen followed Izzy up to her apartment and did a quick sweep before allowing her to enter.
"My room's this way." She told them as she headed down the hallway. She walked in to her room and went straight to her closet. She pulled out an overnight bag and dropped it and her handbag on to her bed.
"Pack enough for a few nights." Sam instructed her, she nodded and went over to her dresser. Sam kept watch at the window as Callen's eyes fell upon a large set of shelves containing souvenirs from all over the world. He saw intricately painted chopsticks from Japan, nesting dolls from Russia, a beret from France and rows of others. As Izzy walked back to the bed carrying a pile of clothes she noticed Callen admiring the souvenirs. She placed the clothes in the bag and made her way over to him.
"Remember I told you Aunty Hetty travelled a lot, these are all the gifts she brought back, one from every country she visited. Each one came with a story." She told him as he admired a small jade dog ornament from China.
"A story?" He questioned as he placed the dog back on the shelf.
"Whenever she got back from a trip she would come over and have dinner with us. Then she would tuck us into bed and tell us a bedtime story about one of Lucy's adventures." Izzy recalled.
"Lucy?" Callen looked at her and she smiled, Sam watched the pair from his position by the window.
"Secret Agent Lucy Stone, a character she invented who always had amazing adventures in whichever country Aunty Hetty had just got back from. It wasn't till I was older I realised that Aunt Hetty was Lucy, the stuff about her being a international sales rep who had to travel for work, that was the made up part." Izzy smiled as she remember the nights spent with her aunt when she was a child. Sam watched as Callen stared at Izzy, turning his attention back to the window in time to see a man aiming at the apartment with a UZI.
"GET DOWN!" Sam yelled hitting the ground as the sound of gunfire rang out. Callen immediately pushed Izzy down to the floor and covered her body with his. Izzy's heart pounded as the man sprayed her bedroom with bullets. After a few seconds the gunfire stopped and Izzy looked over in time to see Sam jump up, open the broken window then climb out and take off after the gunman.
"Stay down." Callen commanded as he moved off her. Drawing his gun he carefully made his way to the window and looked out.
"Sam." As he spoke he put a finger to his ear.
"I'm good, guy got on a motorbike and took off, I lost him." Sam updated him and he turned back to Izzy. He holstered his gun as he walked over then held out his hand to her.
"The gunman's gone, are you okay?" He asked as he helped Izzy slowly get to her feet.
"Yeah, I think so." She confirmed clutching her now very sore shoulder.
"You just saved my life. Thank you." She told him extremely grateful.
"You're welcome, all part of the job." He replied with a small smile.
"Some job you have." She commented and they both chuckled.
"We need to get you out of here." Callen pointed out while gesturing for her to continue packing. She nodded and quickly gathered a few more clothes, her toiletries and some other sundry items. She added them to the bag, zipped it up and put her handbag over her good shoulder. Sam appeared in her doorway as Callen picked up her overnight bag and they escorted her out of her apartment.
It had gotten dark by the time Sam, Callen and Izzy arrived at the safe house. Sam let them in and Izzy followed Callen as he carried her overnight bag down the hall.
"This one's yours." He told her as they entered the second bedroom on the left.
"Okay. Thanks." She told him as he placed her overnight bag on the bed and she placed her handbag beside it.
"We're going to have takeout for dinner, feel like anything in particular?" He asked.
"I could go for a burger." She replied.
"Sure, I'll get Sam to do a run in a little bit."
"Will you?" Sam asked as he appeared behind Callen in the doorway, giving him a look.
"It's your car." Callen retorted with a smirk, Sam smiled and Izzy laughed.
Izzy got herself settled and changed out of her work clothes while Sam went for burgers. When he got back they all sat, ate dinner together and talked.
"We finally got in the room and located the target, I untied their hands and feet and removed their gag. I helped them to their feet, tell them we have to go and they won't come." Callen recounted a heavily redacted work story to Izzy.
"It was a rescue mission, so we were a little surprised." Sam added with a smile.
"What did you guys do?" Izzy asked engrossed in the story.
"I tied them back up, put the gag back in and threw them over my shoulder." Sam told her.
"So there we were, running from this warehouse, me carrying two large rifles while Sam's carrying the target bound and gagged over his shoulder." Callen chuckled at the memory and Izzy laughed.
"You kidnapped a kidnapping victim." Izzy summarised grinning.
"Yup." Sam conceded.
"Pretty much." Callen agreed with a smile and the two men shared a look.
"You guys have been partners for a long time haven't you?" Izzy guessed as she watched the interplay between the two men.
"I can't get rid of him." Sam joked.
"You'd be lost without me." Callen countered smiling.
"Whatever you say G." Sam humoured him and Izzy chuckled at their bantering.
In the very early hours of the morning, on his way back from having a glass of water, Callen passed the room Izzy was staying in and noticed that the light was still on. He paused outside the door for a few seconds before wrapping his knuckles lightly against the door frame.
"Come in." He heard her voice from the other side and opened the door.
"Hey. I saw your light was still on, can't sleep?" He asked as he stood in the doorway. She smiled finding herself glad he was one checking on her.
"Nope, still too wired I guess. What about you, it was probably a typical Thursday for you, why are you still up?" She queried and he smiled.
"I don't sleep much." He answered.
"Ever?" She asked.
"Not really." He replied. They both fell silent, neither moved as they stared at each other for several seconds. She eventually looked away, breaking the silence with the soft sound of closing the cover of her iPad, then she placed it on the table beside the bed.
"Come in." She repeated her invitation but Callen hesitated.
"You want to know more about Aunt Hetty right?" She guessed and he nodded.
"Well, she'd almost certainly rather I didn't tell you but you saved my life earlier, so I figure it's the least I can do." She smiled and moved over making space on the bed for him to sit. Callen smiled, made his way over and took a seat on the opposite corner of the bed from Izzy.
"So what would you like to know?" She asked carefully easing herself back onto her pillows.
"How do you know what Hetty does, I can't imagine she volunteered that information." Callen wondered and Izzy smiled.
"I don't know much and what little I do know I only know because I called her out." She told him and Callen's eyes widened.
"You called her out?" He asked stunned.
"It wasn't as dramatic as you're imagining." She chuckled.
"I was at her house for lunch one day when I was fourteen. She got a call in the middle of it, left the room to answer it and came back saying she had to go overseas immediately and she would drop me home. This wasn't unusual, happened a lot actually. I don't know what got in to me that day but I told her I wasn't buying it. I didn't believe she was just a sales rep, it didn't make sense. It was one thing to travel for work, but she never told us where she was going and we only found out where she'd been once she got back. She often got called away at a moments notice and was often uncontactable for weeks. She had these unusual skills and abilities that didn't fit with being a international sales rep and of course she was really weird about us being seen in public together. So I laid it all out and told her I wasn't leaving until she told me what was going on. I guess she could tell I wasn't going to let it go so she sat me down and told me the truth, well, as much as she could. She told me she worked for the government, that she was sent all over the world to help people and stop illegal transactions from taking place. She told me that she had made a lot of enemies. She knew she could always stay one step ahead of them but if they found out she had family they wouldn't hesitate to use us against her. That's why she did the things she did, to protect us." She recounted.
"That's Hetty, always protecting the people she cares about." He commented.
"You included?" Izzy asked.
"Yep." He smiled.
"Then a little over a decade ago she told me she got a job with NCIS. She said it was a managerial role so she wouldn't have to travel much anymore." She finished and he nodded.
"So what did you mean by unusual skills and abilities?" He asked curious.
"Aunty Hetty can do anything. So there was one time, when I was about eight or nine and my brother Max would have been 11 or 12, a carnival came into town. Aunt Hetty had just got back from one of her trips and we hounded her into taking us. It was amazing, everything she played she won. She knocked down all the milk bottles, she got every ball in the hoop, she shot all the ducks in the duck shoot. You know that game where you hit the thing with a mallet and try to ring the bell at the top, she rang the bell first try. She even dunked the poor guy in the dunk tank at my brothers insistence, she couldn't lose. When I was little I used to think she was magic." Izzy grinned remembering Hetty's carnival game prowess.
"It would explain a lot." Callen mused and they shared a small laugh.
They spent a more than an hour talking until Callen looked up mid story and saw that Izzy had fallen asleep. Callen covered her with the blanket from the end of the bed then quietly left the room. As he made his way up the hall he saw a light was on in the living room, he looked in and saw Sam.
"How is she?" Sam asked.
"She's fine." Callen answered and Sam gave him a look.
"She couldn't sleep so we talked." He added.
"Uh huh." Sam murmured.
"What?" Callen asked a little defensively.
"Nothing." Sam replied deciding not to press it.
"I'm going to bed, night." Callen told him.
"Night."
The next morning Izzy awoke to pain in her shoulder and a crick in her neck from the position she'd fallen asleep in. Though when she sat up she smiled as she noticed the blanket she'd been covered with. She climbed out of bed, threw her bathrobe on and dropped her painkillers in one of the pockets. She then made her way to the kitchen where she found Sam and Callen sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee.
"Morning." Callen greeted her with a smile as she poured herself a glass of water.
"Morning." She returned his smile and smiled at Sam. She pulled the bottle from her pocket and struggled to open the lid with one hand.
"Here." Callen offered and held out his hand for the bottle.
"Thanks." She replied as she handed him the bottle and he opened it. She took two of the pills and replaced the lid. She swallowed them and followed them with most of her glass of water.
"Did you sleep okay?" Sam asked noticing Izzy rubbing her neck as she leant her back against the kitchen counter.
"Yeah, just a little crooked." She reassured him. She finished her water then went about making herself something for breakfast. A short while later and with a little help, she made herself some toast and joined Sam and Callen at the table.
"So what you guys do all day when you're on protective detail?" She asked in between bites of toast.
"A lot of Tic Tac Toe." Sam joked with a small smile. A moment later his phone started to ring and he stood up and answered it whilst walking into the next room.
"I always let him win." Added Callen once Sam had left the room and Izzy chuckled. They remained in companionable silence until Sam came back to the table a few minutes later.
"Did they find anything?" Callen asked as Sam rejoined the table.
"No but Eric got another lead from surveillance footage so Kenzie and Deeks are heading there now." Sam filled him in and noticed Izzy was listening.
"A lead didn't pan out but we do have other leads to follow." He assured her and she nodded. She finished her toast, stood and carried her plate to the counter. She loaded it into the dishwasher and refilled her glass with water.
"I'm going to grab a shower." She mentioned as she passed by the table.
"Good luck with that." Callen teased glancing at her injured arm.
"Wanna help?" She grinned raising her eyebrows. Callen almost choked on his sip of coffee as Sam whipped his head up from his phone.
"I'm kidding." Izzy laughed and headed off down the hall.
Thirty minutes later she came out of her room freshly showered wearing jeans and a camisole and carrying an adhesive bandage. She went in to the living room and as she approached Callen he looked up from the magazine he was reading.
"Can you do me a favour?" She asked him.
"Sure, what do you need?" He replied putting his magazine to one side.
"I can't reach the one on the back." She told him holding out the bandage. He nodded and took the bandage as she took a seat on the edge of the coffee table facing away from him. Sam, who had been working on his laptop, looked up to see Callen opening the bandage while Izzy gingerly slid the strap of both her bra and her camisole off her shoulder. He kept watching as Callen removed the backing of the bandage and Izzy pulled her long straight brown hair over her other shoulder. Callen carefully placed the bandage over the exit wound on Izzy's shoulder then gently ran his fingers around the edge of the bandage to stick it down.
"Thanks." Izzy smiled as she turned around, pulling up her straps and held her hand out for the rubbish. Callen handed it to her and she stood and headed off back to her room.
A little while later Izzy reentered the living room wearing a sweatshirt and her sling, in the hand of her good arm she carried her iPad and a book with a cup of tea carefully balanced on top. Callen noticed when she entered and quickly got up, took the cup of tea from her and placed it on the coffee table.
"Thanks." She gave him a smile as she took a seat on the sofa next to the one he had just been occupying. She got herself comfortable and cracked open her book, the three of them remained in comfortable silence for well over an hour until Callen finished his magazine and tossed it aside. Izzy looked up from her book to see Callen standing up to stretch his legs.
"Bored?" She asked him putting her bookmark in her book.
"No." He answered quickly, Izzy just stared at him.
"Okay, yes." He admitted seconds later and she grinned, as he smiled back he noticed the writing on her sweatshirt
"Your alma mater?" He questioned looking at it.
"Yup." She confirmed glancing down at it.
"Stanford, impressive." He commented.
"It is, until you learn my brother went to Harvard." She smiled.
"Harvard? Yeah, that's more impressive." He agreed.
"I'm a bit of an underachiever." She stated and they both chuckled.
"Come here." Izzy told Callen as she gestured to the seat beside her. As she placed her book on the coffee table, Callen complied and joined her on the sofa. She picked up her iPad, flipped the cover back, unlocked it and opened the photo app. She scrolled up a little, selected a photo and handed the iPad to Callen.
"That's my brother." Izzy said and Callen saw a handsome man in his late thirties with the exact same coloured hair as Izzy.
"Is that his wife?" He asked pointing to the woman standing beside Max in the photo.
"Yup, that's my sister in law Jen, my nephew Ethan and my niece Amelia." Izzy explained.
"They're cute." Callen smiled.
"They're great kids." She gushed as Callen's eyes drifted to Izzy who was holding Amelia in the photo.
"Do you have any photos of Hetty?" He asked a couple of seconds later.
"Only a few, she has a thing about being in photos too." Izzy looked at Callen and they shared a knowing smile. She leaned close to Callen and began looking through the album labeled family.
"Dad recently digitised some of his old photos so I have a couple of old ones." Izzy told him as she selected a photo, once it was enlarged Callen's eyes widened.
"Wow." Sam looked up at his exclamation.
"Hetty wearing a dress." Callen stated as he lifted the iPad and turned the screen to Sam, who on seeing the photo smiled.
"It was my mum and dad's wedding, she was one of mum's bridesmaids she had to wear a dress." Izzy grinned realising Callen and Sam had never seen Hetty dressed up like that.
"What year was this?" Callen asked as he stared at the image of a much younger Hetty.
"They got married July 27th 1974." Izzy told him. He looked between the photo and Izzy paying particular attention to the bride and groom.
"You take after your dad." He decided and Izzy smiled.
"We get that a lot." She replied with a smile and brought up a recent photo of herself and her father. Callen stared at the photo clearly able to see a family resemblance between the two of them and Hetty.
Izzy and Callen whiled away the rest of the day looking at photos, chatting, playing games on her iPad and much later in the afternoon Izzy made Callen watch her favourite movie when she learnt he had never seen it.
"So what did you think?" Izzy interrogated him as soon as the credits rolled.
"It was pretty good." Callen submitted casually.
"Pretty good?" She repeated unimpressed by his review. She stared at Callen and noticed a smile tugging on the corners of his lips.
"You loved it, I knew it!" She grinned playfully nudging him and he grinned back.
"Well, I hate to break this up but I'm going to go and get us some dinner, any suggestions?" Sam asked coming and standing over them.
"Pizza?" Suggested Callen looking up at him, Izzy nodded enthusiastically and Sam shook his head.
"First burgers and now pizza?" He looked at them feigning disappointment.
"The burgers had vegetables on them." Izzy pointed out.
"Yeah." Callen concurred and all three shared a smile.
When Sam returned with dinner he found Callen and Izzy exactly where he'd left them, sitting together on the couch. They were arguing about the TV show they were watching but got up and joined him in the kitchen as soon as they noticed his return.
"Are you going eat all of that?" Sam questioned Izzy as he passed her the box containing the pizza she had requested.
"No, of course not, I'll just have the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow." She smiled and Sam made an unimpressed face, Izzy and Callen saw it and laughed.
The three of them all sat together at the kitchen table and ate their dinner, afterwards they moved to the living room and watched TV for a couple of hours before Izzy retired to bed. Once she had left the room Sam leaned forward, grabbed the TV remote from the coffee table and muted the TV.
"So." Sam started and Callen looked at him.
"What?" Callen asked at the look Sam gave him.
"You and Izzy have been getting along well, you seem to have really hit it off." Sam commented and this time it was Callen who gave Sam a look.
"Just making a casual observation." Sam told him.
"No, you're not." Callen argued.
"Okay, what am I doing?" Sam asked, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"You're doing that thing." Callen replied mildly irritated.
"What thing?" Sam played dumb, enjoying Callen's displeasure.
"That thing where you make a point without actually making your point, it's annoying." Callen explained, crossing his arms.
"So there's nothing..." Sam started.
"No." Callen interrupted him.
"We just have something in common, that's all." Callen assured him.
"Someone in common." Sam corrected him and Callen nodded.
"And the fact that she's happens to be beautiful, funny, intelligent woman..." Sam continued.
"I hadn't noticed." Callen took a turn playing dumb.
"Of course not." Sam smiled and decided to leave it alone.
She heard her car unlock then heard a second click, she turned and saw the man fire. Pain tore through her shoulder as she sound of gunfire echoed all around her. She awoke with a start and sat bolt upright in bed breathing heavily, she groaned as pain from her shoulder hit her in waves. She clutched her arm and as her eyes adjusted to the dark she remembered where she was. She sat still, her eyes welling with tears, the only sound in the room her own shaky breaths. After a few moments she threw back the bed covers and, wiping her eyes, she climbed out of bed.
Callen looked up when Izzy passed the doorway to the living room, he hesitated a moment thinking back on the conversation he had had with Sam but he was soon up on his feet making his way to kitchen. When he got there he saw her standing at the sink with a glass of water beside her on the counter. As he approached he saw she was leaning on her hand against the bench and had her head lowered.
"Hey." He saw her jump at his greeting.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah." Came her quiet reply. As he came to stand beside her he heard her sniffle and caught her wiping her eye.
"Izzy?" He spoke her name, pressing her to talk to him.
"I'm okay, I just had a nightmare." She admitted turning to him, wiping her other eye before a tear could fall. He stared at her realising this was the first time he had seen her emotional about what had happened. He watched her run her hand through her hair and found it surprisingly hard to see her upset. Against his better judgement, and hoping Sam would not choose this moment to come out of his room, Callen gently pulled her into a hug. He felt her immediately wrap her good arm around him as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thanks." She sniffled, a few seconds later, her voice muffled by his shoulder.
"For what?" He asked, slightly surprised, as he let go of her.
"For not telling me a bunch platitudes like it'll get better, you'll be okay, it'll pass." She explained.
"Wouldn't feel very helpful right now, would it?" He smiled.
"No, it wouldn't." She gave him a small smile back.
"Do you want to come and sit for a bit?" He nodded his head toward the living room.
"Yeah." She nodded and smiled gratefully. She picked up her glass of water and followed him into the living room. They sat down on the sofa and Izzy stared across the living room not focusing on any one thing.
"You know, you haven't talked about it." Callen pointed out staring at her.
"What's there to talk about, I got shot and it hurt, a lot." She replied, evidently still not ready to talk about it.
"Okay, so what else on your mind?" Callen changed tactics.
"Aunt Hetty." Izzy answered.
"Hetty can handle herself." He assured her with a small smile.
"She blames herself for me getting shot." Izzy continued turning her body to face Callen. He could tell she wasn't finished so he remained quiet.
"She's always had all these rules about us spending time together. Well, what if, after this." She paused and glanced at her injured shoulder.
"She decides the best way to keep me safe is to stay away from me." She met his eyes as she finally confessed what she had been worrying about.
"She won't do that." He tried to reassure her as he saw the real concern in her eyes.
"How do you know?" She asked needing more.
"Because I know Hetty, she's threatened to retire for the good of the team so many times I've lost count and she's still here. If she can't stay away from us she won't be able to stay away from you. You're hard to stay away from." He watched her eyes widen and realised he'd said that last part out loud.
"Am I?" She smiled, surprised but flattered by the compliment.
"So those Lakers huh?" He swiftly changed topics and she laughed.
"That's the best you could do?" She teased him.
"Apparently." He smiled. She smiled back then quickly covered her mouth with her hand and yawned.
"You should try and get some more sleep." He told her glancing in the direction of the hallway.
"Good idea." She agreed and stood and picked up her glass of water.
"Night."
"Night." He replied and watched her walk away.
Callen was sitting at the table drinking coffee when Izzy came out of her bedroom the next morning. She greeted him as she passed the table then went to the cupboard and pulled out a mug. She filled it with coffee from the pot that had recently been brewed and as she walked to the table to join him she saw Sam on the phone in the next room.
"Rough night?" Callen smiled noticing she had chosen to have coffee.
"Something like that." She smiled back as Sam entered the room.
"They got it." Sam told Callen as he approached the table and Callen nodded.
"The other agents should be here soon." Callen replied and Izzy looked between the two men.
"Other agents?" She questioned them.
"We have a lead that we need to follow up so two agents are going to come and stay with you while we're gone." Callen explained.
"Okay." Izzy nodded. Callen and Sam stared at her surprised by her immediate agreeableness, Izzy noticed their surprise and smiled.
"I grew up with Aunt Hetty, I learnt not to ask too many questions." She told them and they smiled.
Less than twenty minutes later the other agents, introduced as Russo and Thomas, arrived and Callen and Sam left. Izzy had her leftover pizza for breakfast and made pleasant small talk with the agents while she ate it. After breakfast, Izzy showered and changed and as with the day before situated herself of the couch with a book and cup of tea. A few hours after Sam and Callen left Agent Russo's phone rang and he had brief conversation with the person on the other end. After relaying the conversation to Thomas he walked over to where Izzy sat on the couch.
"Ma'am?" He politely interrupted her reading.
"Yes?" She responded, closing her book.
"We've been instructed to take you to the boat shed, you will need to bring your things with you." He informed her.
"Okay, I'll just go and pack up." She replied a bit surprised. She walked across the living room but when she got to the door she stopped, turned back around and smiled.
"Oh, Russo? Please stop calling me Ma'am."
An hour later Izzy walked back into the boat shed followed by Russo and Thomas. When she entered the main room she saw her aunt and the whole team milling around the table, they fell quiet when she entered.
"Hi." She greeted the group wondering what was going on.
"Izzy, how are you feeling?" Hetty asked as she made her way over to her.
"I'm okay. My arm's a little sore but other than that I'm fine." She reported as she and Hetty shared a brief hug.
"You will be glad to know it's all over." Hetty informed her. Izzy looked at each member or the team but none of them gave anything away.
"Wow, that's great, so what..." Izzy began.
"It's safe for you to return home." Hetty interjected. She stared at her aunt but as always could not read her.
"Okay, but what..." She tried again.
"The case is closed." Hetty stated, giving Izzy a looked that she knew meant the conversation was over. She sighed and nodded her understanding, aware there was no pushing her aunt.
"Agents Russo and Thomas will drive you home." Hetty told her and Izzy nodded again.
"Well, thank you, all of you." Izzy smiled gratefully as she looked at each member of the team spending an extra second on Sam and Callen.
"For everything." She looked a beat longer at Callen.
"I'll stop by later." Hetty added with a small smile then escorted Izzy from the boat shed.
When the team got back from the boat shed everyone went to their desks with the exception of Callen who followed Hetty back to hers.
"You couldn't have given her a bit more?" He asked her once they were out of earshot of the team. Hetty did not reply as she took a seat at her desk and opened her laptop.
"What she's supposed to do with the case is closed?" Callen tried again and Hetty looked at him surprised by his persistence.
"You want me to give a civilian more information about a classified NCIS special operations investigation?" She questioned him and he sighed.
"She will be okay, Izzy is resilient. She gets that from me." Hetty added with a small smile. Callen nodded, realising the conversation was over he turned to leave but almost immediately stoped and turned back around to her.
"You're going to go and see her?" He checked and Hetty's eyes widened, surprised by his level of concern.
"Yes, soon." She answered him and he heard hesitation in her voice. He stared at her for a moment, wondering if Izzy had been right to worry, then decided to say something.
"I understand why you think it would be a good idea but, don't stay away from her. Don't let what happened cost her any more than it already has."
That evening Izzy sat mindlessly flipping stations on the TV unable to find anything worth watching. About to give up, she jumped when she heard a knock on the door. She put the TV on mute and placed the remote on the coffee table. She walked over to the door and looked through the peephole, she smiled to herself when she saw who it was. She removed the chain, unlocked then opened the door to reveal Callen standing in the hallway.
"Hi." She smiled.
"Hi." He smiled back.
"May I?" He asked glancing behind her.
"Sure." She stood aside to let him in. He came in, she closed the door behind him and motioned to the living room. She led him to the sofa and they both took a seat.
"So what brings you by?" She inquired shifting her body to face him.
"I came by to tell you that the guy who tried to kill you is dead." He informed her.
"He is?" Her eyes widened slightly at the information.
"When we figured out who tried to kill you, Hetty secretly agreed to meet him. Once we learned about it we followed her there and backed her up. Long story short there was a shootout and the gunman and all of his guns for hire are dead." He elaborated and she stared at him trying to get a read on him.
"You weren't supposed to tell me any of that, were you?" She finally asked.
"No, it's all highly classified." He confirmed.
"Then why did you?" She couldn't help but ask.
"I've been there, been shot. I saw the look on your face when Hetty wouldn't give you any details, I thought it might help you in dealing with all this if you knew it was really over. You really are safe now." He told her.
"It will. Thank you." She smiled sincerely and he gave her a small smile back.
"Well, I should let you get back to your evening." He said quickly standing up.
"Oh, um..." She started, standing too and he paused.
"It's funny, I can never get the place to myself when I want it but the one night I'd rather not be alone both my roommates are out. So, I could use some company, if you, you know, don't have already have plans or anything." She began to ramble as he stared at her and she second guessed her decision to invite him to stay. Callen stood still for a moment, internally debating whether or not he should stay.
"I've got ice cold beer in the fridge." She added to sweeten the deal and Callen folded.
"Uh, sure, I can stay for one beer." He smiled and retook his seat.
"Great." She replied and headed off toward the kitchen.
Three hours and as many beers later Izzy and Callen were still on her couch swapping stories about Hetty.
"So then Aunty Hetty arrives for dinner, well she takes one look at me crying and this guy standing in our driveway begging me to take him back and marches right up to him. She tells him that I obviously don't want him there and he needs to leave." Izzy recounted.
"What did he do?" Callen asked leaning in, his curiosity piqued.
"He laughed, then tried to push her aside." Izzy told him.
"Uh oh." He chuckled already with an idea of where this was going.
"Aunt Hetty, in this one swift move, I don't know what kind of martial art it was, lays him out flat on his back on the driveway. Then she tells him very calmly to never ever lay a hand on a woman and to leave and never contact me again. You should have seen it, he could have made the olympic team the speed he took off down our driveway." She finished and they both laughed.
"Then she took me inside and made me a cup of tea." She added with a grin.
"Of course she did." Callen chuckled. Their eyes met, small smiles still playing on their lips, Izzy's heart started to beat faster as Callen's beautiful blue eyes stared into hers. Callen, completely taken with the beautiful woman in front of him, began to lean in. A moment later their lips brushed, Izzy immediately kissed him back resting her hand on his shoulder. They continued kissing for several more seconds before finally breaking apart.
"This is a spectacularly bad idea." Callen stated as they stared at each other wide eyed.
"Right." Izzy quickly agreed.
"I should go." He said standing up to leave. Izzy nodded, stood up and walked him to the door. She unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door, he walked through then turned around to look at her.
"Bye Izzy."
"Bye Callen."
One evening, several days later, Izzy sat down on her bed in her patched up bedroom. She picked up her book from her bedside table and had just begun to read when her concentration was broken by a knock at the door. She put down her book and walked out into the hallway, once out there she saw her roommate Mia poke her head out of her bedroom door.
"Are you expecting anyone?" Izzy asked her and she shook her head.
"It's okay, I'll get it." She offered and watched Mia disappear back into her room before heading down the hall. When she got to the door she looked through the peephole, she was surprised when she saw who was on the other side. She unlocked the door and smiled at Callen standing in the hallway.
"Hi." She greeted him.
"Hi." He replied. He fell quiet as he stared at her, wordlessly seeking permission to enter.
"I thought this was and I quote, a spectacularly bad idea, unquote." She reminded him.
"It is." He told her honestly but made no move to leave. Moments later she broke out into a smile which he immediately returned, then she stood aside and let him in.