Hello my darlings. Wow, I must say the response to this story is great, and I want to thankcountrygirluk56 (Guest), heyjode, Alessia (Guest), Guest, Guest, elsje1967, French fan (Guest) and Petunia3116 for the wonderful reviews as well as all of you who have followed and favoured.

So obviously I have decided to continue, and therefore have changed the name slightly. This is going to be eventual Callen/ Deeks slash, so if you don't like that idea I would leave it at the oneshot first chapter, though it will not be in any way explicit.

Anyway enough from me, here is the second chapter, I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA.


Deeks lay on his couch, listening to the calming mood music he had playing on his laptop, not that it was doing much good. He had taken Callen advice and called his mom, but as soon as he heard her voice he knew he couldn't tell her the real reason he was calling. She carried enough guilt about what had happened to him when he was younger, he wasn't going to add to it and tell her how much it still affected him. So instead they had their usual friendly chat before he could finally hang up and breathe, drop his mask of happy-go-lucky son that nothing ever affected. It was then he had turned on the music, in the hopes it would help him sleep. He had even had a couple of beers, though not to many. No matter what he would never become even remotely like his dad, he would not become that man. He would never depend on alcohol the way he had.

But now he lay there, at three in the morning staring at his ceiling unable to sleep. Or more to the point, every time he tried, images from his past assaulted him, and his eyes flew open quickly as his breathing became laboured. He couldn't go on like this. He didn't understand how this had happened. He had been fine for last ten years, and suddenly, now, he wasn't. He groaned in frustration as he looked down at the phone in his hand, checking if it really was as late as the clock told him it was. He didn't know what to do, he needed sleep, but he knew there was no way he would be able to find it on his own. Not with his head in the mess it still was. The thought of calling Callen kept flittering through his mind, but he couldn't do that right? I mean, sure the guy had said to call him any time he needed to talk, but Deeks doubted he had meant at three in the freaking morning.

So he lay there for another quarter of an hour before he finally gave in and stopped fighting with himself. He guessed this was a good a test as any to see if Callen really did care about him, really meant his family comment. Cos he knew if not, then he was gonna get the biggest ass kicking possible from his team leader. Well that should be fun at least. With the decision made he took a deep breath and pressed the call button.


Callen was sitting in his one chair, reading a book, a barely touched beer next to him. He knew it was late and he should try to get some sleep, but his mind was still going round. Thinking about Deeks and how he had been on the breach, hoping he was okay, and wondering if maybe he should have stayed with him. But he knew he had done the right thing. The kid needed space to get himself back under control, and he needed normalcy to help rebuild his walls and his mask. Callen just hoped he had helped him in some small way if nothing else. His thoughts were broken by his phone ringing. Frowning down at it he checked the caller ID. Maybe it was ops and they had a new case, but no. The caller was none other than the man he had been thinking about for most of the night. Seemed Deeks wasn't as okay as he was hoping. At least he had had the sense to call him.

"Callen." He replied calmly as he answered.

"Don't you ever sleep?" Came the grumpy voice of the detective down the line. Deeks hadn't really expected Callen to answer his call so soon. He a vague plan that he was going hang up after he had let it ring three times, but he didn't get the chance.

"Not so much. How about you?" Callen asked smiling at the grumpy defensive response. Deeks was making it sound like it was him calling him in the middle of the night rather than the other way round. But Callen was okay with that.

"Usually. A nice eight hours and I'm all good." Deeks replied already feeling himself calm at the sound of the older man's voice. Well that was weird, even if it was subconsciously, or maybe not so subconsciously, why he had called him.

"But tonight?" Callen asked in complete understanding. He should have realised that Deeks wouldn't be able to go back so easily. It took time and sometimes help to rebuild walls like the ones they both had.

"Not so much." Deeks answered using Callen's own words, deciding he really couldn't cope with trying to find a way to explain it down the phone.

And Callen hearing him understood. Therefore standing, and placing his book in his pocket, he made his way to the door as he spoke. "Give me twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes to do what?" Deeks asked but he soon realised he was taking to nothing. Callen had hung up on him. What was the guy going to do now? Deeks had just started to feel a little better talking with him, but now he was gone and he was alone again. He really didn't like being alone.

Nineteen minutes and 12 seconds later Deeks got his answer. Because it was then that there was a knock at his door which startled him. Though when he went to see who it was he found he really wasn't that surprised. Because there outside his apartment door was none other than G Callen.


Callen hadn't even really thought about it when he had made his unconscious decision. Deeks needed help, so he was going to help him. Therefore he had climbed into his car and had the great pleasure of being about to drive slightly too fast on the quiet roads of LA. He loved it at this time of night, when most people were in bed and could almost believe it was just him. But even as he enjoyed the freedom of not having to put up with the usual LA traffic, his mind turned over anything and everything he could think of to help Deeks. He didn't really have a plan, he just hoped that him being there would help him somehow, in some way. And he hoped that Deeks didn't tell him leave. He wanted to help his friend, his brother.

Standing at Deeks apartment door he checked his watch and smirked at how he had made it with time to spare before he knocked. He briefly wondered if he should just enter in case Deeks was asleep already, but he knew how he would react to that situation. And he would prefer not to get shot for being an intruder thank you very much.

"What are you doing here?" Deeks asked with a puzzled frown as he opened the door. He wondered why it was that his team leader had decided to make a middle of the night visit to him, even if he had called him asking without words for help.

Callen just rolled his eyes at the question but he did design to answer. "What, can't I just drop round for a coffee?" He asked. He knew Deeks would catch up soon enough, but he also knew it would take a few seconds for him to realise he was here to help. Therefore he pushed past the younger man and made his way into Deeks apartment. It was nicely furnished with a comfortable looking couch, though he wasn't keen on the wave sounds coming from the laptop, therefore he moved quickly to shut them off.

"Hey, they're calming." Deeks whined as the sound disappeared, even if it hadn't been doing its job that night. He was stilling feeling slightly off kilter at having Callen in his apartment. Not because he didn't want him there, but more because he had never expected him to be.

"Not to me they aren't." Callen responded ruefully before sitting himself down in a chair as he stared up at Deeks waiting for him to get himself comfortable as well.

Deeks seeing this, realised that he wasn't going to change the situation. Therefore as he flopped himself back down onto the couch where he couldn't meet Callen's eyes as he grumbled "how do you even know where I live?" But even as he did so he could feel his worry and terror easing slightly, as if the mere presence of the older man was helping him to relax. As if he was safe now and nothing could hurt him. Not even his own mind. Strange, when did Callen's presence have that effect? Or had it always been like that? The calm they all felt before they moved into a building searching for armed suspects, was that due to their training, or the steady, even voice of their leader? Deeks had to consider the idea that it was in truth a bit of both.

"I know where everyone on my team lives." Callen replied simply. He did too, he made a point of it in fact, as well as studying their homes for any weak points and protecting them as best he could. He knew he wasn't alone in that either, though Hetty did it in a more hands off approach.

"Of course you do. So…" Deeks said, wondering what to say now. What they were going to do now Callen was in his home. Yep, still a very surreal situation.

"Go to sleep Marty." Callen ordered calmly as he pulled his book back out of his pocket and switched off the main lights, leaving enough for him to read by and so he could keep an eye on the detective on the couch.

And Deeks didn't even question the order. Instead he closed his eyes and for the first time that night no images assaulted him, leaving him to fall into a not quite restful sleep. But at least it was better than nothing.

Callen looked over at him as his breathing evened out and he couldn't stop the smile that appeared on his face. He was glad the younger man had called him, had reached out. Because at least now he knew Deeks was gonna be okay, that was good enough for him. Thinking that he turned back to his book and settled in for the night.