A/N - Thanks to those who have reviewed, favourited and followed. Love hearing the responses to this story.

On we go.

Chapter 3

After they'd grabbed a quick late lunch Callen and Sam headed for the hospital.

When they arrived at Sarah's room they could hear laughter. Callen smiled to himself. After the morning Sarah had had, it was nice to know she could still find something to laugh at.

"You two up to something?" Callen asked when he walked in.

"Nope," Kensi denied with a wink at Sarah.

Sarah smiled. "Just girl talk."

Callen raised an eyebrow and looked between the two of them.

"G." Sam shook his head at Callen. "Don't ask," Sam warned.

"How you feeling?" Callen asked instead of probing what they'd been up to.

"Okay I guess," Sarah answered. "The nurse just gave me something for the pain so hopefully that kicks in soon."

"Good." Callen glanced at Sam before he turned back to Sarah. "Sarah, we need to ask you some questions."

Sarah frowned. "Sure. What do you want to know?"

Callen pulled out his phone and brought up the photos of the two who had hit her. "Do you know them from anywhere else?"

Sarah studied them for a moment. She shook her head carefully. "No. Just this morning."

"Is there any chance they've taken a class at the studio?"

"No." Her answer came quickly and with conviction. "I'd remember if I taught them."

"You remember everyone you teach?"

Sarah smiled at Callen. "It helps people feel comfortable if you know their name and remember them when they come back. Something I had to learn when we started teaching."

"And you're sure you haven't taught them?" Sam asked.

"Yep."

"What about Joe? Could he have?"

Sarah frowned. "Not likely. Most of our classes we teach together. We do private lessons separately sometimes but they wouldn't have been in one of those."

"Why not?" Sam asked.

Sarah looked at Sam. "The private lessons are usually done for high level dancers and artists who are looking to learn a specific style. Sometimes they are single dancers not couples so both of us don't always need to be there."

"Still doesn't mean they couldn't have come for one."

Sarah laughed softly. "Sam, they're not high level dancers, you can tell by looking. Plus if they were, they risked everything crashing into me." She frowned again and looked back to the pictures on Callen's phone. "Who are they anyway?"

Callen looked at Sam for help. Dropping this bomb on her after everything wasn't something he particularly wanted to do.

Sam turned to Sarah. "They are two members of a drug cartel."

"What?" The look on Sarah's face was full of shock and disbelief. She turned from Sam to him. "But..."

"It's okay, you're safe," Callen said. "I promise, we'll figure it out. We're just gathering as much information as we can right now. What about the dance studio? Are there financial difficulties?"

"No." Sarah frowned. "The finances are complicated but we make enough to cover all the bills and pay Joe's wages."

"What about yours?" Callen asked.

Sarah took a breath and let it out with a small sigh before she answered. "My parents only did two things that I particularly appreciate. And, like everything else, they were actually done because of what it would look like to others. I have a trust fund. It covers my bills and lets me do what I love. I don't need the money from the studio."

"Very generous of you," Sam said. "Why are they complicated?"

"Sam, it's not about being generous. I wouldn't be where I am without Joe. When we first started the studio Maggie was still working so everything went back in to help make it a success. The finances are only complicated because of the way the money comes in. There's reasonably regular income from the classes on a term basis or those who have regular private lessons. But dancers come and go. We have the drop in's, privates for a particular purpose, show and appearance fees and sponsorships for ourselves. Not to mention the costs for our own training. The accountant keeps track of it all for us so we know where we stand and make sure we have a buffer for those unfortunate slow times."

"Any chance Joe's doing something on the side?" Callen asked reluctantly.

Sarah turned to Kensi. "Can you get my bag please?"

Kensi reached into the draw, pulled it out and placed it carefully on her lap. Sarah used her good arm and fished out a set of keys. She handed them to Callen. He took it automatically.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Keys to the studio and my apartment," Sarah told him. "Go. Check it all out. You'll find the accountant's number in the office. I'm sure Joe will give you the same access to his home. We've got nothing to hide."

"Didn't say you did." Callen noticed the keyring on her keys. 'Live, Love, Dance'. Seemed rather appropriate for her. "We're just trying to figure out why you appear to have been targeted by a drug cartel."

"I don't know either, but I'll do what I can to help," Sarah said.

"Thank you." Callen pocketed her keys and took back his phone. "Any alarms?"

"My code for the studio is 9181983."

Callen looked up from typing it into his phone and caught her gaze. They stared at each other for a moment. She gave a small smile and a nod.

"Home?" Callen eventually prompted.

Sarah's eyes shifted away from his as she said, "5683."

Sam made a sound and he looked over at his partner curious. "Nothing," Sam denied, though Callen knew better. It would have to wait until later.

"You said your parents did two things?" Kensi asked. "What was the second?"

"Sending me to boarding school in Denver. I didn't want to go but they were determined. It was the school to go to at time." She smiled again. "Where I meet Joe. Can't really hate them for sending me there after that."

"Given it looks like you were targeted," Sam asked, "how would they know where you would be? It was like they were waiting for you."

"It's the way I drive to the studio."

"Same time?"

Sarah nodded carefully. "Every day. Didn't think about it being a problem."

"Shouldn't be something you needed to think about," Sam assured her. "Have you called your parents yet?"

"No." Her answer was short.

"Sarah," Callen said. "Is there a problem?"

Her head dropped back against the pillows. "I haven't spoken with them since a few days after Dom's funeral."

"Why not?" Callen asked. He knew there were issues. He didn't know the specifics, just sensed her emotions when she'd told him they hadn't bothered to come to her graduation, along with what she had just told them.

Though her head stayed on the pillow Sarah turned to face Callen. "They didn't show," she said quietly. "It wasn't important enough for them to be there, even though they were friends with Dom parents for years."

Callen saw the tears in her eyes and the hope sank just a little. The thought of Dom still hurt her.

"Anyway," Sarah blinked back the tears, "I haven't spoken to them since telling them off for it and I don't particularly care if I do again."

"You talk to Joe?"

"Yeah." Sarah glanced at Kensi with a friendly smile. "Kensi convinced me it would be better coming from me than the police."

"Everything okay?" Callen asked.

"Fine. He doesn't care about the car. Apparently that's what insurance is for."

"You were on the policy?" Callen asked. As much as Dom had told them that Joe wasn't a romantic factor in Sarah's life, her life was well and truly entwined and he couldn't help but wonder if Dom had been wrong.

"Have been since he got it in case I needed to drive Maggie and the girls around."

"It's a nice car, " Sam said. "Good family car. Saved you."

"You've seen it?"

Sam nodded. "How bad?" She yawned and and blinked a little.

"I'm pretty sure it's recovery period will be far less than yours," Callen said as he moved a touch closer to the bed. He was tempted to take her hand in his or drop another kiss on her forehead like before but he stopped himself. He wasn't quite sure what had made him do it earlier. Maybe he'd just been doing a good job at playing the protective friend, like he said he would. "You look like you're about to fall asleep," he added.

"Guess those painkillers are starting to work after all."

"One more question, if you're up for it," Sam said. Callen gave him a warning look. Sam shook his head and Callen relaxed.

"What's the chance this is about splitting you and Joe up?"

Callen frowned. He hadn't thought about that possibility. "Has anything happened like that before?" he added.

Sarah shrugged. "It happens. No one's tried with us for a long time. In this line of work there can be natural shifts in partnerships. People change or something causes one of them to have to move."

"You and Joe have been together for ten years," Callen said.

"Eleven," Sarah corrected. "There's only really three ways to break up a partnership deliberately. You have to get between the partners and break their trust, which isn't exactly easy but can be done. Make the partner you want fall in love with you or take one of them out."

Sam raised his eyes at that. "This does fit."

"I suppose it does. The thing is," Sarah turned to Callen, "the longer you are partners for, the harder it is to break that trust."

Callen glanced at Sam. It was almost like she was talking about the two of them. His focus returned to Sarah as she continued.

"Most of the time it gets stronger as time goes on. And the longer you are together the closer you are to time running out anyway so it's less likely either of the partners are going to want to put in the time to build up the trust and connection needed to be great partners and have a decent amount of time performing or competing together."

"So not likely that could by what's behind this?" Callen asked.

"What about falling in love?" Kensi asked before Sarah could answer.

Sarah shook her head a little with a laugh. "You'd have to be blind and deaf to think that anyone could get between Joe and Maggie. Everyone knows the moment they see them."

"What about getting you to fall in love with them?" Callen asked wondering why she'd seemed to automatically take it that Joe was the one they would go after. "Take you from Joe?"

Sarah looked at Callen for a moment before she answered. "It's going to take someone pretty special to make me fall in love with them. And they'll need to understand that Joe's part of my life. I can guarantee you now if whoever he was wanted to stop us dancing together, he'd be gone faster than he can blink."

"Taking you out is the easy option if someone else wanted Joe," Callen said, his mind trying to figure it out.

"I guess, but it's unlikely. We're too much a part of each other and we've been through bad injuries before where we've been approached to jump ship but neither of us would. All taking me out would do would make Joe retire sooner. Same if it was the other way."

Sarah closed her eyes briefly.

"Thanks," Sam said. "If we need to know any more, we'll talk to you later."

Callen saw her struggle to keep her eyes open again.

"Sleep Sarah," he said. "Kensi will be here." He saw her nod and finally let her eyes close. It didn't take long for her breathing to settle.

Callen moved closer to Sam and Kensi and lowered his voice.

"Kensi, go get something to eat. We'll stay until you get back." Kensi nodded and walked out the door.

"What are we missing Sam? It doesn't make sense. Nothing she told us even hints at the possibility of there being a connection to Ortega. Dom didn't have any connection either."

"There's still Joe. Maybe it's from there."

"Maybe," Callen admitted reluctantly. He'd seen Joe just that once so he didn't know the man but the trust Sarah placed in him said a lot. His hand slipped into his pocket where her keys were. Maybe Sam was wrong. Maybe there hadn't been enough time yet.

"Let's assume," Sam mused, "they were targeting her. How would they know she was in Joe's car and not her own?"

"They'd either need to be tailing her or know that Joe was gone and what kind of vehicle he drives."

"Something for Kensi to ask for us when she wakes up."

"Maybe Eric can look into it too." Callen glanced back at Sarah. Her breathing was slow and even, a good sign she was actually sleeping soundly. He pulled the keys out of his pocket and looked at them.

"Do you think we need to check out her place?" Sam queried, a tone to his voice that kept Callen's eyes firmly fixed on the keys.

"We're supposed to be investigating properly right?" he replied. Except Callen had a problem. He wanted to know more about her and this was the perfect way to do it. She'd trusted him, invited him to go through the two places that would tell him everything he needed to know about her - for the case. But it wouldn't take much for him figure out things about her personally at the same time. He was pretty observant and he had a feeling she would be the kind of woman whose home was very much a reflection of who she was.

"G, as long as it's for the mission, not something else," Sam's voice pulled him from his thoughts. Callen pocketed the keys but before he could reply his phone rang. He answered quickly and stepped out the door with the hope that her sleep hadn't been disturbed.

"Sam," Callen said when he'd finished chat to Eric and stepped back into the room. "Eric found them." Kensi arrived with perfect timing. "Kenz, we're off. Call us if there's any problems."

"Will do."

Callen was about to leave when he thought of something and turned back to Kensi. "Oh and get Deeks to come and interview her if LAPD haven't shown by the time she wakes up. He can pass the details on and it will get this done quicker. Hopefully build up some goodwill because they didn't have to sit through another one."

"Will do. Good luck."

Callen and Sam were on their way to pick up the suspects when Eric rang again.

"What do you have Eric?"

"Suspects haven't moved yet but thought you'd like to know the initial search on Joe Maris comes back just about as clean as Sarah."

"Just about?" Sam repeated.

"One speeding ticket about seventeen months ago. Didn't contest it though he could've."

"Why do you think he could've?" Callen asked.

"I did a little digging when I noticed it was only a few blocks from a hospital. He's got twin girls. From what I can find, his wife would've been thirty two weeks pregnant at the time. They were born a day later."

Callen frowned. "Why wouldn't you fight something like that?"

Sam shook his head. "Not worth it. It's a small price to pay and if she gave birth to twins that early, the last thing he'd be wanting to do would be end up in court arguing a speeding ticket. He'll most likely have wanted to be at that hospital every moment he could spare."

"Let us know if you find anything else Eric," Callen said.

"Always."

Callen hung up.

"So," Sam started and Callen braced himself, "your girlfriend's partner is just a squeaky clean as her … unless you count their dancing."

"Sam," Callen warned. At this rate Sam would have them married off before they even went out on a date. "Focus on where we are going."

"I can multi-task." Sam shot him a grin before he his attention back to the road. "How many videos do you think Eric watched?"

Callen didn't answer.

"How many have you watched?" Sam asked after a moment.

Callen turned to Sam. "How many did you watch to check her out?"

"Didn't check her out. Wasn't that interested."

Callen chuckled. "I'll bet you didn't want Michelle to catch you."

"If they're as hot as Eric is suggesting maybe I should watch them with her."

Callen groaned. "Sam, way too much information about your love life."

Sam was about to respond when Callen realised they had pulled into the street their suspects were located. "We're here," Callen said.

The two words took them both from teasing to serious in one second flat. Somewhere in this street were two suspects who would help them understand what the hell was going on. Callen had no doubt they knew something and he'd do whatever it took to figure it out.