"I'm hiding something from you." There was a twinkle in Sarah's eye. She was smirking at him.

"Is that so?" Callen asked, his hands resting on her hips as they stood in the kitchen, her facing the sink. "Is this a good something, or a bad something?"

"It's a 'I'm-not-giving-you-any-more-hints' something. You investigate things for a living. So, let's see how long it takes you." She leaned back and kissed him as she dried her hands. "I'm off to work. You let me know when you figure it out." With those words, she grabbed her bag and walked toward the front door.

Later that morning, Callen was quieter than normal as he stared into his laptop's computer screen. "Ok, Chewbacca. What's with the quiet reflection today?" Deeks asked Callen.

"Chewbacca?" Sam asked.

"Really?" Kensi chimed in.

"Yeah, Chewbacca. Quiet, warrior, temper. It fits." Deeks insisted.

"That means I'm Han Solo," Sam interjected. He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I'm good with that."

"No, I'm Han Solo. Because I have the Princess." Deeks' satisfaction in his response was apparent.

"You say one word about Leia's outfits, Deeks, and I'll hit you so hard, you won't feel your arm for a month." Kensi threatened.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Deeks." Callen said. His failure to engage in the banter, however, only highlighted Deeks' question.

"So, there is something." Kensi said.

"Let him be. He'll tell us when he's ready." Sam said to them.

"No, he won't." Deeks said with confidence. "He practically needs a Show and Tell day in order to open up about his favorite flavor of ice cream."

A piercing whistle cut through the conversation. "Got something for ya," Eric called out. As the team started up the stairs, Callen said, "Chocolate," to Deeks. "That's the opposite of the point," Deeks said as they walked through the doors, giving Kensi a look.

Eric and Nell were waiting in Ops for the team. "This happened early this morning." Nell began. A surveillance video showed two women talking in a café when a man in a sailor outfit entered and began shooting. The women both hid under their small table as the man walked over to one of them. He pulled her out from under the table, yanked her hand onto it, and shot it point blank. As the woman collapsed to the ground in pain and tears, the sailor was seen hitting the ground, an apparent gunshot to the chest.

"The shooter took a couple of bullets to the chest from an undercover officer who'd been in the bathroom. The shooter was killed at the scene. The interesting part, however, is that the shooter is not Navy."

Several images flashed across the display as Eric picked up the briefing. "George Baker. He has been in and out of the system since he turned 18. Mostly small things – petty theft, graffiti, etc. This was his first time using a weapon for any of his crimes."

"Who was the victim?" Kensi asked.

"The daughter-in-law of a colonel." Hetty said, as she walked in to Ops. "Which is why we are involved. We need to know if this was a random act of violence, or if there is something more to the story."

"Doesn't feel random," Sam muttered.

"No, it doesn't. If you're going to rob a place, you don't go straight to the customers by the window and you don't shoot them in the hand. That has to have some meaning." Callen said.

"A message?" Deeks posited.

"Let's find out," Callen responded. "You and Kensi take the victim. Sam and I will hit Baker's home to see what we can find.

In the car, Sam picked up the conversation from this morning. "Deeks wasn't wrong. You've been quiet today."

"Sarah's keeping something from me." Callen said, looking out the window.

"G, you have to stop—" Sam started to say, when Callen interrupted: "She told me she's keeping something from me. She had this ridiculous, I-know-something-you-don't-know grin on her face and dared me to figure it out. Told me I investigate things for a living, so to let her know when I know."

Sam's face went from concern to amusement. "And am I to take from your silence, that you have not landed on whatever it is that she knows that you don't?"

"I have not. I'm not even sure where to start." Callen looked at Sam and said, "Does she really want me to investigate? What if I find the wrong thing out? What if I don't figure it out and then we end up in a weird battle of wits. I don't think she realizes how wrong this can go."

"Take it at face value. Try to find out her surprise. I'm sure it won't take that much. She isright – you do investigate for a living. Given that, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out what it is. Have fun with it."

Callen turned to look back out the window. "Shouldn't be that hard, he says. Have fun with it, he says." Sam just laughed in response.

Sam and Callen arrived at Baker's apartment about an hour later. There was no sign that it had been viewed yet, and the door was locked. Callen pulled out his picks while Sam peaked through the window. Callen slowly opened the door while Sam looked for signs that anyone was there. Walking through the rooms with guns drawn, they found no one. "Clear," Sam called out. "Clear," responded Callen.

Holstering their weapons, the two began poking through Baker's things. "Have a computer here. Password protected, so it looks like a job for Eric." Sam said.

"Mail is pretty standard. No signs that he lives with anyone else." Callen replied. "I'm not seeing anything that makes this make sense."

"Maybe Kensi and Deeks have something with our victim." Sam's voice was hopeful. Even a small clue was better than none.

Jennifer Miller was just about to check out of the ER when Kensi and Deeks arrived. "I'm Detective Marty Deeks, and this is my partner, Agent Kensi Blye." He nodded at her hand. "We'd like to talk to you about what happened this morning."

Jennifer looked at them in confusion. "I've already talked to the police."

Kensi stepped forward. "We understand. Our investigation is to make sure that this doesn't involve anything with your father-in-law, since the man who shot you was wearing a sailor's uniform."

Jennifer nodded at them and gestured toward the door. "Ok, but can we talk outside? Hospitals give me the willies."

"Of course," Deeks said.

The trio walked outside and toward a bench not far from the hospital's entrance. "My husband is out of state for a conference." Jennifer told them. "He said he'd be on the next flight home." Jennifer explained, apparently thinking that the two investigators found his absence odd. "Do you really think this has to do with Max?" She asked.

"We're looking into all the possibilities," Kensi responded. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"I was having coffee with my friend, Therese, when this sailor comes in. I didn't see him before he walked in, but I was facing away from the door. He shot up into the roof and I just hit the floor. I tried to hide under the table. I was afraid he'd kill people." Jennifer took a breath. "He looked like he was searching for someone. He came over to our table and told me to get up. I was too scared to move at first, so he pulled me up. He put my hand on the table and then shot it." Jennifer held up her left hand, which was bandaged.

"Did he say anything to you before he shot you?" Deeks asked.

"Not really. He didn't seem sane. He was muttering under his breath when he wasn't yelling for me to get up."

"Did you catch what he was muttering?" Kensi probed.

"It sounded like 'hand for a hand'." Jennifer said. "Which doesn't make sense. Isn't that a Bible verse?" She looked at the two investigators for confirmation. She continued, saying, "But I've never seen that man before, so why would he be seeking revenge on me?"

"We're not sure, but we're going to try to find out." Deeks said.

Later that night, Callen started his own search at his house. Although they spent a fair amount of time at Sarah's, they were also at his home on occasion. Considering that he had fewer items in his, it should be easier to knock off his list for clues. He started in the bedroom. Sarah had a drawer in the dresser and clothes in the closet. Thumbing through them, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were a couple of new dresses in the closet, both the flowery type that Sarah wore last summer. Perhaps her surprise had to do with summer plans?

Moving to the bathroom, he found the norm: toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, brush and hair dryer. Nothing here indicated what her secret might be. It was much the same in each of the other rooms of the house. There was evidence of Sarah's presence in his home, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The food in the fridge reflected their combined tastes. There simply wasn't anything in the home that stood out. As he'd suspected, he was going to have to keep looking.

Back at their desks, the team talked about what they'd found. "A big nada." Deeks was saying. "Unless we're going with the crazed religious angle, in which case, he was just crazy."

Kensi explained to Callen and Sam what Jennifer had told them. Sam filled the other two in on the lack of results from the shooter's place. "So, we know that he borrowed, stole or purchased a sailor's uniform to go in and shoot Jennifer Miller, but not why other than a muttered reference to a Biblical verse?" Callen asked.

"Au contraire," Eric said as he and Nell walked up. "We found something on his laptop and phone."

Nell used her tablet to upload images to the screen by the desks. "Mr. Baker was a regular at a few religious websites over the last few months."

"It seems that, six months ago, he found God." Eric interjected as three religious websites popped up.

"Now, that wouldn't necessarily be an issue, except that one of the sites, The White Light, has been investigated for its connections to extremists. More particularly, the site seems to be a hotbed of anti-government religious theorists." Nell continued. "There are some private chat options through the site that Mr. Baker was frequenting. They include discussions with someone whose handle is JusticeforAll."

"We did some digging, and the person posting with that screen name is posting on occasion from a computer at the former Point Mugu Naval Air Station." Eric said.

"So, there is a connection to the Navy?" Sam said.

"Right, and we need to find out what, exactly, that is." Callen commented. "Deeks and Kensi, you go talk to our victim's father-in-law. Sam and I will take the Station."

Eric or Nell had called ahead, and so when Kensi and Deeks walked up to an office at Naval Base Ventura County, they met a spokesperson outside. "I'm Petty Officer Richards." The young man approaching them said. "I understand that you're with NCIS?"

Kensi flashed her credentials and nodded to the young man. "We've been told that you have a lab here with quite a few computers, Petty Officer?"

"Yes, ma'am. It's this way," the uniformed man said as he led the two toward a building across the way.

Callen and Sam found Colonel Miller at his home, a well-manicured site with a pool. "Kind of a big place on a Naval income," Sam commented.

"That it is." Callen agreed.

Ringing the bell, they waited until the Colonel himself answered the door. "Can I help you gentlemen?" He asked.

Flashing their badges, Callen took the lead: "Sir, we're here to ask you a few questions about your daughter-in-law and her injuries this morning."

"Jennifer? What injuries?" The Colonel looked genuinely confused. Sam and Callen gave each other a look, and Sam answered, "She was shot at a café in Los Angeles this morning by a man wearing a sailor's uniform. We're hoping you can shed some light on what happened."

The Colonel didn't respond to the last part, asking instead, "Is she okay?"

"Yes, sir," Callen said. "We think there may be a connection to you, however, so we'd like to talk to you," he continued, gesturing inside the home.

"Of course," the Colonel responded, as he moved back to let the two Agents in.

"You discover it yet, Holmes?" Deeks again. It was the day after Jennifer Miller's shooting. The team had not yet figured out the major players in the events, but had at least spoken with the more obvious parties. Deeks, it would seem, was just as interested in Callen's love life as the case, however.

"Now I'm a famous detective, instead of an angry sidekick?" Callen asked while he gave Sam a look.

Sam shrugged his shoulders and said, "They were going to find out anyway. This means you don't get more Star Wars references."

"My gratitude is overwhelming," Callen responded drily. "No, I have not figured it out yet, Deeks. Whatever Sarah has up her sleeve, she hasn't been obvious."

"Isn't the school year ending soon?" Kensi asked. "Maybe she has a trip planned for you two."

"Oh yeah," Deeks joined in. "I can see it now: a beach in Puerto Vallarta, drinking blue Mojitos and staring off into the water as the sky turns orange and red." Deeks paused for a moment and turned to Kensi. "We should really plan a vacation soon."

"If it's a trip, there's no indication of it. There's been nothing in the trash, other than a few sneaked chocolate bars-"

"Ha! Been hanging with Kensi recently?" Deeks asked, earning himself a look from the brunette.

"Her clothes all look right about the same and there's no bag packed. There's nothing at my place out of the ordinary. The next place to look is her computer, which I'm not looking forward to."

"Why is that?" Sam asked.

"Because if I have to go digging through her emails again, I'm going to be stuck finding jokes from her friend Janet." After a two-beat pause, he said: "And no one is as funny as Janet thinks she is."

The other three laughed, taking in the twist of Callen's lips as he clearly recalled a joke that was less funny than Janet would have thought.

Later that morning, the team was back in Ops, discussing the Miller case. "We know that one of the computers at the Station was used to contact Mr. Baker through The White Light website." Nell was saying. "When we went through Mr. Baker's computer and phone, we found messages commenting on several of the officers at the Station."

"Whoever was talking to Mr. Baker wasn't just focused on Colonel Miller." Eric said. He put some of the communication exchanges up on the board. "As you can see, several of the upper level members were commented on, and not in a good way."

The team scanned the images and Deeks said it aloud, "Wow. So, whoever this is thinks that the brass at this Station is responsible for the killing and maiming of villagers and missionaries in Central America?"

"Yes," Nell answered. "We were able to pull service records, and five of the officers at the Station were once assigned to El Salvador in the 1980s. The broader scope of their missions all involved training the local government to deal with insurgents." Images of several young men in uniform appeared on the screen, including one of a much younger Colonel Miller.

"Were there ever any complaints or allegations of wrongdoing relating to those missions?" Sam asked.

"No," Eric said. "We scoured the records and haven't been able to find anything that backs up any of the allegations from JusticeforAll. However, the person with that handle seems to believe that Colonel Miller was directly responsible for injuring religious missionaries while they were in El Salvador."

"Well, it's a start." Kensi said. "Why don't Deeks and I take the Colonel this time?" She asked. Callen and Sam nodded. "Is there a location nearby where the White Light is being hosted?" Callen asked Eric.

"Yes, the address is on your phones."

With the new case, Callen wasn't able to get started looking through Sarah's computer until the next day. As he'd learned the last time he'd looked at it, she wasn't terribly keen on emails. Most of the communications she had, work or personal, were sent to her rather than her initiating. He found a few additions to the SFL folder; one was an email about a student scholarship request, the other was from the school administration regarding her next year's schedule. He still wasn't exactly sure what SFL stood for. He'd have to ask her at some point.

Her internet search history was pretty benign. She'd looked at news, educational pages and a couple of medical sites. There were a few joke pages and plenty of YouTube visits – primarily to webcams showing baby animals like the panda habitat. A couple of recipe websites were accessed, as were some continuing adult education pages. All in all, the internet activity didn't strike too many chords, but perhaps what she'd visited, if combined with other things, would give him a clue.

Turning away from the computer and to her desk, he flipped through her calendar. As before, there were some Gs marked on it, as well as a few appointments. She had dentist and doctor appointments coming up in the next week. Almost two weeks away, just after the school year came to a close, was an entry that said "Ten - 8:30". About three weeks after that, Sarah had written the word, "Second" on a Wednesday. The remainder of the calendar was blank. Sarah's calendar notes were not detailed, but that itself was not a surprise after the last time he'd looked through it. Nevertheless, those last two entries did spark some interest.

Something was happening a couple of weeks from now at 8:30. That something involved the word 'ten'. Was there a connection to the word 'second'? As he was thinking about it, his phone rang. "Yeah? Ok, I'll be right in."

Callen walked into Ops to find the rest of the team already there. "There's been an uptick in activity from JusticeforAll, and it doesn't look good." Nell jumped right in. "We think that other members of task force that went down to El Salvador in the 80s are being targeted."

Going through the posts and data which had been culled after a warrant allowing the team to monitor the private chats from the website, it appeared that JusticeforAll was trying to recruit a new person to assist in vigilante justice against the five other men involved in the training back in the 80s. Colonel Miller hadn't been able to provide any more detail to Kensi or Deeks about the identity of the poster, and the web host of The White Light had been no help, taking the position that anything said on the site was protected speech and then clamming up before saying more.

Given the service records the team had, it was easy to figure out who the targets of JusticeforAll were, but the increase in activity from the poster was directed to two new screen names that had not been associated with any specific person just yet. Thus, they didn't know who would be the next potential attacker, and in what form those persons would come. As a result, the team was going to have to secure the families of the officers while they tried to figure out who the potential attackers were, as well as who was pulling their strings. Dividing up the tasks, Sam and Callen took to looking for the instigator while Kensi and Deeks set about lining up protective details with the local PD for the officers involved.

The case had been so intense that Callen hadn't had much opportunity to think more about Sarah's surprise. So, it was a week later before he turned back to the topic. "Are you really not going to give me any hints?" He asked her one evening.

She looked at him in surprise. "With as busy as you've been with your case, I wasn't sure you'd remembered." Her tone was teasing, but there was something behind her eyes that didn't quite match.

They were on her back porch, enjoying the sounds of crickets as the night settled in. "Mind like a steel trap," he said as he winked at her and tapped his temple.

"Do you have any theories yet?" She asked him before taking a drink of her lemonade.

"Well, one possibility is a trip after school ends, but I'm not sold on that yet. I have a few clues to something, but I'm not sure they are related or what you're thinking."

"A trip would be nice," Sarah murmured, "but I'm not sure that now would be the best time."

She wasn't looking at him as she spoke this last time. "Is everything okay, Sarah?"

"Yes," she said with a small smile. "And no," she continued. "Perhaps a better way to put it is that everything will be okay."

"When you first told me you had a secret, I had the impression it was a happy one. I'm not so sure that impression was right, now. What's going on?"

A large sigh, and then, "Grisha, I promise you that everything is basically fine and that it will all be fine." She took another drink and then looked at him, the twinkle back in her eyes. "How about this? If you admit that you can't figure it out by next Wednesday, I will tell you – but only if you come to an appointment that morning with me."

Callen tilted his head at her and squinted his eyes. "So, I have to admit a failure in investigative techniques and come to a mystery meeting? That's the deal?"

Sarah chuckled at him. "Yep, but you have to admit to your team that you didn't figure it out."

"You do realize that I'd never live something like that down, right? That someone I'm living with was able to keep something a secret after daring me to find it?"

Sarah tweaked her eyebrows at Callen. "Are we living together, Squishy?"

"Well, if we're not, then who am I spending all my time off with?" Sarah chuckled, a low sound that warmed Callen's heart. Serious for a moment, he said, "I see us as together, regardless of which house we're sleeping in or whether we are able to be with each other that particular day or night or not."

Sarah got up from her chair and leaned into Callen, her legs straddling his. She whispered against his lips, "That's good to know." Leaning back once more, she said, "I know it's early, but I'm pretty beat, so I'm going to head up. Want to join me?"

"Lead the way."

It was several weeks in the making, but the team finally had a bead on JusticeforAll. Keystroke loggers of the computers at the Mugu Station, combined with search histories and monitoring of the five other officers' movements, had allowed the crew to formulate a planned meet with the poster. Deeks was sitting at a table in an internet café, the three Agents having decided that he looked most like someone who would be won over by a religious zealot.

"Not that I don't enjoy undercover work, but someone want to explain to me why it is that Callen isn't sitting here?" Deeks mumbled just loud enough for the team to hear through their ear pieces. "With his lone wolf tendencies, he's way more likely to end up in a cult than I am."

"No, Deeks," Sam snarked into the com set. "If anything, G is more likely to set up his own cult than to join one." Callen gave Sam a look while Kensi cackled into the line.

"Alright, everyone. Stay focused. We have someone approaching from Deeks' six."

The operation had been a success. JusticeforAll was the son of a former missionary, a man who had been in El Salvador when Colonel Miller and his team had been there. Although it was somewhat difficult to decipher with all the forays into religious doctrine, it appeared that Ronald O'Malley blamed the US Navy officers for his father's team's attack in 1981. According to O'Malley, the missionary group was attacked by a group of government soldiers trained by the Naval officers. Eric and Nell were still piecing through the records to determine if any of the claims could be backed up, and the local PD was keeping an eye on the men who'd been contacted by JusticeforAll to do his dirty work. Although all of the strings had not yet been tied off, it seemed like they soon would be, and the various officers' families would be safe. Thus, it was with satisfaction that Callen walked into his desk the Tuesday before his deadline.

He still didn't know what the secret was. He'd kept his eyes and ears open for possible clues, but nothing had presented itself. He hadn't pushed Sarah for more hints. She'd been distracted and tired with all the end of the year school activities. He could tell she was ready for it to end, too. Yesterday, she'd locked her keys in her the house and had almost ended in tears. He'd need to take her somewhere for a weekend sometime soon so she could decompress.

"You ready to give your concession speech?" Sam asked him, as Callen approached the desks.

"I'm going to have to. I don't have any idea what she's got up her sleeve."

"She keeps things close to the vest. Seems like that would be something you'd be able to understand and appreciate." Sam laughed at him.

"Yeah, well you're not the one who has to announce to these two," he indicated Kensi and Deeks, "that he failed to discover a secret kept by a civilian and then who has to go to some mystery meeting in the morning."

"So not quite Holmes - closer to Clouseau, perhaps?" Kensi smirked at him.

"Really? You're going there, Kensi?" Callen asked.

"He's right Kensi. It's not every day that a highly trained agent gets beat by civvie." Deeks grinned.

"Right, laugh it up, you two. But don't think for a minute that I won't remember all of your comments the next time you end up being shown up by a suspect or a witness."

"Who, me?" Deeks asked. "I'm supporting you."

Callen looked at Sam. "With friends like these…"

The next morning, Callen sat in Sarah's car while she drove them across the city. He'd woken her up with his admission that he still didn't know what her secret was. She'd smiled at him and said, "That's okay. You'll find out soon enough." She hadn't said anything more about it, but had rather told him to let his team know he'd be late that morning.

It was now 8:00. Sarah's calendar had said something was happening at 8:30 this morning. He didn't know what the appointment was about, either, so he wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't a trip to the hospital.

"Why are we at the hospital?" He asked as they exited the car.

"The appointment you promised to come to is here. We're heading to the third floor. Through those doors."

He stopped at the sidewalk and grabbed Sarah's hand. "Sarah, what's going on? A week ago you said everything was going to be okay. That implies that things aren't okay right now."

"No, that implied that not everything was okay right that moment." She chuckled at him. She didn't seem upset. In fact, she was excited.

"Sarah, tell me."

"What if I show you, instead?" She asked. "Will that work?"

"Sarah," he said. He was confused and, despite her apparent lack of concern, worried. He didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't as simple as her reaching into her purse.

"Close your eyes, Grisha." He tilted his head at her in response. "Please? I promise, you'll know exactly what's going on in less than 10 seconds." He closed his eyes and felt her take his right hand. She placed something in it, about the size of a large permanent marker. He waited until she said, "Okay, open up."

Callen looked down at his hand and found a six inch long, white tube-like item with a blue cap in his hand. He turned it over and the air whooshed out of his lungs. His eyes wide, he looked up to Sarah's face, asking her to confirm what he saw in the digital readout.

"I'm pregnant," she said, a large smile lighting her face.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't believe it. He stepped forward, raising his left hand to her stomach. He swallowed three times before the words would come out. "How- How long?"

"Ten weeks. Today is the first ultrasound. We get to see and hear him or her in just ten minutes." She searched his face, her smile starting to dim a bit. "I thought you'd be happy?"

He all but crushed her in his arms in response. He was going to be a father. "I love you," he choked out. "I'm happy," he said as he leaned back enough to kiss her. "I'm so happy."

It was 11:30 when he got to his desk. In his back pocket, he carried in his wallet a blurry, black and white image of his baby. His baby. He was going to be someone's daddy. Practically running into the main area, he found his team engaged in an argument over who was going to buy lunch, and from where.

"Lunch is on me," he called out, his smile wide. All three stopped talking immediately, taking in his joy.

"Does this have to do with Sarah's surprise? Did she finally tell you?" Kensi and Deeks' questions overlapped one another.

Feeling his face would break, but unable to stop the beam, he pulled out his wallet and handed the image to Sam. Sam jumped up, picture left on the desk, and pulled him into a bear hug. "Congratulations, G!" About half a second later, Kensi was joining in the hug and Deeks was joining in with his congratulations.

The elation in the room was catching, drawing attention from Hetty, Eric and Nell, who had all been walking down the stairs when Callen came in. Hetty grabbed a bottle of Scotch and Kensi collected up coffee mugs for them all to use.

"To Mr. Callen and his increasing family!" Hetty called out. "Hear! Hear!" Deeks responded as they all raised their glasses to celebrate.

There was nothing better, Callen thought, then sharing his new family with his old.