Back from vacation. Have another chapter for you. Ta da!

Her words from their dinner out the other night echoed in his mind.

"Fix them. Fix us. Just make it all better – please," Nell had pleaded.

Kensi and Eric had nodded their heads in agreement. The urgency in Nell's voice mixed with a hint of sorrow concerned him. Nate had read all the case files, incident reports and Hetty's notes from the Siderov/Janvier case. He knew the facts of what had happened, and he had seen some of the effects during the last few days while observing the team around the mission.

But Nell's words and the emotion in her voice brought home the true humanness of the situation. This was more than just a bad day at the office or a suspect who got the better of them. This case and the fall out had affected the core of each team member. Hetty had brought him in – had trusted him – to bring their team back from the questioning and sense of loss they were now dealing with. It was a huge weight on his shoulders. Nate was beginning to appreciate his time over "there" in a new light. Seeing what he saw and counseling service members and civilians through the literal hell they experienced every day would be a huge help for what lie ahead of him now in LA. It wouldn't be easy and there were no guarantees, but at least he had a sense of what he was up against and where to start.

Nate made sure he was at the mission hours before anyone else. The person he wanted for the first individual session was usually the first one in. Nate had to catch him early before he got distracted with other tasks.

Callen walked into the mission with his bag over his shoulder and made his way to his desk. Nate watched from the shadows, waiting for the perfect time to strike. Callen pulled some papers from his bag, got some coffee, and was just about to sit down with his newspaper when he heard a voice.

"Good morning Agent Callen. How are you?" Nate asked the startled team leader.

"Geez Nate! How about a little warning next time before sneaking up on me?" a frustrated Callen said.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you spill your coffee. Speaking of which, why don't we refill your cup and then you can bring it upstairs with me. It's been a while since I've been in LA and we haven't had a chance to catch up," Nate told him.

"It has been a while. It's nice to see you back Nate," Callen said more relaxed. He pretended to engage in small talk, not wanting to follow Nate upstairs. He was in no mood to be analyzed. "I bet you haven't had time to catch up with Rose yet, either. You should really call her. I'm betting you two have a lot to talk about based on last time you were in town," he said while slowly backing away from Nate toward the gym.

"Yeah, we didn't exactly leave things in a good place. I'm not actually sure if I should call her at all." Nate paused to take a sip of his coffee, letting his mind wander briefly to Rose. "But we're not talking about me right now. I really want to talk with you, Callen." He looked around at the empty bullpen and deserted hallway. G Callen had disappeared. Nate sighed and shook his head. "That was pretty predictable," he thought. He slowly walked to the gym where he found the agent stretching.

"G, we really need to talk. It's better to do it now instead of putting it off." Nate stood relaxed near the agent.

"Nate, I'd love to but I need to get my workout done and then shower. Hetty put this mountain of files on my desk for me to get through. I just don't have time today. Maybe some other time," Callen explained.

"Hetty will understand about the files. She's the reason I am here. We won't be too long," Nate gently replied, watching as Callen wrapped his hands for some heavy bag action.

Callen frowned. He hated to be rude to Nate; they had known each other for years and the man was just trying to do his job. But there was no way he was going to be questioned and scrutinized and forced into sessions with a shrink - Nate or anyone else. Callen knew he had screwed up. What more needed to be said?

"Look, Nate. It's not happening. Not today, not ever. Write up whatever you have to on me, but I am not going to lay on your couch and talk about my lack of this or need for that, or how my horrible childhood has led to x, y, and z. Just leave me alone!" Callen turned his back on Nate and walked off across the gym.

"That went better than expected, actually," Nate thought. "Time to see if the next one has arrived."

Nate strolled back to the bullpen, coffee cup still in hand. While he was in the gym with Callen, the other three team members had come in. They were all busy at their desks. Kensi was the only one who looked up when Nate entered.

"Hey Nate. Early morning?" she asked with a forced smile.

"Yeah. I have a lot of appointments today. Always something to do around here," Nate answered. He walked over and stood in front of Deeks' desk. The detective sat staring at his computer screen with an emotionless face.

"Good morning. I'm hoping you are available to come upstairs and chat with me for a bit. Nothing serious, just casual," Nate said gently.

Sam froze when he heard those words, knowing his turn would be soon enough. Kensi looked up at Deeks to see how he would react to Nate's request. Instead of any protest or outburst – which she was expecting from her partner – Deeks mumbled "Sure," stood up, and motioned for Nate to lead the way. With his head hung down and shoulders slumped, Deeks followed Nate up the stairs. Kensi noticed how grey-blue his eyes looked as he walked past. His eyes used to be as blue as the ocean on a clear day and full of life. It was one of her favorite things about Deeks. However, the color in his eyes now was as drained of vivacity as the rest of him appeared to be. She mouthed a silent prayer that Nate could help restore that.

Upstairs, Nate opened his office door and gestured for Deeks to come in. Deeks strolled across the room and laid down on the grey-green couch, his head resting on one of the padded ends. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited. Nate took a seat in an arm-chair near the couch.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked Deeks.

"Yes."

"You don't have to lay on the couch if you don't want to. It's not a requirement – they only do that on TV."

Silence.

"OK. Why don't you just tell me what's going on with you. What is going on in your life? It can be any topic you want: surfing, movies, women, work, Monty, etc. We're just co-workers catching up," Nate began.

More silence.

"Deeks – or do you prefer Marty or Martin?" Nate asked.

Deeks looked straight ahead and just shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you want to be here talking with me?" the psychologist inquired.

"No."

"Do you understand that you have to be cleared by a psychologist before you can return to active cases in the field, both for LAPD and NCIS?"

"Yes."

"Alright. If I remember correctly, you're a great surfer. How have the waves been? Gone out surfing lately?"

"No."

"No surfing? Has your doctor cleared you physically to resume surfing?" Nate knew he had been; he had read the doctor's release forms.

"Yes."

"I know you haven't been working as many hours as you used to, so if you aren't surfing in your free time, what are you up to? A new hobby? Dating someone?"

"No."

Nate knew there had been chemistry between Deeks and Kensi, but he didn't know if anything more had developed while he was gone. From their brief encounters at work and their dinner out as a group, he knew that Kensi was very concerned about Deeks. However, knowing Kensi and her talent for masking emotions, it was heard to tell if that concern was partnerly or something deeper.

"Deeks, I'm not going to force you to talk about anything in particular. You can direct the conversation but I would like to talk with you. I think it would be good," Nate gently said.

Still more silence from the couch.

"I also can't force you to stay in here if you don't want to be in here. Just remember that your job duties here and at the precinct will be limited until we talk more and you are cleared," Nate told him.

In one quick movement, Deeks swung his legs off the couch and stood up. He paused to look Nate in the eye, almost like he was searching for answers, then strode out the door.

"I'm here anytime you are ready," Nate called out as Deeks disappeared down the hall. Nate made a few notes on the paper in his hand, and wondered if the rest of his day would be as productive as the morning had been.

"Director Vance:

I am resigning my position as the operations manager of NCIS:OSP effective immediately. No further discussion is needed on this matter. I have made up my mind for good. It has become too much.

Sincerely,

Henrietta Lange"

She sat there, a hot cup of tea next to her, re-reading the letter she had just typed on her screen. She could have re-used the letter she had written last time, but instead decided to write a new, shorter one. There was no need to explain all her reasons to the director this time. He knew what was happening here – what had happened here – and if she tried to explain anything further, she feared her writing style would take on a much less professional tone. Hetty read the words one more time as the blinking cursor at the end of the document kept a steady beat. She planned to print it out and hand it to Owen Granger tomorrow, right after she e-mailed the same thing to Director Vance. She also needed to see her people one last time; she wouldn't take the cowardly way of leaving the letter on her desk and sneaking out. They deserved better. They deserved better than her. She picked up her tea cup with a shaky hand and took a sip. At least there was one thing she could still find pleasure in right now.

Hetty clicked on the "save" button and closed the document. She didn't need to look at it anymore today. She gazed around the operations center she had considered home for several years. The building was still as familiar as ever, but the atmosphere had changed drastically. Her eyes fell on four people sitting at desks. Those four would always have a special place in her heart, along with a few others throughout the building who were always there when she needed them. Hetty would try to remember them as they had always been – people full of life, people who didn't let anything get them down. People whose love and loyalty to each other was as explosive as the weapons they carried.

She sighed as she picked up her purse and placed the strap over her shoulder. She needed to leave early today. Tomorrow would be a difficult day indeed.

Is Hetty really going to do it this time? Will Nate be able to get anyone to open up? Tune in for chapter 5 (as soon as I have it ready - have jury duty this week so no time to write as often). And THANK YOU for all the reviews, follows and favorites! It's so encouraging to know that people want to read what I write.