Isobel

Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine.

Chapter 7

Two weeks later Sam found himself waiting for his partner outside of the airport, leaning on his black challenger. He watched a handsome couple emerge from the building and at first he didn't recognise them. When they came closer he got a bit of a surprise as to who they were. "G, man you look good. Your hair, you almost." He hesitated the next bit, because it really did look good on him. He turned to Isobel and saw her face worry. "You look like a human being for the first time since I've known you, G." He was going to say, you almost look like you've been to the same barber as Deeks, but stopped when he saw Isobel's face. She looked relieved and smiled at his change in response.

"Hello, Sam," they both respond, while Callen and Sam gave each other a man hug.

"Isobel, you look beautiful." He could see the beautiful woman his partner had fallen in love wit —- now that she had gained some weight and her colour had returned to her complexion. "When you get sick of my partner here, you can look me up for a date." He winked down to her.

She broadened her smile and looked at Callen.

"Not on your life Sam. You will have to fight me for her." Callen knew Sam was having some fun, and he had to admit, it was good to be back in L.A. with his parter again.

Sam chuckled and helped Isobel into the front seat of the car, while Callen assisted the attendant place their luggage and wheelchair into the boot and back seat, where he climbed in. It was strange for him to be in the backseat of Sam's challenger, but for once he didn't mind, because it was more comfortable for Isobel to be in the front.

"Talking about fighting," Sam began. "You both have two mini agents to deal with when you arrive at Hetty's. Actually, all four of them have had Deeks and Kensi on their toes for the past seven weeks."

"Oh no, what have my kids been up to?" Isobel asked, shaking her head. "Ever since they found out what I did for a living, they've been playing Federal Agents. But I am not surprised, as they are naturally talented. It is after all, in their blood." She turned and looked at Callen.

Sam chuckled and looked in the revision mirror. "G, you've going to have your hands full with those two. They will put you in your place very quickly."

"What do you mean, Issy, about since they found out what you do for a living?" Callen asked, concerned about what his kids knew and have been exposed to at such a young age.

Sam looked over to Isobel. "They admitted to me when I arrived back about their escapade in the back of your car to work."

She looked at Sam, surprised he had managed to get any details out of them. "They must like you, for them to tell you something like that. They limit who they tell much of anything to. I struggle mostly with Jack to talk to me about things, but I know at least he has Sophie to talk to. It must be a twin thing. They keep so much to themselves, which probably is a good thing after them stowing away in the back of my car. I was so angry and worried, I couldn't talk to them. My partner, Paul, had to deal with them." She shook her head at the memory of it. "What made it worse, was the suspect seeing them peering out of the window. They were only eight at the time."

Callen was intrigued listening to Sam and Isobel talking about his children like this. He really couldn't wait to meet them.

Sam pulled up in front of the large red brick home, and they found themselves surrounded by a battle of some kind. Callen watched Deeks stop running and be told by a girl to get on his knees. He was fascinated by her and as he climbed out of the challenger, he had all of his attention on her. She's beautiful, he thought to himself. He stood and watched her frisk Deeks and disarm him of his weapon. His eyes widen at this action, wondering why Deeks had his weapon on him around his children. But then he remembered Hetty telling him before he left, that they would be on protection detail of Isobel's family, while he and Sam were away. As Sophie placed Deek's own handcuffs on him, he smiled and chuckled to himself, she'll make a great agent one day. He noticed her smile and he was blown away by her.

"What!" He could hear Deeks say to her. "What is my crime this time?"

"You are charged with hiding your true feelings from your partner. It's obvious that you are in love with her."

Deeks knew he should not have doubted Sophie from not having that same instinct as her father's, and he regretted not being more careful around her. He hoped no one else could hear what she was saying, but as he turned he could see Kensi standing close by.

She'd heard all of it and she was uncomfortable hearing Sophie say it out loud —- especially as she'd noticed the arrival of Sam, Callen and Isobel. She was not sure what to say, so she just gave Deeks a look of sympathy, but she knew that was not what he needed. She looked to where Sophie has thrown his gun, and went to retrieve it for him. But before she could pick it up, a foot was placed on top of the weapon. She looked up and was facing down the barrel of a toy pistol.

"Freeze. You are under arrest for not having your partner's back."

Callen noticed Kensi stopping and place her hands in the air. He became alert of the danger, quickly scanning the area. Had they been followed by someone from the Michailov family? His hand moved behind his back, nearing his weapon, when he spotted a small shadow emerge out from amongst the trees. The figure took Kensi's weapon from her and cuffed her hands behind her back. Callen stepped closer, mesmerised by his son. He had appeared from nowhere, like a ghost, and he was alert of his surroundings. And as he turned to his sister, he smiled that Callen trademark. He approached them, as Sam and Isobel watched from the car.

"Help me out please, Sam. I've waited too long for this moment. Don't worry about the chair, it's about time I walked."

Sam looked at Isobel and nodded. He quickly walked around to the other side of his challenger and gently helped her out. He watched her slowly take her first steps, her legs wobbled slightly from the lack of use of them since her rescue. He swiftly moved beside her and supported her as she moved towards Callen.

Deeks saw Callen coming and his hope of escape. "Hi Callen, good timing for a rescue. One would think you had been training your kids to be super agents for quite sometime." Deeks' humour was hiding his humiliation of being taken down by Callen's twelve year old daughter. "I mean I always knew that if Kensi had kids they would be little ninjas or something, but hey your kids are something else." He gave Callen an uneasy smile as he saw his team leader's smirk appear upon his face.

"No, Deeks, they're just making their dad proud, and feeling like the luckiest man in the world to have them as his kids." He turned to Sophie first, "hi, Sophie. Good job. Deeks needed some sorting out."

"Hi," Sophie quietly responded. She too was mesmerised at seeing her dad for the first time. He's handsome, and has this presence of respect from those around him. "Thanks."

Callen turned to his son. "Hi, Jack. Good work having your partner's back. Kensi, you could take notes from him."

Jack's smile broadened and turned to look at his sister. "Hi." he replied to his dad. "What took you so long?"

Callen looked from Jack to Sophie, "Good question. Thirteen years is a long time, son." His emotions took over and began to stumble to his knees. At this action, both Sophie and Jack ran into their father's arms and the three of them cried. They cried for the years they had lost at not being a family, and from the joy of finally being reunited.

Isobel finally made it across the grass with Sam's help and she was welcomed into their family hug. She shook from the emotion, tears flowing freely down all their faces. Sam held his partner's shoulder for support.

From the first floor window, Hetty and Alexander witnessed the emotional reunion of their daughter and her favourite agent with their children. It had started out with amusement, when Sophie and Jack had arrested Deeks and Kensi for about the 50th time in seven weeks. Alexander held her close for comfort, expressing joy for them, but also concerned of what effect this will have on their younger two grandchildren. They were thankful they were out with Rosé and Marcus at Disneyland for the day. She thought it best if they weren't here to witness this moment, knowing they were still grieving the loss of their dad, Simon.

Deeks and Kensi felt like intruders to this very emotional family moment for their team leader and friend. It was a rare moment to see Callen let his barriers down like this, but they were in a bit of a sticky situation, since Callen's kids had handcuffed them with their own handcuffs and taken the keys. They had been out smarted once again by these two twelve year olds. They looked at each other and wondered how could they escape. It was Sam who came to their rescue.

"Hey, Sophie, can I please have the key for Uncle Marty's handcuffs?" He looked at her with a smile and she relented, giving him the key. Jack also gave him Kensi's. The battle had been fought and won, and the timing of it couldn't have been any better. They had made their dad proud at his first meeting of them, and that made them happy. They had waited for this moment all their lives, neither were going to let him go. And they could see that their dad wasn't letting them go either.

Deeks and Kensi, now freed from their handcuffs, retrieved their weapons and walked inside the house for a rest. It had been a long and exhausting seven weeks. They were looking forward to getting back to normal cases for a change.

It had been two long weeks for everyone, after Sam and Alexander had arrived. No one had heard from Callen since they had left London. They were worried because of the intel from the agency's team there, about Olesya Michailov's visit into Isobel's hospital room. Hetty was glad they knew she was in the hospital before that meeting, giving Callen and Isobel time to give their performance. And although she didn't recognise Isobel as Natalia or as her granddaughter; it still hung a dark shadow over Hetty's mood. She was so happy to at last have Alexander with her in L.A., and to be able to tell him who she was; but most of all, she was happy to reunite him with their grandchildren. Watching Alexander meet them two weeks ago had brought tears to her eyes, just like the reunion she was watching outside. His face lit up and he was truly happy —- probably for the first time in his life. He definitely felt safe there with them, and for that, she was glad. She was also pleased to have him there, to help her own reunion with her daughter.

It had helped her twenty-one years ago, when Isobel had found her in Europe and saw her kill someone. She had been furious with her daughter for flying to Europe with her friends. She made sure Rose told her not to go there. It was too close to Russia, the risk was too high. Isobel had told her adopted parents they had changed their plans to holiday in New Zealand instead. Instead the girls flew to New Zealand first than then headed onto Europe afterwards. Isobel found her on an assignment in Paris, and she followed her to her hotel. She too had inherited investigative skills, and it was that trip that highlighted that to her.

Hetty shook her head at the memory. She'd been sloppy and hadn't picked up that she had been followed that day. When she had left her hotel and met up with Alexander, she didn't expect Isobel to be hiding in her closet. She and Alexander had made love in that room, not knowing their own daughter heard it all. They had talked about her, Alexander relying on her to update him on their daughter. The problem was, Isobel hadn't been told she was her real mother, nor anything about her real father. They had spoken only in Russian and never thought anything of it when Isobel was discovered hiding there, that she'd heard anything. After who knew how long, Isobel banged on the door, as she had locked herself inside and she was running out of air. Alexander rushed to open the closet to rescue her. Hetty had at first thought, thank goodness they had spoken in Russian. But that thought had lasted only for a moment, when Isobel shouted at her in Russian.

Hetty was shocked to learn that their daughter knew the language, it wasn't like it was a subject available for her to learn at school. But as she soon learned, Isobel had heard her mom and Hetty speak in Russian over the years and she was curious to what they talked about. When she came across some Russian immigrants talking, she asked them what language it was. Then she asked them to teach her, and in return, she had taught them English.

Isobel had been surprised to see her in Paris and decided to follow he. She had been shocked to the core to see her kill someone, and act like nothing had happened. Determined to find out more about this friend of her mother's, she followed her to her hotel. She had found out which room she was in and waited for her to return. She was not expecting her to return with a man, and discover him to be her real father. She had quietly cried inside that closet, wondering why she hadn't been told who Hetty really was. This man called her 'Nina,' and Isobel figured that she must be some sort of spy. But she couldn't hide forever. The air was running out and she began to struggle to breathe, leaving her with no choice but to bang on the door and be discovered. Not that she wanted to face Hetty, but her survival required it. She could see Hetty's face was stressed and angry to see her there. The man had brought her out and was busy checking her out. She was hot and dehydrated, he had made her drink some water and placed a washer over her forehead. When she had recovered, she shouted at Hetty in Russian, surprising them both.

It wasn't how Hetty wanted her daughter to find out who she really was, but the need to protect her had been more important. It was her she had been angry at, not her father. Therefore, Alexander had been the key to break through to Isobel. She hoped he could help this time.

Outside

Through all the emotional strain, it was becoming hard for Isobel to remain standing. Sam was one step ahead of her and he greeted her with the wheelchair. "Thanks Sam, you're a good friend." She said. Callen smiled at his partner for being so thoughtful.

"Let's get your Mom inside so she can rest." Callen asked Jack and Sophie to help him wheel her in. He was sure his heart had expanded inside his chest, welled up from the happiness he felt of finally being with HIS family. Today was definitely the best day of his life.

Isobel thought it was funny when the three of them fussed over her. She was still getting used to seeing them together, but she loved every moment. Callen took her out of the chair and carried her up the stairs.

"You should see your room that Nana has prepared for you, Mom." Sophie began.

"It's so big we all could sleep in there." Continued Jack.

She looked at Callen and smiled, and he returned her look and smiled as they entered the very large bedroom. "Wow, you're not kidding about its size." She replied to her children. She knew her real mother had money, but she didn't realise to what extent, until that moment. No wonder why she never had to worry about money when she had to stop working, while she was pregnant with the twins. She thought it was her adopted parents being helpful, but now she thought differently. It had been Hetty making sure the three of them had been okay.

As Callen placed her on the bed, she whispered something to him. "Jack and Sophie would love for you to take them to the beach. They've had surfing lessons, so you could go surfing with them, when they finally got to meet you." She watched him carefully for a response, then saw his face brighten up.

"So who wants to go surfing?" He asked his kids, while winking at Isobel, thankful for the heads up.

"Oh, yes please, we'd love to"" they both replied, almost bouncing off the floor from excitement.

Isobel and Callen both laughed at their happiness. "Let's go, so your Mom can rest." He turned to Isobel, and gave her a passionate kiss and warm hug. "I love you, Issy. Don't ever forget that. You have given me the best gift I could ever dream of. Actually, make that two!" And there was his trademark smirk again, and she laughed in response.

Callen and his kids left the room and bumped into Hetty and Alexander in the hallway. "Welcome home, Mr Callen." She gave him and the twins a warm smile.

"Thanks, Hetty. Hi, Alex, did you have a good trip back?"

"Not as interesting as your time in London, thankfully. I wouldn't have been able to of hidden from her as well as you two. Thank goodness you are both okay." You could see worry cross his face, although it was brief. He turned to his grandchildren. "I bet you two are glad to have your mother home, and finally meet your father."

They both nodded at Alexander and gave him a warm hug. "Dad's taking us surfing, while Mom has a rest." Sophie told them, with a huge grin on her face.

"Well you three better scoot off and have fun, then. That's an order!" Hetty told them with a smile on her face. She was glad their reunion had been a happy one. She turned to Alexander for reassurance over what she was dreading. How will Isobel react to seeing her? She walked downstairs to make tea, because that always made her feel better, while Alexander checked on Isobel before she fell asleep.

Downstairs Sam found an exhausted Deeks and Kensi. "You two should go home and get some rest. And I mean in your own respective homes too." He chuckled at the looks on their faces. Deeks shook his head over the whole incident outside, while Kensi was still feeling awkward towards her partner over it all. "I'll have it covered while you're gone. After all, we have Eric and Nell searching for any traces of either of us being followed here. So they should know of anything before we do."

"Oh shoot!" Deeks said, as he suddenly realised that Eric and Nell would have heard all that had happened. "Um, did you guys hear all of that, before?" He asked them over the comms.

"Um, yeah," Eric replied.

"Yep. All of it with live video feed," Nell added.

Eric gave Nell a look, too much information.

"You know how to make a man feel better, don't you Nell?" Deeks replied.

"Sorry, Deeks. Just saying how it is," Nell told him, returning her own look back to Eric. What!

Sam shook his head and shooed them out of Hetty's before anyone embarrassed Deeks and Kensi any further.