Chapter 7

1979 - February.

G was at the beach, he'd been there ever since he'd ran away from Brandel's after he had to listen to Lilly's screams all night and when he'd got a hold of his social worker and told her she'd called him a liar. Brandel had overheard and beaten him to within an inch of his life. That night even though he broke his heart to leave her he had run away.

Nine years old and he'd been on the street for three months before he had seen her again, this time holding a baby in her arms, late at night sitting on the beach crying.

"Lilly?" he asked.

"Dodger?" she looked him up and down. She had taken to calling him Dodger ever since she had read him Oliver Twist one evening and he'd picked her pocket to show her how easy it was.

"Why are you here did he hurt you?" he asked his eyes wide and afraid.

Lilly shook her head, "No…no not today, we…we got married Dodger, he made me. Child services found out and wanted to have him arrested for hurting me, so I had to marry him, he says it's so he doesn't go to prison. He needs to provide for his son." She explained to the child slowly.

Callen looked at the bundle in her arms, "Is that the baby?" he asked in awe at the small child holding a tiny stuffed shark.

Lilly nodded and moved the blanket so he could see. A large mop of blond hair stuck out and the child's eyes instinctively looked towards the ocean.

G giggled, "Lilly, I think he wants to be a fish." He laughed looking at the tiny pudgy hand that wasn't holding the toy reaching towards the waves. "You should call him Fin."

"Dodger…!" Lilly admonished with a small smile as she wrapped her son back up, "His name is Martin. Not fin." She smiled as Callen sat down next to her and she wrapped a spare are around the boy.

"How are you doing?" she asked after a few moments of them to listen to the waves.

"I'm fine." Callen said too quickly.

Lilly gave him a sad smile, "I have a sandwich in my bag, you eat it." She said.

Callen took the offered sandwich and ate hungrily.

"You need to turn yourself in, they won't put you back with us now." She assured him sadly.

She knew if he did turn himself in she'd never see him again. He was and had been her one bright spot apart from her son.

Gordon John Brandel was a serial abuser and she hated being married to him, but he'd threatened to kill the child inside her if she didn't lie to child welfare and say that she loved him and she had consented to everything he had done.

So she had; they had kept Callen on for a while, and then he had run away. Lilly had kept an eye on him as much as she could until she had gotten too pregnant to leave the house. Seeing him here made her heart soar, he was still alive and was safe from Brandel.

"I will do Lilly, you promise though he won't hurt me again?" Callen said looking at her full of trust.

Lilly smiled, "He's changed he loves his son and he's really working hard now so no Dodger he won't hurt you again."

She watched as Callen shrugged his shoulders and headed off down the beach to find a safe space to sleep. "I'll be around Lilly!" he called as he walked off.

Lilly smiled and looked at the Martin, when she looked up Callen was gone; it was to be nearly 7 years later before she saw him again.


1986- August.

Marty was 7 and he'd been hiding under his bed while his daddy was fixing his momma.

He had his shark toy in his hand and held it tight to his body as he tried to close his eyes and block out her screams. He knew the rules he didn't move from under there until momma told him to come out.

He really hoped his daddy would stop this time, he used to hear his momma cry and tell him stories of a little boy called Dodger who lived on the streets because he was safer there than in a home. Dodger was a sweet and kind kid in his momma's stories, and he always ended up on the beach with him and his momma watching the sun go down over the ocean.

The door slammed open and a gruff voice called, "Where are ya boy?"

Marty sneaked further under his bed.

A large hand reached under and pulled him out, dark brown eyes staring into his bright blue ones.

He saw stars for a moment as a large hand slapped him upside the head.

"D…Daddy?" Marty said.

Brandel's eyes focused on the toy in his son's hands.

"Fraidy cat's don't get toys." Brandel snarled and ripped the toy out of his son's hand.

"SHARKY!" Marty screamed.

Brandel threw his son to the floor and crouched over him holding the toy. He pulled at the stitching and ripped it apart laughing at his son's distress, "Man up, you ain't gonna be a sissy like the last little boy we had here, and he was such a sissy he ran away."

"Gordon, No!" Lilly said looking at the fear and terror in her son's eyes, that and the rapidly growing bruise on her son's face. She limped forward and put herself between her son and her husband.

Eventually Brandel's rage gave way to drunken snoring.

Lilly picked a sobbed out and sleeping Martin up and headed out of the door.


As it got light she found herself on Santa Monica pier.

Marty was sleeping on the bench, when he woke up his mom was in the arms of another man, he was holding her close and was being gentle with her.

For some reason he liked this man.

"Hey Fin, you're awake?" Callen said to the child.

"Dodger!" Lilly laughed, "I told you not to call him fin."

"But he's always at the ocean, he's like a dolphin." Callen argued with his older foster sister. Callen's face changed for a second when Marty looked up and Callen saw the fresh bruise.

"Are you the Dodger from momma's stories?" Marty asked.

Callen looked at Lilly, "I don't know, am I?"

"The one who's going to come in and save us from daddy?"

Sixteen year old Callen shot Lilly a look. "Maybe…but for today, who wants to have fun." He asked, he'd lifted a wallet the other night with cash in it, so he was determined to make both Lilly and the boy smile.

"What do you say Fin, want to go to the fair?"

Martin's eyes lit up as he looked to the rides on the pier. "Really, I can go? Please Momma, please Mr. Dodger!" he begged.

Callen smiled at the boy, "Just Dodger kid." He said knowing he couldn't shift the kid from calling him that name. He held his arm out and looked to Lilly, "Milady?" he asked.

She smiled and took his arm and after a few moments Marty went between them and held their hands.

Callen laughed and watched attentively as Marty played and had fun. He held Lilly's hand as she told him about what was happening at home and held her while she cried as Marty was on a ride.

The ride finished and Marty stopped by a stall where you had to throw darts at a target to win a prize.

Callen walked into him as he stared at the shark stuffed toy.

"I'll take three." Callen said to the man behind the stall.

He threw three darts and won a prize. He pointed to the shark toy and handed it to Marty who looked at him amazed.

"Thank you dodger." He said as he took the toy to show his mother.

Walking back toward home Callen and Lilly talked as Marty ran ahead.

Marty turned to look at the pair and ran up to his mother, "Momma? Is Dodger gonna be my new daddy?" he asked.

"No? Why?" Lilly asked shocked.

"Daddy said you were a ….? I dunno tired maybe, because you were sleeping with Dodger and maybe you were gonna have another baby coz you could have lots of them, coz you spent a lot of time on your back?" he said.

Lilly stopped horrified with what her son had come out with.

Callen looked upset, but he held Lilly's hand, "Don't Lil, he's just repeating what that monster has told him about you he doesn't know it's bad."

Lilly crouched down to her son, "I love you baby you know that don't you." She said.

Marty nodded, "I love you too momma."

"Marty sometimes your dad is going to say bad things, you need to realize that he doesn't mean them, and it's not your fault ok?"

"Like…." Marty's eyes teared up, "Like when Daddy killed my Sharky?" he sniffed.

Callen nodded, "That was Not your fault ok? It's hard now but it will get better one day I promise." He said looking the boy in the eye.

"Promise Dodger?" Marty said.

"I promise Fin." Callen replied.


Callen looked at Deeks as he looked between him and his mother.

"Dodger?" Deeks said shocked.

"Fin!" Callen exclaimed.

"That's you!" they both said together looking at each other stunned.