Callen awoke with a start to find Kensi standing over him, waving a pair of handcuffs in his face. He looked up quizzically, glancing at his watch and the laptop screen.
"You've been snoozing for about forty minutes, sleeping beauty," Kensi said with a smile. "You ready for the last phase of 'Operation Elise'? Means I get to put you in handcuffs again."
Callen pulled a face in disbelief. After all they had done the previous night and just earlier, was one last charade really required? He glanced again at the laptop screen and clicked a few buttons to change the camera view.
"What's happened? Where's she gone?" Callen asked in concern. There was no sign of Elise or Nell in any camera shot. He narrowed his eyes. "Are you joking with me?"
"Yep. Priceless!" Kensi gave a short laugh. "Nell escorted Elise home about twenty minutes ago. She'll wait while she gathers some belongings together and drop her at a hotel. Elise will probably only stay in the hotel for one night for breathing space and to make arrangements to stay with her cousin."
"So it's all over then." Callen stated rather than asked the question. "I take it no other cases have come in?"
Kensi shook her head. "I checked in with Hetty and she said we can leave early due to last night's operation. Business as usual tomorrow."
"Business as usual, hey? No two days are ever the same, that's why I love my job. What are Sam and Deeks up to?"
"Apparently Eric had to kick them out of ops for gambling,"
"Really? Surely I wasn't asleep long enough for Eric to develop that level of courage?" Callen closed the laptop and stood up, stretching his shoulders and back. "So I can walk out of this room without pretending to limp and without encouraging your sadomasochistic tendencies?"
"Don't even go there," Kensi warned. "It's bad enough getting it from Deeks."
"Just think back to how we were pre-Deeks," Callen said, and both agents smiled as they recalled the set up before Deeks joined the team. It had mainly been Sam and Callen against Kensi and Sam and Callen against Nate. Deeks had changed the dynamics of the team; he constantly teased Kensi which left Sam and Callen getting the better of Deeks.
"Pre-Deeks, now there's a thought. How about we head to the Surf Shack again for some drinks?"
"Sounds good. I'll call Sam to pick me up." Callen said as he pulled his cell from his back pocket.
"But I can drive you?" Kensi said.
"Me, you and driving do not mix, Kens. You should know that by now. Besides, Sam can bring me a change of clothes. I don't think even the Surf Shack would allow me in dressed like this." Callen picked at the frayed edges of the hole in his jeans and scratched at the dried fake blood around his knee cap.
"Ok," Kensi sighed in defeat. "You win. But for the record Deeks never complains about my driving."
"That's because you would beat him to a pulp. He does have some sense you know,"
Kensi shook her head. It looked like the winning streak the team had experienced in getting the better of Callen was drawing to a close. Sure there would be some mileage to be had out of the Elise situation for a while yet, but she had a feeling that Deeks would soon reclaim the coveted position of 'chew toy' for the team. Kensi smiled as she thought back to the words Callen had used earlier. She just hoped she would retain the position of Callen's favourite agent as she had repeatedly witnessed the way he manipulated people and didn't fancy falling prey to that. He took the greatest pleasure in manipulating their psychologist Nate – or maybe that should be Callen took 'special' pleasure in beating Nate at his own game. With a smile on her face, she followed Callen out of the interrogation room to wait for Sam and Deeks to arrive.
The late afternoon sun shone brightly in the sky and once again the team found themselves relaxing after an unexpectedly intense couple of days. They sat in the same chairs they had occupied two evenings ago; three Mojitos had arrived at the table and one juice. It was Callen who had pulled the short straw and agreed to be designated driver - a small concession to thank his team for the painful operation they had just completed on his behalf.
"Nell has just confirmed that Elise is settled at the hotel. Eric will be monitoring her movements to check if she does return to her house before it's sold," Kensi put her cell down on the table and turned her attention to her cocktail.
"So it seems you're hare-brained scheme actually worked," Sam said.
"See…Genius," Callen said with a straight face and he pointed to himself.
"Yeah, right," came the expected reply from Sam. "So where are you staying tonight?"
"My house,"
"It might be safer to wait until Elise has actually sold her house and moved out. The last thing we need is for her to return home tomorrow morning to pick up something she's forgotten, and then see you jogging down the road like nothing has happened," Sam suggested.
Sam's voice of reason made perfect sense to Callen, however he responded with, "Fine, I'll sneak back after dark. Eric will let me know if anything goes wrong."
"But why take the risk?" Deeks asked, siding with Sam.
"Because he can, and he's being deliberately awkward," Sam answered for Callen who shot him a look as if to say 'what, me?'
"Fine," Callen shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "I'll crash at ops for a few nights."
The rest of the team this time rolled the eyes and sighed. It really was like pulling teeth sometimes.
"Well, you could always stay at mine," Kensi suggested hesitantly.
Deeks turned abruptly towards Kensi and looked shocked. "You would be happy having – Callen – live with you?"
"Um," Kensi was not sure at all, having heard horror stories from Sam about Callen's insomnia, restlessness, boredom and constant tinkering with various electrical appliances in the middle of the night.
Callen observed Kensi with a sly grin. He thought about coming to her rescue but watching her squirm was so much more fun.
"I think your place would be too messy for Callen," it was Sam who saved Kensi. "Too messy and too girly."
"Yeah, unless he really fancies cozying up on the couch, eating ice-cream and watching Titanic or the greatest films of John Hughes repeatedly." Deeks interjected.
"Sounds fine to me. Ferris Beuller's Day off is always worthy of a watch. But you seem to have intimate experience of Kensi's life outside of work," Callen commented to Deeks, wondering how close the two of them really were. He had his suspicions and he was rarely wrong.
"I have some experience with Kensi, not intimate experience of course. Y'know I would never cross that line with a partner, although with Kens I might just make that exception. But we all know what her idea of a quality night in is…" Deeks spoke quickly to dig himself out of a hole, barely pausing between sentences to take a breath.
Callen and Kensi smiled at each other, both realising that having Callen as a house guest wasn't really the best option.
"Does that mean that you're offering then Deeks?" Callen asked innocently.
"Me?" Deeks questioned, glad his sunglasses prevented his eyes from giving away the horror that having his team leader stay with him would bring.
"Yes you," Callen pressed the point, well aware that behind his sunglasses Deeks' eyes were wide with the realisation that this would be his idea of hell. "You have a sofa don't you?"
"Ah, yes I do but you really wouldn't like my place. Too small, very pokey, very messy. Full of sand and my surf board and Monty of course. And I do quite often have 'company' if you know what I mean." Deeks tried to pull every excuse out of the bag.
"Deeks, I haven't a clue what you mean. But I like dogs, surfing and I've stayed in worse places believe me. And as for company, maybe you can hook me up with someone?" Callen paused at his final remark, waiting for the team to take the bait.
And they fell hook, line and sinker into a stunned silence. Callen – date? The two words, indeed the two worlds did not really go together at all.
Sam broke the silence with a chuckle. "The only true comment there is that you've stayed in worse places. You wanna date? Do you really think Deeks knows your type of woman? Hell, I don't think even you know what you're type of woman is. You don't fall for anyone unless you're undercover so you have valid excuses not to commit!"
"Wow," Callen said, nodding his head slightly, he refrained from smiling in amusement. "That hurt, big guy. Guess I'll find a rooming house then. Thanks for the love, team."
"Oh G, stop playing us," Sam protested.
"I don't play games," Callen faked a hurt expression which had the team smiling.
"Yeah, and you don't lie either. So you're at mine for a few weeks then," Sam laughed openly at the weak argument from Callen.
"I guess so," Callen relented. It had been fun to play Kensi and Deeks even if it was for such a brief period of time. He would spend a few nights at Sam's just to keep him sweet and then either sneak back to his house or find himself a room to rent by the night. He had a few favourite haunts on the beach front in Venice that hadn't had the pleasure of his business for a while. And change was always good. Familiarity bred contempt, as the saying went, and Callen had made a rare mistake in taking his surroundings for granted. Much though he enjoyed living in the same house – a safe house – he had not made it his home, and maybe never would. But it was his house, he just had to ensure he stayed paranoid in case his new neighbours were as intrusive as Elise; not that the poor girl realised. Callen pictured her pretty, innocent face for the last time, recalling how bright her eyes were against her pale skin and blonde wavy hair. A lucky escape, not a missed opportunity he thought, as he locked away the memory to move on with his life. Callen once again turned his attention to his team and wondered how he had become so lucky in finding a job where his team had become his family.
The End.
Thank you everyone for sharing this journey with me, hope you've had fun! Please leave a review/comment if you have. If you haven't, then I'm sorry - and constructive criticism is welcome so improvements can be made for the next time!
