AN: Merry Christmas To you ALL! :) I hope you are having a wonderful day! I couldn't help but get this finished and get it up! As always, a special thanks to Lovinglifesince1993, betty69742 and cp6 for the follows! Thanks, also to Triggerfinger213 and AceHuntzberger for both the follows and the favs and hrodenhaver for adding this story to your fav too! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAnd angel897 for your constant support and the review! And finally to Country Girl, whose review made me laugh and smile! Sounded like an advert! I loved it!

And a massive thank-you to all of you who continue to read and support this story. Please follow, fav and review if you have a moment, it makes all the difference to me! :D


Nate couldn't help but smile as he watched Cassandra argue with the nurse. She could be named the most stubborn person he knew. If he pleased, he could also give her the title of the strongest, or stupidest, depending on your point of view. His point of view was neither – Cassandra was just plain awkward, but it didn't make it any less amusing for the psychologist to watch.

She had woken almost immediately after she'd been brought to the hospital, kicking and screaming about how much she hated the service and how she had ought to have been taken straight home. Although the nurses tried to make her see sense: she had just been hit by a car while walking along the promenade (because they couldn't tell the true story), and that she had broken ribs, a possible concussion, and a terribly bruised ankle, which they had attributed to the crash (and not the explosion earlier). When they had asked for her name, she hadn't been willing to provide one, which they attributed to possible post-traumatic amnesia and not to the fact that she had no idea which of her identities had been chosen for this little scene. Nate had chosen her name, Milly Snowden, and taken on the role of her Husband, Michael.

"Mr. Snowden, you must talk sense into your wife." The doctor began, drawing Nate's attention away from the amusing exchange between his wife and the diagnostician which had just entered her room. "It would be unreasonable for me to allow her to be discharged in her condition" Nate looked at the young doctor with kind eyes. It couldn't be an easy job having to be subjected to such behaviour after taking the Hippocratic Oath, but what was a man to do? Even if Nate had been married to the woman, he wouldn't have a chance in hell to make her see reason, and as her partner, it was his own bounden duty to keep her safe, or in this case, keep her from hurting herself by hurting anyone else around her.

Nate knew that Cassie's reservations for being there were more than just her stubborn ways. This entire situation was growing by the moment. The entire day had gone from bad to worse and it had little sign of calming down. The nurse's prognosis hadn't been as bad as his own. When he had heard that she was being rushed to the nearest A&E, he had expected the worst, especially when Callen said she had blacked out. As he drove to the hospital, he was sure that his biggest fear was the phone ringing and being told that she hadn't made it. This was especially true when she had a tendency to do something as stupid as jumping in front of a car. Yes. It wasn't the first time she had done something like this. When he'd arrived, Deeks had greeted him at the entrance, told him that she was ok – but it wasn't until he saw her did he calm down. Cassandra had a way of bouncing back so quickly from these incidences, showing that now by trying to stand up and continue her angry spiel with the nurses by her bed side.

"I would like to apologise for my wife, but she is in her right to be discharged if she is not in any immediate danger" He spoke the words that he had done earlier that day to the officers outside her house, words that he had spoken often throughout their years of service together. He hadn't known anyone to break bones as easily as Cassandra Wyatt. His bounden oath was growing harder and harder to adhere to.

"She may not be in immediate danger, but I am afraid that the x-rays show further unhealed fractures that make me believe that she will not be in good care if she leaves" His voice was stern, and although his words surprised Nate a little, his face did not show it. Unhealed fractures? How had Cassandra managed to get herself into trouble in the 9 months that she was acting as a psychologist. Even he knew that the job was not exciting enough to get into that sort of trouble. He'd file that away to question her later, but for now, he simply continued to listen to the doctor. "It seems your wife is prone to breakages" Nate detected a hint of suspicion in the doctor's words. Was he being accused of beating his 'wife'? Although he tried not to show his surprise, this time it was extremely apparent on his face.

"What are you implying, Doctor?" He asked, his tone not as kind.

"Simply that it would be reckless to allow this woman to leave, especially under these circumstances and since I have yet to find her on our system, I do not feel comfortable with her not being in my care" Nate noted a sense of pride in the expression of the doctor before him. He deducted that he was a junior doctor, not only by his obviously young age, but because of his demeanour. He seemed adamant to 'go-by-the-book', a trait that often dwindles with age and experience. The junior aspect of this doctor did not make Nate any less annoyed at the barrier he was presenting, in fact, it annoyed him even more.

"That is because she would not be on your system. She is British and we are only here on vacation" Nate found himself delving into a realm he was not comfortable in. Making up elaborate stories on the spot was something that he was untrained in – and he was sure that the doctor wasn't buying this extra piece of information. "She simply looked the wrong way on the sidewalk, as in Britain the cars are on the other side of the road, and she was hit. We have filed a report with the police and, as you can see, my wife is coherent and will be in my care" He looked directly into the doctor's eyes, a trick he had learnt over the years. If you are going to lie, at least make it look like you believe it. Hiding your eyes made that harder to do.

"Fine. If I can have the details of your hotel so that I may contact them to ensure that they have adequate medical staff nearby, I would be happy to sign her out." He had a smug look on his face, as if he was about to receive a medal for his latest use of policy.

Nate stood silently, trying to dig himself out of this hole. He raised an eyebrow to buy some time, but his mind, although working at one hundred miles an hour, could not come up with anything to stay this doctor.

"Hey you!" Nate turned quickly to see Deeks stood, dressed as a doctor, his eyes beaming. Nate repressed the sigh of relief and chose to simply smile at the newest edition to this crazy equation "What's this?" He looked over the young doctor's shoulder and read the chart that was in his hands. "Your wife Milly was hit by a car? Howis she…" he inconspicuously looked over again "…Michael?"

"And who are you?" The young doctor asked, pulling the chart into his chest.

"I am Doctor Stark." Deeks introduced himself rapidly, turning away from the doctor just as quickly. Nate could see him looking around, aware that posing as a doctor was not something he'd like to have to explain to Hetty. But then again, Cassandra's behaviour would soon draw copious amounts of unwanted attention and the fact that she was who she was… it was probably safer to commit a few little illegal activities to get her out. Before she hurts herself anymore…

"I've never heard of you" The smug doctor said flippantly.

"Not surprising, I work in San Diego. I'm here simply to help to develop a seminar for the new students starting their practicals in the fall" Deeks played the part of a superior being quiet well – too well for Nate's liking. It made him slightly jealous to see how easily Deeks had rocked up and taken charge of the situation. "Michael here is my partner in our practice back home." He placed his hand on Nate's shoulder and glanced over towards the room where Cassandra remained, arguing with the diagnostician. "When I heard, I came straight over." He squeezed Nate's shoulder before taking his leave to work his magic on those in the small room.

"Doctor Stark and I are staying in the same hotel" Nate continued, feeling a little more comfortable now there was a slightly more developed back story he was playing to. "Two doctors, one patient. I'm sure we will be fine"

The young doctor looked frustrated and simply huffed before nodding and bustling off to the nurses station to fill out the necessary paper work. Nate sighed, and mentally kicked himself – Every day he was realising that he wasn't up to being a field agent and every day that made him more and more unhappy.


"I feel like I've been hit by a truck" Cassandra muttered as she staggered out of the hospital doors, aided only by Nate's hand placed on her lower back. She had refused the wheel chair, more out of principal, Nate thought, than necessity.

"It was a car – not a truck" Deeks retorted, a huge smile on his face. He winked at the young woman before skipping off to bring the car to the entrance. Cassandra stifled a laugh at his quick response, knowing that any form of amusement was going to cause her ribs to ripple pain through her body. She chose to simply snarl at the detective as he turned his back to them.

"Idiot" she muttered with a smile on her face, then looking up to her big friendly giant. His demeanour had been un-Nate-like since Deeks had magically convinced the doctors to allow her to leave. She had tried all the tricks she knew in the book to make them see she was perfectly capable of going home, but the black and blue bruising that had already begun to appear on her side was the doctors excuse to tell her that she should stay put. However, the detective had swooped in, helped the diagnostician to wrap her up in bandages dowsed in absorbent antibiotics (something she was sure Deeks enjoyed a little more than he should have) and signed the paperwork to take charge of her for the remainder of her time in Los Angeles. And now, as they walked, slowly down the stone steps onto the pavement below, Nate had yet to say a word.

"What's wrong?" Cassandra asked, using his other hand to aid her to stand up straight. "And if you say nothing, I swear I'll beat you" She squinted her eyes at him defyingly, hoping he'd crack some form of smile. He didn't.

"I'm just tired" He replied, his eyes not meeting hers.

"Well that's bull." She scoffed "I've seen you still bounce after not sleeping for 72 hours – If you don't want to say, don't, just don't lie" She wasn't mad, although her tone may have seemed so. It was her way of saying 'I'm here if you need me', but without all the mushy cushy stuff that went with it. Nate knew this, and replied by moving his hand from the small of her back to her side and pulling her gently towards him.

Surprisingly, Nate Getz wasn't comfortable with expressing his feelings. He was the one that was there to help others, not the one that searched for help, and to be honest, he wasn't even sure what he felt right now. Disappointment was the only emotion he could tag right then and there. Disappointment at the fact that he wouldn't never be more than a man that listened to the tales of others, unable to really experience them himself – because, maybe, he just wasn't good enough for that.

Cassandra took a moment to look at the man beside her, his sullen look causing her a slight sense of concern. Nate Getz was the only person in the world, before that morning, that she would have jumped in front of a moving train for. She hadn't expected herself to do that for another, and the reasons behind that were still to be discovered, but the truth was, consciously, Nate was the only human being on the earth that she actually cared for. To see him in such a state, especially when she was unsure what was causing his apparent sadness, made her feel uncomfortable. Selfish, yes, but she hated to see him without a smile on his face. He was her rock – and if he wasn't there… she'd be lost.

"Either way, stop moping." She continued "If you aren't smiling, then it means the apocalypse is happening – and I did not just jump in front of a car to be consumed by fire!" She smiled up at him, trying to get something back. And she did. A small, flicker of amusement hit his eyes as he looked down at her.

"You shouldn't be jumping in front of cars, Cassie." He spoke sternly. "I swear you have a death wish"

"And there he is, folks! My berating partner is rearing his not-so-ugly head!" She nudged him gently and instantly regretted it. Her smile morphed into a wince.

"And that is why you shouldn't jump in front of cars, you idiot" His words were kind, but true. She really was an idiot. Despite everything, he was almost in awe of her luck. Her defying nature caused his heart to stop on many occasion, yet she was always up for a laugh the moment that death stopped knocking on the door.

"Yeah, yeah – I've heard it all before" She closed her eyes before taking a deep breath, trying to dissipate the pressure that was building around her lungs. They say that to stifle infections around bones that cannot be casted, that you should use the muscles around them as if there was nothing to impede it – i.e. breath normally, walk normally and ignore the shooting pains. Easily said than done.

"And I'm sure I'll be telling you again" Nate added, replacing his hand to the small of her back as he saw Deeks' car pull up in front of them.

"How is Kensi?" Cassandra asked, suddenly remembering the reason she was being helped to walk.

"Shocked. But good" Nate replied, smiling down at her. Cassandra returned the smile, just happy not seeing him sad. She was probably glad that Kensi was ok – but she hadn't had time to digest that thought before the sound of the car horn filled the air, catching her off guard.

"Come on goldilocks" Deeks called from the car, "And be careful Nate, I signed a paper that says her safety is in my hands until she leaves L.A." He laughed, jumping out of the car and opening the passenger door.

"You realise that Milly Snowden is under the protection of a 'Doctor Stark', not me under the protection of detective Deeks?" Cassandra tried to retaliate, but he simply continued to laugh.

"We are all one in the same. So, when it comes to your safety, it's my responsibility" He grabbed her other arm and helped Nate lower her down into the seat. Cassandra slowly leaned to get the seat belt before Deeks had a chance of doing so.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows

"Nope" he replied, that wicked grin still on his face.

"Then take me to the airport"


The camera footage from the shipyard had taken Eric no time to find and deploy onto the big screen in OPS. Callen had asked him to replay it over and over, so many times that he knew at exactly what timestamp every action had taken place. It took only 129 seconds from the moment the first shot was fired until Cassandras hands had collided with Kensi's chest, sending both women flying in different directions. He'd sent Deeks with Cassandra in the ambulance as he notified Hetty of the occurrence. Kensi was being looked after by Sam, whose military training was enough to look her over and see that she would simply be sporting some palm sized bruises in the morning. And he? Well, he'd jumped in the car and stormed right up here to this spot where he watched the footage over and over to see exactly what he had done wrong to put his team in danger.

How could he not have noticed the car coming towards Kensi?

You know why…

He hadn't even been looking out for Kensi. He had let his judgement be clouded and he wasn't even sure why. He was so disappointed in himself – but more so because while he was out of focus, Cassandra had taken the lead and saved a member of his team, while putting herself in danger, even after the altercation she'd had with Sam.

You absolute fool!

Maybe Sam was right, to a certain extent. He'd let this woman get to him. He needed to sort his shit out before he got someone killed. But as he watched Cassandra fall to the ground, he watched as he ran passed Kensi and straight to the blonde's side, he knew that he'd do the same again.

He rubbed his left hand over his face as he contemplated that last thought. He would do it again. Cassandra Wyatt was a mystery to him that he was openly willing to explore into to find the answers. Just hours before, after their conversation with the assistant director, he had sat before Hetty and flicked through the Primrose files and had only managed to catch a glimpse of the madness that was honing in on them. Joshua Wyatt was a Biomedical Scientist that was accused of the Experimentation on human subjects with the aim to sell and distribute bioweapons. He had already succeeded in Africa, but his presence in the United States was what had everyone on edge. Naturally. From what he had managed to read, he had orchestrated a new operation a few years back in Virginia, but it hadn't gone to plan. His first move had been to infect a young girl with a new, extremely infections strain of the ebola virus and send her into a crowded area – but the girl had died too quickly.

"Katya Volkov" Hetty had confirmed "The youngest sister"

It had been at that moment that Cassandra had joined them. He had closed the file so fast he was sure she'd notice his arduous state. She didn't, however. She was more interested in the message she'd been sent. Moments after, Hetty had provided both he and Cassandra with a non-disclosure agreement to sign. The specifics of the information to which they would be allowed access after signing the NDA were not disclosed, but he knew that they would be having another 'private' conversation soon enough. After that, the NDA would stop them from discussing any of what was in those files to any one that wasn't themselves. It was like he was bound to her – and he found himself not wanting it any other way.

"Mr. Callen?" Hetty's voice came at no comfort as the footage began its cycle again. Eric had gotten bored of the repetitive request and had simply set the frames of interest on a loop and left his post with Nell. Callen hadn't noticed that they had left until that moment, when he turned to see Hetty beside him, joining him in the room he had once occupied alone.

"She could have died" Callen spoke, looking down at Hetty, then back up at the screen.

"That is the risk we take the moment we wake up in the morning, Mr. Callen" Hetty too looked up at the screen to watch the very moment Cassandra Wyatt jumped from the building. It was a beautiful sequence to watch. She fell like a feline onto the surface below, ran swift and jumped in a flawless series of movements. Even her final fall onto the tarmac was slightly elegant. "But I must ask, to whom are you referring?" Hetty watched as Callen's eyes grew wide on the screen as he rushed over to the feline agent.

"What?" Callen asked, confused.

"You said 'she' could have died" She spoke matter-of-factly "To whom are you referring?" Hetty looked at the agent beside her, awaiting his response.

"Does it matter?! Either of them could have died!" Callen replied, slightly annoyed at Hetty picking apart his words. He was not sure why she was even probing that angle. If he wasn't too occupied in his current task, he might have even called her out on it – but he didn't have time for further cryptic exchanges with the woman.

"I guess you are right." Hetty shrugged, noting his evasion "Neither died. Both are alive and well, yet you are still here, watching this event at five different camera angles. What do you expect to find?" Her eyes still watched over the agent, a blank look on her aged face. Callen was sometimes quite a fascinating specimen to watch. He saw things in a way that others didn't. Yet another reason that made him such a brilliant agent.

"The reason why" He spoke, pushing himself off the edge of the table he'd been leant upon "And I think I've found it" He spoke in a tone barely above a whisper. Hetty didn't have time to question the meaning of his words before she watched him practically run out of the room towards the staircase, jumping one step at a time while screaming "ERIC!"

Eric jumped up from the sofa that he was lounging on, spilling the coffee Nell had just handed him all over the light fabric. He was sure that it'd be docked from his pay, but the look on Callens face meant that the sofa was not a priority now. "Yes, Callen?"

"You said you'd looked through the footage from Korblyovs' place and found the moment the camera was turn on?" Callen jumped into the bull pen, where he found Eric and Nell now stood before him, the other members of his team still no-where to be seen.

"Yes" He replied immediately. He jolted such that Nell felt the need to take the half empty coffee cup from his hand, lest they wanted the entire contents to be flown around them.

"Can you get it on this screen? And the footage from the shipyard?" Callen pointed to the flat screen that was on the pillar of the bull pen, looking at the two techies as if he had just asked them to perform a miracle.

"Bringing it up now" Eric replied, grabbing the tablet from off Deeks desk, where he had left it, tapping into the OPS feed and deploying it onto the screen before them.

"What is it G?" Callen turned to see Sam and Kensi join them. In the corner of his eye, he saw that Hetty had already made her way down the stairs and was watching intently from the opening in the filigree barrier.

"Look, there –" Callen pointed to the camera frame where Cassandra could be seen jumping out of the window.

"I see her jump –"

"No, Sam. Look above. Two floors up. Can you see?" Callen

"Eric, stop the loop and focus in on the seventh floor" Kensi stepped forward as the footage stilled. As she did so she was able to see what Callen was referring to. The body and face of a man, camera in one hand and gun in the other, looking down towards Cassandra as she jumped.

"Oh my"

All members of the team turned to look at Hetty as she spoke, half of her face covered by her hand.

"Who is it?" Callen asked, knowing full well that this was information Hetty had. He could deduce, from the surprised look on her face, that this was something she wasn't expecting, and that usually means something terrible.

"A rouge agent. A very dangerous one, at that." She spoke calmly, moving towards the screen. Eric had split the screen now, and placed a still of the moment the camera was first turned on. The face of the man they had seen in the shipyard footage became HD in the second video still, a smirk on his face.

"Elijah Mizrahi" All heads turned to see Cassandra stood, held up by Nate. Deeks came behind them and rushed towards Kensi, silently asking whether she was alright before pulling her into a tight embrace. Callen noticed that Cassandra watched this action with confusion. He assumed that she didn't think it was professional to display such affection, and he was right. Cassandra believed that it only showed weakness, which is why, at the first opportunity she could, she moved away from Nate and stood, dead still, before continuing to address the group. "A mossad traitor that works freelance for whoever pays the biggest fee" She stepped forward and pointed towards the second image "Behind him there, at the counter, are the Cohen brothers that work with him. Abarron and Ranit. They're stupid, but effective." She shrugged, noticing that it hurt just as much to move as it did not too.

"Why would he be there? filming you?" Sam asked, stepping towards her, his hands faced palm up as he is was ready to catch her if she fell. She eye'd him up and took one step back, maintaining their previous distance. She wasn't that eager to let bygones be bygones. He had spoken his mind, which she respected, but nothing had changed.

"Because he is the one that told me to go there" She admitted, looking towards Hetty "I guess I'm surrounded by more foes that friends. Who'd have thought?" She tried to smile and shrug again, but it was harder to do that time. She felt her eyes twitch as she winced, a facial expression that she knew wouldn't go unnoticed, especially by the agent who had yet to speak a word, who had not taken his eyes of her. "If I had to take a wild guess" She continued, avoiding the silent agents stare "I'd say Joshua wants to know who my new friends are"

"What for?"

"To take them away, Miss Blye" Hetty responded to Kensi's question, allowing Cassandra to take a moment to stare at the man's face who had got her into this. Elijah… always a pleasure. Asshole. The very moment that she believed she could trust someone, another took that trust away. She rolled her eyes as she threatened to fall into an abyss of self-pity. She decided to look away from the screen and back towards the group. It was then that she caught Callen's eye.

"What does that mean?" Kensi asked, stepping to the side of her partner.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hetty exclaimed "Out strength comes from our companions, Miss Blye, and if Miss Wyatt is separated, she is an easier target"

"No" Cassandra interjected, her eyes still fixated on Callens. It was the first time that day that she felt that she couldn't read the agents expression. Maybe because he was trying too hard to read hers. She'd make it easy for him, that time, and give them an explanation of her negative response. "This has nothing to do with me as a target." She spoke matter-of-factly, finally breaking her gaze and finding Nates. "It has simply made you all targets."

And there it was – the first sense of realisation that came over all of them. What had they just stepped into? Could they get out? What would happen to them? Would they all be alright?...

Cassandra was beginning to feel awkward in the silence. She had no words to add so she decided to take her leave. She walked slowly towards Nate, stopping momentarily to whisper 'sorry' before continuing on towards the courtyard on the right hand side of the atrium.

The light in the courtyard was a blinding contrast to darker inner building. The light breeze also contrasted drastically with the heavy atmosphere that the tension had built after her last comment. It was true. Cassandra was probably the safest woman in the world. More than one individual had made it very clear that they would do anything to keep her from harm. It was those around her that she had loved and lost because of her brother that had turned her into the defensive person she was today. She couldn't afford to put others in danger, yet despite her greatest intentions, here she was having dragged yet another team into the firing line. Gibbs had forgiven her, or so he said, blaming Joshua and not her – but it seemed where ever she stepped, fire followed. And it was getting boring.

"Cassie?" Cassandra jumped at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder, causing her lost look to be replaced by one of a more painful nature. "I'm sorry" Callen spoke, flashing a small smile.

"You just scared me" Cassandra moved a step forward and tuned to lean against the stone wall, keeping her back straight, as she slid down to the bench below. As she did so, she noticed something in Callens hand, that she did not expect him to have "My bag?"

"Yeah." He lifted it up as if to show it to her "I drove your car back. Wouldn't think it right to leave it in the shipyard" He shrugged, taking a seat next to her, settling the backpack on the seat between them. "Nate says you made the nurses cry" He leant back against the stone wall and considered the centre of the courtyard, focusing mainly on the fountain in the centre to avoid deepening the conversation too quickly.

Cassandra smiled at his faux accusation "Cry? Nah, not really." She paused "Oh, Maybe a little" Callen found himself smiling. He couldn't think of anyone that was as changeable as she was – and he'd met his fair share of strange women. He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued "I've broken ribs before. The best thing to do is be careful, but carry on with life." Cassandra's eyes were closed as the sun rays broke through the palm trees.

"You were reckless" He stated

"You pulling rank?" She asked, her smile still on her relaxed face

"No. Just stating fact" He took this moment to look at her, without catching her icey blue eyes. Her long blonde hair fell around her face, her fringe was cut to the side and covered one of her eyes. She was quite beautiful, even with the light purple tinges below her eyes. Her rosy cheeks matched her rosy lips that opened to reply to his comment.

"I have Nate for that. I don't need anyone else telling me how wrong I do things"

"I didn't say it was wrong. Just reckless" He shifted on the stone bench and returned his focus to the fountain.

"Would you have preferred that Kensi take the car full on?" Cassie asked "She might have come off worse than I."

"You could have come off worse." He hadn't replied immediately, waiting to find out how to broach the subject. He needed to find a way to show her, on behalf of all of his team, that they were not going to leave her alone in this and, on his own behalf, that he would be there for what she needed. "It's going to be difficult working together seeing as you have a tendency to break bones" He chose a lighter approach. He seemed to get more honest answers from her when she didn't feel pushed.

"I haven't said I'd work with you" – an honest answer.

"You will." He smiled at her, and continued the light-hearted nature of the conversation. "You still owe me some answers"

"Indeed I do Mister Callen" She spoke, imitating Hetty and finding it extremely amusing. "And before I let you begin" She finally opened her eyes and looked over to the agent "Open my bag and grab the file from within"

He did just that.

"What is it?" He asked, burrowing his eyebrows.

"Well, seeing as you've signed that little piece of paper – you can finally understand what the point of all this is" She straightened herself up and turned slightly to look into his eyes. "That, Mister Callen, is Hetty's Plan B. And you are not going to like it"

Not One Bit…