A/N: We're back to five reviewers today, but that's okay. Many thanks to Rebel Magnus, .B, justdreaming-83, StargateFreak33, and DizzyDrea. I hope you guys know how much I appreciate you leaving feedback - I feel rather inadequate only thanking you with each chapter.

We're back to long chapters (relatively) now, so enjoy!

Chapter Ten: Special Delivery

Callen rubbed his eyes and yawned, leaning back in his chair. He checked his watch and was mildly surprised to find that it was midnight already. He glanced at the half-filled-out stack of paperwork on his desk and decided he'd have to finish up tomorrow.

Wondering if Hetty was still around, he got up to check – if she was, he'd say goodnight. His eyes happened to stray to the desk next to his, which used to be Kensi's, and he paused.

Kensi no longer sat at that desk; it was filled now by Rose, who had survived Hetty's cut – largely thanks to her spectacular performance on the pier. For the past two months Rose had been working as a fully operative NCIS agent, with Deeks as her partner. So Kensi had been replaced; but to Callen, it still felt like the team was incomplete.

Callen sighed. They had not heard anything from Kensi since the day of the pier op – and there was not much from Al Juhaida either. Hetty had returned with the borrowed clothes two days after Kensi left, but despite persistent questions from her team, she refused to tell them where the meeting point was. All she would say was that she had not seen Kensi; only the clothes had been left there for her.

"Going home, Mr. Callen?"

Callen turned to see Hetty standing behind him.

"Yeah, I was just on my way out," he answered.

"Ah." Hetty bobbed her head. "And yet you paused for quite a while at Miss Alwyn's desk."

For a moment Callen couldn't imagine who Hetty was talking about, and then he remembered that Rose's last name was Alwyn.

"Well…"

"Yes, Mr. Callen?" Hetty waited expectantly, but Callen didn't really have an answer for her. Hetty looked at him knowingly. "I miss her too, Mr. Callen."

Callen nodded. "How much longer, Hetty?"

"I don't know, Callen," Hetty admitted. "She will call us when she is ready."

"But we haven't heard anything from her," Callen pointed out. "Nothing more about Ochbar or Al Juhaida's activities, or about the impending attack on Washington. Shouldn't we have heard something by now?"

"Perhaps she has nothing to report," Hetty proposed.

"Or maybe she can't risk contacting us," Callen suggested.

"That is a possibility," Hetty conceded. She paused as if she were considering something, and then she walked closer to Callen. "Are you sure that's all this is, Mr. Callen?"

Callen was confused. "I'm not following you, Hetty."

Hetty nodded to herself. "Of course not, Mr. Callen. Just remember, matters of the heart are not to be taken lightly. You're so afraid of losing someone you care about that you don't allow yourself to truly feel what you should."

Callen didn't understand. "Hetty…"

"I know, I know." She looked at him. "You don't understand. But I have some advice for you: let yourself feel, Mr. Callen. Whatever it is that is blocking you, get rid of it. No man is an island, Mr. Callen; at one point or another, we have to let someone in."

Callen stared at her. "Hetty, can you explain what you mean, please?"

Hetty smiled at him. "Goodnight, Mr. Callen." And she picked up her handbag and walked off, leaving him alone and more than a little puzzled.

As he turned back to his desk, Callen noticed a slip of paper that hadn't been there before. Curious, he turned it over and saw two neatly written words in Hetty's elegant script.

Elysian Park.

NCIS: LA

Callen destroyed the slip of paper so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands, then spent the next few days trying to figure out why Hetty would write down a location and leave it on his desk for him. He didn't involve anyone else; somehow he felt that this was for him and him alone to figure out. He might have asked Hetty what she meant if he hadn't been so sure that she'd deny writing it.

It wasn't until almost a week later that he finally figured it out.

They were training in the gym, working on helping Rose fight her way out of a corner situation. The young agent was a good fighter, but she was nowhere near as proficient as Kensi, and Sam and Deeks were patiently teaching her to perfect her technique.

"Keep your elbows in," Sam advised as he stalked around the wrestling mat, watching Rose tussle with Deeks. "Don't bring your arms up too high; you'll need them to defend your lower body as well."

Rose aimed a punch at Deeks, who caught her fist on his arm and twisted it out of the way.

"Huh," Callen commented. "Deeks, you've gotten better."

"Being forced to train with Sam everyday tends to do that to you," Deeks returned, eyeing Sam with mock irritation. Rose promptly punched him in the nose.

"Keep your eyes on your opponent, Deeks," Sam told him. "Nice hit," he said to Rose. "Now you wanna follow it up."

Rose threw another punch, then swung her leg underneath to sweep Deeks off his feet.

"Ow," the LAPD liaison complained after landing on his back. "Sheesh, man, take it easy. You don't want to injure my face."

"Right, 'cause it's such an eyesore we don't want to make it worse," Rose agreed with a straight face.

"Hardy har har," Deeks retorted, getting to his feet. "This face is a charmer. It works great on the ladies."

"Oh, yeah?" said Rose. "Well, maybe you're right."

"I am?" Deeks was taken aback; he hadn't expected her to agree with him.

"Yeah," said Rose, smiling with mischief. "Your face would probably charm a girl well enough – until her good impression is ruined by the first words out of your mouth."

Callen and Sam chuckled at her quick wit. Deeks pretended to look outraged.

"Hey, guys," Eric called as he came in. "This just came for you." He tossed a lightweight envelope at Callen, who caught it expertly and studied it, perplexed.

It was an ordinary white envelope, with the address of OSP written on it in clear block letters. That in itself should have warned him – most people in LA thought the building was condemned, and wouldn't be sending letters to it. Callen turned it over. At the back, where the return address should be, were just two words: G Callen.

"What is it, G?" Sam asked, gathering around with Deeks and Rose.

"One way to find out." Callen tore off the top of the envelope and upturned it over his hand.

A silver disc attached to a black string came sliding out. Callen stared at it, a sense of horror growing in his stomach.

"The only time this disc will ever leave me is if I've been compromised."

"What? What's the matter? What is it?" Eric asked, trying to understand the grave looks passing between the four agents.

"Kensi," Deeks said.

"She's in trouble," Sam added. He looked at his partner. "G? What do you want to do?"

All at once Callen remembered the paper Hetty had given him. Elysian Park.

"It's the meeting point," he realized.

"G, what are you talking about?"

Callen didn't answer; he was having a personal revelation.

"Let yourself feel, Mr. Callen. Whatever it is that is blocking you, get rid of it."

How did she know?

Time enough to puzzle that out later, Callen decided.

"G, where are you going?" Sam shouted. Callen ignored him and ran out of the gym.

Elysian Park.

A/N: I've just realized that I haven't been putting disclaimers on my chapters. But honestly, if I was a writer for the show, do you think I would be posting this here?