Thanks to those of you who are still reading and supporting this and my other stories. I really appreciate it. Special thanks for the very nice guest reviews which I could not respond to personally and to French Fan who has been amazingly supportive with all my stories. Thanks so much.

xxxxx

When Callen returned to Dovecote after visiting the Hanna's house, there was no sign of Hetty so he assumed she was in bed. He went upstairs to his room and there, hanging up, was a black suit, dress shirt, tie and dress shoes. "Thank you, Hetty," he whispered. He had planned on having to go home early the following morning to dress. She had saved him that hassle and he was grateful that there would be one less stress the following day.

He got undressed and got into bed, shivering slightly as he burrowed under the covers. He was very tired, but his mind was going nonstop and he couldn't settle down to sleep. He thought about going down to the kitchen for some tea, but didn't really feel like doing that either. He couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow. He would be glad when it was over. He had never been a family member at a wake or funeral before. Of course, he'd gone to many of them in the past, but this was going to be very different. His nerves were very much on edge. He finally sat up in bed and searched for the remote control to the television, finally finding it in the top drawer of the nightstand. He then turned on the television set and began absently flicking through the channels. He finally stopped on ESPN and started watching sports highlights. They kept playing the same clips over again continuously, which eventually bored him into drowsiness, and finally, he fell asleep with the television set still playing in the background.

xxxxx

He awoke early, at about 7:30 and went downstairs where he found Hetty already up and having a cup of tea in the living room. "Good morning, Hetty," he said softly.

"Good morning, Mr. Callen. Did you manage to get some sleep?" she asked, observing him closely.

Callen nodded. "I slept okay. Thank you for bringing the suit. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Hetty said. "It wasn't a problem and I thought it would help you out not to have to worry about what you were going to wear today. How was your visit with Mr. Hanna last evening?"

"It was good," Callen said. "I'm glad he's back and that I finally told him…"

Hetty nodded. She knew it must have been good for Callen to finally unburden himself to his partner. She wished he had done it sooner, but she had to respect the decision he had made to wait to tell Sam. In any case, it didn't matter now. Sam knew and that was the important thing.

"Can I get you some breakfast?" she asked.

Callen quickly shook his head. "I don't think I could eat right now," he admitted. His stomach was a jumbled up mess of what felt like butterflies and bats bouncing around inside it. "I'll eat later on, at the restaurant."

"Well, surely a cup of tea before you get ready," Hetty coaxed.

"Alright," he agreed.

Hetty quickly got to her feet. "Sit down. I'll go find you something I think will be calming for you."

He didn't bother to tell her that he didn't need to be calmed. He knew she'd see right through it. He did as she directed and took a seat on the sofa. A few minutes later, Hetty returned and handed him a steaming cup of tea.

"Thank you," he said as he took it from her.

"What time are you planning on being at the funeral home?" she asked him.

"I'm meeting Alex there at 9:30," he said before taking a sip of the tea. "This is good."

"Is there anything I can do for you to make your morning any easier?" Hetty asked. "Is everything all set for the restaurant?"

"Everything's been taken care of, Hetty," he replied. "In any case, you've done enough, getting me the suit and letting me stay here."

"Oh, Mr. Callen…you know I've always wanted you to think of this as your own home. You are welcome here at any time. I would hope you would know that by now."

He looked down at the floor and then back at Hetty. "I do know that," he said softly, "and I appreciate it."

After that, the two sat in companionable silence as they drank their tea. When he was finished, Callen sighed softly and stood up. "Can I take your cup to the kitchen?"

Hetty shook her head. "I'll take care of it. Go and get yourself ready."

"Okay…thank you, Hetty," he said quietly. He then headed off to shower and dress.

xxxxx

When Callen was ready to leave, he took the life insurance information and headed back downstairs. Hetty was still in the living room and reached towards him to straighten his tie. "You look very handsome," she said with a reassuring smile. She could see how tense he was and wished there was something she could do to help him, but she knew he was just going to have to get through the day. "I'll see you there in a little while."

"Okay…I'll see you soon, Hetty," he forced a trace of a smile and headed out as Hetty watched him go. She couldn't help but wonder why things always seemed to go so badly for him. For him to have found his father and then have him be snatched away before he got all the answers he had been seeking, was a very cruel and sad twist of fate.

xxxxx

Callen reached the funeral home a bit earlier than expected and was there before Alex arrived. He left the life insurance information in the car, figuring he would show it to Alex at the restaurant after everything was over with. He then slowly made his way to the door. The funeral director greeted him and led him into the room where the wake and service would be taking place. He could see the casket set up to one side with a lot of flowers surrounding it. The funeral director left him alone and he stood there, just staring into the room. Finally, he forced himself to approach the casket. He had been keeping himself together relatively well, but when he reached the casket and saw his father, the tears began to flow almost immediately.

"So…this is how it ends," he said softly. "I…I imagined a lot of scenarios over the years, but this was never one of them." He found himself looking at the flower arrangements. One from him, one from Alex and Jake, Kensi and Deeks, Hetty, Eric and Nell, Gibbs, Abby, the NCIS corporate office…there was even one from Sam's family although he had no idea how Sam had gotten it there so quickly. Knowing his partner, Sam had hand delivered it there earlier that morning. There were other arrangements from unfamiliar people who he assumed were friends of Alex's.

"When I was growing up…I envied the kids with parents, stable homes, siblings and pets. I always wished…" he trailed off and just stared at his father. "Why couldn't things have been different between us? Wasn't I good enough? Why couldn't you have talked to me? Why couldn't you have just been my dad?" His voice broke then and he bowed his head just letting his tears fall.

"Grisha?"

He turned and saw Alex standing there, looking at him sympathetically. She went to him and hesitantly embraced him.

"Hi…" he said as he pulled back after a few moments and quickly wiped his tears away with his hand. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good…I mean…you know…" she shrugged.

"Yeah…I know…"

"It's different for me," she said softly. "I always had a mom…well until recently, but I grew up with her." She shook her head slowly. "I never had to go through what you did…I never searched for him…I never knew anything about him."

He didn't know what to say. "I…I just wanted more time. I really thought we'd be able to fix things, but…I guess it wasn't meant to be."

"I'm sorry, Grisha."

He nodded and walked away, letting her have her own private time with their father. He went into the hallway and took a few deep breaths, trying to settle his anxiety. He hated this…all of it. There was a tiny part of him that wanted to flee. Escape from what was happening and never look back. He knew he couldn't do it, but it didn't stop him from thinking about it.

He heard the door to the funeral home opening and quickly turned his head to see his partner walk inside. "Hey, G," Sam said, as he gave Callen a warm hug. "I know I'm early, but…I didn't know if you'd need a friend… I can go back outside to wait for a bit."

"No," Callen said quickly. "I…I'm glad you're here, Sam."

"You hanging in there?"

Callen shrugged. "I just keep thinking back to when we first found him and…I don't know, it gave me hope, I guess, but…" he shook his head and looked down at the carpet. "I should have known better…"

"I'm sorry, G…" Sam said quietly. "I'm very sorry that things didn't work out between you and your father the way you hoped they would."

Callen took a deep breath and let it out shakily. "I know you are. You've been through a lot of this journey with me and I appreciate it, more than you could ever know."

Sam just nodded and gave his partner a heartfelt look as he squeezed his shoulder supportively.

"I guess I should get back to Alex," Callen said. "People will be coming in soon."

Sam nodded. "Michelle and the kids are outside waiting. I'll see you in a few."

"The kids?" Callen asked, his eyes widening slightly. "They didn't have to come, Sam, especially Kam."

"They're not babies anymore," Sam said. "They wanted to come. They love you. They wanted to be here for you."

Callen nodded and his eyes began to well. Sam then embraced his partner once again. "I'm here for you, G…whatever you need, okay?"

"I know you're here for me…" Callen pulled back and gave his partner a hint of a smile. "You always have been."

He then watched as Sam went back outside before he headed into the room to stand with Alex.