Callen thought about it. He wanted to get to know his father but he was afraid that he was maybe here to hurt him or his family. He couldn't let anything happen to Kayla and the kids.
"I guess we could maybe try."
"Great."
"But if you do anything to harm me or my family, we are over, maybe I'll even kill you."
Nikita was taken a bit aback by his son's words, but he was expecting something like this.
"Don't worry son, I'm not here to hurt you or your family, I promise. I just want to be part of my son's life and get to know him. I promise you I'm not here to hurt you or your family. I would never do that."
Callen felt like he was telling the truth but for now he kept his guard up. He would keep him away from Kayla and the kids for a while. Until he was 200% sure he wouldn't introduce him to Kayla and the kids. But that was far, far away in the future.
"So, can you tell me something about yourself?" Nikita asked.
"Well, I've been a federal agent for a while. I've worked for a few agencies before I joined the one I'm working with now."
"And that is?"
"It's classified. I can't tell you. This is actually the longest I've stayed in one place, since I started working here. With the previous agencies I moved around a lot, went from mission to mission. I didn't mind going on long undercover mission. I was good at that. I had no family or friends tying me down so I was the perfect agent for undercover work."
Nikita felt bad for his son, he didn't have anyone growing up.
"I preferred to work alone. I was better that way and I didn't trust anyone. For the first few years I worked here I didn't have a partner either. About a year after I came to work here I got a partner. He is one of the few people I trust. I work in a good team now and I trust the people I work with."
"That's good. I'm sorry you had to grow up like that son. I wish I had been there for you."
"What's done is done. I'm in a good place now."
"Yes I can see that. You have a very lovely wife." Callen looked at him with a bit of an angry look. "Don't worry son, I'm not gonna hurt her. You have my word. I just want to get to know my son and the important people in his life. I'm not gonna hurt any of them, I promise. I just want to get to know my son and be a part of his life. Do you want to tell me more about your wife?"
"Maybe later."
"That's okay. You can tell me more about you. Like when you were a kid."
"There's not much to tell. I grew up in 37 different foster homes. Some I stayed for a few days, other a few weeks and at some a few months. The longest I stayed with someone was 4 months. I liked them. They were a Russian family. They taught me to speak Russian."
"You speak Russian?"
"Yes I do, one of many languages I speak."
"That's good." Nikita was glad Callen had gotten some Russian in his upbringing. "What are the other languages you can speak?"
"Uhm, Romanian, Spanish, Hebrew, French, Turkish, Polish, German, Italian, Czech, a bit of Arabic, Farsi."
"That's quite a list."
"It comes in handy with what I do."
"Yeah I can imagine. Care to tell me more about that Russian family?"
"There last name was Rostoff. They had a little girl of their own, her name was Alina. I like her. I used to call her 'моя маленькая сестренка."
"My little sister."
"Yes, I liked her. It was one of the few homes I actually enjoyed. That's why I stayed with them the longest."
"I'm so sorry son for what you had to go through. It hurts me that you didn't know anything about your family. Not even your name. How did that happen?"
"I didn't speak much when I got to the orphanage. I didn't understand a lot of English. All they had of my name was G. Callen, which stood on my bag. So they put me in the system as G. Callen. Over the years I forgot my name. I didn't speak much so they didn't really bother paying interest in me and I didn't trust them. I wasn't an easy kid. For years I didn't speak. It wasn't until I was at a family when I was 7 I started to speak. They were nice and they taught me English. I stayed there for a few weeks. They had gotten me a few books so I could learn English. I could take them with me to the next home or to the orphanage. They would have kept me longer but she got sick so they sent me back."
"How did you lose all your memories?"
"I guess I was traumatized a bit. I was only 4 at the time and I didn't speak for years so I didn't talk to anyone about it and I guess in time I just forgot."
"What about your sister? Wasn't she there with you?"
"No, I can't remember that she was. They must have placed us in different orphanages. I didn't remember anything. Over the last few years I've gotten to know a bit, but just bits and pieces here and there."
"I'd be happy to help you complete the puzzle."
"You said my name was Gavyn?"
"Yes it is. Gavyn Callen. We decided to give you the last name of Clara. We were planning on going to America once it was all over with the Comescu's so we decided to give you Clara's name. That would have been easier in America."
"Did you and mom ever get married?"
"No we didn't. We didn't want to risk someone finding out where we were. In our eyes we were married, just not according to the law."
"I wish I remember more about her. I don't remember much. They only thing I remember about her is when we were at the beach and they shot her. I only have one picture of her."
"I should have some pictures albums around here."
Nikita looked through his things and pulled out a couple albums. He sat next to Callen on the couch and picked up the first album.
"This is when you were just born. The quality could be better though, we used a Polaroid." Nikita opened the album. "Here you were just a few minutes old."
Callen looked at the picture. He was so small and he was lying on his mother's chest. He looked at some of the other pictures on the page. He was being held by his mother and his sister was right next to them.
"Your sister was so excited about becoming a big sister. She loved you. She desperately wanted to hold you but we said she was too young but she wouldn't stop asking so eventually we let her hold you. We were so happy to have you and your sister."
Callen looked through the book. There were a lot of pictures when he was little, together with his mom or dad or with his sister. Callen couldn't believe it. He finally had some pictures of himself and with his family.
"You can take them with you son, so you can look at them on your own."
"Thank you. I don't really have a lot of pictures of me growing up. Just a few Reinhardt had of me."
"He took pictures of you?"
"Yes he did. I think he was taking them for you, so when you would come back you would have pictures of me from the time you had missed."
"That's nice son. I would love to see those."
"I will bring them by."
"Great."
Callen looked at his watch. "I should be going."
"Will you stop by tomorrow?" Nikita asked, eager to see his son again.
"I'll see. I don't know if I can with work. Maybe it's better if I didn't so I can process this all first."
"That's fine son. I'll be here waiting for you, whenever you come back again."
"Thank you for telling me all this and giving me the picture albums."
"It's my pleasure. They are yours."
"Thanks. I'll see you later."
"See you."
Nikita looked as his son walked off. He really hoped that Callen would be back. He was glad that he was at least trying. He knew this wasn't going to be easy for Callen. He just hoped he would be able to have a relationship with his son. He would do whatever it took to let his son know that he wasn't here to hurt him or his family. He was glad that his son had a stable home now, with a family. He wanted nothing more for his son than for him to be happy.
…
Callen walked back into the house, carrying the picture albums Nikita gave him.
"Hey honey," Callen called.
"Hey honey," Kayla replied from the kitchen.
Callen gave his kids a kiss and walked into the kitchen, putting the picture albums on the table.
"What have you got there?"
"These are pictures albums from me when I was a kid, pictures with me, my mom and dad and my sister."
"Did Nikita give these to you?"
"Yes he did. He wanted me to have them, to look through them."
"That's nice. It really does seem like he just wants to get to know you and that he's not here to hurt you."
"I know, but I still don't trust him completely."
"I know honey. But I really think he's not here to hurt us."
"I can't take that chance yet. I'm just gonna take it day by day."
"That's fine. Could you set the table please?"
"Sure." Callen gave his wife a quick kiss and went to set the table.
Once the kids were in bed Callen sat on the couch and looked through the picture albums. Once Kayla was done with the laundry she joined Callen on the couch.
"You look so cute as a baby. Mike really looks a lot like you."
"Yeah I noticed that too."
"It's nice that you have these pictures now. You didn't have any picture of you and your family."
"Yeah I know. It's great to see them," Callen spoke as tears were about to fall out of his eyes.
Kayla crawled close to him and lay her head down on his shoulder after giving him a kiss on his cheek.
"Did you learn a lot today about your past?"
"Yes, Nikita told me a lot. He told me how he and mom met and what happened before Amy and I were born and what happened after that, including when mom died, how he got us to America and how he spent the years in the camp. He asked me about my youth, after I arrived in America. I didn't tell him all about the bad homes, just a bit about the good homes. He also asked about you, but I told him I didn't want to go into that just yet. I won't talk about that until I really trust him."
"I understand that honey. I hope one day we'll be able to meet him."
"I want that too, but not until I completely trust him. I don't want to put you and the kids at risk."
They sat there on the couch for a while, looking at the pictures in the album. There were so many cute pictures of baby Callen. Also some pictures of Callen with his sister or with his parents. Mike was the spitting image of Callen as a baby. Tears streamed down Callen's face as he looked at the pictures, especially the pictures of him and his parents.
Kayla wiped the tears away and gave him a kiss. She was glad her husband was finally getting some answers about his past. And he had a name! Gavyn Callen was his name. Kayla really hoped Nikita wasn't here to hurt him or his family. Callen couldn't deal with that if that were to happen. He needed his father in his life and he needed to be able to build a relationship with him without having to worry about his family. She really felt like Nikita had good intentions and just wanted to get to know his son and be a part of his life but she understood why Callen kept him at arm's length for the moment.
…
"What's going on with Callen?" Kensi asked Sam. "He hasn't been in for a few days and neither has Kayla. Is everything okay?"
It wasn't his place to tell about Nikita. "He's just taking some time off."
"Is everything okay? Did something happen to Kayla or the babies?"
"Everything is fine Kens, don't worry. He's just sorting through some stuff. He'll tell you when he's ready. But don't worry he's fine and I've got his back."
"Okay." Kensi let it rest for now but she knew something was going on with Callen.
Sam knew what was going on with his partner but he promised not to tell anyone else, it wasn't his place to tell. He just hoped his partner was okay. This was a huge deal for Callen. He hoped his partner was talking to his wife about this. He knew how Callen got with things like this.
Deeks and Kensi had thought about telling the others that they were having a baby but they wanted to wait until everyone was here. They did tell Hetty already so she wouldn't send Kensi out into the field. Luckily they hadn't gotten any big cases over the last few days so Callen wasn't missing out on anything.
…
It was been 2 weeks since Callen had find out about his father. He was taking things slow. He treasured the picture albums he got from Nikita. It was nice to see pictures of him as a baby and him with his family. Callen was learning to deal with everything that had happened over the last 2 weeks. Today he was coming back to work. He was glad that Hetty gave him some time off to deal with all this.
"Morning," Callen spoke as he and Kayla walked into the bullpen.
"Morning," Kensi and Deeks replied.
"Morning partner, good to have you back," Sam replied.
"Everything okay Callen?" Kensi asked.
"Yes everything is fine."
"You were away for a while."
"Just some personal things I had to take care off."
"You found out more about your past?" That was the only thing Kensi could think off.
Callen thought about what to tell her. He trusted her but he wasn't sure if he should tell her all this. "Actually yes, my father."
"You found your father?" Deeks asked astonished.
"Well he found me to be exact."
"Your dad is here in LA?" Kensi asked surprised.
"Yes he is. He showed up at my door about 2 weeks ago."
"Wow, that's something. What now?"
"I don't know yet. I want to get to know him but I'm still not sure if I can trust him. So I'm just taking things slow. I won't let him near Kayla or the kids until I really trust him."
"I understand. Wow I can't believe it. How did he find you?"
"Through Arkady, turns out Arkady brought me and my sister to America. Arkady knew Nikita apparently but he never knew he was my father. Arkady arranged that Michael Reinhardt could take me and my sister to America."
"Reinhardt, that's the guy pretending to be your father right?" Deeks asked.
"Yes that's him. My father sent me and my sister with him to America because it was not safe for us to stay with him, it was just after my mother had been shot."
"I hope you can finally get the answers you're looking for," Kensi spoke.
"Well I have one already. Apparently my name is Gavyn."
"Gavyn, sounds nice."
"How are things here?" Callen asked, changing the subject.
"Good, quiet. You didn't miss much," Sam answered.
"Good."
"Well now that you're all here again, Marty and I have something to share with you." Kensi started. "We are having another baby."
"Oh my god, that's great," Kayla exclaimed and she went to hug Kensi. "Congratulations. How far are you?"
"Thank you. Just 12 weeks."
"That's great. How's Donna with it?"
"She loved becoming a big sister. She's so excited about it."
"That's great."
The rest of the team congratulated them too but Eric's whistle broke up the party.
"Sorry guys but we caught a case."
The team followed Eric upstairs and he and Nell briefed the team before they went out. Since both Kayla and Kensi couldn't go out into the field Nell went with Deeks. Kayla and Kensi helped Eric out with finding information about the case.
Kensi had a doctor's appointment after work so she hoped the case wouldn't last too long, she wanted Deeks to go with her.
Luckily the case was wrapped up before Kensi had to go to the doctor. Deeks and Kensi grabbed their stuff and went to the doctor's office. Kensi got undressed once they were in the exam room and put on a hospital gown before lying on the bed. The doctor inserted the wand into her vagina after turning on the machine. Kensi and Deeks immediately saw their little baby on the screen. They both had to smile.
"Is everything okay doctor?" Kensi asked.
"Yes the baby looks very fine and it's growing very well. How have you been feeling?"
"Can't complain so far, little bit nauseous but it's okay for now."
"That's good."
The doctor gave them a picture before they left the office. Kensi made an appointment for in 3 weeks on their way out.
"I'm glad everything is alright with you two," Deeks spoke as they walked to the car.
"Yeah me too."
Kensi put the ultrasound picture in the baby book she had started. It was the first picture they had of their little baby.
"I was wondering Marty, do you wanna know what we're having?"
"I don't know. Do you?"
"I don't think so. We didn't know with Donna and that was actually nice to keep it a surprise."
"That's fine by me. I don't really care, as long as the baby is healthy I'm happy either way."
"Yeah me too."
Deeks went to put Donna in bed just after 7pm. Kensi was upstairs looking at the room for the new baby. Deeks walked into the room where Kensi was after putting Donna to bed.
"I think this should be the baby room honey," Kensi spoke. "We can put the crib right here and a rocking chair in the corner. And on this side the closet and the changing table."
"I think that would be very nice. Maybe we can go shopping this weekend. It may be a bit soon but there's nothing wrong with having the baby room ready."
"Yes, and we don't know what comes up at work so we might as well do it when we have time."
"Yes I agree. I'm really happy to have another baby with you," Deeks spoke as he slipped his arms around her waist.
"Me too," Kensi replied with a smile.
Deeks gave her a kiss. "I love you Kensilina."
"And I love you Marty."
...
After the kids were in bed Callen went to see his father. Callen was starting to trust his father a little bit but not enough to let his guard down or to introduce him to Kayla and the kids. Callen brought the pictures he had found in Reinhardt's closet.
"This is from when I was at the Rostoff's. This is the little girl I told you about. I was 14 here."
"You look happy here."
"It was the best home I ever stayed in. I stayed there for a few months. This one is taken a few years earlier. I was 10 here. I was staying in Bakersfield."
"You played baseball?"
"Yeah I played some at school. The woman was actually nice. I helped her with her gardening."
"What about him?"
"Not so much. He used to beat me with a broom handle."
"I'm sorry. Is that why they moved you?"
"No, they moved me because on day I took the broom out of his hand and broke it on his head."
Nikita felt bad that his son had to go through abuse but he was at least glad his son stood up for himself.
"I also played some football at school, well a different school. It was when I was staying with the Rostoff's. This is the youngest picture I have of me. I guess this one was taken just after I arrived in America."
"I can't believe Reinhardt kept all these pictures of you."
"I guess he was saving them for when you came looking for me. He was keeping an eye on me."
"Yeah I guess. I'm really sorry you had to go through some abuse while you were in the system. I wish I could change it. I'm just glad you had some nice homes too. Why don't you tell me more about your time with the Rostoff's."
"I was 14 when I was there. The little girl was about 6 I think. They were really sweet and caring. They didn't treat me like I was a foster kid, they treated me like I was one of their own. I really liked both of them. They had nice house, not too big but I had my own room there. Alina was happy to have a big brother around. We got along great. I actually lived in their house again for a few years a couple years back. Alina had taken over the house after her parents passed away and about 6 months after she died I bought the house. Well Hetty bought it for me."
"I'm sorry to hear that she died. Did you keep in touch with her?"
"No not really. I didn't see her until 2009. I kept seeing her around my old place. I could tell she was trying to make contact to me but I kept her at distance. I didn't know who she was or if I could trust her. It was May 5th 2009 when I saw her last. My partner just dropped me off after work and I walked to the room I was renting. I stopped on the corner and I saw her. She smiled at me. The next thing I knew I was lying on the pavement, bleeding and I heard my partner's voice in the distance."
"What happened?"
"I was shot."
"Did she shoot you?"
"No she was there to warn me apparently. Someone I worked with previously crossed over to the other side and wanted to kill everyone. Arkady was in that unit too, he had sent Alina to warn me but I kept her at arm's length. When I saw her next it was about 6 months later. She was dead. She didn't know I was alive and she wanted to revenge my death so she worked with Arkady on finding the guy that had attempted to kill us. She found him but he found out about her and he killed her. I found the guy a little later and put him away. I went to her place and it still looked exactly the same as it did when I lived there. The door in the bedroom was still even there, I carved my name into that and the year. I didn't feel like I needed a house but Hetty thought it would be good for me so I bought it little less than a year later. I lived there until a few years back."
"It's nice to hear that you at least had some very nice foster homes. I'm glad you have a family now." Callen looked at him as Nikita said that. "Don't worry son, I'm not gonna hurt them, I promise."
"I'm glad I have them, I didn't think I would ever have that. I don't really let people in easily."
"I really hope one day you will me in and I can be a part of your life."
"Maybe, we'll see."
Callen said goodbye to Nikita and went back home. He woke up in the middle of the night when his phone rang. He saw it was Nikita. Wondering what he could be calling about Callen stepped outside so he wouldn't wake up Kayla.
"Hello," Callen answered.
"Son, you've gotta help me. There are some people after me," Nikita spoke.