Till Death Do Us Part

Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine.

Chapter 20

Santa Barbara

The night with Callen and Alex had been more awkward than Sam had expected and he knew that something was bothering both of them —-no matter how much they tried to hide it. He knew his partner too well and called him on it.

"I know that something is bothering you, G. You and Alex, is everything okay?" They had been fine the weekend before, but with their history, he couldn't help worrying.

"I can't talk to you about it, Sam." Callen took in a ragged breath, trying hard to rein in his emotions. But it was no good. He'd had a sleepless night and he worried about Alex and their baby. The stress wasn't good and he'd heard her mumble and toss in her sleep, her nightmares had returned.

"Is there something wrong with the baby?" Although Alex appeared fine when he'd arrived, he asked anyway.

Callen shook his head and then it dawned on him. "The envelope. The information Nell asked me to bring up. What was in it, G?"

"I can't tell you, Sam. It's highly confidential."

"It's no good, G. You need to talk to somebody about it. You might as well tell him. He's your partner after all." Alex sat down beside him and snuggled in close. The shadows under eyes had returned and she felt so tired. Eight weeks, that was all she had to endure until their son arrived. But now she worried she wouldn't make it. Callen wrapped his arms around her, relaxing Sam's fears a bit, but still he worried about them.

"You sure?"

Alex nodded.

He looked to Sam and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. He took in a deep breath and tried again. He rubbed his hand over his face and kissed Alex on the temple. He loved her and he needed to show her that he still loved her, no matter who her birth mother was. The fact that she was dead and Alex had been raised by the Holdens, provided him the reassurance that they would get through this.

"We know why Hetty tried to keep us apart."

Sam leaned forward in his chair, waiting quietly for Callen to continue.

"Nell found proof that Alex was adopted. The problem lies with who her real mother was."

"Who was she?"

Callen stood and ran upstairs to find the file and brought it down to show Sam. It was easier this way. He showed Sam the birth certificate and the family photo. "Their names are on the back," he told Sam, although he could read the names of her real parents on the birth certificate.

Sam studied the documents and the photo. He looked up at Alex and back at the photo. "Are you sure this is you?" He couldn't believe it. He'd gone with Callen to rescue Hetty from the Comescu beach house back in 2011. Together with Deeks and Kensi, they'd killed some of them and those who worked for them. Hunter killed Alexa Comescu, later in Hawaii, Callen killed Dracul, and two years ago, Sam killed more of them to save his partner from them. And yet, here was one of them, married to his partner for sixteen years with two children, with no knowledge that she was one of them and that she should hate her husband. Her mother's murder had changed the course of history, now she carried his name, Callen, and bore his children. It was a great deal to get his head around and he understood why Callen and Alex were struggling with the news.

"So your parents never told you that you were adopted?"

"No. When I turned eighteen they gave me an album, but I never noticed the envelope in the back with my adoption papers and birth certificate until yesterday. After looking at that photo, I recognised myself. I pulled the album out and realised there were no baby photos of me in there. Now I know why."

"Do we know what happened to your parents? We know what happened to your sister, Elena."

"G told me. I would like to meet her. She is my blood." She saw the hesitation in Callen's eyes, the worry of what the reunion might do to them.

"What about the other Comescus?" Sam needed to get this out in the open, how Alex felt about them.

"No. After what I read in the file, there's no way I want anything to do with them."

"Your parents?"

"If they're still alive, I have no idea. But how did I end up being adopted, if they're still alive?"

"You think something happened to them?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it? Somehow, I ended up a Holden, with my parents raising me as if I was their child, not someone else's."

"Your father used to work in the FBI. Perhaps it was from a case he'd worked on." Callen's mind sped through a whole lot of ideas of what had happened, and how Alex came to being their daughter. Like Alex, he too came to the conclusion, that both of her parents had been killed.

"That's what I thought too. I need to speak with him." A sudden pain surged through Alex's belly, causing her to flinch. She took in a deep breath and slowly released it.

"Ally?"

"We better get her to the hospital, G. The baby's coming early." Sam knew the signs, he'd been through it twice before. Not that his kids came eight weeks early, but he knew the signs of a pregnant woman in labour.

Callen helped Alex off the sofa and ran for the bag. Fortunately, Alex had it prepared early. "I better call the Shepherds and let them know what's happening, incase we can't pick Katie up tomorrow." He dialled the home phone and spoke to Nick, Yasmin's father, remembering their alias names. "They'll keep Katie with them until we can pick her up. So we don't need to worry about her."

"Can they be trusted, G?" Sam worried for Katie's safety.

"Nick's a cop. She couldn't be in safer hands."

Sam nodded, relieved that of all places, Katie was staying in a cop's family home. He also saw the relief in Callen and Alex's expressions over where Katie was.

It only took Callen five minutes to drive to the local hospital and Alex was taken in immediately. She knew the small hospital well, having been there for her obstetrician visits throughout her pregnancy. Sam waited in the waiting room, thankful that this time no one had been shot. He had too many memories of waiting in a similar waiting room, to hear if his partner had lived or died from his injuries.

A heart monitor was strapped to Alex's belly and an ultrasound unit was rolled into the room. "Let's take a look at this baby of yours." The attending doctor examined her and saw that she was already seven centimetres dilated. "This one's coming fast. We need to get her into the birthing suite immediately. Call her obstetrician and get her in here stat." He turned to another midwife, who was monitoring the baby's heart beat. "We need one of our top paediatricians in to monitor the baby once it's born, to ensure it's breathing on it's own." The doctor was well aware how imperative it was to get the best staff in there for this baby, to ensure it survived, seeing it was eight weeks early. Just to be on the safe side. He'd delivered many premature babies and the hospital boasted it's neonatal and paediatric units of excellence. But they still couldn't relax and allow anything to go wrong.

Alex held on to Callen's hand, breathing through each contraction. Callen was amazed at Alex's strength, not shouting out or anything. Instead she breathed through each one. He held his other hand over her belly and felt the tightening with each contraction. It was such an amazing event for him. He'd never been through child birth before, other than his own, and thankfully, he had no memory of it. But this was more incredible than he'd read in the books. He continued to watch Alex in awe as her body prepared for delivery and she continued to breath and not push, as the doctor instructed. The doors opened and closed and a woman entered with a trolley. She stood back and watched and Callen realised what the trolley was. It was a small bed for a baby, with equipment and tubes sitting underneath, just in case. The paediatrician, he realised. She was waiting to take their son and check him out, once he'd made his way into the world. Samuel was coming to meet them sooner than either of them had expected. Worry and excitement intermingled within him. He kissed Ally on her temple and whispered words of encouragement and love.

A woman in her forties entered and a smile crept over her face. "Someone's eager to meet his parents." Karen Elliot walked over and took over from Dr Turner. "Hi Kelly, Tom. Are you ready to meet your son?"

They nodded, knowing it was going to happen whether they were ready or not.

"Tom, could you hold Kelly from behind her shoulders to support her. On the next contraction, Kelly, I want you to push and help your son." Alex nodded, concentrating on Karen and no one else in the room.

It was good to push, Alex knew this feeling. When it got to this point in the labour, it was all that you wanted to do, but she knew it was important to listen to when it was time and breathe through the contractions before then. There was no use in exhausting herself more than she had to.

Los Angeles — nine hours later

Adam Green couldn't believe it. He bumped into an old contact from his time in Donetsk, in a club on Saturday night. "Sasha. What are you doing in L.A.?"

"Hello, Adam. Roman wants to know what happened to you. It's taken me a while to find you. We have a problem." Sasha gulped down the brown liquid, burning in his throat.

"I've had problems of my own to deal with. My boss moved me to L.A. They keep telling me it's temporary, but I've been here for over a year now." Green sat beside the Ukrainian national and ordered the same whiskey as his contact. "What kind of problem?"

"That woman you told Roman was a spy for your government."

"Alexandra Holden. Yeah, what about her?"

"No one knows what happened to her or the men who traded her with some microchips."

"She's still alive?" All this time, Green was reassured that Alex was dead, no longer a problem to reveal his secrets.

"Not sure. The men who took her, they were Russian arms dealers, but they too have vanished from the face of the earth. None of Roman's contacts can find them."

"Why is Roman searching for them? Surely if they are who you say they are, and they have the woman, what's it to us?"

"The microchips were infected with a virus. All the weapons you gave us, are useless."

The reality of the situation hit Green like a ton of bricks. "You think these arms dealers were spies too?"

"Yes. We think they rescued the woman. Someone went to Washington to find her. Not even Katya, the woman she was travelling with, has seen her since. Her daughter is no longer at the school where Katya's son goes to either. Our searches have come up empty."

Green rubbed his face with his hand and pondered over everything that Sasha told him. He thought about the timing of his transfer, three weeks after he'd last seen Alex. The fact that no one has ever told him who he was filling in for, raised his curiosity. "Do you have photos of these men?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Sash handed over the images Roman had printed out from their security cameras as a precaution. But the men were ghosts. Just like the woman.

"No. This can't be…"

"What is it? You know these men?"

"Yes. They are both Federal Agents for NCIS. They used to work with the woman." He bashed his fist hard on the bar and cringed when pain shot up his arm. "You better leave. I have a feeling I'm being watched."

Sasha looked around, but as far as he could see, no one appeared to be watching them. He thought Green was paranoid, but the fact that he knew these men, he decided to capitulate and he stood to leave. "Take care, Adam. Roman has a position for you if you can't stay here."

Green gulped down another tumbler of whiskey as anger surged through him. Owen Granger's interrogations made sense to him now. He was being played with. That bastard. I'll show him what happens to those who mess with me. He stood to leave, but he was trapped. Marty Deeks and Kensi Blye stood in front of him.

"Green. Fancy bumping into you here. Who was your friend?" Deeks studied the man. An urgent call from Owen Granger came through, ordering them to follow Green closely. They were happy to do so after his breaking into Nell's apartment the night before.

"Dunno, just met him," Green shrugged.

"You sure? Cause from where we were standing, he looked like he knew you pretty well." Deeks moved closer to block his path. "You're coming with us, so what's it going to be? Handcuffs or are you going to behave?"

"You think you're better than me? You all go around acting as if you're high and mighty. Well I've got news for you. You aren't the boss of me, get out of my face." Green shoved Deeks away, but before he could get out of there, Kensi pushed him to the ground and wrestled him until she had both of his hands in cuffs.

Deeks hauled him up onto his feet. "Time for us to have a little chat, Green. About a lot of things."

Kensi and Deeks led Green out of the club and shoved him into the rear seat of the SUV. They drove to the boat shed, meandering around, just incase Green's friend tried to follow them.