Marco shook his head, the water droplets splaying everywhere as he grabbed a towel and dried his hair leaning his surfboard into the sand.

He'd been released from the center a month earlier and had decided to rent an apartment in Los Angeles.

He was still seeing Carter on a week by week basis. He loved the diversity that Los Angeles had to offer and had even found a part time job playing piano in a small restaurant in Venice. He'd had enough money saved during his time being Tony DiNozzo to be able to afford a modest seafront apartment. Marco was different to Tony in many ways, Where Tony was loud, Marco was quiet. Where Tony was a womanizer, Marco wasn't. In fact, since finding himself, Marco hadn't dated a single woman. Marco was friends with his boss, Pete Michaels, who was a friend of Carter's, having found out about Marco's love for music and his talent with the guitar and the piano had talked to his friend about the job in his restaurant.

Jethro came once a month for a long weekend, they talked for hours and then spent the time sailing and Jethro was surprised to see that Marco was training to take part in a triathlon and he gladly spent some of the time watching as his friend trained, sometimes swimming alongside him.

Marco had a taste for good food and was a pretty good cook.

For Marco, life couldn't get better, the one dark cloud in his life was the amount of guilt, he hung onto for bringing Callen into The Calling and for what he personally had done to him.

It was coming up to eight months since he had been sent to the center and had been, thanks to Director Vance and Gibbs, cleared of all charges after completing rehabilitation. But more than anything, he still wanted to be able to talk to Callen.

Gibbs had passed on the message that Callen had received Marco's request for a meeting, but had been considering it. Every time Marco asked all Gibbs could tell him was that Callen was on a case or out of the country.

It was the one black cloud on his shiny bright future.

Callen was tired when he got back to his house. He'd had a busy day and had finally wrapped up a case that had taken three days to finish. He'd spent the last two nights on the couch at OSP but knew now the case was finished he had to go home. He tried to avoid being alone as much as possible, but he was exhausted. Sam had left to go to his home ordering Callen to go home after he had tried to get him to go to a bar with him. Kensi and Deeks had driven off both refusing to join him and Hetty had a meeting with Granger.

Opening the door, not sure what to do with his bad mood he stopped as he heard a noise in his kitchen.

Pulling his service weapon he put his bag inside the door and closed it quietly. He heard his fridge door close and a beer bottle being opened.

"Put that away and come and sit down!" A man's voice floated through from the kitchen, "I got take out for you."

Callen sighed "Good I'm starving!" He called back and put the gun away, kicking off his shoes as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle from the side. He sat at the table as indicated by his guest and waited as a plate was placed in front of him.

"When did you get here?" He asked.

"A few days ago, used your spare key."

Callen took a mouthful of the Chinese food and swallowed nodding in thanks at his friend. "You visiting Marco?"

Gibbs shook his head, "Not this time, maybe later. I'm here for you." He told him.

Callen choked slightly on his drink and placed it on the table, "Me? Why?"

"Got a call from Hetty, she's worried about you."

"I'm fine." Callen said too quickly.

Gibbs nodded, not believing him.

"Honestly Jethro, It's just been a busy few days." He took another drink.

Gibbs sat down across from him, "Nice table." He said and started eating.

"Gift from a friend, she thought I needed a table."

"She?"

Callen smiled sadly, "We aren't together anymore."

"You broke up with Anna?" Gibbs was surprised.

Callen smiled, "Nope, this was Joelle," the smile dropped away, "She was a mark… I didn't mean to use her, but…" He stopped talking and looked intently at the bottle. "I hurt so many people, I should have told Vance earlier about The Calling and what I knew."

"Joelle was a mark?"

Callen nodded, "I knew The Calling were still looking into recruiting, I thought I could stop them on my own. When Sam set me up with Joelle, I saw it as a good way to keep my ear to the ground. She is a schoolteacher, I figured if they were recruiting again, she might tell me about kids in need, kids she thought they might target. I never loved her but she loved me and I used her." He told him his voice muted by the pain of his actions.

"And Anna?" Gibbs pushed.

Callen smiled, unable to help himself. "I love her. She knows who I am and everything about me."

"You see a future there?" Gibbs asked, putting his own bottle on the table.

"I hope so, but…" He sighed again.

"Hetty said you were alright, cleared to go back to work."

"I was, I am alright…. I… Just…" Callen shrugged.

"You feel like something from The Calling isn't finished?" Gibbs guessed.

"I don't want anything to do with it." Callen snapped.

Gibbs sat there and just looked at him, waiting.

Callen got up and started pacing the room. "It's over Gibbs, The Calling is gone, you know that and I know that. I've talked to those shrinks. I'm good."

"Yet you haven't moved on with your life."

"I have!" Callen argued, "I am working! Life goes on Gibbs, it always goes on and I always move on."

Gibbs stood up and walked over to his friend. "You're hurting Callen, Hetty has seen it for months. She's worried about you, she doesn't know what you haven't told the exit counselors, but she is worried."

"I told them everything." Callen lied.

"Marco told them everything, he's moved on. He's a piano player in a restaurant in Venice. He has a new life and new friends. He still wants to see you."

"I can't…" Callen turned and took his plate to the kitchen sink, his mind wandering back to the times he had, as a child stood there as Mrs Rostoff had told him how washing dishes helped her relax and how he could always let the water take his troubles as he did the work. He had always thought it was impossible, but with his hands in the soapy water, he did feel his inner turmoil subsiding slightly.

Gibbs switched on the coffee machine as he watched Callen busy himself in the kitchen, his gut telling him to wait it out.

Callen wanted to tell Gibbs, but he felt that if he came out and said it, he would seem like a whiny child.

He wasn't, he was a man and he'd work through it the same way he always did.

Alone.

Gibbs leaned back in his chair, "You don't need to, you know." He said, even though his voice was quiet it reverberated around the room.

Callen jumped, feeling caught as he heard the words.

"I don't need to what?" He asked.

"Work on whatever is bothering you alone." Gibbs looked at him with a mixture of resignation and sadness.

"Nothing… Nothing is bothering me." Callen snapped.

"Grisha." Gibbs stood up and walked towards him, "You trust me right?"

"Of course Gibbs. I trust you, but I can't tell you what I don't know."

Gibbs grabbed himself and Callen a cup of coffee and then gesturing to the porch at the back of the house he took his cup and went and sat down.

Within a few minutes Callen joined him.

"Marco." Gibbs said and watched as Callen bristled. He gave a sly smile and waited.

"What about him?" Callen asked guardedly.

"You haven't been to see him yet."

Callen took a gulp of his coffee wincing as the hot liquid scalded his throat.

"You need the closure as much as he does." Gibbs said, "He's moved on with his life."

"Good for him!" Callen snapped.

Gibbs ignored him and tried again, "He's moved on with his life, the only thing holding him back is you."

"Me?!" Callen finally turned and looked at Gibbs stunned. "Why?"

"He feels guilty for bringing you into all of this, he needs to talk to you and I think you need to talk to him."

For a moment he felt trapped, he stood up and started pacing again as Hetty's words from a few days ago came flooding back to him.

"You need to talk to someone Grisha, if it isn't me find someone. I can see you're hurting and it's going to eat at you if you don't trust anyone."

He had turned, his heart breaking at her words. He trusted her and the fact that she had thought he didn't trust her hurt. But this was too big, he couldn't… could he?

He closed his eyes to the pain he was feeling and sank down onto the porch his elbows resting on his knees and his eyes focusing intently on the coffee mug held between them.

"I would never have found them if it wasn't for Marco." He said softly. "I looked up to him."

"Tell me about it." Gibbs said.

For a moment Callen shook his head, then with a wry smile as he imagined Hetty shaking her head at him in disappointment, he started talking.

"I was in a bad place when Marco found me, I had been running from a… Well, a not so nice foster placement and I was on the streets and injured. I had just stolen some food and was being chased by a beat cop when Marco helped me. He sent the cop in the opposite direction to the place I was hiding. He took me to Alexei's home and I say Danny there. Danny had been missing a while, but he wasn't hurt. They were treating him well. I was there for a while, I started to relax. I started to feel… I started to trust. I had spent so long keeping me safe, but I wanted what Marco had. A man whom he called father, someone who cared, a home." Callen blinked holding back the emotions that were inside him. "They made me believe that families were real, that I could be a part of a family. It was a lie Gibbs. It was all a lie!" He stood up and paced again, tipping the last of the coffee from his mug onto the grass and putting the mug down. "I was stupid!" Callen snapped. "I can't… What the hell am I supposed to say to him? I'm sorry you had your life screwed over, I'm sorry you trusted The Calling, I'm sorry you screwed over my life! I'm sorry I trusted you, I'm sorry I grew up wanting to be like you! I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry… Ok Gibbs, I can't…." He collapsed as all the angst and pain he was feeling came out of him.

Within moments Gibbs sat behind him and pulled him into his arms.

Callen jumped at the contact, but Gibbs held on tighter, "It's ok Grisha, it's ok to feel hurt by this."

Callen pulled away, "No… No, it's not. I made the mistake, it's all on me. I shouldn't have… Listen Gibbs I can't talk to Marco and tell him I've forgiven him, I haven't and I'm not sure I will. I'm not even sure who I am more mad at him or me?"

"You?" Gibbs looked confused.

"I should have known better."