A/N: Two chapters in one day, again :D Lucky you! (I didn't mean for the name to sound the same as Mike from Burn Notice. I am changing his name. Woops :P)
Callen checked the text Sam had sent him; Found a bullet casing, came from a sniper using 7mm Remington Magnum rounds. Running ballistics soon.
Keep me updated he sent back and put his phone away. He'd followed Emily to the beach, to keep an eye on her he swore. When she'd called him up he'd been surprised. He hadn't expected her to call within two hours. But he agreed to meet her.
He thought about what she might say to him. We're done. I don't want to see you again. I can't trust you. What else have you lied about? The phrases kept coming and his frown deepened with each thought. This was completely new territory to him. He had no idea what to expect, how to respond, anything.
Running his hands over his face he sighed and leaned back against the bench. He'd walked to the beach with her and had kept her at a distance. He told himself that he wasn't staying close because that's what he liked, but to keep an eye out for danger. They still had no idea who or what they were up against and who this person was after.
He checked his watch. He had five minutes to go before he was supposed to arrive. It seemed like it was going to take forever and usually calm and collected G. Callen, NCIS special agent, found himself shuffling his weight from one foot to the other and back again. What is wrong with me? He thought as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.
The name appeared on his screen, stared at him, no glared, but he didn't want to call her. Sam? Kensi? Deeks? Eric? Nell? He couldn't call any of them, they didn't understand him as well as she did. Sparing Emily a glance on the beach, he dialled the number and waited. "Is there a problem Mr Callen?"
He opened his mouth, trying to summon the words forward and settled for a small, "What do I say?" Mentally he kicked himself. She wouldn't know what he was talking about.
"The truth. Apologise, tell her the truth and ask her where you stand. Sometimes, the truth can be better then another lie."
"But Hetty-"
"Ask yourself this question Mr Callen; how much do you trust her?"
That was it. The line was dead and he was left alone against the beach wall, staring at the sea. How much did he trust her? He still wasn't a hundred percent sure, didn't know if he could answer that yet, but- He did trust her. At least somewhat.
Sucking it up, he stepped onto the beach and didn't stop until he was stood next to Emily. "Can I sit down?" She nodded without glancing up and he sat, knees bent and arms resting against his legs next to her. There was a moment of silence and he felt himself filling it, "Look, I understand if you're mad at me, if you can't trust me, but I-"
"Stop." Now she turned to him, finally connected her eyes with him and he saw a sign of understanding? In them. Content? Again, he found himself struggling to read her. "Callen," she stopped, ducked her head with a sigh and lifted it again. "I get it. Maybe. I'm not too sure, but what I am sure of, is- is that," again, she paused and he held his breath as he waited. She connected her gaze with his and held and this time, he could see the seriousness in her expression, the contentness with what she was about to say. "I don't want you to go."
He exhaled with relief and it was a moment or two before he was able to reply. "I, I don't want to lose you either."
"But-" she began. "I want to know if everything else was the truth."
Now she was scrutinising him, examining his expressions and he nodded firmly. "Everything else I've said has pretty much been the truth. I promise." Emily nodded at him now and turned her gaze away from him. There were a few silent minutes when Callen asked, "Where do I stand?"
This made her turn back to him, eyes uncertain. "I don't know. At least not yet."
He nodded and let his gaze settle on the horizon. One thing he knew was to not push things in certain cases and this was certainly one of those cases. Another buzz from his phone made him look down to see Sam's name across the screen. "One minute," he said as he answered it. "Go ahead."
"G, we got a problem. Crime lab found a fingerprint on the casing belonging to a Daniel Weston."