AN:
HI!
I'm not going to apologize for the delay in updating. I've been sick and in hospital and just really focused on getting my health back to normal and getting healthy again.

And also uni has started again so I've also been focused on that.

What I will apologize for is this chapter!
I didn't really want to do it but I did, only because I felt it needed to be done.
I've only included the parts I felt important so it may seem a little jumpy.

Will contain spoilers for those yet to see this episode.

Humbug

'Granger still not back?' asked Sam walking into OPS looking around and not finding the assistant director.

'No' answered Nell as she walked toward the big screen holding her I pad. 'His recovery is taking a little longer than expected. This morning' she began as she brought up the CCTV footage onto the screen 'Thieves hit an office in Sherman Oaks, they set a server room on fire. The office belongs to a cyber security company CBUG systems. They were closed for the holidays'

'You want to stop that?' Callen demanded as he watched the footage of a red haired woman get taken hostage by a Santa as Eric and Nell gave out the information that they had 'Zoom in'

'Joelle' stated Sam in realization.

'Joelle?' repeated a questioning Deeks. 'What do you mean? Like Callen's Joelle?'

'She sent me a text to call her' Callen spoke to on one in particular.

'And that is why your steering clear of the crime scene' Hetty said as she entered OPS. 'Miss Blye, Mr. Deeks go to that office'

'Hetty can I talk to you?' Callen asked as he followed Hetty out of OPS with his partner not too far behind him.

'Hey you OK?' Deeks asked looking at Nell who still had the picture of Joelle on the giant screen.

All Nell could do was nod.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

'Do not argue with me about this Mr. Callen' stated Hetty as she sat down at her desk.

'I'm not going to' Callen answered as he stood behind a chair in Hetty's office. 'I just want to tell you Joelle and I broke up'

'When?' asked a surprised Sam.

'Ehhh...six weeks ago'

'And you didn't share?'

'I'm sharing now. Look, we parted on good terms. She still thinks I work in securities'

'Do you two still talk?' inquired Hetty.

'Occasionally. We're catching up tonight'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

'You know' began Deeks as he and Kensi walked in the mall towards Joelle 'We should probably err...interview Joelle'

'About the case right?' Kensi confirmed.

'Yeah no that too' Deeks answered innocently as he looked at Kensi with a smirk. 'Joelle Taylor?' he asked as he walked up to Joelle who was seated on a park bench. 'Hi I'm Detective Mary Deeks LAPD. This is my partner Kensi Blye NCIS'

'Hi' greeted Kensi.

'Hello. Who did you say you worked for?' asked Joelle.

''Oh. We are Federal Agents. Please have a seat. Sorry all this happened to you. How are you?'

'I'm fine. I'm just glad the police caught the guy'

'We are looking into the case right now' Kensi explained. 'Did you see anything?'

'I told the police I didn't see much. I heard the alarm and I saw the Santa's running. I didn't know what was happening?'

'Do you have any idea where they may have gone?' inquired Kensi.

'They ran into the parking garage'

'Right that was very helpful'

'So uh Preston's is a pretty high end men's clothing line' commented Deeks taking a seat next to Joelle.

'Deeks' warned Kensi.

'Yeah. I was here buying a Christmas present for my ex boyfriend. We're still friends' Joelle explained.

'Oh! Wow! What did you get him?'

'I brought him a dress shirt and tie. He's a securities trainer. I don't really know what that is, but he's gotta wear a suit everyday...Speak of the devil' Joelle commented as she heard her phone ring and noted the caller ID. 'So glad you got my message. You will never believe what happened to me' she began as she answered the phone.

'What happened? What's going on? Are you OK? He didn't hurt you? Do you want me to come over?' asked Callen as he entered the boatshed with Sam right behind him as he spoke to Joelle and listened to what she was telling him.

'No Callen don't. It's fine. I just didn't know who to call'

'Ok. Well, I'll see you tonight' Callen fare welled as he ended the call.

'So what happened between you and Joelle?' asked Sam when Callen ended had ended the call.

'I told you we broke up' Callen answered with an annoyed sigh.

'Why? I thought everything was going well'

Callen looked at Sam 'You can't date someone when you like someone else'

'You still like Nell!?'

'I never stopped Sam'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Oh Nell Bell' Deeks sang as he walked up the stairs to OpS to see Nell heading towards him.

'What's up Deeks?'

'You will never guess what I just heard'

'Deeks' Kensi warned.

'She needs to hear this' Deeks told his partner, looking at her as Kensi gave him an annoyed look. Ignoring it he turned his attention back to Nell 'Where is the other wonder twin?' he asked as he turned and headed back down the stairs following Nell and Kensi.

'Bathroom'

'Callen broke up with Joelle' Deeks said as they made it to the last step.

'Not in the mood Deeks'

'No I'm serious. Tell her Kens'

'It's true'

'So why are you telling me?' asked Nell.

'I thought that the two of you could talk and work things out' answered Deeks.

'There is nothing to work out. Callen doesn't like me anymore then a friend. I've moved on and so has he. He has his reasons for breaking up with Joelle and those reasons are none of my business'

Deeks opened his mouth to say something but was shut down by Nell 'No Deeks. Just leave it. Now I've sent you an address for a motel, please go and track the lead' Nell suggested as she walked away from the shaggy man and his partner to go find Hetty.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Walking back into the bullpen, Nell came toward Callen and Sam.
'Nell you got eyes on Billy Rex?' questioned Sam as he spotted the analyst.

'Nothing yet' said Nell greeting the two Agents. 'After he escaped custody, it's like he just vanished. But LAPD says he is a known associate of a bookie named Lincoln Tate' Nell informed as she brought the information up on the plasma in the bullpen. 'They have an open investigation on him. We also have a lead on the other two Santa's. Looks like they escaped in a 1993 Ford mustang. I tracked it to a motel in West LA, I've told Kensi and Deeks an I'm sending you Tate's file to your phone now'

'Thanks Nell' Callen acknowledged as he began to walk away.

'Callen' Nell called after the Agent and he stopped walking and turned to look at her 'I um heard about you and Joelle, and I'm sorry'

'Are you Nell?' snapped Callen.

'Yeah. Break up's are tough, you know, especially breaking up with someone you care about' Nell explained.

'Just send the file to my phone Nell' he said with annoyance and walked away as a stunned Nell watched him go.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

'Talk to me baby' Began Eric as he worked on a piece of electronics downstairs. 'Come on. Tell me something good. Purr for me. Daddy's right here, show me what you go...Hey!' Eric greeted, breaking his concentration as he saw movement next to and looked up to find Nell standing next to him ' Was I...

'No' answered Nell quickly.

'I wasn't talking to myself?' Eric questioned.

'I heard nothing'

'You sure? Because sometime I like...'

'Look' Nell cut him off. 'I'm sorry; I have to cancel our plans for next weekend'

'What? Responded a disappointed Eric 'Christmas Horror movie festival; we've been talking about it for weeks'

'Yeah'

'Jack Frost, Silent night deadly night, Gremlins'

'Bright light, bright light. I know'

'Tickets are non refundable'

'So is this plane ticket I just brought' declared Nell.

'What?'

'Hetty just let me know I can go home early to see my family, so...'

'That's great, isn't it, you don't seem excited'

'Oh I am. It's just something Callen said to me' Nell answered sadly.

'Don't worry about him. You have me' Eric told her as Nell gave him a tight smile.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Alright. Thanks Kens' Callen acknowledged as he exited the car as Sam pulled up to the mission. 'The other two Santa's didn't have the thumb drive' Callen told Sam as he ended the call and walked toward the mission's doors with Sam.

'Was it in the motel room?' Sam inquired.

'They said Rex had it'

'But LADP didn't find it on him'

'Your Rex' began Callen. 'I'm LAPD. I've got you pinned down but you're holding millions of dollars worth of malware. What do you do?'

'I drop it. Leave it somewhere safe till I can escape and come back for it. But where?' answered Sam.

'Or with who?' said Callen as realization dawned.

Walking through the corridors of the mission Sam asked 'What did Nell say before we left to go see Tate'

'She said she was sorry that Jo and I broke up'

'Did you tell her why?'

'No' snapped Callen.

'You need to talk to her' Sam reasoned.

'I know'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Zoom in' Callen commanded as he and Sam along with Nell again watched footage from that morning's robbery 'Slow it down. Stop it'

'What is it?' Nell inquired.

'Rex had to have placed that thumb drive somewhere on Jo'

'He doesn't know who she is G. By the time he escaped she was gone from the crime scene' Sam said

'Yeah. But he's going to be searching for it. We got to find Rex before he finds Jo'

'I'll find Webber. You find the thumb drive' Sam said as he left the bullpen.

Callen went to leave but stopped and turned 'Hey Nell'

'What Callen?'

'We need to talk'

Nell shook her head in annoyance 'Go and find the thumb drive G'

'We will talk Nell' Callen declared.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hearing a noise outside her house, Joelle Taylor got up from her seat in her office and walked towards it 'Hello' she questioned as she continued walking towards the noise, picking up a vase as she went 'Oh My God! Callen! I wasn't expecting you' she said with a laugh. 'Not until tonight anyway'

'I pushed my last meeting and snuck out early'

'What's in the bag?' Joelle asked noticing the brown paper bag in his arms.

'Well, I was coming over anyways so I thought id cook you dinner. And return your house key. After the day you've had I figured you wouldn't want to cook'

'Thank you' she replied as Callen handed her the house key and placed it on the table. 'You cook. Really? Because if I remember correctly you can't even fry an egg'

'Not much has changed' acknowledged Callen. 'I can still open a bottle of wine though'

'I'll cook dinner' suggested Jo.

'Jo do you have any more wine, all out' Callen stated.

'There's a nice pinot noir down the hall'

'I will find it. I will be right back' Said Callen as he walked out of the kitchen and in the direction on the wine. Stopping at the wine rack he glanced at the bottles then glanced back towards the kitchen to make sure Joelle was still busy cooking dinner. When he saw that she was he continued walked towards her bedroom and entered it where he found her handbag on the bed and went through it in search of the thumb drive. With no luck he found the bag she had with her that morning and tipped the contents out finding the thumb drive. 'Kensi, Deeks' he said into his ear piece. 'I got the drive'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Callen we are go' commented Deeks. 'I got Rex and two guys just stepped out of an SUV. They are headed towards Joelle's house'

'We'll move to intercept' Kensi said.

'So how are the kids' asked Callen as he watched from the window the black SUV drive off.

'The kids are good. Getting impatient, they would rather be on holidays then at school. So how are things with that girl as work.' inquired Joelle

'Eh. I'd rather talk about how your school reports are going' Callen answered as he walked away from the window and towards the Christmas tree where he turned the lights on then walked towards the CD player.

'You haven't spoken to her?'

'No' Callen replied as he turned the CD player on.

'What was that?' asked Joelle as a noise came from outside.

'Nothing. I didn't hear anything'

'Sorry. I'm a little jumpy today. Now you need to tell this woman how you still feel'

Callen went to reply but was stopped by the sound of breaking glass

'Was that from my bedroom?' questioned a panicked Joelle

'This way' suggested Callen as they ran though the kitchen as a man appeared and fired a gun at them.

'We need to call the police' stated Joelle as her and Callen ran through her backyard towards the shed. 'You have a gun?!' she stated as she watched Callen pull his gun out and fire at the man. 'Oh my god. You shot him!?

Callen said nothing as he pushed Joelle towards the back gate and into the street where he took her hand and ran 'Callen that was the guy from the morning' she panted 'What the hell is going on?

'You got to trust me. I'm going to get us out of this' Callen reassured

'Who are you?' I've never seen you like this'

'Jo I promise that I will explain everything. But right now we have to move!' Callen told her has he helped her climb over a fence and into a neighbour's backyard. Where Callen tried the backdoor but found it locked. Moving toward the garage door he took out his lock picks from his jacket pocket and picked the lock as Joelle watched 'What is that? What are you doing?'

'Stay inside, lock the door' Callen told her when he had the door opened. 'I'll come get you when it's safe'

'Callen?' she questioned.

'Jo. This will be over fast. Now what are you going to do?'

'Lock the door and wait for you' Jo repeated as Callen pushed her into the garage.
Walking away from the now closed door, Callen held his gun in his hands as he looked for the man that was after them. Rounding the corner of the garage he dropped his weapon as he was fired upon. Knowing that the man had to reload his weapon, Callen took a chance and crash tackled the man to the ground. Both men got off the ground and Callen crashed into the shed and he let go of the man and when the man turned to face Callen, Callen punched him and he fell to the ground where Callen apprehended him.

Hearing a noise behind him Callen turned to find Joelle walking towards him.
'I thought you said you were going to stay in the garage?' Callen commented a little bit angry.

'I thought you said you were a securities trainer' Joelle fired back.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'She going to be OK' Kensi asked Callen after they had apprehended the thieves and she saw Joelle looking out her front window.

Callen turned to where Kensi was looking to see Joelle walk away from the window. 'I'm about to find out'

'Let me guess' Joelle began as she heard Callen walk through her front door. 'Not the first time you put your life on the line to save a lady' she finished as she looked at Callen. 'This woman you like, does she know who you are?'

Callen looked at the ground. How could he answer that when he didn't even know who he was?

'Thanks for saving my life Callen. But I think you should leave now'

'Jo..'

'Do me a favour Callen. If you say you like this woman as much as you do. Don't lie to her. This friendship is over'

OOoooOooOoOoOo

'Any idea why Michelle wanted us to come down here today' Asked Callen as he and Sam lent on the hand rail watching ice skaters.

'Nope' replied Sam as Callen looked at him.

'Uncle Callen!' cried a voice as Callen looked past Sam to see Michelle walking towards them with Kamran Hanna leading the way.

'Hey Kam' Callen acknowledged as he gave the girl a hug, picking her up. 'How are you?'

'Good' replied Kam returning the hug 'I'm going ice skating!'

'Sounds fun!' Callen replied as he passed the girl over to her father and greeted Michelle 'Hey' he acknowledged as he kissed her cheek.

'Sam told me about Nell. Have you heard anything from her?'

'No I don't think I will'

'Maybe not' Michelle replied looking past Callen.

Callen turned to see what Michelle was looking at to see Nell standing there and he walked towards the young woman.

'You go my message' he said as he stopped in front of her.

'I got your messages' Nell answered.

'Yeah, I left a few' Callen replied with a nervous laugh.

'There texts and two sticky notes. You wanted to talk' Nell questioned as Callen nodded his head.

'Do you ice skate?' Callen quizzed as he looked over his shoulder to find Deeks and Kensi watching them.

'I do' answered Nell.

'You're pretty good at this' Nell commented as her and Callen skated around the ring.

'I'm full of surprises' Callen answered as he grabbed Nell's hand and led her over to a quiet corner of the rink for some privacy.

'Nell I like you' Callen admitted.

'Callen stop. Don't do this' Nell said knowing full well what Callen was about to say as Callen looked crest fallen. 'Don't ask me out at Christmas time' Nell continued. 'Because if we ever broke up, Christmas would really suck'

'So I could ask you out after Christmas?'

'Absolutely' Nell beamed.

'Three texts and two sticky notes. You wanted to talk'

'You ice skate'

'Yeah'

'Nell I like you'

Callen. Stop. Don't do this'

Callen looked crest fallen.

'Don't ask me out at Christmas time because if we ever broke up Christmas would really suck'

'So I could ask you out after Christmas'

'Absolutely' Nell beamed.