Double Take

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

Chapter 21

Callen and Kensi hadn't reached his father's house before his cell rang. Callen looked a the screen and saw it was Eric, with news he hoped about Gabrielle, so he could sit down and tell Nell. "Hi Eric, what have you found?"

Eric heard the tension in his team leader's voice and wondered what else had happened down in Dallas. "I've found all the information you asked me about Gabrielle Vasseur."

Callen hitched his breath as he waited for Eric to give him the news.

"She has three children to a man named Pierre Masson. The eldest has been named after the father, with another two who are much younger, a girl named Rene and another boy named..."

"Philipe." Callen finished for him. He sighed. His brother had told him the truth.

"H-how did you know?" Eric asked him surprised. "If you knew, why did you ask me to search her out?"

"I needed you to confirm some information I was given yesterday, Eric."

Callen's whole body tensed and Kensi watched on with concern at her friend, who had done so much for her and everyone else. She worried what toll all of this would have on him, as he had been through so much of recent weeks already, before this week had even started.

"Oh, okay," Eric replied. "But this Pierre Masson, I can't find anything on him, it's like he is a ghost."

"You won't find anything on him, Eric. It was an alias I used fourteen years ago when on an assignment for the CIA." He waited for their Tech to respond to him revealing more than he really wanted, but the truth was, they all deserved to know, now that Eric had confirmed Kevin's information.

"Fourteen years ago - but that might explain the eldest, but what about the younger two children?"

"Kevin." It took all his strength to admit to Eric what his brother had done to the woman he once loved.

"Oh." Eric hesitated, before he asked his next question. "Have you told Nell about Gabrielle and Pierre?"

Callen sighed as he heard Eric's words. "No, I was waiting on confirmation from you before I told her. She's been through too much already this week."

"I know," Eric added. "Be honest with her, Callen, and please don't hurt her."

Callen felt all the burdens crash down on him. He turned and walked over to a tree and slid down till he sat down by the base of the tree. "I don't mean to hurt her, Eric." Callen hung up the phone and cried. He buried his head in between his knees with his hands over his head. 'How am I going to break this news to Nell, after all she's been through this week?' Callen felt a hand on his shoulder and saw it was Kensi, when he looked up.

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. "Callen, I'm sorry." Tears also streamed down her face as the emotions of the past three days came crashing down on them.

"Why are you so sorry, Kenz? None of this is your fault. Don't go there, Kenz. He targeted you to get to me, so I could fix his mess up."

She gave him a small smile. "You really do have a huge heart of gold, Callen. After all you've been through in your life, you continue to put others first. Nell's one very lucky girl." She rested her head on Callen's shoulder, while they sat and comforted each other.

Sam heard a car pull up, she walked over to the window to see who it was. He knew Callen, Jackson and Charlie had been gone for some time, and wondered if he should go and find them. He hoped Kensi was with them, when he saw Deeks come back inside after he had followed her out earlier. Sam saw Jackson and Charlie step out of an dark blue SUV with tinted windows. They were helping someone get out, and that's when he saw him—-Kevin. He looked further to see if he could see Callen or Kensi, but he only saw a woman he figured to be his nurse. He continued to watch them lead him around the back of the house to the kitchen door. As they opened the door, Deeks and Nell had joined Sam in the kitchen. The three of them stared at Kevin, but neither of them said a word.

"George and Kensi are walking back, they maybe a while yet." Jackson advised them while he and Charlie continued to lead Kevin into the living room and settle him down on the couch to rest.

Sam turned and saw Deeks' face tense up as he watched Kevin pass through the kitchen. His fists were tight on the edge of the counter and he knew their Detective was trying hard not to punch Kevin. Nell hitched her breath as she saw how injured he was, which only reminded her what she herself had been through a few days earlier.

"I'll go and find Kensi and Callen." Deeks voiced as he walked out the back door. He had no desire to remain in the same building as Kevin.

"I'll come too," Nell added.

"Better make that three then." Sam joined his colleagues as they walked down the street in search for their missing comrades. They understood why Callen and Kensi were taking their time coming back to the house, and took the opportunity to escape while they could.

John heard the black door open and close a few times, he decided to see if Callen, Jackson and Charlie had returned. He got a shock to see his injured younger son sitting on the couch being attended to by a nurse. "Kevin. Are you okay? You don't look too good. You should be in a hospital." Worry etched in John's face over his son, although he was still mad at the CIA recruiting him, after he told Langley not too.

Curiosity got the better of Beth, after she heard John talking to someone. She walked down the stairs and cried when she saw her son alive. "Kevin, you're alive." She looked over at her husband who was fussing over their son, which relieved her—-especially after what she had heard John tell her not that long ago. It had worried her that he might be angry at him.

"Dad, Mom, please don't fuss. I have my nurse to ensure I'm as comfortable as I can, under the circumstances." Kevin coughed, he still hadn't regained his strength after his run in with Kensi and Callen down by the river.

"He's been exerting himself too much," Charlie added. "You need to rest. How about we put you in your old bedroom, so you can sleep?"

"No. Thanks, Charlie. I need to be awake for when George and Kensi get back. I need to talk to them again." Kevin knew Charlie was right, but his stubbornness got the better of him.

"You've spoken to Kensi and George today?" John was surprised as he knew how angry George was earlier.

"We were on our way here, when I saw Kensi down by the river, so we stopped and I spoke to her. But..." He looked around to see who was in ear shot, and was relieved to see it was only the six of them. He was unaware that Hetty was in ear shot, but out of sight around the corner in the study. "She doesn't want to speak with me. George has told her things, and now she hates me."

"I'm not surprised," John responded. "George and Kensi both have trust issues, and you have made it harder on yourself with your actions. Why didn't you just come to me in the first place, son? Why did you keep it a secret from us?"

"Oh like I could just say, hey dad, I've been recruited by the CIA back in College, just like you were and your father before you. And now I've gotten myself into a big mess with a Czech crime family who have threatened the women of this family." Kevin coughed as he saw the shock in his mother's face.

"So it's all true then?" Beth asked her son.

"Yes." Kevin shook his head. "I'm sorry Mom, Dad. I've really messed up. I felt like I couldn't disappoint you, so I went hunting for George. I've stuffed up there too." Kevin lowered his face to his lap, ashamed for everything.

"Yes you have, son," John replied. "So what are you and your partner Trent Cort going to do to fix this mess? Surely you cannot expect George and his team to fix your mess up for you?" John was disappointed with Kevin for dumping his mess in George's lap.

"We've tried. Our handler has refused to let us continue. Langley have covered up all traces of any of their agents having any dealings with the Jankovic Family. I've managed to get a copy of the case file to my Lawyer before this went south. I became desperate. George is our best hope. He and his team are the best I've seen."

"So it's true, what George told me, that you have been watching him and his team for some time."

Kevin nodded.

"What about Kensi? She'd fallen in love with you son, and now has pushed you away because you betrayed her. What are you going to do there?"

"I'm trying, Dad. I love her, but she won't have anything to do with me. George is protecting her from me. I cannot get near her without him being there."

"That's because he sees her as a younger sister. They work smoothly as a team every day on the job. George hasn't had a family for so long, his team has become his family—-stronger than blood family will ever be." Everyone looked up as they saw Hetty enter the room.

"Aunt Stella, I'm sorry," he coughed again. "I wasn't aware you were here." He looked from his aunt to his father, surprised they were in the same house, let alone on talking terms.

"Why is it that you're surprised to see me here, Kevin? Are you not important enough to me to not to fly down for your funeral? Only to find out you're still alive. This news, although we are thrilled and relieved you are alive, Kevin, the events surrounding your shooting and your betrayal towards Miss Blye and George, will not go down in your favour. Your father is correct when he said they both have trust issues. Miss Blye has had too many men in her life die or leave her. She had placed walls around her heart, so when I heard she had fallen in love with you, I was surprised some what. Your betrayal will take a very long time for her to heal, if ever. George is protecting her at all costs, because he understands what she has been through. He will protect every member of his team even if it kills him. But that doesn't mean he would do it for you. Now I am surprised to hear him tell us that he is willing to fly to Prague to bring down this Jankovic family, to sort your mess out. What did you tell him, that has made him go?" Hetty gave her Gorgan stare to her nephew, who grimaced in response, before coughing once again. "Kevin?" Hetty was determined to get an answer out of him.

"Charlie. I told him Charlie was in danger. And that all the women in our family were in danger."

"Hmmm! I thought as much." Hetty was not surprised Kevin had used the one thing that George could not resist. Saving people, but especially the women. She only realised herself not that long ago, how protective George was of the women on their team, when she thought she could save him from the Comescus—-instead he flew to Romania with his team to rescue her. She also noted how hard it was for George to trust new people, especially when Lauren Hunter filled in for her while she flew to Prague, and while she was recovering from being shot by Alexa Comescu. But she also realised how much George had dropped down his walls for her daughter Charlotte. The two had a connection, she couldn't explain, but on the first day when she discovered George and Charlotte knew each other, they were like old friends together. It amazed her how quickly he had let her inside his inner circle. "I have noticed how well George has allowed Charlotte in, and how quickly."

Hetty noticed her daughter look at her strangely. "It is unusual, Charlotte, my dear, how quickly he has taken to you. You should have seen him with Lauren, when she filled in for me the other year. He did not trust her, even in Romania when he and his team flew in to rescue me. He thought she was one of the Comescus, and was going to shoot him. You should have seen his look of shock when Lauren shot my captor instead.

"I never knew," Charlie replied to her mother. "We just clicked when we met down here. Like we were old friends." She smiled at the memory. She turned to her cousin. "You knew he would go to keep me safe, didn't you?"

"Yes I did, Charlie. I saw how he took to you, better than he took to me or anyone else in the family. But I was not surprised, you both grew up not knowing who your fathers' were. You had so much in common, and you were both loved very much by your mother." Kevin looked up at his aunt when he said those last words. He had worked out why his father and aunt had their falling out all those years ago, separating him and Charlie. It had hurt and he had been angry about it for a long time afterwards. He may have been the 'lucky one' of so to speak, growing up in the same house with both parents, but he felt second best just the same.

It took Sam, Deeks and Nell ten minutes to find Callen and Kensi sitting at the base of an old oak tree beside the nearby park. Nell ran over to Callen as soon as she saw them, worried. "G, Kensi, are you okay?" She knelt down beside G as she lifted his head to see for herself that he was okay. She looked over at her friend to make sure she was too.

"Jackson and Charlie turned up with Kevin and his nurse. He doesn't look very good. Jackson said you were both walking back. We decided to meet you, as we didn't feel like being in the house anymore."

"I'm fine, Nell, stop worrying." Callen was concerned about Nell's and their baby's welfare before his own. He gave her a smile, but she could see he had been crying.

Nell rubbed the wet marks from his face. "Like heck you are." She kissed him firmly on the lips. "I think we should escape this town and head home earlier. What do you think?"

"We'd loved to," Callen replied. "But we promised Charlie we would go back to the house before we left."

Nell gave him a look of surprise. "You did?"

"We did," Kensi added. "But neither of us have the will power to go any closer to the house. Callen is suffering from the burden of it all." Callen gave Kensi a look to stop right there, but she continued on. "No, Callen, I won't stop. Nell needs to hear this, they all do. All this is affecting you, none of it is fair either. But Kevin's betrayal, it's the tip if the iceberg for both of us." Callen continued to glare at Kensi. "Stop it Callen, you know I am right. It's not like anyone in our team don't already know our record with trusting people."

"She's right, G." Sam said, as he and Deeks had walked over to join them. The five of them sat in a circle at the base of the oak tree. "What Kevin has done to the two of you in particular is huge for anyone, but with your track record, it's not surprising you are struggling. But we are here for you, G. You don't need to do this on your own. You know we will follow you to the ends of the earth to support you and have your back. And the same goes for each and everyone of us here, including Eric and Hetty. We are family, stronger than any blood family bond because of what we do everyday. We are survivors and we are the best, as long as we stick together."

Callen looked at his partner. "Are you finished, big guy?" He appreciated Sam's and Kensi's words, and Nell's concern. He looked over at his partner. "Thanks, Sam, I really appreciate it." He turned and looked at all of his team with him. "All of you, thanks."

"No probs, G." Sam smiled at his partner, thankful he realised he wasn't alone in this life anymore.

"That's what we're all here for isn't it?" Deeks asked. "I wish I had a beer right now." They all looked at him with raised brows. "To make a toast. To family. Our family." Deeks grinned from ear to ear. Finally he felt like he belonged with this mixed matched group they all referred to as family.

"Oh, Deeks, you're gone all soft on us," Kensi teased him. He gave her puppy dog eyes and she laughed. "You're one in a million, Deeks, and you know how to make me laugh when I really need it." Kensi gave him a big smile in return. "Thanks."

"This feels like Thanksgiving," Nell quipped in. "All we need now is a turkey and roast potatoes. I'm starving. Anyone else hungry?"

Callen smiled and knew Nell was feeling better when she was hungry. "Sounds like a great idea, Nell. Does anyone know of a place nearby before we fly back tonight?"

"How about I ask the crew to pack us a good hearty meal on our return flight for us?" Nell asked them.

"You can do that?" Kensi was surprised. Callen and Sam laughed.

"I might be able to. I'll give it a try." She dialled her phone and stood to talk in a quieter place.

Kensi looked over at Callen and noticed he had relaxed again. She watched him look over at Nell, fully aware how much he loved her, and what he had to do next. "We'll head back to the house and leave the two of you alone for a bit, okay, Callen?"

Callen turned to look at her. "Thanks, Kenz, that would be nice." Callen turned to Deeks and Sam. "Take care of her, protect her from Kevin."

"Will do, Callen," Deeks replied. "Come on, Fern, lets go and kick Kevin's ass."

Callen could hear his partner's chuckle, as he watched the three of them leave. He was glad they were all there together. They all grounded him and provided that support they each could guarantee the other—-from being there when things were tough in their personal lives, wanting a night out, and to saving each other's lives when faced with the enemy.

Nell turned around surprised to see only Callen sitting under the oak. "Where did everyone go?" she asked him.

"To give us some time alone." He patted the ground beside him, to invite her to sit. "Were you successful, Miss Jones, on your request for a decent meal on our return flight?" He smiled at her as she blushed.

"Yes, I was," she smiled in return. "I love you, G. Callen." She leaned in to kiss him again on the lips. "Oh you smell so good, G."

Callen chuckled. "You're too funny, Nell. How do I smell?"

Nell blushed again. She hesitated, as she realised she had left herself wide open for this one. She watched him sit with his eyes intently on her own, as if he was searching through her soul for the answer and didn't require any words to be formed on her lips. She trembled as she felt fully exposed to him.

"What's up, Nell? Are you okay?" A worried look returned to his eyes.

"I'm still getting used to us," she stated. "And now things are getting more complicated with our baby, and the week we've had, not to mention the last few weeks since you met Kevin and your father. I'm worried about you, G. I don't want you to go to Prague."

Callen pulled Nell in close to him. "I'm sorry, Nell, neither do I. Yes there's a lot to process, but I'm totally committed to us, and I love you so much. You bring the brightness of the sun into my life. How ever did I managed before you entered it?"

"G."

Callen placed his finger on her lips.

"Sh, Nell. Please."

She noted he had become serious again.

"What is it?" Worry etched in her face again.

"I need to tell you something. Something I only found out yesterday, when I went to see Kevin's lawyer." He saw her look had become serious and wished he didn't have to ruin their romantic moment together under the oak with this news. But he had to tell her. She deserved to know.

Nell nodded. "Okay, I'm listening." She took a deep breath, wondering at a hundred miles per minute what he was about to tell her.

"Fourteen years ago, while I was undercover in France with the CIA, I met a woman, named Gabrielle. I fell in love with her, but had to leave after the case I was working on ended. She never knew the real me, only as a Frenchman named Pierre Masson. I've never seen her again, and had forgotten all about her until yesterday." Callen looked Nell in the eyes, she could see tears welled up, ready to pour down his face. She gently brushed his face to calm him and comfort him. She saw how much he was hurting and wanted to take it all away for him. "Kevin came across Gabrielle many years later, she mistook him for me. He decided to go along with the illusion of being Pierre, and played happy families with her and her son. My son." He broke at this point. Nell placed her arms around him to comfort him.

"You have a son? Wow, G, this is huge news. And Kevin kept this from you as well?" She was not impressed with the games Kevin played with them. "It's alright, G, I'm still here with you. I am never letting you go."

Callen looked up at Nell and realised she wasn't angry with him. "You're not mad with me?" he asked her, surprised.

"No G, I could never be mad with you over this. You had no idea he even existed. I understand what you have to go through for your job, heck I've had lots of earrings placed on my left ear, a temporary tattoo placed on my lower back and worn the skimpiest clothes I've ever worn in my life, for just one undercover assignment. I get it."

Callen chuckled at Nell's retelling of her playing Hailey. "You played an awesome Hailey, Nell. I never knew how good you could be undercover."

"Really? I thought you hated me playing Hailey." She was surprised at his admission.

"You were too good. You turned me on too much, and I was trying so hard to be your dad. It was hell."

Nell giggled. "You looked so adorable when you got frustrated with Hailey. I felt bad, but had to shut my feelings off from you to play the part. Otherwise I found it fun—-that was until I got kidnapped and Harry was killed. I can't believe this Jankovic family were behind it all to draw Kevin out. It gives me the shivers to think what would have happened if Kevin hadn't come out and then you guys turning up when you had."

"Don't go there, Nell. Yeah I know, we have Kevin to thank for you and our baby being safe. I'll never forget what he sacrificed to save you. But if he had been honest with us from the beginning, you wouldn't have been put in that situation in the first place. And I wouldn't be going to Prague with Deeks, Sam and Jackson." Callen took a deep breath. "But there is more, Nell."

Nell sat quietly as she let Callen continue. She could see he was hurting. "Kevin spent the next so many years flying between Paris and Dallas, playing house with two families. He had two children with Gabrielle, a daughter named Rene and a son named Philipe. That bastard brother of mine, played happy families with my son—-" Every muscle in Callen's body tensed, "until he admitted to Gabrielle that he wasn't really Pierre, but his brother. She chucked him out and told him she didn't want to see him ever again."

"Oh G, I'm so sorry." She hugged him as tight as her sore shoulder would allow. She brushed her hand through his hair, which felt like velvet to touch since he had it cut short again. She loved how it felt under her hand. "You are nothing like your brother, G. You are a kind soul, who has the biggest heart of gold, I've ever known. Don't ever change."

Callen looked back up at Nell, as she kissed him on his forehead. He held his hand out to her waist to draw her in closer to him. He moved her gently, to place her on his lap. "I love you, Nell Jones, you make me a better man." He firmly kissed her on her lips as his hands roamed her body.

Nell moaned.

"Nell?"

Nell pulled slightly away from Callen, both aware they were heading for more than they could do at that moment, seeing they were in a park.

"We better head back."

"Yeah, we better." She stood and held his hand as he joined her on his feet, then they walked back to the Manning's home.

"I still want to know what I smell like?" Callen chuckled as he knew Nell had let herself wide open with her earlier comment.

"Strength, honour and bravery," she replied, pleased with her courage to actually answer him.

Callen pulled her in closer to him. "I love you, Miss Jones."

"I love you too, Mr Callen. Or should I say, Mr Manning?" She giggled as it was still strange seeing him as anyone else than G. Callen.

"Yeah, it's still strange to think I am a Manning. I think I'll stay with George Callen." He smiled down at Nell.

"That you are," she agreed. She was glad to see him happier again.