DISCLAIMER: I'm borrowing these lovely characters of NCIS/NCIS LA... aside from that, I own all the other squirrely characters that pop up in the story. There should be no resemblances to people living or otherwise... that would be a mere coincidence.
A/N: So here we are... Chapter 25. Hard to believe there was a time not to long ago where I was scared I wouldn't be able to write a one shot worth reading. Well, we are slightly over half way there or more. Lots of fun to be had yet. I just want to thank you all for supporting this story. You have no idea what a great boost your reviews are for me. It's one thing to like what you wrote but to have others say that THEY like it... That's huge! Thank you so much for taking the time to review. I hope you continue to enjoy the story as well as pop in and let me know what you are thinking. How do you feel about where the characters are and where they are heading. I look forward to hearing from you. This chapter is a bit longer than most so... Enjoy and have a blessed day!
They found themselves using the gym daily, though usually when they would least likely run into Hetty's team.
"Have you finalized your team, Agent Callen?" Leon asked.
"I have Director. Paris Summerskill and Roy Haines will be joining us here. I will also be asking Marty Deeks as well." Callen answered.
"Anyone else?" Leon asked.
"Not until we have more information. Until we know for certain what, if anything, is going down, I see no reason to pull anyone else in. Have you heard from your men?" Callen inquired, hoping something was finally happening.
"There appears to be a stall in the plan. Romanov is still on the fence, apparently. Vidales is working hard to make a mark and prove themselves. There are a few rumors. I will let you know what are fact and what is just chatter but for now, it is a matter of sit and wait I'm afraid. Consider it a vacation. You've earned some down time." Leon stated.
"I'm bored, Director. Blackguard's asked me to finish a few jobs for them. There appears to be some trouble brewing here in the states with a Mexican cartel. Not sure what the deal is but I have a few leads to run down. Since it is in the states, I wouldn't be far. As you say, we are at a standstill, once Paris and Roy get here, I will get them up to date and Roy can be working on some of that chatter and keep me posted as well."
"Ziva is going with you?" Leon ordered more than asked. Callen was already tense from the last round with Blackguard… after a week in LA with his old team, he was walking on a very fine edge and Leon could hear it in his voice.
"Yes, Leon, I haven't forgotten the deal."
"Have you considered asking any of the others to be on your team?" Leon pursued.
"Don't. I will not work with them and for good reason. You start pushing an agenda here and this job with NCIS will be finished, do we understand each other?"
"Understood," Leon said, "Be careful out there."
"Always am, Director." With that, the connection was broken. Callen turned to Nell, "What goes on here, goes no further. Is that clear? That includes, Eric. Hetty scares him too much."
Nell chuckled, "Agreed. Anything you need, Agent Callen. It will go no further."
"Thank you, and lose the 'Agent' thing. Name is Callen. Not everything has to change, does it?" Nell just smiled and Callen took that as his answer and left ops.
Nell missed having Callen there. He challenged her thinking. He loved teasing her. On nights when he couldn't sleep and would find himself back at the mission, they would have long chats over everything while she got the ops up and running in the early morning hours before everyone else came in.
Callen had found himself a few spots upstairs over the years where he could best watch the activities going on below. It helped him keep up with how things were running… where trouble spots might be brewing. It let him watch his team without them knowing so he could make sure they were doing okay, honestly. There was a time when he found solace within these walls. He looked down at the bullpen, now empty. The team had gone out on a case. 'His couch' was still there. A part of him longed to stretch out on it for a brief nap. His sleep habits had only gotten worse as of late. If he managed a few hours in a row each night, he was doing good. He didn't dare risk them coming back and finding him there. Truth was, it wasn't 'his' couch anymore.
"So, what's your excuse this time, Sam?" You've already changed out partners so you could ensure our safety out there in the field, what's next?"
"Kensi, calm down. It was nothing you did wrong, I just think we are missing some information. We will regroup and try again." Sam explained as he ran a hand over his face wearily.
"Damn right it's nothing I did wrong." Kensi threw back at him, as Deeks and Ana joined them.
"We will be lucky if we get another chance." Deeks said, "These guys are tied to known terrorists and we just gave them a free pass outta here."
"You think I don't know that?" Sam growled, "Maybe if my team wasn't so busy questioning my every move, we'd be able to do more. A team needs to know what everyone else is doing. It ensures the safety of all involved. When we're out there, I need to know we all have each other's backs. I'm not convinced we do."
"Well, we used to" Kensi said, "before you separated Marty and me. We worked well together. We never did anything to make you question that!"
"You got married. That's reason enough, don't you think?" Sam bellowed. As your team leader it is my responsibility to ensure your safety in the field!"
"Well, I've got news for you, Sam, I don't!" Kensi yelled.
"Don't what?" Sam asked.
"Feel safe!"
"Sam, I get your need to keep the team safe and I get your reason for splitting us up… but seriously, and this is no disrespect to you, Ana… Kensi and I work better together and whether you want to admit it or not, you know I'm right." Deeks stated.
"I stand by my decision. You don't like it… maybe we should consider putting one of you on another team." Sam threatened.
"Come on, Sam" Deeks reasoned.
"Enough, Deeks! Don't push me on this. We have work to do." Sam ordered.
Callen watched on in disbelief. This was not the Sam he knew. That Sam, never lost his cool. Always the in control, Navy Seal. Not today. The crack team Hetty created was now simply cracked. They weren't even a functioning team at this point. Sam was angry and on edge. Kensi was miserable, that much was obvious. She was a good agent. She knew her stuff and it appeared as if Sam had forgotten that. Deeks was forever the buffer in the team. As much as his antics wore thin on Callen, it always worked to defuse the rest of the team. Callen had come to count on it during the more trying cases. He couldn't help but wonder what was going through Hetty's mind by leaving them in the field like this. Then there was Ana. Level headed… good in the field. Hetty had really put her in a tough spot.
"They need you." Ziva said softly, sitting down next to him.
"Ha, the very last thing any of them needs, especially Sam, is me telling them what to do. Maybe now would be a good time to approach Deeks though. Might alleviate some of Sam's concern."
"I'm not sure that Marty and Kensi have anything to do with Sam's issues." Ziva said as they headed downstairs.
"No, but Michelle not being here isn't something I can fix." Callen replied.
The bullpen had fallen into an uneasy silence when Deeks phone alerted. Kensi looked up as he checked his texts… After reading it he looked around till he found the source. Callen merely raised a brow and Deeks simply gave a nod as he put his phone away. Twenty minutes later he excused himself, "Hey, I'm going to make a lunch run… who wants what?"
"I'm good," Sam answered, not bothering to look up.
"A hamburger with cheesy fries?" Ana piped up.
"I want fish tacos" Kensi added.
"Sounds good" Deeks agreed. Be back shortly. I have an extra stop to make first. Won't be long.
Callen was sitting on the sand just watching the waves as they rolled up onto the beach and then slid back out into the ocean. At first, Deeks stood back and watched. He was curious as to the reason for this meeting. He'd been in town for nearly a week and showed little interest in the lives of his former teammates.
"You going to stand there all day?" Callen called out.
"Sorry. To be fair, I learned my lesson the hard way on surprising you on the beach." Deeks chuckled as he sat down next to him.
"Long memory, Marty… I apologized, as I recall."
"Yeah, you did… so how have you been?" Deeks asked.
"Doing okay, I guess. How about you?"
"Can't complain. Kensi finally married me."
"I know." Callen smiled.
"You know?" Deeks asked.
"I happened to be in town on business…" he explained.
"You were there? Why didn't you say anything? We would have loved to have had you there." Deeks asked surprised.
"I'm not so sure about that. I got to see it. That was good enough for me. You know how much I like socializing. She made a beautiful bride. You two are good together." Callen said. He was quiet for a moment, "I see you accepted my gift."
"Wait, that was you the other night… at the house. I told Kensi there was a car watching the house." Deeks said.
"Yeah, just wanted to see if you'd moved in." Callen confessed apologetically.
"Hey, if you want it back, it was yours first." Deeks said.
"What? No, no, my time there is done. Enjoy it." Callen stated.
"Well, thank you. We love it there." Deeks answered.
"Good, I'm glad."
"Kensi really misses you. She felt really bad about what happened." Deeks attempted to explain.
"I'm not here for rehashing old hurts any more than I am here for old home week." Callen cut him off. "I have a job to do."
"So why are we here talking then?" Deeks asked.
"I want you on my team." was his reply.
"Shouldn't you be talking to Hetty and Sam if you want to use the team?" Deeks asked in surprise.
"Not the team, Marty, you… just you." Callen got up and started walking.
"Oh, wow. Wasn't expecting that." Deeks stammered.
"Why? We've worked together before." Callen stated.
"Yeah, that last time didn't work out so well. You know, I never got to thank you for saving me that day."
"You don't need to thank me. I left you there. Sam was right about that. You could have died and that's on me. If anything, I owe you an apology." Callen stated.
"No way. You had no choice. We both knew it was a risky plan but it was necessary. I tried to explain it but by that point it was too late and you were gone." Deeks looked over at Callen and saw the pain surface for the briefest of moments.
"The past is the past and none of it falls on you… which is why I want you on my team. It's only one case and then you go back to your normal routine. If it all goes well, it may be that I'll call you again. However, if it's going to be a problem for you, I'll call in someone else."
"Uh, Wow. I need to talk to Kensi first… and Hetty, I suppose." Deeks answered.
"Don't worry about Hetty. You decide you want in and Leon will deal with Hetty. Talk to Kensi and let me know. On second thought, I have to leave for a few days. Call Leon and let him know… he will take care of things from there. I should be back Monday. I hope you decide to join us." Callen shook Marty's hand and walked away leaving Deeks in shock.
By the time Deeks came back with everyone's lunches, Callen had already returned and was heading down the stairs with Ziva and two more members of his new team.
"Is that Paris and Roy from the Red Team?" Deeks whispered.
"Yup. They just got here a little while ago." Kensi answered, "He sure knows how to set up a strong team."
Deeks just nodded his agreement as he watched the interaction, distracted by his recent conversation with Callen.
"Ziva and I will be back by Monday evening. Take the weekend and enjoy the beach. Any work you do is not to be discussed outside our immediate team. Not with Hetty or Sam. If you use the ops center, only Nell is cleared. Paris, if you get a chance, check in with Marty."
"No worries Callen. We have your back. Stay safe out there." Paris said.
"Alright, Monday then" Callen said as he and Ziva grabbed their go bags.
NCIS LA NCIS LA NCIS LA NCIS LA NCIS LA NCIS LA NCIS LA NCIS LA NCIS LA
"What's wrong, Marty" Kensi asked, "You've been quiet ever since you came back from getting lunch today. Even Ana was concerned. What's going on?"
"We need to talk. The reason I took so long at lunch was because Callen wanted to talk." Marty tried to explain.
"Oh my gosh! Marty, that's great, right? He's reaching out." Kensi said excitedly.
"Actually, he was interested in only one thing. He wants me to be on his team for this case he's working on." Deeks said nervously.
"Really? Just you?" Kensi was disappointed. There was a time when she and Callen had been so close. She missed her friend and mentor. She missed their team.
"For now, anyway. I tried to talk to him about what happened but he's not in the headspace to talk about that right now." He explained.
"Right. No, you are right, he has a lot on his plate right now. So, what are you going to do? What's the case about?" she asked.
"He didn't get into the case. He's pretty adamant that Hetty and Sam stay out of it. If I accept, we won't be able to discuss logistics. I don't know how dangerous or difficult we're talking and then there's Sam and Hetty. When it's all done, I still have to work with them and Sam's not real thrilled with me as is these days."
Kensi shook her head and took his hand in hers. "What do you want to do? Do you want to work with Callen? Stop worrying about me or Sam or Hetty. What is it you want to do?"
Deeks sat quietly for a moment. She watched the internal struggle he was dealing with. Then he looked into her eyes and spoke softly, even though she already knew what his answer would be. "I really want to do this. I feel like I need to and in a way I think Callen needs me to as well. Besides, if Sam's big issue is both of us on the same team… maybe this will calm things down for a while." Deeks watched Kensi for her reaction, surprised when she smiled.
"Okay then, that's what you need to do. I'm behind you 100%.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Yeah" she laughed. "Don't worry about the rest. If this is what you want to do, then go for it. But I want to speak with Callen one on one. If he wants to come here or meet elsewhere to avoid dealing with Sam… that's fine, I get it. I just need to talk to him alone."
"Okay." He answered.