New Years happened in its normal fashion; except that Callen and the kids did all of the cooking while Amy relaxed. She was so thankful and took advantage to the time to take a nap with the hopes on staying awake until midnight. The others had decided that Amy needed the rest, so they all elected to make other plans for the night. Callen woke Amy up at five. He crawled into bed next to her and just cuddled with her for an hour before actually waking her up. She loved when he woke her up like that. Amy rolled over to face him and smiled. He was thinking about the baby, she could tell.
"How'd you sleep?" he asked in a soft tone.
"Very well, thank you." She told him as she stretched.
"Everything's done so if you want to come downstairs. I know you've got to be hungry." He laughed.
"When am I not hungry?" They both laughed.
She rolled onto her back before trying to sit up. Callen of course had his band on her belly. His hand was warm and his touch soft. Amy looked over at him and rolled back to kiss him. She let out a soft sigh when he kissed her back. They stayed in bed for a little while longer, his hand on her stomach and her head on his shoulder. Jenny wandered in the room and got on the bed with them. She asked if they were okay and they told her they were fine. Callen scooted back a little and pulled Jenny between them. Soon Ricky and Kristy joined them too. The bed frame creaked under the weight. Amy was content. She didn't want for anything and didn't need anything. If it were up to her, they would've stayed in bed like that all night.
By six, though she was hungry and needed to eat before she passed out. Getting out of bed, she stumbled forward, nearly knocking her head on the wall. Callen jumped over to her and made sure she was okay.
"I'm fine; I'm just a little light headed. I get like this when I don't eat or drink for a while." She assured him.
Callen walked her down stairs and put her on the couch before he loaded a plate for her. They all sat around her on the couch and went through the pay-per-view movies and picked one to watch. The majority of the night was spent watching movies as a family. Amy enjoyed the nice quiet evening. Jenny struggled to stay away and lost the fight at ten thirty. Callen left her downstairs so they could wake her up for the midnight toast. By eleven, Amy was hungry again, so Ricky got her another plateful. When he came back over, in spite of now being twelve, he cuddled next to his mother. She put her arm around him once she'd finished eating.
Callen got up at eleven forty-five to open the sparkling cider and filled the plastic champagne flutes for the kids and their toasting glasses for him and Amy. They changed the channel to Dick Clark's New Years Rocking Eve and toasted in 2015. After they finished the movie they were watching they all went to bed.
Callen was back to work on Monday as were the kids. There were ten days until Amy's next appointment. After taking Jenny to school, she went out for a run. Three miles, then came home and showered before she headed out to meet Michelle at the mall. She was standing in the middle of the baby department looking at the crib Callen liked. It was a blonde shade of wood, strong and sturdy, nothing too feminine or masculine about it since they didn't know if they were having a boy or girl. Michelle walked up beside her and handed her a cup of coffee.
"I figured you could use this." Michelle smiled.
"Oh yes, thank you. I made the mistake of running this morning and now I'm dragging." Amy said sipping the coffee.
"You know Callen's going to be mad when he finds out you went by yourself." Michelle lectured.
"I know and it won't happen again. I'll tell him tonight so we don't run the full eight miles." She said.
"How did you do?" She asked.
"Not bad, no cramping. I was frozen to the bone by the time I got back to the house. I had to stand in the hot shower for twenty minutes just to thaw out." Amy laughed.
Michelle looked at her watch. "We've got about ten minutes until your registry appointment. Is this the crib you guys are thinking about?"
"Yeah, Callen really likes this one. It converts to a full-sized bed when the baby gets older." She said smiling.
They wandered over the gift registry department and met with the consultant. The woman led them back to the baby department and started scanning whatever items Amy wanted. Annoyed that they couldn't take their time and felt rushed, Amy asked if she could just have the gun and return it to her when they were done. She even offered up her driver's license in exchange. The woman stormed off and the ladies took their time wandering the department. After scanning onesies and burp clothes, pajama sets in white, yellow and green, Amy found the cutest little outfit. Michelle saw her face when Amy was looking at it. A pair of khaki slacks, long sleeved button up shirt, sweater vest and tie. Michelle ripped the gun from Amy's hand and scanned it, telling Amy to pick out a girls outfit too.
Honestly, Amy didn't find anything she really liked for a baby girl. She scanned a little dress with a head bow. When it came time to pick out the baby bedding, it took a while. She had to pick between the three girl prints Callen liked. Finally, she saw it; an adorable blue and green teddy bear print for a boy. It reminded her of the one she'd picked out for Ricky, but was different enough at the same time. She absolutely loved it and secretly prayed they had a boy. They finished with the selection in the store and grabbed a couple of the baby catalogs before they returned the gun. The consultant returned Amy's driver's license and downloaded the gun. Before Michelle and Amy left, the consultant handed her the registration packet and paper copy of the registry.
Callen and the others sat at their desks talking about their weekends. Eric called them up to Ops in one of his quirky ways. Callen felt it in the pit of his stomach; this wasn't going to be a good case. As they filed in, he noticed Granger standing at the table. No, this definitely wasn't going to be a good case. He listened intently as Nell and Eric explained the case. It was going to be a very labor intensive man-hunt for the Arms dealers in Serbia; they had to work in country, undercover. Callen loved his job, but with Amy being pregnant and high-risk, he didn't want to leave her. They worked out the logistics of their flight and were released for the day. Callen remembered that Michelle and Amy were at the baby registry appointment, so he drove home and sat at the table to wait for her.
He wondered how she was going to take the news of his impending departure. He hoped it was a quick trip in and a quick trip out. Amy's four month check-up was in ten days. This was the appointment when they scheduled the big ultrasound. God forbid he should miss that. He was truly torn between the woman he loved and his job. Callen looked down at his watch and got up to make himself something to eat. When he'd finished lunch and she still wasn't home, he worried.
As they walked through the mall to the food court they talked. Michelle could tell that Amy really wanted a boy. She admitted that she did, just to even up the odds. Not to mention someone to carry on the Callen name. Michelle mentioned that she looked like she had a basketball stuffed in her shirt. Being that she just saw herself as fat, she never noticed. Once they finished lunch, they parted ways and headed home. Callen was already there and it was only one o'clock. She knew immediately that he was going away.
"How long this time?" she asked when she walked in and saw him sitting at the table.
"I don't know we have to go overseas." He said somberly.
Amy sighed and sat down next to him fighting the urge to cry. "I knew you being home wasn't going to last long."
"I'm sorry, Amy. We'll get back as soon as we can. I'll call you as often as I can. We aren't leaving until tomorrow, so why don't we go out to dinner tonight with the kids. Are you going to be okay while I'm gone?" he asked, truly worrying about her.
"I'll be fine. Michelle will be around." She said looking at the wood grain on the table, trying to avoid meeting his eyes.
Callen reached over and gently pulled her face to look at him. She burst into tears. "Amy Honey, I'm sorry. Let's look at the registry, how did it go?"
"It's just the hormones." She said between sobs and pulled the registry packet and catalogs from her bag.
They sat there going through everything she'd picked. "I registered for the crib you liked and this is what I chose for the bedding." She said flipping through the catalogs.
"Those are really cute, the boy print must be new they didn't have it at Christmas." He said mesmerized by the print.
"The sales associate said it came in this week." She smiled. "I found the cutest little boy outfit. A little pair of khakis, long sleeve dress shirt, sweater vest and tie."
"Oh that is cute. Did you find an outfit for a girl?" he asked looking at his wife.
"I did, but it's nowhere near as cute." She admitted.
"You really want a boy, don't you?" he asked.
"I do, Ricky would have his baby brother and we'd have someone to carry on the Callen name; continue your bloodline." She told him.
"It doesn't matter to me, as long as it's healthy, but I do admit a boy would be nice." He said.
Amy started crying again; Callen stood and pulled her to a standing position, holding her as she cried. He hated doing this to her and in the middle of the pregnancy. So much could happen with the pregnancy at this point and he didn't want to miss even the smallest thing. She dried her tears the best she could and looked up at him.
"Just please be careful, we need you to come back in one piece." She said.
"I know, I know." He said never loosening his grip on her.
They walked to the school to pick up Jenny, she knew immediately. Callen and Amy talked to Mrs. Carter and explained that he had to go out of town for an unknown amount of time. She understood and offered to have Jenny talk to the school counselor. They thanked her and went home; knowing Ricky and Kristy were waiting on them. Once they got home, they hurried through homework and Callen then explained why he was home early. Neither of the older two kids took it well. He asked that they help their Mom out as much as possible and that they spend time together instead of isolating themselves.
The kids agreed with tearful smiles. He asked them where they'd like to go to dinner and they requested a night of fun. So they were Dave and Buster's bound. Since it was still early, they followed the kids through the arcade, letting them play whatever game they wanted. Callen and Ricky played a shooting game. Clearly Ricky had his mother's shooting skills. He and Jenny played Skee ball, together they won a handful of tickets and promised to take her to check out the prizes before they headed home. Kristy and Callen played a motorcycle racing game and was quite humbled when she beat him by a huge margin. Amy looked on the entire time with nothing but a smile.
After two hours in the arcade, they headed into the restaurant for dinner. Kristy ordered a steak; of course; as did Callen. Amy ordered chicken strips with honey mustard sauce and Ricky ordered grilled chicken, both couldn't pick between the two meals, so they split them. Jenny ordered grilled cheese, fries and fresh fruit. It was a nice dinner. Before leaving, they went to redeem Jenny's tickets. She chose a little blue teddy bear, Callen was so touched when he handed it to her and she told him to take it with him when he left. He scooped her into his arms and gave her a huge hug.
"I love you so much Jenny, thank you." He said.
"I love you too, Daddy." She smiled and kissed his cheek.
It was almost nine thirty by the time they got home. Jenny was fast asleep and slumped over in her seat. Callen carried her up to bed while Amy guided a half-asleep Ricky and Kristy up the stairs to bed. Once the kids were tucked in, Callen and Amy went in their room and talked while Callen packed. She fought the urge to cry as he zipped the bag and dropped it on the floor at the foot of the bed; then he crawled up to the head of the bed. Amy saw the look in his eye and laughed. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her to a laying position. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he laid his head on her chest.
Callen helped Amy with the kids before heading in to work. It was a tearful good bye; he hated leaving Amy and the kids even for a day. This operation could take months. He thought of everything he would miss as he drove into work. Feeling the baby move, the ultrasound, seeing her grow bigger and more beautiful, he would miss it all. By the time he got to work, he was an emotional wreck. They received one last briefing before heading to the airport for their flight.
Callen and Sam were sitting together, Kensi and Deeks across the aisle. He was going through his carry-on for something to read when Sam pulled the teddy bear out.
"Really G, aren't you a little bit too old for teddy bears." He laughed.
Callen snatched it away and stared at it for a minute. "We took the kids to Dave and Buster's last night. When I took Jenny over to redeem her tickets, she picked this and told me to keep it. Even checked the bag this morning to make sure I had it with me."
"That's sweet." Sam said. "Those kids love you so much."
"I love them too." He said looking out the window seeing nothing but clouds.
"Has Amy considered petitioning the courts to have Rick's rights taken? He is in jail and isn't supporting them. You could adopt them." Sam suggested.
"I've been thinking about it, but I don't think now is the right time to broach the subject with Amy. I don't want her stressing out too much." He said.
"After the baby comes, talk to her about it. They kids already call you Dad." Sam smiled.
Callen smiled, "Yeah they do, for almost a year now."
They finally landed in Serbia and headed to their hotel. Exhausted, he called Amy and the kids and went to bed. The next morning, they started working the case. There were several conference calls with Hetty, Nell and Eric passing on information. A week into the operation, Callen was the one to go undercover. His calls to Amy and the kids were few and far between, but he would ask Sam to call Amy to pass on his messages. Amy missed hearing his voice, but appreciated talking to Sam.
Michelle and her kid spent almost every weekend with them in Culver City. The kid appreciated the playmates and Amy love the adult interaction. The women would sit and talk for hours. January ended and February began, there was no sign of the guys coming home any time soon. The ladies planned a Valentine's Day surprise for the kids. Amy made heart-shaped cookies and little cakes. They loaded up on junk food and animated movies and had a huge slumber party.
Callen and Sam managed to call that evening, which was just the icing on the cake for the kids. Amy went out to the patio to talk to Callen for a few minutes. He wanted a play by play on everything that was happening with the pregnancy. When he asked if she was feeling the baby move yet, she paused, he knew that she had. They told each other how much they love and missed the other a hundred times before the conversation ended. Amy felt better, but missed him even more.
Monday was her four month check up. Michelle offered to go with her, but Amy said she was fine going by herself. She and Dr. Fagan sat and talked for the majority of the appointment. The doctor was pleased that there had been no problems and told her to keep up with whatever she was doing. Amy had cut back her runs to every other and was only running four miles. Dr. Fagan said it was alright, in light of the fact that her running partner was away. Amy was abnormally quiet with Callen absent. The doctor noticed immediately.
On the way home, she picked up lunch and sat in front of the TV feeding her face and took a nap until it was time to get Jenny. The afternoons and evenings were the longest. The kids had difficulties focusing on their homework and fought constantly. However, they did spend the time between dinner and bedtime together either watching TV, playing games or just talking. Mrs. Carter had gotten Jenny in to see the school counselor once a week, so the evenings that she saw the counselor, they'd talk about what was discussed. Ricky and Kristy would take the opportunity to talk about whatever was bothering them as well. It was always the same thing, they missed Callen.
Hetty had gotten in the habit of visiting with Amy and the kids once or twice a week. Occasionally, Eric or Nell would drop by after work to check on them as well. The kids loved having the three continue to come over. It showed them that they didn't come over just because of Callen, but for them as well. By the end of February, Nell and Eric had offered to watch all of the kids so Michelle and Amy could have a night out. They were so thankful for the break. It didn't matter what they did; be it dinner and a movie or more shopping, they were elated not to have the children in tow.
They decided on dinner. Nothing fancy, Amy had been craving Chinese food. Chow fun to be exact, so Michelle called around and found a restaurant that made both Chow Fun and Generals Chicken. Michelle and Amy laughed through the entire meal, about nothing in particular. They walked through downtown after dinner and got a cup of coffee before heading back to Amy's. All of the kids were passed out when they got home.
"Good lord, what did you do to them, drug them?" Amy said when she walked in and saw the kids scattered on the floor.
"Nope, just wore them out." Eric smiled.
"Do I dare ask how?" Michelle chimed in.
"They played the dance game with Kristy." Nell said.
The team was so close to making an arrest, it wasn't even funny. Callen wanted to get these guys so bad he could taste it. The things that he'd heard about and witnessed while undercover made his blood boil. He'd been in contact with Sam and was due to meet with him later that evening to discuss the plan for taking them down. Both knew that it was going to be very dangerous as this group was already responsible for fifty to a hundred deaths just since they'd arrived.
"Hey, where are you going?" he heard from behind him.
Callen turned around and smiled. "Met a woman, I'm going to go have some fun if you know what I mean."
The man laughed. "Ah, very good, enjoy. Hit it a couple times for me. Will you be back tonight or can we lock up the compound?"
Callen thought about it. "No, I'll be back. She's not worth spending the night with."
The man nodded and walked away. Callen turned towards the entrance of the building. "Really, I'm not worth spending the night with?" Sam said over the earwig. Callen laughed and waited until he'd walked out of the front gate before replying.
"Well, what can I say, you snore." He laughed.
Making sure he wasn't being followed, Callen made his way through the busy streets to the agreed upon location. Sam was leaning against the building with his arms folded across his chest. When Callen turned onto the alley, he immediately stood and knocked on the door beside him. It opened and the two went in. Kensi and Deeks were waiting and greeted him.
"So how are we going to do this?" Sam asked.
"I don't know, but we've got to be quick about it. They're all armed to the hilt so your vests are a must. I think it would be best if it happened somewhere other than the compound where they can't get into the stash of weapons." He said sitting at the table.
"You mentioned that they're supposed to meet with one of the potential buyers, we could take them down before the buyer gets there. We've contacted Hetty about back-up and another team is en route. They should be here tomorrow morning." Kensi said.
"Good, we're going to need as much help as we can get." Callen said writing and address on a piece of paper. "This is the address where the meeting is supposed to take place. Check it out; see how we can set up. I want pictures." He told them.
"Got it." Deeks said.
"Should we try to take the buyer down too or just forget about him?" Kensi asked.
"Forget him. We want the dealers." Sam said looking at Callen.
He pulled the file that was on the table over to him and started telling them who all was going to attend the meeting and what kind of weapons they'd be carrying. Sam, Kensi and Deeks listened intently. After two hours, Callen looked at his watch. He stood and walked to the door, telling them to get with the other team as soon as they've been to the address.
As he walked the streets, he felt like he was being watched. He stopped to cross the street and looked around casually, but saw no one he recognized. When Callen walked through the door of the dormitory building, everyone looked at him. He had a bad feeling he'd been made, rushing to his room, he told Sam and went to bed. It was a restless night, he tossed and turned. Every noise he heard had him wide-eyed and watchful. When he emerged from his room the following morning, it continued. Everyone acted as the normally had, just watched him closely.
Sam, Kensi and Deeks had made it over to the abandoned building and took a look around. It was going to be sketchy trying to set up in here. Aside from several pillars in the center of the building for support, there was really no place to hide. Kensi spied the catwalk above their heads and suggested they staged there. Sam agreed and called Hetty on the way back to the cover house. The second team arrived shortly after two in the afternoon. Sam showed them the pictures from the building and it was agreed that they'd stage from the catwalks overhead and outside of the building. Sam, Kensi and Deeks would cover Callen inside while the other team would wait for Sam signal to enter the building. It seemed that the plan would go off without a problem.
Callen remained below the radar, thinking maybe everyone was watching him because of the story he gave about the woman. He truly hoped that's all it was. The day of the meeting had arrived. The two teams were in position when the motorcade arrived. The team outside reported Callen was riding in the second vehicle. Sam saw him as he exited the vehicle. Callen looked around, but didn't see anyone and got worried. Next thing Callen knew, he was being shoved forward, landing hard on his hands and knees. The leader of the group aimed a pistol at him and fired. Callen flinched when he was pelted with tiny shards of concrete.
Sam signaled for the second team to enter the building immediately, the doors swung open and chaos ensued. In the spray of bullets and dust, Sam lost sight of Callen. Kensi and Deeks made their way into the thick of the fire fight while Sam searched for Callen. When the shooting ceased, those who weren't dead were taken into custody and Callen was nowhere to be found. As they surveyed the situation, they heard gunshots out behind the building and went running.
With weapons drawn, Kensi, Sam and Deeks made their way outside to find Callen laying face down in the ground in a pool of blood. The man who'd shot him had yet to see them, they moved in. Another round of gunshots and he was down. Kensi and Deeks secured his weapon and arrested him while Sam went to Callen's side.
He was barely breathing and coughing blood. Sam tried to look him over, rolling him onto his side, Callen yelped in pain. "G. Shit where all are you hit?"
Callen couldn't move anything but his eyes. Sam gently placed his hand on Callen's back and pulled back a bloody hand. He radioed for the team to get an ambulance. Fifteen minutes later, they heard the emergency response. Sam was on the phone with Hetty when they arrived. Kensi and Deeks told the paramedics what happened. They were soaked with blood after trying to keep him from bleeding out. Callen was carefully loaded onto the stretcher, loaded into the ambulance and taken to the nearest hospital. By the time the rest of the team arrived at the hospital, Callen was in surgery. They sat in the waiting room not knowing anything.
