Turn of Events

By BH72

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from NCISLA. They all belong to Shane Brennan and CBS. I am thankful that I am allowed to borrow them and return them, ready for the next episode.

A/N: Thanks for reading and for the wonderful reviews. Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. Life has been busy.

Chapter 36

Four months on…

It all had gone pear shaped as Sam's cover was blown and he disappeared from radar. He'd been undercover with a local gang for three months, passing on details of his intel to Nell via a sleek handover at a local diner. No one had figured out what he was doing each time he placed an order at Pippa's Diner on E Thirty-Fourth Street. Or so he thought. Tied up to the pillar inside an abandoned warehouse somewhere downtown, he knew he'd been burned. He'd tried to remain in character as Big Bubba G, but the kicks to his ribs winded him and he curled up his body to defend himself.

Agent Nassir called in Sam's disappearance and immediately Eric searched for his GPS tracker that had been sewn inside his clothing, to locate him. Everything was a blank.

"I don't understand?" Eric Beale worked endlessly to locate Sam, but to no avail. "We tracked him to this location and then he just vanished."

Henrietta Lange stood over the Technical Operator feeling the hopelessness of the situation. She remained stoic to her people around her, being the tower of strength that they needed, but even she struggled to hold off the doubt that they would find Sam alive. "Send Deeks and Kensi to his last known location, Mr Beale."

She stood in the middle of Ops, watching Eric work his magic, but this time nothing appeared to be going their way. She'd called him in early due to the seriousness of the situation, but he needed his partner beside him to help. However, Miss Jones was needed elsewhere, so Eric Beale would have to wait for her to return to Ops and deal with the dire situation on his own. It wasn't a first, he was used to flying solo in Ops on many occasions, but with Callen still recovering from his heart attack and Sam disappearing like this, the strain was evident as sweat beaded across his forehead.

Nell's Apartment, Venice Beach…

Nell Jones snuggled up to Callen in her bed, not wanting to leave the warmth of his body. Since that first morning four months earlier, they had spent every night in either of their beds, snuggling. However, this did not include the Doheny Road property. Callen continued to struggle in his acceptance of the news about his family's inheritance and only stayed there during the day with his father or sister. His team continued to visit him at the Beverley Hill's residence during those long days, except for Sam. Callen had noted his partner's absence, and thought it was because he had failed him.

Nell came over whenever she had the spare time and progressed well with her counselling with Cheryl Sparks and had returned to work after a month's absence. Their companionship at night provided them with the comfort that they both needed to make peace with their demons.

Suddenly, Callen bolted awake, causing her to pull away from him. "Sam!" His breathing hitched as fear for his partner consumed him. He turned his head towards her. "Something's wrong. We need to find Sam."

Nell furrowed her brow. She'd never told him about Sam being deep undercover, nor her involvement at Pippa's diner. Although he had questioned her many times over why Sam hadn't been to see him over the past three months, she'd tried to hide her own concerns about Sam from him, without much luck. Callen had pried and prodded and knew that she was under the directive order of Hetty not to tell him a thing. But it didn't appease him. She was due to meet with Sam later that day for another handover of intel, but as her cell rang and she saw Hetty's id on the screen, dread grew within her too.

"Hetty." She stood up and walked out of the bedroom, hoping to speak with their boss privately.

"Miss Jones, we have a situation." Hetty didn't like it, but she knew she needed to send her analyst back under cover, in the hope Sam makes their meeting.

Nell listened to her boss and looked over to Callen who leaned against the wall by the kitchen, studying her responses to the call. He saw the fear in her eyes and knew instantly that he was right. Sam was in trouble.

"It's imperative that Matthew knows nothing about this. Am I clear, Miss Jones?"

"It's too late for that, Hetty. He knows. He woke up saying his name. He knows something is wrong."

Nell's response caught the old spy by surprise. She knew Callen and Sam were close like brothers, but she never envisaged that Callen would be so in tune with his partner that he would know. But she should have known. That gut instinct of Callen's was so much like his mother's. "May I speak with him?"

Nell handed her cell over to Callen and watched him listen to Hetty. His body tensed as their boss filled him in on the current case.

"But Hetty," Callen defended.

"No buts, Matthew. You haven't been cleared to return to work let alone to go out to the field. If anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself." She knew him well, and now that Sam was in trouble and that he knew about the situation, the likelihood of him going lone wolf was extremely high.

Callen disconnected the call, annoyed. He brewed under the surface, but didn't want to take it out on Nell. He had another doctor's appointment at the end of the week, where he hoped that he could at least be able to return to work, even if it was in the office. Nell had brought home all of his paperwork that had piled up over the time he'd been away and from prior to his absence, so he'd been catching up on them. It was common knowledge that he hated paperwork, but as team leader, he had more than his partner and colleagues. At least it gave him something to do. He spent the days out at in the garden while Nell was at work and they were joined by Emily, John and Amy, when they could.

"I've got to go, Matt." Nell quickly dressed and brushed her hair as she walked out the door, giving him a quick kiss and hug as she left. As she opened the door, John pulled up outside, to take him over to the Doheny Road residence and spend the day with him. His cell rang and he picked it up, listening intently to Hetty on the other end.

"I'm there now, Hetty. Don't you worry, I will make sure I keep him with me at all times." John disconnected the call and waved to Nell as she drove her mini cooper up the street. He walked up to the front door and was about to enter, when Callen exited.

"We've got to go. Sam's in trouble." Callen knew that his father would come to spend the day with him and that Hetty would ensure John knew how important it was for him to keep a close eye on his son. He'd concluded that he might as well take his father with him, at least he had backup. "Follow Nell." Something told him that she wan't heading to the mission.

John knew he was in for a battle with his son if he refused. He decided that it was better if he did it with him than have his son go it alone. "Hetty's filled me in, son. You sure you're up to this?" He looked over to his son with concern.

Callen turned and looked over at his father. "I'll go crazy if I don't do something to help him. He's the closest thing I have to a brother. I can't stand it that I've not seen him for three months. I miss him. If I don't help find him, I don't know what I'll do?"

John nodded and proceeded to follow Nell in her mini cooper, bearing in mind not to get caught by the Intelligence Analyst. They pulled over fifty yards from Pippa's diner and watched Nell enter. Callen grabbed his father's cap and jumped out of the vehicle. He walked up to the diner, taking in where the security cameras were and entered. He took a seat in the far corner and opened a spare newspaper left on the seat. He watched Nell exit from the rear in the diner's uniform and almost fell off his chair. He groaned inside at the sight of her walking around in the short pale pink dress and high heels. Her legs were longer and toned more than he realised, and he managed to pull the paper up just in time before another waitress walked over to see to him.

"Coffee?" Callen shook his head.

"Tea, English Breakfast. Thanks." The waitress returned with the brew and placed it in front of him, when his father slid in the booth and sat across from him.

"I recommend our breakfast special, the Harvester." Callen scanned the menu and almost died when he saw what the Harvester included. Fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausage, mushroom, tomato, corn fritters and waffles. Even his old self would have struggled to consume all of that. John watched Callen's eyes widened at the menu.

"I'll go for the muesli and low fat yoghurt." He finally decided. "With berries. Thanks."

The waitress studied him and showed her surprise in his choice. She shrugged and turned to John for his order.

"Coffee, black, and I'll have the poached eggs on the turkish bread with mushrooms and tomato on the side." The woman nodded, more pleased with his order than Callen's. What she didn't know, was that he was trying hard to keep healthy, so he could return to work sooner, rather than later.

"See anything?" John whispered over to his son, who sat in the corner booth with the best view in the diner. John, who had his back to the bar and entrance, depended on Callen to warn him if Nell or anyone suspect, came over to them.

"Not yet." Callen kept his head low as he spied over to the entrance and the bar. Thankfully, Nell hadn't spotted their presence yet.

Ops Centre….

"Hetty, we have a problem." Eric Beale brought up the surveillance footage that came in live from Pippa's diner. "Two men entered soon after Nell."

Hetty studied them and shook her head. She pulled out her cell and dialled. "What do you think the two of you are doing?"

John should have known that the Office of Special Projects would have eyes out on the diner. "Eating breakfast with my son. There's no law against that. And before you ask, he's drinking English breakfast tea and eating muesli, low fat yoghurt and berries."

Callen knitted his brows together and mouthed "Hetty?" over to him. John nodded in reponse. Callen looked up at the camera and held up his tea cup, pleased with himself.

"Cheeky bastard." Hetty muttered over the phone. "Tell that son of yours, that if he doesn't leave that diner now, he'll fail his next medical to return to work."

Callen had pulled the cell from his father and heard every word Hetty had said. "I don't respond to threats, Hetty. You know me better than most. Why are you surprised? I won't do anything I cannot handle." He disconnected the call and passed the cell back over to his father, with a smirk. "That'll teach her."

John shook his head. His son did have iron guts, a strength that he could even stand up to the Duchess of Deception, when many warriors buckled from just her gorgon stare. They waited for contact to be made with Nell. But there was no sign of Sam. An hour passed and Callen noticed the ADD personality trait of Nell's peep from under her cover. She kept cleaning the bar and was now mopping the floor throughout the diner. There would only be a minute before she spotted them both sitting there and get mad with him. But he needed to know where Sam was, to ensure that he was safe.

Nell stopped mopping, when a familiar face entered the diner. She returned to the bar and placed her bubbly face on for the new customer. "What can I get for you today?"

The man slid onto the stool and pulled a weapon out on Nell. She looked panicked and froze on the spot. What neither her or Hetty had realised, was that not only had Sam's identity been burned, but so had hers. Without a blink, Callen identified trouble to his father. Both men, grabbed their weapons and prepared to rescue Nell, when three more armed men entered the diner. They pulled back into their booth and placed their weapons back into their waistbands. They eluded to the fact that they were there and saw their guns, returning to their newspaper. They needed to come up with a better plan, to not only save Sam, but also Nell.

Back in Ops, Eric contacted Deeks and Kensi, to head to the diner. Owen Granger and Michael Nassir, sat at the other end of the diner to where Callen and John sat. Owen had seen the Summers men enter earlier, and although he'd been annoyed over Callen's disregard to orders, he was now pleased to know that he had another two there to help him get Nell out of her predicament.

John's cell vibrated and he saw a message from Granger. "Agent Nassir and I are at the other end of the diner. We'll distract, you come up from behind. Nell's armed behind the counter." That put them in the majority, five of them, to four of the bad guys. They had the position in their favour.

"Got it. Ready when you are." John replied, after he showed the message to his son. Callen nodded and prepared for action. His heart quickened, at the thought of some action. It had been four months since he'd seen any action of playing the hero. Ironically, the last time he was in this position, he traded his life for Nell's. Then it had gone horribly wrong, this time, he was determined for this to go right. Two lives depended on it, as well as all of the customers and staff in the diner. Michael Nassir and Owen Granger stood up and pulled their weapons out, ordering the armed assailants to drop their weapons. John and Callen drew up from the other end and Nell pulled her weapon out from behind the bar. The four armed men looked around and found them surrounded and out numbered. Kensi and Deeks entered the diner and added another two to the mix. They dropped their weapons and were cuffed and led away to the boat shed by Deeks, Kensi and Nassir.

"Go home, Matthew." Granger ordered Callen. He looked over at his old friend. "Take him home, John. We need him better before he can be of any help. I can't risk him collapsing on us when we need him." John nodded and led his son out the door. He understood the need for his son to keep Nell safe and to find his partner and had supported him, but Owen was right. Matthew was ordered to stay calm and rest for six months, not four.

Nell looked wide eyed over at Callen, realising for the first time that they were there. They'd followed her and she was annoyed with herself that she had led them to the diner. She understood Callen's need to help save Sam, but he still had another two months before he could return to the field. It worried her that he'd do this, on numerous occasions, but this was the first that he'd actually broken his doctor's orders. He smirked over to her, once the relief of her being safe, settled inside of him. The need he felt to protect her had consumed him. He couldn't stay away from ensuring that she was safe. Now he needed to find out where his partner was. But he'd been discovered and his prospect on getting away with finding Sam was going to be more of a challenge.

Poor Callen, he so desperately wants to return to the field and help save his partner. At least he has his father on his side. But will John support him again, to help him find Sam? Love to know your thoughts, please leave a review.