"Well, I guess it's my turn." Callen huffed as he stood up from his desk and walked over to the two agents.
"I'm not gonna lecture you. I'm just gonna enlighten you both with some facts." Callen began. Fatima and Rountree both looking thoroughly beaten down and defeated. Both nodded to Callen indicating they were ready to hear what he had to say.
"We're not gonna be around forever. Sam and I've got more years with NCIS behind us than we have looking forward. And Kens and Deeks are gonna want to step away from field work once they start their family. We want to train the next generation of agents to keep building this team and improving. That's only gonna happen with dedication, practice, persistence, and trust. If we can't trust you to take this seriously, make this not just a job, but a life, then this isn't going to work out."
Both young agents nodded in understanding.
"I'm gonna tell you something I told Deeks a long time ago. I don't want you here." Both Fatima and Rountree looked at each other panicked before looking back to Callen, preparing to reply but cut short by Callen's hand in the air indicating for them to be silent.
"I don't want you here unless you're ready to be here. I can't have you coming in here trying to figure out if this job makes sense for you. It's not safe for you. And it's not safe for us." Callen said while both agents listened intently to what he had to say.
"I believe that you both can be successful and make it as a true member of this team. But it's important to know that even when our field craft is perfect, sometimes our enemy is just better. Sam is the most squared away, loyal, and dedicated man I've ever known. And his wife was the same."
Both Fatima and Rountree looked surprised at this revelation. They didn't know Sam was married.
"Both born operators but trained incessantly anyway. But even for two of the best like Sam and Michelle, bad things can still happen. His wife was murdered because of a vendetta one of Sam's enemies had against him. Even when we do everything right, sometimes bad things still happen."
This shocked both young agents. Clearly, they had a lot to learn, not just about the job, but about their teammates.
"Just keep that in mind and keep that in mind when Sam is being hard on you. He's doing his job and going above and beyond that." Callen finished.
Both young agents nodded.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Callen said as he grabbed his things and made his way out the door.