#14

"Call for a paramedic, NOW!"

"Get her gun"

"I know her!"

….

Present Day

"So, What's this favour you want?" Mike asked, closing the car door and starting the drive home.

Grace didn't know how to ask. It wasn't that she was shy, god knew she wasn't shy… after all, it had been her that walked over and started talking to Vic. And she knew how that was turning out.

"Come on, Shortie… out with it. You don't need to worry. You know I'll do whatever you need, if I can"

Grace dramatically sighed "I need to see Mom"

Mike quickly pulled the SUV over to the side of the road, put it in park and turned to face Grace… trying to see if the young woman was serious

"NO. I'm sorry… but No. I can't do that"

"Mike… I REALLY need this" She almost begged

Mike seemed to think about her request

"I… " She tried

"Why now? Why is this so important that you come back to LA for the first time since… well, you know. What on earth do you need to talk to her about after 3 years. I need to know why" Mike explained

"I had a hospital appointment today. Yearly physical…I em… I found a lump….I…" Grace barely managed to get out, barely holding back the tears that were pricking her eyes just thinking about it

"Ah. You know… I don't want this. Your dad…. He … he wouldn't want to stop you seeing her. But I…" Mike started, pausing to take a breath, realising what Grace needed "I'll make it happen. But it won't be today. Your aunt will want to see you…. Stay tonight, and I'll make sure you see your mom tomorrow morning." Mike offered, determined

"Can I see gran, first?"

….

"How is he these days?"

"Honestly. Some days he's pretty high functioning…. But he's not the way I remember"

"We knew there was no guarantee he would be the same. If I hadn't have rushed things, trying to bring him home to you all…. To you especially…"

"I don't blame you, gran. We all wanted the same…"

"I rushed it all. If I had waited, you would still have a father, not just a stranger buys coffee from you every day" She replied, trying to maintain control of her emotions. The whole chain of events still deeply affected Hetty. She had still questioned her own responses to everything in the aftermath of Callen's stroke, and the GRU's gaining intel on the programme that wiped his mind.

Grace sat, not sure how to respond. She spoke with Hetty almost every other day, and knew just how much guilt the old woman held over herself. She had tried to help her move on from it, but nothing worked. But from everything she had read in her fathers journals, and case files… she knew nothing would every wipe it out, that there was nothing she would ever be able to do that would help.

….

"I'm sorry, but I can't look at him… not like I should."

"Because of what he stands for…?"

"He's my brother, and I love him… but yeah. He's a constant reminder of what happened to me, what mom let happen to me"

….

3 Years ago

Mike got out of his car and purposefully strode down the alley, past the group of LAPD officers, past the forensics team and to the detective holding Grace by the upper arm

"Get your hands off her. NOW!"

"Take it easy, Renko… I have a job to do"

"No you don't. I have jusidiction. This is an attack on a federal prisoner, by a federal asset" Mike managed to say calmly, before the switch flipped
"Now, If you don't want to be riding in that ambo to the hospital with a broken jaw… You'll take your FUCKING hands off her… NOW!"

….

Mike had no idea this was where the day was going to lead him… He definitely hadn't planned on threatening to send a LAPD detective to the hospital with a broken jaw. He could admit that he hadn't handled everything that had been thrown at them this last week or so, and his now badly bruised knuckles were evidence of that. His silent introspection was finally broken by Grace asking an obvious question

"What's going to happen to me?"

Mike clenched his jaw, not in anger or frustration, but because he knew he was going to say something that would change the young woman's life

"I don't know kiddo. What you did… " He paused to sigh. "…God knows I wanted to wrap my hands round his throat and just… Squeeze until there's no more life in his eyes" He continued, pausing to take a deep breath and just calm down before saying anything else

"I'm prepared to go to jail, Mike"

"No you're not. I…I'm gonna do whatever… I'm going to do EVERYTHING I can to make sure that doesn't happen. I promise you"

"You lied to him… I'm not an asset"

"You are. You made a sworn statement to federal agents, that led to the capture of a domestic terrorist and the recovery of your brother. So yeah, you are a federal asset. And no one is gonna say otherwise. Smith and James… they know the situation. They don't know about everything that happened to you… "

"I don't even want to know what happened to me" Grace said in one breath, trying not to physically show how the situation was affecting her "I don't want you to lose your badge. Dad wouldn't want you to lose it over my fuck up"

Mike snapped his head round turning to look straight at Grace.

"Grace. How much do you know about what your dad was willing to give up for…"

….

Present Day

"…Any guys in your life?"

"Syd!" said Mike, not wanting to air this particular laundry in public and further embarrass Grace

"No, No guys in my life…"

Mike knew more than Sydney did… about this particular subject. But it wasn't his secret to tell

"Come on, Mike. She hardly ever phones. We're not allowed to go visit her. I have things I need to know. There are things an Aunt needs to know"

"and if she wants to tell us, she will… in her own time"

….

"You know I'm not gonna leave you to face her alone, right?"

"I know, Mike. Thanks… and, not just for that. But for what you said downstairs. I'm just not ready to tell her about Vic"

"Hey… you aint alone. You know we're all here for you and will always be here for you. But… There's nothing to be ashamed of. It's perfectly normal"

Grace was now wondering just how much he knew

"Mike, there's something you should know… I'm not really a barista. Gran… she, em… I live up there because…"

"Hey…" Mike started "…You think I don't know she has you watching your old man. You remember what I told you back 3 years ago. You're an asset. But, this life… it's not the life your dad wanted for you. He wanted you to go to university… wanted you to get married, have kids. Not the life of pretending to be someone else"

….

The next morning Mike and Grace drove up to the prison, ready to see Nell.

"Don't let your mom know that you're an agent. And you'll obviously need to surrender your SIG at the prison"

"I know. Has… who…"

"Kens visits her every month" Mike offered, knowing what the young woman was wondering

"What about Kristina?"

Mike wondered how much intel Hetty had allowed Grace to see about that investigation

"The FBI have her… I don't know where they're holding her. They claimed jurisdiction"

….

Mike sat down at the table, then stood up and walked back and forward

"Sit down. You're making me dizzy"

"Sorry… I … I just don't know if this is a good idea"

"I know. I don't either… I swore I'd never talk to her again. But I just… I don't know who else I can talk to about this"

"I know, Shortie. I just wish things weren't so… messed up. What I said last night… He didn't ever want this life for you. But he'd understand you speaking to her… about this, anyway"

A loud buzzer went off and the door into the room was pushed open, and Nell was guided into the room and then pushed down into the seat on the other side of the table.

Nell smiled when she saw Grace

"Baby. I'm glad to see you… but he doesn't need to be here" Nell replied, almost hatefully after seeing Mike sitting next to her firstborn

"Yeah, well he's staying. If you want to talk you better apologise."

Nell looked disbelievingly at Grace, wondering what lies Mike had been feeding her"