Hello my lovelies. I would like to thank Petunia3116, heyjode, Beststoriesever, Lic. Lu and Guest for the wonderful reviews. I would also like to thank those of you who have followed and favoured since my last update.

So here is the next chapter, it is not as long as I thought it was going to be, but I hope you like it all the Same.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA.

Sam walked into the mission to find it strangely empty. He had assumed that when he found Callen's house empty that his partner would have already been here. But his desk looked the same as it had the previous night when they had left, and his bag was not by his chair. This caused him to frown. It was bad enough Deeks was missing, he didn't need G to be as well. With that in mind he headed towards Hetty's office. If anyone knew, she would.

"Where's G, Hetty?" He asked without any preamble as he approached her desk.

"He has called in sick." Hetty replied simply, wondering what Sam would make of that information.

"Really? Because he isn't at home." Sam stated. I mean forget for the moment that Callen never called in sick, if he was, he would be at home being ill.

"Indeed?" Hetty asked her eyebrow raising at that. It confirmed her suspicions the Mr Callen was somewhere doing something he didn't want any of them to know. That was never a good thing in her mind. When he went off the grid it never went well.

"Yeah. What's going on?" Sam asked hoping Hetty had some idea of what was up with his partner.

"I don't know, but I will find out, Sam. for today you will be partnered with Miss Blye." Hetty responded her final words a clear dismissal, that even though Sam didn't want to accept, he knew he had no choice. So instead he nodded to Hetty, and moved back to his desk. He was only going to wait until she left before going up to Eric and Nell and getting them to trace his partner. He had a feeling he was going to need him.

Hetty watched Sam walk away and knew what he was thinking, therefore she pulled her own laptop towards her. She needed to find Callen before his partner did. She didn't know why she felt that way, but she knew she needed to. And even as she started typing the trace for his mobile and car's GPS she felt the guilt that was starting to build inside her. The guilt at how she had been giving him the cold shoulder for how he had allowed Mr Deeks to walk away. It wasn't her boys fault, she knew that. He had just been the messenger. But he had refused to tell her where the other man was, refused to give her anything to help her change his mind. Oh she was sure she could find it out for herself easily enough, but she also knew she couldn't do that. She could not invade Mr Deeks privacy, no matter how much she wished to do so.

The results came back from her search, with the phone giving her nothing, not that she expected anything from it. What she was surprised about was the fact she got a hit of the car. The coordinates seemed to lead her to the middle of nowhere, which caused her to worry thinking someone might have gotten to her boy. That was before she found out about a bar that was located in the cove Callen was parked at. Though why he was there and what he was doing she had no idea. But staring at the blip that was his GPS and the information she could find on the bar and its proprietors, she found herself relaxing slightly. Frank Monroe had been a good police officer before being forced out for being gay, and his husband had nothing worse than a parking ticket from ten years ago. There was no danger for her boy there. He would be fine.

So instead she turned her mind to why he would be in such a place. The only conclusion that she could come to was that he needed time away. Away from her and the team. Away from the accusing stares he had been getting from them all because he refused to give up Mr Deeks' location and had been the one to process his paperwork.

Maybe it was time to let it go. Mr Deeks had made it very clear he would not be returning. Maybe it was time to find his replacement. She needed them to be working at full strength. With that realisation she turned to look through the list of current police officers, to see if she could spot one who would fit in with her team. She would need someone who was different from Mr Deeks, though just as good. Someone who would shine in his own right and not be taken as a replacement for the man they had lost. It took a while but she finally found exactly what she was looking for. Picking up the phone she dialled the chief of police.

"Yes, hello. I know who I want to be our new LAPD liaison… Yes… Detective Jason Thomas… Thankyou. The day after tomorrow will be the perfect time for him to start."

With that she hung up and looked towards what was left of her best team just as a whistle sang out from the balcony above calling them to ops. "Yes, Detective Thomas will do very well I'm sure." She muttered quietly with a smile on her face, before turning back to her computer and locking Callen's GPS location so that no one else would be able to find it. She would give him these two days, and hopefully when he came back the team would settle down with their newest member.

Deeks woke to find himself in a strange room with arms wrapped around him. He tensed, or he did until he registered the photo on the bedside table of Frank and Henry on what he guessed was their wedding day. He couldn't think of any other reason they would be wearing tuxes. Looking round the room he saw more evidence that told him whose room he was in. What he didn't know was why he was there, or who was holding him in his arms. He tried to remember the previous evening, but something in his mind seemed to be blocking it out. He didn't understand why, but that wasn't the most pressing concern right then so instead of trying to force the matter he slowly turned in the arms only to come face to face with a sleeping Callen.

Well that was unexpected. What was Callen doing here? And why on earth were they in Frank and Henry's bed? But before his mind could give him answers the blue eyes of his former team leader opened.

"Morning." Callen said to the very awake Deeks next to him. He was surprised he hadn't woken when the other man had, he must have been more tired that he thought.

"Hey. What are you doing here Callen? And for that matter why are we in Frank and Henry's room? Please tell me we didn't have a drunken orgy with them or something." Deeks replied humour lacing his tone.

"Err, no. What do you remember of last night, Deeks?" Callen asked carefully, not wanting to upset the other man but needing to know what he was dealing with.

"Well I had a few drinks with Frank and Henry, maybe a few to many. Then I went to bed in my room, and you definitely weren't here, I'm sure. After that… there's something…" suddenly Deeks pulled out or Callen's arms and moved to sit up against the headboard his eyes wide and his breathing heavy. "No." Was all he could say as suddenly the flood gates opened and everything came rushing back to him. The nightmare, Frank trying to wake him. The sound of Callen's voice and opening his eyes to find out he had hit Frank. No it couldn't be true. "Please, tell me it's not true." He whispered looking at Callen with such pain and heartbreak in his eyes.

"Deeks?" Callen asked moving to sit next to him. He wasn't sure what it was Deeks was remembering, but he wanted to be there of him whatever it was.

"Tell me I didn't hurt him. Tell me I'm not…" Deeks replied shaking his head hoping that if he did it hard enough the memories would disappear and cess to be true. He couldn't cope with the idea that he had hurt Frank. He had been nothing but kind to him, and yet he had hit him. No.

Callen reached over without thought and clasped Deeks face gently but firmly between his hands, wanting to stop the shaking that was starting to worry him. "Not what?" He asked when he was able to get Deeks to meet his eyes.

"Not like my father." Deeks whispered. The one thing that had always haunted him at the back of his mind coming to the surface in his vulnerable state. The one idea that he had always strived against, and tried to shield away from. That he could turn into the man who's DNA he had fifty percent of. That he could one day start drinking and never stop. That one day he would strike out at those closest to him and keep doing it to relieve his own pain and worthless suffering.

"You are nothing like him, Deeks. You could never be anything like him." Callen replied with steal in his voice. The idea that Deeks could even think he would be anything like that man… there was no possibility that he could ever be. He knew Deeks, and he knew he would rather die than hurt anyone he cared about intentionally.

"But I hit Frank. I had too much to drink and I hit him." Deeks responded, seeing only the parts that were parallel to his own childhood. He knew it had been too good to be true. The home he had here, the family he had in Frank and Henry. He had lost them all now. He couldn't' stay. He wouldn't stay and turn into that man.

"No. You hit him because you were still stuck in the nightmare. You didn't mean it, and you would never do it otherwise." Callen categorically stated. He had heard the scuffle over the phone. Had heard Franks explanation, and he knew that Deeks would never do something like that when in his right mind.

"But I still hit him. I can't stay here. I'm a danger to them." Deeks argued back. Even if he wasn't becoming his father, what happened when he got the next nightmare? The one the previous night wasn't his first and he very much doubted it would be his last. He refused to put anyone in danger just because he couldn't control himself in his sleep. That was no excuse. There was never any excuse for hurting someone who wasn't fighting back.

"Deeks, stop. You're not going anywhere." Callen replied simply. Though his voice said very clearly that that wasn't a suggestion. And he would do everything in his power to make sure Deeks stayed exactly where he was. Which considering he was Callen, was no doubt a hell of a lot.

"But Callen-" Deeks tried to argue back all the same. I mean for a start he doubted Frank and Henry would want him round after what he had done.

"I said no. And I don't think I'm alone in that one. There is no way Henry and Frank will let you leave either. So get that idea out of your head right now." Callen interrupted. He knew he was right there, there was no way the guy he had walked in to find holding Deeks that morning would just let him walk out of the door.

"How can I face them, knowing what I've done?" Deeks asked with a sigh as he collapsed backwards, his eyes closing as Callen's hands fell from his face.

"You didn't do anything. You were fighting for your life." Callen responded in a gentler tone, hoping he could force Deeks to accept what he was saying, but knowing he wouldn't. The guilt wouldn't leave the kid that easily, if only it would.

"But I didn't need to be." Deeks responded his eyes opening again and when Callen looked into them he could see the sheen of water waiting to drop. Could see the broken look on Deeks face at everything that had happened not just the previous night the past months as well. Therefore he did the only thing he could.

"You didn't know that." he replied before reaching over and pulling the younger man into his arms as he broke down. "It's not your fault." He whispered into his hair as he held him tight and let him release the pent up emotions that were churning through him as his wall finally collapsed. Let him cry out all that he needed to. Let him, for the first time, actually feel the emotional turmoil being tortured had. And while he knew it was bad, Callen also knew that Deeks needed to do this before he could move on. Before he had any chance of getting better. He knew that this was a good step on the road of recovery for his friend, just as he knew he would be with him every step of the way.