And we're back! Thanks to all of you who have favorited and followed this story. :-)
Caroline: So sorry to hear that! Hope that the madness that was hurricane Matthew has slowed down a bit, and things are able to return to normal for you.
Now, on with the craziness that is NOL! Enjoy. :D
Sam stopped the Challenger next to the curb and looked at the house. "It looks relatively calm."
"Hmm." Callen's eyes scanned the area and he nodded. "Take the back just to be sure?"
"Yeah."
They got out; Sam going around back and Callen walked up to the front door with a key in his hand. Sam wasn't really surprised anymore when he walked into the yard. His partner had kept so much from him these past couple of months; he wasn't shocked that the back yard had changed as well. It just made him feel left out. Even Kensi and Deeks knew about Deja and all the changes Callen had made.
Meanwhile, on the front, Callen checked the street once again. Then he checked the front door to see if it was rigged. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. At last, he opened the door. Pulling his gun out of the waistband of his jeans, he circled through the house, opening the back door for Sam in the process. "Downstairs is clear," he whispered and went up the stairs. Sam followed suit, but upstairs was just as clean as the ground floor.
"All clear." Clearly relieved, Callen put his gun away and went to the closet. He threw some clothes in a bag, picked a picture of him and Deja from the nightstand and went back down again.
Sam quietly eyed the furniture and fresh wallpaper, the dining room with its paper-covered table and homely kitchen. It was a far cry from the house Callen had been living in. It was as transformed as Callen was himself.
Callen took something from the mantle that Sam couldn't see, threw it in the bag and took one final look around the room before deciding that he had everything he needed. "Come on. I need to talk to Gibbs."
The drive back to the boat shed was again a silent one. But Sam could feel himself on the boiling point. He needed answers and he needed answers fast.
"Shut your mouth." In the seat next to him, Callen shook his head and sighed. "You have every right to feel left out, okay? I'm sorry it came down to this. This was not how I pictured introducing you to her, but it has to do. And yes, Kensi and Deeks know. Deeks knows because he is a far better agent that the two of us give him credit for, and Kensi knows because she had to drive me home when I broke my shoulder. I couldn't not tell her."
"Why could you not tell me?"
"Because you push and meddle and treat me as if I can't do this on my own. I want to. I want to be able to do this on my own and it felt as if by telling you, this thing with her would be out of my hands and you'd try to get control over it. And you having control over or meddling in means that it'll end. It's not ending. This is it. And it's all it is because I made it happen."
Sam took a deep, angry breath. "You don't mean that."
"Other than me saying 'I love you' to Deja, I've never been so serious in my life."
"You've kept the facts that you have a name, and a girlfriend that you're living with and a furnished house that I barely recognize all to yourself because you think I meddle?"
"I don't only think so, Sam, I know it. Even your wife thinks so. You would have my proposal ready when I wasn't looking and would just present me with the fact that it's time to get engaged and I would feel like I earned nothing of it. I wouldn't even be sure if it was the right girl."
"Is she?"
"She is way more than I deserve."
Sam huffed. "I don't meddle. I try to help."
Callen shook his head. "You don't try to help. I need you to be my partner and my friend, and I need you to help me solve this and find this guy so we can go back to our lives."
"You've deliberately kept me out of the loop."
Callen unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. "And I would do it all over again if I had to." He slammed the door and stalked over to the boatshed. Inside, he found his girlfriend and Hetty on the couch, talking to Eric on the screen.
Deja seemed okay, but he knew she was putting up a brave front. At least Hetty had given her a pair of jeans. Opening the bag, he fished out her favorite comfy sweater and handed it to her. "Here."
She gave him a watery smile. "Thank you."
He knelt in front of her, pushing that unruly lock out of the way. "How are you holding up?"
"Barely," she whispered. "But Hetty's keeping me company, with good tea, so it's sort of kept me occupied. I think."
Taking a deep breath, he rubbed her knee. "I'm afraid I have bad news, Dee."
For a moment, she closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. "It's Lindy, right?"
"It is."
"How bad is it?" Although she was terrified of the answer, she had to know.
"Lindy didn't make it," he softly said. "I'm so sorry, baby."
She was trying to keep the tears at bay, but this morning had been madness and this was the final straw. A tear slipped down her cheek, followed by another and another. Callen gathered her close, rubbing her back, whispering in her ear. But he couldn't make it better. He could only make sure he caught Bogdanov and made him pay.
Wiping her cheeks, Deja pulled back. "Does Ted know?"
"The coroners office has called him."
"And Jess?"
"Jess is in the hospital. Marty said they're keeping her in a coma for now. I don't know anything else."
"Okay." It wasn't okay, but it was all she was going to get now. There was no real time to deal with Lindy's death. They had to catch her killer.
"Callen?" Eric's voice broke in.
He looked up. "What is it, Eric?"
"Gibbs is calling."
He rose. "Put him up."
Gibbs' face showed up at the screen, his brows knotted together in concern. "What's going on?"
"Are all your agents accounted for, Jethro?" Callen didn't have time for small talk.
The question made Gibbs' brows knot even further together. "My agents? McGee is with Abby, Ellie is behind her desk."
"Have you heard from Tony and Ziva?"
"Though not technically my agents anymore… Paris." He studied his friend. "What aren't you telling me, Callen?"
Callen took a deep breath. "Bogdanov's son found me. He blew up Dee's café this morning. Two casualties, four wounded so far."
"Serbia."
"Yeah."
Gibbs rubbed the back of his head. "Does the director know?"
"I've briefed him, Agent Gibbs." Hetty walked into view.
Gibbs nodded at her. "Do you have any idea how he came to know about your whereabouts? Or Dee's for that matter?"
Callen shrugged. "No such thing as an erratic routine when there's a café involved."
"Mmm." Gibbs eyes fleeted to Deja, sitting behind Callen on the couch. "You okay, Dee?"
Deja gave him a curt nod. "I'm all right, Jethro."
Gibbs could tell that was not the entire truth, but chose not to ask any more questions. "I have no reason to believe that he's got people here. But I'll be careful, let the rest know, check in with Tony. Do you need help over there?"
"We're good. Keep your eyes open, though. If we don't catch him, he will come after you."
"Noted. Keep me in the loop." It was more order than request.
"Will do."
The screen went black and Callen pursed his lips at Eric. "Any word on Jay yet?"
Upon hearing the name, Deja looked up. "There's no word on Jay yet?"
Callen shook his head. "I'm trying to find him. Eric?"
"Cedar-Sinai, like Jess."
"So he's accounted for." He was weighing possibilities in his head, trying to figure out if he'd missed something. "Dee, you sure there's no-one else that has a key to the apartment? It wasn't in the safe."
"No…" Then, she turned to Eric. "Eric? Is there a record of Keira McMullen being admitted to the hospital?"
Eric's hands flew over his keypad. "No, no record of her in any hospital."
Swallowing, Deja locked eyes with Callen. "She's been acting strange for a while. I found her snooping around the office a few weeks back. She's coming in late; asking questions about the apartment upstairs, questions about us. I didn't think anything of it, but now that you haven't found the key in the safe… It might not be anything…"
"Or it might be everything." He turned to the screen. "Eric, Nell, find Keira. And do it fast."
