A/N: Thank you, so much, to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed. I am so excited. Reading the reviews, I think we all have ideas where this is going...we may all be surprised by the time we are done. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter. This isn't so much an action/adventure story as it is a conversational piece. We shall see. Again, please read and review. As always...feel free to give constructive advice (criticism is just too negative a word, ha)...okay, off with you...go forth and read.

"So, tell me," Nate shifted in his seat so he was once again facing Hetty's desk, "How did you decide who should be on the team? You know, this would actually make an interesting case study."

Hetty looked at Nate with her eyebrows raised as she leaned in to answer, "Neither I nor this team will be the subject of some case study, Mr. Getz…" She leaned back into her chair as she finished. "However, it is something I've been thinking about quite a bit as of late."

"You know the rumor, don't you?" Nate asked with a smirk, "Your reason for creating the OSP was for Callen."

Hetty thought a moment, allowing the memories to surface, "No, I am afraid that is not quite the case. Mr. Callen may be a valuable asset to NCIS, but to say I created an entire division around him would be a bit of an over exaggeration, don't you think, Nate?"

"Absolutely," Nate agreed as he took note of the slight twitch at the corners of her mouth and the sparkle in her eye, "But you have to admit, the team is another matter altogether, though."

Hetty nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, I don't think that's much of a secret,"

"Why though? He was working with the D.C. office of NCIS with Agent Gibbs at the time, wasn't he?" Nate asked.

She didn't respond at first but let out a long heavy sigh as she allowed herself to fall back to the past. "Well, actually, that was a temporary position. Callen had just come back from only one of many long recoveries after his partner in the DEA had sold him out and nearly got him killed in the process." Hetty stopped and shook her head. It wasn't lost on Nate. Having read through Callen's file, as thin as it was, he knew the many times he had partners and just how many of them ultimately abandoned the partnerships or had turned out to be dirty agents that turned on him. It never seemed he would catch a break in life.

Hetty set her empty cup on its matching saucer as she slowly released a breath before answering, "As you are well aware, Mr. Callen had never known stability from the point his mother died on that beach. Aside from the brief time with the Rostoff's and the few years he lived at Dovecote with me, he remained very transient. He attempted to find a sense of purpose by enlisting in the Army. Four years later and he was enticed into the crazy world of the ABC Agencies. You know how well that had worked out for him."

"But still, if he was working with Gibbs….they have a close friendship….why wouldn't he stay there?" Nate asked.

"Callen thrived on the undercover work. There wasn't a lot of that there in D.C. It wouldn't have taken long for him to grow restless. Besides that, you have met Agent Gibbs. Can you honestly see these two bull headed men working on the same team for long periods of time? Working undercover is one thing, but working the day to day job? One would have to kill the other eventually." Hetty smiled in amusement at the thought. She knew how close these two men were. Callen and Gibbs had indeed worked together. Gibbs had saved Callen on more than one occasion and according to Gibbs, the same could be said the other way around. They had a special friendship. Both men had self-imposed rules that they lived by and both had developed well-fortified walls protecting their hearts that few were ever blessed enough to see passed. Yet somehow they had each seen something in each other that by-passed all those protections to create a strong friendship that has endured. She continued, "There wasn't an agency out there that didn't want him…in theory. He is one of, if not the best in undercover work. His ability, as you well know, to become whomever he needs to be at any given moment is unbeatable. To seemingly disappear from the face of the earth…to become a ghost? The only problem was that he didn't play well with others. His inability to trust made finding him a partner impossible."

Nate nodded his understanding, "Well, he always has been prone to Lone Wolf tendencies. This comes as no great surprise. The unwillingness to trust would certainly hinder a partnership. I think we have seen that enough just in his time here with Sam."

"Indeed. So while every agency was interested, they simply didn't know how to handle him. Gibbs was one of the few who managed to scale the walls he put up to protect himself. They worked a few ops while Callen was with the DEA so when things went south and Callen was injured….we both knew he wouldn't stay with them. When he disappeared from the hospital Gibb's went looking for him. It took him months to find Callen and convince him to come back with him. He managed to get Callen to agree to join his team until he figured out what his next move would be." Hetty explained.

"So at what point did you decide to have him head up the OSP team?" Nate asked, watching Hetty closely.

"Well, I had already been in negotiation with Leon about possibly starting up a division here in Los Angeles. There was definitely a need for an elite team of undercover operatives to go inside these drug cartels and crime family businesses and dismantle them from the inside out. I will admit that Callen was always at the forefront of my mind to head up this team. I was biding my time until he chose to make another move. It was only a matter of when. When this happened, I knew he would never continue to stay with the DEA. Leon gave me the go ahead. I spoke with Agent Gibbs and he agreed to have Callen help him with his team until I could get things set up here. I convinced Lara Macy to head up the office. She and Callen already knew one another and Callen respected her. I needed someone who could connect with him on some level. Over the years, Callen had seen Gibbs and Lara as part of his 'family'."

"But why didn't you just manage it from the start?" Nate asked as he glanced back over his shoulder to once again give his attention to the bullpen then turned back to await Hetty's response.

"At the time, I wasn't sure that I was the right person. I had little contact with Callen once he joined the Army and had slipped into the Agencies. Things were…..complicated. I thought he might be more receptive if the day to day dealings were with someone other than myself." Hetty replied.

"From what Macy said, you weren't exactly hands off" Nate cleared his throat trying to hide the grin on his face.

Hetty pursed her lips leaning back in her chair and just stared at Nate for a moment, "Yes, well, I needed to make sure things were under control. Vance was happy to have snagged our ghost. He didn't want anything to go wrong and quite frankly, neither did I. I had promised his mother that I would look after him and keep him safe….I failed him repeatedly as a child. I wasn't about to let that happen as an adult…not to mention an agent. Having him in a unit under my control offered me a little give in that area. Doesn't that seem reasonable to you?" Hetty asked looking over at Nate as if daring him to argue.

"Yes, I guess it would. I think we can safely say that he certainly needed someone to have his back after all that has happened throughout his time with the various agencies. He has never felt he deserved such attention….to be honest, I still don't think he does. I am afraid I did nothing to help in that area. As you well know, he will probably never trust me again." Nate added sadly.

Hetty just hummed an agreement. There really wasn't much else to be said in regards to what had happened between Nate and Callen during the JDX case. Nate had been undercover and had ended up taking Callen hostage. Up to that point, Nate had lost contact with his handler and was considered Rogue. They had hoped by taking Callen he was reaching out. However, before any rescue took place, Nate had water boarded Callen and used personal information from Callen's files against him. Even though Nate claimed it was all part of the cover and Callen had claimed he was fine with it…there was no mistaking the change in their friendship. Callen rarely trusted anyone and once that fragile trust was severed….it was rarely offered again.

They remained quiet just taking in the sounds around them, occasionally stealing a glance toward the entrance, just as did the rest of the team….but it remained empty. Nate sighed and leaned back in the chair crossing his legs and again looked to Hetty. She was tired and worried. What may have started out as simply a new division of NCIS had become much more. The OSP was well known for its uniqueness. The team was acknowledged as not just ONE of the best but THE best. Agents, in general, would be close with their partners but seldom developed much more than a working friendship. The mortality rate was high…partners came and went. Hetty had developed a team with a large support system that became a family. They all knew each other. Every person that crossed the threshold of this building played a very important part in the safety of the rest. Loyalty was demanded. While unorthodox, it worked. The success rate of their missions were the highest. They watched out for and defended each other with a tenacity that was unheard of. They were indeed a family. It didn't start out that way though….at least not in the bullpen. It had been a bit of a rocky start. The cases were covered but here at home? There were questions as to whether Hetty had really chosen the best people to be partners in what was to become The ABC Agencies Dream Team. A team, that depending on the day and the agency was both to be envied and revered.

"Okay. So you managed to get Macy to head up the team. How did you convince Callen to agree to be the lead in a team of four when he didn't even want a single partner?" Nate asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, well, that took a little bit of convincing. I had let Gibbs take the lead on that while I began assembling the rest of the group. It started small, as you know. A technologically advanced home base with a small group of computer geniuses." Hetty grinned at the thoughts.

"So who came first?"