Callen went out of bed to look for Joelle. He couldn't find her upstairs so he went downstairs. He found her in the kitchen, leaning against the kitchen counter with her elbows resting on the counter.
"Here you are, you okay?" Callen asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Hey G, yeah I'm fine, just couldn't sleep."
"You okay?" Callen asked as he walked over to her and rubbed her back.
"Yeah, the baby is just a little bit active tonight but I'm fine."
Callen kept rubbing Joelle's lower back. They stood there in the kitchen for a while before going back to bed. Joelle curled up to her pregnancy pillow and Callen snuggled in behind her. He wrapped his arm around her so it was resting on her stomach.
"Just try to get some sleep okay and you can wake me for anything," Callen spoke to her.
"I know honey."
Joelle kissed Callen before they snuggled together and a little later they fell asleep.
They had a quiet and relaxing weekend.
..
"You'll be okay here on your own tomorrow?" Callen asked Sunday night as they lay in bed. "I could ask Hetty if I could work from home if we have no urgent cases."
"That's not necessary but thanks G. Don't worry, I'll be fine and if something happens I will call you okay. But I'll be fine, I promise."
"Alright. But I don't mind staying home with you."
"I know G. Thank you but I'll be fine. You have your job."
"I love my job but nothing is more important than you and our little boy. I love you both."
"I know G. We love you too."
Callen crawled closer to Joelle and kissed her. He was so happy to have her in his life and he couldn't wait for their little boy to be born. He was still scared about becoming a father, scared about what it would be like when the baby would be here but he was very excited too. After everything he went through he now had a loving family of his own and he was so happy with them.
They stopped kissing and looked into each other's eyes. They could both see the love in the other's eyes.
"Make love to me G," Joelle spoke.
"You sure you're up for that?"
"Yeah I am. Make it good, cus I don't know if I'll be up for it again before the baby is here."
Callen smiled at her and kissed her again. He took his time undressing her and worshipping her body. He turned Joelle around and lay behind her before moving inside of her. Callen had his hand on her stomach and Joelle's hand was intertwined with his. As he moved Callen kissed her neck. He loved the sounds Joelle made whenever the made love, they turned him on even more.
Spend but very content they fell asleep in each other's embrace. They were woken up the next morning at 8am when Callen's alarm went off.
"You stay in bed okay, get some more sleep. I'll see you later," Callen told Joelle.
"Be careful," Joelle replied still half asleep.
"Always. I love you." Callen bent down to Joelle's stomach. "And I love you too, be good to mommy today." Callen gave Joelle a kiss before he slipped out of the bed.
"I love you too," Joelle spoke before Callen got out.
Callen gave Joelle one more kiss before he went downstairs. He grabbed some breakfast before going to the office.
"Morning," Callen spoke as he walked into the bullpen, only Sam was there.
"Morning. How was your weekend?"
"It was good, just quiet. Yours?"
"Good, did some fun things with Kamran. How's Joelle doing? She's on maternity leave right?"
"Yes she is, as of this week. She's doing fine but I can tell she wants the baby to be here."
"That's understandable. Michelle had that too with both Aiden and Kamran. Towards the end she had enough with being pregnant and she wanted her old body back. We were both excited to meet the little baby but for Michelle the last few weeks were hard. Everything was aching and she couldn't move around so easily anymore. There's not much that you can do, just be there for her."
"Yeah I will. I just hope the job doesn't pull me away too much right now."
"Don't worry G, I've got your covered. You don't have to miss your baby being born."
"Thanks Sam."
A little later Kensi and Deeks arrived too and not long after that Eric whistled them upstairs.
"What do we have?" Callen asked as the agents walked into the OPS center.
"Late last night LAPD were in pursuit of a speeding vehicle when this happened," Eric spoke.
Eric put some traffic camera footage on the screen and hit play. They saw a high speed chase and then the car that was being chased exploded.
"Oh yikes, not a good way to go," Deeks remarked.
"Who was driving the car?" Callen asked.
"The ME hasn't been able to confirm yet but she did determine it was a women who was driving and there was a male body found in the trunk. The car is registered to Tyler Davis," Nell said as she put an ID on the screen. "He's a petty officer working out of camp Pendleton."
"Was it his body in the trunk?" Sam asked.
"The ME isn't sure yet but she did say the body matches Davis' description but she'll need dental records to confirm. We checked in with camp Pendleton, Davis didn't check in for work this morning but he did check out on Friday evening. So far we don't know where he has been over the weekend."
"Any next of kin?" Callen wanted to know.
"He lives here in Los Angeles with his girlfriend, address is on your phone."
"Thanks. Kensi, Deeks, you speak with his girlfriend. Sam and I will go check out the car. Eric, Nell, see if you can get anything from the LAPD report why they were chasing this car, maybe it wasn't just a speeding car they saw passing by."
"Got it," Eric replied.
With everyone knowing what do to they went to work. Callen and Sam went to the impound yard where the car was. It was really badly burned.
"Not a good way to go," Callen remarked as he saw the car.
"Nope, not at all. But was it an accident or murder?"
The remains had already been removed so Callen and Sam could examine the car. Sam looked in the seats as Callen looked through the trunk. Callen found some rope and duct-tape suggesting that whoever was in the trunk was bound and gagged. Sam found pieces of a cell phone and a detenator. They took the cell phone parts back to the office to see if Eric could get something off of it.
"Anything on the IDs?" Callen asked when he and Sam walked back in. Eric and Nell were just coming down the stairs.
"ID on the male in the trunk did come back already and it is indeed Davis," Nell told them. "No ID on the woman yet."
"Got some cell phone pieces for ya, see what you can get off of it. It was probably used to trigger a device that exploded the car."
Eric and Nell went to the gadget room and got started. Kensi and Deeks were still out. Callen walked to the courtyard and pulled out his phone.
Joelle was sitting on the couch when her phone rang. She saw it was Callen so she answered it.
"Hey honey," Joelle answered the phone.
"Hey beautiful, how are you?"
"I'm good. Just taking it easy. You?"
"I'm good. Just waiting for some new information on a case. I just wanted to check in to see how you were doing."
"That's sweet of you Grisha, but I'm fine. There's no need to worry about me, just focus on your job."
"I'll see you later. I'll let you know if it's gonna be later."
"Alright. I love you, just be careful."
"I will Jo, I love you too. Bye honey."
"Bye baby."
Callen hung up the phone and went back inside. About twenty minutes later Kensi and Deeks were back.
"Anything useful from the girlfriend?" Callen asked.
"No, not much. She said he drove to Pendleton last night. He always drives back Sunday night. She couldn't think of anyone who would wanna hurt him and as far as she knew he didn't have problems with anyone."
The two techs came out of the gadget room.
"We managed to get something off of the cell phone," Eric spoke. "The cell phone received a call from a pay phone just before the bomb detonated. Luckily the pay phone that was used has a camera on it." Eric put the picture on the screen. "Too bad he's turned away from the camera but when he walked away we picked him up on another camera." Eric put another picture on the screen.
"We ran him through facial reg," Nell continued. "And his name came back as Ryan Fuller. We looked for connections to Davis and the only one we could find was that Davis served with Ethan Fuller, Ryan's brother. Ethan was killed about six months ago on a mission and Davis was in the same unit."
"So Fuller gets killed during a mission, which Davis was a part of as well and then six months later Davis dies in a car accident and Fuller's brother set the explosion. That can't be a coincidence," Callen stated.
"Any ID on the woman yet?" Sam asked.
"No, not yet."
"Do you know where Fuller is?" Callen questioned.
"His credit card was used in a diner on Sunset boulevard about ten minutes ago."
"Sam and I will go pick him up. Kensi, Deeks, see who the commanding officer of that unit was, maybe something happened there and Ryan blames Davis for his brother's dead."
Callen and Sam got in the challenger and Sam drove them to the diner. Just as they pulled up Fuller exited the diner.
"That's him Sam."
Callen exited the car.
"Ryan Fuller!" Callen yelled.
As soon as Fuller saw Callen he made a run for in. Callen got back in the car and Sam followed him. Fuller ran into an alley but Sam boxed him in. Fuller ran and jumped the fence. Callen got out of the car and followed him. Sam drove off and tried to cut Fuller off. Callen jumped the fence and ran after Fuller. When Fuller came back on the streets Sam cut him off and Callen tackled him to the ground.
"That's for making me run," Callen spoke as he cuffed Fuller.
Callen put him in the back of the challenger and they took him to the boatshed. Callen put him down on the chair in interrogation and undid the cuffs before sitting opposite from him.
"Why did you run Fuller? Usually when people run it's because they have something to hide," Callen said.
"I didn't do anything."
"Not according to what we found." Callen took the folder and opened it. He placed two pictures of Fuller at the payphone on the table. "You see this is you."
"So I used a payphone, big deal. More people do that."
"True, but not all people used that payphone at the exact time a car bomb exploded. We found pieces of the cell phone and we traced it back to that payphone and guess who was there at the time of the call." Fuller kept quiet. "You called in and the bomb exploded. The bomb was in a car registered to Tyler Davis. You know him right?" Fuller got an angry look on his face. "We know that your brother died on a mission and Davis was part of the team. You blame him for your brother's dead?"
"He killed my brother!" Fuller yelled as he slammed his fists down on the table.
"That's not what his commanding officer said," Sam told him.
"I don't care what he says. I know the truth. Davis got my brother killed. My brother was a rookie and Davis should have had his back. It's his fault my brother didn't come home."
"So what, you decide to kill him?"
"He deserved to die. He killed my brother!"
"Callen, Sam, we've got an ID on the women in the car," Nell's voice was heard over their coms. "You're gonna wanna see this."
The partners left the interrogation room and went to the main room. Nell's face popped up on screen.
"What did you find?" Callen asked.
"The ME just sent us the ID on the woman in the car," Nell spoke. "It's Debbie Fuller, Fuller's sister."
Callen and Sam exchanged a look.
"Thanks Nell."
The two men went back into the interrogation room. Callen sat opposite from him again and Sam pulled up the other chair.
"You didn't just kill Davis, you killed your sister too," Callen told him flatly. "The woman who was driving the car was your sister. When you set off the bomb you killed her too."
"She wasn't supposed to be in the car," Fuller broke down after a minute or so. "She was supposed to drop the car off and then I would call in to detonate it but that stupid bitch got caught by the police and they were in pursuit of her."
"You what, you just decided to detonate the bomb anyway and kill your own sister too."
"I couldn't let the cops found out what we did. I figured if I detonated the bomb all the evidence would be gone."
"You killed your sister to save your own skin. That's just pathetic."
Fuller broke down and started crying. "It wasn't supposed to go like that."
Callen and Sam left interrogation. A little later agents came to pick Fuller up and the partners went back to the office. They finished up their paperwork before going home.
….
Joelle was now in her thirty-seventh week. She was more than ready to have this baby. Since a few days she was getting Braxton-Hicks contractions. Callen stayed at home as much as he could but sometimes he did have to go to work. Luckily he hadn't been called in for long undercover jobs. Callen really hoped it wouldn't be much longer now, he could see the toll it was taking on Joelle and probably with her Braxton-Hicks contractions it wouldn't be long. Mostly Joelle had to go out of bed at least once a night. Tonight was no exception. She tried not to wake Callen but every time she had gotten out Callen had come out after her as well. Tonight Callen found her in the tub.
"You okay honey?" Callen asked as he walked into one of the other bathrooms. Their bathroom didn't have bath. They would maybe remodel it but the other two bathrooms did have a bath.
"Yeah, the baby was just very active. Thought a bath would help."
"And does it?"
"A little. I just hope the baby is here soon. I don't think I can handle this three more weeks."
"You'll be fine honey. I know you want the baby out and I wanna meet him too but we have to wait till he's ready. I know it's tough for you but I'm here for you, for whatever you need."
"I know honey and thank you for that. I'm good here, you can go back to sleep if you want."
"Nah, I'll stay here with you. You want some company in the tub?"
"Sure, but you don't have to."
"I don't mind."
Callen stripped out of his clothes and joined Joelle in the tub. Joelle sat up a bit so Callen could slide in behind her. Joelle snuggled back against his chest and Callen wrapped his arms around her. They stayed in the tub for a while before going back to back. An hour later Callen woke up again when Joelle got out of the bed. He stayed in at first but then he heard her going down so he followed her. He found her in the kitchen leaning against the counter.
"You sure you're okay honey?" Callen asked as he walked into the kitchen. "Usually they don't last this long."
"I'll be fine. It'll pass."
"You sure it's not real labor?"
"I don't think so. I'm timing the contractions whenever I feel them. The doctor said to call her when they get five minutes apart or when my water breaks. My water hasn't broken yet and the contractions are still like fifteen minutes apart. Don't worry honey. I'm sure it are still just Braxton-Hicks contractions."
Callen rubbed Joelle's back. The contractions went from fifteen to ten minutes apart over the last hour. Joelle thought that this would be it perhaps. Ten minutes apart was the closest she had gotten so far. Her contractions continued to get closer and heavier. Joelle grabbed Callen's hand tightly whenever a contraction hit.
"Yeah I don't think these are just Braxton-Hicks anymore. I'm gonna call the doctor."
"No, not yet. They are not that close yet."
Just as she finished saying that Joelle screamed when she got a heavy contraction and she squeezed Callen's hand tight. When the contraction was over Joelle felt something wet run down her leg.
"Now you can call the doctor. My water just broke."
Callen's face froze for a second and he looked down. He saw a pool of water down Joelle's legs.
"Alright, come on, let's get you to the car."
Callen helped Joelle to and into the car. He quickly went back inside and grabbed Joelle's bag, which was already by the door. He pulled out of the driveway and drove to the hospital. On the way over to the hospital Callen called the doctor. She would meet them at the hospital. It was just after 5.30am when Callen and Joelle arrived at the hospital. Callen grabbed a wheelchair for Joelle and took her upstairs to the maternity ward.
"Good morning," Callen spoke to the desk nurse. "Joelle Taylor is here for doctor Garcia."
"Ah yes, she called us." The nurse turned around to another nurse. "Emma, could you take Ms. Taylor to her room?"
"Of course." Emma walked up to them. "Hello, I'm Emma and I'll be your OB nurse. Follow me and we'll get you settled into your room."
Callen pushed the wheelchair and followed Emma to the room. Callen put Joelle's bag on the couch and helped Joelle to get into the bed. The nurse helped Joelle take her pajamas off and helped her put a hospital gown on. Just as Joelle was finished changing the doctor walked in.
"Well good morning, I see it's time," doctor Garcia spoke.
"Good morning doctor. Yeah, my water broke just before we called you."
"Alright and your contractions? Have far apart are they?"
"About six minutes right now."
"Alright, lay back down on the bed so I can examine you please."
Joelle lay down on the bed as the doctor grabbed the ultrasound. The doctor fired the machine up, put some gel on the wand and put the wand on Joelle's stomach.
"Everything looks good. The baby has turned already. He's ready to come out. Let me feel between your legs to see how far you are." She pulled some gloves on and felt in between Joelle's legs. "You're two centimeters dilated so we'll just have to wait till your fully dilated. Just relax and I'll be back later to check on you. If you need any pain meds just press the button."
The doctor put a baby monitor on Joelle's stomach before she left.
"I can't believe we're finally gonna meet him," Callen told Joelle with a smile.
"Yeah finally he'll be here. I can't wait."
"You'll do great honey and I'll be right here next to you."
At 8am Joelle was only four centimeters dilated. It was going very slow, too slow for her liking. Callen pulled his phone out and quickly called Sam and Hetty to tell them what was going on.
Joelle didn't know in what position to stand, sit or lie. She couldn't find a comfortable position. The most comfortable position was standing next to the bed with Callen rubbing her back.
"You're doing great honey, I'm proud of you."
"Shut up you! This is all your doing!" Joelle yelled as a contraction ripped through her body. "Sorry honey, I didn't mean that."
"It's okay honey, you can say anything you want."
At noon Joelle was still only six centimeters dilated. She hated that it was going this slowly. She finally caved and the doctor gave her some medications for the pain. The medication did wonders and within an hour she was fully dilated. They had moved her to a delivery room already about ten minutes ago. The doctor and the nurse were getting everything ready for the delivery.
"This is finally it Jo, we're gonna meet him," Callen spoke.
"Yeah finally. I can't wait to see him."
"Alright Joelle, we're all set. When you feel the next contraction I want you to push."
When the next contraction hit Joelle grabbed Callen's hand tightly and pushed. Three pushes later the baby's head was out and after two more pushes the baby was almost out. Joelle gave it everything she got and pushed hard to get the baby out. The baby immediately started crying.
"Congratulations mommy and daddy. We have a little surprise here, you have a little girl."
