Brian didn't manage to suppress his grin as he got into Callen's silver Aston Martin. He never drove such a baby himself. His old friend had forever raved about it to him, but Brian definitely favored the tuners. Nevertheless it was an awesome feeling to bring this machine up to speed. He drove onto the San Diego Freeway, sped up and passed the other cars. The speedometer needle climbed the 80,

"You know that Hetty sends us to driving school, because we drive to fast?" asked Callen amused.

"You're driving too fast," grinning Brian looked at him, "I don't get caught."

"You don't know where every traffic camera in L.A. is by any chance?"

"Maybe there's an app for that," said Brian, "as I told you earlier: the Racing scene is connected."

Callen laughed. They kept silent for a while. It was Callen, who broke the silence, "What I wanted to as earlier: Did you think about where you're sleeping?"

"I'll look for a motel as soon as the day is over. I need to go to the FLETC training soon anyway, so I didn't want to look for flat until I'm back again."

"That's a long time. I totally forgot you'd have to finish the training. I didn't need to back then, because I came directly from the CIA."

Surprised Brian looked at Callen, "So you're a James Bond? Just without the suit."

"I was a James Bond."

"And you kept the car."

"And I kept the car."

Brian grinned, then he steered the talk back to the original topic, "Ms. Lange said, that I can maybe skip the training. Do you think she can arrange it?"

"Hetty always gets what she wants. You'll realize it. I'm profoundly convinced that she's a little demon."

"I'll take your word for that."

"So regardless whether you have to do the training or not, if you want to you can sleep at mine."

With shock Brian yanked the wheel a little to the side. He counter steered fast, but Callen yelped, hung on to the seat and looked with widened eyes at Brian, "You're driving ice cold under a truck and jump over a bridge, but you react that way at a simple question?"

"Sorry, man! I didn't expect that."

Brian took a deep breath and his heart beat slowly normalized again. How could he suspect that Callen'd make such a proposal? This man wasn't a mind reader, was he? Brian reddened at this stupid idea.

"How come you ask? I mean-"

"In Miami I crashed at yours, too. It's not a problem for me."

"Yes, but you had to live at mine. I don't want you to think you're obligated to me just because we were sleeping together."

Brian blinked, decelerated, shifted down, turned, sped up and shifted up again. He left his hand on the stick shift. Warm fingers laid over his. Brian's heart pounded like mad. He gulped and looked to Callen.

"I don't offer it, because I feel obligated, but because I'd like you stay overnight. Tell me if we're moving too fast with this relationship. We don't have to share a bed. I have a couch, too."

Brian laughed and looked into Callen's eyes, "You think we're moving too fast for me? Believe me: So far I had only one relationship and compared to that this one's really slow. Besides", he looked on the street again, "I thought you wouldn't be the type of man who'd do it in the usual way."

"Well then, it's still nice that we can settle on something."

Brian turned into the last street and drove to the building of the driving school. He turned the engine off, unbuckled, but remained seated. Callen'd already opened the door, but as he noticed that Brian didn't get out, he slammed it shut again, "What's up?"

Brian bit his bottom lip, "What will your boss say if she learns of our relationship?"

"Hetty? I believe, nothing. At the NCIS fraternizing isn't forbidden, you know?"

"Well", Brian raked his fingers through his hair. In his memory the comments of his police colleagues were still present. The almost brawls in the locker rooms and his unheard pleas for support during patrols, too.

He only managed to look into Callen's direction, not his eyes. Brian was full of doubts. He just knew that he didn't want to relieve isolation by colleagues. He wanted to spare Callen something like that in any case. Even if the team gave a decent impression until now; everything changed as soon as it got dragged into light.

"Don't you think they'll view it a little different if it's about two men?"

"Hetty knows of our relationship. She'll have smelled the rat as soon as she saw on the bill that I didn't move into a hotel with Kensi and Sam after Verone's arrest. And if she had an objection against it, she'd have already said something. She will support us, should we get problems."

"How do you know that?"

"I trust Hetty."

Brian gazed at the wheel, "The more I hear about hear and witness her, the more I realize that she has to be an awesome boss."

Suddenly Brian felt Callen's hand at his neck. He looked at the man. Callen leaned forward and they kissed.

"Let's go," whispered Callen, "otherwise we'll be really late. We can talk about it later."

Brian's muscles relaxed. He now felt much lighter, "We don't need to."

Hetty entered the OSP center, "Where are we?"

Sam reported, "Eric runs the name of the alleged appraiser through every databases. In any case Raydex already informed us that no Allison Pritchett is working there. They also confirmed Brian's statement about the street races. Tuned cars can't be insured. We, too, figured out that Yeoman Rush's car was manipulated. Tokkan's still wanted. Kensi and I wanted to drive to Keith and Angela to question them."

Hetty nodded satisfied, "Very good. Don't forget keeping Callen and Mr. O'Conner up to date. They'll join us again, after today's eight hour lessons are over."

A wide grin spread on the faces of every attendant. In a devilish moment Hetty toyed with the thought to send every one of them back to driving school. Just to enjoy their horrified expressions. How she loved her power!

"Agent Hanna, before you hit the road with Kensi, I'd like to speak with you."

Sam nodded at Kensi and followed after Hetty. She led him to her office, where she pushed an already prepared cup of Bach flower tea over to him. Sam sat down at her sign and looked expectantly at her.

"How are you, Sam?"

"Alright, thanks. Why do you ask?"

"I'd like to know how you get along with Mr. O'Conner here."

Sam frowned, "I'm afraid I don't right understand."

"Well, I can understand that his background might bother you and you still lack trust in him."

"As far as I understood he is here to replace Dom, right?" asked Sam bitter and highly aggressive, "but as soon as Dom's with us again, O'Conner will disappear."

Hetty lifted the cup and looked over its rim at Sam, "You'd better understand that Agent Vaile's chance of survival have dropped considerably after such a long time."

"Do you want to give him up?" Sam clawed his fingers into the chair's arms.

"Agent Hanna! I understand your hope. I, too, prefer to have Dom in our middle back, but it is the hardship of a superior to remain realistic. You will have learned that as SEAL, too."

"SEALs leave no one behind," growled Sam.

"Be that as it may," said Hetty. It irritated her that she had to be this strict to her agent, but Sam didn't leave her a choice. If he still wanted to be in denial for a little longer, it wasn't a problem as long as his work didn't suffer from it. And the teamwork.

The cool looks between Sam and Brian had attracted Hetty's attention. Because she had an enormous treasure of experience at her disposal, she knew to nip such conflicts in the bud.

"In the meantime Mr. O'Conner will work in this team. He will be Kensi's partner."

"So O'Conner will go if Dom comes back?"

"No, Sam. Brian will stay, even if Dom comes back. He isn't just a replacement. He's quasi an addition to the team."

Sam's sulk was clearly visible in the sagging shoulders and the pinched mouth. He ran her declaration through his mind, until he asked almost hopefully, "That means you won't send Dom away, if he's found? You won't push him off to another department?"

"We will talk about it if the time has come."

"That wasn't a yes," muttered Sam, "I get the feeling you don't believe in Dom's come back. And you already looked for a replacement as a precaution!"

"Agent Hanna, every NCIS agent is aware of the danger of getting hurt or dying during duty. And in that case it is quite common that someone else assumes that post."

"So you really want to keep O'Conner? Even if he is more than unsuitable for it?"

"I read your report from Miami. Mr. O'Conner didn't come out that badly. Personally I only received a good impression of him."

"He was good because he was driving cars. It was his scene. It doesn't give evidence about him how he'll react in a normal case."

"Until now Mr. O'Conner is doing well enough. He pointed you towards the false appraiser. Who knows when we would've discovered that?"

"Just because it conformed to his criminal background. He didn't knew it because of his police training."

"Agent Hanna!" forcibly Hetty put the cup down on the desk. The porcelain chinked and tea sloshed onto the surface, "should it have slipped your mind: This team is still led by me! It just as well could have been that Agent Vaile would have been transferred to another office. You don't like changes, but we all have to adapt to them. And Mr. O'Conner is one of these changes."

Sam kept silent. He stared long at Hetty, then he stemmed his hands on the chair's arms, "If that's all-"

"One moment please."

With a deep sigh Sam let himself fall back into the chair again.

Was she in kindergarten or something? That's why she'd decided against more children back then.

"I just wanted to ask you how you fell at the thought that Callen and O'Conner are in a relationship. However I gather from your former reactions that you're not overly keen about it."

"I don't have a problem with them being men. I know: don't ask, don't tell. I just don't believe, that O'Conner's the right man for Callen."

Hetty nodded slowly, "I understand. I just hope you don't use it as an opportunity to destroy Callen's happiness."

"I'll forever support Callen," Sam stood up. Before he left, he grinned at Hetty, "Of course that doesn't mean I won't break O'Conner's every bone, should he hurt Callen."

And with these words Sam left. Hetty smiled satisfied and took a sip. She'd kind of expected something like that from Sam. She just wondered who'd break Callen's bones should he hurt Brian.

Brian had ascertained early in his childhood that he didn't understand fashion. He knew of skivvies, pants, tees, shirts and the like, but he barely knew fashion brands. And he didn't see a difference between ecru and beige. On the other hand he'd never deem Bayside Blue from Nissan for Octane Blue Pearl from Mitsubishi. That was typical of him.

But that aside even Brian knew that the driving instructor was badly dressed. He'd rather shoot himself than wear a snot colored cardigan. The man staggered with a big trunk and a Thermos bottle forward to the desk and greeted them, "Good day. I'm Mr. Loobertz. Welcome to the Fun For All Traffic School."

The man heaved the trunk onto the desk and Brian wanted to hit his head against the wall. He caught Callen's bewildered look and shrugged his shoulders.

They both had taken seats in last row for good measure. Way out of the atmosphere of this… person.

The only promising thing in this room was the traffic carpet on the board behind him. He'd forever wanted one of them as a child. Because he'd never gotten it for Christmas or his birthday, he'd played with Rome's. But Brian already feared that this session didn't contain a spark of fun.

"Now, I know some of you probably aren't real excited to be here, but I guarantee you…"

At this point Brian blocked the voice of the driving instructor out.

A movement at his eye's corner distracted him. Callen just raised his hand, "Wouldn't that be chool?"

Mr. Loobertz answered, "The H is silent."

With a resigned expression Callen looked at Brian, "We're in 'ell."

Brian smiled back. In this moment a busty blonde in a mini dress entered the room. She sat down at the desk beside Callen. Immediately Callen's face brightened and Brian felt the corners of his mouth drop.

He stared at the surface and forced himself not to look into Callen's direction.

He shouldn't be bothered by that. And he shouldn't show discomfort. Callen mustn't see his insecurity.

Mr. Loobertz walked through the rows and distributed sheets of paper. Halfheartedly Brian skimmed the pages. They didn't contain something he didn't already know.

"Now, as you can see, the California Driver's Handbook is well over 90 pages. That's a lot of information for anyone to remember. You know what isn't hard to remember? Anyone? Anyone at all? That's a question. Need a hint?"

Mr. Loobertz put a heavy ghetto blaster onto the desk.

"That's right. That's right. There you go," he switched the music on, "Yeah, Fun For All has broken each section down into songs, from rocking registration riffs to insurance requirement raps. So there's something here for everybody."

Callen rubbed his face and Brian heard how he murmured, "Someone shoot me, please."

Brian chuckled to his self.

"So, let's begin with the laws of priority in traffic. I- yes, you got a question?"

With one mind everyone turned around and looked at Brian, who lowered his hand again, "Yes, I wanted to know whether it'd be possible to do the test now and then leave."

Stunned silence.

"You- you want to do the test now? But you can't already know everything. That's why you're here."

Brian lifted a brow. This poor man seemed so desperate as if he would crumble right now, because someone dared to change his schedule.

"I'm here," said Brian, "because my boss send me. And because I can do something better with my time-"

Now the man became red in his face. How cute. Eagerly Mr. Loobertz rummaged through his documents, "So you think you already know everything?" triumphantly he produced a sheet and read from it, "Then you can simply calculate the stopping distance at a speed of 54 mph. Do you need a calcu-"

"333.96 feet," answered Brian. Innocently, with folded hands and a bright smile he looked at the man.

Mr. Loobertz frowned and just in case looked again at the paper, "That's right, Mr. O'Conner. But with a calculator everyone can do it."

"Well, and I calculated it in my head."

"Then you can tell me the answer to 39 mph, too."

Brian stared directly into his eyes and said, "192.22 feet."

Mr. Loobertz growled and asked, "And the stopping distance at an emergency braking?"

"64.24 feet."

Mr. Loobertz kept silent. Some of the other attendees whispered with each other. Brian looked triumphantly to Callen, who grinned back and raised a thumb.

"Very good, Mr. O'Conner. You proved that you can calculate," Mr. Loobertz tried to gain the control back. He didn't look amused, "But nevertheless you're not allowed doing the test before tomorrow, after the practice lesson. And I'm glad that you like the traffic as much as I do."

Brian lifted a brow. Callen choked on his suppressed laughter and coughed. Mr. Loobertz looked worriedly at him, "Is everything okay, Mr. Wolinski?"

Callen waved it away, "Everything's fine. Keep going."

Mr. Loobertz turned around and began giving a lecture on traffic laws. Brian sank deep back into his chair and stared at the ceiling. Then looked to the clock at the wall. This hour already lasted three days, but it was just 10 o'clock. How could the hour already last for three days?