Author's note: I do not own NCIS:LA or its characters
I have no idea where this came from but I hope you enjoy
Fatima decided that after a ridiculously long week, a shopping trip at the mall would be the perfect thing to relax her. She walked into the mall and walked around for a little bit, stopping to pick out a couple new shirts. As she was walking to the Starbucks, she did a double take when she saw a woman that looked exactly like her dead best friend. The woman did a double take as well, then cautiously asked,
"Fatima?". Fatima grinned.
"Leilani?!" she squealed. She ran over and hugged her for a long time, then pulled back and stared.
"I know you have a lot of questions. And I promise I will answer all of them honestly. Just not here. Can we go someplace we can talk?" she asked softly.
"Of course. Of course. You want to get some coffee first, my treat?" Fatima offered. Leilani giggled and they ran up to the small shop together. As they were waiting in line, Leilani gently touched the fabric of Fatima's hijab.
"If you have a question you can ask," Fatima said softly.
"You're Muslim now?" Leilani asked softly.
"Yeah. I guess I always was? I just, I started being a better one after you died," Fatima said quietly
After they got their coffee, Fatima drove them to the boatshed.
"This place is secure. I promise," she said. They sat down on the couch and Fatima snuggled into her best friend.
"First of all, Fatima, I am so, so sorry. I tried to get you to stay and I was so scared I was gonna hurt you," she whispered. "I wasn't as drunk as I was pretending to be."
"Why did you fake your death?" Fatima asked.
"I worked with the FBI. They sent me to get close to you at first. Said your ties to Iran were suspicious. The first day I met you I told them that was bullshit. And hey. Hey," she murmured, gently tracing Fatima's arm. "Nothing was fake. I promise you. Our friendship is real. I wish I could have told you," she whispered. "Then the assignment changed. They suspected Marco was distributing child porn. He was. Him and Jill are in jail now," she said quietly.
"I know. Why did the assignment change so drastically?" Fatima asked.
"I guess because I was already in. They found out and I had to fake my death. I didn't want you in the car with me, darling, but you were always so stubborn. I made sure I was careful, that my side took most of the impact. It helped that you had no idea what to do, honestly. I never would have forgiven myself if you'd been hurt," she whispered. She kissed Fatima's forehead softly.
"Are you still with the FBI?" she asked.
"No. I resigned after the accident, but I still had to lay low for a while. I've been keeping an eye on you, though, missy, and I'm impressed. I do want to meet this boy-toy of yours," she murmured. Fatima laughed.
"Devin is my friend. Just friends," she protested.
"Sure. I still want to meet him. If you don't want him, I'll take him," she purred. Fatima sat up straight and playfully smacked her. Then she squealed and hugged her again. Leilani grinned and hugged her back, and they stayed like that for a long time.
"I missed you so much," she whispered, tears running down her cheeks.
"Me too, come here," Leilani murmured. She kissed Fatima's head and smiled. "Lying to you for so long was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," she said softly. Fatima buried her face in Leilani's stomach and smiled softly. "How about we go get lunch?" she asked softly. Fatima grinned.
"Absolutely. How about I see if Tree is available so you can meet him?" Fatima suggested. Leilani grinned and nodded. She pulled out her phone and called him. "Hey. You want to go get lunch?" she asked.
"Sure. Where we going?" he asked. Fatima turned to Leilani and mouthed, "What do you want?"
"Pizza?" she suggested. Fatima nodded.
"Mulberry's?" she asked.
"Our spot. Meet you there in an hour?" he suggested.
"Sounds good," Fatima said. She went into the bathroom and started fixing her makeup. Leilani grinned.
"You like him," she accused.
"Fine. If I admit it, you don't say anything to him?" Fatima asked.
"Baby girl, you know I've been watching you. He's in love with you," Leilani said. Fatima laughed. "Can I borrow some concealer?" she asked, gesturing to Fatima's makeup bag.
"Take what you need," Fatima said. Leilani took a small tube and dabbed a bit under her eyes.
"So what do you use this place for?" she asked.
"Interrogations, mostly. Shoulda cuffed you and tossed you into the interrogation room," Fatima teased. Leilani grinned and smacked her butt. Fatima laughed.
"Hey." Leilani said quietly as she took a tube of eyeliner. Fatima looked over as she put a little lip gloss on. "I have a normal job now. I promise you, pinkie promise you that things will be normal now," she said softly. Fatima smiled.
"Good," she said softly. "What are you doing now?" she asked.
"I work at the Getty," she said softly. Fatima smiled.
"Fancy you," she purred. She grabbed the makeup bag and tossed it into her purse, and they walked out together.
"I see you're taking your boy-toy to our little spot," Leilani grinned as they got into Fatima's car. "Fancy rich girl," she teased. Fatima grinned.
As they pulled up to Mulberry's, Fatima saw Rountree's truck in the parking lot already.
"Shit," she muttered. She gripped the steering wheel and tried to calm herself. Leilani reached over and gently rubbed her shoulder.
"Are you not ready? Fatima, I get it," she whispered.
"I don't know what he's gonna say," she whispered.
"Well, if he's as amazing as you said, he'll be happy for you," she murmured. "Come on, I got you," she murmured. Fatima felt like it was her first time getting drunk again. Leilani had held her and comforted her the whole time then, too. She hated the feeling in her stomach. She was scared. She opened the car door and got out. Leilani was right behind her and they walked up.
"Can I go in first?" she asked quietly.
"Of course," Leilani murmured. Fatima walked in and her hands shook as she scanned the room for Rountree. She turned around and motioned for Leilani to wait. She walked in and saw Rountree in their little two-top corner seat. She walked over and smiled nervously.
"Can we, um, get a bigger table?" she asked nervously.
"Why? You got a guest?" Rountree asked teasingly.
"Something like that," she muttered. He nodded and picked up the two plates and cups, then waved politely at the waitress.
"Hey. We got a surprise third person, I'm sorry," he explained. Fatima turned bright red and tears stung at her eyes. They moved to a four-top table and Fatima turned to the door and motioned for Leilani to come in. Rountree sat down and let Fatima choose her seat. She sat across for him and forced a smile as Leilani sat next to her.
"Tree, um-"
"Leilani." Devin said quietly. Both girls nodded. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you know what you put her through?!" he yelled at her. The whole restaurant was quiet and staring at them.
"Shut. Up," Fatima hissed. "Let her talk."
"Fine," Devin said. He leaned back and stared at Leilani expectantly.
"I was, um, sent to investigate some stuff on the set of Sunset Canyon. Producers and shit," she said quietly.
"By who?" he asked flatly.
"The FBI," she said quietly.
"Liar." he yelled.
"Tree, shut up and let her explain!" Fatima yelled.
"She's lying to you!" he yelled back.
"I left before you got there. After the car accident. I went into hiding and I kept an eye on this one for a long time. I was scared she'd hate me," she said quietly.
"I'm starting to think the accident wasn't an accident," Devin said softly.
"You're right. I tried to get her to stay at the party, to not get in the car with me. She wouldn't listen and when I saw the producers we were investigating were following us, I had to. I tried to make sure I took as much of the impact as I could, I never would have forgiven myself if I'd hurt her," she whispered. He nodded a little. "I'm so, so sorry for everything I put you through. I truly am. And I know I don't deserve it, but if you gave me a second chance I promise I wouldn't screw up."
"I love you," Fatima whispered, burying herself in Leilani's arms. She laughed and cut up Fatima's pizza and fed it to her. Rountree couldn't stay mad when he saw how happy Fatima truly was.
"Hey," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry to both of you. I just, it's been my job to protect her for a long time and I-" he began.
"It's okay. If the roles were reversed I'd be the same way," she said quietly. She gently traced Fatima's cheek and smiled. "I missed you."
"I have one more question," Fatima said quietly.
"What's that?" Leilani asked, tracing a pattern on her arm.
"Why'd you wait so long to come back?" she asked quietly.
"A lot of reasons. Mostly I was scared you wouldn't forgive me," she said quietly after a pause. Fatima felt her heart shatter.
"Hey," she murmured. She kissed Leilani's cheek softly and rested her head on her chest. Rountree reached across the table and gently squeezed Fatima's hand. Fatima grinned.
"I love you," he murmured to her. Fatima blushed.
"I love you too," she said shyly.
"I call maid of honor," Leilani teased. Fatima laughed and gently headbutted her.
"All yours," she said softly.
"We're not even dating yet!" Rountree said, laughing.
"Ooh, yet?" Leilani teased. Rountree blushed and laughed. "It's still my spot. Minor details can be filled in later," she teased. Fatima laughed and hugged her again.