Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA or its characters… but I can still make them do whatever I damned well please… in my own little universe… which I don't make any money off from so please don't sue me!

Author's Note: And here begins part three of this little saga… I figured, why make you wait when this first chapter is already written. I'm thinking that since the first fic in the series, Antithesis, was Callen-centric POV, and the second fic, Synthesis, was Nell-Centric POV, this one will be a mix of both.

As per usual, this is starting off in the realm of a 'T' rating, but has the potential to go very 'M' at some point, depending on where my (oft smutty) imagination takes me. *Warning for slight bad language in my author's notes.*


"Nell is going to kill me, isn't she?" G Callen said as he dropped back down behind cover alongside his partner.

"You really need me to answer that?" Sam Hanna asked, breathing a little harder than normal. Having a conversation above the sound of gunfire and in between squeezing off his own shots tended to have that affect on the agent. On both of them, for that matter. Yet, at this particular moment, the bad guys currently shooting at them weren't Callen's primary concern.

"Maybe it would be better if one of these bastards does shoot me." Taking a breath, he anticipated the lull in enemy fire, turned, peeked over the cement barricade, aimed and loosed several bullets at one of the serial kidnapper's head. The man had wisely ducked behind the overturned Chevy Malibu in time. Damn it.

"A quick death?" Sam chuckled, before taking his turn to return fire, And then crouching back down, muttered under his breath, "Damn, they're slippery bastards."

The big ex-seal looked at Callen. "I think I have to agree with you , G. I've been married long enough to know the wrath of a woman who claims to love her husband when he messes up."

"We're not married," Callen said. His friend gave him a look that said it was a superficiality and had no affect on the point he was making. "Hold that thought."

Callen took another try at the same bad guy as before, but to no avail. From his brief stint playing a jack-in-the-box, however, he'd been able to spot the three armed men. They'd begun to think, which didn't bode well for the outnumbered federal agents.

"They're trying to outflank us," Callen said. Sam nodded, but continued with their non-situation-relevant conversation.

"Nell may seem like a sweet girl, but I don't doubt she's gonna make you pay for the rest of your life. And rightly so."

"Thanks for the support, buddy. I thought you were supposed to have my back."

"What do you call this?" Sam asked, rising to fire several more rounds. There was a loud scream, indicating one of the bullets had definitely hit on target. His partner gave Callen a smug smile when he took cover once more.

"Why save me now, if Nell's going to murder me anyway?"

It was something drilled into you in every firearms training lesson, to stay calm and steady, but Callen admittedly pulled the trigger of his SIG with more than a little aggression. He clipped the man trying to work his way around the median to get a clean shot at the agents by sprinting from behind one abandoned vehicle to the next. From stumbling upon a kidnap ring, to car chase, to car accident, to stand-off in the middle of the I-5, this day just seemed to get better and better. He could hear the sirens in the distance, but they were still some way off, and who knew how the situation would change before or when they got here. And either way, he wasn't where he was supposed to be, and if he got there too late... Nell was so going to kill him.

"Well, two reasons. One, my life's busy at the moment," Sam said. "And I rather not have to break in a new partner." He glanced over his shoulder, surveying the battlefield. "What do you think? Head for the Tahoe?"

Callen nodded. "I'll cover you."

He made sure to fire in the direction of each of the three enemies, even the one moaning and bleeding profusely from the leg, just to make sure they weren't in position to shoot his partner as the big man sprinted for the large SUV that was smashed into the rear-end of an older model minivan. The conglomeration of twisted metal should provide a good amount of cover. Once Sam was in position and gave him the signal, Callen likewise sprinted for the new barricade. He crouched down next to his partner, his back to the hot metal. At least, the civilians had seemed to make it out of the line of fire. And no one seemed to have been seriously injured, for they all ran for the hills. Were those sirens getting louder or quieter? Back-up seemed forever away.

"So, what was the second reason?" Callen asked, still catching his breath. A loud ping a foot above his head and to the left, informed that a bullet had made it pretty near on target. He dropped down onto his stomach while Sam covered his exposed back, and peered under the vehicle. Taking aim, he shot an approaching villain in the ankle. The man collapsed. Callen shot him in the head, and then resumed his sitting position beside his partner.

"The second reason is..." Sam resumed their conversation as if they were having a discussion over coffee and had paused while Callen went to the fridge for some creamer before sitting back down at the table. "…that it will be a slow death. It will be years before she finally finishes you off, crushes your spirit. And I figure a zombie would make just as good a partner."

"Really?" Callen feigned severe hurt. "All the compliments I give you, how I talk you up to everyone else, how great my partner is, how selfless, noble and badass... and all I get is 'a zombie would do as well as you.'?"

Sam Hanna laughed heartily at this, and Callen joined him, as they heard the shouts of state police officers ordering the remaining gunman to surrender. Back up had arrived. But G Callen was still a dead man. Because on the other side of Los Angeles, Nell Jones was in a hospital giving birth to his baby girl. And he wasn't there.


A/N: Oh, baby, is Callen in some trouble now! He better get his ass to Nell's side and quick…