And so we have come to the final chapter. I'm really sorry this took so long – real life has been very busy, and I just haven't had much time to write. Thanks so much to everyone for reading and reviewing throughout the story. I hope you found that it was a little bit of a different twist on the idea of Callen and Kensi having a child together, and I hope you like the ending. Thanks again!

-Epilogue-

"Callen!"

Kensi awoke with a startled gasp, and Callen was by her side in an instant. She blinked groggily, and her body trembled as she tried to orient herself in the dimly lit room. Her breath came in short, ragged bursts, and she seemed almost confused as her dark multicolored eyes met his icy blue ones.

"Kensi."

But then she felt him whisper against her ear, and the warmth of his body seeped into hers, providing familiar, welcome comfort. Carefully, he slid closer to her and touched his hand to her cheek.

"Hi."

"Hi," she said softly.

"You were dreaming."

"I—I was," she confirmed.

As her breathing slowly returned to normal, Kensi struggled to sit up slightly, and Callen put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Kenz, don't."

It was only then that Kensi realized that she lay in a hospital bed, attached to an IV, a steadily beeping heart monitor, and several other medical tubes. She became vaguely aware of stitches and bandages wrapped around her middle, and as she tried to move her arms, she realized just how stiff, bruised, and sore she was. Grimacing in pain, she sank back into the pillows and sighed.

"How long has it been?" she asked.

"Three days."

"Three days?" Kensi repeated. She looked over at him in surprise. "Callen—"

"She was born three days ago," he said, as if he were reading her mind. "And she looks like you," he added softly.

"With your eyes," Kensi murmured.

"Yeah?"

"I saw her," Kensi explained. "In my dream."

Her voice sounded unusually weak, and Callen could hear the sadness in it. Tenderly, he brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. "Kenz, we had to."

"I know," she whispered. She didn't know if she was trying to convince him or herself. "To protect her. From the—"

Kensi's eyes suddenly grew wide. "Callen," she said in a panicked tone, "there's another one. There's another Russian operative—"

"I know."

"There were three of them in the car..."

"No, Kenz, don't you remember? Sam and Deeks got 'em."

"What?"

"Sam and Deeks arrested two gunmen at the scene. The driver was dead. You shot him."

The black car roared down the street, two masked figures hanging out the window with guns aimed directly at her. She squared up against the car and fired through its front windshield.

Kensi suddenly saw the replay clearly in her mind. "No, Callen, there's another one," she insisted. "The dead Marine was a trap. It was a setup to lure us out because he wants our daughter—"

"Because he wants me," Callen finished calmly.

"How—how did you…?" Kensi looked up, and her eyes locked with his in realization.

"You dreamed it, too," she whispered softly.

"I did."

"Your nightmare?"

Callen nodded.

"But you saved her."

"And lost you." Callen ran his thumb over her cheek, leaning over to rest his forehead against hers. "Kensi," he murmured, his voice soft and tender. "Marry me."

She swore her heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"In case I don't get another chance to ask."

Kensi stared at him in shock. Silently, her eyes searched his, the intensity of his gaze piercing a hole straight through her heart. And as if to erase any doubt from her mind, Callen slowly lowered his lips onto hers in a gentle kiss.

"Yes," she finally whispered.

"Yes?"

"In case I don't get another chance to answer."

With a faint smile, she pulled him close again and captured his lips in another kiss. As his mouth softly caressed hers, Kensi could feel the heat starting to ignite between them...until they were interrupted by the urgent clearing of someone's throat.

Callen and Kensi broke apart sheepishly as they found Hetty watching them from the foot of the bed.

"It's done," she reported quietly.

Her words sent Kensi's heart plummeting into her stomach.

Sadly, Kensi turned her head away, and Hetty laid a gentle hand on hers in comfort. "I'm sorry, dear. They couldn't stop the labor, so it was vital that we move quickly."

"I know, Hetty," Kensi whispered. "It's okay."

"She's beautiful," Hetty assured her. "Her name is—"

"Breanna."

"Yes," Hetty replied, looking at Kensi with surprise. "How did—"

Kensi had a funny expression on her face. "I—I dreamed it."

"Breanna Johnson," Callen added.

Hetty raised an eyebrow.

"I dreamed it, too."

Hetty nodded. That was indeed the name on the birth certificate. After it had been discovered that the murder of U.S. Marine Jason Reilly was actually an attack on two of her agents and their unborn child, Hetty had taken her job very seriously. Using connections that it was most certainly better for the world not to know about, she had quickly made arrangements for the child. It would never be known that her agents were the parents of a beautiful baby girl because now there was a new set of parents ready to take her home.

And so, to complete her mission, Hetty quietly handed Callen a small brown leather book.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's a book, Mr. Callen," she replied. "With your daughter's address."

~*~o~*~

Slowly, Hetty eased herself down on the couch where her operational psychologist was intently studying a little book.

"Something to share, Nate?" she asked quietly.

He hesitated a moment, shifting on the couch and recrossing his legs, as Hetty did the same.

"Each address was entered chronologically, all by the same person," he said, pointing to a page in the book. "Different pens, different pencils, these addresses weren't all added at the same time, but as they happened. Every time Callen moved, the same person wrote down his new address."

Hetty looked at him carefully. "You're saying someone…someone was watching Callen all those years?"

Nate nodded almost imperceptibly. "The same person."

~*~o~*~

Callen opened the little book and flipped to the first page where the address was neatly handwritten. It was the only writing in the book. Hetty could see the recognition dawning in his eyes as he suddenly understood the meaning behind the gift.

"Thought you might want to watch something, too," she said with a knowing smile.

"Hey."

It wasn't long before Kensi returned to work, and Deeks was the first one to enter the bullpen that morning and greet his partner cheerfully.

"Hi," she said in response.

"I brought you a Twinkie," he announced proudly. He pulled the tiny sweet cake from his bag and tossed it across the room.

Kensi caught it smoothly and placed it on her desk. "Thanks."

Deeks paused. "Wait, you're not even gonna eat it? I'll have you know I went to great lengths to get that Twinkie."

"Thank you," Kensi repeated quietly. She looked down at her desk again, seemingly preoccupied with her paperwork.

"Did Hetty stick you on desk duty?" Deeks asked bluntly.

"No," she replied honestly. "Just catching up on some things I missed."

No teasing. No jokes. No snide remarks at his expense. And no Twinkie fired back violently at his head.

Deeks' smile quickly faded. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, a genuinely concerned look on his face.

"I'm fine."

"Kensi…" he said warningly.

"Deeks…" she mimicked.

"Kensi," he said softly. "It's okay...if I had just been pregnant, I don't know if I would be back on duty yet either."

"Deeks, if you had just been pregnant, you wouldn't know what to do with yourself."

Deeks had to admit she had a point there. "Not to mention getting hit by a car and coming out of a three-day coma," he added.

Kensi rolled her eyes. With an exaggerated gesture, she unwrapped the Twinkie and took a huge bite, glaring at her partner. "Deeks, I'm fine."

"Yeah." Deeks sighed defeatedly. "I can tell."

On the other side of the bullpen, hidden in the shadows of the hacienda, Callen watched the Twinkie exchange between Deeks and Kensi. Leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, his eyes unwavering on Kensi, he recognized a familiar pain in his chest, the same one that had plagued him in his nightmare after he had lost his beautiful girl. But now, as he watched her swallow one bite and then push the Twinkie away, it was almost as if he were losing her in an entirely different way.

"How is she, Mr. Callen?"

He sighed. Somehow the owner of that voice always managed to find him.

"Hurting," he replied. "But not admitting it."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you hurting but not admitting it?"

Callen shook his head. "Hetty, we're undercover agents. We knew this was the way it had to be."

She nodded thoughtfully. "But that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"You're the one who let her come back to work."

"Sometimes the only way to heal your pain is to face what is causing it," Hetty said simply. She pointed towards the stairs. "I believe there is a reason why you are both needed here today."

As if on cue, Eric's whistle rang out across the bullpen. Callen eyed Hetty suspiciously as he started for the stairs, but the little lady wore a notoriously innocent expression.

"Mr. Callen," she called after him. "The right choice is not always the easy one."

He didn't answer, and Hetty watched him continue up the stairs, her heart weighing heavily inside. "Sometimes it's hard to tell," she added softly.

"What do we got, Eric?" Callen asked as he strode into the ops room, followed closely by Sam, Deeks, and Kensi.

"This case isn't over," the computer tech announced, typing rapidly on his keyboard. "Those Russian operatives that you guys took out…I've been tracking their past movements like you wanted."

"And?"

Kensi glanced at Callen as Eric pulled the photos up on screen. "And after running facial recognition, I was able to trace these guys back through Russia. Driver's name was Nikolai...he's dead. The other two...Sergei and—"

"Dmitri," Kensi interrupted.

"Yeah," Eric confirmed, looking up in surprise. "Turns out that Sergei and Dmitri crossed paths several times with another guy in Russia. Couldn't pull a lot of surveillance footage from their servers. This is the best we've got."

A blurry photo of a dark-haired Russian man popped up on the screen.

Callen took a step forward.

"Oh, my God," Kensi gasped. "Alexei."

Eric looked at her questioningly. "Alexei? You recognize him?"

"You could say that."

Eric raised an eyebrow as if he didn't quite believe her. "Um, okay. Running a search for an Alexei..."

"You won't find him," Callen said. "He's a ghost."

He pulled the little book out of his back pocket and handed it to Eric. "Run this address."

Eric flipped to the first page. "Uh, okay." He quickly typed it in. "It's a residence on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Homeowner's name is Johnson...Michael and Elizabeth."

"Check the surveillance cameras in the area."

Eric nodded and pushed a few buttons. "Nothing really unusual—"

"There."

Eric froze the image just as a black car with tinted windows passed through the camera.

Callen turned to Kensi. "He's here."

She nodded. "He knows she's still alive."

Callen looked at his partner. "Sam."

Kensi looked at hers. "Deeks."

Both of them headed towards the door.

Sam and Deeks hung back for a moment, having been strangely silent through the entire briefing.

Eric looked at them curiously. "Any idea how they knew all that?" he asked.

"Nope."

Callen and Kensi turned around in unison. "We dreamed it."

As the black Challenger and the silver Cadillac pulled up to a familiar driveway, Callen and Kensi both felt as if they had stepped into their dream. They recognized every detail from the color of the house down to the stone walkway and the flowerboxes on the window.

"Deeks, what do we got?"

Deeks had just pulled out his binoculars to survey the scene. The glint of a shiny metal barrel carried by a shadowy figure in the distance immediately caught his eye.

"Shooter at the top of the hill, just behind the house."

"Okay, let's take him out," Kensi said eagerly.

"No, there could be a second shooter," Sam's voice shot back in her ear. "Or a whole gang of them."

"Sam—" she started to protest.

"Kensi." She heard Callen's voice in her ear, too. "We're not starting a firefight if we don't have to."

"I think we might have to," Deeks countered. He checked the binoculars again. "At least six of them, all closing in on the house."

In the rear view mirror, Kensi suddenly caught a glimpse of another masked man. "There's seven," she said. She squinted to get a better look at the figure, recognizing something very familiar about the way he moved and the way he carried his weapon.

Her entire body tensed. "Callen, he's here."

"Kensi—"

"I got him," she said, quickly hopping out of the car, her eyes never leaving the man.

"Deeks, get the parents out of there."

"On it."

Deeks quickly made his way up the front walkway and knocked on the door. As soon as it opened, he immediately flashed his badge.

"LAPD. I need you to come with me."

Moving stealthily, Kensi followed the masked man along the side of the house. He cut across the small stretch of yard and hurried up to the back porch. As he reached for the doorknob, Kensi darted out of the shadows and purposely bumped into him hard.

"Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry," Kensi gasped in a syrupy sweet voice, as the man stumbled sideways. As she slowly lifted her eyes to stare into his, Alexei's eyes narrowed in recognition.

Knowing she had been made, Kensi launched herself into him, and she heard a satisfying crack as her fist smashed into Alexei's jaw. She ripped the mask from his face, and he growled in pain and put a hand to his mouth as his lip began to bleed.

Angrily, he retaliated with a series of rapid punches aimed at her head. Kensi dodged one fist and then the other, and then she suddenly ducked forwards underneath his arm.

She wrenched his arms harshly behind his back, but somehow he managed to twist out of her grasp, reversing their positions and locking his arms around her throat. Kensi violently thrust an elbow in his face and backed up into the side of the house, smashing him against it.

As she broke free, Alexei tackled her hard, pinning her to the ground, and Kensi gasped as he delivered a well-aimed, forceful blow to her stomach. As she lay temporarily stunned in pain, the Russian operative scrambled to his feet and raced to the back door.

Recovering quickly, Kensi raced after him in pursuit. Inside the house, she stumbleddown the hallway, following Alexei into the nursery. He snatched the child from her crib, and Kensi's heart almost stopped when she heard Breanna's cry.

Steadying herself against the doorframe, Kensi raised her gun. "Let her go."

Alexei pressed his weapon against the side of Breanna's head. "Not another step," he growled.

Kensi froze. As her eyes darted from Alexei to Breanna, she slowly lowered her weapon. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded.

"Carrying out orders, Agent Blye."

He backed up a step towards the window, tightening his grip on Breanna as he saw Kensi's grip tighten on her gun again. Alexei gave her a warning glare.

"Who sent you?" she asked. "Who wants Callen's daughter dead?"

Alexei laughed wickedly. "You are just like him. Both of you ask who, when you should be asking why."

Kensi's eyes narrowed. "Then tell me why."

"He is the last of his bloodline," Alexei explained. "Or he was. Until you gave him the daughter he was never supposed to have." He scowled angrily. "You were supposed to die."

"Only in your dreams," Kensi spat.

"Oh, Agent Blye," Alexei said, shaking his head. "I do believe that my dream is about to become your nightmare."

Grasping Breanna securely, Alexei fired at Kensi like lightning. She hit the ground as the bullet just grazed her arm, and before she could react, Alexei disappeared out the window with her baby.

"Callen!"

Outside the house, Callen and Sam were crouched low behind the Challenger, taking cover from the whirlwind of gunfire as six rounds of bullets ricocheted off the car.

"Callen, the window."

He heard Kensi's voice in his ear as another round of bullets screamed above his head, and he peeked out from behind the car and fired back. Out of the corner of his eye, Callen saw Alexei drop to the ground from the first floor window and take off running.

"Sam, we gotta finish this!"

"Right behind you, G."

In unison, the two partners rose from behind the car and rushed into the line of fire, shooting without mercy. Covering each other's backs, Callen and Sam fired in all directions, and in a matter of seconds, six Russian men suddenly lay dead on the street.

The two partners looked at each other, both instantly knowing what the other was thinking. Sam went right, Callen went left. The two agents split in opposite directions, racing alongside the house in pursuit.

On the far side of the house, Callen came flying out of nowhere, launching himself into Alexei, knocking the man to the ground and grabbing the child from his arms. As Callen safely rolled away with his daughter, Alexei landed a nasty kick to the side of his head, snatching the child back.

As Breanna's cry filled the air, Alexei whirled around and headed for the other side of the house. He stopped abruptly and backed up as he almost ran into Sam.

"Going somewhere?"

Alexei immediately turned and fled in the other direction, only to find Callen's gun pointed at his face.

"I don't think so."

Desperately, Alexei lunged in the third direction, only to find himself staring down the barrel of an LAPD Beretta.

"Not today, buddy."

Alexei took several steps backwards, quickly looking back and forth between Callen, Sam, and Deeks, weighing his options. Three armed agents closing in on him didn't give him much of a chance.

"You gonna shoot me, Agent Callen?" he taunted. "While I hold your daughter in my arms?"

Anger flashed through Callen's eyes as his finger hovered over the trigger. Alexei grinned wickedly, only increasing the temptation.

"No." Slowly, Callen shook his head and lowered his weapon. "I already had my chance."

Alexei cocked his head in confusion. He looked cautiously at Sam and Deeks.

"So did they."

With a quick glance back at Callen, Alexei simply shrugged and raised his own weapon.

A split second later, a round of bullets slammed into his back.

"But she didn't."

The smoke sizzled from Kensi's gun as she climbed out the window. As Callen knelt down to check Alexei's pulse, Kensi quickly picked up the crying child by his side. Breanna's fall to the ground had been cushioned by the Russian man, but she was streaked with his blood and crying loudly.

"Shhhh," Kensi whispered. With a touch that only a mother could have, she cradled Breanna in her arms and rocked her gently. She wiped the blood from her forehead, and as the little girl's cries slowly quieted, her beautiful blue eyes popped open to gaze at the mother she would never know.

But for a fleeting moment, Callen was completely mesmerized by the sight of Kensi holding their daughter. He could not explain the feeling inside as he saw the spark return to her eyes. Somehow the little girl in her arms was filling the empty hole in her heart.

"You okay?"

Kensi groaned. Her whole body ached fiercely, and she had probably ripped out some stitches. Holding her side in pain, she hobbled to the car and leaned against it.

"I told you it wasn't a great idea to go out chasing bad guys just yet."

"Deeks, I'm fine."

"So you keep telling me."

The front yard was bustling with activity, swarming with LAPD officers and paramedics and neighbors who had heard the commotion. Kensi knew it would be easy for NCIS to simply fade into the background now. And in the end, the only thing that mattered was that her daughter was safe. But she could not deny that her arms felt empty, longing to hold her child just once more.

"What'd you tell them?" Deeks asked softly.

"That these men were wanted for the murder of a U.S. Marine. Whose wife was pregnant. They came back to take the baby as leverage, and they grabbed Breanna instead."

"It's the truth."

Kensi shrugged. "Some of it anyway."

Gingerly, she managed to ease herself back into the car when suddenly her phone rang.

"Yeah?"

"Kenz, come up here, I need you."

"Callen, what is it?" Ignoring her pain, Kensi hopped out of the car again, spinning around and scanning the area.

"Just come up here."

There was a click on the phone as he hung up, and Kensi worriedly looked over at Deeks. Her partner nodded, and Kensi quickly hurried up the small grassy hill overlooking the house.

"What is it?" she asked breathlessly.

Callen didn't answer, just stood and stared.

"Callen?"

"Look down."

Kensi followed his gaze and couldn't help but smile.

The blond woman from her dream was talking to the police, with her husband at her side, rocking Breanna in her arms, holding her as if she would never let go again. Despite the commotion, the little girl was now sleeping peacefully, wrapped in a cozy blue baby blanket.

Suddenly feeling a little faint, Kensi leaned back against Callen and laid her head on his shoulder. "This is how it's gonna be," she said softly. "This is how we're gonna protect her."

"Yeah." Callen's eyes darkened as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close and brushing his lips against hers. When he moved to deepen the kiss, Kensi melted into him, and the only coherent thought that crossed her mind was how he always managed to leave her completely breathless.

"Sometimes it's easier when you just leave the lie in place," she whispered.

"Sometimes."

"So she'll never know."

"Maybe not."

"Maybe someday she'll find out," Kensi murmured wistfully.

And with the same thought, they both looked down upon their daughter one last time.

Maybe she already knows.