A/N: First off, a big thank you to DizzyDrea, SP SVU B, Rebel Magnus, terken, evershort, TwilightPony21, and ChlollieRockz for reviewing! Thanks also to casper84 for subscribing to story alerts.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all you guys for reading, reviewing, favoriting, alerting, etc. It really means a lot to me to know that you guys are enjoying this story so much.
On that note, let us begin Chapter 7!
Chapter 7: One Day Earlier
"So…" began Renko. "Callen and Kensi, huh? How long has that been going on?"
Deeks grunted from his position behind the steering wheel of the car. "Hetty reckons it's been about six months."
"Six months, huh?" Renko merely sounded mildly curious, as opposed to violently surprised like Sam and Deeks had been. Then his tone turned disbelieving as he added, "And none of you noticed?"
"You know how Callen and Kensi are," Deeks defended. "I doubt you'd have noticed either."
"Oh, yes, I would," Renko disagreed. "It might've taken me a while – maybe even a few months – but I'd have figured it out eventually."
Deeks scoffed. "Yeah, right," he said skeptically.
"Did you know, I used to have a bit of a crush on Kensi," Renko said, changing the subject. Deeks' ears perked up, and he turned to look at the agent.
"Really?" he asked interestedly.
"It was a long time ago," Renko said. "She was out of my league, anyway."
"You and me both," Deeks agreed.
He pulled up outside the house of one Jonathan Cross. Eric had uncovered a paper trail that led right back to Cross – he'd been wired $20,000 the day of Campbell's murder – but due to a lack of connections to Gordon, Cross was not so much a suspect as a 'person of interest'.
"How do you want to play this?" Renko asked as he and Deeks approached the front door.
"Why does there always have to be a play?" Deeks wondered. "How about we just knock on the door and announce who we are?"
"He's gonna run," Renko pointed out.
"I know." Deeks grinned. "We'll just chase him down – and then we'll have probable cause to bring him in, won't we?"
Renko grinned back. "I like the way you think. I'll go round to the back to intercept him."
Deeks nodded and waited a few moments to allow Renko time to reach the back door. Then he knocked firmly on the door. "Jonathan Cross! LAPD!"
Just as he expected, there was a small scuffle and the pattering of running feet from the inside that signaled Cross' attempt to escape. However, seconds later, a startled yelp, followed by a pained grunt, echoed from the back of the house.
"You got him?" Deeks called.
"Yeah, I got him," Renko answered, pushing a cuffed Cross in front of him as he came back around. "Let's take him to the boathouse."
"All right, Cross, it's time to come clean," said Renko as he sat down in the interrogation room. "We know you were involved in Campbell's murder somehow – if you 'fess up now, your sentence might not be so bad."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Cross said sourly, slouching in his chair. "I'm not saying anything until I get a lawyer."
"Look, man, we don't really blame you," Deeks put in. "Twenty thousand dollars – that's a lot of money. Of course, it's still no reason to kill someone – but we know it wasn't your idea to kill Campbell."
"I have no idea who this Campbell person is," Cross insisted.
"Really?" Renko said skeptically. "Let me jog your memory. Petty Officer, first name James, dumped on the beach? No?"
"How about this?" asked Deeks, slapping a photo of Gordon in front of Cross. "Does that ring a bell?"
"Who the hell is he?" Cross demanded.
"That's a no, then." Deeks sighed. "Excuse me a moment," he said to Renko before exiting.
"Where's he going?" Cross asked, a tad nervously.
"Oh, him?" Renko was supremely unconcerned. "He's going to talk to our local lie detector." When Cross' eyes widened, he added, "Oh, yeah. We've got one of those. If he says you're lying, you're really in for it." He glanced pointedly at him. "You want to change your mind about that lawyer?"
"Well?" Deeks inquired of Nate, who was watching the interrogation with Sam.
"He's edgy," Nate analyzed. "His eyes keep shifting from side to side; his answers are too quick, forced. And he's demanding to lawyer up."
"So he's guilty?" Sam surmised.
"Probably," Nate conceded. "But he was telling the truth about Gordon. He doesn't know him."
"How does that figure?" Deeks asked. "We've proved Gordon's a bad guy – it makes sense that he'd order a hit on Campbell once he felt he was getting too close."
"And Eric checked Cross' phone and email records," Sam added. "There was nothing from Gordon. If he didn't approach Cross in person, how could he have ordered the hit?"
"Maybe he didn't," Nate suggested. "Maybe it was someone else."
"Someone besides Gordon had a reason to want Campbell dead?" Deeks frowned.
"Maybe it was someone in the drug ring," said Sam.
"It is possible that Gordon ordered someone to hire an assassin to kill Campbell," Nate allowed, "but that's a very roundabout way of doing it. From my preliminary profile of Gordon, I'd say he's a control freak. Likes things done his way."
"So it doesn't make sense that he'd have someone else arrange Campbell's murder," Deeks concluded. "I mean, if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself." When Sam narrowed his eyes in warning, Deeks hastily backpedaled. "I mean, in bad guy circles…obviously, criminals don't…have the trust that we share in…federal agencies…you know, among good guys…" He cleared his throat and shut up. "Never mind."
"Wise call," Sam told him.
Just then Renko came back in from interrogation. "Cross admitted to killing Campbell – but he swears he's never met Gordon before."
"I believe him," said Nate.
"Yeah, so do I," agreed Renko. "I was tailing Gordon for quite a while before Campbell was killed, and he went nowhere near Cross to arrange the hit."
"Well, then it must have been somebody else who hired Cross," Sam concluded.
"We've gotta hunt down that person," Renko added.
"I'm really starting to hate this case," grumbled Deeks. "We keep finding new leads that either don't go anywhere or open up a whole new branch of the investigation. Everything's all jumbled up, and I'm getting confused."
"You and me both, Deeks," Renko agreed.
"I've made some operational changes," Hunter said. "Callen will be working with Kensi; Sam with Deeks."
The agents stared at each other; Callen and Kensi exchanged meaningful glances.
"Partner up. I'm sure you'll all make this work," she added pointedly as she exited Ops.
"Is she kidding?" Deeks asked as Callen followed after Hunter.
"Nope," said Kensi, crossing her arms.
She was aware of what this meant for Callen and her – and she couldn't say she was looking forward to it. She knew Callen had gone to confront Hunter about the sudden change – and probably to try to persuade her to change it back too – but Kensi also knew Hunter would stick to her decision like glue.
God, this was going to be awkward.
"So what's your favorite food?" Kensi asked uncomfortably as they walked up the stairs of the apartment complex. It occurred to her that despite all that they had shared, she still didn't really know Callen as much as she would like.
"Kensi, we've known each other for a long time," Callen responded. At the same time, his tone subtly pointed out that they were much more than simple partners.
"Yeah," Kensi admitted, "but how much do we really know about each other? We always use Sam and Deeks as these…social buffers…and I know you don't open up to anyone, but still…"
"You don't exactly open up to anyone either," Callen pointed out.
Kensi took a second to suppress her feeling that their relationship was becoming increasingly one-sided before answering, "Yeah, but I'm willing to try, for the good of this partnership."
He came to a halt; she deliberately held his eyes.
"Okay," he said after a few moments.
"Okay," she agreed, smiling a little at the thought of finding out more about the man who had become more than just a colleague and friend to her. Maybe, just maybe, with this whole partner thing, they could make this work after all.
Her hope was dashed with his next words, however.
"I'm listening," Callen said.
Kensi stared at him, feeling her hurt and disappointment bubbling up inside her again. She'd already told him more than she'd ever told anyone else, and he expected her to give up more without doing the same? Of course, she knew he was just proving a point – but still…
He held her gaze for a long minute before she looked away, remembering the important parts of her life she hadn't told him yet.
"Let's just stick to the case," she suggested, climbing the stairs.
"Agreed," Callen concurred.
Callen casually picked a newspaper from the stand and held it up to conceal his face before engaging in conversation with Sam, who'd met him at the coffee shop. There wasn't any real risk in the mission right now – the waiting period was almost never dangerous – and there was no harm in Jacob Carmel chatting with a friend, either; but still, it wouldn't do to have Alex Gordon drive by and catch sight of Jacob talking to someone who wasn't backstopped – especially since that someone was also an NCIS agent.
Sam, of course, wasted no time in interrogating Callen about Kensi.
"How long have you and Kensi been seeing each other?" he asked bluntly.
Callen raised an eyebrow. He wasn't naïve; he'd been expecting this the moment Sam had asked to meet him, of course – but he still deflected.
"This is what you wanted to meet me for?"
Sam just gave him a look.
"Sam, I'm undercover," Callen emphasized. "This could jeopardize the mission."
Sam scoffed. "This mission is fairly low risk – for now, anyway." His voice turned serious. "And we need to talk about this."
Callen looked pained. "Do we really have to?"
"You were the one who said you would tell me if you could," Sam pointed out.
"True. I did say that, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did. Now stop stalling."
"How much do you want to know?"
Sam glared at him. "Really? Are you actually asking me that question?"
Callen sighed. "It's a long story," he warned.
"I've got time," Sam said evenly. This had been kept secret long enough; he was going to get the truth even if he had to stand out here all day. He still couldn't believe Callen and Kensi had kept something this big from them for over half a year.
"It started at Christmas," Callen began.
"Christmas?" Sam repeated. "It's August now. Christmas was seven months ago!"
Callen threw him a withering look. "I'm well aware of that."
Sam checked himself. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's just…Hetty told us that she thought you'd been seeing each other for about six months."
Callen shrugged. "Ah, it's close enough. Anyway, like I said, after the case with Talbot, I went over to Kensi's house to see if she was all right. One thing led to another, and…" He trailed off, leaving the rest to Sam's imagination.
"And what happened after that?" Sam queried.
"We promised we would never do it again. I had that rule about dating law enforcement, remember?" Callen chuckled. "Clearly, we see how well that turned out."
"Oh, yeah," Sam said, with just a hint of sarcasm. "I'd say that rule was just about broken, crumbled, sliced up, stabbed, bulldozed, and thrown out the window – along with Kensi's second-date rule." He sobered. "Seriously, though, G, how did it happen?"
Callen shrugged. "I honestly don't really know," he confessed. "It just did. After about a month we both knew it wasn't going to stop. Somehow, we'd…grown attached."
"So what happened?" Sam inquired. "Judging by your behavior the past few months, it's not all roses and peaches. What'd you do?"
"Why do you assume it's something I did?" Callen retorted, a tad defensively.
"Because Kensi's my little sister, and if she broke her second-date rule for you, it must have really meant something to her – too much for her to screw it up."
"Hey, I broke my rule, too," Callen reminded him. Sam rolled his eyes.
"You and I both know Kensi's not the type to break a relationship after she's committed herself to that level. Otherwise she wouldn't have been serial dating. Hell, she was engaged before, G. And I know you," he added.
"Yeah?" Callen said interestedly. "What do you know?"
"I know you're the type who doesn't allow anyone to get close, so it must really have scared you when Kensi started breaking that barrier."
Callen sighed. "It did," he admitted. "And you're right – it was my fault. Kensi wanted…more."
Sam sighed too, shaking his head. "Oh, boy," he remarked. "And you didn't give it to her."
"I couldn't." Callen's eyes were distant, faraway, tinged with remorse. Sam couldn't read Callen as well as Kensi could, but even he could tell that Callen wanted to take his relationship with Kensi to the next level – a fact that was confirmed by Callen's next words.
"I wanted to, Sam, but I just couldn't. It wasn't me. I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"Why?"
"Because I'm afraid of what will happen if I do. Our business is dangerous, Sam – and there's no guarantee that we'll make it through each day. If I open up and I lose her – just like I did Sharon…"
Sam was silent for a moment as he considered that. "Kensi doesn't know, does she?"
Callen shook his head. "No. I never told her. It's a bit unfair, really – she's told me so many different parts of her life, and I still haven't told her any of mine – but there you have it. That's me." He smiled wryly. "The lone wolf."
"Even lone wolves have to settle down eventually, G," Sam pointed out.
"It's more than that," he admitted. "If we do this…we'll become a weakness for each other. All any criminal has to do is threaten one of us and the other will be thrown off focus. Kensi and I are both good agents – we've worked our asses off to get to where we are – and if we pursue this we'd be opening ourselves up to a certain amount of danger."
"You don't want to lose your effectiveness," Sam concluded.
"Right," Callen agreed. "And I don't want to be responsible for making Kensi lose hers, either."
"It doesn't have to be that way, G," said Sam. "You said it yourself – you and Kensi are both good agents, and I'm sure you can do your job just as well even if you're in a relationship." He smiled. "At least, that's what you told me earlier, if I remember correctly."
"That was before, Sam," Callen informed him. "Now, I'm not so sure." He paused for a while, thinking; then asked, "How did you manage it? With Lita?"
"Hmm…" Sam thought, absent-mindedly rubbing his left ring finger, where a wedding band should be – but wasn't, because of what he did for a living. "I don't think it applies, G," he said finally. "I married Lita when I was a SEAL. There was no deception there. And by the time I transferred to NCIS, we'd been together nine years, so it was natural for me to include her in my life. She was always going to be there." He chuckled slightly. "You've noticed, of course, that I keep her a closely guarded secret for precisely the reason you're worried about."
"Yeah," Callen agreed. Then he exhaled. "Thanks, Sam."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "I assume you're not talking about my dragging you out here in the middle of the afternoon."
Callen snickered. "No. I'm talking about you making me talk about this messy relationship. Surprisingly, it's helped."
"That's what I keep telling you," said Sam. "It helps to talk these things out." He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It'll work out somehow, G."
"Yeah." Callen lowered his newspaper and put it back on the stand. "First we have to get through this op."
Sam smiled. "Hm. True." He stuck his hand back in his pocket and lowered his voice. "You ready for tomorrow?"
"With you watching my back? Of course," Callen joked, making light.
Sam just looked resigned as he went off.
A/N: Ooh, we're getting very, very close to the prologue now. Tomorrow's chapter will take us there.
We've got quite a few episode tie-ins in here today - the most obvious being, of course, Backstopped (Season 3 Episode 3). Then there's Disorder (Season 2 Episode 11) again, and a slight allusion to Season 1 Episode 5 Keepin' It Real, because of Natalie Giordano's line that "she must have been some cop" to Callen's no-law-enforcement-dating rule in that episode. And I suppose if you want to be picky, you could allow that the mention of Kensi's second-date rule COULD be slight reference as well - but I can't remember which episode that's from.