As it turns out, Root and Shaw had been kind enough to grab Talia's and Callen's things from the hotel before they grabbed the agents – something Talia was very much appreciative of. Presently, they were munching on sandwiches and talking.

Well, it was actually closer to an interrogation, with Talia and Callen as the interrogators.

"You don't seem like you're part of any agency, so who do you work for?"

A small smile crept up onto Root's face at Talia's question. Shaw was too engaged in wolfing down her sandwich to pay any attention to the question.

"Our boss has…quite a few names." Root chose her words carefully. "But you can refer to her as Thornhill."

"What exactly is it that you guys do?" Callen asked, before taking another bite of his sandwich.

"We specialise in protecting people," Root said simply.

"Protecting people from what?" Talia put her sandwich down, eager to learn as much as she could about these people and whatever organisation they worked for.

"Violent crimes," Root answered promptly, "such as kidnapping and murder."

Callen snorted at that, and Root smiled apologetically.

"Well, most of the time."

"And how many of you are there, exactly?" Talia pressed.

"Honestly? I don't know. There could be just my team, or there could be hundreds of others."

By this time, Shaw had finished her sandwich, and was currently working her way through Root's. Root didn't mind. She'd had a big lunch, and so she wasn't overly hungry.

"So, who's on your team?" Callen wondered, swallowing the last bite of his food.

"There's myself, Shaw, Harry, Lionel, John, and of course, Bear." She smiled at Shaw when she said the name Bear, and Shaw allowed a small smile to appear in response. It was the first sign Talia had seen that Shaw felt happiness.

Then, as if on cue, there was a knock on the door, followed by the bark of a dog. Root stood up.

"Speak of the devil."

She opened the door, to reveal a man in a suit and a large dog at his side. As soon as the dog saw Root, he wagged his tail happily, and Root bent down to greet him with a scratch between the ears.

"Root." The man's voice was soft and gruff. It could be best described as a verbal smoulder.

"Hey, John," Root greeted him chirpily. "What are you doing here?"

"Harold and I have to stay in an apartment that doesn't allow animals, and Bear missed you two."

As if he could understand what they were saying, Bear whined. Root smiled at the animal and looked over her shoulder at Talia and Callen.

"You like dogs?" Talia and Callen exchanged a glance, and then nodded. They could put up with a dog. After all, they'd tolerated Monty for a whole month when Kensi and Deeks went away on an undercover mission.

Root stood up and let the dog in. Bear immediately trotted right over to Shaw and sat at her feet. Shaw grinned and bent down to pet Bear, who happily thumped his tail in response.

"Care for a sandwich?" Root offered, but John shook his head.

"Harold's expecting me back."

Root nodded and watched as the man in the suit retreated, before closing the door. Talia and Callen furrowed their brows, trying to figure out which one of her team he was.

"That was John," Root said, and the couple nodded in understanding. Talia picked some lettuce that had fallen out of her sandwich off her plate and chewed on it, trying to ignore the question that kept turning over in her mind. She glanced at Callen, and one look could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

"How long are we going to be here?" she blurted finally, catching Root by surprise. Yes, her training as an agent meant that she could sometimes be away on missions for indefinite amounts of time, but she still liked to know if they had set periods of time.

"Depends on whether or not they know," Root answered, sitting down and pulling out her laptop. Talia and Callen exchanged another glance with each other. Shaw saw the action and jumped into explain.

"The group is weirdly religious," she explained. "They don't like it when other people kidnap their wanted assets."

"How is that 'weirdly religious'?" Talia asked.

"They frown upon it as most forms of Christianity frown upon premarital sex," Root piped up, typing away rapidly at the keyboard. Talia raised her eyebrows and slid her eyes over to Callen, who was doing the same thing.

"That is weird," Callen agreed, bending down to introduce himself to Bear who had made his way over to the agent.

"But we're agents," Talia pointed out. "We get kidnapped all the time during work."

"They view that as captured," Root said, not looking up from her laptop. "Don't ask me how they differentiate, because I don't know."

Callen and Talia nodded in understanding. The four of them were silent for another minute, having nothing to say, until Root looked up from her laptop and broke the silence.

"They know." She smiled at them. "You're safe."

"Good." Talia let out a small sigh of relief – it really would have sucked if they were kidnapped and tortured on their vacation.

"You two are free to go, if you would like," Root offered and tossed some car keys to Talia. "John brought you a rental car. But, you are equally as welcome to stay here for a couple of days. We can pay for it."

Callen looked at Talia. "This place seems quite cozy."

Talia nodded in agreement and then turned her head to Root. "I think we'll stay here."

"Good choice!" Root grinned at them and began gathering up her things. Shaw followed in suit. "Again, many apologies for kidnapping you like that. I hope the rest of your vacation is enjoyable."

She cast a wink (or an attempt at one) over her shoulder as she left the room. Bear followed after, and Shaw offered a small smile before she closed the door behind her. Talia and Callen were left alone once more.

Talia stood up and went to get herself a drink of water, and Callen flopped backwards onto the bed and let out a huge sigh.

"So, what should we do now?" he wondered after a half minute. Talia swallowed her drink, then turned to him with a devilish grin on her face.

"Well, I did pack those stain strips," she almost purred. "It'd be a shame to see them go to waste."

At this, Callen bolted upright. "Really?"

Talia nodded, then reached into her bag and pulled out said strips. She held them up seductively. Callen remembered well the last time they had used those. He was more than eager to use them again.

Talia caught the shine in his eyes, and gave her head a quick shake. "Mmm, mmm. Not this time. It's my turn."

Callen happily complied, and Talia climbed on top of him, securing his wrists to the headboard.

Yes, this was a much, much better way to spend their vacation.