Chapter 9

Callen looked up and saw Renko walk in, sit down at Sam's desk and put his feet up on the table, making himself at home.

"What are you doing back?" Callen asked him.

"Why, Hello Renko, how's things? Fine thanks Callen. Nice of you to ask. What about you?" Renko replied with a roll of his eyes.

Callen stared at him and waited.

Renko shrugged. "I heard that Tash was back. Wanted to say hi."

Callen noticed Hetty walking toward him but didn't warn Renko about it. "She doesn't remember you."

Renko grinned confidently. "Not yet, but I'm sure she will."

"Don't push her. Nate's orders." Callen was slightly defensive. He knew Tash and Renko had been friends, but he'd never liked it when they had to go undercover together. He'd been particular relieved when Renko had been placed deep undercover on a long term mission that meant he wasn't a regular team member anymore.

"I won't push. It's not like she could forget me, is it?" Renko asked.

"She has. Personally, I wouldn't care if she didn't remember you." Except that would mean a lot of memories that included him, from the time when Renko was on the team wouldn't be remembered.

Renko grinned. "You just don't want her to remember that I kiss better than you."

"You wish," Callen replied. He knew better, but wouldn't say anything.

"Guess we'll just have to ask her then won't we?"

At that moment, Hetty stepped out of the shadows. "No Mr Renko, you will not."

Renko jumped and quickly removed his feet from the table. "Hetty. Hi." He turned to Callen with a glare. Callen smiled back innocently.

"Miss Farrow's recovery is delicate. You are welcome to see her, but you are not to tell her stories. Prompting, Nate will allow, but that is all. Do I make myself clear?" Hetty added. She looked seriously at Renko over her glasses, and indulged in a small smile of satisfaction at the look on his face. He wouldn't dare disobey her and risk facing her wrath, not again.

"Crystal, Hetty."

"Good." Hetty nodded and walked away.

Renko turned back to Callen after Hetty left and asked, "Where is she?"

"In with Nate," Callen replied, grateful for the timing of Renko's visit. If he was lucky then perhaps Tash wouldn't be out anytime soon and Renko would have to leave before he had a chance to see her.

"Hasn't ditched him?" Renko put his feet back up on the table but he quickly removed them as Callen glanced in the direction of Hetty's desk.

Callen chuckled. "No. Doesn't remember how yet."

Renko turned serious. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Looking good so far," Callen replied. Even if he didn't like Renko much, he did know that they had both cared about Tash, in their own way. So for that reason he'd try to be nice.

"Enjoying having her back?"

Callen looked at Renko for a moment debating in his mind how to answer. "She's not back entirely."

Renko raised his eyebrows, "So she doesn't know about you two yet?"

"Not yet, but don't get any ideas," Callen warned.

Renko smiled. "Ideas I can get. Getting her to agree to them - about as much chance as Kensi going on a second date."

Callen looked past Renko to see Tash walking toward them. He smiled and Renko turned around to look, then turned back to Callen.

"She hasn't changed has she? Still as beautiful and delicate as ever."

"More," was all Callen would say to that.

As Tash sat down Callen asked, "How'd you go?" She shook her head.

"Not much. Just one of those days I guess." Tash looked over to Renko as she spoke and frowned. "Do I know you?" she asked.

"We worked together for a bit," Renko answered.

"When?" He didn't seem at all familiar from any of her memories so far.

Renko looked at Callen, who nodded. "I was here when you started. The three of us were a team for a while."

She shook her head and closed her eyes briefly. "Oh. Sorry," Tash apologised. Nothing, he didn't seem familiar. She opened them again as he spoke.

"Not a problem," Renko shrugged. "I heard you were back and want to see for myself."

"See what?" Tash asked.

"If you were okay."

Tash shrugged. "I'm okay, just hate not remembering. Mind you, sometimes the memories are annoying. I'm not allowed to drive at the moment in case I remember something."

Renko grinned, "That's not a bad thing, unless you are in the back with Callen."

Callen threw a ball of paper at Renko's head, which he promptly caught and threw back.

"Children!" Tash exclaimed. Callen and Renko looked over at her. Callen saw the look in her eyes and waited.

"Tash, you okay?" Renko asked, concerned. He moved from the chair to step closer to her.

Callen reassured him. "She's fine. Just remembering something."

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

She was close enough to hear the two of them, so she walked slowly, wondering what was up with them. She had noticed some tension these last few days between the two of them since Renko had come back. He had been away for the first couple of weeks that she had been here, so this team of three was still a relatively new thing.

"I'm driving." Callen held out his hands for Renko's keys.

Renko shook his head and reached for the driver's door. "My car."

"My team," Callen responded and stood in front of the door stopping Renko from opening it.

"My team too."

"I'm the boss," Callen added.

"Since when has that mattered?"

"It matters now," Callen said firmly.

"Still my car and I have the keys." Renko held up the keys up to prove his point.

"I like Tash, don't want you to chase her off with your driving."

"That's so sweet G, but how about this?" she said, as she arrived and swiftly swiped the keys from Renko's fingers. "I'll drive."

"Hey! My car," Renko protested. She looked at him and then back to Callen who hadn't said anything.

"When you two behave like you are old enough to drive, I'll think about it. In the meantime, back seat both of you." She gently pushed Callen out of the way and opened the car door. She hopped in and looked back out to see the two of them still staring at her. "Quickly now children, or I'm leaving without you."

Renko got in the back quickly, but Callen took his time, walked around and sat in the front passenger's seat.

She looked at Callen, sitting there next to her. "G, that's not the back."

Callen smiled. "I know."

She waited. She knew there was more.

"You want me in the back, you join me," Callen finally said. Tash frowned at him, though she was trying not to smile.

Renko groaned. "Okay, enough you two. Flirting on the job, not allowed when I'm around."

Tash shook her head and started the car, trying not to think about the possibilities behind what Callen and Renko had just suggested. He was her boss, that was it. Just because she found him attractive and liked him, nothing was going to happen.

X

Renko was sitting on the bar stool, she was standing between his legs, his arms around her waist, hers around his neck.

"So, you done this with him yet?"

"You know I have," she answered. Those two were so competitive, it was crazy.

Renko grinned at her. "Don't worry, I promise this will be better."

"Enough Renko, do your job and find the target," Callen snapped through the ear piece.

"Don't be jealous G, you know you were first." She grinned back at Renko.

"But not best," Renko replied, as she turned around and leaned back against him, whilst she surveyed the room. She smiled and made her eyes flutter slightly as he kissed her neck and ran his fingers up her arms. She spotted the target and turned back into Renko's arms whispering in his ear. "Back right, corner table, six guys. Target is right in the middle. Not looking promising for getting to him, but hopefully Eric can at least get ID's on the rest."

They heard Eric's response through the ear piece. "Not a problem, got the footage, shouldn't take long to get names."

"Get out of there then. We'll track him and find a better opportunity," Callen ordered.

"Let's make it look real then Tash." Renko raised his eyebrows suggestively. She tried not to laugh at it. She had also noticed the bartender watching them, so she didn't really have a choice.

"Just don't do that again otherwise I'll laugh."

"What?" Renko asked, confused.

"The eyebrow thing. It looks funny," she replied.

"Shut up and kiss me," Renko said and kissed her. She wound her arms around his neck, returning the kiss, but it was nothing like with Callen. She could still hear everything, still breathe and could still wish that it wasn't Renko she was doing this with. It wouldn't have been, if Callen hadn't already had dealings in this particular bar on a different mission recently. They didn't need one of the staff bringing attention to them. She pulled back and put on what she hoped was a sexy, satisfied smile as she noted the bartender still watching them. An unfair thought crossed her mind that maybe Renko had bribed the bartender to keep an eye on them. She shook her head slightly.

"Let's get out of here." She moved away and took his hand to pull him off the stool. Renko slipped his arm around her shoulders and they walked out.

"So, better than Callen?"

"Easier," she replied.

Renko frowned, Callen laughed and she just smiled. He wasn't getting anymore out of her than that, neither of them would.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Tash shook her head as the memory faded. She looked at Renko, who was standing near her.

"Guess I remember you after all." She turned to Callen and asked, "Would his driving really have chased me off?"

Callen chuckled, "Probably. Remember anything else?"

Callen noticed the blush on her cheeks, so did Renko.

Renko grinned at Callen. "Told you I kiss better than you."

Callen glared at him and Tash started to laugh. Apparently their competitiveness hadn't changed. Callen and Renko looked at her.

Tash stood up and walked over to Renko as she spoke, "I never said better. Just easier."

"Please tell me you didn't do that eyebrow thing again?" she asked him.

Renko narrowed his eyes at her a little, tried not to smile and shrugged. "It worked on other girls."

"Not on me." Tash smiled, "Thank you."

"For?" Renko asked.

"Stopping by, to check on me." Tash kissed him gently on the cheek and then turned back to Callen. "I'm going to lie down. My head hurts." Tash was starting to wonder if she should take something before she went into her sessions with Nate. The headaches seemed to be a normal side effect these days, even ones where she didn't remember much.

Callen glanced at Renko then back to Tash. "After remembering kissing him, can understand that."

"Yeah, well just wait until she remembers kissing you," Renko retorted.

"She doesn't need to remember, she already knows." Callen grinned, as he remembered the kiss from yesterday and watched Tash blush even more, before she turned and walked away.

Renko waited until Tash was out of earshot before he spoke. "How'd you manage that Callen? Thought you weren't supposed to push."

Callen gave a little shrug. "Didn't push. Just happened whilst we were working on a case."

"She's working already?" Renko's phone started ringing. "I'm sure you took advantage of the situation," he added.

"Maybe, but she enjoyed it," Callen's tone confident. They both had. Now if only Eric hadn't walked in.

"I'm sure you did too." Renko answered his phone, "Carter, what do you want?... Now?...On my way." Renko hung up and slipped his phone back in his pocket.

Callen felt relieved. "Go to go do you?"

"Work, some of us actually have some to do," Renko answered.

"Nice to see you again Renko. Thanks for stopping in."

Renko glanced in the direction Tash had disappeared and then looked back to Callen, his tone serious. "Look after her Callen."

"I will," Callen promised.

Renko nodded and left.