I don't own NCIS Los Angeles! My native language is Dutch and I'm dyslectic so sorry for any mistakes. Thank you for the reviews, alerts and favorites!

Sorry it took so incredibly long for this chapter to be posted, but a lot has been going on in my life at the moment and writing was not my priority. Also my sister is more busy than before so it takes a little bit longer. But this story isn't finished yet, so I will continue writing and I hope you will continue reading. Enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 42

Narah looked into the as good as empty hallway. Most of the students were in the cafeteria, because there were still ten minutes of lunch left, but Narah liked the calmness of the hallway. She looked over her shoulder to see agent Gomez smiling at her. How much longer was the agent going to stay with her? Her case had been quiet for a long time and NCIS must be wanting their agent back for more active cases. Yet, agent Gomez was still following her around.

'Hey, Miss Tough.' Narah turned around to see a smiling Chris walking towards her. 'Good to see you. We missed you yesterday.' Narah gave him a weak smile. She had avoided him and the others because she needed some time alone to deal with her feelings towards her father's death. 'Are you okay, Narah?' Chris had a worried look on his face and Narah noticed his glance over her shoulder towards agent Gomez.

'Oh yeah...I'm just fine,' she answered him. 'I just had...my mind filled with...things.' Chris gave a little meaningless nod and they looked at each other.

'So you missed all the commotion,' Chris started, trying to keep the conversation going. 'The fire turned out not to be a fire...at least that is the rumor that's going through the school. They say it was a kidnap attempt.' Narah looked shocked at Chris. 'Some guys tried to get into the school to kidnap Luke Fennigan. His father is some rich businessman...' Narah glanced at agent Gomez. That would explain why she had taken Deeks and Kensi apart to talk about it. Chris' voice pulled her out of her thoughts. 'But you already knew that...'

'I didn't,' she told him. 'But...umm...I could have know...'

'How...?' Chris stared at agent Gomez. 'The bodyguard...' Narah took a deep breath.

'I knew something was going on,' she told him. 'Other than the fire...'

'Narah, what is going on?' Chris asked. 'Why do you have this bodyguard following you around all the time?' Narah looked once again at agent Gomez, who gave her a little nod.

'She isn't my bodyguard,' Narah started her explanation. 'She is a Special Agent at NCIS and assigned to protect me...I...I, ummm...am the only witness who was willing to speak in a case...in my neighborhood...'

'Wow,' Chris mumbled surprised. 'Wow...that's...not what I expected...so what happened?'

'Umm...I can't really tell you. Sorry...it's complicated and still an ongoing case...'

'So Deeks and Kensi...are they really your adoption parents?'

'They are my real adoption parents. It's actually how I met them...they were assigned to protect me at first...and...umm...it led to an adoption.' Chris looked at her, not saying anything. There hardly seemed to be a reaction on what she just said. 'It's a lot...isn't it?' Chris gave her another nod and Narah wondered whether she made a mistake telling him. The school bell rang and it was like Chris came back to life.

'We should get to class,' he told her. Narah took a deep breath and started to walk away.

'Since when are you so quick to go to class?' Chris asked. He joined up with her and Narah smiled at him. He smiled back. 'Just because it was a bit much, it doesn't mean we can't walk to class together.'

'We should do something with Narah,' Deeks said as he put his pen down. 'Like a fun day.' He and Kensi were sitting in the bullpen working on their paperwork. Kensi looked up at him.

'Do you have anything in mind?' she asked him but Deeks shook his head. All he knew was that he wanted to do something to cheer Narah up a little. He wanted to see her smile. He hated to see her sad, like she had been because of her father's death. A little bit of happy time was something all three of them could use. Maybe they should invite Julia as well. It already been some time since they saw Kensi's mother and he knew Narah and Julia liked each other. Before he had more time to spend on the subject a sharp whistle made him look up. Eric was standing at the top of the stairs.

'We have a case,' he announced, though that was already clear to them. Deeks and Kensi headed upstairs where Callen and Sam were already standing.

'So this probably means no lunch for us...' Deeks said jokingly at Callen and Sam, who were supposed to get the lunch for today.

'Yes,' Callen answered. 'NCIS has joined Homeland in a case concerning the group Sins Of the Human; an inactive group that seem to have become more active.' He gave Eric a little nod and with one push of a button the screen was filled with pictures and documents.

'The group is relatively small,' he started to tell. 'They took it easy: participating in protests and spreading their message around on the internet. They believe we are destroying our world and that humans need to be stopped. Over the past year they have started to recruit some Navy personal, which is when we got involved with this case. They have been lying low but they started to announce that the day for humans to pay has come.'

'This morning pictures were posted on several sites,' Nell took over and she pulled up the pictures. It were several marines standing next to barrels. 'The barrels contain a deadly toxin gas, fabricated by the group itself. The man who designed it is Michael Aker. He has been with the Navy for over fifteen years. He developed the gas for Sins Of the Human. All he ended up with was a taste of his own gas. He was found, bled out, in his house, along with his wife and their two kids.'

'Do we have any idea where they want to release the gas?' Kensi asked.

'We have been on this case for quite a while,' Callen answered. 'I have contacted the group under the alias Collin Avinor and showed interest in joining their cause. They are eager for new members. At six a.m. they made contact, saying they could use another "brother" in their quest to clear the world of filth. I'm supposed to meet them in two hours at the harbor.'

'Do you think they will tell you where they are going to release the gas?' Deeks asked.

'Callen isn't undercover on his own,' Sam answered. 'For once he has someone else with him. Homeland has someone in the organization as well.

'Meet Drake Thurstone,' Nell said and a mug shot of a young looking guy appeared on the screen. 'He started out as a believer in the cause but started to feel resentment when he found out how far the group was willing to go. He offered himself up, but it was decided by Homeland that he should stay inside to gather more information.'

'I will meet Drake before the meet,' Callen continued. 'He knows almost everyone in the group and has better chance of finding out where the attack will take place. I can find out more about the gas since they're using me as a replacement of Aker.'

'Why would they want a replacement for Aker?' Deeks asked. 'They could have kept him alive if they needed him...'

'Apparently Aker refused to make an antidote for the group,' Callen answered. 'Saying that the members of the group were the same as the other people on this world, destroying our planet. So they had to die as well.'

Deeks stared at the phone in his hand, toying with the idea of calling agent Gomez and telling her to keep Narah away from any public place. He hated the thought of any possible danger for Narah.

'It's tough, isn't it?' Sam noted as he walked into the bullpen, nodding at the phone. 'You know you can't call and warn her, because she will warn her friends, who will do the same and that will cause panic.'

'I know,' Deeks said slowly. 'But I just want to keep her safe...which is hard when I can't do a thing...how do you deal with it?'

'I work on stopping the attack,' Sam answered and then he smiled a little, 'and I would be holding my phone in my hand, ready to call her and tell her to go far away with the kids.' He put his hand on Deeks' shoulder, as Deeks sighed. 'Being a dad will make you work just a little harder to solve the case. Just so that you can keep your kid safe. That's all that counts when you become a dad.' Deeks nodded.

'Thanks, Sam,' he said.

'No problem, Deeks,' Sam replied. 'Now put that phone away and suit up. Callen is about to leave for his meet.'

'Can the both of you stop acting so nervous?' Sam asked annoyed, only half an hour later in their surveillance van. 'It's feels like I'm in a van with two rookies who are on their first stakeout.' Deeks and Kensi stopped whatever they were doing and looked apologetically at Sam. Sam took a deep breath.

'So what happens if Callen gets the job?' Kensi asked.

'We make sure he can get the information about the gas out so an antidote can be developed,' Sam answered. 'And we make sure he doesn't get killed like Aker.'

'Sounds like a solid plan,' Deeks said and he looked around in the van, trying to find something to focus on. Sitting in a van, waiting to enter, wasn't Deeks' favorite part. Kensi placed her hand on his knee and he squeezed it with a smile.

'They're moving,' Sam reported and he started the van.

'Where are they going?' Kensi asked. 'Do you think Callen is in and they're going to location?' Sam stayed silent and drove to Callen's location on Nell's direction. They arrived at a neighborhood and stopped in front of a house. They saw a man closing the door and moving through the windows. The van of SWAT parked on the other side of the road.

'Seems like all is there,' sounded through Callen's microphone and Deeks, Kensi and Sam were immediately on alert. That was the signal that the barrels were inside. Only one more sentence...'Are we ready to go?' and Deeks, Kensi and Sam headed out of the car, just like SWAT, ready to enter the house. But before they reached the house they heard gunshots and they lost contact with Callen.

'Move in!' Sam ordered and they entered the house. Shots were fired back and forth. Deeks, Kensi and Sam moved forward, in search of Callen. They found him leaning against a wall, holding his left shoulder tightly. Blood was seeping through his hand.

'You had to get yourself shot, didn't you?' Sam joked and he pulled Callen up.

'Had to make sure you were coming in,' Callen replied and all four started to laugh. Callen winced with the movement.

'We should get you to the hospital,' Kensi said. 'Homeland can take over from here. They probably won't mind taking the glory.' They walked to the cars and drove Callen to the hospital.

'You have to cut the union in small pieces,' agent Gomez instructed Narah as they were standing in the kitchen preparing their dinner. Deeks and Kensi had called to say they were staying a little longer in the hospital. Agent Gomez had been assigned to take care of Narah. Narah concentrated on cutting the union but after a while she put her knife down.

'Aren't you annoyed to be here all the time?' she asked agent Gomez.

'It's my job,' agent Gomez answered. 'I have to stay with you to protect you. You know that.' Narah nodded but that wasn't what she wanted to know. She remembered what agent Gomez had told her around Christmas

'Are you never annoyed that you're barely at home?' Narah continued asking.

'I don't really mind not being home,' the agent said. 'I would only get bored when I am at home. It's more fun to be here, with people around me.'

'You don't have a boyfriend?' Narah asked and agent Gomez stared at her. 'Or am I too curious?' Agent Gomez took a deep breath and shook her head.

'I can understand you want to know a little more about me...' she said and she looked at Narah. 'I had a husband. We got divorced about a month before Christmas. I'm not yet used to living alone in the house. I still expect him to walk in...but he had enough of my work hours.'

'I'm sorry I asked,' Narah said. 'It must have been hard...'

'Well...the love had been gone for a long time,' agent Gomez replied. 'It just took us a long time to admit it to each other...but now I'm here, making dinner with you, and that is perfectly fine. Probably more fun than I would have with him.' Narah smiled.

'Well I really want to know how to make your mother's pasta because it sounds really good,' she said and agent Gomez laughed. They returned to cutting the vegetables, until Narah looked at agent Gomez again. 'Can I ask you one more question?'

'Shoot,' agent Gomez said without looking up from the cutting board.

'Can I call you Maria? Calling you agent Gomez seems a little weird after all these weeks.' Agent Gomez stayed silent for a while and Narah wondered whether she had gone too far with the question. But then the agent smiled.

'Yeah...I think I would like it if you call me Maria,' she answered.

'Well we only had half a day at school,' Emily told Narah over the phone. 'We had enough after the morning. Ming, Ivan and I went to the gym to throw some hoops. A few guys came over as well. It was almost like how it should be. Only you were missing...' Narah took a deep breath.

'I wish I could have been there...'

'Me too. I miss you. I miss my shopping buddy. You definitely need to come over again...or I could come over at your place and we could discover the shopping malls in your fancy neighborhood.' Narah smiled. She would love to see Emily again. Even if that meant they had to go shopping. Narah heard the front door open and soon after she saw Deeks and Kensi walking in.

'Hey, Emily, I got to go. Deeks and Kensi just walked in. Talk to you soon?'

'Of course! Talk to you later!' Narah hung up the phone and put it on the table in front of her. Deeks and Kensi smiled at her.

'Agent Gomez put some leftovers in the fridge,' Narah told Deeks and Kensi, pointing at the kitchen. 'If you want some...How is Callen?'

'Callen will be okay,' Deeks assured her. 'He can handle a bullet to the shoulder.' He stroked her over her head. 'How was your day?' Narah shrugged and Deeks glanced at the book in front of her. 'Ahh, mathematics. Do you need some help with that?' Narah raised her eyebrow at him.

'You can do math?' she asked him and Deeks sat down next to her.

'Hey, don't act so surprised,' he told her. 'Kensi might have the brains, but I sure have them as well. Behind all the jokes hides a true genius.' Narah nodded, not believing him at all, but she pushed the book towards him. Her smile grew as she saw Deeks becoming more and more confused.

'Everything alright, Deeks?' Kensi asked, who had joined them at the table. Deeks looked up from the book at both girls.

'I said I could do math,' he told them, 'but this isn't math. This is pure evil. There aren't even numbers to begin with. This is wizardry. We definitely need to talk with your teacher and tell him to teach you some real mathematics.' Narah and Kensi started to laugh. Kensi took the book and looked at it.

'I can help you with this,' she told Narah and she turned to Deeks. 'You should warm up the leftovers while I help Narah with this.'

'Good luck with your sorcery,' Deeks joked while he walked to the kitchen and Kensi sat down next to Narah. As Kensi tried to explain the math and Deeks was warming up the leftovers, Narah smiled.

TBC.

Updates will probably be less regular. It's all about finding the time to write, have it beta-ed and post it. I hope you understand and stay with the story. You are all awesome!