I was literally about to post this when freaking Sandy knocked out my power which meant no internet for a week. We do have a generator but it can only do so much.
This one was hard for me to write for many so many reasons (I'll explain at the end). Even though there isn't much Neric, I put it under Eric and Nell because it involves them and their adorable children.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: LA or the characters.
NCIS Special Agent G Callen slowly pulled up to the curb in the quiet and picturesque suburb. After turning off the engine, he produced from the center console a pair of black, military grade binoculars. From his position across the street , he could see straight into the family room of the quaint, little house with the perfectly manicured lawn. To his surprise, he saw two little figures at the window staring back at him through their own binoculars and in the blink of an eye they were gone. Placing the binoculars back into the center console, Callen stepped out of the car and headed over to the house.
"UNCLE G!" Two small children came bounding out the front door and each latched on to a leg as soon as Callen was on the sidewalk.
"Oh, my gosh," grunted Callen as he stumbled onto the lawn. "I must be shrinking because you guys look so much bigger than the last time I saw you."
"No," giggled the taller of the two children. "Mom says we're growing."
"No, I think I'm shrinking," Callen joked. With some effort due to the extra hundred-odd pounds of children on his legs, he began to hobble to the front door but stopped when a petite woman appeared behind the screen.
"Scott, Austin, you two are too big to do that now. Let Uncle G go."
"It's fine, Nell," Callen said with a smile as the two children laughed. He kissed Nell on the cheek as he entered the house. "Where's Eric?"
"He's changing Tessa," Nell said prying her smallest son off of Callen's leg. "Everyone else is out back if you want to head out with Scott. Austin needs to change his shirt."
"No!" Austin protested.
"Yes," Nell said firmly. "You have oatmeal all over you."
"No," he pouted.
"Hey, Austin," Callen whispered. "If you change your shirt, I'll let you shake Sam's soda before he opens it." The little boy's face lit up at this proposition and he wriggled free of his mother's grasp to go change.
"Thanks, G," huffed Nell. "Now I know why he thinks it's hilarious to shake his juice boxes."
…
"Mommy, may I be excused?" Scott asked politely.
"Me, too, peas?" Austin asked.
"Yes, both of you are excused," Nell said ruffling their hair.
Scott hopped off his chair and after helping Austin off of his, the two ran off the deck and took turns sliding down the blue and orange Little Tykes slide.
"Give me the baby, Sam," Kensi said reaching out her arms for Tessa.
"She likes me better," said Sam, cradling little Tessa in his arms. "Besides, you drank a beer."
"It was only half of a beer!" Kensi protested. "Marty drank the other half."
Eric and Nell smiled as they watched their coworkers fight over their nine month old daughter. With a shared look, they both recalled the same situation involving Austin just two years earlier and another situation with Scott six years earlier. It was hard to believe that the little family they had planned on having was growing so quickly.
"Come on, Sam," Callen said, trying to lend Kensi a hand. "It'll be good practice for her since she's so eager to become a mom."
"Fine," pouted Sam. He passed Tessa over the table to Kensi who became immediately absorbed in little baby Tessa.
The adults, excluding Kensi whose full attention was on Tessa, continued to talk until a shrill yelp came from out in the yard. "Scott?" Eric called out. "Gimme a SitRep, buddy."
"Austin got a splinter in his thumb."
"Really, Eric?" Callen chuckled. "SitRep? You do know he's six, right?"
"We're starting them young," Nell joked as she stood to retrieve her youngest son. "Could you guys clear up the plates? Scott and Austin made some pie for you all."
Deeks gladly stacked up the plates while Sam and Callen gathered up the bottles and cans. Kensi was still occupied with Tessa and Eric had Scott clinging to his leg.
"Can I get the mail, Daddy, pleeeeeeease?" the little boy asked excitedly. "Please, please, please!?"
"Let's clean up the table first, bud," Eric said ruffling Scott's blond waves.
Scott immediately set about to gathering the plastic utensils and putting them into the stack of dirty cups that Kensi held out to him. Before he went into the house to throw everything in the trash he planted a kiss on his baby sister's head. "Can I get the mail now?" he asked impatiently.
"Alright, alright," Eric sighed. "Let's go." Eric opened the front door and made to step out but Scott made him stop.
"I can do it myself," he said confidently and with sure steps he made his way down the driveway.
"Audacious little guy," Sam said appearing behind Eric.
"Think he'll break the internet when he's older?" Callen joked.
"Very funny, G. That one never gets old."
"Aw, come on now," Callen prodded. "You're a dad now. We've gotta make you look ridiculous so we can be the cool uncles."
"Yeah, the cool kick-ass uncles."
"Thanks. Totally feeling the love right now."
"Whatcha looking at, guys?" Deeks chirped. Eric pointed out the screen door at Scott who just reached the mailbox and was standing on his toes to open it. "Oh. Red letter day for him, isn't it? Getting the mail all by himself like a man."
After a minute or two of struggling to reach into the mailbox, Scott finally procured the mail and smiled triumphantly at his success. Still beaming, he slammed the metal box shut and made his way towards the house. Suddenly, a red minivan pulled up onto the curb. The rear passenger door slid open and a pair of arms reached out and pulled Scott in.
Eric was the first to react. When the van's door slid open he knew something was wrong and he ran out of the house. Callen and Sam were next and they immediately climbed into Callen's car and sped off after it but not before ordering Deeks to go around the block to cut it off.
...
"LET ME GO!" Scott howled as he struggled to get out of his captor's grasp. He kicked his legs at the air and against the driver's seat and failed his arms wildly in an attempt to hit the person holding him down.
"Sit still for Mommy, Jason," scolded a woman's voice. "Daddy's driving."
"My name isn't Jason!" Scott cried as he squirmed and fought. "And you're not my mommy!" Scott kicked again, this time throwing his whole weight into it as if he were launching his toy soldiers across the room. His little feet connected squarely with the side of the driver's head which caused him to swerve and ultimately crash into a lamppost. Remembering what his dad and Uncles Sam, G, and Deeks taught him, Scott bit down hard on the woman's hand and made a break for it as she nursed her now bleeding hand. Little Scott yanked the van door open and ran back in the direction of him house. "Help!" he shrieked at the top of his lungs. "Somebody help!"
"Jason!" the driver barked from a few yards away. "You get back here right now!" This only made Scott run faster and scream even louder.
Callen's car screeched to a halt inches from the curb and Eric stumbled out before it even came to a stop. Sam and Callen bolted out, guns drawn, and shouted, "NCIS!" Deeks rounded the corner at this point and after cuffing the woman to the van he slowly came up behind the man.
Scott tumbled into Eric's arms and Eric gripped him tightly to his chest. He fell to the ground and tears came pouring out as he held his son.
"That man," the van's driver cried, "has my son! I just want my son!"
"He's not your son, sir," Callen said calmly as Deeks inched up behind him.
"That's my Jason!" the man insisted. "That's my boy!" He began to cry and blubber how Scott was really his son Jason. His speech became incoherent as he began to sob and Deeks took the opportunity to take him down.
...
After everyone's adrenaline levels returned to normal and Scott had been sufficiently hugged by his parents and the rest of the team, he asked why the man and woman who took him called him Jason. It wasn't until later that the team discovered that the real Jason disappeared sixteen years earlier without a trace and local law enforcement gave up on the search long ago. Until then, though, Eric and Nell told him that the couple was confused. Nell fretted ever Scott, understandably, and kept asking if he was ok and if he was scared. Much to everyone's surprise, Scott said he was fine. "If the people were confused I guess it's ok. I get confused, too, sometimes and you and Daddy say it's ok."
"I'm still calling Nate later," Eric said in a very fatherly tone.
When Scott scampered off to his room, Eric and Nell drew everyone in for a hug. The six of them stood in the family room in silence for a few minutes and everyone knew it was a silent thanks.
"Mommy?" Scott called from his room. "Can we have pie now?"
It killed me to write the kidnap scene because I just hate when something horrible involves kids. Imagine having a house full of NCIS agents and someone tries to kidnap their kid. Bad idea, yeah? I think when I'm a mom the first thing I'm going to do is enroll my kids in self-defense classes. Am I just being paranoid?