A/N thanks for the reviews I love em.

Handing ya'll a big box of tissues to wipe the sap of you for this chapter. hope y'all like it though.

disclaimer: really?!

Chapter 18

Callen stood outside the door and looked with trepidation at the door handle. He knew Todd was inside and it was for the kid, Eric's kid, the kid who looked upon him as an uncle and protector that he was doing this. But he knew some of what lay behind the door and even though he had agreed to do this, his inner response was to run. This was a part of his life he had left, he hadn't totally conquered it but he had moved on.

He turned to find the six foot bulk of the Psychologist/de-programmer that had helped him in his youth standing right behind him.

"Still fighting the urge to run back to her?" Doctor Peterson asked him.

Callen dropped his eyes and nodded.

"You doing good otherwise?" the doctor asked him.

Callen sighed, "Yeah, thanks doc; Does Todd know I'm coming?" he asked.

"I told him I knew of someone who had the same sort of upbringing for a while who had overcome it and lived a normal life."

Callen shot him a look, and the doctor grinned,

"Ok so as normal as it can get for you."

"Will he see me?" Callen asked.

"He said he would. Now you don't have to do this for Todd, but it would help his recovery."

"I do have to; Eric is my friend, Todd thinks of me as his uncle. I want to do this." Callen said.

Corey Peterson looked at the man and saw how far he had come since he had met him as a terrified six year old, he was proud of just how far he had come.

Callen rubbed his wrist again and Corey noticed it. "Callen, are you sure?" he asked again, knowing that the wrist rubbing was a coping mechanism from when he was a child.

Callen nodded and stepped forward and opened the door.

Todd turned and moved into the corner where he had a perfect view of the room.

"Callen?" he said confused.

Callen came in and sat down as Dr. Peterson followed.

"Todd, will you please sit down?" He said

Slowly Todd walked towards the chair and sat down.

Callen gave Todd a weak smile and Todd turned to the doctor, "Has something happened to Eric?" he asked scared.

"No, Eric is fine, Do you remember I told you that today you would meet someone who had been through the same sort of thing you had and had offered to help with your recovery; Someone who had made a life for themselves away from the Master/slave dynamic?"

Todd nodded not trusting he would say the right thing.

"Callen is the person I told you about." Corey Peterson said his hand on Callen's shoulder.

"You!" Todd's eyes went wide in shock.

Callen nodded, "I was six, when I first met with Doctor Peterson." Callen said as Corey got up and left the room.

He walked down the corridor and spotted Hetty sitting on a bench, "Henrietta, so good to see you again." He said smiling.

She smiled back, "How are the boys doing?" She asked.

"I left them to talk alone, not just because I know that Callen needs to tell him in private, but to be honest, I still see the pain in Callen's eyes and see that terrified six year old, I can't go there again."

"I know that your work his hard doctor," Hetty said.

"It is but to see that child reduced to so much of a wreck that he couldn't even remember his own name…I still need therapy myself from helping him, although seeing the man he has become…and a federal agent no less, I couldn't be more prouder." Corey said with a slight smile.

"He never talks about it, not with his own therapist, Not Mr. Getz or myself…This could be good for him too." She said thoughtfully.

"I have told them I will be an hour, would you like to join me for tea, I assume you still drink tea?" Corey asked, he stood and offered the smaller woman his arm.

"Thank you." Hetty said and followed him.

"So," Todd asked having listened to what Callen had told him, "You betrayed your mistress like I did my master, how did you…did you punish yourself?" he asked

"I didn't….ok I did, I tried to get back to her, I tried everything I could, Dr. Peterson helped me, he showed me that she was wrong, she shouldn't have done what she did to me, I didn't need to be punished I did nothing wrong." Callen said.

"You disobeyed your mistress..?" Todd said still confused.

"No I broke free, she was a woman who should not have treated a child the way she treated me." Callen said honestly.

"But we deserve it….Don't we?" Todd asked.

Callen got out of his chair and crouched down in front of Todd. "No, no one deserves to be made to feel bad or be hurt by another person's actions; you were not to blame for Klaus's behavior any more than I was for hers. You have a family, a real family…a family that loves you…the real you because you are their family, you don't have to be anything more than you."

"I do? I mean I know I do but, how do I know they won't want me to be like Si…..Klaus?"

"You have a father and sister who love you more than anything, all they want is for you to be well, I wish I had had half of that," Callen said sadly thinking about how much easier it would have been if he had had even that to fall back on when he was recovering.

Hetty finished her tea and turned to Corey as he watched her.

"Do you think Todd will make it through like Mr. Callen did?" she asked.

Corey nodded, "Todd has a lot more in his favor than Callen did, and he has his family and all of you to be there for him. Callen not only had to pull himself through this alone, he did it whilst being shoved from one foster home to another." Corey said remembering how he had followed the fate of the small shaking blond haired, blue eyed boy who had stolen his heart as a child, he had been upset at the fact that his age and the fact he was single had prevented him from adopting the boy, that and the fact there was no complete paperwork, with no name they couldn't put him up for adoption so Corey had just prided himself in keeping an eye on Callen's achievements and just wish he had gotten to know the young man better.

Hetty nodded agreeing with the doctor, "Maybe we should head back and see how they are doing." She suggested.

On walking into the room both of them stopped.

Callen, tears still rolling down his face was holding Todd who was sobbing his heart out, neither could see them as they were facing the window.

"Will my dad want me now?" Todd asked.

"He does, your father loves you as does your sister, don't ever forget that, I will always be around if you need me as well, you know that don't you?" Callen asked.

Todd nodded. "Who did you have to help you?" Todd asked.

Callen wiped his eyes and smiled, "A very special lady, called Hope," he said.

At that point he felt bad but he wasn't exactly lying, he had had hope only it wasn't a person it was a thing. He had hope that he would find his family and hope he would find his name and hope he would find the one place he had belonged.

"Mr. Beale, Mr. Callen, may we come in?" Hetty asked he voice steady and her heart breaking at what she had just witnessed.

Both boys wiped their eyes and turned, "Sure Hetty." Callen smiled, "I think we are done."

Callen got up to leave.

"Uncle G?" Todd asked quietly.

Callen turned surprised.

"Will you come back and visit me?" Todd asked.

"If you want every day." Callen promised.

"I think….I think, I would like that…thank you…for helping fix me." Todd said softly.

"You're not broken, just lost kid," Callen said hugging him tight, "Remember that," He turned and walked out of the room Hetty on his heels.

"Mr. Callen?" she called.

Callen stopped, "Bring him home Hetty, give that boy what you couldn't give me, give him his family."

"Oh, Mr. Callen, I will, and I hope that one day you will realize you have a family too." She said as she watched him walk off to process the day's events.