DISCLAIMER: I do not own the right to the NCIS:LA characters, I only my own.
No sooner did Katy say yes and they stood, Kensi rushed them and hugged them. She jumped up and down squealing like a school girl. Deeks was by her side offering his congratulations too. Katy and Callen were still focused only on one another to acknowledge them or answer the barrage of questions being thrown at them.
"I love you." She told Callen.
"I can't believe you said yes." Callen said over Kensi's outburst.
"I can't believe you two are getting married. I can't wait to tell Sam." Kensi said pulling her phone from her pocket. Suddenly Callen snapped back to reality and grabbed the phone from her. Shocked, she stared at him.
"No, we'll have a New Year's party and tell everyone then. Not a word of this until then, Kensi." He said.
"Well, at least one of our best friends was here to witness it." Katy said as Kensi grabbed her left hand and ogled the ring.
"Oh my gosh, it's such a beautiful ring. I can't believe neither of you said anything about trying on rings when you were in Portland." She said.
"Don't go getting any ideas there Fern." Deeks joked.
Kensi shot him a look and smiled. "I'm not. I'm just so happy for you guys. I never imagined nine and a half months ago when we saw you at that party that we'd be standing here watching you two get engaged."
"Neither did I." Katy admitted. "But after everything that's happened in the last six months, I realized just how much I love Callen and want to be with him forever."
"I'm still reeling from the fact that you said yes and didn't make a run for it." Callen laughed.
Katy socked him in the arm and laughed.
Once the excitement died down, they ate dinner and planned the New Year's party. Then they made calls inviting Sam, Michelle and their kids, Nell, Eric and Hetty to the party. Unfortunately, Hetty would still be out of the country, but she thanked them for the invitation. Callen wanted to call Gibbs, but decided to hold off. The four of them settled in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine talking more about the party.
"Ok, stop." Kensi said. "What about a date. Are you going to wait to set a date for the wedding?"
Katy and Callen looked at one another and back at Kensi. "I don't know. Let's get past the announcement and we'll go from there." Katy told her.
After Kensi and Deeks left, Katy was sitting on the couch looking down at the ring when Callen walked in with another bottle of wine. He filled her glass and then his own before he sat down next to her. Katy leaned into him and smiled still looking at the ring.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked.
"I've never been so sure of anything in my life." She told him.
He shook his head and put his arm around her. "Since Kensi isn't around anymore, when do you want to get married?"
"I don't know. When do you want to get married?" She asked.
"As soon as possible, are we going to let Reggie do the ceremony?" He asked looking over at her.
"We'll talk to him about it when we see him next week." She said.
It was so hard not to call Sam, Nell, Eric, Reggie or the team back east. Finally, the evening of the party arrived. Katy and Callen moved the couch to the side of the room and set the food out of the folding table they'd rented and set up the folding chairs around the room. Callen had cornered Katy in the kitchen and was kissing her when the doorbell rang. They smiled and went to answer the door. Sam and Michelle were of course the first of the guests to arrive, the kids immediately rand through the house looking for Callie. Callen took their jackets and put them in the bedroom.
"Alright, what's this all about?" Sam asked. "Why do you two look so damn giddy?"
Katy wanted so badly to tell him, but they'd agreed to tell everyone after all of the guests had arrived. "You're just going to have to wait." Katy told him.
"You're not pregnant are you?" Michelle asked. "You're glowing."
"If I'm pregnant I don't know it." She said with a grin.
Within the span of twenty minutes, everyone was there and had a drink in their hand. They were all talking amongst themselves when Callen called their attention. "I'm sure you all are wondering why we asked you to come over tonight. Katy and I have an announcement to make." He said and turned towards Katy who was bringing another plate of cheese and crackers to the table since the kids had eaten it all within a few minutes of their arrival. Once she sat the plate down and joined Callen, he continued. "I asked Katy to marry me."
Sam had a huge smile on his face. "And she said?"
Katy held up her left hand. "I said yes."
The room filled with gasps, cheers and congratulations. Of course there was the question Kensi had asked, a wedding date. Callen told them that they hadn't set a date yet and they'd know as soon as they picked one. At eleven, Katy started clearing the table and got out the glasses for the midnight toast. The ladies were all in the kitchen talking while the guys were in the living room. Callen came in to get a get another round of beers and stole a kiss from Katy. He stood there talking with the girls before the guys stood in the doorway wondering what was taking him so long with the beers. He gave Katy one more kiss and went back to join the guys.
At five minutes till midnight, Katy opened the champagne and passed out the glasses. At the stroke of midnight, they toasted the New Year. All the couples kissed with the exception of Nell and Eric who stared awkwardly at one another. Remembering the kiss they'd shared under the mistletoe a year ago, Nell pulled Eric to her and planted one square on his lips. Not noticing that everyone was staring at them. When they pulled apart, they looked around and smiled awkwardly. The rest of the group laughed it off wishing they'd just give in and get together already. Or at least admit they had more than like for one another. The night wound down around one, Callen helped get the kids out to Sam's car. After everyone left, Katy and Callen fell into bed and slept soundly.
On New Year's Day, they cleaned up after the party and packed for the trip to San Francisco. Katy was packing up the food off the plates that were sitting in the refrigerator that they'd just put foil over. Looking at the two or more pounds of sliced cheese piles of crackers, Katy asked Callen if they should bring it with them to Reggie's. He thought about it for a minute and agreed that it would probably do be before they got home and helped her pack it into gallon sized bags. Then they got to the veggie trays, they packed those up as well.
Since Katy and Callen were packed into one bag, they put all the food in a carry-on bag with the hopes they were allowed to take it all on the plane. They had three bags of cheese and two bags of vegetables ready to go. The two had picked at the leftovers throughout the day so by dinner time, they weren't wanting an actually sit down dinner. Callen lit another fire in the fire place and they sat watching a movie until they went to bed.
"Kensi agreed to come by and feed Callie, didn't she?" Callen asked as he walked back in the house from putting the bags in the car.
"Yes she did, she said she'd be over at least once a day to feed her." Katy told him.
"Alright, you ready?" he asked standing at the open door.
Katy grabbed her purse and camera bag and headed to the door, kissing Callen on the cheek as she walked past. They got to the airport in record time and checked in, then headed to the gate. Reggie called just as they were boarding to make sure they were still coming. Katy and Callen talk through the whole flight about how they were going to tell him about their engagement. They decided to let not tell him and wait until he discovers the ring. As soon as the flight landed, Callen pulled the carry-on from the seat ahead of him as Katy got the camera bag. They walked hand in hand off the plane the plane and over to the escalators leading to baggage claim.
Katy saw Reggie and the kids at the base of the escalator and hid behind Callen. As soon as the kids saw him, they ran to him and hugged his legs. Reggie had a huge smile on his face when he saw her. Callen stepped aside so show them that Katy was there too. The kids were even more excited. Callen grabbed the garment bad as she gave hugs to Reggie and the kids. Mary was going on and on about the new house while little Reggie was trying to tell her about everything he'd gotten for Christmas.
"Mary, Reggie hold on." She said and knelt in front of Cassandra. "What's wrong honey?"
She burst into tears. "I missed you so much. I'm just so happy you're here. When we heard about the plane crash in Russia, I was so worried about Callen flying here and then you're here too. I was so worried." She cried throwing her arms around Katy's neck.
"Oh Cassi, Baby. We're here safe and sound and we're going to have so much fun. Do you want me to tell you something that the others don't know yet and they'll have to wait to find out?" She asked.
Cassi nodded, so Katy took her over to Callen and the two told her about their engagement. They laughed at how the little girl went from tears or complete and total happiness. When she went running back to her father, brother and sister she said. "I know a secret and you don't."
"Tell me Cassi, please." Little Reggie asked.
"No, you're going to have to figure it out for yourself." She said snidely.
When Callen and Katy walked back to them, Reggie gave them a questioning look. "What's the big secret?"
"You'll have to figure it out on your own." Katy smiled.
"You're such a bitch sometimes, Katy." Reggie laughed, scooping Mary into his arms, leading them out to the van.
Cassi grabbed Katy's free hand and looked at the ring as they walked, smiling up at her.
Callen sat in the front seat with Reggie while Katy sat in the middle seats with the girls, Little Reggie in the third row. Cassi whispered all kinds of questions that Katy refused to answer until everyone knew the secret, but made Cassi promise not to tell anyone. They stopped off at the house to drop off the bags and put the cheese and veggies in the refrigerator before they headed to the Exploratorium. Katy sat at the table in the kitchen with Mary on her lap, while Reggie and Callen put the food away.
"Wow Auntie, that's such a pretty ring." Mary said.
"Thank you baby, Uncle Callen gave it to me." Katy said looking down at her.
"Is that the one Daddy said he got you when you were in Potland?" Mary asked.
"Do you mean Portland? No, that's this one." Katy said showing her the ring on her right hand.
"So when did he give you this one?" Mary asked.
Callen had stopped talking and was listening to the conversation between Katy and Mary, waiting for Reggie to pick-up on it. "Let's see, Uncle Callen gave me this one two days after Christmas."
"Oh, so it was one of your Christmas presents?" Mary asked innocently.
"You could say that." Callen said.
Reggie's full attention was not on his best friend and his daughter. Katy's hands were laid flat on the table with Mary's fingers playing with the diamond ring on her left hand.
"So why did you give it to her, Uncle Callen?" Mary asked.
"Because I asked Katy a very important question." He said kneeling in front of her.
"And it appears your Auntie said yes to the question?" Reggie asked hopeful.
"Yes she did." Callen said.
"What question did Uncle Callen ask you?" Mary asked clearly confused by the adult conversation.
"Uncle Callen asked me to marry him and I said I would." Katy said.
"You're getting married?" Mary said slowly, processing the information then like a light came on; she shot off Katy's lap. "You're getting married!"
"It's about time. Please tell me you didn't run." Reggie said shaking Callen's hand, but looking at Katy.
"No, there was no running. In fact, I was going to save the proposal for when we were up here with you guys, but we started talking about it and I asked what she'd say. Katy said she'd say yes, so I immediately got the ring and got on one knee. Kensi and Deeks walked in right as I asked her." Callen smiled.
"Congratulations, you guys. I cannot even tell you how happy I am for you." Reggie said pulling Katy to her feet and hugging her.
"Well, we haven't set a date yet because we kind of wanted to know it the offer was still on the table for you to marry us." Katy said.
"Seriously, you need to ask? It would be my absolute honor and privilege to marry my best friend. Of course I'll perform the ceremony. Did you want to do it here or in Southern California?" he asked.
"We don't know yet." Callen said.
"Well, to be married in any Episcopal church, one of you must have been baptized as a Christian or one needs to convert and there's the pre-marital counseling. Are you looking to be married in the church?" He asked.
"I'd like to," Callen said. "Kari's there."
Katy smiled. "Then we'll get married at Grace Cathedral."
"Alright, after the service Sunday morning, we'll go into the office and check the book, see what dates are available. What time of year were you thinking?" He asked.
Katy and Callen looked at one another and shrugged. "We met in June, but I don't know if we can put a wedding together in six months and we got engaged in December." Katy said looking at Callen.
"Do you want to get married this year or next year?" Reggie asked.
"Next year would probably be best." Katy said looking at Callen.
"A lot can happen in two years though." He finally said. "Not that I think you're going to take off on me."
"I know, we never know in our line of work. Maybe we should shoot for December of this year of summer of next year?" Katy suggested.
"I kind of like the idea of a winter wedding." Callen admitted. "You could have red dresses and we can string white lights everywhere at the reception."
Katy smiled at the thought. "But what if it rains, they say its bad luck of it rains on your wedding day."
"In some cultures, in others it's considered good luck. With as many loved ones as you've lost, I would consider rain on your wedding day a symbol that your families are with you." Reggie said. "Like tears from heaven. Or that song that was out a few years ago; Holes in The Floor of Heaven. Your mother's and Kari and my parent's and your sister and everyone else you two have lost in your lives are always with you, always watching."
"You have a point, Reggie." Katy smiled.
"Sometimes, I do know what I'm talking about." Reggie laughed. "How about we save the wedding talk for later. Let's get the kids over to the Exploratorium, wear them out for a while."
Callen and the kids were off and running as soon as they walked in. They had no clue what was to go, there was so much to see and do. Reggie and Katy stood back and laughed as Callen and the kids tried the different experiments. By two in the afternoon, the four of them were exhausted. Callen took the kids into the gift shop and bought them a bunch of toys and some astronaut ice cream. As soon as Katy saw it and raved about it, he was back in the store to get her a few packs.
When they got back to the house, all three kids were asleep. The guys carried them into the house and up to their rooms. Reggie, Callen and Katy settled in the parlor to talk more about the wedding. Reggie made a pot of coffee and carried the carafe, cream, sugar and three cups out on a tray and sat it on the coffee table. Callen got a cup for Katy before getting one for himself.
"I can't tell you how happy I am for you two." Reggie said again as they all sat back with their coffee.
"It's a little quicker than I thought it would happen, but the time apart and the plane crash in Russia had a lot to do with my decision." Katy told him.
"As long as you're happy with your decision, Katy." Reggie told her.
"I've never been happier, Reggie." Katy told him honestly.
Callen reached over and took her hand, playing with the engagement ring on her finger.
"You two are so good for one another. From the minute I met you Callen." Reggie said shaking his head. "Just the fact that you followed Katy up here and stood by her side, supporting her."
"I love her, deep down, I think I fell in love with her the moment I saw her at the party that very first night." Callen said.
"And you can see it every time you look at her. I see absolutely nothing breaking the two of you up." Reggie said.
"Neither do I." Callen told him, bringing Katy's hand to his lips.
"I can't wait to marry you." Reggie said.
They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about the fifteen half-siblings Katy met in her travels. Katy told Reggie all about Anastasiya, but he said he was in no frame of mind to begin dating again. Katy and Callen both understood. The kids wandered down the stairs at a quarter after four and joined them in the parlor. Soon after they began discussing dinner, the kids wanted pizza. Callen and Katy didn't have a problem with that. The next question was whether to go eat it at a restaurant or order it for delivery. Being that Katy and Callen were tired, they opted to have it delivered. While they waited, the kids showed them all the toys they'd gotten for Christmas.
After dinner and the kids had gone to bed Katy, Callen and Reggie settled back in the parlor to look at the photos of her half-siblings and talked more about the wedding. Callen had asked about inviting her new brothers and sisters to the wedding. She was about to answer when her phone rang. It was Anastasiya.
"Hey Ana, how are you feeling?" She asked smiling.
"Hi Katy, I've got Paul and Alexey on the phone too." She said. "When you and Callen were visiting me in the hospital, he'd mentioned that the two of you were going to be in San Francisco in June and we were wondering what date so we could schedule the time off and book our flights out. We were also wondering why you were going to be there."
"Oh um," Katy stammered. "It's the anniversary of my daughter's death. Her father and I have a memorial service for her and his parents every year."
"Oh Katy, I'm so sorry. We had no idea." Paul said.
"Well, our father had a hand in it." She said.
"Actually, December might be a better, happier time for you to you all to come." She said changing the subject.
"Why is that?" Alexey asked.
"Well, that's when Callen and I have decided to get married." She said looking at Callen and had to hold the phone away from her ear as Ana screamed.
"I knew it!" She yelled. "When did he propose?"
Katy laughed. "Callen asked me to marry him on the twenty-seventh."
"We're so happy for you." Paul said. "I will definitely be there. I can't wait to meet your Callen."
"Have you told any of the other's yet?" Alexey asked?
"No, we just told most of our co-workers on New Year's Eve and we're in San Francisco right now, so Reggie just found out." She said.
Ana gasped, "You're with him now?"
"Yes Ana, I'm sitting in his living room right now, staring at his ugly face." She laughed as Reggie flipped her off for her comment.
"He's anything but ugly, Katya." Ana scolded.
"What about Artur's wife and children will you be inviting them as well?" Alexey asked.
"I'd like to. I need to see if we can afford to fly everyone to the US, there are five of you outside the US." She told them.
"If the others can't afford it, I'll pay for them to fly there." Paul said.
"I can't ask that of you, Paul. That's very expensive." Katy argued.
"It's not a problem, consider it a wedding present." He told her.
"When in December?" Ana asked.
"I don't know, we haven't picked an actual date yet, we're still trying to figure a few things out." She said.
They carried on the conversation for another fifteen minutes before Paul and Alexey had to get off the phone and go to work. Katy told Ana that she'd call her back with all of the details as soon as they had things decided. Ana understood and said goodnight. Reggie was smiling when she got off the phone.
"Your sister sounds like a lot of fun. Do you have a picture of her?" He asked.
Katy looked at Callen and smiled. "I thought you weren't ready for that yet?"
"Who says we can't start out as friends and work our way into something." He said.
Katy pulled up Ana's picture and showed it to him. She could tell Reggie was taken aback, even battered and bruised, she was a beautiful woman. Katy knew her best friend and could tell he was very interested. It would be wonderful if he and Ana got together. They both deserved the utmost of happiness. Callen saw the look on Reggie's face too. He leaned over and kissed Katy.
"You were right." He smiled.
"Right about what?" Reggie asked only looking up from Ana's picture for a second.
"That's you two would like one another." Katy said beaming.
"She's beautiful, has your eyes and your high cheek bones. You must've gotten them from Dmitri." He added.
"I've never looked for a picture of my mother, so I don't know." Katy said.
"How old is she?" Reggie asked
"Thirty-three." Katy said. "She works as a manager for one of the national banks, so she'd be able to transfer easily if you two did work out."
"What about the kids? Who's to say she'd like the kids and the kids would like her?" He asked.
"She's already heard all about the kids and seen pictures." Callen told him.
They talked about Ana for a while longer before they decided to go to bed. Reggie warned them that the kids would be in to wake them up pretty early in the morning. They told him they were used to the cat waking them up and he laughed. Telling them that Callie was nothing compared to the kids getting a running start and jumping on the bed. He warned Callen to cover himself when he heard them coming because little knees in the groin hurt very badly. Callen's eyes grew wide and smiled awkwardly.
Katy was shocked by the size of the guest bedroom on the third floor. Had she not known better, she would've thought it was the master bedroom. When they walked into the room, they immediately noticed the bed and the grandiose heavy Victorian four poster bed with matching nightstands and the big arched window behind the head board. Callen walked over to one of the nightstands and turned on one of the brightly colored Tiffany-styled lamps. Katy walked over to the sitting area and admired the damask printed settee and round side table.
In the adjoining bath sat a rather large ball and claw foot cast iron tub big enough for both Katy and Callen to fit in with room to spare. Next to the vanity sat an old toilet with the tank above the seat itself and a pull to flush. Katy smiled and wondered where on earth he'd gotten the antiques. It was only ten and the tub was calling her name, so she started the water and began to undress when Callen walked into the bathroom.
"What are you doing, it's after ten can't a bath wait until tomorrow morning?" He asked.
"Look at that tub, I'm sorry but that can't wait until tomorrow morning. I have to try it now." She said walking over to him, playing with the buttons on his shirt. "Want to join me?"
Callen smiled a devious smile. "I guess a nice soak in the tub wouldn't hurt." He said and kissed her softly.
Katy finished undressing and pulled her hair into a bun while Callen undressed and stepped into the tub, then offered his hand to help her in. Once they were seated face to face, Callen tickled the bottoms of her feet and laughed when she ignore in. Her head was resting on the rim of the tub with her eyes closed and an angelic smile across her lips. Callen just stared at her, taking in her beauty until she opened her eyes and asked if he was okay. He reached his hand out to her and after she'd taken it, he pulled her to him. Katy leaned her cheek against his chest, listening to his heart. He kissed the top of her head and smiled.
"I love you, Callen." Katy said softly.
"I love you too, Katy." He replied wrapping his arms around her.
Within a few minutes, he felt Katy completely relax and noticed the evenness of her breathing. He looked down to see that she'd fallen asleep. Hating to wake her, he did anyway so she could get out of the tub, dry off, put on her pajamas and get into bed. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek as he wrapped her in a towel and helped her out of the tub. Katy lazily dried herself, slipped her pajamas on and got in bed. Before Callen could join her, she was fast asleep. He watched her sleep for a few minutes before he turned off the lights and got into bed next to her.
Bright and early, they heard footsteps bounding up the stairs and stop at the landing. Katy smiled as she heard little giggles outside the door and little Reggie counting down. Callen was on his side and looked at her. When the door flew open, they threw the covers over their heads and stayed as still as they could. Little Mary was standing at the foot of the bed asking in the sweetest of voices where they were. Katy had to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing. Callen kept shushing her. They stopped when they heard footsteps behind Callen and waited. He had a look in his eye and Katy knew exactly what he had planned. On the count of three Katy and Callen threw the covers off and growled at them. All three kids jumped and screamed as Katy and Callen laughed. Laughter could be heard from the stairs as Reggie stopped on the landing and looked into the room.
"They got you instead of you getting them, huh?" He laughed as the kids started giggling.
Katy pulled Mary on the bed and sat her between her and Callen while Callen helped Cassi and Little Reggie onto the bed. "That wasn't fair." Cassi complained.
"Well, you should try being quieter and no so giggly next time." Katy said tickling Mary.
"Told you they'd hear us coming, they're Special Agents for a reason. They've got super-special agent hearing and probably x-ray vision." Little Reggie told his sisters.
The girls looked at them in awe. "Do you have x-ray vision?" Cassi asked.
"No honey we don't, it would make out jobs so much easier at times though." Callen told her tickling her.
"You're a liar Bubba." Mary said pointing a finger at him.
"Hey now, no pointing fingers, it's not nice." Reggie told them. "Cassi why don't you go see if the coffee is ready, please?"
"Okay Daddy." She said jumping off the bed with a thud and pounded her little feet across the room and down the stairs.
"Reggie, I love the furniture up here, where did you get it?" Katy asked.
"Believe it or not, this was all like this when I bought the house. All I did was buy the eyelet duvet and a set of sheets. It's beautiful, isn't it? Have you checked out the tub?" He asked.
Callen laughed. "Yes, Katy fell asleep in it last night."
"Katy always did love soaking in the tub, good to see that hasn't changed." Reggie laughed. "Though, I've never known her to fall asleep in one when there's been water in it."
"I was there with her." Callen assured him.
"I know." Reggie laughed. "I've lost count of how many times I found Katy passed out drunk in a bath tub."
"Reggie." Katy laughed and looked over at Callen. "Yes, during the Marine Corps days, I was quite the lush."
"That's changed any?" Callen laughed and quickly jumped off the bed and out of reach of the hand he knew was headed his way.
"Bite me Callen." She said since they were in front of the kids.
Callen stuck his tongue out at her as he hefted Little Reggie over his shoulder. "What do you say we go watch some cartoons?"
Little Ricky laughed and squirmed as Callen jumped down each step; all three levels of the house until he reached the ground floor. Katy swooped Mary up and onto her back, giving her a piggyback ride down the stairs, complete with the horse noises since Mary was saying, 'giddy-up horsey, giddy-up!' Callen tossed Little Reggie onto the couch and reached for the remote while Katy flipped Mary over her head and seated her next to her brother. Once something suitable to the kids' liking was found, Callen and Katy went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
Reggie and Cassi were standing in the kitchen talking about breakfast. "Daddy, can we have donuts for breakfast?"
"Donuts? I bought a ton of bacon because Uncle Callen and Auntie Katy love bacon. How about donuts after church on Sunday like we always do?" Reggie suggested.
Cassi looked at Callen and Katy. "Help me here. You're cops and cops love donuts more than bacon, right?"
Katy nearly fell over laughing at the comment. Callen grabbed her and said he was the bacon monster and he must have bacon or he'd eat her. Cassi screeched and covered her neck as Callen tried to act like he was going to bite on it. Little Reggie and Mary came running into the kitchen cheering for donuts. Callen stopped and put the little girl down, frowning.
"How about this, we will have something with bacon for either lunch or dinner?" Reggie suggested.
Callen smiled from ear to ear and winked at the kids. "Let us have at least one cup of coffee before we go get donuts, okay?"
"Alright Uncle Callen." They said in unison.
With that, the kids gave them fifteen minutes to enjoy their cup of coffee and gave them another ten minutes to get dressed. After the allotted time, the three kids were standing at the door, dressed with their jackets on. Callen helped Katy into her coat before putting his coat on and turned towards the stairs to wait for Reggie. He laughed when he walked out of his room to the five of them tapping their toes on the hard wood floor and a finger to their wrist. On the way down the stairs, he grumbled about how impatient they all were. The five just smiled angelically and led the way out to the van.
Once the kids were all strapped into their seats and or seat belted, Reggie pulled the van out of the garage and out onto the street.
"Ok, here's the next big question, where do you want to go?" He asked.
"Dynamo!" was yelled from the third row of seats. "Bob's" was called from the second row.
"Callen, Katy any particular kind you guys want?" Reggie asked. "I remember Katy likes French Curlers and Apple Fritters."
"No preference, we cop-types are easy to please." Callen said looking at Cassi, she giggled.
Once it was decided where they were going, there was even more goofing off in the car. Katy had the kids so riled up that they were chanting 'Donuts' at the top of their lungs. Katy asked Little Reggie if his father still liked chocolate donuts with sprinkles. The van swerved a little when Reggie reached back to grab Katy's leg. She laughed while he grabbed at thin air since she'd pulled her knees to her chest. The kids laughed like crazy.
Callen enjoyed seeing Katy like this and asked in the midst of the cheers and singing if she was always like this around the kids. Reggie smiled and told him that he'd never seen her like this and took it that she was truly happy and thanked Callen for making her happy. Callen nodded and looked back at Katy who was in the third verse of some children's song he'd never heard before. She smiled at his and winked.
When they stopped at Dynamo donuts, Katy let the girls out of their seats while Callen lifted them out of the van. They walked to the open air shop and placed their order for two dozen donuts and ordered hot chocolate for the kids and three coffees for the adults. It was in the mid-fifties, so they sat at one of the outdoor tables to eat their first few donuts before the kids begged to go play at the playground. Katy and Callen took turns pushing the girls on the swings while Reggie and little Reggie ran around playing tag.
Once their noses turned bright read and fingers were as cold as ice cubes, they packed up the rest of the donuts and retreated to the van. Reggie turned the heater on full blast while they decided where to go next. Callen asked to go to Union Square to see the Macy's windows he'd heard so much about. They really were outstanding works of whimsical art. Each window showed something indicative of the holiday season through the eyes of an awestruck child. He and Katy were holding hands when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Expecting it to be Reggie, he turned around. Instead it was Lt. Hammond and a pretty female companion.
"What are you two trouble-makers doing back in San Francisco?" He asked jesting.
"We're actually here on vacation. We want no trouble officer." Callen joked right back.
"Katy, Callen I'd like to introduce you to my fiancé; Catherine Marshall. Cathy, this is Special Agents G. Callen and Katy Levin." He said.
"Well, it will officially be Callen and Callen this time next year." Callen smiled holding Katy's hand up so they could see the engagement ring.
"No way, congratulations. When did this happen?" Cathy asked.
"The twenty-seventh, I'd just gotten back from an assignment, we were having a couple co-workers over for dinner." Katy said.
"I got my proposal Christmas morning." Cathy beamed.
"Congratulations." Katy offered.
"So how's the rest of the team?" Hammond asked.
"They're all doing well. Everyone had a nice Christmas. I actually woke up Christmas morning to Katy. She'd been gone on assignment for six months." Callen said, not trying to one-up Cathy or anything.
"How was the assignment?" Hammond asked.
"It was very successful. We only lost one." Katy said somberly. "We didn't make it in time to save my half-brother Artur."
"I'm so sorry, Katy." Hammond offered.
"It was right after the crash in Russia a few months ago. We sat blind for three days before we could get any information of his whereabouts." She explained.
"So where are you getting married?" Cathy asked, clearly bored with the current line of conversation.
"We're getting married at Grace Cathedral." Katy told her.
"Well, they're booked out for two years, I highly doubt you'll get the date you want." Cathy said snidely.
"Oh no, they can have any date they like." Reggie said as he joined the four.
"Really and why is that?" Cathy snapped.
"I'm a priest there. I'm marrying them." He smiled.
Cathy's nostrils flared and her jaw tightened. "Oh, must be nice."
"How are you Reggie?" Hammond asked offering his hand.
"Very well, thank you. Congratulations on your impending nuptials." He said smiling at the irate, mousey woman.
"I'm getting cold honey, why don't we go to Starbucks." Cathy said looking down her nose at them, however, it really didn't work being that the woman was at least a head shorter than all of them.
Katy tried her hardest to bite her tongue only after they'd said their goodbyes and they'd walked away did she let her true feelings be known. "What a bitch."
"You can say that again." Cassi said slipping her hand into Katy's.
"Really, you're the authority on snooty, hoity-toity now?" Katy asked laughing.
"Let's go annoy her some more and go to Starbucks." The five-year-old said with a very mischievous smile.
"Oh, she is so your daughter, Reggie." Katy laughed.
They walked the streets the short distance to the nearest Starbucks and saw Cathy huffing and puffing as they stood in line behind some fifteen to twenty people. Katy offered instead to stop by the store to make them homemade hot chocolate, with whipped cream and marshmallows. The kids overwhelmingly agreed and they headed for the car and the nearest grocery store. Katy picked up two boxes of Bakers Semisweet baking chocolate, a can of evaporated milk, a can of whipped cream and a bag of mini marshmallows. She put the evaporated milk back and grabbed a pint of heavy whipping cream and another gallon of milk.
Callen and the kids were looking at the toys when Katy walked over to them. Callen quickly took the milk from her and handed little Reggie the whipping cream, Mary the marshmallows and Cassi the chocolate. Reggie was waiting for them at the register when they walked up. Katy put the items on the conveyer and asked Reggie if he had mint extract. He didn't, so she sent Callen to the baking aisle for a small bottle. On the way back, he picked up a bottle of Peppermint Schnapps for the adults hot chocolate.
When they got home, Katy asked the kids to unwrap the chocolate so Callen could chop it and had the kids add small handfuls of the chocolate to the whipping cream and milk in the double boiler. Within minutes they had smooth, rich peppermint hot chocolate garnished with both marshmallows and whipped cream. She laughed at Little Reggie who had whipped cream on the end of his nose. Callen took a finger full of whipped cream and smeared it in Katy's face. Shocked, Katy took the can and sprayed him with it, sending the contents of the can flying everywhere.
Reggie walked into the kitchen while the kids were yelling that it was snowing and stared at Callen and Katy. "Really, I walk out for a minute and come back in to chaos, whipped cream everywhere? You two are supposed to be the adults, the ones who set the example." He laughed.
Callen and Katy looked at one another and threw a glob of whipped cream at him, hitting him right in the face. There was silence in the house as Reggie wiped his face clean. Katy had no idea what he was going to do. He smeared the whipped cream from his face all over the three kids. Katy laughed, relieved that he wasn't mad at them. Once they all calmed down and the mess cleaned up. They settled in the living room to watch a movie.
By two, all three kids were passed out, so the adults laid them out on the couches and went into another part of the house. Katy made them all a cup of spiked hot chocolate while they talked about the wedding. Reggie left for a moment and returned with his desk calendar, laying it on the table. Together, the three chose the wedding date. Saturday, December twenty-seventh, a year to the day of the marriage proposal. The office would be closed, everyone would be on vacation and no one would have an excuse as to why they couldn't be there. With that settled, they talked about the pre-marital counseling they needed to enroll in. Reggie agreed that he could coach them through the counseling with a few visits, either Katy and Callen would come up or he and the kids would go to southern California.
That in turn prompted Katy to invite Reggie and the kids down to southern California for Spring Break. Callen mentioned taking the kids to Disneyland while they were there and Reggie could continue the counseling as well. He agreed. Katy asked which of the princesses the girls liked so she and Callen could pick them up some costumes. Reggie laughed and asked if she'd been up to the girl's rooms. Katy hadn't, so Reggie showed them.
"Oh good Lord, what did you do, open a bottle of Pepto Bismol and splash it on the walls?" Katy asked when they walked into Mary's room.
"I know it's bright, isn't it? This is the color she wanted. Of course you see Cinderella is her favorite." Reggie laughed.
"Honey, when we have a little girl please don't insist we paint her room this pink." Callen laughed.
"Do I even want to see Cassi's room?" Katy asked fearing what it looked like.
"No, she was a little more willing to dial it back a few shades." Reggie said as they walked across the hall to her room.
"Oh how pretty." Katy said when they walked in.
"Wow, it is pretty." Callen said.
Her room was a very light shade of lavender with bright white furniture and accents. It was a little harder to determine which princess she favored since her walls were adorned with all of them. Reggie told them that she love Ariel. With that, Callen and Katy made plans to hit the Disney store in March. They walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen to finish their hot chocolate.
The rest of the visit passed by too quickly and before they knew it, it was Sunday evening and they were saying goodbye to the three kids at the airport. Mary and Cassi were crying and refused to let Callen and Katy go, but they had school in the morning and needed to head home to get ready. They kissed the kids once more, hugged the guys and headed to Security. It broke Katy's heart to hear Mary and Cassi carry on the way they did as Reggie tried to drag them literally kicking and screaming out of the terminal and out to the van.
Again, the flight was quick and within an hour of landing, they were walking into the house and a howling Callie. It was only eight, so they unpacked and started a load of laundry. They sat in the living room with Callie sprawled out across them until ten o'clock, when they pried themselves off the couch and headed for bed. Both of them had a hard time falling asleep, so they sat up and talked about the wedding until midnight when they drifted off to sleep.
Callen and Katy walked into the mission just after eight and sat their bags at their desks before getting a cup of coffee and heading over to Hetty's desk. She smiled over her cup of tea as they approached and sat across from her.
"Welcome back Ms. Levin." She said.
"Thank you, it's good to finally be back." Katy smiled.
"I trust the two of you enjoyed your vacation and the New Year's Eve party, I am sorry I had to miss it." She said with a knowing smile.
Katy bit her lip, wondering if someone had already told Hetty. "The party was very nice and our time in San Francisco was just as nice."
Hetty looked at the two of them waiting eagerly. "Is there something else you'd like to share?"
"What are you doing December twenty-seventh?" Callen asked.
"Well, I've just returned from my holiday, I've hardly given any thought to where I'm going for the next." Hetty smiled.
"Would you be willing to spend some of it in San Francisco?" Katy asked.
"Why would I want to go to San Francisco when I can travel the world?" Hetty asked.
"Katy and I are getting married that day at Grace Cathedral." Callen said.
Hetty sat her cup and saucer on her desk, stood and walked around her desk. "Congratulations," she said looking at the ring. "Mr. Hanna could hardly contain himself and called me over the weekend. I hope you're not angry with him."
"No, of course not." Callen laughed. "We knew one of them would tell you. Are we still able to work together?"
"I don't think there will be a problem, but I'll talk to director Vance. Have you told anyone from the DC office yet?" Hetty asked leaning against her desk.
"No, not yet." Callen said.
"Well, I suggest you make the call if you don't want them to find out from the Director." Hetty laughed and shooed them away from her desk.
Without further delay, Callen called Gibbs and told him the news and asked for the entire team to save the date; Abby, Ducky and Jimmie included. Gibbs wasn't at all surprised by the new, congratulated them and asked if he could call them later since he was up to his elbows in a case. Callen agreed and apologized for the interruption. The rest of the team came in a few minutes later and set their bags down. They talked about their vacations, expecting to eventually be interrupted by Eric but he never came down.
By mid day, Hetty had spoken to Director Vance and called Katy and Callen to her desk. Katy's heart was in her throat, praying she wasn't getting transferred to another office. They sat across from her and waited. Neither could read the expression on her face. Katy took a deep breath and fought back the tears as Hetty finally spoke.
"Director Vance sends his best wishes." She said. "I'm afraid I have some rather bad news."
Katy dropped her head, she knew it. Callen elbowed her to get her attention. When she raised her head, Hetty had an ear-to-ear grin on her face. "Why are you smiling if it's bad news?"
"The bad news is that we still haven't been able to find you a suitable partner." She smiled. "So you're going to continue to work between Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna and Ms. Blye and Mr. Deeks."
"So Katy's not being transferred out?" Callen asked.
"No, Director Vance feels that taking Katy away from the team permanently would be a detriment. You're still assigned to our office and Mr. Callen's team. However, should you become pregnant; you would have to remain in the office until after the child's born. Then you'd be able to return to the field. Are you planning on any little Callen's running around?" She asked with a hopeful smile.
"Honestly, we haven't talked about it. Well there was a comment he made while we were at Reggie's about not painting our daughter's a bright pink like Mary's." Katy laughed.
Hetty laughed. "Ha, Pepto Bismol pink?"
"Yes, it's awful." Callen laughed.
"Cassi's room is so pretty, I could see painting out daughter's room like that; Lavender." He said.
"Yes, I would imagine it would be very pretty. So tell me, aside from the date and location of the wedding, have you made anymore plans?" Hetty asked.
"Not really, I know my half-siblings will most likely be attending the wedding." Katy smiled.
"Very good, I can't wait to meet them. Now, I was wondering how you're going to be paying for the wedding?" Hetty asked.
"Yeah, we still have to figure that out." Callen told her scratching his head.
"Well, I would like to help you with that, if you'd let me." She smiled.
"We couldn't ask you to do that." Katy said.
"I want to. It's not much, but it's a start. When you pick your gown, Katy I'd like to be there, acting as the mother of the bride, if I may?" She asked.
Tears filled Katy's eyes. "Yes, please. I would love that."
"Very well, now have you picked attendants?" She asked.
"No, not yet, we were going to ask Sam and Kensi today to be the best man and maid of honor." Callen told her.
Hetty nodded. "Very well. It's about time for lunch, isn't it?"
Callen and Katy walked back into the bullpen to everyone's expectant stares. "Well, are you able to stay here?" Kensi asked.
"Yes, I'm staying here." Katy said. "Kensi I was wondering if you'd be my Maid of Honor?"
Kensi gasped and shot out of her chair. "Of course!" she said hugging Katy.
"Sam, would you be my best man?" Callen asked.
Sam nodded, "Of course, you know you don't even have to ask."