Chapter 6

Deeks stayed close following near as Callen took his bike up into the trails of the Los Angeles forest.

The trees thinned out and there were muddy canyon roads looking like it was leading to the middle of nowhere, but Deeks kept up. Soon Callen pulled outside a small mom and pop gas station.

"G? …Good to see ya again kid!" the elderly man on a rocking chair grinned.

"Hey Pop. How ya doing?" Callen asked as Deeks pulled up behind him.

"Fine, ya ma's inside, cooking up a storm ya hungry?" he asked.

Callen grinned and nodded, "Got a friend with me today and his dog."

The old man grinned, "Sure, we hardly get any customers this time of day and ya ma has got all the fixings for your favorite food." He added as Deeks walked over to them.

"Pop, this is Marty, my friend." Callen said.

Deeks looked up in surprise, his friend? He'd never been called someone's friend before, when not undercover…ray excepting.

"Pleased to meet you Marty, G doesn't bring people by to see us much." The old man said.

Marty looked at Callen, he was using his real name with these people?

"Go inside, take ya dog, Ma'll find something for the dog to eat." He said gesturing to the diner.

Marty looked up as Callen jogged easily inside, "MA!" he called with a huge grin on his face.

An elderly woman looked up and dropped a pan. "G. Callen…as I live and breathe! Come 'ere boy!" she said and threw her arms open.

To Deeks' surprise Callen ran across the room and wrapped his arms around the smaller woman.

"I have missed you so much." Callen said kissing her cheek.

Ma looked him up and down her kind smiling face having a ghost of concern as she checked him out for injuries. Then she looked over at Deeks and Monty standing quietly in the corner. She could, as she always had been able too, see the pain behind the boys' eyes.

"He with you?" she asked quietly as she hugged Callen.

He nodded and stepped back, "Ma, this is Marty Deeks my friend, we are heading to my home for a few days." He told her.

Deeks looked confused as Ma moved Callen out of the way and grabbed a bowl from behind the counter and filled it with water, "and who is this?" She asked.

"His name is Monty." Deeks said a small light returning to his eyes. "I can leave him outside if you want." He said reaching for the dog's collar.

"No…no he can stay, sit down you look famished, knowing my son he's had you up since before dawn…now sit and I'll make you both some food." She said ushering them into a booth.

She left them and Monty curled up on the floor.

"My son?" Deeks asked a small smile playing on his lips.

"Foster mom, one of the nicer ones. Stayed with them a month when I was sixteen didn't wanna leave." Callen admitted.

"Why did you?" Deeks asked, he'd been fostered himself but only by one family.

"CPS worker wanted to move me, something to do with targets and numbers." Callen said, "I didn't get a choice."

"So you visit a lot?" Deeks asked.

Callen nodded as he sipped the coffee that 'Ma' had left on the table for them both.

"I have a cabin up here, Pa built it, and they gave it to me for my 21st." he said. "I share it with my foster sister."

"You have a foster sister?"

Callen laughed, "I've been in care I have HUNDREDS of foster brothers and sisters."

Deeks took a sip of his coffee. "This is nice." He said.

Callen smiled warmly, "Ma loves to help people and she'll feed ya until ya burst." He warned. "I think she had a Jewish mother…" he whispered conspiratorially.

"I HEARD THAT!" a call came from the kitchen.

"SORRY MA!" he called back laughing.

Deeks relaxed, this was a side of Callen no one knew existed, he looked over at the man his eyes closed in relaxation in the booth.

Sam would probably relax if he ever saw Callen like that. Deeks thought.

"No." Callen said looking straight at Deeks, "You can't tell Sam." He stated.

"Why not?" Deeks asked, "Sam would be pleased you have this."

"I know, but Marty, I can't put them in danger, it would only take one wrong word." Callen said.

Deeks looked at him, "But you trust me?"

Callen shrugged, "You didn't squeal on Michelle or Sam, you're stronger than that, so yeah I trust you." He said.

Deeks couldn't help the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat. This meant a lot to him.

And Callen knew it, he could see the new energy that started to flow through the man, just a few more days like that and hopefully they'd be ready to go back to work.

"Here you go…" Ma said as she put plates in front of them. "G, I'm going to make you both a box lunch and I'll get you some supplies from the store, the cabin is ok, or it was last weekend when we checked on it."

She placed the key on the table, "There ya go." She said.

"Thanks Ma. Can't take too much I'm on the bike." Callen said.

"Nonsense I have everything packed into the saddlebags you left here last time, between the two of you you'll have enough room, now eat!" she said poking him in the ribs.

"Yes Ma." Callen sighed and started his food motioning to Deeks to do the same.

Ma brought a plate of sausages out for Monty and placed it in front of the happy dog as she placed two full saddlebags next to them. "Now, G…There is enough for a few days but don't forget to come back down for more." She said

Callen nodded and carried on eating as Ma smiled at her once, and in her heart forever, foster son.

They climbed back on their bikes adding the saddlebags that Ma had packed for them and with a pat to the head for Monty and a hug for both Callen and Deeks the trio set on their way.

It was another hour through the mountains on the clearly marked trail when Callen took a turn to the left and headed down an unmarked track and pulled up in front of a log cabin surrounded by trees.

"Wow!" Deeks said taking his helmet off, "This is awesome." Despite the depression, he had been feeling the light, dappled on the forest floor and the huge log cabin makes his spirit soar.

Callen smiled, "Now you see why we came here." He said.

Deeks unstrapped Monty and he ran around barking and sniffing the new smells in the forest.

At Monty's bark, one of the curtains in the cabin twitched and Callen caught it and pulled his gun.

"Stay here." Callen said quietly as Deeks gave him a small nod and pretended he had not seen anything moving to a point where he too could unholster his weapon and followed Callen's lead into the cabin.

Callen went in first and stopped, "Federal Agent come out with your hands…Lilly?!" he said surprised and lowered his weapon, "Momma Lilly?" he breathed.

The older women looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Baby G?" she asked.

Callen nodded, only one person had ever called him that, and that woman was only 6 years older than he was. She meant more to him than anyone he had known throughout his life.

"It's ok, you can carry on unpacking, it's a friend!" Callen called out the door.

"OK!" Deeks voice floated back and he turned to unpack the saddlebags on the bikes.

"Lilly, why are you here…are you still married to…him?" Callen asked his voice hushed, even thirty-four years could erase the terror from his voice of the first foster parent to beat him and break his spirit.

Lilly smiled her bright blue eyes still sparkling even though her blonde hair had grayed somewhat over the years. "No baby G, he died in 1998. He was jailed for attacking me and my son."

"I told them Lilly, I told them you were pregnant and that it was his, I told them he hurt us, but they didn't believe me." Callen pulled her into his arms not sure, if he were comforting her or himself.

"I know, I had to marry him so he wouldn't be prosecuted, they didn't care as soon as I married I was off the CPS books. Saved them money and he'd convinced the social worker that I was in love with him."

"So you had a boy then?" Callen asked walking over to the coffee pot that stood on the range. Feeling that it was hot and fresh he poured himself a cup.

"Yeah, I lost touch with him after my husband was shot, they took him into care, said I wasn't stable enough to be a mother."

Callen shot her a look, "You were the best mother ever," he said remembering the young girl who bandaged his knees when he fell and when he 'fell'. He remembered the fear in her eyes as the foster father would scream their names in a drunken rage and he remembered holding her as she sobbed the day she found out that she, at fourteen, was going to be a mother.

Lilly smiled at him, "Thanks G. Although I heard he did well got good foster parents, I think he's a lawyer now."

"Why are you up here?" she asked.

"A friend from work has been through some rough stuff, he needs to get his head together so I took him to the beach and then thought I'd bring him up here, maybe take him hiking."

Lilly smiled, "Nice plan."

Callen looked around, "Why are you here?" he asked.

"Nothing for you to worry about, my new…ex-husband…he's got into some stuff, I didn't want in, he didn't want me out so I'm hiding out." She smiled. "I have some food if you haven't eaten yet." She said moving towards the kitchen.

"No we stopped down the trail," Callen said and looked up as Monty ran in.

"Hi?" Lilly said stroking the dog. She stood up and swayed and Callen caught her.

"You ok?" he asked worried holding her tight.

"Hit my head a few days ago, so a but dizzy." She admitted, she relaxed into his hug and he stroked her hair making her feel safe and enjoying the feeling as Deeks walked in.

"I got the saddlebags where to you want…?" he stopped as he looked at them both.

"Callen?...Mom?" Deeks looked at the pair of them. If it were not so crazy, it would be funny. His team leader had just kissed his mother, ok it was on the cheek but he had just KISSED HIS MOTHER!

"Deeks?" Callen said looking at the horrified face of the detective.

"Marty?" Lilly said stunned. "Marty? Is that really you?"