Thank you so much for all of you who continue to read this, even after I've been gone for so long. Thank you also for those who have taken the time to review, it's been really helpful and encouraging. I know this chapter is short but I know for sure that I'll have another chapter up by late tomorrow. I hope you enjoy!

Summary of last few chapters: sorry that my summaries suck.

Hetty's friend Chloe comes to visit her. She puts Callen in charge of showing her around, and at lunch 2 gunmen shot at them at a diner. Callen checks them into a hotel to call it in, but after Chloe's emotions are high, they kiss. The men that were hired, Scott and David Ainsley, were hired by Daniel Hague. Daniel Hague is Chloe's husband, and the son to the head of Australian crime family in Australia. Later after over hearing a conversation between Nell and Chloe, Callen finds out that Chloe is Hetty's daughter.

Chapter 12

Callen leaves the incinerating room to go to Hetty's desk. She is sipping her usual cup of tea reading over what looks to be a case file. He stands behind her desk and waits for her attention.

Clearly she is too engrossed in whatever it is that she is reading because it takes her a few moments to realize that he's standing there. "Hetty?"

She seems almost surprised to see him there. "Mr. Callen?" she says as she calmly puts the folder in a drawer in her desk, and closing with a key. Callen raises his eyebrows at the action, but her face gives nothing away. "Any leads on Chloe's case?"

Shaking his head, "Um yeah. Nell backtracked a money trail to a man named Daniel Hague and from the looks of it, he hired the Ainsley's"

"How did Chloe get involved with the Hague family? She was never the type to get involved with those types of people." Hetty asked surprised.

Treading carefully, he says, "Daniel Hague is Chloe's husband." He takes in Hetty's reaction and he can see the surprise, and maybe even a hint of anger? "If it helps, she says that she didn't know the kind of people The Hague were and I believe her. From what she's told me after she married Daniel, she found out about their real family business, and she wanted out, asked Daniel for a divorce, when he wouldn't give it to her she ran, which is understandable being put in that kind of a situation."

Hetty just gives him a nod in response. He was about to speak again, but before he could the sound of Eric's whistle interrupted him.

"I'm going to find Chloe and we'll meet everyone up in OPS.

Callen finds Chloe in the armory with Nell and is about to step in when he hears something intriguing.

He hears Chloe say, "Of course I mean mom's worked for every possible government agency out at some point or another. She wouldn't have let me leave for boarding school, so far away from her, without teaching me a few things."

Both of the girls laugh.

"Thank you." He can hear the sincerity (earnestness) behind the statement. Earnestness

"For what?"

"For listening. It's nice to talk to someone about this. Hetty being my mom isn't exactly the kind of thing that I get to talk to about with anyone."

Okay that was unexpected. Chloe being Hetty's daughter was not the relationship he thought that they had. Although he sort of can see resemblance. It's not that Hetty being a mother, that's astonishing. It's not that she wouldn't make a great mother, it's that she's never hinted at it. Then it occurs to him that he kissed Hetty's daughter. Not just kissed, but full on made out with Hetty's daughter. His boss's daughter. Boy is he in a lot of trouble if she ever finds out.

"Of course." Nell says, "And you're pretty important to Hetty too. You should hear the way she talked about you to me. She loves you like her own."

The conversation ends and Nell exits through the other door, so she doesn't see him. Now the question is does he go in there and confront her, or does he go in there and pretend like he totally didn't just eavesdrop on a conversation that he clearly wasn't supposed to hear.

He decides on the second option considering it clearly wasn't any of his business and it's not like she owes him an explanation.

"Hey, so I told Hetty about Daniel," He says making himself known, "and I'm heading up to OPS. Normally I would be one hundred percent gains this, but since you're pretty much the entire case, we need you up there."

"Sweet." She says with a hint of sarcasm. "Sooo," She draws the word out casually as they make their way back to the main staircase. "What did Hetty say when you told her that a crazy Australian crime family, other words known as in-laws and husband, hired people to kill me?" She nonchalantly asks.

"Nothing."

She halts abruptly three steps from the bottom of the staircase, and Callen turns to look at her questioningly.

"What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean nothing, as in nothing." He replies slightly confused. Nothing is a pretty straightforward word in the English language.

"Ha-ha," she says clearly unamused. "I meant good nothing, or bad nothing." He raises an eyebrow at her. She lets out a frustrated sigh, "One would think that after working with Hetty for as long as I imagine you have, that by now you would be able to read her, but I guess you're not as good a federal agent as you're made out to be," she teases.

Hands raised, mockingly in a defensive position, "Okay, okay, but for a friend of Hetty's you should know better than to think Hetty an easy woman to read." He knows she's not just a friend of Hetty's, but she doesn't know that he knows.

Her smile drops dimly for barely a second, and he finds himself drawn to her lips for a brief moment. 'Bosses daughter' he thinks to himself before he looks away.

"True. She's not."