Hello my darlings. I would like to thank Petunia3116, Scififan33, Veuve Noir and Beststoriesever for the wonderful reviews. I would also like to thank those of you who have followed and favoured since my last update.

I would also like to re-iterate that I am dyslexic, and as such this story will have many spelling and grammatical errors in it. I apologise for these, but there is nothing I can do about them. I edit my work as much as I am able, but if Word does not pick it up, then it is unlikely I will do so.

Anyway, I have taken some poetic licence in this chapter, because I have no idea how Monty came into Deeks life. But I am working on the assumption that as a police dog he will have a trainer, and as Deeks is not in the K-9 unit, that trainer is someone else. I hope you like the backstory I have for this.

Right enough from me, here is the new chapter, I hope you like it. Time to welcome Monty into family.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA.

It took until early the next afternoon before Callen could find the time to talk to Nell in private. He had waited until Marty had gone to the LAPD precinct, deciding it was best that he didn't even get a hint of what he was about to do. But now it was time, Nell was alone in ops and the rest of the team were in the gym. He wouldn't be interrupted any time soon, well as along a Hetty didn't walk in. But he was sure she wouldn't. She had been on the phone when he past her office.

"Hey Nell, I need you to look for someone for me." He said with a smile as he came to lean against her workstation, hoping to charm her into not asking him many questions.

"Okay. I didn't know we had a case." Nell replied somewhat startled. Usually her and Eric were the first to know when a case came in.

"We don't." Callen responded with a subtle emphasis on the word we that would have had anyone else who knew him, on high alert and refusing to do anything he asked. But Nell didn't know him that well yet, didn't know his tendency to go lone wolf as Sam liked to call it.

"Then why am I looking this person up?" Nell asked confused. If there was no case, then there could be no reason to search for someone. They couldn't use intel from ops for personal reasons after all, she knew that.

"It's need to know." Callen responded baldly staring at her with such persuasive eyes Nell could feel herself weakening. Feel that she was going to do what agent Callen asked.

She was a bit in awe of him in truth, and the idea that he had asked her alone to do this research for him was, well it was rather flattering. Of course none of that meant she would give in straight away. She did not want him to think she was a push over.

"And I guessing I don't need to know." She replied with a small smile of her own.

"Got it in one." Callen answered keeping his charming smile on his face even if he wanted to smirk. He knew she was going to agree, he could see it in her eyes.

"Very well agent Callen, who am I looking for?" Nell asked with a sigh as she moved her fingers over the keyboard, ready to start typing.

"Gordon John Brandel, he went to prison around 90, 91." Callen replied succinctly. It was easy for him to work out the year Marty's father had gone to prison, or at least close to it. He knew how old Marty was after all, and his date of birth.

His words were followed by silence as Nell waited for more information, but when Callen said nothing more her eyebrows rose.

"That's it? That's all you have?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Callen nodded, knowing it really wasn't much, and it would probably take her a lot of time and work to find the man he was looking for, but hey, he would by her a drink, or a bottle, when she was done. A way of saying thank you.

"This isn't going to be easy, or quick." Nell replied re-iterating his own thoughts. In fact she was pretty sure that this would be close to impossible when she had her other work to do as well. But she would try.

"That's fine. Whenever you can. Oh and Nell? Keep this just between us, okay?" Callen answered in a casual tone hoping not to raise any suspicions in her mind. Of course it had the completely opposite effect upon the intelligence analyst.

"Why do I get the feeling Hetty doesn't know about this." Nell muttered, not expecting agent Callen to hear her as she pulled up a general search.

"I'm working on a hunch, if it pans out I'll fill her in." Callen replied over his shoulder as he started to move away from her workstation, with the aim of leaving her in peace to try and find Marty's dad.

"All right. I tell you when I have anything." Nell responded her eyes already locked onto her screen.

"Thanks Nell." Callen said smiling once more before leaving ops and returning to the bullpen, making his way to his desk so he could finish off some of his reports. He wondered when Marty would be coming back, he liked having the guy across from him. It gave him something nice to look at when he got bored, which happened pretty much all the time when it came to doing paperwork.

Deeks was in his kitchen trying to make a really nice dinner for him and G in hopes of getting his boyfriend in a good mood. He hadn't returned to NCIS after his visit to the LAPD due to the reason his friend had asked him to come in. Now he just hoped G would accept what he had agreed too. I mean it would change his life as well as Deeks' own, maybe he should have asked him first, but… did they really have that kind of relationship in G's mind? Because they did in his, and yet the other man still refused his offer of a key to his apartment. Damn it. Why was this all so complicated?

"You need to be on your best behaviour when G comes home, we want you to make a good impression, okay?" He said looking down at the dog at his feet who did nothing but stare back. He couldn't stop himself smiling at Monty.

He had gotten to know the dog on a few undercover cases he worked where Monty had accompanied him, and obviously he had gotten to know his trainer Steve. Steve now had a serious girlfriend who was allergic to dogs and therefore he could no longer keep Monty at his place when he was off duty. And the dog hated being kept in the kennels, so Steve had asked him to take him. Deeks had jumped at the chance, he had always wanted a dog but never really felt that his career was conducive to having one. But a police dog, that was different. Monty would be a work when he was, so it wasn't like he would get lonely in his apartment on his own all day. It was perfect. It wasn't until he got back with Monty in tow that he realised that G might not be so keen on the new addition to their home. That worried him, because in his mind he and G were living here together, even if the other man did leave every morning to return to his own house to change and shower. This was where they spent all their time, this was their place. So the decision to let Monty come and live with them really should have been a joint one. Too late now though, he thought as he heard the door open and before he could stop him Monty had bounded up and was gone. Going to investigate who it was who was coming into his new home.

Callen could admit he was slightly worried when Marty didn't come back to the office. Had LAPD wanted him to go on another undercover op or something? But surely if that was the case Hetty would have known and told him, even if Marty hadn't been able to call him himself. So why hadn't he come back? Picking the lock on the apartment door the first thing he noticed was the delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Relief washed through him when he realised the only thing that could mean. Marty was here. The next thing he noticed was the dog running up the corridor towards him, surprising him somewhat. Due to the fact that Marty did not own an animal. He thought the dog might jump up at him, but instead it stopped and just sat down in front of him instead.

"Hey there bubby, where did you come from huh?" He asked gently as he placed his bag down and crouched next to the animal to stroke its head. It had to be the scruffiest looking dog he had ever seen. But it was also kinda cute, reminded him of Marty in some way.

"Hey G, I see you've met Monty." Deeks said, his voice a little breathless from worry about how G would react to his new pet. Though seeing his boyfriend's behaviour he breathed out a sigh of relief. It was obvious G liked dogs at least, that was a good start right?

"Monty? Whose is he? Because if you have people round I can come back." Callen replied standing up as everything started to make sense in his mind. The good smelling food and the dog, not to mention Marty not returning to the office. No doubt he had some of his police buddies round, and they really didn't need to see him here in this apartment. He didn't want the LAPD speculating on anything to do with him and his lover. He didn't want anything to cause more hassle for Marty with LAPD.

"What? No. No one's here, I'm looking after Monty for a friend." Deeks responded his puzzled frown lifting as he realised where G's mind had gone.

"How long for?" Callen asked frowning himself now. Their job really didn't work well with pets. The long hours they worked didn't really mix with being able to get home to feed and walk a dog after all.

"Umm, well…" Marty replied trying to find the right words but not being able to, just as he found he couldn't met G's eyes. How was he going to take what he had to say? That Monty had moved in.

"Marty." Callen said in a low voice moving towards the younger man in the hopes of getting some answers.

"Monty's a police dog, but his trainer, who he used to live with has just moved in with his girlfriend who's allergic to dogs. So he asked if I would take him. We've worked some undercover cases together me and Monty, he's an awesome dog, G." Deeks rushed out without taking a breath, deciding it best to just say it.

"So Monty's going to be living here with you?" Callen clarified. He was glad to hear that Monty was a working dog and that he would be spending his days with his trainer. At least he wouldn't be left at home alone for hours on end.

"Yeah, well as long as you don't mind having him in our home." Deeks replied holding his breath as he said the word our. This was it. Time to see if G thought of this apartment as his home as Deeks did. Time to find out if G was ready to accept that they were living together for all intents and purposes.

"This isn't my home Marty." Callen responded with a frown. He had a house, this was just easiest place for them to spend their time together, what with him still not actually having any furniture, or well, much of anything really.

At those words Deeks felt as if his throat was closing up. G didn't see this as his home, he didn't see them as having that sort of serious relationship, even if they did spend every minute they weren't working together. G didn't see it. G didn't think this was his home.

"Right." he managed to croak out before turning around with the aim to head back to the kitchen and finish their dinner. At least he now knew where they stood in G's mind, right? Knew that to him they weren't in the same place he had thought they were. Even if that knowledge did hurt him like hell, at least he now knew.

"Marty." Callen said gently, his hand going to the other man's shoulder and turning him back round to face him. He could see the hurt in his eyes and he needed to take it away, to make Marty understand what he meant by that. He had lived in so many different houses in his life. He needed Marty to understand. So once the younger man was turned back to face him he moved his hand to his chin and lifted up his face to try and explain what he had meant by his thoughtless words that had hurt the other so much.

"I learnt long ago that a home isn't a place. It's people." With that Callen reached out and pulled Marty into his arms before pushing his hands into his hair and holding his head so Marty still couldn't look away from him as he continued. "My home is right here, in your arms and nowhere else."

Deeks didn't know what to say to that. The words and the truth in G's eyes were more than he had ever dreamed of, and it was too much for him even try and find a response other than closing the distance between their lips and kissing his man hard and possessively on the lips. Saying the only way he could that he was G's and vice versa. Showing that having G here was what made his apartment his home.

When they finally pulled apart for air Callen found himself pushed against the wall with the younger man's body pressed against his. He liked that very much. He hadn't often seen this side of Marty, he was usually the laid back one, but when he did he loved it.

"So you don't mind Monty being here?" Deeks finally asked easing back a little, not that the hands in his hair would let him go very far, which he was very glad about.

"No, I don't mind. As long as he doesn't try to join us in bed away." Callen murmured in reply before moving forwards to kiss his way down Marty's neck. Thinking of bed made him really wish they could go there now, or maybe the couch, it was closer. Though in truth he would be quite happy having sex with Marty right here in the hallway at that present moment in time.

"I think he can manage to stay out of that." Deeks managed to get out with a moan, completely on his boyfriends wavelength. Of course it was at that point the nice smells from the kitchen turned not so nice, making to the two men pull apart so Deeks could dash back and try to save the dinner he had been cooking and forgotten about while he had G's in his arms and pressed against the wall.

Callen followed more slowly, pulling a couple of beers from the fridge for him and Marty before settling down in the kitchen to watch his lover try to stop the burning. They both were followed by Monty who decided the best place to sit was beside Callen with his head on his knee so the man could scratch his ears as they both watched Marty's attempts to save dinner.