Hello my darlings. I would like to thank asdf (Guest), thewatchtower300341, lulu625, Petunia3116, French fan (Guest), elsje1967, Beststoriesever (Guest), Thevampiresrulez and kirallie for the wonderful reviews. I would also like to thank those of you who have followed and favoured since my last update.
So here is the next chapter, it is set at the beginning of season 2, episode 12 'Overwatch'. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA, nor any of the lines I have taken from the show.
The rest of Deeks birthday was thankfully calm with no cases coming in to disrupt the team from training and paperwork. Though Deeks did spend an inordinate amount of time checking the time, making sure everyone noticed his new watch so he could say that it was a birthday present from his boyfriend.
Callen was sure he had spent most of the day trying to avoid the teasing from Kensi and Sam about his present to Marty, and by the end of it he had started to make himself scarce every time he saw Marty go to check the time. Not that he really minded, he was secretly really pleased that Marty liked his present so much he wanted to show it off. It reaffirmed his belief that he had done the right thing, that he had made Marty happy… it was just he did it at such a volume that if anyone had been in any doubt about their relationship before, no one was now. Everyone at the mission knew who had given Marty his new watch and why. He had caught the support staff giving him sentimental smiles all afternoon. They weren't supposed to give him them, they were supposed to be in awe of him right? But no. It seemed he couldn't be in a relationship with Deeks and not have everyone looking at him differently. It seemed his favourite aloof manner had been blown out of the water.
But when he caught the smile on Marty's face as he showed the watch off for the hundredth time, Callen really couldn't find it in himself to care. He was too busy being happy. It was worth it to make Marty so very happy.
That evening after work everyone went out for drinks to celebrate Deeks' birthday, it was one more perfect time with friends and family, all enjoying each other's company. By the end of the evening Deeks was pleasantly drunk, resting his head on G's shoulder as he draped the rest of his body across his chest. It was a position very reminiscent to the one Kensi had done with him when she was pretending they had a thing. Though this time Callen was definitely not upset about it. In fact he didn't even hesitate to wrap his arms around the younger man's shoulders, pulling him even closer and kissing the top of his head as he did so. Which of course caused Sam to roll his eyes and find yet more things to rib Callen about, not that he really cared right then. How could he when he had his arms full of Marty Deeks?
Hetty who was watching them all, couldn't help but smile at the sweet picture her boys made. In fact she managed to snap a photo of the two of them easily. It would join the ones she had taken at Christmas and New Year's, going into the photo album she was making of the couple. Something for them and her to remember all the good times with. Because she knew without a doubt that the good times would not be all they had. No relationship existed without bumps on the road, but she was confident that the two men would be able to negotiate them together. They loved each other enough to overcome anything, she was sure of it.
A few days after Deeks' birthday, Callen was sneaking into the gym so he could 'borrow' some of Hetty's special syrup. He had developed a liking for the stuff back when he was younger and living with her, but he also knew she was very strict on who she allowed to use it. Hence him learning where she kept it and using his training to 'borrow' some. Of course Callen forgot one simple thing. That Hetty knows everything, and there was no way he could get anything past her. He really should have that imprinted on his brain by now, but he always was one for pushing boundaries.
"Do you think you are clever? That you can read people? That you know things?" Came the voice of the woman in question from behind him as he was replacing the syrup bottle in its hiding place. He'd been busted, Damn it. Oh well, time to turn on the charm.
"Well, I'm an undercover agent for a highly respected federal agency, so I'm gonna go with yes. And I'm sorry about your syrup." Callen replied with a soft smile for the woman who was his boss as well as his family.
"What you so crassly refer to as my syrup is my Michoacán shade-grown agave nectar. My personal sweetener. But, however, it isn't that to which I refer. I just, uh, received copies of your federal 360 co-worker evaluations. Perfect scores in every category, for every co-worker?" Hetty said in disbelief. He wasn't fooling her for a minute, but he was team leader. He needed to do his job properly, even if one of those being evaluated was his romantic partner. In fact that was even more of a reason in her mind. If anyone higher up got wind of his and Mr Deeks' relationship, and then saw these evaluations, they would start to question his ability to do his job with Marty on the team. And that was something she did not want.
"What can I say? You run a tight ship." Callen responded with a shrug. He hated evaluating his team. Because in his mind they were the best. How could he find faults with his friends and his lover? They complimented each other perfectly, and worked as a well-oiled team. They didn't need him doing evaluations that would pick that apart. Yeah he really didn't like doing them.
At that Hetty gave him her most disapproving look before holding the papers back out to him as she spoke. "You know what you have to do with these. Redo them."
"I'll race you for it." Callen challenged, pointing at the climbing wall behind them in the gym. Anything to get out of redoing that damn paperwork.
"You think you can win?" Hetty asked, raising her eyebrow at him in astonishment. Had she taught the boy nothing over the years?
Apparently not as Callen's only response was to give her at look as if to say, really? You think you can beat me?
"Just because your-" Hetty continued gesturing to his height and body.
"I didn't say that." Callen interrupted, not wanting to get on the wrong side of the little woman in front of him, even if the thought had crossed his mind.
"Just because I'm-" Hetty continued as if he hadn't spoken at all.
"I didn't say that either." Callen interrupted once more, this time with more urgency. Wanting to placate Hetty. Though he was still convinced he could beat her, and therefore get out of redoing the eval's.
"All right let's do it. Come on, top of the wall." Hetty stated. It was time to teach her boy a lesson in how a master does it, and not just climbing. She knew exactly how to get into his mind and manipulate him into doing what she wanted. Oh yes, she was looking forward to this.
"Top of the wall." Callen agreed, putting down his tea as they both moved towards the end of the gym to start the challenge.
"I have to uh, warn you that if you indulge in this sort of frivolity and brinkmanship and I win, I'm going to expect these tomorrow." Hetty said holding up the papers with a glint in her eyes.
"Huh, deal." Callen replied without thought. There was no way Hetty was going to beat him. No way at all. Right?
"I also need to tell you I've had years of practise." Hetty responded simply as they stared up at the wall.
"You don't scare me. Well, maybe a little bit." Callen replied looking upwards as well, causing Hetty to chuckle at him. She was glad to see she still had the ability to scare her boy. He needed it sometimes. Oh well, time to bring out the heavy guns.
"I seem to recall a certain Sherpa saying exactly that just before I beat him to the Everest summit with a broken arm." Hetty answered in her usual way of telling one of the many stories she had about her life.
"You expect me to believe that?" Callen asked turning to her and getting only her raised eyebrow as an answer. He hated when she did this. Nope, there was no way that story was true. "Okay see, now you're bluffing." He continued, but still a part of him wondered if he really believed that or if he was just trying to make himself feel better. He had a horrible feeling that maybe she was telling the truth.
"On three." Hetty started simply, time to show Mr Callen at thing of two. "One." both of them turned to the wall, though Callen looked even more nervous." Two." He turned back to look at the papers she had in her hand. It would be easier to just do the eval's than getting schooled by Hetty on the wall, therefore, giving in he grabbed them out of her hand before she could utter the three.
"Wise choice." Hetty nodded not able to contain her smirk. He was just too easy to manipulate. "And no, I won't do this just for fun." She finished with as she started to walk away, having achieved her goal.
"I wasn't gonna ask." Callen replied just as Sam walked into the gym, ready to start doing his weights.
"Ask what?" He asked his partner, wondering who he was talking to. There was no one there but him that he could see.
"Wait a minute. Was she bluffing?" Callen asked himself, once more finding himself tidied in knots by the woman who was the closest thing he had to a mother. Damn it.
"Who?" Sam asked wondering what, or more to the point who, had gotten into G's head now.
"She does this to me every time. She knows I think she's bluffing, but then she starts with these Yoda mind tricks." Callen muttered, more to himself than anyone else, still trying to work out if it had been a bluff or if everything Hetty had said was real.
"Did Callen sleep last night?" Kensi asked as she walked in and saw her team leader's behaviour. Though as soon as she said the words she had some rather disturbing imagines of what he could have been doing instead, with her partner. That was not what she wanted to think about in the morning, or ever, thank you very much.
"So that I don't take the challenge, which is what she wanted?" Callen continued ignoring Kensi as he was still trying to work it. Damn that woman for being about to manipulate him like this. She was the only one who could do it. It drove him nuts.
"Deeks didn't have him reading Hegel again did he?" Sam asked Kensi as he shook his head at his partner. He was looking crazier than normal. Maybe it was just living with Deeks. Maybe he had finally cracked. Not that G was officially living with Deeks, he just spent all his time there. Maybe he needed to take a night off and stay in his own home for once.
"Don't ask me." Kensi responded holding her hands up. She wasn't her partner's keeper after all.
"Ask you what?" Deeks asked joining the team in the gym, though he found his eyes going to G and giving him a puzzled look. What was up with him? He had been fine when they had left earlier, so something must have happened between now and then to cause this behaviour. And as he watched and Callen spoke once more, Deeks knew exactly who it was that had caused it. He marvelled at Hetty's skill at getting into G's head, he really was going to have to get her to teach him how to do that at some point.
Kensi on the other hand was looking at the extra-large coffee Deeks had in his hand and wondered if maybe her earlier imagines hadn't been that far of the mark. Maybe neither Callen nor Deeks had slept much the previous evening. Ewgh.
"It's a con. No it's a double con. That's what it is." Callen stated to his team as he pulled his ringing phone from his pocket, making both Kensi and Sam look at him in confusion whereas Deeks just shook his head.
"Told you not to challenge Hetty before, G." He said with a chuckle as he carried on drinking his coffee. Though all the team turned to listen when Callen answered his phone to find Rose the coroner on the other end, talking about how her co-worker had been killed and a body taken. One which had on it a chemical which had a naval signature. It looked like they had themselves a case.