Hello my darlings. I would like to thank thewatchtower300341, french fan (Guest), katniss12 and Petunia3116, 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 in season 2, episode 15 'Tin Soldiers'. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA, nor any of the lines I have taken from the show.
Callen lay on his bed staring at the ceiling as he had done for the last few hours. He had talked to Hetty, and she had told him what had happened at work in his absence. He knew Sam would be hurting, and a part of his mind wondered if he had been there would it have been different, but he really didn't think so. It happened the only way it was going to do, and there would have been nothing he could have done to save the kid. All he would have been able to do would have been be there for his partner afterwards. And he was going to do that anyway. He had agreed to return to work the next day, to go on the op he and Sam had set up as highway patrol. They could talk about it then.
For the last two days he had been trying to find answers to the soldier left on his sisters grave, but he had come up with nothing. It was infuriating. He needed answers. Why would someone leave that clue there and then just disappear? Surely there had to be answers. There had to be a reason for it. It had to be a message, someone wanting to get in contact with him. Someone who had answers to the questions he had been asking all his life. But no, he was still in the dark. He knew if he let it, this search could consume him, drive everything out of his mind in pursuit of the answers he so desperately needed. But he couldn't let. Tomorrow he had to go back to work, being none the wiser. He needed to return to his life, be there for his partner, and return to Marty.
Marty. Oh god how he wished he was lying in bed with him right now. If he was then surely the world wouldn't look so bleak. He wouldn't feel so alone. But it was far too late to go round to the man he loved's home. Far too late to climb quietly into his bed and wrap his arms around him. Wasn't it? Sitting up Callen grabbed his phone to check the time, he was surprised to find it was three in the morning. Yeah it was far too late to go and see Marty… or though, he was very good at being quiet. He could easily sneak into Marty's bed right? He could be then when his lover woke, surely Marty would be happy to see him, right? He had just convinced himself that yeah, it would be okay, Marty really wouldn't mind him dropping by, and was about to get up and grab his car keys when he heard something at his back door… or someone.
Callen moved quickly through the dark hallways, glad that he didn't have any furniture to get in his way. And he watched as a stranger walked through his house with a touch. Really? I mean who broke into a house then went round with a touch? It was a sure fire way of everyone inside knowing exactly where you were. This guy had no sense. Therefore he found the perfect place to wait for the intruder. This idiot really had chosen the wrong damn house to rob. He was going to make sure he knew that.
When the thief made his way to the tin Callen had on the mantel he moved.
It didn't take him long to knock the guy out, even if he was armed with a knife and Callen had nothing. He was a federal agent and his partner was a navy SEAL. He knew how to fight. He then picked up the discarded touch and shone it upon the man's face, wondering who he was and why he was there. Was this just some home invasion? Or was this connected to the lead soldier and his search of the last couple of days? He quickly went through the strangers pockets, hoping to get answers, but came up with nothing. It looked like he was going to have to wait for the guy to wake to get them then. Okay, he could do that. But first he would take some precautions. With that in mind he grabbed some zip-ties and fixed the man's hands behind his back and his legs together, he then covered his eyes so he wouldn't get a look at his face just in case this was some random incident.
And then he settled down to wait, duct tape in hand ready to silence the man if he became too loud while they 'talked'.
Deeks woke once more alone with no post it note in sight. It seemed G hadn't come round again then. He wished he had, wished he had woken with him by his side smiling down at him. But no. He guessed that meant his boyfriend would also not be a work that day, because surely if he was returning to the job he would have returned to him as well. He hoped Sam would be okay with that. He knew the big guy needed his partner after everything that had happened with Moe. He needed someone there for him, and Deeks knew he wouldn't be able to do anything close to what G would. But he would try his best, because that was what team mates were for, what friends were for. And he liked to think him and Sam were friends, or maybe more like brothers-in-law. Either way he would to his best to help him, in any way he could. With that decided Deeks headed out of his apartment to get to work. He really wanted to do some training in the firing range this morning, get himself focused for the day ahead.
Callen hadn't been able to get anything from the intruder, but considering he was talking away in a foreign language he was inclined to think this was not some random breaking and entering. Therefore putting the guy in the back of his car he drove away from his house, making his slow way towards the boatshed. He would be able to interrogate him better there... and he really should let Hetty know of this development, because it could mean his house had been compromised. And that would not be a good thing, not at all.
Driving down the road minding his own business, or more thinking how he was going to deal with the guy he had in his trunk, Callen found himself being pulled over by highway patrol. Oh this wasn't good, he really didn't want to get arrested for kidnapping thank you very much. But as he sat there, waiting for the officer to come to him he realised he knew that officer, very well indeed. It was Sam. Damn it. Climbing out of his car he made his way to his partner.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you with Moe." He said, hoping Sam wasn't too pissed at him, though he was sure he was.
"Yeah? That makes two of us. Three, if you count Moe but he's not feeling much of anything because he's dead. You may like working alone, but I don't. There's a reason SEAL's operate in teams, it works. It protects you, it protects your partner, it protects the mission." Sam replied anger evident in all he was saying. He wished he could knock sense into G, because he needed to start remembering he wasn't alone anymore. He had a partner, he had a team, hell he even had a boyfriend. G needed to start being there when they needed him to be.
"I know. We will get them Sam, I'm promising you that." Callen responded sincerely. He would help his partner get the ones who did this, even if it meant following him to the ends of the earth. He would do that for Sam.
"Oh yeah? When? And when the hell are you planning on coming back to work? I was expecting to see you this morning. We're were supposed to be riding on this together. Instead, I'm out here all alone. I'm juggling a dozen cases." Sam ranted following Callen as he made his way towards the trunk of his car. Though he stopped talking when G opened it to reveal the man he had tied up inside. What the hell?
"He broke into my house. No ID and he's not talking. Not English, anyway. Someone left this on my sister's grave three days ago. I remember a guy giving me this to me as a kid." Callen explained, holding up the toy solider he was still carrying around in his pocket.
"You think they're connected?" Sam asked his anger evaporating at the idea of someone breaking into G's home. Though of course the fact G was there to stop them did raise another question in his mind.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Callen replied slamming the trunk closed as he did so.
"You talked to Deeks about this?" Sam asked, wondering why it was his partner hadn't been with the younger man the previous evening. I mean they seemed to spend pretty much all their free time together.
"No. I haven't seen him since I found this." Callen responded not looking in his partner's eye. He knew he wouldn't approve of him pulling away from Marty. But he needed to work this out on his own, needed to find the answers to who he was. Was that really so wrong?
"You need to call him G." Was all Sam said in reply. He hadn't seen much of Deeks while working the undercover op with Moe, but he knew the kid wouldn't be happy with G keeping secrets from him. Hell no one would be happy if they were in relationship and someone was keeping secrets from them and going all lone wolf. It wasn't what you did.
"I will." Callen agreed.
"Take him to the boatshed, I brief the team." Sam replied before turning to climb back on his bike. He just hoped G talked to Deeks before he did. Because if the other man had to hear from him that his boyfriend house was broken into, he didn't want to think about how he would feel about that.
As he watch Sam drive away Callen pulled out his phone, but rather than dialling he put it back in his pocket. He couldn't call him from the side of the road. He would do it when he got to the boatshed. Yeah then he could have a proper conversation with Marty. Of course when he got to his destination he realised he was the only one there to keep an eye on his prisoner, he couldn't call Marty now. He had to see if he could get anything from the guy who had broken into his house, and anyway, this conversation was one he should have face to face, right? Marty would understand. So with that he went into the interrogation room to see if he could get any sense out of his intruder, or you know, anything in English.
Deeks and Kensi were in the firing range, bantering back and forth, when they saw Sam come in. Deeks couldn't believe what he was seeing. Because Sam was dressed as highway patrol. Oh that was so awesome.
"Oh, what? No way. No way. Are you kidding me?" He said as he quickly placed his gun in the hoister at the back of his back and took of his glasses before exiting the firing range for the armoury. "Hey buddy. Are you working undercover as highway patrol?" He asked excitedly. This was like a dream come true in his mind. He wondered if there was any way he could get in on the op.
"Supposed to be. With Callen." Sam replied watching out of the corner of his eye to see how Deeks responded to mentioning his partner's name. it wasn't much, and if he hadn't been looking Sam was sure he wouldn't have seen it, but there was a slight widening of the younger man's eyes and a start at hearing his boyfriends name.
"Where is he?" Kensi asked, cutting her eyes between to the two men, hoping one of them had an answer to her question. But looking at her partner, she saw the way his lips tightened at her words. It seemed Deeks didn't know the answer any more than she did.
"He's on his way in." Sam replied and this time Deeks' reaction was much easier to spot, because even he wasn't good enough to hide the look of surprise at Sam's words. By the looks of it G hadn't called him then. Damn it. He was going to kill his partner one of these days.
"How are you doing?" Kensi asked Sam, trying to take the conversation away from Callen. Anything to help her partner, though she did truly want to know. I mean after the Moe thing, she doubted Sam was doing okay.
"I'm doing." Sam responded. He didn't really want to go into it right then and there. He would be okay, once he got the bastard that had killed Moe that was.
Deeks had listened to the conversation and he knew Kensi was just trying to take it away from G. But he also knew that Sam didn't need any touchy feeling crap right now. So pushing his own feelings about how G was coming back to work without telling him, coming back without talking to him and explaining what the hell he had been doing the last couple days as he promised, down, he turned to Sam. "Dude, I grew up on CHIP's. I mean, I wanted to be Ponch. This right here is half the reason I became a cop." Deeks said trying to lighten the mood.
"You became a cop because of a TV show?" Kensi asked her partner with disbelief in her voice. What was he like? He was a complete child.
"Not just one TV show, T.J. Hooker, hello? Seriously, you guys have to let me ride with you on this." Deeks replied. Not that Sam believed for a minute that Deeks reason for becoming a cop was a TV show, or that he actually wanted to ride with him and G on this op. Hell if he did, Sam would run for the hills, he wasn't sure he would be able to work with Callen and Deeks together all day. The staring in the bullpen was enough for him.
"It's a two-man op, or it's supposed to be. Besides you don't look like a cop." Sam responded with a small smile for the man in front of him who was trying to cheer him up even while he knew he was worried about G and what he had been doing.
"Okay, that's on purpose. All this is so I can work undercover." Deeks replied with fake affront as he waved towards his hair and his scruffy beard. He knew Sam didn't mean it, he was just letting him know he was grateful for his attempt to lighten the mood. Or at least that was what he was going with, and no one would change his mind.
"As what, shaggy from Scooby-doo?" Sam bantered back. He had been saving that one ever since he had watched the show with his daughter and realised the resemblance between the cartoon character and the detective. He was going to use it against G, but this was so much better.
"Oh, my god. You do look like shaggy." Kensi chuckled when she heard that. It was so true, she had never realised it before now.
"All right." Deeks answered, accepting that once again he was at the butt of their jokes, though this time there was no G to help him. Though knowing his boyfriend, he would just join in.
"And this, has been put on hold." Sam said, throwing his helmet at Deeks. It was time to tell him what had happened. He needed to know that Callen's house was broken into and could be compromised. In fact in Sam's mind Deeks needed to know more than that, but it wasn't his place to tell him. Therefore taking a deep breath Sam continued.
"Somebody broke into Callen's house last night."
"What?" Kensi asked her eyes going wide.
"Is he okay?" Deeks asked at the same time, wanting to make sure his boyfriend was fine before he killed him for not telling him about this.
"He's fine. You'll see for yourself soon enough." Sam replied giving Deeks a sincere look so he knew he wasn't lying. He knew how worried he would be feeling.
And worried Deeks was, but as soon as Sam confirmed that G was in fact okay, that worry was replaced with anger. Why the hell was he finding out his boyfriends home was broken into while he was there, from his boyfriend's partner? Why is it that Sam seemed to know more about what was going on with G than him? Didn't G trust him, still? I mean, this was going too far now. Okay he accepted the man he loved had secrets, but to tell Sam and not him? That wasn't right. Sure, Sam was his partner, was like his brother, but he was the one that was in a relationship with G. He was the one he loved, the one he hoped G wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He couldn't keep things like this from him. He didn't care what G's reasons were, whether they were because he was G Callen and being secretive was second nature to him, or if it was some convoluted way of trying to protect him. He was done with it. He wanted to know what was going on, and he wanted to know now. He was done waiting for G to come to him. Done.
It was with these thoughts that Deeks stormed to the entrance of the building, standing in the corridor with his arms crossed as he glared at the doors, waiting for the man he loved to arrive. He would get answers, and he would get them now.
And everyone who saw him gave him a wide berth, because the look on his face was not that of the happy-go-luckily detective they all knew. Though Hetty spotting him just signed and shook her head. When would her boy realise that he needed to stop pushing the people who love him away?