Hello my darlings. I would like thank naruto and twilight fan33, elsje1967 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 this chapter is set in season 2, episode 19, 'Enemy Within', 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 the morning of Callen's 'birthday' was spent by the two men in bed. They finally got up in time to grab some lunch and then made their way to the beach with Monty. There they spent the perfect time together, throwing a Frisbee for the dog, or though Callen claimed Marty preferred the game to their pet. It was wonderful and relaxing. A day filled with laughter and love between the two men. It was without doubt the best birthday G Callen had ever had in his life, even if it didn't happen on the actual day. That didn't matter to him, what did was that he got to spend it with the man he loved. But all good days had to end, and reality had to return. As such the next day they returned to work, returned to the team and doing what they did best, getting the bad guys.
Callen and Sam had just arrived at the mission after their regular, weekly breakfast. And climbing out of the car Callen grunted at a sharp pain that seared up his side.
"You okay?" Sam asked concerned for his partner. He had seemed fine earlier, so what had happened between now and then?
"I feel like I was thrown out of a moving car." Callen replied with a frown. The thing in Yemen had been over a week ago and he was fine now. Back on active duty and everything, so why was he suddenly in pain once more?
"You were thrown out of a moving car. Serval times." Sam responded with a look that clearly said 'duh!' to his partner.
"Yeah, well, not recently." Callen replied, though he did have to frown and turn to his partner as he opened the door to semi-seriously ask "was I?" You never know, he may have forgotten something. A lot happened in their line of work, though he was pretty sure Marty would have reminded him if he had done further in jury to himself. So he was sure he hadn't.
At that Sam shook his head at his partner's seriously bad sense of humour. Trust G to say that. Of course that made Sam have to retaliate, and he knew just the words to use. "Well maybe this is what comes of having a younger boyfriend. Maybe you're too old to keep up with him, if you know what I mean." He responded with a smirk firmly in place as they made their way into the bullpen.
"I cannot believe you just said that." Callen replied blinking at his partner as he put his bag down on his desk. Sam had just gone there, made a joke of his and Marty's sex life. What was the world coming to?
"Well, I mean the age difference is, what? 12, 14 years?" Sam answered keeping up the banter with his partner. This was good. Plus he would never pass up the chance to tease G about being with Deeks.
"9, actually. And that wasn't what I was referring to." Callen replied crossing his arms as he leaned back against his desk to mock glare at his partner. his pain had nothing to do with what he had Marty got up to in bed thank you very much, though if Sam continued with this line of conversation he might just have to share a few pertinent details to prove his point. With that thought his glare became a smirk as he considered just what he could say that would creep Sam out the most.
Sam seeing the look on his partner's eyes felt he had probably pushed him as far as he wanted to. But he didn't want to back down from the conversation. How to get out of talking about this, without seeming to be doing just that to the guy who knew every trick in the book when it came to changing the topic of conversation? Luckily he was saved from having to come up with an answer by a whistle from Eric. It seemed it was time to get to work.
Kensi was working out in the gym when her partner came in, playing on his phone. He was such a damn kid sometimes. "Angry Birds?" She asked between punches.
"Plants vs. Zombies. I tried to play it last night, but G wouldn't let me." Deeks replied not looking up from his phone as he walked past his partner. "Did you get the uh-?- ow." He continued finally looking up as the punching balance Kensi was using hit him. "Did you get the little Hetty note?" He asked continuing with what he had been saying before she had assaulted him with gym equipment.
"No." Kensi answered, stopping what she was doing to look at her partner at his words. It seemed she needed to share some wisdom with him, though she would have thought Callen would have done so already. "By the way, there is no such thing as a 'little Hetty note'. There's a big Hetty note. There's a holy moly Hetty note. There's an 'oh dear god' Hetty note." She explained before returning to her punches.
"I get it." Deeks replied. He hoped it was some sort of team letter or something considering it was work business, but it seemed it was just him. Hmm. What did that mean?
"How bad is it? Expense account? Hygiene again?" Kensi asked chuckling to herself as she remembered Hetty's response to Deeks in his homeless undercover gear.
"I haven't opened it." Deeks replied with a sigh. He knew everything had been going too well. Maybe this was something about him and G? Maybe it was saying they couldn't be together and work together? He was sure there were rules about that somewhere. But if that was the case, surely she would have raised the issue before now, and he was pretty sure she would have raised it with G rather than him. So what was it?
"Oh, brave man, Mr Deeks." Came a voice from behind him making him close his eyes. Of course it was Hetty. Turning to her he listened as she continued. "I'd be quick about it. We have a problem. More specifically, I have a problem with you."
Deeks couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Me?" He asked in confusion. Since when did she have a problem with him? What had he done to turn her against him? Was she going to try and split him and G up?
"At a routine agent readiness audit, you were found woefully behind the rest of the team in professional development." Hetty explained a small smile on her lips as she read his worries in his eyes. Surely he knew she was of the opinion he was the best thing to ever happen to her boy. This had nothing to do with that, and everything to do with keeping him alive.
"Coursework to further one's skills set in a given profession." Kensi explained from where she was getting a drink. The idea of Deeks having to take training courses amused her greatly. She couldn't wait to watch, and mock, as he did so.
"While we may believe that you are up the task, statistically speaking, an agent's training level has a high correlation with survival. Who am I to argue with statistics?" Hetty replied, smiling at the young man in front of her.
"Right. No, no, of course. But my training comes from the streets." Deeks responded with a frown. He did not like the idea of going on a training course, just as much as he didn't like the idea that he wasn't as good as the rest of the team. He was just as good as them, right?
"Oh really? The tough streets of the San Fernando Valley? Not exactly Fallujah, Kandahar and Medellin." Kensi replied walking towards them and joining in on the conversation. Surely Deeks knew he needed more training to deal with the situation they got themselves in regularly.
"Okay, you don't get to pull the Special Forces tough guy card cos it's not in your wallet. Sam's, yes. G's definitely. Maybe Hetty's, but not yours." Deeks answered back, shaking his head at his partner for her words. Of course he knew he didn't know as much as his lover or his partner, but that was why they were senior agents. They had the experiences people like he and Kensi didn't.
"You will choose from that list of courses, Mr Deeks. And you, Miss Blye, will be in charge of overseeing its completion. Ops centre. We have a case." Hetty replied with a nod before turning to leave, though as she did so she spoke over her shoulder to the man left reading the list she had given him. "Oh and just so you know, Mr Deeks. Living with Mr Callen does not constitute training in how to be a spy." She knew how his mind worked, after all.
"Really? Are you sure? Cos he reads to me in Russian every night." Deeks cried after her as she left, wanting to get the last word in. Especially as she was making him attend training. He hated training courses.
"Dude, really?" Kensi replied with a shake of her head as she swatted her partners shoulder. Only Deeks would have that come back.
As the two younger partners enters ops, Callen couldn't stop himself from teasing his lover. Therefore with a smirk on his face he spoke. "Let's make this quick, Eric. Deeks has gotta get back to class."
"Seriously? How do you know?" Deeks asked gesturing in disbelief at the words his boyfriend had just spoken he was sure he would be on his side. Why wasn't he on his side?
"Apparently Hetty is determined to make you a highly skilled operative. I told her I was more than happy to help-" Sam replied smugly almost itching to get his hands on Deeks' training. I mean the guy would only let him do so much, and G was no help in convincing Deeks to do more. If only Hetty had put him in charge of the detectives training regime.
"No, I'm good. Thanks." Deeks interrupted. He quickly came to the decision that taking one of these damn classes was much more preferable to Sam's ideas. Because as much as he liked and respected the big guy, there really was only so much of his intensity he could take in any given day.
With that the team turned to get the briefing on their latest case from Eric.
Returning from the case, having saved the life of a South American rising star, the team wanted nothing more than to relax and chill. Sam also wanted to get out of the polyester waiters suit he had been forced to wear for the undercover op, while Kensi wanted to change out of her now wet dress. It was only Deeks and Callen who didn't partially care about their clothing, though that was more because Deeks was wearing one hell of fine a suit, and Callen could easily remove the maroon monastery of a jacket he had been forced to wear as part of the uniform of the reception hall they had been undercover at.
"Well that's it for me. I need a bath, all-you-can-eat chicken and waffle buffet. Not necessarily in that order." Deeks said, standing from his desk while giving Callen a convert look which clearly said he really wanted company, at both of those suggestions. Something Callen certainly wasn't going to say no to. He liked the idea of sharing a bath with the man he loved, of scrubbing his back…
"Not so fast, Mr Deeks." came Hetty's words, interrupting Callen's fantasy of how they were going to spend their evening. "We need to discuss your exam."
At those words Callen couldn't help but laugh as he grabbed his bag. He knew Deeks would make his own way home when he was done, and he doubted he would want the rest of the team hanging round to watch him as he demonstrated what he learnt from the Firearms Training Simulator course. Just as he also knew he would be fine.
"Do we?" Deeks asked as Callen walked away. He really didn't want to do this now, but one look on Hetty's face told him the answer to that question. It was a resounding yes. Awesome.
Callen was unpacking the takeout he had gotten when the door opened. Turning to see Deeks back to wearing the clothes he had had on that morning, he couldn't help but mourn the loss of the suit that had made the man he loved look so damn hot. But he had known he wouldn't come home wearing that. "So how did it go?" He asked moving to give the younger man a kiss before guiding him to the table and food he had laid out. All of Marty's favourites from his favourite takeout place.
"It went well," Deeks nodded smiling at the older man before continuing. "Right up until the point I shot Hetty, anyway."
And Callen chuckled at that one, though thinking about it, that could well have been a good call on Marty's part. If she was the enemy, Hetty was the most dangerous person he knew. Far more dangerous than any man with a gun.
"Eat your dinner, then we can have that bath you were looking forward to." He replied before sitting down as well as they both talked over the case, and all that had happened during their day. It was the perfect way to end it, and Callen was so glad that this would be his life from now on. Coming home from work and sharing a dinner in their home with the man he loved.
And Deeks, well, he couldn't agree more as the night darken outside and the house was filled with laughter and love. The house which had once been so empty, that had finally become a home to its three occupants.