Deeks woke early the next day to sunlight streaming through the curtains and the sound of clattering crockery. He groggily brushed his hair from his half open eyes. The twin bed opposite was unmade and had clearly not been slept in. Callen must have fallen asleep in the chair he thought, swinging his legs out of the bed and hanging for a moment. He picked his t-shirt up from the floor and pulled on his jeans, padding barefoot in to the living area of his new home.

'Just coz you don't sleep doesn't mean you have to wake me up.' Deeks scrubbed his fingers over his face. Mornings were only good if he was up for an early surfing session, or if his ladybird was lying next to him.

'Stayed in the chair all night. Didn't want to disturb your much needed beauty sleep in case you got outta the wrong side of the bed. Which you clearly did.'

'Hhmm,' grunted Deeks, grabbing the cup of coffee from Callen's hands.

'That's mine!'

'Mmmm.' Deeks deliberately took a long and noisy slurp, staring at Callen over the rim of the mug and the rising steam.

'This is why I live on my own,' Callen muttered and grabbed another mug from the cupboard, deliberately slamming the door shut and clattered the mug on the side.

'Looks like I'm not the only grumpy one this morning.' Deeks said, suddenly feeling much happier.

'Hmm.' Callen replied and disappeared in to the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later both men were freshly showered and dressed in the clean clothes found hanging in the wardrobe. There was no reason for them to stay in their room and the outdoors beckoned them with sounds of muted conversations, power tools and children's voices. They had to earn their keep and the trust of the community. Morning greetings were made to the adults and Deeks chatted to several of the young children who had nosily come up to see the new strangers, allowing Callen to roam ahead. He found Lyneham on the veranda talking animatedly into a cell phone whilst simultaneously giving orders to Chet Bailley and Anton DuValle. Seeing Callen approach, Lyneham ended the call and smiled.

'You sleep OK?' He asked, noticing that his guest looked decidedly healthier than the previous night.

'Yeah.' Callen looked around him in quiet appreciation. 'This is a pretty neat set up you have here. How many of the men are ex-forces?'

'Maybe seventy five percent.' Lyneham answered. 'We keep this place pretty low key. We're totally self sufficient. Don't want and don't need any handouts from the Government. In fact they're the reason why most people are here. I have contacts like Patten at several shelters around Southern California - mainly LA. I like to offer good citizens who've fallen on bad times a place to either recover and move on or to live permanently. Coffee?'

Lyneham didn't wait for Callen to respond and instead moved inside and headed to the kitchen. Callen followed, knowing Deeks would either be close behind or already working his own style of magic. A large pot of coffee sat on the side and Lyneham picked up a clean cup from the sink, pouring some for Callen and refreshing his own.

'Patten and Anton told me you've been struggling since leaving the military.'

Callen looked up sharply, a naturally defensive expression on his face that was easily read by Lyneham.

'I just wanted to say that me and a lot of the others here know what you're going through. There's no counselling or pressure to talk. We just work outdoors mostly and enjoy the way the fresh air clears our minds and cleanses our souls.'

'Appreciated.' Callen said, privately thinking it sounded a bit hippyish. 'So what can Billy and I do to help?'

'Depends what your skills are? And where is Billy?'

'Er, I think he's making friends with the kids. He's always had an easy way with people and is pretty much on the same wave length as kids.'

'That's fine. What about you?'

'Me? Not so much.' Callen blew across his coffee cup, trying to cool it down so he could take a sip and avoid talking about himself too much. It was a crude tactic but one he had employed for many years.

Lyneham laughed. 'No, I meant are you good with your hands? We have ditches that need digging and fences that need erecting near the boundary. Or we have some electrics that need looking at? A couple of old vehicles that are on their last legs? Laundry and cooking?'

Callen shrugged. 'I'm pretty easy,' he said with a wry smile of his own. 'Provided it doesn't involve digging or any other type of physical work or anything remotely domesticated, I can turn my hand to anything.'

'Well that narrows down the options. I was going to tinker with the old cars today. C'mon, there's a thermos on the top shelf in the cupboard to the right. Pour your coffee in it and top it up. Should last you all morning. The cars are in the old barn about a mile back - if we finish repairing the cars we can start on the barn.'

There was an easy twinkle in Lyneham's eyes and Callen felt himself relax a little. Maybe he should actually allow himself to enjoy the first day before going to town with the subterfuge.

Deeks quickly found himself caught up with four overly excited children aged between six and eleven. He had naturally began clowning around and putting on funny voices and before long the kids were crying with laughter and playing football with him. Out of the corner of his eye he witnessed Callen following Lyneham indoors and figured there was no need for him to follow like a sheep dog and so he remained outside where he was repeatedly tackled to the ground until one of the mothers interrupted the fun. Deeks gently removed the six year old boy who was hugging his leg in an effort to prevent Deeks scoring a touchdown only to have him reattach himself, and so he dragged his leg in an exaggerated manner until he reached the mom, who promptly scolded the young boy.

'I am so sorry about Tommy.' Tom's mother lifted him up and balanced him on her hip.

'It was actually quite fun and strangely relaxing. I can't remember when I last laughed so much.' Deeks replied. He studied the woman in front of her. She looked to be in her late twenties and judging by how the eleven year girl old was now hugging her, he figured she was mom to both of them. 'They both yours?'

'Yes.' She smiled. 'You've met Tom, and this is Daisy. I've also got another running around somewhere, probably trying to be a man. A twelve year old.'

'Ah yes, I think he opened the gate for us last night.'

'That sounds about right. Ben. And I'm Tamsin.' Tamsin shifted Tommy's weight on her hip and held out her right hand which Deeks shook.

'I'm Billy. It looks pretty idyllic here.' Deeks slowly took in the sights of the ranch and its grounds. As far as he could so far tell, every man, woman and child seemed happy.

'It is. Bit like a hippy commune, I guess - but without the drugs, nakedness and free sex.' Tamsin added, a light strawberry blush crept up the side of her neck and coloured her cheeks.

'So how long have you lived her?' Deeks asked, deciding to ignore her embarrassment.

'For three years now. The children love it. One of the couples here were school teachers and they home school the kids every day. And I run the vegetable fields and the fruit trees. This year I've also started on a small vineyard.'

'Do you see the profits?' Deeks loved the idea in principle but knowing about the people who ran the community, he was sceptical as to the real benefits for the normal people caught up in the ranch's life.

'We're not slaves and this isn't a cult.' Tamsin said with a slightly indignant tone. 'I provide a portion of the food for everyone here in return for my living quarters. And there's plenty of excess that's sold in nearby villages and the markets in larger townships.'

'I'm sorry. It's just where I come from people aren't honest or trusting. This place is clearly doing well. Your kids are amazing.'

'Thank you.'

Tamsin put a wiggling Tommy down and he promptly stuck out his tongue at Deeks and ran off, causing Deeks to laugh and Tamsin to sheepishly regret agreeing that her kids were amazing.

'Look, I arrived last night with my brother who disappeared in to the main house about half an hour ago. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do...'

'Well you can help me round up the kids for school and then I'm heading out to the fields. Some of the men are out there repairing fences. I'm sure they'd welcome another helping hand.'

'Um, well, sure. But I'm not really good at being in the sun all day. Sensitive complexion - burn easy...' Even to Deeks his excuses sounded feeble. 'Do you have any sun block?'

Most of Callen's day was spent in the shade of the barn and under the hood of, ironically enough, a Dodge Challenger. Unlike Sam's this was manufactured in the 1970s, red with a black roof and in a poor state of repair. There was rust everywhere, one window broken, the other was stuck half way down. Three of the four tires were flat, the fourth missing altogether and the car was balanced by a stack of bricks. Naturally the engine failed to ignite and on a cursory investigation, battery acid had leaked everywhere. Generally there seemed to be little hope of a resurrection. The car next to it was also from the 1970s, a Ford Mustang whose suspension had collapsed. Both cars had been found in the barn after Lyneham and DuValle 'reclaimed' the property. When the tarpaulin was pulled back from both cars, an instant and unanimous decision had been made to work on the Challenger.

Conversation was initially sparse between the pair and focused on agreeing diagnostics and a plan of action. During the afternoon, Lyneham had taken the initiative and started talking about his family and the regrets he'd experienced at his behaviour in the early days and months after his discharge. Callen offered no such comparisons from his own alias's background, instead towing the line of asking why Lyneham didn't turn to the various Vets medical associations and centres for help. The tone took a slightly bitter turn as Lyneham explained the catalogue of errors and general ineptitude he had encountered. Callen threw in a few one liners of agreement, making sure the tone of his voice had undercurrents of the same bitterness and even anger. Although Lyneham had said there was no counselling or therapy sessions at the ranch, Callen felt as though he should charge him for his time and said as much with a sly wink, ensuring his words were taken in a light hearted manner, rather than risk creating an uneasy atmosphere between the two men.

At around four they were interrupted by a rather sun kissed looking Deeks, who was accompanied by a slim, tall brunette. She was wearing a white shirt unbuttoned to her chest with a vest top underneath. Slightly heeled cowboy boots accentuated the skinny jeans that hugged her long legs. Callen assumed this was the woman Nell had warned them about. Certainly her demeanour had an air of superiority which was reflected in the seriousness of her facial expression.

'What are you kids up to?' Deeks joked. 'Nothing legal, I'm sure.'

'Totally legal.' Callen returned, stretching his back as he stepped away from the car. He'd been leaning over the engine for the past forty minutes straight and for a moment thought his back had seized up, which would have amused Sam had he been around.

'How times have changed. Rob's spent half his teenage years breaking the law and the other half trying to get away with it. When he was a kid, he could boost any car you placed in front of him.'

'Nothing wrong with that.' Lyneham said. 'Sign of a great education, you ask me.'

'He could also lift anything you asked from some woman's purse to a wallet in a guys inner pocket. Y'know once he stole a book out of some old guy's man-bag and his hip flask. I found him half cut reading some English classic under Santa Monica pier. B and E and auto theft, man that was his sweet spot before he got caught.'

Callen furrowed his eyebrows. He and Deeks hadn't been too detailed in discussing their aliases childhood antics and it sounded like Hetty had given him some edited highlights from his real youth. He was not happy. In fact he was more than a little pissed off that Hetty had broken his confidence for the sake of an undercover alias.

'Billy, why don't you for once in your pathetic little life just shut the fuck up.' Callen's voice was harsh and the tone left no doubt that he was not impressed about revelations from his personal life.

Deeks was taken aback. What the hell had he said to receive that kind of abuse? He opened his mouth to speak again when the woman stepped forward and interrupted.

'Boys,' she said with a supercilious smile. 'If you're going to start brawling I'll have to ask you to wait until the evening when we can clear a space in the red barn and make sure bets are laid. Bare knuckle fighting only.'

'What? No, we're not gonna fight. I mean, we're brothers, well sort of.' Deeks turned serious and stared at Callen. 'We're not, are we? Fighting I mean...'

'We will if you carry on talking the way you are now.' Callen held his stare and narrowed his eyes as he laid down the challenge.

'Ok, I'll shut up.' Deeks pursed him lips together in an exaggerated movement and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets.

'That'll be a miracle I'll pay to see.' Callen said, turning away from Deeks to wipe the oil from his hands on to an equally oily rag.

Deeks glanced sharply at his partner, unsure whether he was still in his alias. He was suddenly getting the impression that Callen regretted having him as a partner. The two usually got along fine, but then they rarely spent much time alone. Thinking about it further, Deeks realised that when it was just the two of them, Callen had frequently made excuses to leave. One time he had literally shut the door on him and another time just vanished.

'Ariel.' Lyneham said quickly. 'These are our latest guests. This is Rob, and guess you've already met Billy.'

'Billy was helping repair the outlying fences and doing a pretty good job. I called everyone back for an early dinner. Thomason said it'll be ready in an hour.' She lifted her chin in Lyneham's direction. 'We need to talk. Now.'

'Sure. See you guys in the house for dinner.'

Ariel turned on her heel and exited the barn. Lyneham gave a rueful look to Callen and shook his head with a slight smile before following Ariel outside.

'Interesting women you mix with Billy.' Callen threw the oily rag on to a stack of worn tires and walked around the car until he stood beside Deeks.

'Don't you know it brother. C'mon, we need to clean up before dinner. And then you can rub moisturiser on my back. I think, my man, you can dig ditches tomorrow and I'll cozy up to the boss.'

'Not gonna happen. You just keep dreaming.' Callen stared at the rear view of Ariel as she marched towards the ranch.

'I've gotta say she's outta your league and I don't think my charms have made any dents in that hard exterior. There's plenty of time for her to fall for me yet.' Deeks also looked wistfully after the woman.

Callen lowered his voice as the pair left the barn and made their way to their rooms.

'See the way she gave the orders to Josh. Makes me think he's not really in charge and that means she could be the key to this entire organisation.' He paused and glanced at Deeks, all earlier animosity had now vanished and Callen was back focused one hundred percent on the case. 'If I can get close to her and make her believe I can offer her something she wants or needs...'

Deeks laughed and lightening the mood with a broad smile.

'I'm betting she has a whole lot of needs.'

'Exactly.'

Callen met Deeks' smile with one of his own, understanding the euphemism. He was sure he could persuade Ariel to reveal her secrets without resorting to false declarations of love or anything further. He knew plenty who took advantage of undercover work - he had done so himself when he was younger, for the good of a mission but with changes of agencies and maturity, he had acquired higher standards and morals. Sleeping with a woman for his own pleasure whilst undercover had never held much interest for him.

It seemed as though the entire community had gathered in the ranch for dinner that evening. Deeks counted at least eighty men, women and children and figured many had been either off site or working in paddocks and fields they had not yet discovered. The women and children accounted for twenty of the population which meant seven women to thirteen children, and not all were mothers. Several had the air of ex-military personnel and carried themselves in the same way as the majority of the men. The age demographic of the men was between twenty to fifty, a fair proportion were white American, with some African-Americans, Hispanics and Italian-Americans mixed in for good measure. Education wise, there seemed to be a higher than average standard and Deeks would have laid money that most were college graduates, which had surprised him. He figured the community ran on similar principles to a cult, that these were individuals or families were easily susceptible due to their emotional vulnerability and so he struggled to compute that such people could be educated.

Many of the men kept to their own small groups but as the beer flowed, conversations became easier and both Deeks and Callen managed to circulate well. Deeks stuck to the women, families and the men who looked like they didn't take life too seriously, knowing he could easily fit in. Callen had the more difficult job of integrating himself with the former marines and special ops guys. The fact that he had no military experience, certainly that Deeks knew of, made him respect his leader even more. Every now and again he could hear Callen regale tales of black ops in Iraq and Afghanistan, keeping the stories suitable vague yet believable, and Deeks enjoyed the insight of witnessing how well Callen traded his craft.

Despite the early dinner, many people had hung around to interact socially and only began to disperse at about nine pm. That left twenty or so in the room, including Lyneham and Ariel; DuValle was nowhere to be seen and neither Deeks or Callen missed the man's presence. Voices became slightly hushed and it apparent they were intruding on private conversations.

'Rob,' Chet Bailley, one of the men they'd been introduced to the previous night, addressed Callen. 'If you and Billy here don't mind, we have some business to attend to.'

'Sure.' Callen tapped Deeks on the shoulder and the two made their way to the door.

'Nothing personal mind,' Chet continued as he witnessed what could only be described as a kicked puppy look on Deeks' face. 'We're discussing the future of the ranch and everyone here and no offence, but we can't be having strangers taking part in those conversations.'

'Oh, ok.' Deeks said, clearly disappointed. 'Do y'mind if we grab a few beers and take a wander? Work off that steak?'

'Course not,' Lyneham interjected. 'You've both earned it today. Catch you in the morning.'

And with a few brief sentences, Callen and Deeks were dismissed with beers in their hands and full bellies. Once outside in the fresh air they paused, glancing around and wondering which way to head. Callen twisted the lid off one of his bottles and handed it to Deeks before performing the same action on his. Taking a long swig that left it half empty, he used it as a pointer and directed them towards the south of the property. Without uttering a word the two made their way past a few sporadic groups who were enjoying the last of the day. The evening was turning a little fresh and soon the children would be ushered in for bed. Deeks smiled contentedly. He would have loved to have grown up in such a relaxed and outdoor environment. Of course it wasn't perfect, he thought. There was no ocean close by, and then there was the fact the ranch was really a front for home grown terrorist activities. Although they were only at the end of their first day, he was really struggling to see beyond the idyllic nature of the community. He couldn't believe people such as Tamsin would stay if she knew what Lyneham was really like.

'I know they kicked us out for their private discussions but no one I've met today - and I've met a lot of people - has bitched about the Government or how they hate America or want to teach them a lesson.'

The two had strolled deep in to a paddock where horses were roaming free. There was not another soul in sight.

'You're saying we have this wrong?'

'I don't know. It doesn't feel like there's the kind of hate that is needed to set off coordinated smoke bombs in realtors or recruitment offices. People just seem to have made their peace out here in the country.'

'We've been here a day. Don't tell me you're already blindsided with some fake version of what a perfect life should be like.'

'I'm not.' Deeks said defensively. 'I'm just saying maybe we're looking in the wrong place.'

Callen stopped walking and turned to face Deeks.

'And so where do you think we should be looking?'

His tone was more than a little accusatory, catching Deeks by surprise and causing him to pause for a moment.

'Have I upset you?' He asked outright. He wasn't sure if he was making it up but he was convinced that over the last twelve hours or so Callen had developed a rather condescending attitude towards him, and he was becoming more than a little pissed.

'I think I should be asking you that question, don't you think?'

'What? No. This is all wrong. Is this about that thing in the barn? Does it really matter? I was just trying to help with your alias. You telling me that Rob Gladstone wasn't some tear-away kid? Isn't that what we agreed?' Deeks struggled to keep his voice down to a loud whisper.

'What did Hetty tell you?'

Callen kept his voice low and even. Deeks was suddenly struck by the cold look in Callen's eyes.

'Nothing, man. Nothing to do with you. She said nothing, just that we had to keep an eye out for each other. You looked so comfortable under the hood of the Dodge that I thought it made sense to say you hotwired cars. And stole stuff, and broke into places - misspent youth and all.'

Deeks felt Callen's stare burn in to his face and he quickly added, 'Rob...'

Even out in the fields they were both careful not to reveal their true identities but still, Deeks' words faded as he caught the look on Callen's face and realised he must have arrived a little closer to the truth than he had intended, and certainly closer than Callen would want to admit.

'Look we've all been there. I was caught by the cops in a stolen car when I was a kid. I did all the underage drinking, shoplifting and stuff. I was no angel either.'

'And Ariel?'

'What about Ariel? Jeez, are you always this paranoid or do I just bring out the worst in you? We were good until yesterday and I don't get what's changed. If you're talking about what I said earlier, all I meant was she's an attractive lady.'

'How far would you go to get her to trust you?'

'How far would I go? I er, I um...'

'Would you cheat on Kens?'

Deeks jaw dropped in astonishment. He wondered what the hell was going on with him and why Hetty hadn't warned him about Callen's intense paranoia when undercover. During his time on the team he was not aware of Callen ever acting so irrationally.

'Would I ch-? What? No!'

Callen took a step closer to him and Deeks resisted the urge to take a pace back. He was not used to seeing Callen like this and could not fathom why his behaviour had changed. It couldn't be the alcohol, he thought, neither had enough to make them drunk and he knew Callen could hold his drink better than most. Maybe his alias and this case was messing with his head but they'd barely been undercover for a day.

'Look, I know you're close with Kensi, and I-'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Callen prodded Deeks hard in the chest, causing him to stumble back.

'Shit!' Deeks finally relented and raised his voice. 'What the fuck is wrong with you tonight? You're the one that practically said you'd sleep with her and it's not like you're single. How d'you think Anna would feel or her father for that matter? Maybe you should be questioning your own morals before attacking mine.'

Callen dropped his shoulders, and started to turn away and then Deeks found himself falling to the ground, his jaw suddenly exploding in pain. Callen landed on his chest, pinning his hands to the side and leaning forward, his lips close to Deeks' ear.

'We were followed, I clocked Stone about two minutes ago. Sorry Deeks but I need to build a reputation here and with Stone's history of violence, I need to do everything possible to get me in with the whole crew.'

Deeks was convinced Callen could have found a better way of warning him and he still believed he'd pissed the man off earlier. He sincerely hoped Callen had now gotten whatever it was out of his system.

'You bastard.' Deeks croaked, trying to split blood from his cut lip at Callen.

'So I've been told,' Callen eyes softened as he eased his grip on Deeks. Speaking quietly he continued. 'I'll let you repay the punch but maybe leave it for a week. This is going to be a long op. Tomorrow is Saturday. Play hide and seek with the kids. It will let you nose around those derelict barns and sneak in to the ones the kids are banned from.'

'While you just keep playing the hard ass black ops guy with the chip on his shoulder? If I didn't know better I'd have thought you were playing for real.'

Callen brought his face close to Deeks again and flashed a quick grin that settled Deeks' nerves and ebbed his anger.

'Who's to say it's not real?'

And with that Callen quickly leapt off Deeks and walked briskly away, alert for any indication that Deeks was ignoring his advice and would tackle him to the ground in revenge, there and then. There was no noise, no rustling of grass and he sensed no movement, not from Deeks at least. Stone was another matter. He refrained from looking to his right, but years of training and a lifetime of paranoia meant he knew Stone had just crouched behind the boundary fence. He could almost hear him breathing. He regretted punching Deeks. He bore the man no malice and despite his earlier words, everything he had done today had been in the name of his alias Rob Gladstone. At least he hoped it had been.