"Well, that was certainly an adventure," Fatima said, stretching as she climbed out of the back of the plane.
"Come here," Rountree whispered, pulling her into a hug. "That was insane."
"I'm glad you two are okay. You will likely all have to sign some NDAs before you leave, including you, Ms. Harris, but I will make sure they don't keep you too long," Hetty said.
"Can I, um, ask who exactly you are?" Izzy asked. Rountree snickered as Hetty turned to face the teen.
"No, you may not," she replied. Izzy nodded awkwardly.
"Um, if we're signing NDAs, how exactly are we going to tell the team what happened?"
"They've been read in and have signed the same NDAs. I visited OSP on my way to meet Mr. Harris, as soon as I heard about what happened. Everyone on your team knows, but I would advise you not to say a word outside of a secure SCIF."
"Yes, ma'am. So they know we're alive?" Fatima asked.
"Not for sure. I told them that there was a chance, and that I would be going to see for myself with a trained Air Force pilot. I wasn't aware that his teenage daughter would be joining us," she said pointedly.
"Okay. So what's our next step?" Rountree asked. Just then, three men in uniforms appeared next to the group.
"You'll be coming with us," he said. "We have some forms for you to sign. You two are lucky that Ms. Lange has so many cards to play." The five were then each taken to separate rooms and given forms to fill out. Once they had finished, they regrouped outside of the base.
"You two should head home first and get yourselves a real shower and a meal to eat. Your team will want to see you, but you won't be working until Mr. Getz has cleared you," Hetty said to Fatima and Rountree. "You two should head home as well. I truly appreciate your help in getting my people back," she said to Gavin and Izzy.
"Not a problem," Gavin said, shaking her hand.
Fatima and Rountree found themselves in his apartment after a while. They showered separately, then started going through the refrigerator to find food to eat. They eventually decided on a frozen pizza.
"How are you doing?" Rountree asked, resting his head on Fatima's lap after they ate. She played with his hair and smiled softly.
"I'll be okay. Do you think we should go say hi to everyone?"
"Yeah," Rountree groaned. He sat up and found his shoes, but waited to put them on so as to not rush Fatima. Once she had her boots on, he slipped his tennis shoes on and opened the door.
Soon, they arrived at OSP. Fatima was gripping the handle on the car door so hard that her knuckles were white. Rountree turned off the car and looked over.
"Hey," he whispered.
"I'm okay," she said back.
"It's okay if you're not. What we went through was a lot," he said, gently putting his hand over hers.
"I'm good. Let's go," Fatima said, unbuckling her seat belt and opening the door. They made their way into the building and looked around in confusion. No one was there, not even a janitor.
"Hey!" Kensi said, coming down the stairs. She wrapped them both in a hug and grinned. "Hetty sent everyone but us home. We still have to talk in OPS, but we can be a little more free."
"Thanks," Rountree whispered, hugging her back. "Where is everyone?"
"Upstairs. We've been waiting for you two," she said. The duo followed her up the stairs and she let them into OPS, where the rest of the team was waiting. After about ten minutes of hugs and welcome-homes, the room was quiet.
"We all signed the forms not to tell anyone anything about what happened. Ah, Hetty showed up with them. Said there was a chance you two were alive and if you were, she would find you. You know anything about that?" Callen asked.
"Actually, yeah. She showed up with an Air Force pilot and his kid. Really nice couple let us stay in their village overnight. Apparently the guy fell through the La Brea sinkhole back in 2021; he's an old friend of Nate's." Fatima said. Callen laughed.
"Small world. Damn," he said.
"Guys, I saw a dinosaur," Rountree chimed in. Fatima laughed.
"Yeah, there was a T-Rex out in the distance. Paara, the lady that's in charge of the village, she said that it was giving them problems a while back. Fortunately, we didn't have any direct encounters."
"That's pretty badass," Deeks said, grinning. "We get to tell our kids that their aunt and uncle saw a dinosaur."
"Um, no, actually, we don't get to speak a word of this to anyone outside of this room," Kensi corrected him. "Are you forgetting that this is a classified black ops project that was supposed to be disbanded in 2021?"
"I swear, the kinds of things you people put me through are enough to drive a man mad. I have really got to retire soon," Kilbride grumbled.
"Ah, come on, you love us, sir," Deeks said, grinning. Kilbride groaned and gently pulled Fatima in for another hug.
"I'm glad you two are okay," he whispered. "But I swear to God, if a word of this hits Insta-Tok or whatever..."