Tricky Measures Chapter 16, a ncis: los angeles fanfic

Chapter 16—She's my mama!

"Kira! Get up! The box is gone!" Raisa shouted, shaking her.

"Get out of my room!" Kira hissed, sitting up. "Why are you here, Raisa?"

"I already told you!"

Raisa was so loud that she woke up Anya, who touched her sister's arm. "I got this," she mumbled. "How do you know the box is gone?"

"I checked it."

Anya took umbrage. "That is Papa's box, not yours. It is not for you to check, Raisa! When are you going to stop being so mean and disrespectful? You hurt Mama's feelings on purpose, but why? Don't you love her anymore?"

Raisa hesitated for a split second, but it was long enough to tell her big sisters what they wanted to know. "Of course I do!"

"Then you better start being nice to her!" Kira barked.

Raisa turned toward the door, but Anya was quicker. She blocked the doorway.

"Move!" Raisa said, trying to push Anya out of the way.

"Not happening," Anya said.

Kira checked on Nikolai before she got off her bed. She stood up at her full height. "Where are you going, Raisa?"

"I have to tell Papa his box is gone."

Kira glared at her youngest sister. "You have to?"

"Well, yes. Somebody has to," Raisa replied.

"Why?" Anya barked.

"Because I'm the boss."

Both Anya and Kira burst out laughing.

"Of what? What are you the boss of, Raisa?" Anya asked. "The toys? The laundry? Mopping the kitchen floor?"

"No!" Raisa screamed. "I am the boss of everything!"

"Oh, no, you're not! You are not the boss of me or Kira, or Nikolai, or Mama and Papa. You aren't the boss of anything!" Anya yelled.

Kira wiped her eyes with her shirt. "Even Nikolai doesn't talk like that anymore. Raisa, it's baby behavior, and nobody here wants to hear it."

Raisa didn't like hearing that, so she ducked under her sisters' arms and ran down the hall. Kira and Anya raced after her, and caught her as she was about to open their parents' bedroom door.

"Don't you dare!" Kira hissed. "You already got two days' worth of grounding! Why do you want more?"

"You can't ground me!"

Kira laughed again. "You're right. I can't, and I won't." She fell silent for a minute. "Okay. Here's the deal: Listen to me carefully. I'll open the door myself. Then you both can see that nothing is going on."

"Should we do that?"

"No, Anya, we should not, but I don't want Raisa to wake up Mama or Papa. It's not necessary."

With her heart in her throat, Kira scratched the door, and then opened it slowly. All of the girls were surprised to find it so dark, with no light except the dim lamp. She scanned the room, only to find her parents sound asleep in their bed. Nothing was out of the ordinary: Their mother was using their father as her pillow, and he was sound asleep on his back.

"You first, Raisa," she said. She held onto her sister so she wouldn't enter the quiet room.

Raisa took a cursory glance, and then leaned against the hall wall, glowering.

Then Anya took her turn. "Really? All this fussing for nothing?"

"I guess so," Kira agreed. She closed the door softly. "Let's go, guys!" She race-walked down the hall to her own room, and the other girls followed her.

Anna propped herself up on her elbows. "Hi."

"Oh, hi yourself," Callen replied, sitting up. "What do you think happened?"

"Exactly what you said. Can we go back to the chair, please?"

"Sure, baby." He got up and fished the ottoman out of the tub and put it back in its place. Then he sat down.

Anna stretched out to her full height. "Oh, ow!"

Callen was by her side in a flash. He turned on the ceiling light. "Turn over, Anna."

She rolled onto her right side. "It hurts this time."

"Okay, baby. We'll get you patched up." He very carefully removed all of the bandaging from her side. The staples were intact, as was her skin. "You're okay."

"I don't feel okay," she griped. "What about my arm?"

He unraveled the gauze around her arm. Little spots of blood showed on the ABD pad.

"Oh, damn," he said. "Let me get my go-bag, since it has all my supplies in it."

"No! Send Kira!"

"Whoa!" He put his hand on her hip to calm her down. "It's okay, Anna. Hang on." Callen opened the door. "Kira!" he called.

All three girls froze.

"How—?" began Anya.

Kira laughed. "What do you mean How? Because he's Papa. Why else?"

"You think he knows?"

"Of course he knows, Raisa," Kira said. "I'll be right back. You two stay here."

For the second time in one night, Kira made her way to her parents' room. She knocked on the door, and then opened it. She was very shocked that the overhead light was on.

"What's wrong, Papa?"

"I need my go-bag, please. Mama's arm is a bit messed up." He sat on the bed beside Anna and kept his hand on her.

Kira looked at him funny, wondering why he didn't get his bag himself, but she said nothing about it. "I'll be right back, Papa."

"Thank you, baby," he said. He fussed over Anna while Kira was gone.

"Here you go, Papa—" Kira began. She stopped short and stared at her parents. A foolish grin crossed her face as she watched her father fuss over and kiss her mother. She sensed that they were oblivious to her, and she stood quietly.

He laid his head on her breast. "You okay now, baby?" he said softly.

Anna lifted his head up. "I'm okay now, my love," she said. She kissed his cheek, and then nodded. "Kira."

Callen sat up, red-faced, and Kira laughed.

"It's okay, Papa," she said, and Anna echoed her, which caused them all to laugh.

"Kira, would you like to stay and watch?" Callen asked.

"Yes, please, Papa, but Raisa and Anya are awake, too."

"We know, Kira," Anna replied. "Leave them in your room for now."

"Mama! What if—"

Callen shook his head. "I'll take care of the what ifs." He opened his bag and took out his medical kits. "Kira, excuse us for a minute, please."

The girl nodded, and went out into the hallway.

Callen took some underwear and clothing from Anna's dresser, and dressed her completely, and then dressed himself. He kissed her, and then told her that she looked beautiful.

Then he called Kira back in, and he explained what he was doing with Anna's arm, and why. Kira was fascinated. She became a little unsettled when her father began to minister to Anna's side. Again, he explained everything so that Kira would understand. She was nonplussed by the staples, but was able to watch the entire procedure. She helped her father by holding bandages in place, and applying some of the tape.

"You good?"

"I'm okay, Papa."

He leaned over and kissed Anna, and then kissed Kira's cheek. Holding Anna's hand, Callen told them that he was going to leave Kira with her mother, and that he was going to stay with the other children. He kissed Anna again, and took his leave.

Callen stepped out into the hallway just as Raisa was en route to his room. Anya was calling her to stay in Kira's room. He snatched her, and carried her back to Kira's room.

"Both of you sit down," he said quietly but firmly. "I don't understand why you thought it was all right to wake up Mama and me, Raisa—"

"Anya did it, too!" Raisa contradicted.

"Excuse me? All Mama and I heard was your voice at the beginning. Then we heard your sisters. I am very glad that you guys did not wake up Nikolai. You have to do better." He sat on Kira's bed.

"I'm sorry, Papa. Me and Kira tried to stop her, and then she made us mad. I think that's what you heard," Anya said.

"I know, baby. You know all three of you are grounded for two days—"

"Oh, yuck, Papa!" Anya said.

Raisa frowned. "That's not right. I already have two days, Papa."

He looked at Anya who had a tiny smirk on her face. "Anya, go downstairs and watch TV for now. I need to talk to Raisa."

"Okay, Papa!" she replied, shocked at being able to watch TV in the middle of the night.

Callen took Raisa by the hand and brought her to her own room.

"Sit down, Raisa," Callen said, bringing her desk chair over to her bed, where he sat down. "What's going on, baby? Mama and I are very worried about you."

"Nothing, Papa. People get mad at me when I tell them I'm the boss."

Callen frowned. "Raisa, what do you think you're the boss of?"

"Everything," she answered seriously.

He hid a smirkey smile with his hand. "Everything of what? You certainly are not the boss of this family or this household. You are not the boss of your sisters and brother, and you are not the boss at school. So what are you the boss of?"

"I just am. I am the boss of everything, Papa. I told you that already."

Callen became very annoyed by his daughter's attitude. "You know something? You are the boss. You are the boss of who has the most days grounded."

Raisa was horrified. "What? You can't do that!"

His smirk became very visible. "I already did. Raisa, you are a little girl of nine years old, who belongs in fourth grade. Instead of listening to Mama and me, you did everything your way, and got the chance to go to third grade twice. Because of your poor attitude, you're grounded until further notice.

"That means no excursions to the store, no trips to the park or arcade, no outings with Dedushka and Bubbie…in short, we are doing this your way, since you're the boss. You have to make sure everyone is doing what they should be, and you need to stay home to do that."

"That's not fair, Papa!" she objected.

"It's not? Why is that, Raisa? How do you think your mother and I feel from all of this? You are not different from the other kids, even though you think you are. All you're doing is hurting our feelings. We love you exactly the same as we love the other children, and the faster you remember that, the better.

"I am tired, and I am going to bed now, and so are you. Get under the covers, and I'll tuck you in."

She was so surprised by his words…words that he spoke every day to each of his children. Here she was, being as vile as she could, and he still wanted to tuck her in, and kiss her good night. And he did.

"Mama, why did Papa leave me in here with you?"

"Because he thought we'd like a chance to talk, baby. I don't get to hang out with you that often," Anna replied.

Kira looked at her mother. "Oh. Okay."

Anna frowned. "Okay what?"

"Okay nothing, I guess." She studied her mother. Then she suddenly realized that her mother was wearing clothes. "Mama, how did you get dressed? I know you had nothing on before."

Anna chuckled. "Papa dressed me."

"Say what?"

This time, Anna laughed outright. "He dressed me when we asked you to wait outside. Got himself dressed, too."

"Oh, God, Mama! I don't know if I wanted to know that!"

"Probaby not," Anna agreed, "but it's also part of what you asked me about the other day."

Kira looked at her, but didn't say anything.

"Baby, doing silly stuff like that is part of the fun of loving someone. You get to do it to him, too."

"But you didn't—"

Anna grinned. "Not this time," she agreed.

"How come you sleep on him?" Kira couldn't figure out that part.

"I love to sleep on him. He's way more comfortable than a pillow!"

Kira laughed. "Okay. Does he—"

"You tell me."

The teenager flipped her pillow over her face, and Anna laughed. After a moment, Kira took the pillow down.

"Mama, does he ever see you naked?"

"Sure, baby," Anna answered seriously. "I see him, too. It's part of the game and attraction. It's kind of your base instinct.

"The first time I really met him was when we went to Russia to capture a bad guy. We spent the night in Hetty's house, and it was bitterly cold. I had gone to bed, and Papa was sitting up reading maps. I saw him sitting there, and tried to get him to go to bed, but he wouldn't."

Kira glanced at her mother. "Why not?"

"Because he's Papa. He's a lot like you, you know. Stubborn."

"Hey!" They both laughed. "Mama, you're not being fair."

"Oh, no?" said Callen as he entered the room. He leaned over and kissed Anna for a long moment. She grabbed him by his neck and held onto him. "What's wrong, bat baby?" He unlocked her arms and then sat beside her.

"Nothing," she said. "I just missed you."

"Oh, brother!" Kira gasped, smashing her face with the pillow again. The huge grin on her face was hidden from view.

Callen didn't believe her, so he lifted Anna onto his lap and cuddled her.

"Is she okay?" he asked Kira.

"Yes, Papa. We were talking."

"I see." He sat Anna up so that her face was against his heart. "Do you need more time?"

Kira shook her head. "Not right now, Papa. Maybe another day." She turned and gave her mother a quick kiss before she climbed off the bed. Then she gave her father a kiss, and then left the room.

Anna put her hand up and stroked his cheek. "We're okay, Callen," she said. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," he said, kissing her softly. Then he dumped her off his lap in a heap before he joined her in the big bed.

"That's not nice!" she objected half-heartedly as she settled into her favorite niche. "You do know that you made my staples hurt."

"Oh, hell, baby. I forgot." He slid down on the bed, and then kissed her side. Smiling at her the only way he could, he asked her if she were okay now.

"I'm fine, you silly man," she answered. "Doesn't even hurt."

Callen pulled himself up closer to her head, and then he kissed her several times. Then he laid his head on her shoulder. "I need to sleep," he said.

"You and me both," she agreed. She scritched him. "Good night, my love." And she closed her eyes, too.

Kira paused outside her parents' door. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help herself. And she knew that her mother wouldn't get mad at her.

She was amused by the lightweight nonsense that she heard, and it made her all tingly inside. She wondered if she'd ever enjoy her partner the way her parents enjoyed themselves.

After a moment, she continued on to her own room. She was very surprised that nobody was there. She decided that her father had put Nikolai into his own room, and both of the girls into theirs. She was glad.

Kira got ready for bed again, and then closed her door firmly behind her. She couldn't wait to get into her bed and sleep. She even pulled the blankets up over her head, pretending that her father had covered her like that. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.