Over the next couple of days, the doctors started to decrease Emma-Grace's sedation but it took a good week for her to finally wake up. Callen spend most of his nights next to her to make sure that when she wakes up, he'll be there with her. His days were spent working and keeping up with work but the doctors promised to phone him the minute she woke up. It was around 10 in the morning when the nurse checked up on her when she noticed the teenager staring out the window.
"Welcome back sleepy head." The nurse said to Emma-Grace with a smile.
"How long have I been here?" Emma asked as she moved to sit up.
"You've been here for about two weeks."
"Oh, do you know where my…" Emma started but the nurse knew what she was looking for and handed the girl her glasses. "Thank you." Emma said looking down.
"I'm going to call the doctor so she can look you over. And then I'll call Ms. Lange."
"Ms. Lange?" Emma replied.
"She works for NCIS. They've been so worried about you. They're the ones that brought you all the flowers and Callen sleeps here every night."
"That seems nice but I don't know them. I can't remember what happened."
"Let me get the doctor and she can look you over while I call them, okay."
Emma-Grace just shook her head and the nurse left with a smile. She tried to remember everything that happened but only remembered bits and pieces… a car driving up, a guy grabbing her, the cold floor, pain, a blond-haired guy telling her to stay awake but nothing made sense.
"Good morning Emma-Grace. I'm Dr. Moore." A redhead doctor said she walked into the room with a group of students. "I'm glad to see you awake. Would it be okay if I look you over and see how you're healing?"
Emma-Grace just stared at the group of students in front of her and she was getting nervous.
"Emma-Grace, would you feel more comfortable if it was just you and me and a female nurse?"
Emma shook her head yes and looked down.
"Okay, can all of you wait outside till we're done?"
As the group walked out, the nurse from earlier walked back in.
"I called Ms. Lange and she's on her way." She said as she closed the curtains.
"Okay, let's start with your wrist and then we'll work our way down."
At OPS
The day was a quiet one for the NCSI team. Hetty was in her office drinking her favourite tea. Kensi and Sam were somewhere 'training' Deeks. Callen was catching up on paperwork and the wonder twin were up in OPS doing whatever they do when it's quiet. Hetty was about to take a sip of tea, when her phone rang.
"Hetty Lange."
"Ms. Lange. It's nurse Maisy at Cedars-Sinai."
"Good morning Maisy. How are you this morning?" Hetty said with a smile.
"I'm good thank you for asking. I thought you would like to know that Emma-Grace is awake. The doctor's going to check her over and then you're free to come and see her."
"Oh, thank heavens. I'll inform Callen and then I'll be over there as soon as possible."
"See you in a bit. Goodbye Ms. Lange."
"See you soon dear."
Hetty placed the phone back on the receiver and looked at the bullpen where Callen was sitting. Ever since she gave him the file on Galina Devoe, he hasn't reached out to her for more information or even to ask what she knew about Emma-Grace. She expected him to be angry but the silent anger was the worst. He spoke to him daily but only about a case or if he needed her to use her power to help. She knew that he slept at the hospital every night and that he wanted to be there for Emma-Grace but she hoped that he would just come to her and yell and get it over with.
"Mr. Callen, can you please join me in my office?" Hetty said loud enough that she knew he would hear her.
"What's up?"
"That was the hospital. Emma-Grace is awake and the doctor is with her now. I think it would be best if you went and saw her first. You might have more answers to her questions than I have as you knew her mother better." Hetty said.
Callen could see this was killing her that she kept something this big from him. How can he explain to her how angry he was at her but knew he could only be angry at her for so long.
"Hetty, you and I both know you screwed up. Understand that I'm still angry with you but the only way Emma-Grace will get through this, is with the help of her family and you are her family. Whatever happened in the past is just that, the past and I say we move on but no more secrets. Deal?"
"That sounds good to me. And I promise, no more secrets."
"Okay, I'm going to start packing up. Let me know if something comes up and I'll be back."
"No, take as much time as you need. Get our girl better and don't worry, I'll keep DHS and Immigration off her for as long as I have to." Hetty said.
"Thank you, Hetty and make sure you stop by as soon as you can."
"Hey, where are you off to in such a rush?" Sam said as he walked into the bullpen.
"Hospital. Emma-Grace's awake."
"That's great!" Deeks said.
"What are you still doing here? Go before she runs away." Kensi said with a smile.
As he was driving to the hospital, he couldn't help back to the day he told the team that Emma-Grace was his daughter…
The team sat at the bar after a long day running around. Sam called Michelle to join them as she often does when her mom's in town to watch Kam.
"Wait, she's your daughter?" Deeks said.
"Are you sure?" Sam said.
"I had the lab run a DNA test. Came back saying she's mine and if I look at the facts, it fits." Callen said.
"You have a daughter!" Deeks said again.
"Get over it Shaggy." Sam said, getting annoyed.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Kensi asked.
"I don't know. I'm just figuring out who I am and now I have her here with nothing and nobody. I don't even know how or where to start."
"Day by day. Answer her questions as best as you can and tell her you can find out more if she wants to know who her mother is. Tell her the truth and be there when she needs you." Michelle said.
"What will you do when she gets out of the hospital?" Deeks said, finally over the fact that Callen had a daughter.
"I don't know. I don't think she would feel comfortable moving in with a dad she just met."
"Not with the way your house looks now." Sam said with a smile.
"Wait, my mom's a foster mother. If she isn't comfortable living with you, she might feel comfortable living with a woman. My mom did a class on helping young women that's been sexually abused." Kensi said.
"I think that would work. And this way you're still close by." Michelle said.
"Do you think your mom would do that?" Callen asked.
"Of course. Since Zach left, she's been working hard with foster kids and doing classes to keep her out of the empty house. Let me call her and ask." Kensi said as she got up from the table.
"I think this could work." Sam said.
"I'm still getting used to the fact that Callen's a dad." Deeks said as he took a sip of his beer.
"He's like a dog with a bone." Sam said.
Walking into the hospital, he went over everything he wanted to say to Emma-Grace. He knew that she had a long way to go but he will be there as much as she wanted him to be. Now that he knew she was his, he wasn't going to let her go. The nurses just smiled when he walked by the station towards room 3016. Emma-Grace had her back to the door and not wanting to scare her, he knocked on the door.
"Hi Emma-Grace, I'm with NCIS. The hospital called us when you woke up."
"Nurse Maisy said she called a Ms. Lange."
"That's my boss." Callen said with a smile as he sat down next to her.
"Nurse Maisy said that you guys are to blame for all the flowers, stale coffee and doughnuts she has to clean every day." Emma said.
"You can blame that on Detective Deeks, our LAPD liaison for that. He wanted to ensure you had something to eat and drink when you woke up."
"So, he's an optimist?"
"He's something all right." Callen said with a smile.
After a moment of silence, Callen knew now would be the best time to get this over with.
"Emma, how much do you remember of what happened?"
"I can remember bits and pieces. The doctor said it's one of the side effects of the concussion but to be honest, the bits I can remember make me feel like I don't want to remember."
"What do you mean?"
"I wished I woke up not knowing my past and just start all over."
"Emma, can I be honest with you for a minute?"
Emma-Grace just shook her head yes but not looking up.
"Your past is your past… you can't forget it but you can take what happened to you and make yourself stronger because that's what you are… a survivor. Let's start at the beginning. Tell me about before you came to the US?"
"I only know what Olga told me. That my mother didn't want me and that she just left me on the steps. She took me in and when she got the offer to move to the US, she adopted me and we left Russia."
"And your dad?"
"She never mentioned him. Why are you asking me all these questions?"
"DHS and Immigration have been looking into Olga and her partners for a while now."
Emma-Grace started to shake at those words and looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"Emma, do you know what was going on in the house? What Olga's business was?"
"I'm not allowed to talk about what goes on in the house. It's none of my business and I don't want to get her into trouble. She's the only family I have and I don't want to go into care." Emma said with panic in her voice.
"Emma, Olga and Daniil are dead. There was an explosion at the house and they didn't make it." Callen said as he took her hand in his.
"What?"
"After you were taken Friday, a bomb went off at the house. The LAPD found eight bodies… Olga and Daniil as well as four bodies of young girls. They also found two other bodies belonging to serves men."
"They're gone?" Emma asked and Callen could see it looked like the world had been lifted off her shoulders.
"They're gone. Hetty's keeping DHS and Immigration at bay for now. But when they find out you're awake, they'll want to talk to you about Olga and the business she was involved with."
"I… I can't. I don't know anything. I know that if Olga told you to do something, you do it, or Daniil gets to talk with you downstairs."
"What would Daniil do?"
Just when Emma was going to answer, Agent Meyer walked in.
"Agent Callen, I didn't know you would be here."
"Agent Meyer, why are you here?" Callen asked as he moved in front of Emma.
"Well, we heard that Emma-Grace was awake and we want to get her statement as soon as we can so we can start building a case and arresting the people involved."
"Who told you Emma was awake?"
"Agent Callen, NCSI has a reputation for not following the rules and not playing nice with others. So, we had a couple of agents sit on the hospital and let us know when she's awake."
"Well, she just woke up. She's still recovering and now is not the right time."
"Agent Callen, we know that you're trying to protect her but we have a case to build and the quicker we do that, the quicker we will leave her alone."
"Can I speak with you outside?" Callen said through his teeth.
"Agent Callen, I don't have time for this. I need to speak to Emma now or I will have you escorted out of the room. Don't think I don't know about the DNA test you ran on her. As her father, don't you want these men arrested and pay for what they did to her?"
"You're… you're my father?" Emma said, looking between the two agents.
"I need to talk too outside NOW!" Callen said as he grabbed agent Meyer by her arm. As he dragged her out of the room, he saw Hetty approaching them.
"What is going on here? Agent Meyer what are you doing here? I told you that Emma-Grace is not yet awake and even when she wakes up, she will need time to process what has happened." Hetty said but one look at Callen's face told her that something else had happened. "What happened in there?"
"Ms. Lange, we placed our agents outside the hospital to inform us as soon as she wakes up. We need to talk to her now to get the people responsible for this."
"I made it clear to your boss that once Emma-Grace is sable and receives the care she needs, NCIS will contact DHS and then we will gladly let you talk to her."
"She is a ward of the state. We don't need your permission to talk to her."
"Well, that is where you're mistaken, Agent Meyer. Emma-Grace is in the care of NCIS and even if she were a ward of the state, she would need a case worker with her when you speak with her." Hetty said with a smile. "Now I would like you to take your agents with you and leave before I call your boss and file a complaint against you and from what I've heard, you can't afford it. One more strike and you're out."
That got Agent Meyer's attention. "Fine but if I don't hear from NCIS in a week, I'll be sure to take a page out of your book and go over your head."
"I would love to see you do that, Agent Meyer. I would love to see you try."
With one look back, Agent Meyer took her rookies with her and they left.
"She knows." Callen said.
"Who are we talking about? And what does that person know?" Hetty asked.
"Emma-Grace knows I'm her father. Agent big mouth spilled everything before I could tell her. This is not how I wanted her to find out." Callen said as he started to pace back and forth.
"Ah, I see. What do you say you go and get her some lunch and I'll talk to her. If you want that?"
"I think that would be best. I'm just going to tell her I'll be back." Callen walked back into the room but all he saw was Emma's back to the door. "Emma, I'm going to get us some lunch. My boss, Ms. Lange is here to see you. Is that okay?" Callen asked.
"Doesn't matter." Emma replied to the wall.
"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can okay."
Callen made his way out of the room only to be stopped by a single sentence…
"Oh, and Agent Callen. Oolong tea with a few drops of agave." Hetty said as she walked into the room.