Don't own anything.

Callen and Julia had their meeting with the Dean and he confirmed that Tyler was expelled for his actions and they were shocked when they found out how many girls came forward with their own stories of what Tyler did to them. Callen had to keep Julia back because she was ready to find the boy and make him hurt. It was then that he realized where Kensi got her protectiveness from. Julia even scared him and he carried a gun for a living. The school promises to take these types of cases more seriously and see where they can upgrade the security on campus. Walking away from the meeting, Callen felt better about letting Emma continue with her tutoring and that she would be safe. He was looking forward to spending her first Christmas with her and he already planned to take her tree shopping. Callen never looked forward to the holidays but since Emma-Grace came into his life, he was looking to make up for that. Emma wanted to split her time with Callen and Julia, so they made a compromise – Emma was going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Callen. Then they would join the team, Julia and Deeks' mom at Sam's house for dinner and then Emma would go home with Julia. He couldn't wait to give Emma her gift... It took a lot of planning but it will be worth it.

"So, what are you up for the rest of the day?" Melissa asked as they sat down on a bench with their drinks.

"I have a few things waiting for me at work and then I'm off till the new year. And you?" Emma said with a smile. Since the whole Tyler thing, Melissa and Justin took her under their wing and made sure she had a social life. It was a new feeling for Emma but she liked hanging out with them and getting to know people outside the centre and the team.

"Justin's parents are in town, so we'll spend time with them before they head to Hawaii. Then we'll head to Montana to see my family for the New Year."

"Do you think he'll…" Emma said as she winked at Melissa. She knew they'd been together for a long time and that Melissa was just waiting for Justin to propose.

"I don't know but I hope he does." Melissa said with a giggle.

"You deserve to be happy and he makes you happy." Emma said with a smile.

"I've never asked… do you have someone special?" Melissa said before she took a sip of her coffee.

"No one special. I'm just focusing on school and trying to get my career going." Emma smiled, "My family keeps me close because of my age but one day I'll find someone."

"He'll be one lucky guy." Justin said as he sat down with the girls. "I mean, most of the guys I know want to get to know you better and maybe more. Don't worry. I'll keep you safe so your dad doesn't show up with a gun." Justin laughed.

"Lord help me. And it's not my dad you have to be afraid of, it's Julia that they need to fear." Emma laughed with them.

"Oh, a mama bear." Melissa giggled.

Just then Emma's phone rang. Looking down she saw it was the front office.

"Emma-Grace speaking."

"Hello Emma-Grace, it's Stacy at the front office. Dean Oliver asked me to call you and see if you have a few minutes to come and see him before you leave for Christmas break."

"Sure, I can be there in 15 minutes, if that works for him?"

"That would work. See you in a bit." Stacy said and then the line went dead.

"Everything okay?" Melissa asked Emma as she ended the call.

"I need to go to the office. Dean Oliver wants to see me before the break. Thanks for the tea. Next time it's on me." Emma said as she hugged Melissa, "Good luck and send me lots of pictures." Emma whispered into the girl's ear.

"And you, take care of her." Emma said as she hugged Justin, "She's going to love it, I know it." She said in his ear.

"Thanks for helping. I needed a girl's input." Justin whispered back. "Take good care of yourself. And don't get into trouble while we're gone."

"I can't make any promises." Emma said with a smile as she walked away.

Emma made her way to the admin office and once she was inside, the security guard told her to head up to the second floor. Thanking him, Emma made her way to the second floor. She saw Stacy at her desk and told Emma to take a seat and that he was finishing a call. Emma was grateful that she's never been in the Dean's office, so she wondered what he wanted to see her about. The whole Tyler thing was over with… he's not in school anymore and his mom called Emma to apologize so what else could it be.

"Emma-Grace, he's ready for you." Stacy said with a smile.

"Thank you." Emma said as she followed Stacy to the door.

"Emma-Grace, how are you?" Dean Oliver said as she walked in, showing her to a seat in front of his desk.

"I'm good thank you. And how are you sir?" Emma said as she sat down.

"I'm good, thanks for asking." He said with a small smile, "I know you're wondering why I wanted to see you."

"It's crossed my mind." Emma said with a giggle.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about your schoolwork and plans for the future."

"Okay, now I'm scared." Emma said with a bit of panic.

"Don't be scared. You should be proud of yourself. You were gone for a month last year, caught up, and stayed ahead of your classes. You got to do the BAU program a year before they normally allow and you finished top of the program. I know the professors were talking and that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay, I'm all ears now." Emma said with a smile.

"You're ahead with all your classes and did most of your resource papers. You only need to do your exams and your last thesis papers and then you're done."

"That's correct sir." Emma said.

"We wanted to offer you this: when you return from Christmas break, you can write your last thesis papers and then your exams with the rest of the senior class. Then you can graduate early when you pass, which I'm sure you will." Dean Oliver said with a smile.

"That's… That's… I don't even know what to say, sir." Emma was at a loss for words.

"I know it's a lot but we feel you can do it. You've proven time and time again that you take your schoolwork seriously and we want you to succeed. That said, I want you to talk to your dad and Ms. Julia and then you can get back to me by the end of the week with an answer."

"That would be great. Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, Emma-Grace. You should be proud of yourself." Dean Oliver said as he stood up.

"Thanks again and I'll get back to you by the end of the week." Emma said as she grabbed her bag and headed out.

As Emma walked to the bus stop, she thought about everything the Dean had just told her. She could be done in 6 months… she could start her career a whole year earlier than she thought, which scared her more. Is she ready to be done with school? Is she prepared to face the real world? Emma knew she needed to talk to Callen and Julia about this and maybe even Hetty. They'll help her but she was still scared. Luckily for her the team was in the field when she got to work but there was one person she couldn't hide from… Hetty. The little old lady saw her the moment she walked into OPS and gave her a look that she always gave someone to let them know 'I need to speak to you… now!' Emma made her way to Hetty's office and placed her bag on the floor.

"You want to tell me what's making you think so hard? I can see the wheels turning from where I'm sitting." Hetty said with a smile.

"I just had a meeting with Dean Oliver." Emma said with her head down.

"Ah… Is there something wrong at school that we don't know about?" Hetty said but she knew the answer.

"Nothings wrong. He just talked to me about my schoolwork and how well I've been doing."

"I thought you were doing so well." Hetty asked.

"I'm doing well… so well that they think I can graduate early." Emma said as she finally looked up with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, my dear, that is wonderful news. Why I'm I getting the feeling you're not happy with that?"

"I am happy… really happy but…"

"You're scared for the future." Hetty said as she looked at Emma, who only shook her head yes. "You know, I think everyone is scared for the future. We never know where it will take us. But in your case, you never thought you'll have this future and now it's here." Emma just shook her head yes again. "But you my dear will be just fine and we are here to help you through it… As a family like we always do." Hetty walked over to Emma and hugged her.

"Thank you, Hetty." Emma said as she hugged the little lady back.

"Growing up is hard." Hetty laughed.

"I wish there were books on what to expect when you grow up." Emma said as she wiped her tears away.

"We learn as we go. I can't imagen how it must feel for you since you can't always control what happens."

"As you said, we learn as we go." Emma said as she stood up, "Well, let me get going. Callen's taking me tree shopping after work." Emma said as she picked up her bag. "Thanks again, grandma Hetty." Emma giggled as she slipped out of Hetty's office.

"Cheeky little minks." Hetty smiled as she watched the girl walk away with a giggle. Emma had this habit that when Hetty gave her advice, she would call her grandma to lighten the mood. And Hetty had to admit, she kind of liked having the girl call her that.

Callen walked into the gym and saw Emma working out with Greg. Callen was glad he wasn't on the other side of the hand cloves. Between Emma and Kensi, Callen felt bad for anyone on the receiving end of their punches. He wanted her to know how to defend herself but they made sure she knew she couldn't punch someone unless she were in danger. They made sure that her training at NCIS would help her in the future but she had to use it for the right reasons. She could disassemble a gun and put it back faster than Callen blindfolded or not. Callen started to teach her how to use a weapon but it wasn't her favourite thing in the world. She would rather use her hands to defend herself than use a gun. Or a knife… thanks to Kensi. Emma landed one more punch before she saw Callen standing by the door.

"Hi." Emma said as she picked up her water bottle. "Thanks Greg. Sorry for the shoulder." Emma said with a bit of remorse.

"It's okay. I've had worse… naming Kensi." Greg laughed as he took off the gloves and picked up his water bottle.

"I know the feeling." Callen smiled, "You ready to go tree shopping?"

"Just let me change and then I'll be ready to go." Emma said as she made her way toward the changing rooms.

"I'll wait for you in the bullpen." Callen yelled after her. "Thanks Greg."

"No, problem. Happy holidays." Greg said as he walked away.

Callen walked back into the bullpen and started to pack up. Kensi and Deeks had already left and Sam was finishing up the last few things.

"How's Emma's Christmas gift going?" Sam asked as he packed away his laptop.

"Good, one more thing to organize then it's ready." Callen said with a smile.

"I think she's going to love it." Sam said with a smile, "You did good, G."

"I just want her to be happy." Callen said as he sat on his desk.

"I think you like this Christmas more than the others." Sam laughed.

"We both have a lot of Christmases to make up for. But she deserves this, she's been working hard at school and here. A break will be good for her." Callen said as he saw Emma walking towards them.

"Ready to go, daddy-o?" Emma said as she walked into the bullpen. "Hi Uncle Sam." Emma said as she hugged the Navy Seal.

"Ready, just waited for you." Callen said as he grabbed his bag. "Let's go pick a tree."

"Pick the biggest one you can find, Em." Sam said with a wink.

"I'll make sure it takes up the whole living room." Emma giggled as she walked past Sam.

"I have a feeling I need to separate you two." Callen said as he followed Emma out of OPS.

Deeks told Callen where they should go to find the best trees in LA. While driving, they talked about the usual things and what they wanted to get for the tree and the last few gifts. Emma was a bit scared to tell Callen about the conversation she had had with the Dean but she also knew he needed to know. As they walked through the tree lot, Emma found the courage to tell him.

"So, Dean Oliver called me in today." Emma finally said.

"Is there something wrong?" Callen said with a panic in his voice.

"Nothing's wrong. He just wanted to ask how I would feel…" Emma said as she walked in front of him from behind a tree. "How I would feel about graduating early." Emma said with her lip between her teeth.

"Graduated early? How early are we talking about?" Callen said, shock wearing off quickly.

"Like in July." Emma said.

"Emma-Grace, that's amazing!" Callen said with the biggest smile.

"You're okay with me just finishing school earlier than we planned?"

"Sometimes, plans don't work out the way you planned them."

"But I don't have anything planned. I know I still want to do the BAU program but if I graduate early what do I do when I'm done?" Emma said as she started to walk again.

"What do you want to do?" Callen asked as he followed her.

"What do YOU want me to do?" Emma said.

"This isn't about what I want you to do. This is what you want to do. This is your future and what you feel you want to do with your life."

"I don't know. My mind says, do the FBI training first but I also want to do FLETC and join NCIS." Emma as she stopped to look at a tree.

"I think you've worked it out and didn't even know it." Callen said with a smile.

Emma smiled and turned to look at Callen, "Do you think you can help me get my paperwork ready to start my FBI training?"

"I will be happy to help you." Callen said as he walked towards her and the tree she's been staring at the last few minutes. "I think we found our tree."

"I think we did." Emma said with a smile.

Lucky for them, Deeks lent Callen his truck so they loaded the tree and made their way home. Callen parked the truck in front of Julia's house and turned it off. Turning to Emma, he could see her mind was working overtime. Taking her hand, he turned her to look at him.

"You will be fine. We are all here to help you and guide you. But only you can make the big decisions yourself." Callen said with a smile.

"Promise me you guys will catch me when I fall." Emma said, holding her pinky finger out to him.

"Pinky promise." Callen said with a laugh. It's stuff like this that reminds him how young she is.

"Great. I'll tell Dean Oliver that I'm graduating early and we can work on my applications. Thanks for the tree shopping and I can't wait to decorate it this weekend." Emma said as he hugged him.

"Me too. Have a good evening and see you tomorrow." Callen said as he hugged her back.

Emma grabbed her bag and got out of the truck. Watching her walk away, Callen realized that he had to make the most of the time with her. She was growing up and soon he'll have to share her with the big world.

As Emma walked into the house, she went to the kitchen to make her tea. Julia left her dinner in the microwave. So heating it, she started the kettle for her tea. Reaching for her cup, she saw a little box and a note with her name on it. She sat the cup on the counter and opened the envelope. She recognized the handwriting, and she smiled as she read the note.

Pixie,

Saw this and I knew you would like it.

Take good care of yourself. And I'll see you soon.

Zach

Opening the little box, Emma found a gold locket with a butterfly on it. Taking it out of the box, she opened the locked and what she saw made her heart sore: two tiny pictures – one of her mom and one of Callen. Emma just ran her finger over the little butterfly on the front and kept looking at her mom's picture. Emma wished she could have met her, just once. She would have liked to hear her input on what she wanted to do with her life. Wiping a tear away, Emma got her plate of food and sat down at the table. She grabbed her phone and sent a text to Zach's phone. Emma knew he wouldn't see it till later but she just wanted to thank him for this gift. A gift she will always cherish, given to her by a person who over the last year became the most important person in her life.