"So, we're still meeting up on Sunday for lunch?" Alice asked Emma as they walked to their cars.
"Yes. Melissa said she'll meet us there and I can drop you off after, if you want to do your Mimosa Sunday." Emma said with a smile.
"I knew I loved you." Alice said with a hug. "Drive safe and I'll see you Sunday."
"See you Sunday, A." Emma said as she got into her car. Callen was meeting her at the bank so they could sort out the safety deposit box. They asked Deeks if he would go with them since he used to be a lawyer and they might need his help. Finding a parking spot, she parked her car and walked the block to the entrance. Callen and Deeks were waiting for her inside, so they walked towards the bank manager's office as group. Emma called ahead to find out what she would need to access the box, so with the file in hand she greeted the tall man with a handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Callen. I'm Charlies Higgins."
"Thanks for making time for us, Mr. Higgins. This is my father, G. Callen, and Martin Deeks, our lawyer." Emma said as she sat down.
"We contacted Mr. Snider's office. They send us the documents to say that the box is now your property. All we need is your ID, the records for the change of name since the box was under your old name and your key. Mr. Phillips did insist on a password for the box." Mr. Higgins said.
"Everything you need is in this file and the password is Sydney." Emma said as she handed him the file.
"Let me get all this sorted and then I'll take you to the box." Higgins said as he opened the file and started typing away on the computer. After 15 minutes, he got up and showed Emma to the back where they kept the safety deposit boxes. Taking the box out and placing it on the table, he told the three to call him if they needed anything. Emma took a deep breath and then she opened the box. Inside was $50 000 in cash and a brown envelope. Taking it out, she opened it and poured the content onto the table. There were a couple of passports, driver's licenses and a list of addresses, names and telephone numbers from all over the world. Emma recognized a couple of the names. Callen and Deeks started to open the passports and looked at the driver's licenses. All had her picture on them but with different names but one stood out from the others… Delphine Phillips.
"Why Delphine Phillips?" Deeks asked.
"She was his daughter. Her mother took her from him when she was six years old and he never saw her again. A couple of years ago he found out that she was one of the first girls Olga brought over but she didn't get her happy ending."
"They killed her?" Callen asked.
"They found her body a couple of days later, washed up on the beach. He didn't find out about it till it was too late." Emma said as she picked up one of the passports. "I found a letter in the documents Snider gave me. JJ said that he was waiting till the day I graduated and then he would have taken me away from Olga. He knew that my time was limited after graduation so he had to do something fast. He would have acted like it was like any other weekend but he would have help me escape. He would send me away with a new name, a new life. Somewhere they would never find me. Somewhere he wouldn't even be able to find me." Emma said as she wiped a tear away. "He said that if you loved someone, you would let them go no matter how hard it would be." Callen brought Emma in for a hug. He hated JJ for what he did to her but in some sick way, he did have her best interest in mind.
"How about we get something to eat and then deal with the rest tomorrow." Callen said.
"That sounds amazing." Emma said as she moved away from him. "Thanks for coming with us Deeks." She said as she hugged him.
"Anytime, Pixie." Deeks said as he hugged her back. They packed everything away in Emma's bag and then left the area. She returned her key to Mr. Higgins, who gave her the papers that said the safety box was no longer in her name. Callen walked towards Deeks' car to get his bag and walked with Emma to where she was parked. Taking the keys from her, he opened the door for her and she didn't even fight him on it, she was too tired. Once they got home, Emma went to take a shower while Callen went to order them something to eat. While Emma was in the shower, Callen called Julia and updated her on what happened at the bank. He knew she would worry and loved that she saw Emma as one of her kids. Emma decided to take Granger up on his offer, do her BAU training, and then head to FLETC with the next group in June. Agent Miller was happy for her but also sad that they lost her as a potential agent. Callen was still warming up to the idea of her working for NCIS and they knew that she might not be placed at OSP but she was okay with that. As long as she was part of NCIS, they didn't care where she ended up. When Emma entered the kitchen, Callen was busy taking the food out of the bags.
"Smells good. What did you get?" Emma asked as she pulled her wet hair in a messy bun, she made a mental note to book a haircut before graduation.
"Butter chicken, garlic naan, Aloo Gobi, Tandoori Chicken and some veggie thing." Callen said as he helped her carry the food to the table.
"You do know that that doesn't count as vegetables?" Emma laughed as she got him a beer and some water for herself.
"They're vegetables so they count in my books." Callen said with a smirk.
As they ate, they talked about what Emma needed to get done before graduation. Emma was going to live on academy grounds for her training so she didn't have to drive back and forth. She would stay with Brian and Travis but their new place only had two bedrooms and one was going to be Travis's home office. They told Emma she could stay over anytime she needed a break from the dorms. Brian was happy that she decided to stay at NCIS and they would see each other if cases overlapped. She knew they would still see each other outside of work and was happy that she had met him. Emma was busy washing up when she heard her phone ping with a message. Drying her hands, she picked up the phone and opened the message from Melissa saying she got them a table for Sunday at the Garden. Emma quickly replied, saying she'll pick the girls up and then head straight to meet her, so she could have a drink while she waited. Callen walked back into the living room after his shower and found Emma on the floor with all the documents around her.
"I thought we decided that we'll deal with this tomorrow." Callen said as he sat down and picked up a file.
"I know but I wouldn't be able to sleep till I have some sort of plan." Emma said as she looked over her glasses at him.
"Tell me what you're thinking?" Callen said as he sat down next to her.
"I'll talk to Deeks's friend, the one he told us about when Snider first gave me the documents. He can help me sort everything, but I might need you to deal with some of this while I'm busy with school."
"If he can help us, why not."
"I know what JJ did was wrong and I could never forgive him for everything he did…"
"But?"
"He planned to take me away. He was going to give me all this to make a fresh start and he knew if Olga found out what he did, they would kill him and hunt me down. Then kill me to make a point." Emma turned towards Callen, "There's something I haven't told you yet." She said as she bit her lip.
"What's that?"
"I know who planted the bomb in the house." Emma just looked at him and saw in his eyes that he wanted her to continue. "It was Daniil."
"Wait what? Why would he place a bomb in the house?" Emma could see Callen was floored.
"He wanted to get rid of the person who took the love of his life away from him. Daniil knew that graduating would be my last day and he didn't want that. He went to JJ and told him the plan and that JJ needed to get me out of there but his plans changed at the last minute. So Daniil went to friends and asked that they take me before the bomb went off but they didn't stick to the plan."
"They got caught by NCIS when they entered the US." Callen said.
"Yes, but one was babysitting me when you took down his friends. And he got scared and tried to shut me up."
"So Daniil had a good side to him."
"Even after all the things he did to me and watched Olga do to those girls, I'm grateful that he did what he did." Emma said, "I know killing is wrong but Olga didn't care about us. In her world, we were deposable. He just wanted it to end so he did what he felt was right… Kill Olga and if he dies trying, that's okay too. The only thing he couldn't plan was the girls bringing their boyfriends home to help them pack. They were at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"I'm grateful for what he did but you got hurt in the process."
"I know and he didn't plan it. If JJ's plans stayed the same, I would have been on a plane far away from Olga."
"I know what they did was wrong on so many levels but in their own way, they wanted to save you. And that's something I could never thank them enough for." Callen took her hands, "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. They gave me and you a second chance and we're taking it. I promise you that I'll make sure you never get hurt like that again."
"I know and that's why I don't feel guilty taking JJ's money. I want to use it to help girls like me and spend some of it to build a new life with my friends and family." Emma said as she hugged him.
"I wish I was this smart when I was your age." Callen said with a smile in his voice.
"You had a lot going on back then."
"I did but I wouldn't have it any other way." Callen said before he got up. He held his hands out towards her. Grabbing it, she let him help her up. "I think we both need sleep and then we can look over everything tomorrow with fresh eyes."
"Sounds good." Emma said as they walked towards their bedrooms. Emma stopped at her door and bent down at her bag. Taking out the money, she held it out towards Callen. "Mind putting that in the safe? I don't feel comfortable with it laying around."
"I'll put it in there and if you need it, let me know." Callen gave her one last hug before he walked toward his bedroom.
The weeks flew by and with Emma finishing school earlier than they expected, their lives were moving fast. Emma was rushing between school, work and friends, and she felt like she was constantly behind in everything. Every Sunday, the girls went for their bunch and Emma enjoyed getting to know more people. Sometimes the boys joined them and then it got loud but they knew the owners and they didn't mind. When her birthday came, she just wanted to spend her day with family and friends so the team made one of her dreams come true… a trip to Disneyland. She never thought she'd see Sam Hanna in mouse ears, but he was a sport and wore them for a group photo in front of the castle. The team met her friends and Kensi laughed when she met Melissa and Justin. Deeks shook his head and giggled while the couple looked at them weirdly and Emma said she'll tell them the story one day. Emma took so many pictures and made a note to print some off for everyone as a graduation gift. The team could see Emma coming out of her shell more as the day passed and they were happy she had found her place in the world. Zack couldn't get away from training to join them but promised he'd see her at graduation. Emma couldn't wait to see him again, which was a scary feeling. She couldn't explain it but knew there was something between them and nothing could come from it. He was an adult and she was a kid. He had his whole life planned out and she was fumbling through it. She could plan but stuff rarely goes as planned and she's getting used to that and she was okay with it too. But the whole Zack thing was a whole new ball game… and she doesn't know how to play it. And even if she figures it out, would he want the same thing? She looked at Deeks and Kensi, Melissa and Justin every day and wished she could have what they had but it takes work and she just figured out who she was and she's finding her place in this crazy world. Maybe one day she could master the courage to find someone like that.