It was late when Emma finally made her way to her car. She lost track of time and stayed later than usual but she needed to work on her final thesis paper which was due at the end of the month. With Callen away in Russia helping Arkady and some other dude and Julia helping a friend who broke her leg, she could get away with getting home a bit later than usual. Not that they mind but by now, they would have called her and asked where she was. Walking towards her car, she was digging in her bag for her keys when she got this strange feeling that she wasn't alone. The parking lot was empty but she still picked up her pace and as soon as she got in the car, she locked all the doors and looked around but saw nothing. Starting her car, she drove out of the parking lot towards Callen's house. She left some of her books there and needed them for class tomorrow and since his house was closer to campus, she was going to sleep there tonight. Parking her car, she grabbed her bag and headed toward the house. Unlocking the door, she went for the alarm but noticed it was off.
"That's weird." Emma said to herself. Callen was probably in such a hurry when he left, that he forgot to set the alarm. Brushing it off, she turned and saw her bedroom light on. Callen would have seen her light on and switched it off no matter if he was in a hurry. Walking down the hallway, she kept a hand on the pepper spray she always carried. Opening her door further, she was shocked at what she saw on her bed. Wrapped in a pink fuzzy blanket was a baby. She couldn't see if it was a boy or girl but she would assume that it was a girl, since it was wrapped in pink. Walking closer she saw the jewelry box Joelle sent her for Christmas, open on the bed with a black and white sonogram on the top. Taking the photo, she turned it around and read the message on the back.
You were right not to trust me… I hope you enjoy the last few months you have Callen to yourself because when this baby comes, you will have to share him with his new family.
Emma was shocked… how low could this woman go? As she was busy reading, she could see the baby starting to move. Putting down the note, she went to the baby and picked it up.
"It's okay. You're okay with me." Emma cooed to her. Looking around her bed, Emma found a notepad with all the baby's information. She knew nothing about babies and how to care for them, so what does she do now? Walking back to the door where she left her bag, she passed the kitchen and saw a baby bottle with what looked like formula and a note saying the next feeding was at midnight.
"Okay, so we have 30 minutes before you need to eat. How about we call someone to come and sort this whole thing out with us." Emma said to the sleeping baby. Quickly dialling Kensi's number, Emma thought about how she could explain this to the agent because this would sound so crazy.
"Hey, Em. What are you still doing up?" Kensi said on the other end of the phone.
"Did I wake you guys?" Emma said but she knew they were probably still watching TV.
"No, just watching a movie." Kensi said and Emma could hear her moving around. "Do you need anything?"
"Can you and Deeks come to Callen's? I need your help with something and I don't want to call the police." Emma said as she looked down at the little girl.
"Emma-Grace, what happened?" Kensi said with a panicked voice.
"I really need you two to come to Callen's and then I'll explain everything. Please?" Emma said with tears in her eyes.
"Okay, we're leaving the house now. Just stay calm and we'll be there soon." Kensi said.
"Thank you. See you in a bit." Emma said before she hung up. "Kensi and Deeks will be here soon, so how about we see how we warm up this bottle and get you fed." Emma said down to the baby who was starting to wake up. Picking up the bottle, Emma took the top off and placed the bottle in the microwave for 30 seconds. When it was done, Emma tested it on her wrist like she saw everyone on TV do and put the top back on. "Okay, buddy. Let's get you fed." Emma said as she walked towards her bedroom. Getting settled on her bed with the baby in her arms, Emma started to feed her little sister. Wait? She has a baby sister. Looking down she could see Callen in the little girl and to be fair, she looked like Emma when she was little. The baby finished her bottle and Emma brought her up to burp her when she heard the front door open.
"Emma!" She heard Deeks yell.
"In my room." Emma yelled back.
"What's up Pix…" Deeks started to say as he got closer but stopped when he saw Emma with the baby. "What is that?"
"It's a baby." Emma said with a smirk.
"I can see it's a baby. But what are you doing with it? And who's is it?" Deeks said as Kensi came to stand behind him in the doorway.
"She's my baby sister." Emma said with a small smile.
"Your what now?" Kensi asked.
"She belongs to Callen and Joelle." Emma said as she heard the baby burp and moved her to her arms again.
"I thought they were over?" Deeks said walking towards the bed.
"They are but she must have been pregnant before they broke up. I found this when I came in." Emma said as she handed them the sonogram and they read the message on the back.
"Well, I think we need to take her to the hospital to be looked at." Kensi said.
"And what do we tell them? 'Hi, we found this in my dad's house and a note says she's my sister.'" Emma said.
"I don't know but we need to make sure she's 100% before we take it from there." Kensi said.
"I'm sorry, Kens. It's been a long day and now this." Emma said towards the agent.
"I know honey. I want to make sure she's okay." Kensi said as she hugged the teenager.
"I'll change her and then we can take her to the hospital." Emma said as she walked towards the diaper bag beside the car seat on the floor. Grabbing a diaper and wipes, Emma placed the baby on her bed and started to change her. How she knew how to do this, she doesn't know but she did it. Making sure the baby was warm enough, she walked towards the car seat and buckled her in. "Okay, let's get you looked at." Emma said to the little girl who was starting to fall back asleep.
Exfil
"Thank you for getting us out of there."
"We didn't do it for you but you're welcome." Sam said. "How's he looking, G?"
"He'll survive." Callen said as he sat back down.
"Thank you, Callen. I knew you would come for me." Arkady said towards the agent.
"What did the guy tell you back there?" Sam asked Callen.
"He's Callen's father. He helps people start a new life in the US." Arkady answered Sam. "He told you your name, didn't he?"
"He did but that doesn't make him my father." Callen said before closing his eyes.
Callen just wanted this day to be over with and just because some guy says he knows his name, doesn't make him his father. He could have heard it from someone and were telling him that so they could leave him alone. But Callen knew deep down that this man WAS his father but he can't think about it now. No, he has to focus on Emma-Grace, get her done with school, and start her training. He was wondering what she's been up to these last three days. He knew she needed to finish her thesis paper before she locked herself away for exams. He couldn't wait to read that paper and was ashamed to say he didn't know much about her schoolwork. He trusted her and she was so passionate about her work and he was proud of her. She told him that she didn't know if she would make a great field agent but he knew she would be a great field agent, she didn't know it yet. It's going to be hard for him to say goodbye to her once she graduates but he is so proud of her and how far she has come in the time he's known her. Once they landed, Callen felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. As they walked towards the SUV waiting for them, Callen opened the text message from Deeks.
"Everything okay G?" Anna asked.
"I hope so. Sam, mind dropping me off at the hospital before you drop them off at the witch doctor?" Callen asked as he got in.
"The hospital? You're not hurt are you?" Sam said as he looked the man up and down.
"No, it's not me. That was Deeks. He wants me to meet them there."
"You think something happened to…?" Anna asked, unsure if she should say Emma's name.
"I hope not, but I'll find out what happened when I get there."
Sam dropped Callen off at the hospital before he and Anna took Arkady to 'his doctor.' Walking towards the reception, he was about to ask where he could find Detective Deeks when his phone vibrated in his hand.
"Room 3B" – Deeks
"Excuse me, where can I find room 3B?"
"Down that hallway on your left." The nurse said pointing behind her.
"Thank you." Callen said with a smile. Walking as fast as he could, he turned and saw Emma, Deeks and Kensi talking to a doctor. "Hey, what's up?" Callen said as she hugged Emma.
"Doctor Seewald, this is my father G. Callen. Callen this is Doctor Seewald. He's the one taking care of…" Emma started but didn't know how to finish the sentence.
"I'm taking care of your daughter."
"Is there something wrong with Emma?" Callen asked the doctor, a bit confused.
"Emma-Grace is fine as far as I know. I'm talking about your other daughter."
"Other daughter?"
"Yes. Like I told Emma-Grace she's a bit small for a 6-week-old and severely malnourished so we're going to keep her till we feel she's out of the woods."
"I feel like I'm missing something." Callen said as he turned to Emma, "who is he talking about?"
"Thanks for your help, Doctor." Emma said with a smile.
"Of course. I'll ensure the nurse gives you your hospital bracelet so you can visit her." The doctor said before shaking Emma's hand and then Callen's. "And congratulations." He said before he left them.
"Emma-Grace, what is he talking about?" Callen asked her.
"Let's go and get something to drink and I'll tell you everything." Emma said as she turned to Deeks and Kensi, "Thank you for coming with me. I'll take it from here." Emma said with a sad smile.
"Always. Let us know what you need and we'll drop it off." Kensi said with a hug.
"I'll drop your car off later on our way to work, okay." Deeks said as he hugged Emma.
"Thank you guys for helping her." Callen said as he slapped Deeks on the back.
"We're family." Kensi said as she hugged him before they left the father/daughter team.
"I'm just going to tell the nurse we'll be in the cafeteria." Emma said as she started to walk towards the nurse's station.
After Emma joined him again, they made their way to the cafeteria. They grabbed their drinks, they sat down to talk about the elephant in the room.
"I think we should talk." Emma said, breaking the ice.
"Just start at the beginning." Callen said before he took a sip of his coffee.
"The beginning of my day or from the time I discovered a baby on my bed in your house?" Emma asked.
"How about an hour before you found the baby."
"I stayed at the library to finish my thesis paper and I left some books at your house over the weekend. So, I decided to grab them and stay at your place since I'll be there. When I got there, the alarm was off and I thought you forgot to set it when you left. But then I saw my bedroom light on and I went to check it out and that's when I found her."
"You just found her on your bed? Did you find anything else?" Callen asked.
"The jewelry box Joelle sent me for Christmas was on the bed with this in it." Emma said as she handed him the sonogram. "Did you know?"
"Emma-Grace…" Callen started but she never gave him a chance.
"Did you know she was pregnant when you broke up with her?"
"I didn't know, I promise you."
"Didn't you… I mean did you guys…" Emma didn't want to have this conversation with her dad.
"We just protection." Callen said with his hands up.
"You do know those aren't 100% safe, right?" Emma said with red cheeks.
"I do know that, thank you smart ass." Callen said with a smirk.
"Her birthday is four days after mine."
"What?"
"The baby. If she's six weeks old, her birthday is on the 28th of February. Four days after my birthday."
"Two birthdays in the same week."
"What's going to happen to her?" Emma said as she looked down.
"I don't know. I'll have to find Joelle to find out why she never told me about her and then we'll take it from there."
"Do you think she wanted the baby or do you think she got pregnant on purpose?"
"When I find her, I'll ask her that question. I know you were skeptical about her but she's a good woman. I don't think she would have done this on purpose."
"I don't know what to think anymore. She left HER child alone, on my bed, not to talk about her being severely malnourished. You want to talk about how wonderful she is, go ahead because I think she's a bitch and I hope she stays away from me."
"Emma-Grace!" Callen said in his dad's voice.
"No, Callen. She left YOUR daughter to die. What would have happened if I didn't go to your house? She would have left her for death and I'm sorry but that is unacceptable in my books." Emma said as she stood up, "I'm going to check in MY sister. YOUR daughter." And with that Emma walked out of the cafeteria.
Callen's never seen Emma this angry; honestly, he was pissed too. Never in his life did he think Joelle would do this to a child, no matter how much she hated the dad. Emma was right, Joelle didn't care about the baby. He doesn't know what's going to happen tomorrow, all he knows is that he has another daughter that needs him now. Oh boy, two kids in two years… he's screwed. Grabbing his empty coffee cup, he want to find Emma and see this little girl she was protecting. Walking towards the nursery, he looked through the window and saw Emma sitting in a rocking chair with her sister. Saying goodbye is going to be even harder now and he's dreading it.
"She looks like she's taking the big sister role seriously." Hetty said behind him.
"You found Joelle?" Callen said still looking at Emma.
"She's nowhere to be found. Eric is tracking her phone but it's off at the moment so he'll keep at it till we find her."
"Thanks, Hetty." Callen said as he wiped his face.
"I think it's time for Miss. Callen to go to school."
"I don't think she's heading to school today."
"She doesn't have a choice, Mr. Callen. She has two weeks before finals and isn't her thesis paper due soon."
"At the end of the month." Emma said as she walked out of the nursery.
"Mr. Deeks dropped your car off and a fresh set of clothes. Think your book bag's in the back and those books you were looking for." Hetty said as she handed Emma her keys.
"Thanks, Hetty. They're going to do a few more tests on… what do we call her?" Emma asked Callen.
"How about baby for now."
"Okay, they're going to run tests on the baby and then she will rest. I would say you need a shower and a shave. So, while I'm at school, you go home." Emma said as she hugged Hetty. "Later old man."
"See you later, Em."
"I think she's right. I'll stay while you go freshen up a bit." Hetty said as she took a seat.
"Call me if anything happens." Callen said.
"Before you go Mr. Callen, you will need this." The nurse said as she handed him a bracelet.
"Thanks. Please call me if anything happens or changes." Callen said as he placed the bracelet on.
Walking out of the hospital, Callen couldn't believe he was a father for the second time. He was responsible for another human being; this one was much smaller than Emma's when he found her. He doesn't even know how to take care of a kid, let alone a baby. Paying the cab driver and made his way towards the house. Unlocking the door, he walked straight to his room. Sitting on the bed to take off his shoes, he saw something on his nightstand. Walking over and picking up the note read it.
You should keep a better eye on your daughters, Agent Callen. I would hate to take them away from you.
Looking at the note again, he was starting to worry. Just when he thought Emma was finally safe, this happens and why would this happen on the same day they get back from Russia with Arkady and a CIA agent?
At campus
Emma rushed passed everyone on her way to class. She was already late and Professor Kemp doesn't like students to be late. Opening the door, she slowly walked towards an open desk and sat down.
"So nice of you to join us, Ms. Callen." Professor Kemp said from the front of the class.
"Sorry, sir." Emma said but she kept her eyes down.
"We're on page 278 if you were wondering. Exams are in two weeks, and half of you need at least 60% to pass this class alone."
The class dragged on and Emma wasn't in the mood but knew she'll have to suck it up. When class was over she packed her stuff and started to leave the class but someone shouting her name made her stop in her tracks.
"Hey, you look like a zombie." Justin said as he took her in.
"Didn't sleep last night. Family emergency." Emma said as they walked out the door.
"Everything okay?"
"Everyone is fine but can we catch up later? I need to get to my next class before they fail me and I don't graduate." Emma said as she walked passed him.
"Like they will fail their valedictorian but if you need anything just let me know, okay." Justin said as he watched her walk away.
"I will, thank you." Emma yelled back at him. By 4 pm Emma was dead on her feet and just wanted to get home and sleep. Walking to her car she opened the door and a note fell on the ground. Bending down, she picked it up and read it.
Sorry I missed you last night.
Emma stared at the note and blinked. So she was being followed last night but they changed their mind, why? Emma got her car and drove to Julia's house. Once she was home, she went to her bedroom and fell on her bed. It didn't take her long to fall asleep and for the first time in a long time, her nightmares came back.