Zach's leg kept on bouncing up and down as he waited. He's never been this nervous in his life but he needed to get this over and done with while he was in LA. Looking at his watch again, he was about to give up, but just then Callen walked into the coffee shop and he wasn't alone.

"Zach." Callen said as he shook Zach's hand.

"Mr. Callen." Zach said before he shook Sam's hand.

"I'm going to order, you want anything G."

"Coffee and a bagel."

"You just ate." Sam said as he shook his head. "Zach?"

"I'm good for now, thank you." Before he sat down again, Zach said, "Thanks for meeting me."

"No worries. What's up?" Callen said as he sat down.

"I wanted to talk to you about Emma."

"Is she okay? Did something happen?" Callen said as he sat up a bit more.

"She's good. Training hard and getting smarter by the day, if that's even possible." Zach said with a smile. "Hard to get her to take a break."

"That's like asking the sun to stop shining." Callen said with a laugh. "So, what do you want to talk about?" he finished as Sam sat down and handed him his bagel.

Oh, boy. Now or never, Zachary. "Well, I was wondering… I was going to ask you…"

"Spit is out Zachary." Sam said with a smile, he had an idea what this was about but he was having a fun time seeing this young man sweat.

"I know this is old-fashioned but I was hoping to get your permission to take her on a date and maybe ask her to be more than friends." Zach started and saw that Callen was trying to process what was happening.

After a few minutes Callen spoke up. "Zach, I like you and you're a good guy but Emma's only 17 and you're 21."

"I know and I told her I'll wait until she's 18 before we start something. I just wanted to tell you that I really like her and if you give me your permission, I'll take good care of her and only treat her with respect."

Sam just smiled as he sat back down with their coffee. "I think it's admirable for you to ask permission, Zach."

"I want to do things right. My dad always told me you have to respect women and by asking permission, you respect her parents."

"What happens if you deploy?" Callen asked.

"I know that most people don't believe in long-distance relationships but I've seen a few that started as long-distance and they worked out. You have to communicate and work at it, no matter how hard it gets."

"So, you believe that you guys can make it work with you being deployed and her just starting her career?" Callen asked again, he wanted the young man to be sure he understood what goes into a long-distance relationship.

"I think we can make it work. We respect each other and know we have a lot to learn about relationships but I'm willing to try it with her."

"What about her past?" Sam asked.

"We'll have to talk about it and figure out how to deal with it if we decide to go ahead with a relationship."

"It sounds like he's in love, G." Sam said with a smile.

"It does and I know he's not just saying these things to impress us. So, what do we do now?"

"I say let him take her on a date but they need a chaperone with them, Brian and Travis or Hailey just until she's 18. After that, they can do what they want and work out how they want this relationship to go." Sam said to Callen.

"I agree with the chaperone thing and ask that they still take it slow." Callen said towards Zach.

"I promise you that we will take it slow and I'll follow her lead." Zack said towards Callen.

"Okay, then you have my permission to date my daughter. AFTER she turns 18." Callen said with a smirk.

"I promise you I will treat her with respect." Zach said with relief.

"Good man. So, will you give her a necklace or a bracelet when you ask her out?" Sam asked.

"I was thinking of giving her this." Zach said as he took out a little ring box.

"You know I gave you permission to DATE my daughter, not MARRY her, right?" Callen laughed as he looked at the ring in the box. It was just a simple band and he could see this was a family heirloom.

"That's a conversation for a later date. But this was the ring my pawpaw asked my nana to 'court' him when he was my age. Em likes old things and I thought I'll do it right." Zach said with a smile.

"She likes old things, that's for sure." Same said as he hid the young man on the back. "How's Kensi doing?"

"She's doing okay. I want her to wake up and yell at me or make fun of me about my weird haircut." Zach said with sad eyes.

Before he could say anything, Callen's phone rang. "She'll wake up and then we'll have to hide, she'll be a firecracker when she's back on her feet." He got up and slapped Sam on the back, "Eric got a lead on the car we've been looking for." Holding his hand towards Zach, "Have a safe flight and tell Emma-Grace she needs to take a break now and again or I'll put Nell on her."

"I'll make sure she takes a break before then. Nell is one scary lady and we're not even going to talk about Hetty." Zach said as he shook Sam's hand. "Take care of Kensi and my mom, please. I would stay longer but I have to get back for training.

"Hey, we understand and don't worry about them, we've got you covered."

Three days before Christmas

"What time's your flight tomorrow?" Emma asked Hailey as they made their way to their rooms. They both needed a shower to get rid of the sweat after training and Emma still needed to pack before they headed to the airport in the morning.

"Leaves at 8:30 but with all this snow, I don't think we'll leave or land on time. I hate flying to Montana in the winter but the snow does make it look beautiful sometimes." Hailey said, "What time do you leave?"

"Flights at 7:45. So I was thinking of leaving here around 4 am, if that works for you."

"That works for me. I'm just going to grab something at the airport for breakfast." Hailey said as she opened the door for them. "What did you get Maeve for her first Christmas?"

"I got her a little kitchen set and a bunch of new books. Callen said she's starting to pull herself up so I'm hoping she'll start walking while I'm home." Emma said as she pressed the elevator button. "What did you get Billy?" she asked with a smile.

"Got him the coffee maker he wanted. Now that he's settled more, he's buying things to make it more homely." Hailey said with a smile. "How's Zach handling the move?"

"He's loving it and hating it at the same time. He loves that he can go surfing when he wants to and that he's somewhat close to his mom but misses being here to keep an eye on me."

"How's Kensi doing by the way?"

"She's good but Callen said she's not the Kensi we all know. He thinks she's just depressed that she can't do everything she used to do before the accident and her recovery is taking a lot longer than she hoped." Emma answered as the elevator stopped on their floor. Emma spoke to Deeks several times and could hear that this was taking a lot out of him. He loved Kensi and wanted her to get better and be her old self again.

"She needs to take it easy but from what I've heard, she's not the most patient person in the world." Hailey giggled as she opened her door.

"You can say that again. I'll have to go and remind her that Badass Blye needs to take it easy." Emma laughed as she walked towards her room, "I'll see you at 4 am."

"Thank you and sleep well." Hailey yelled as she closed her door.

Emma walked into her room and went straight to the bathroom to shower. While waiting for her hair to dry, Emma made a cup of tea and started packing. She didn't need to pack as much since most of her clothes were still at Callen's house, so she packed what she needed in her carry-on, placed her camera bag next to it, and then went to dry her hair. When she finally made it to bed it was already 12:30 so she sent one last text to Zach, she set her alarm for 3:30 and went to sleep.

Callen couldn't wait for Emma to be home. He missed her and knew she was missing the sun and sand of LA… maybe him and Maeve too. She was only staying for a couple of days and wanted to see her friends too, so he'll make the most of his time with her. Looking at his watch, he saw that she should be landing soon. Callen was about to take a sip of his coffee when his phone rang.

"Did she land yet?" Sam asked.

"Good morning to you too partner." Callen said with a chuckle.

"Morning partner. So, is she here yet?"

"Her flight should land anytime now."

"Okay, just making sure. I have her tea and cinnamon bun waiting for her on your desk."

"Do I get anything?"

"It's your turn to pay for lunch."

"That's mean." Callen said but his phone told him he had a message. "Hold on a sec," he looked at the screen, "Okay, she just landed. I'll see you at OPS." Callen said as he sat up a bit more.

"Okay, see you in a bit."

When Callen saw Emma, he had to laugh. She was dressed in a thick jacket and her Ugg boots, ready for the cold but LA didn't get that cold so it was funny to see her dress like she was about to visit the North Pole.

"Ready? A winter jacket?" Callen said as she got in.

"Hello to you too daddy." Emma said as she rolled her eyes and buckled in. "It was freezing when I left this morning and they're expecting more snow over the next few days."

"All you need is a scarf and you're ready for Christmas in the North."

"Laugh all you want. I want to see you when it's -12 and snow up your butt." Emma giggled with him, "I'm hungry."

"And now you sound like Kensi." Callen said as he rolled his eyes.

"I've been up since 3:30 and everything at the airport was still closed when I got there."

"Sam has your tea and cinnamon bun waiting at OPS for you."

The drive to OPS took them a while and Emma fell asleep 20 minutes into the drive. Callen didn't bother to wake her up as he could see she needed sleep; her baby sister wouldn't let her go when she saw her. When they reached OPS, Callen gently woke her up and told her that she could sleep at home while Laura and Maeve were at the library for 'morning baby readers'. Callen grabbed her bags and waited with the door open for her to follow him. Callen placed her bags next to his desk before he headed to talk to Hetty about holiday teas. Emma was talking to Alex but she had one ear on what they were talking about. 30 days before they needed to hand over the mole and they were still looking. Callen told her what happened a couple of days ago and Emma was just worried about her sister and Callen but he's a big boy. Maeve on the other hand is a baby and needs to feel safe in her home and around her dad. Alex said his goodbyes before Emma walked closer to the table where Hetty was sitting, just as Deeks and a blond made their way toward them.

"I smell the trademark on that one." Deeks said. "Speaking of, is that peppermint I smell?"

"Mr. Deeks, good morning. Ms. Kolcheck." Hetty said as Deeks went to hug Emma.

"You found your way home, Pixie." Deeks said.

"I did. Had to make sure you guys are staying safe and out of trouble." Emma said hugging him back. "You must be Anna." Emma said holding out her hand for the blond.

"Anna Kolcheck, this is Emma-Grace Callen or Pixie, as I like to call her." Deeks said with a smile and Emma rolled her eyes at him.

"Nice meeting you Emma-Grace." Anna said with a smile.

"Anna, what are you doing here?" Callen asked with a smile.

"I'm going stir-crazy at home. So, I thought I'm come by and give you all this." Anna said as she handed Callen a cake tin.

"It's very… pink." Callen said as Sam hugged Emma from behind.

Anna said a Russian name and like Emma always did with Olga when she spoke Russian, she said bless you. Everyone just looked at her and then Sam said, "Herring under a fur coat."

"Yup and I made it myself." Anna said with a smile.

"And she cooks too." Sam said towards Callen and Emma gave him a look but before she could ask Callen what Sam mend, Eric came down the stairs blowing a horn and started to talk in a weird and horrible English accent.

"Why is he talking like that?" Anna asked.

"It's from 'Great Expectations.' He's rehearsing for the Dickens Fair." Nell explained.

"Ahh, reliving the good old days. Child labour, poverty, Jack the Ripper." Sam said as Callen laughed and made his way up the stairs.

"Guess the Spanish Inquisition fair was sold out." Deeks added.

"We could use the extra hands. That's if you don't have any fish to fur." Sam said with a smile.

Anna looked at Hetty who was pointing to the stairs. "Please."

"Thought you never asked." Anna said as she passed Emma.

"Later Emma-Grace." Sam said as he passed her to follow Anna upstairs.

Emma smiled at Hetty and headed to Callen's desk to get her tea and cinnamon bun. She was sitting on the couch, looking through her phone when she heard footsteps getting closer.

"So, I hear they had to replace two practice dummies and three springs in the indoor gun range because a 'little shithead' tried to show off." Hetty said as she walked towards Emma.

"I send two people to the med bay and they call you?" Emma said around a bit of cinnamon bun.

"I take it training's working out for you." Hetty said as she sat down next to the girl.

"It's going okay. Most trainees think I'm a brat that got in with mommy and daddy's help; the higher-ups think I'm a brown nose and wasting their time. Other than that, it's okay."

"That's not what I hear."

"And what do you hear?" Emma said with a questioning look over her mug.

"That you're top of your class. Your work is on time and precise. You help when others need it and go out of your way to make people feel comfortable on the worst day of their lives. Everything we knew you were capable of, but I feel you're having a hard time believing in yourself again and I can't understand why." Hetty said.

"I believe in myself. It's just hard to ignore the whispers around every corner. I try so hard to prove that I got this without the help of you or Callen or NCIS but they will always see me as Emma-Grace Callen, the daughter of Agent G. Callen, granddaughter of Henrietta Lange."

"It's always hard to ignore what other people think and say. But you my dear did this all by yourself. You worked hard, graduated with Honors from UCLA and yes, we had a hand in training you BUT you got into the program without our help. You are making your own way in this world and in time they will see you for who you are."

"And that is?" Emma said with a smile.

"My little shithead granddaughter who is a lot like the grown-up shithead I helped raise." Hetty said as she hugged the girl.

"Thank you grandma." Emma said with a smile.

"You are welcome Emma-Grace." Hetty said as she got up, "Now I believe you have a sister waiting to see you. Scott has the keys to a car that you can use while you're in town." Hetty said as she handed Emma the cake tin and pointed to the door.

"That wasn't necessary. I was going to use Callen's car when he didn't need it." Emma said as she grabbed her bags.

"Well, you never know with that one so take the car and enjoy the time with Maeve and your friends." Hetty said as she walked away.

Emma nodded and headed towards the garage where Scott was waiting for her. Giving him a hug and the tin, Emma made her way to the car and waved as she turned onto the street. The one thing she didn't miss about LA was the traffic. Since Laura and Maeve weren't home till after lunch, Emma went to the store to grab her order and the last few things she still needed. She was unpacking the last bag, when the back door opened and Laura walked in with a crying Maeve. When the little girl saw her sister, she started to cry even more and stretched out her arms. Wiping her hands on a dish towel, Emma took the little girl. Mae laid her head on her sister's shoulder and Em ran her hand down the girls back trying to calm her down.

"Missed you too, little butterfly." Em said as the little girl rubbed her eyes.

"Sorry, we had to take a detour on the way home." Laura said out of breath.

"No worries. Did she eat yet?"

"She ate while we were at the library. She needs a diaper change and then nap time for a tired little monkey." Laura said as she walked towards Emma, "Let me do that while you finish unpacking."

"I'll unpack while she takes her nap. You probably have to get on the road if you want to be in San Diego before dark." Emma said as she went to grab a gift bag and handed it to Laura. "Here, something small to say thank you for taking care of this little one."

"Emma-Grace, you shouldn't have." Laura said as she hugged the girls.

"Drive safe and Maeve will see you in the new year."

"Enjoy your time with your big sister, little monkey."

Emma locked the door and went to get Maeve ready for her nap as soon as Laura left. Instead of putting the little girl in her crib, Emma took her to her room and laid down on her bed. She missed her little sister's snuggles and this is what she needed, time with her family and friends. When she heard the little girl snoring, she wiggled herself out from under her and placed pillows around her sister. Leaving the door open a bit, Emma went to unpack the last few things and repacked the diaper bag. She was busy wrapping the last present when she heard Maeve wake up. She entered her room and saw the little girl sitting up and rubbing her eyes. When she saw Emma, Mae gave her sister a big smile and reached out for her, "Amma."

"Did you have a nice nap?" Emma cooed to the little girl. "How about we get you ready and visit Aunty Kensi. I think she'll love to see you and maybe even need a few baby snuggles." It didn't take Emma long to get the little girl dressed and in her car seat. As they drove, Maeve 'talked' all the way and Emma had to laugh at how happy the little girl sounded. She could say 'dada', 'amma' and hi. She could crawl and push herself up on things. Emma turned into Kensi and Deeks' driveway and parked her car. Walked towards the back, Emma grabbed the diaper bag and went to get the little girl. Fixing Mae's sweater, she pressed the doorbell.

"I swear to heaven and back, if you two don't back off, I will get…" Kensi said as she got closer to the door and yanked it open.

"You will get?" Emma said with a smile.

"Emma-Grace!" Kensi said as she brought the girls in for a hug.

"You were saying." Emma said as she walked into the house. "What smells so good in here?"

"Sorry. My mom and Roberta's driving me crazy." Kensi said as she took the little girl and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm baking cookies."

"I'm sorry, you're doing what now?"

"I'm baking cookies."

"Okay… we need to get you back in the field. You're losing it." Emma said with a smile.

"Great idea. Want to talk to Nate and Hetty about that and get them off my back too." Kensi said as she placed Maeve on the floor. As soon as the little girl felt the floor under her, she was off. Kensi had to run and stop her from going up the stair and as soon as she turned her back to the living room, Maeve went for Emma who had a toy and book waiting for her. Maeve took the toy and put it in her mouth while she opened the book.

"How long before you're ready to hit bad guys again?" Emma asked as she sat down.

"I'm not sure. I'm trying, really hard but…"

"You survived a helicopter crash. Kensi, you're never going to be your old self and now you have to learn how to be this new Kensi."

"I don't like being this Kensi. I feel useless and want to be out there with the team."

Emma could see how much this was hurting Kensi. Looking over to Maeve, Emma knew what to say. "You know, I was so scared when I was getting closer to leaving home and all of you. I was so used to my normal routine, having you guys close telling me to relax and to stop stressing about the small things. Callen told me that Maeve was going to look up to me and she was going to look back on how I handed myself with a big change like that and she would follow my lead. Do you know who I looked up to?"

"Sam?"

"You."

"Me? Why me?" Kensi asked with a shocked look.

"You showed me how strong I can be and you were the person I wanted to be like when I grew up. You showed me that I can achieve anything I put my heart into if I believe in myself."

"Em…"

"You may not be the old Kensi but you are still Badass Blye." Emma looked at Maeve looking at the pictures on the walls, "And you see that little girl right there. She's going to look up to her Aunty Kensi and she's going to see this strong, stubborn woman who overcame so much."

"I… I've never…" Kensi said with tears as Emma brought her in for a hug.

"You are so strong Kens. This will not defy you; you will come out of this stronger than ever. You need to believe in yourself and take your time so that once you're back, you are 100% healthy and stronger than before the accident." Emma just hugged Kensi and she let her cry herself out. As they were sitting there, Maeve made her way toward them.

"Amma." She said as she pulled herself up with her sister's pants.

Kensi let the teenager go and wiped her eyes. Emma picked up the little girl and placed her on the couch between them. Maeve looked at Kensi and Kensi could see Emma was right. This little girl was going to look up to her and her sister and they needed to show her that she could do anything her heart desired.

"How about we take some of those cookies to the team." Emma said as she got up.

Kensi smiled and stood up to pack the cookies into a tin. Emma went to change Maeve before they headed to the car. Maeve was babbling in the back while the two adults were talking in the front. Now and again, Kensi would look back to see the little girl smiling at something outside the window. Once they got to OPS, Kensi went to grab Mae and Emma grabbed the cookies and diaper bag. As soon as Mae saw her dad, she wanted down.

"More Christmas lights? Who's going to put them up?" Emma asked as she walked towards Callen and Deeks.

"You are of course." Callen smiled as he went to put the lights on his desk and walked towards the team. Sam was busy tickling Mae and Emma hugged Nell and Eric. Anna just looked at the little girl in Sam's arms and smiled at her when she looked at Anna.

"Any plans for Christmas?" Callen asked behind her.

"Does a Judge Judy marathon count?"

"I'm planning on cooking a Christmas dinner and I bet there will be plenty left over if you want to come have dinner with us." Callen said with a smile.

"You mean Emma-Grace's cooking dinner. You and I both know you can't cook. "And that's nice but this is Maeve's first Christmas. I don't want to intrude."

"Intrude where?" Emma asked as she walked over with Eggnog for the two agents.

"I asked Anna if she wanted to join us for Christmas dinner."

"That's a great idea. I mean if you don't have plans with your dad." Emma said with a smile.

"But you're home and it's Maeve's first Christmas. Is your time as a family and I…"

"Dinner's at 5 pm sharp on Christmas Day and if you're not there, I'll find out where you live and drag you out of there by your hair." Emma said with a smile as she turned and walked towards the group.

"She's scary for a teenager." Anna said as she looked at Callen who was laughing at her.

"I've learned not to argue with her."

"Fine, I'll be happy to join you guys for Christmas. What do I bring?"

"Just a bottle of wine and yourself." Callen said with a smile.

"Callen, I need to bring a gift for the girls at least."

"No, you don't. Emma's going to spoil Maeve and Emma's got everything she needs, I promise you."

"Okay, wine it is then." Anna said as she walked towards the group with her drink.

Callen just shook his head… what has this woman done to him. She came into his life and made him feel like a teenager again. But he knew he had to be careful… he had two girls to think about now too and they didn't need to get their hopes up and then have it come down hard on them all.