Turn of Events

It was three days since Deeks had visited Callen and there was no signs of anyone else in his team visiting him. He understood how crazy work could get, but he at least had expected Sam or Hetty to have come to see him by now. John and Amy kept him occupied during the day when he wasn't sleeping and Emily later after school. But the absence of his team was evident, when he kept looking towards the front door, waiting for someone to ring the door bell. Being in this house without Hetty was a first for Callen and worry began to form in the pit of his stomach, that something was going on back at the mission and he was being kept in the dark. His thoughts were distracted by footsteps out from the rear of the house, to where he lay in the hammock. It had become his favourite spot since his return to Los Angeles. He turned and smiled when Kensi's tall figure stood where her partner had, three days earlier.

"Hey Callen, how are your feeling?" Kensi rested her lean body against one the pillars that supported the structure.

"Tired, but good. It's great to be back here." He moved to climb out, when Kensi stepped forward to help him. "Thanks." He looked over at her dark brown eyes that were almost as dark as her pupils. She stood about the same height as him when she wasn't wearing high heeled shoes. He preferred his women to be shorter than himself and he wondered if that had anything to do with Hetty -- the older woman who had cared for him from a distance when he had no family around.

Kensi helped him steady on his feet before she let go. "You're looking much better than you did when we found you unconscious in the cabin. We've all been so worried about you, Callen."

"Thanks, I appreciate everyone's concern." He looked over to the chairs by the pool and led his colleague by taking her hand. They sat down and looked over the tropical landscape around them.

Kensi observed his actions and knew that something had shifted inside of him. This was not the man she was expecting. She had expected him to be closed up, denying what he'd been through, or throwing her out. Deeks had refused to provide any detail with regards to his visit which had caused her to worry, but now that worry dissipated. "Something's changed in you, Callen. You've finally found peace." She scooted her feet off the lounger and faced her team leader. "Deeks wouldn't tell me anything, so I worried, but you're not what I was expecting." She grabbed his hand and held it inside the palm of her own. "You know that our team is a family, don't you?"

Callen looked over at her and waited for what she was going to say next. First Deeks, now Kensi? What had he done to deserve so many people who want to have him in their family? Callen nodded. "So Deeks has told me." He took a swallow and licked his lips before he continued. "You know, Kens, I misjudged him. He's quite a catch. I'm really happy for you to finally find happiness with him. Someone who will never desert you, but stand by your side through the good and the bad. That's rare in this life."

Kensi's smile broadened. "He got to you, didn't he? Worked his magic to heal you, without saying much at all." She chuckled.

Callen nodded. "Yeah he did. Wants me to be his brother. I have no idea why, but he does."

"I do too, Cal. I've always seen you like a big brother. You and Sam. You are family to me, always have been since I joined the team." He saw the seriousness in her eyes and he knew that she meant every word she said. "But what I can't understand is why you never saw us as your family? When you needed us the most, you ran." She still held his hand in hers, although she noticed the pull from him to escape from her hold. She had pushed him in a way that only a sister could and she hoped that he would open his heart fully to her. Seeing him change had given her the hope that he would.

"I can't go there, Kens. Please don't." His breathing became rapid, she could feel his pulse quicken and furrowed her brow.

"I know what it's like, Callen. To be kidnapped, tortured and think that you're never going to see those you care about the most, ever again." Her body shivered at the memories that flashed before her eyes. "What we go through in our work to get the job done is something we never wish even upon our enemies. I never really appreciated your sacrifice to save Cherokee from the Iranians until I was trapped in a cave in Afghanistan. You placed yourself out there to be taken by the Iranians, to be tortured until you spilled your guts to what they wanted to hear." Kensi took a hard swallow to rid of the lump that had formed in her throat. "I did the same. Walked into enemy territory alone, just to see Jack."