Puzzle Pieces

Authors note: I'm annoyed that the season is over and I know little more about Nell and nothing more about her past. Ughhh. I cried a little bit while writing this…

"You wanted to see me?" Nell said as she awkwardly walked into Hetty's office.

The old woman smiled her crooked smile and pointed to the seat opposite hers at her desk. Nell nodded and sat down silently. Many times she had sat in this chair, most times discussing difficult cases but sometimes sharing war stories (or mostly just listening to Hetty's and hoping she'd live to tell stories similar in her old age). Today it was different, Nell had no information neither was offered information to analyze and there were no old war stories to discuss. Nell was living through one of her own- maybe even the worst war stories.

Hetty stared at her for a long moment, analyzing her words before she said them, then spoke, "Ms. Jones, you have been missed dearly, by the entire team including myself and much more by Mr. Callen."

"You have no idea how much I missed all of you…"

"You belong here, Nell. You cannot deny that."

Nell stared at Hetty in silence but managing not to make eye contact.

"Alone is safe, I know that you think that. But being here, having a team, a family… an army, you are safer than you ever could be. Your chair in OPS is cold. It is awaiting your return."

"I don't know what to do, Hetty. We have a mole. The last thing I want is to lose Rebecca after saving her. I want her to have a normal life. As normal as it can possibly be after everything that has happened to her already. I want to be able to put her in a school where no one from her old life will be able to find her. Here, we can't even put her in school because he can find her. Where we go will be far from here. Only you know where. And I trust you with my life. I don't want her to experience anymore pain than a child her age should."

"I understand your point. Rebecca has experienced abnormalities in her life, lots I'm sure, I think she will be able to handle one more. But I respect your decision. But just stay a few weeks, let your family say a proper goodbye to you. They love you. They want you in their lives… even if it is just for a few weeks. They need you, you need them."

Nell nodded. "I will. I will do what you want for a month, I will say my goodbyes to the team for a month… then I will go, with Rebecca and live our lives, never seeing any of you again."

Before Hetty could say anymore Nell's phone rang and she answered it.

"G?" She said.

"Were almost in LA, meet us at the boatshed."

Nell smiled widely, "Thank you," She said as she disconnected the call.

###

The door opened. Nell's pulse raced. Deeks walked inside and smiled.

"Get ready. She is on her way."

Nell stood up and stared at the door, one thousand possibilities circling her mind. This was the moment, the one that would change her life forever. She took a deep breath as the door swung open again. Sam walked in first, then Sam, she struggled to see past them. Then they both moved to opposite sides and allowed Rebecca to walk past them. She stopped a few meters away from Nell and took a deep breath.

Nell smiled as she took in the sight of her younger sister's beauty. Her long brown hair was tied back into a high ponytail allowing her facial features to be seen. Her eyes were the first thing Nell noticed, they were a deep green color… they were beautiful. Next she noticed was her lips, they were a striking resemblance of her own. She had on a classic private school uniform on, a black and white checkered skirt with a white shirt that had a school badge sewn on and a black tie. It made her look very professional.

Nell took in another deep breath. "Hi there… I am Nell Jones."

Rebecca smiled and couldn't stop the tear falling from her eye. She knew it was real. "I am Rebecca Davidson… You're my sister, Emily."

Nell nodded and a few tears fell from her eyes too. They closed the distance between them and held each other in a long, tight hug.

###

The rest of the team left Rebecca and Nell to get to know each other more while they caught up on their cases. Their afternoon went on quite well, the sisters found common personality traits and played chess, making small talk. Neither were sure if they were ready to discuss the sad reality of their situation.

That evening Nell and Rebecca stayed at Callen's house. The sisters cooked a decent meal, delighting in one another's company. Then Rebecca and Callen left Nell to watch the reality show neither of them thought to be interesting. Nell could barely concentrate on the TV screen, her eyes kept diverting to the two in the open-plan kitchen. They were laughing noisily at something that Nell couldn't make out but that brought a smile to her face anyway. Callen always had been good with children. It pained her to know that he'd never be the father of one of her children. Now she wasn't even sure she could imagine having children at all. But she had Rebecca and she was all Nell needed. As she watched her she wondered how it felt like she'd known Rebecca for years, it was as if they were two pieces of a puzzle that had been lost for years. Rebecca was her family now, and she loved her.

Later that night Nell knocked on the guest bedroom door and heard Rebecca yell, "Come in."

Nell entered and handed Rebecca one of her sweaters. Rebecca thanked her and put it on over her vest and shorts which she had on beneath her School uniform. Then Nell placed her laptop down and opened it to an online store.

"We don't have custody of you so by law we basically kidnapped you. That means that you can't be seen in public and we can't go shopping so you can order some clothes and whatever you need from this site. Its sizes are very accurate and your stuff will be delivered early tomorrow so you don't have to wear any of my boring old clothes. All my details are already entered. Just don't spend too much."

Rebecca smiled widely, "Thank you so much… for everything."

"Anything for you," Nell said.

Rebecca scooted over on the bed and indicated with her eyes for Nell to sit down. She did.

"I am so glad I got to meet you," Rebecca said. "I've never had anything close to a sister."

"I have two, now three including you."

"You have other siblings?"

"Yes, two more brothers as well."

"You're so lucky," Rebecca said dreamily. The closest thing to a sibling she had was a soft Labrador named Theo, that she got as a birthday gift from her father when she was five. Her father ended up shooting it after he punched her and the dog attacked him biting a huge chunk of muscle out of his arm, five years later. She decided that was too depressing to share.

"It can be fun sometimes, but also frustrating at times. But I understand what you say, just a couple months ago I would never had thought any of this to be possible. But now I am sitting here with my youngest sister I never thought had existed."

Rebecca laughed, "Just two weeks ago for me."

"You never knew about me at all?"

"No, I found my mom- our mom crying two weeks ago clutching a paper. I read it and it was your birth certificate. Mom told me everything she knew about you then, including when she met you again. She loved you."

Nell bit her bottom lip. She wished she could have gotten to know Sarah more. In the little time she spent with her she could tell she was a great person. She was her mother. "Uhm… do you-"

"Have it? Yes," Rebecca said reaching for a book from her bag. "I made sure to bring it just for you."

Rebecca flipped through the pages looking for it until a lose piece of paper flew out. Nell picked it up and stared at it. "Thank you," she said as tears started swelling in her eyes.

Rebecca started talking not wanting Nell to get too emotional. "Mom was so funny, she was hilarious, and I always admired her humor. She was talented too, she painted all day and everyday but never got bored. I think what I loved most about her was the fact that she always tried her best to stay strong for me. She taught me so much. I wish we all could have been together."

Nell smiled at her sister. "I do too."

Rebecca lay back and stared at the ceiling.

"Do you mind if I can ask you a few questions that could help us with the case?" Nell asked.

"Anything, I can handle it."

Nell sighed loudly regretting having to ask the painful question. "Can you tell me what happened the night she died?"

Rebecca sat up again slowly and took in a deep breath. "Uh… well, mom and Donovan, my dad were arguing loudly in the kitchen. I could hear it from my room but I couldn't make out what they were saying exactly. I got mad because I hate when mom starts arguments with him because she knows it will end in a black eye or broken ribs. Eventually I heard the damage his hands did on her body. Then it was quiet for a long time. I thought he'd left her to cry and so I went to check on her and that is when I found her body. On the floor with bruising on her neck. He strangled her… I held her and cried. He must have heard me because he came into the kitchen then. I yelled that he didn't need to kill her. He then told me that it was her own fault, that she was disobedient, he told me that he had met with you, he said she was pathetic and unreliable. He said he couldn't have a son come from that whore. It would end up just as pathetic as me. He said she was pregnant and he is glad she and the baby are dead. I started screaming at him like I never have before and then he raped me right there, he told me he gets off on killing. He raped me right there on the floor beside my dead mothers body. Then he locked me in my room. The next morning when I left for school her body was gone… there wasn't even a funeral."

Nell stared at Rebecca in tears. She had no idea how she had managed to keep her voice level and not cry while speaking. She had an emotionless expression on her face. Nell felt sick to her stomach. She was in tears. For realizing that the same evil man murdered her father, her mother and her baby brother she had no knowledge of, also for realizing how hard a girl at such a young age had to endure in her life.

"That night," Rebecca continued not noticing the tears on Nell's cheeks. "He came to my door and told me that he didn't want to look after me any longer. He said he was arranging to give me up, I asked if he was putting me up for adoption then he laughed, he said I knew better than that. I knew that he was going to sell me as a sex slave then. So I called you."

"Oh my god!" Nell said pulling Rebecca into a tight hug. "You don't deserve that."

Rebecca hugged her back thinking to herself, It's hard to believe that when you have been told the opposite your entire life.

"I promise that I will show you a life that you deserve. A life that our mom wanted so badly for the both of us to have."

Rebecca pulled away then, "You don't even know me, why are you being so kind to me?" She asked.

"If there is one thing that I have learnt in the last few months it would be that it doesn't matter who they are or where they come from, family is family, as long as you care for them."

Rebecca smiled, almost believing Nell's words. "Thank you for everything."

"Goodnight Becca, call me if you need anything."

###

After talking to Rebecca Nell went straight to the kitchen. She placed her birth certificate on the countertop and stared at it. That was who she was. Who she was supposed to be. Why did she get to have a normal life while Rebecca fought for her life every single day? It wasn't fair. If her father had never murdered her biological father none of this would have happened. Rebecca wouldn't have lived such a terrible life. From what Sarah had told her Angelo loved her and would never treat her badly. If Angelo was Rebecca's father she would have had a life closer to normal. Nothing was supposed to be the way it was. Rebecca wasn't supposed to have gone through what had and Nell couldn't help but feel guilty. It was supposed to be her.

Nell felt Callen wrap his arms around her from behind. The butterflies that erupted in her chest could not go unnoticed. She put her head back on his chest and the two stayed in that position, not talking for a long moment before Nell turned around in his arms and locked eyes with his.

"Why won't you give up on me?" She whispered.

"Because I love you," he said as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"What if I leave again?"

"There is no chance in hell I'm letting you go again. I'll do whatever it takes to take that bastard down."

Nell nodded, not having any more strength left in her to argue. "What happens next?" She asked.

Callen placed his hand on her jaw and kissed her passionately.