"I always thought it would be nice to have a house on a deserted beach somewhere" Emily said as she and Callen sat together on a deserted old pier near Venice Beach.

"Mmhm" Callen sighed, eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of the cool October breeze on his face. Emily continued on about how nice it would be to be able to walk on the beach every morning. Callen had one arm draped over her shoulders, holding her close to keep her warm.

The sun was just setting in California and in that moment, he could think of nowhere else that he would rather be. He always liked that about Emily, she had the most amazing ability to put him at ease. Today he was particularly happy. Why wouldn't he be? He had everything he wanted and more than he could have ever dreamed. When he was in foster care he thought he wanted a family. In reality, what he really wanted was a place where he felt safe. Emily made him feel safe. He was no longer that insecure child that lived in fear of being abandoned. In a matter of a few years, she had began to heal the scars that had been left by years of not being wanted.

"Callen, are you even listening to me?" Emily laughed. She was looking up at him with her striking blue eyes shinning in the dwindling sunlight, a slight smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Yeah, of course. Something about houses and spending money." He replied jokingly.

Emily rolled her eyes before placing her head back on his shoulder. " I guess you just seem a little distracted."

Callen thought about this for a moment. Distracted. There had been a lot of that going on in his head lately. More and more often he found himself daydreaming about his future with Emily and their kids. Birthdays, graduations, college, all things that he would get to experience for the first time. He thought about the lifetime he had left with her and couldn't help but smile.

"I guess you are kind of distracting."

"I try, I try." She joked. "But, really, are you good?"

"I was just thinking. About everything that's been going on lately. You know that Aiden was helping Amaya with her school work the other day? He was being so encouraging and he got her a piece of candy when she had finished it. I just cant help but thinking of how her life would be right now if she wasn't with us. I mean, Em, I know what its like to spend your childhood without that kind of love. Hell, I know what its like to be a grown man and not know that kind of love. It just….. it makes me so happy that we were able to do something about it."

Emily was a little taken aback by this out of character admission from her husband. "I know it doesn't change what you had to go through but for what its worth, I wish I could have saved you from all of that."

Callen could do nothing else in that moment but smile. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of his best friends head and replied, "You did save me."

It was this conversation that Callen recalled as sat in an uncomfortable wooden bench at St. Matthew's church in LA. Two Funerals. Emily would have hated it. She never was one to have people fussing over her. This one was different than the last. It was small, only about twenty people and most of them were members of the team.

He also wasn't as sad as he was the last time. He probably should have been but he couldn't get past the feeling of relief. He didn't have to worry about her any more. She had given him an amazing gift. She had given him a family, people to love, a place in the world. That was something he would never forget.

The past week had been a rough one. Telling their kids. That was gut wrenching. For a few days, he was inconsolable. He was looking for life insurance paperwork when he came across a small brown leather book. He opened it and for the first time in about four days, a smile spread across his face. Emily had filled it with notes to him. Some were memories, some were just a few words to get him through the days when she was no longer there. It was then that he realized, even though Emily was no longer with him. He would always have a piece of her.

Somehow, sitting in the pew of the small church. Callen felt at peace.

* I can't believe that this story has finally come to an end. I hope you guys aren't too unhappy with the ending but I felt that it needed to be done. A big part of what I wanted for this story was for Callen to be happy and even though its not perfect, I think the character reached a sort of fulfillment. I am thinking about doing a sort of sequel with each chapter being one of the notes that Emily left him. Please let me know what you think and thank you so much for reading!