Next to Me
By shaz1
Disclaimer: none of the characters in this story belong to me and unfortunately I will have to return them all shortly.
This is my offering in the second NCIS:LA challenge- to write a story featuring Buddy the dog mentioned in Standoff. Sorry it is cutting it so fine for the deadline, but I have been off on my travels again!
This is linked to my story- Jar of Hearts, and obviously to the episode Standoff.
Next to Me
Callen sighed as he headed into the office- he had yet to face the team since he had escorted Tracey Keller back from the Cayman Islands. The previous week had been filled with ups and downs that forced him to face memories that he had long since fought to suppress. He knew that the team would have questions to answer- but he couldn't face the prospect of verbalising an explanation. He moved silently across to his desk and placed his bag down, revelling in the peace whilst it landed. Barely had the thought crossed his mind as a bundle of noise and motion filled the room as the younger partnership walked across to the desk area. Bickering between themselves, they barely noticed the senior agent as they were lost in their banter.
"Oh morning Callen" Kensi greeted with a radiant smile, as she approached the agent and enveloped him in a hug. "How was the trip?" she asked him softly.
"Hot and sunny, and I am glad to be back" Callen responded carefully, his expression masked even to the junior agent that knew him so well.
"You might not be thinking that when you get read in on the case" Kensi warned playfully. Callen grinned at her before turning back to his desk and picking up his coffee and heading over to see the Ops manager.
"Ah Mr Callen- welcome back. Everything went to plan I trust?" Hetty asked softly as she looked over the agent that was like a son to her.
"Yes Hetty- everything went exactly to plan" Callen responded with a sigh.
"And did you get the closure that you needed?"
"I got that a long time ago Hetty" the experienced agent stated with a smile.
"Did you really Mr Callen?" the savvy ops manager questioned, looking at the young man over the rim of her glasses.
"Of course Hetty- it's all water under the bridge" he stated as he got to his feet and headed back to his desk to finalise the paperwork. Hetty shook her head as she watched her young charge walk away.
"You don't even fool yourself Mr Callen" she muttered as she watched him retreat.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
"I still can't believe you were married G" Sam commented with a smile.
"Fake married Sam" Callen corrected with a sigh.
"So fake was it? Did you have the whole house and the works?" Sam questioned, keen to obtain a further insight into the past of his partner.
"That's classified Sam" Callen replied, using the last of his patience.
"Well we know you had a dog- Buddy was it?" Sam pushed, his tone light as he went for the usual banter he enjoyed with his best friend.
"Just leave it Sam" Callen stated forcefully- finally losing his rag as he got to his feet and headed out of the building. The previous case had forced him to dredge up memories of the past that he had preferred to leave buried. The fact that yet again Tracey had tried to betray him hadn't come as a shock to him- but it really hadn't helped with his perception of the world. Sam looked on as his partner got to his feet and headed out.
"I guess he doesn't want to talk about it" Kensi muttered as she observed the exchange between the partners.
"Well that's tough- he isn't going to move on from this until he gets it off his chest" Sam stated determination in his voice as he too got to his feet and headed after his best friend.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
Callen sighed as he noticed the instantly recognisable shadow of his partner appearing behind him.
"I'm fine Sam" he stated with another sigh.
"Sure you are G- you always leave the office just before getting read into a new case" Sam responded. "What happened G?" he asked gently.
"I can't tell you Sam" Callen replied firmly, his eyes still fixed on the rolling waves in front of him.
"Can't or won't?" the older man asked, knowing his partner well enough to know that he wouldn't want to talk.
"It's classified Sam- I can't tell you, it's above even Hetty's clearance" the team leader explained quietly. Sam sat back and observed his friend- his face was serious and his eyes held an unusual faraway look to them. Callen barely recognised his friend's presence beside him as he found himself lost in another time- when he had been a different person.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
Ten Years Earlier
Callen walked up the front path of his current home, turning the key in the lock whilst balancing the shopping on his knee- he stepped through the door and was unsurprised to find his partner in the kitchen already making the dinner.
"Hi hunni I'm home" he hollered as he walked into the house. Tracey looked up at him and smiled in greeting.
"Hi babes- good day at work?" she asked as she walked over and kissed him softly on the cheek.
"Enthralling" he responded with a roll of his eyes. "Where's Buddy?" he asked, noticing the absence of his dog immediately.
"He is out in the yard. That dog stinks Callen- he needs a bath" she told him accusingly. Callen sighed- he knew that Tracey hated the dog that he had rescued a month earlier. He had been out on a run around the neighbourhood making sure that as many people as possible saw him in the area to introduce him to the community. He had been an undercover agent for more than ten years, and he was all too aware that the attention to the smallest of details could make a huge difference to an alias. As he was running down the road he heard a loud squeal of brakes and a thud, turning around sharply he was just in time to see a car turn around and speed off leaving a clearly injured Labrador laid bleeding in the middle of the road. Needless to say he had got the dog medical attention, postered the neighbourhood to see if anyone had owned him- and as a result of no one coming forward had found himself the proud owner of a dog that he had christened Buddy. He personally felt that it added more credence to their cover- his 'wife' was less impressed.
"I'll put the shopping away, walk him and then I'll give him a bath" Callen placated her, before moving into the kitchen and doing exactly as he said. "Have you checked in yet?" he asked her as he worked.
"Yeah, no update from Langley as yet. Davis was happy with the inroads we have made so far. I have invited the Potters around for dinner on Friday night" she told him with a grin.
"Good- they are looking the likeliest at the moment. What about the location of the papers?" he asked.
"No update- Craig thinks they are in the old library, but he doesn't want us to strike until he gets more clarification on the intel" she told him, stirring the spaghetti sauce as she spoke. "Do you want to eat now or after you have sorted your dog?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"After please" he replied.
"I will leave a plate for you- I am going to French lessons with Ali so I won't be back until about nine" she told him as she started serving out the food. He nodded in acknowledgement and headed into the yard to collect his dog.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
Weeks later and Callen was finally getting closer to cracking the case. The brief had been to establish themselves in the neighbourhood as husband and wife, secure as much intelligence in relation to the suspects and secure the evidence of the offences. Arms dealers were who they were after- but not just any arms dealers, ones that were more threat to national security than the nation had known since the end of the cold war. Callen had been a natural choice for the mission with his language skills- and the two of them worked so naturally together that the fake marriage had been the obvious tactic to establish them. He had worked tirelessly with his new wife beside him- and at last he had gathered enough evidence and information for the next phase of their mission. He had found himself actually enjoying his latest job- him and Tracey got along well and he actually found himself liking the stability of going home to the same place every night- walking his dog through the local neighbourhood and going out for beers with colleagues after work. He had never had any of that- and even though he knew that none of it was real, but he was actually happy. He smiled to himself as he ruffled the ears of his beloved dog- chuckling as Buddy leant back against him enjoying the spoil.
"Come on boy- let's get back and update your mom hey boy" he whispered as he got to his feet and started the walk back home to update his partner.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
"You with me G?" Sam hollered to his partner when he had failed to answer him for the first three times he had called him. Callen visibly shook himself to draw his mind back to the present. He sighed as he realised that he had completely zoned out on his partner as he had been lost to his memories.
"Yeah I'm with you Sam" he finally replied, rubbing his hands tiredly over his face.
"You good?" Sam questioned, not quite willing to let it rest yet.
"Yeah Sam, I'm good. I think I am going to head home- can you let Hetty know?" Callen requested softly as he got to his feet and started heading towards the sidewalk without any hesitation. Sam sighed, shaking his head to himself as he watched his friend walk away. It never failed to frustrate him how little he knew of his partner's past- he just wished the younger man would open up and talk to him about whatever was eating him up inside.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
Callen cursed himself as he headed towards his car- he shouldn't have let his mind drift so completely. He had revealed too much about his feelings by allowing himself to get lost in the past and now he knew his partner wouldn't leave it alone until he got to the background of the matter. He needed to snap out of this- his past always stirred up emotions in him that he usually kept hidden firmly behind a mask. Without hesitating he stepped through the porch of his house, popped open the fridge and took open a beer. Clutching a second in his other hand he walked straight through the house to the veranda and sat on the edge of the decking looking out at the setting sun- and allowed himself the indulgence of getting lost in his memories.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
Nine years and six months earlier.
Callen and Tracey had been living in marital harmony for over six months- and he couldn't help but enjoy his current cover. He knew in the back of his mind that soon the mission would be over- they were getting closer to the final strike with every passing day. He smiled to himself as he tickled Buddy's tummy and watched his practically purr in pleasure at the attention. He had already started coming up with plans in his mind that allowed him to keep the dog with him, despite him having no regular home or long term relationship- he just couldn't bear the thought of parting ways with his four legged companion. The two were beyond inseparable- the dog had quickly become the closest thing to family that the undercover agent had ever known- and there was no way he was going to give up on it easily. The final phase of the operation was due to start as all of the evidence that they had collated had been submitted and filed back at Langley- the higher ups couldn't have been more pleased with their progress- but they still had to finish it. The most damning papers were held at the embassy- it was a tough mission, but one that they knew they had to complete if they wanted to finish this and bring the terrorists down once and for all.
"You all set?" Tracey asked as soon as he stepped through the door of their shared home.
"Yep- 20:00hrs tonight the first of the charges are set" Callen replied as he closed the door behind him and checked the clip in his sidearm.
"Here- eat this, we need to roll in an hour" Tracey responded as she handed her husband a plate of steak.
"Thanks" he acknowledged, surprised at the gesture. Tracey nodded to accept his gratitude, before stepping away to tie her hair up in a high pony. Checking her own weapon, she sat on the bottom step to pull her boots on.
"You know, I am quite going to miss this little arrangement of ours Callen" she told him with a smile as she zipped up her boots, "although not so much that mangy mutt of yours" she added, spoiling the moment in one easy swoop.
"Buddy is not mangy Tracey" he argued as he ate his meal in otherwise silence, his loyal friend sat at the floor at his feet- puppy dog eyes locked on the steak.
"You are leaving him here tonight aren't you?" she asked him softly as she witnessed the exchange between man and his dog.
"No Buddy is part of the plan" Callen responded vaguely.
"And what part of the plan might that be?" Tracey asked as he walked over to where her partner was sat waiting. Sitting down beside him she gently squeezed his wrist. "Callen I know you love the dog- but really he'll be in the way" she told him softly- as though speaking to a young child.
"Tracey, Buddy knows what he has to do- he'll help us get in" Callen vowed with a grin.
"Do I even want to know what you have planned?" she finally asked.
"Probably not babe" Callen responded with a wink chewing his last mouthful or food as he gathered his plate and cutlery together and loaded the dishwasher. "Now are you ready to get this show on the road?" he questioned, putting spare clips into his pockets as he spoke.
"Hell yeah" she responded with a grin and together the two agents left the house for the last time- Buddy the dog hot on their heels. "So we're clear on the RV points?" Tracey questioned as she walked hand clasped tightly together with her husband.
"Yep" Callen muttered in response.
"And the safe houses?" she asked.
"Yep" he grunted in reply.
"You are not taking this seriously" she accused with a squeeze of his hand as she spoke.
"Everything is in place Tracey- let's get this done and then we can all go home" he assured her softly.
"Then what happens?" she asked him, he tone causing him to stop in his tracks.
"About what?" he asked – his blue orbs locked onto her chocolate brown eyes as she spoke.
"About us Callen- you know what" she prompted.
"I guess that we'll have to see how that goes" he told her- his background refusing to allow him to fully show his feelings to her.
"I would like to see how that goes" she told him gently stroking his cheek as she spoke. He shook himself to pull himself together.
"Then lets get this done and we'll be able to move on Mrs Keller" he told her with a grin.
"I'd like that a lot Mr Keller" she responded and he felt a warm glow in the pit of his stomach at her words. Maybe he did have a future, maybe there was hope that someone would finally love him and he could have everything he had missed out on as a child. With one final grin he quickened his pace and noticed Buddy speeding up beside him as they headed through the streets.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
"You head to the back, we'll get in at the front and I'll let you in" Callen told his wife softly as they approached the target.
"Stay safe" she whispered and then she was gone- disappeared into the other walkers and heading to her point without a further word being uttered between them.
"Just you and me now Buddy" Callen muttered as man and dog headed up to the front door of the expansive premises in front of him. Taking one last breath to transform himself into his alter ego he moved forward- and five minutes later everything went terribly wrong.
End Chapter One
Please review!