Altered Fraction of Truth

Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine.

Chapter 20

Callen and Savannah's house

Callen was nervous and Sam looked over at him from the barbecue and chuckled. Amy and Nell had worked hard in the kitchen preparing the salads, lasagne and desserts to compliment the barbecue. "You're house looks like a home now, G. Savannah has worked miracles with you and your house."

Callen smirked. "Yes, she makes me a better person, that's for sure."

"No kidding. She's tamed the lone wolf." Sam checked if the grill was ready for the meat, which was marinating inside the refrigerator. Once everyone arrived, the ceremony would take place and then they could all relax and enjoy the food. As best man, Sam ensured that Callen had a summer suit and tie to wear for the special occasion. Michelle and their daughter were helping Amy and Nell inside the house, while a very nervous Savannah sat upstairs in the master bedroom. Milly and Archie were with her, waiting for the time to get dressed into their outfits.

The door bell rang and guests arrived, some prepared for the ceremony, others none the wiser, which amused Nell when Eric turned up in his surfing gear. "Been surfing today, Eric?"

Eric Beale nodded and noticed that Nell and Amy's hair was done differently. "Did I miss something? I thought this was just a barbecue."

"It is. Kind of. Go out back and see the guys." She chuckled to the girls in the kitchen over Eric. "He would have worn shorts no matter what we'd told him."

"Hey, Eric." Sam shook his hand and smiled warmly. "How was the surf?"

"Pretty good for this time of year." Eric turned and furrowed his brow. "First the girls' hair, now you two are a little OTT on your dress."

"G's getting hitched. Can't you tell how nervous he is?" They looked over to Callen who was pacing the garden, talking to himself in Russian. They knew that the language soothed him somewhat and thought it had something to do with his childhood, when his father spoke Russian to him. But now they wondered what went through his mind about his father, now that he knew the truth.

Hetty walked out back, dressed in a navy suit with a red and white scarf draped around her neck. She nodded to Sam and Eric, shaking her head at the Tech's dress sense. She walked over to Callen to see if she could soothe his nerves. She heard him mumbling in Russian and understood everything he was saying to himself.

"I am nothing like my father. I will never abandon my children or lie to them. I love Savannah and her children and we will live a happy and normal family life."

"I don't doubt your ability to be the finest of husbands and fathers, George." Her appearance had caught him off guard and he stopped his pacing.

"Hetty." His face brightened. "You wore my favourite suit on you."

"For you, anything, George." She gave him a heartfelt hug. "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous."

"That's to be expected. If you weren't then I would be worried. Marriage is a huge step in one's life. A big commitment. But I have faith in you, that you and Savannah will be happy. Look at Amy and Robert. After eight years apart, they and their sons are very happy. Jacob has come out of his shell and is enjoying his new love of surfing. Mr Deeks has worked wonders with the boys."

"Yes, he has. Everyone has been wonderful to Robert and the boys. I really appreciate the effort everyone has made. And to you, Hetty, in giving them your beach house. That was a generous gift."

"It's the least I could do for your mother, George. Here, this is for you and your family." Callen slightly creased his brow and opened the envelope. His eyes widened and his hand shook. "No, Hetty. This is too much. I, we can't take this."

"Yes, you can, George. Who else am I going to leave all my wealth to once I'm gone?" She patted him on his arm. "Please accept my wedding gift to you and Savannah. It will come in good stead as your children grow and they need things." She turned around and admired their home. "I can see that you have probably spent all of your life's savings in making this house a home."

"I did. But Savannah put in for it too." He leaned over and hugged her, kissing her on the cheek. "Thanks, Mom. We'll invest, so we don't waste it."

"That sounds like a good plan, George."

Deeks and Kensi arrived next with Nate and Granger behind them. They were all there, only waiting on the marriage celebrant to arrive. The doorbell rang when Callen was inside the house, making his last dash for the bathroom. His nerves where highly strung and he needed a moment alone. He opened the door and stood frozen on the spot, when he was met with his father and his two sons, Franklin and Bradford.

"George Callen?" The man inquired, but he was certain he had the right address. Arkady Kolcheck had provided him with the location where he could find his son, and he hoped that he could speak with him. He felt bad that he'd lost his opportunity eight months earlier, but his health had plummeted after the raid in Constanta. The familiar cerulean eyes and blond hair, although it had darkened, was a Worthington trait, but the rest of his features were all Callen.

"Now is not a good time, Admiral."

So his son knew who he was, he concluded. "You know who I am?"

"It wasn't hard to work out once I saw photos of your sons, who you had lead the raid on the Comescus." He looked to his half brothers, they both looked like they were at the ready to protect their father at any moment. "You lied. To Amy and me. You deserted us when we needed you the most. And you even invited your own daughter into your home and you never once told her who you were. Who does that?" He shook his head. "Like I said, now is not a good time. We have guests."

Savannah was ready and had made it down the stairs with the support of Amy and Nell. She could hear Callen talking to someone at the door and he didn't sound happy. She looked to Amy who nodded and walked over to the front door. Savannah stood in the shadows and waited for Amy to help Callen away from the door.

"I'm sorry if we have come at a bad time. I've been unwell, I really wanted to do this months ago." He looked to Franklin for help.

Franklin stepped forward and held onto his father's arm. "Dad had a stroke and this is the first chance he's had to come to see you."

Amy stood by her brother and was shocked to see how much their father had deteriorated since she'd seen him last. "Papa?" All animosity towards him went out the window when she saw him.

"Amelia?" Tears welled up in Baxter's eyes as his daughter showed acceptance for him.

She stepped over the threshold and embraced him. "Papa." She turned to her brother. "It's okay, George. It's okay now. Papa has come."

Callen shook his head confused. The change in his sister's behaviour towards their father startled him. A series of emotions ravaged through him as he fought hard to stay put. "No. Not now. Not today. This is not a good time." He'd switched to Russian as he tried to regain control of his emotions.

"George?" Savannah came to his side concerned and surprised also by Amy's change of heart towards their father.

"Savannah." Admiral Worthington was surprised to see a very pregnant Savannah at his son's house. He looked more closely at their clothes and he realised what was going on. "I'm sorry. We're intruding on your wedding."

"George, please. He's our Papa." Amy pleaded with her brother to make him stay.

"Vy kogda-nibud' lyubit' nas?" [Did you ever love us?] Savannah frowned as she heard Callen speak in what she had learned over the past eleven months to be Russian.

"Konechno, ya lyubil tebya . Chto eto za chelovek ty dumayesh', chto ya?" [Of course I have loved you. What kind of man do you think I am?]

"YA ponyatiya ne imeyu, kto vy yest' . Vy skazhite mne, pochemu ya dolzhen privetstvovat' Vas v nashem dome?" [I have no idea who you are. You tell me why I should welcome you into our home?]

"Mne zhal' , synok. Dlya ne tam , kogda vy nuzhdalis' vo mne . No u menya bylo svoikh sobstvennykh problem . YA provel sleduyushchiye tri goda v sibirskoy tyur'me , poka Arkadiy ne pomog mne bezhat'. Potom, kogda ya nashel tebya , ty pechal'noye mal'chik, on razbil moye serdtse . Gloriya i ya popytalsya prinyat' vas. Vy pomnite priyekhat' k nam?" [I'm sorry, son. For not being there when you needed me. But I had problems of my own. I spent the next two years in a Siberian jail, until Arkady helped me escape. Then when I found you, you were the saddest boy, it broke my heart. Gloria and I tried to adopt you. Do you remember coming to visit with us?]

"Why would my own Father need to adopt me?" Callen stepped forward, confusion visible on his face. He tried to think back to those earlier dark days. He was nine years old, when he was taken for visits to a couple's house. They were very nice, but he thought he would let them down by not being what they wanted. Memories returned and tears formed in his eyes. "That was you?"

Baxter nodded and he took a step towards his son. "Yes it was. But you were so scared. I wanted to take away all that fear from you, but you wouldn't let me near you."

Callen remembered. He'd just been pulled from one of the horrors of foster families in his earlier years. The father had repeatedly hit him and touched him in places no one should have. He was confused over the affection his own father had shown towards him. "Couldn't you have said that you were my Papa?"

"I had no proof. Back then there was no DNA to prove that I was your father. Your mother hadn't been able to put my real name on your birth certificates because I was deep undercover. That's why you lived with your mother's family name."

Savannah and Amy looked concerned between them as they tried to work out what was going on between Callen and their father.

"Then you ran away from us, when you took my car."

"I remember." Callen chewed on the inside of his cheek, memories flooded back of a time he'd tried so hard to forget. "You got angry."

"Not at you. At that man, who'd…" Baxter bit his tongue, here was not the place. "When you came back for your bag and bedroll, your social worker came and took you away. I knew then I had failed you."

Callen stood there silent, as his father tried to explain his lack of action to be his father.

"I lost all hope that you were still alive, until you went to Russia and worked with Arkady," Tears streamed down his face from the years of strain in search for his children. He turned to his daughter. "My dearest Amelia. I thought I had lost you forever too. Word came to me that you had drowned." He choked on a sob and his sons came to his side for support. "Then news came through that someone who your mother and I rescued out of East Germany had taken you in as his daughter." He held out his hand towards her. "I watched you from a distance and I have been proud of you of all that you have achieved. Your mother would have been proud of both of you."

Amelia stepped forward and hugged her father again. She turned and saw how torn her brother was. "George." He hesitated, but after looking over at Savannah, and seeing her nod, he took the final step and joined his father and sister. It was an emotional reunion, not a dry eye in anyone who stood there. Franklin and Bradford had listened to their mother explain to them about their father's other family and their raid on the Comescu's beach house now made sense. They had destroyed his family, by killing the woman he loved and lost his children.

"I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you," Baxter told them.

Callen looked over to his half brothers and shook their hands. "Thank you. For killing the Comescus and for bringing our Papa to us."

"You're welcome, George."

"Come on inside. We've got a wedding to get through yet." Savannah urged them towards the house and ushered them in. Callen stopped and captured her lips with so much passion, both of them forgot that they had an audience and that more were waiting out back for them.

"You're so beautiful, Sav." He gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I love you."

Savannah looked up into this cerulean eyes and smiled through her tears. "You are an incredible man with a heart of gold, George Callen. Let's get married."

Callen smirked. "Yes, let's." He looked over at a car that pulled up out front and recognised the marriage celebrant. "The celebrant has arrived, are you ready to be my wife?"

Savannah nodded. "Are you ready to be my husband?"

"Definitely." He led her through their house and out back where their guests cheered.

Amy led the woman through and when she greeted everyone, she quietened everyone down and began the ceremony. There wasn't a dry eye in the garden on that spring afternoon. The sun began to lower to the west, as Callen and Savannah said their vows.

"Under the authority given to me in the state of California, I now pronounce you man and wife." Callen leaned down and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. For that moment, it was just the two of them. Looking into each other's eyes, as husband and wife. He gently brushed his lips onto hers, holding her jaw in his hand. Then he deepened the kiss and she relented. Cheers rang out as their guests celebrated a marriage that no one saw coming before it arrived. But no two people deserved the happiness and the love from the other as much as these two.

Nell wiped the tears from her eyes and her hazel eyes widened at the latest guests. Two strong men, a few years older than herself, and very handsome. She liked her men to be strong and these men were strong. When Bradford turned and saw Nell, she blushed and suddenly she realised who he was. Callen and Amy's half brother. A Navy SEAL. Nate noticed her blush as he stood up front next to Sam and Archie. As groomsman, he had clear view of everything and he couldn't wait to see what the rest of the evening brought.

Savannah placed her hands onto her belly and her eyes widened. "George." Callen looked down and placed his hands next to hers. He felt the contractions and the look of fear took over. Sam chuckled and nudged Nate as they realised that they had just managed to get the wedding over before the newest additions to the Callen family arrived.

"Talk about timing," Savannah breathed out as another wave of contractions took over.

"Can we quickly sign this and have a photo. We've got to get to the hospital." There was a flurry of action between everyone and once they smiled between contractions for photos and signed the marriage certificate, Callen drove Savannah to the hospital. His hands shook with nerves, but he was excited at the same time. As he pulled up outside, he found a parking spot near the entrance and helped her inside. A nurse brought over a wheelchair and took Savannah through to the maternity ward. Callen carried the bag that Savannah had prepared and followed.

The barbecue was a success, if anyone asked Sam. People chatted, they ate and drank, to celebrate the transformation of Callen's house into a home and his marriage to the love of his life. But everyone was eager to head over to the hospital. Amy managed to hold them off and told them that she and Nell would go and call through with any news.

Amy and Nell waited out in the waiting room and heard a baby's cry. A child was born. They looked over to each other and hugged one another. They were aunties again. But this time it meant a great deal more. For them, it united the Callen and Granger family in a way it hadn't before and would never again. Two little boys, blond hair and blue eyes, just like their daddy, tied these two families together forever.

Callen exited the room with the biggest grin on his face, pushing Savannah out, holding their two precious sons. "They're perfect." Amy hugged her brother. "What are their names?"

"Nathan Mark and Samuel Thomas." Savannah told them with pride. "Nate and Sam."

"Oh Sam and Nate are going to love you two." Nell looked down at her newest nephews. "They're beautiful, Sav."

"Thanks, Nell." They looked up and no one was surprised to see Sam standing there with the biggest grin on his face.

"Welcome to fatherhood, G." He walked over and hugged his partner. "Everyone is dying to meet them and to find out who won the bet on the names."

"I think you did, Sam." Callen slapped him on the shoulder.

"You didn't did you?" He looked between Callen and Savannah, as if they were pulling his leg.

Savannah handed her son to his name sake. "Meet Samuel Thomas Callen."

"You did that for me?"

"Well you're my bro aren't you?" Callen wore the biggest grin Sam had ever seen on him.

"Of course I am." He gently held his namesake in his arms. "What's his brother's name?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Nathan Mark." Callen lifted his other son from Savannah and gently kissed him on his forehead.

"Now that's a sight to behold."

"Nate." Savannah looked up at her best friend and smiled. "Come and meet your namesake."

"You named your son after me?"

"And me," Sam added, still bearing his grin on his face.

Callen handed his firstborn over to his friend, Nate. "Meet Nathan Mark Callen."

Nate was familiar with holding Milly and Archie when they were babies, but it had been seven years since he'd had the opportunity. He was careful as he supported his head and kissed his forehead. "Hey Nathan. Let's get one thing straight. I'm your uncle Nate, so no cheekiness from you like your father and we'll get on just fine."

Savannah and Nell laughed, knowing too well how Callen could be. "What? I'm not cheeky."

"Oh where do we start, G." Sam chuckled as more of the family and their friends arrived to meet the newest members of the Callen family.

THE END!