This is a sequel to Coming Home (and it's really necessary to read that story to get a clear picture of what's happening in this story). This may take a little longer to finish because of vacation and school, but I hope to have it completed before October 1. Thanks for reading and I appreciate (as always) your comments.

Life Changes

Early the next morning, Callen arrived at the boatshed to prepare for his session with Nate. Sam had made sure to get him home at a decent hour—after they'd celebrated with the best steak and the best cabernet sauvignon Callen had had in a very long time. Sam had also come in to see Anna when he drove G home and told her to call him, anytime, if she needed anything or just needed someone to talk to since Sam knew she probably wouldn't get more than five words out of G.

Now, while Callen waited for Nate and the evaluation that would determine when he would be back in the field with Sam, he focused on what was ahead of him, not what was behind him. The changes that were happening around him and in his own life were so momentous that he felt he needed time to just be quiet and think.

"Morning, Callen. I thought I was early."

"You are, Nate. I was just earlier."

Callen took a seat in the couch and waited while Nate fixed himself a cup of coffee. Carrying his coffee and Callen's file, Nate made his way over to the couch and took a seat opposite Callen in one of the easy chairs. He took a sip, sat back, and waited for several moments. Callen continued to think about what was ahead of him in his life not behind. There were so many things that were more important, this session was merely a blip in his life story.

"What do you remember about the operation, Callen?"

Nate asked the question so abruptly, Callen hesitated, but then he realized that the session had started. "I don't remember much, Nate."

"I understand, Callen, but can you tell me what you do remember?"

"Do you want to hear everything I remember? That could take awhile."

"That's okay. We have lots of time," Nate replied and settled down to listen.

xxxxxx

Back in OPS, Sam was again seated in front of Hetty's desk.

"You wanted to see me, Hetty?"

"Well, yes, Mr. Hanna, I did."

She poured herself a cup of tea and glanced in his direction. He shook his head.

"No, thank you."

She finished pouring her tea and then sat down. She took a sip, put her cup down, and looked at Sam carefully. He waited.

"How are you, Mr. Hanna?"

"I'm fine."

She studied him for a few moments more and then decided that she accepted his answer. "Good," she said before taking another sip of her tea.

Now it was Sam's turn to ask a question, "So, is Callen meeting with Nate today?"

Hetty checked her watch before answering. "I imagine their session has already begun."

"Good. Then he should be back at work soon."

Hetty smiled slightly, "It will be nice, Mr. Hanna, when you and Mr. Callen can work together for more than a week without one of you needing to meet with Nate."

Sam smiled and nodded. "We have been putting Nate through his paces."

"Indeed. I don't think Mr. Getz has ever been quite as busy as he's been during the past year with our team." She paused, "And I hope that it will be some time before we ever need his services quite so often again."

"Amen to that," Sam said, nodding in agreement.

There was a moment of silence as Hetty pondered how to breach the next subject. Sam waited, knowing that she had something more to say. Hetty took another sip and after setting her cup down, she glanced up at Sam. "Mr. Hanna, is everything all right between Mr. Callen and Ms. Kolcheck?"

The question was not what Sam had expected and he hoped, for his sake and Callen's, that his expression had not revealed his surprise. "As far as I know it is."

"Well, I hope you're right."

Sam couldn't help himself and heard himself asking, "What makes you think there might be a problem, Hetty?"

"Well, I had an assignment that would have been perfect for Ms. Kolcheck, but when I saw her at the hospital and offered it to her, she turned me down." She paused and looked at Sam intently. "She's never turned down an assignment for us before, so I wondered if there might be an external reason rather than the assignment itself."

Sam pressed his lips together but it was no use. He couldn't prevent the corners of his mouth from turning up ever so slightly into the faintest outline of a smile. He knew Hetty had seen it, but he behaved as though it had never happened. "I don't know any reason she wouldn't accept an assignment, Hetty."

She leaned back and gazed over Sam's right shoulder momentarily before refocusing on him. "I see. Well, I'm sure there is a logical reason that Ms. Kolcheck is currently unavailable. If I have another assignment appropriate for her, I'll contact her again. She may be available at a later date."

xxxxxxx

Nate leaned back in his seat and watched Callen carefully. When Nate had spoken with Sam after Michelle's death, it had been difficult for Sam to get past his personal feelings of guilt and anger and desperate loss, and although he had many more months of therapy ahead, Sam was learning to re-focus his attention on his children and himself as he—and Nate—knew Michelle would want him to do. Callen, however, had no real family connections to help him break out of the emotional quicksand he often stumbled into doing this work. This meant that he often floundered and struggled with emotional issues far longer than the other agents Nate worked with, but Callen had devised his own survival mechanism, and Nate was careful to ensure that any session never threatened that system. One day, if Callen ever did have an actual family structure in his life, he could gradually dismantle that artificial support system, but until then, it was much better for him that it stayed in place. After taking another sip of coffee, Nate continued, "So, you remember the fight when you were sleeping on the street."

"Yea, in bits and pieces," Callen said as he kept his eyes on Nate. "I remember that there were four men and that eventually Artie came from across the street and helped."

"Artie?"

"Deeks."

Nate nodded in understanding. "And then you just went back to sleep?"

"Not right away." Callen paused, "Honestly, I didn't fall asleep again that night."

"Why not?"

"I guess I was waiting."

"To be attacked again?"

"For breakfast," Callen replied without even the hint of a smile. "It's hard to find a good meal on skid row."

"I'm sure it is," Nate acknowledged. "And after the attack that night, you met again with Sam."

"Yea, I did."

"And what did you discuss?"

Callen hesitated for just a split second, but it was enough and Nate caught it. "We talked about shutting down the op."

When Callen offered no more details, Nate pressed him. "And you discussed this because?"

"Because of the attack the night before."

Nate waited a few minutes, but clearly Callen wasn't offering any more details. "And who made the decision to continue the op?"

Callen didn't hesitate at all when he answered, "We both did."

"It was mutual?"

"It was."

"That's not what Sam said in his report."

Callen shrugged, "He got it wrong. It happens."

Nate smiled to himself. Callen's answer was just what he had expected: Callen would never blame Sam for what had happened, and he would never lay the responsibility for going ahead with the operation at Sam's feet. If their roles had been reversed and Sam had been undercover, Nate knew that they would have responded exactly the same way: Callen accepting responsibility for letting the op go ahead and Sam deflecting the blame from him. They were partners. That's what they did. And Nate wasn't concerned about who was to blame—if anyone was. This was dangerous work and there was always the very real possibility that someone would become a casualty through no fault of the design of the operation or the execution of it by the agents. What Nate needed to know was whether or not Callen still possessed the ability and the will to shut down an operation if, in his opinion, it posed an unacceptable risk to himself or to any member of his team even if his partner disagreed. Callen couldn't be an effective leader if he made decisions based on what he perceived as the emotional state of his partner.

"So, you disagree with Sam's report?"

"'Disagree' might be too strong a word," Callen said. "I think it might be more accurate to say that I saw what was decided during our conversation differently. That's all."

And the conversation continued.