No Ordinary Love - G.Callen NCIS L.A

Chapter 15

"Hetty? Do you have a moment?"

The Operations Manager looked up at her team leader. "Mr. Callen. Yes, of course. What can I do for you?"

Callen sank down in the chair on the other side of her desk. "How'd your background check on Deja turn out?"

Hetty narrowed her eyes at him. Apparently he knew her better than she gave him credit for. Callen laughed. "Oh, come on. We both know you know. There's no point in hiding it, Hetty. I would've done the exact same thing had it been the other way around."

That made her feel better, somehow. "Nothing that concerns me," she admitted. "She's squeaky clean."

"I know."

She shook her head. "If you know that, what brings you here? I trust it's not to talk about the weather?"

Callen changed positions, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Believe it or not, she wants to meet you." He shook his head, grinning. "She's been going on about it for a while now, so I can't stall anymore. We'd like to invite you to dinner."

Hetty felt her eyebrows rise to her hairline. "Pardon?"

Again, that grin. It was good to see him grin. "That's what I told her. Told her you'd be more surprised than anything else."

Hetty frowned. "Why would she like to meet me?"

This time, it was Callen who raised an eyebrow at her. "Because you're important to me, Hetty. Have been ever since I was a teenager. Don't you think that's reason enough?"

Nodding, she gave in. "I hope so."

"Trust me. Saturday okay?"

"Saturday is fine. Do I need to bring anything?"

He shook his head. "Appetite and an open mind."

She narrowed her eyes. "To the food or the two of you?"

"Both," he answered easily. "Seven? My place?"

"I'll make sure to be on time."

He rose, signaling that their short conversation was over. "Thank you, Hetty. It means a lot."

She watched him go, not used to this side of him. Of course she'd run a background check on Deja Barrow. Her agents needed to stay safe. Especially this agent. It was nice to see him happy, a bit more carefree than he'd been before. Hetty wondered if maybe Deja was what Callen had needed all along.

That Saturday, Hetty arrived at Callen's house at five minutes to seven. Even walking up to the house felt different, as if she could sense that things had changed on the inside. She could hear soft music playing, and laughter reached her ears.

Knocking, she heard shuffling and then the door opened to a widely grinning Agent Callen. Hetty smiled at him. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

He shook his head, and stepped aside to let her in. "No, you're not. Thanks for coming, Hetty."

The first thing that struck her was the fact that there were actually pieces of furniture in his living room. In all the time she'd known him, this was the most he'd done to decorate a place. The couch took up a lot of space in front of the fireplace, but Hetty found that she liked it. It fit him. Then her eyes travelled to the kitchen and the woman standing in the doorway. She was even prettier in real life than she was in pictures. One look at her and Hetty understood completely why Callen felt relaxed around her. She radiated calmness, and had eyes that seemed to look right through you.

Callen stepped around Hetty and put an arm around her waist. "Hetty, this is Deja. Dee, this is Hetty."

Deja put her hand out for Hetty to shake. "It's nice to meet you."