Project 'C'.

Chapter 7

Hours went by.

Callen lay on the gurney tossing and moaning every once in a while.

Sam stood at parade rest not moving watching over his friend. Kensi had headed upstairs, to stay with Deeks as he'd come out of surgery three hours before and Hetty was sat in the chair, looking over at Dr. Hurst as he ran different algorithms on the laptop he'd brought.

Every once in a while Sam would look at the others but he remained solidly at Callen's side.

"NO!" Callen shot up and sat upright and then turned and vomited into a bowl that Daniel quickly placed under his chin.

"It's ok G, the worst is over." Daniel said.

Callen looked at him, "Dan?" he asked.

Daniel smiled, "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Tired, foggy…? I'm…not…where the heck am I?" he asked looking around.

Daniel gave a small smile and laughed, "Cedars-Sinai…and old X-ray suite." He said.

"Is that why it's so dark in here?" he asked.

Sam looked worried the lights were on; he had been worried it was too bright for when Callen woke up. "G?" he asked hoping he wasn't blind, to be honest he had no idea why he would be blind, but dark?

"Dark?" Hetty asked.

"Everything is fuzzy. The colors are muted and …the walls? Lead lined?" he asked.

Daniel nodded. "I need to test you, are you up to it yet?" he asked.

Callen rubbed his eyes and sat cross legged on the gurney, "I dunno…." He said giving Daniel a smirk.

Daniel smiled back, "I went to the hospital shop while you were rebooting, and I got some."

"Well…Don't just stand there hand them over Doc!" Callen held his hand out and Daniel pulled a tootsie pop from his bag and held it out.

"You know the deal…." Daniel held the encryption out with one hand holding the candy at arm's length.

Callen sighed and picked up the piece of paper and a pencil and started writing.

Sam moved to look and Callen handed the paper to Dan. "Done!" he grinned and Daniel handed him a tootsie pop. Callen unwrapped it, popped it in his mouth and closed his eyes in pleasure.

Sam laughed "You look happy G?" he said.

Callen grinned "I am happy." He affirmed.

He lay back sucking on the candy and sighed. Thinking back to what had happened he noticed a few blocks of time missing, and started searching through his files for the parts where the holes were.

He sat up again and looked at Dan, "You were kidnapped, by Kort?" he asked. Hetty looked worried at him but said nothing, Callen waited for a few moments as he went back over what had happened. His face fell and he looked at both Hetty and Daniel, "This isn't natural is it?" he asked. Both Hetty and Daniel looked at him but said nothing, "I'm a freak…they were right I really am a freak…and …the CIA wanted me dead?"

He looked broken and Hetty moved towards him, but he moved back, "No…Why? Why would you do this to a child, to me…to…to Amy?" he asked.

Hetty took a chair and moved it closer to the gurney.

"Mr. Callen, in 1977, the internet was making leaps and bounds, those of us in the know, myself…Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and a few others had the vision of foresight as to what the internet could become, the power and the information flowing freely. A group of us, working with the CIA realized that a new prototype of wireless chip would be easier to use in conjunction with the human brain. In the late 1960's we'd asked for volunteers, your mother offered her services to the project and was one of the best candidates we had. She had a genetic mutation, a small anomaly which meant that she would have been able to integrate and tolerate the chip easier than other people. However shortly before her commencement on the program she took a mission to Russia and she disappeared. Trent Kort was second on our list a new agent and he'd past all the evaluations for the experiment, so he was fitted with the prototype. By early 1976 the upgrade was ready, it was years ahead of its time, but we didn't have a subject to put it in. Then I heard about you. You and your sister had been smuggled back into the US after the incident on the beach; we had been told not to…I'm sorry we were told not to rescue your mother or both of you. The powers that be thought that she had gone rogue, she had been sent to Russia and turned up in Romania 9 years later with two children in tow." Hetty paused to let Callen absorb the data. He nodded and she continued.

"Your sister was chosen to be the first upgrade, you were…Hurt, in the escape from Romania and we were not sure if it would work for you."

"Did she know…Amy, did she know what you were going to do to her?" Callen asked.

Hetty nodded, "We had planned to reunite you both, and she agreed to have the implant as long as someone nice could adopt you both."

"Did she? Did she ever tell you my name?" he asked.

Hetty shook her head, "I think she blocked it out when your mother was killed."

Callen sighed, but waited, "We after the operation, the implant was a success. She tested right out of the ball park and was looking forward to being adopted with you, a few days before we were going to pick you up, she disappeared, there was an accident, and she drowned." Hetty told him.

Callen shook his head, "She was murdered, Kort took her, he strangled her and pushed her into the river, her last thoughts were of...me." He told her, his voice cracking at the end of the sentence.

Sam looked over at Callen who hadn't taken his eyes off of Hetty.

Hetty looked close to tears on this news, but continued, "We needed this implant and it was decided that you should be given the implant, you were the only one left with the genetic mutation that meant the implant would work with your anatomy also…you had an…anomaly. You had hit your head during the escape and had slight brain damage, you were hyperactive and had high functioning Aspergers, You wouldn't make eye contact with anyone and fidgeted a lot. The part of your brain that had been injured was where we needed to place the chip, it…for want of a better word, upgraded you. But Daniel was determined that you should grow up as a kid, without the knowledge of what you were."

"Why…? Why did he get to make that choice?" Callen asked slightly annoyed.

"Emma and I were going to be your adoptive parents, it was approved but the CIA overruled it, so we kept in contact as best as we could."

Callen looked stunned, "You wanted to adopt…Me?" he asked.

Daniel nodded, "You and Amy, we loved you both, but after Amy's…what we thought was a malfunction, the CIA wanted to keep you mobile and away from any attachments."

"So, I grew up in care…going through all that because of the CIA?" Callen was angry, but he knew he would deal with it later, filing the information for him to deal with when he was alone.

Daniel sat next to him on the gurney, "G, we always wanted you to be a part of our family, with or without the chip, Jessie is my daughter, but you and Amy were just as much our children."

"You? You left the card on Amy's grave?" Callen said.

"Yes G, we did. We leave flowers every year for her birthday."

Callen smiled softly. "Thank you, thank you for not forgetting her."

"I didn't forget you either, I followed you through your different foster homes, moved heaven and earth to get you to moved to safer places."

Callen looked at him and smiled again, "Thank you." He said quietly.

Daniel laughed, "So you see when you call Emma mom, you really aren't that far from the truth."

Callen looked up, "Where are they?" he asked.

"Who?" Sam asked.

"Emma and Jessie, I mean, they should have been told by now that I'm here and that you're with me, if it were me…I'd have wanted to check on you to make sure you were ok."

"He has a point, let me call Owen and see where they are." Hetty said.

She stepped outside to make her call as Callen looked at Sam, "I'll keep an eye on her." Sam said and left the room.

"I'm sorry Callen, I'm sorry I didn't push harder to make the CIA change their minds, I fought for you as much as I could, but I couldn't get them to realize I wanted you as a son not an asset." Daniel said.

Callen choked up, after all these years to realize that he could have had a normal home and family, he had been so close.

Daniel wrapped his arms around Callen and held him in a hug, "Thanks…dad." Callen said softly.

They moved apart as Hetty and Sam walked in looking grim.

"Owen was ambushed on his way to the hospital; Emma and Jessica were taken by a group of armed men."