No Ordinary Love - G.Callen NCIS L.A

Chapter 5

"Okay, seriously, G, I've gotta ask." Sam looked at his partner in surprise and disbelief. "This is the fifth week in a row you come in here with a prepped lunch. One that is healthy and you actually seem to like. What the hell have you done with my partner?"

Callen shrugged as he put the note Deja had attached to it, into the place he kept all the others. A small wooden box in his top desk drawer.

"Enjoy your tuna sandwich. You want to try something new tonight? Kiss, Dee."

Then he looked at Sam. "What? I finally start paying attention to my health, and now you start bugging me about that, instead of me not paying attention to my health?"

Sam put his hands up in surrender. "No bugging. It's just very, very suspicious. What made you change your mind? Some lady we haven't heard about?"

Being a trained undercover agent was a good thing, now. Callen gave Sam a neutral look, unfazed by the line of questioning. "Like I have time to actually meet someone. If I'm not catching bad guys, I'm babysitting you."

Deeks started to laugh, until Sam threw him a look that could kill. "You mean when I'm not babysitting you. Really, what's gotten into you?"

Again, he shook it off, polishing of the last bite of his sandwich. "Just figured that I should finally take your advice and start eating a little healthier. My body is my temple and all that. It's just to get you off my back."

Not that that would actually work, but he could try. He did feel better, eating wholesome meals and taking it easy on the coffee. There were things even Sam didn't need to know, and Deja and his new eating habits were one of them. He'd protect that part of him even if it killed him. Especially Deja.

Thankfully, Sam's comeback got interrupted by Eric's whistle. A new lead on the case they were currently working on. So he pushed his chair back from his desk and followed Eric up the stairs.

"I will find out, G," Sam muttered.

He didn't expect anything else. "I know." But for now, it could be his secret.

In fact, he never made it to Deja that night. The next morning, when he arrived for breakfast, he shot her an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry about last night, Dee," he said.

She seemed more relieved than angry to see him. "Just glad to see that you're okay. Long day?"

"Didn't get home until after midnight. Hate that I missed out on dinner." He handed her his travel mug. "And can I get a decent coffee? Not for me, for a co-worker.

"Of course." She turned around to the coffee machine and busied herself. "Grisha, tell me if I'm overstepping bounds here, but is there someone watching your back?"

Maybe she was overstepping bounds, but if she was, he couldn't tell. He wanted to reassure her about what it was he did, but he couldn't openly tell her. "I have a partner," he answered.

It was all she wanted to know. "Good." Deja wasn't sure why she wanted to know if he was protected out there. She didn't know what he did, just wanted to know that he would be safe doing it. Why she worried, she didn't know. Just a feeling. A feeling she wasn't really ready to define. "About missing dinner last night, it just means it'll be your lunch today."

Called looked up, not expecting that. "Why?"

"I hate to waste perfectly good food. And we'll have something else on the menu tonight." Instead of a paper bag, she took an airtight container out of the small fridge beneath the bar and handed it to him. With it, she gave him a business card. "Next time you're late or not coming altogether, let me know, okay? My cell number is on the back."

Locking eyes with her, he smiled. She actually worried when he didn't show up without a reason. "A text all right? I probably won't have time to call."

She nodded as she handed him a cup. "Yeah, a text is fine."

"I'll let you know. I'm hoping today will be paperwork." He winked at her. "Thank you, again."

Deja smiled at him. "More than welcome. See you soon."

When he reached Sam, he handed his partner the cup. Sam gave him a surprised look. "What's this?"

"Probably the best coffee you've ever had."

"Seriously?" Cautiously taking a sip, Sam found that it was, indeed, a great cup of coffee. "Where'd you get it?"

"A new place." Pulling out of the parking space, he turned towards OSP. "And what's the deal with you carpooling with me? You sure you want me to drive you around all day?"

Sam huffed. "Not by choice. After that chase yesterday, it's back to the garage. Again. Another set of tires."

Callen grinned and shook his head. "This is just way too convenient for you. You just want to snoop around in here, hoping to find clues about the new and improved me."

"Maybe. I'm just looking out for my partner, G, somebody has to."

Callen pulled up in the parking lot. "I am a grown man, you know. I can look after myself."

"I know," Sam admitted. "That's not it. You just seem... different... Something about you is off."

"By your standards or mine?" Callen put his travel mug on his desk and walked over to the tiny kitchen area to put his lunch in the fridge.

"Come on, G." Sam sounded almost exasperated. "You've got to admit... You eating something remotely homemade and healthy is just like Kensi going off Twinkies..."

"Did I hear my name?" Kensi dropped her bag on her desk and threw Sam a challenging look. "And can you get off my back about the Twinkies? After seven years? We're still going on about that?"

Callen shrugged at her back, then looked back at his partner. "Look, I know this might be hard for you to understand, but I'm not getting any younger. And I've done some research, and eating a bit healthier might actually be a good thing for me. So can we just get back to the normal things we always talk about, instead of interrogating me about the changes in my lifestyle?"

"There's more than one change?" Deeks arched an eyebrow as he dropped himself into his chair. "It's not just the eating healthier?"

He walked right into that. Instead of responding, he booted up his laptop and opened a file, hoping that Eric or Nell would call with a case and he'd get out of this line of questioning. No such luck today, unfortunately.

"You haven't noticed it?" Kensi asked as she sat down next to him. "What kind of agents are you?"

"I'm still not technically an agent," Deeks quipped, but Kensi ignored him, knowing he'd finally handed in his papers with Hetty two weeks before.

Sam looked at her, confused. "Noticed what?"

"Have you found him on the couch, or in the office or the boatshed altogether, for the past few weeks? He's not been sleeping here. He's not even really in here before we all are."

Yeah, he should've seen that coming. There had been times when he hadn't technically left the office. He'd just crash for those precious couple of hours on a couch in the back of the office or the boat shed. But he'd finally bought himself a real bed a while ago. Not just a mattress, but a real, proper bed. And to be completely honest, he actually liked it.

He didn't look up from his laptop screen as he felt both Sam and Deeks' gaze on him. He knew Kensi was a good agent because she was so observant, but he should've known better. He could've pretended.

"I'll be damned," Sam muttered under his breath. "She's right. You haven't slept in here for weeks. See that I was right? He's met someone. Who is she? Do we know her?"

Of course Deeks was just as excited. "Really? He's met someone? When? How?"

And finally, that liberating whistle. He couldn't get out his chair fast enough. Not that that would really stop the team from questioning him. He'd just learned that he'd have to tread more carefully from now on. He wasn't going to let them know about Deja just yet.