No Ordinary Love - G.Callen NCIS L.A

Chapter 52

"Grisha." Hetty arched an eyebrow. "Did I forget something in the debrief?" The team had arrived from a grueling day in Santa Barbara three hours ago, and after a short debrief she had sent everybody home and went to Tom's house herself. So seeing her senior agent standing in the door opening from the hall to the dining room now, right after dinner, was a surprise.

He shook his head. "No, you covered everything."

Hetty put her napkin down and frowned. "What is it, then? Something wrong?"

Again, he shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong. I just want to clearilfy something."

"And that something couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"It could, but I'd rather not." His eyes traveled to Tom. "Again, I'm sorry for intruding."

"Don't be. Obviously, it's something important if you've come all this way. Take a seat. Have you eaten? You want something to drink?"

"I have, and no, thank you." He pulled out a chair and sat down.

Tom glanced at Hetty. "Do you two want some privacy?"

"No, you can stay." Grisha took a deep breath. "How long until your retirement, Hetty?"

Although his question threw her for a loop, she didn't show it. Instead, she smiled and bowed her head. "How long have you known?"

"Not long. It's little things; I doubt the others know. It's real this time?"

"It is. Like you, I've found that there is more to life than work." Her smile grew wider as she looked at Tom. "My resignation won't go into effect until the end of February, so you'll have time to get used to it."

"Mmm." Grisha swallowed. "How is your file on potential other agents?"

"That depends. Am I going to need it or my successor?"

"I'm thinking you are."

"For who?"

"Me." He chuckled. "But you know that. You have for a long time."

"Why now, though?"

"It's time. That standoff today was brutal, we barely had time to take cover and I know Nell got off with a graze, and this time it was her arm, Hetty, but it could've been much worse... The only thing that kept going through my head was that I wanted to make it back home. I have done this for a long time, Hetty. It's time someone else does, now."

"What made you decide today, though? You've been in more than one brutal standoff in the last year."

"We half decided on a date yesterday. I want to make it to my own wedding without having to wonder if I'm going to get shot between now and then."

She understood. "I know. And you deserve no less." She reached for her wine glass and took a sip. "Have you decided on what you want to do?"

"Not yet. I think I'll help Dee with getting Indulge on its feet and then we'll see. I'm not in a rush to find something else."

"You deserve some downtime." She paused for a moment, wondering if she needed to tell him. Then again, he was her team leader, so he needed to know. "Mr. and Mrs. Deeks have handed in their resignations as well."

Grisha nodded. "I know. They came to the house two nights ago." He leaned back

in his chair. "It will be a completely different team. And maybe that's a good thing. I know it's a good thing for them to be done with this, start a family. They'd been trying to decide for a long time."

"So they said." Hetty sighed. "Things have shifted. I get that. There is more in life than work. I get that, too. And you have half your lives still ahead of you, so I do understand that you want to make something of it. You should. But Director Vance is going to question me on why we're all deciding this at the same moment."