InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Are you wearing a bag!?"

Robert Callen (r_callen) wrote in omega_reality,
@ 2013-06-05 08:39:00

Entry tags:

*complete, 2013 06, character: g callen, character: robert callen

RP: Robert and G
Who: Robert and G
Where: Camp Site
When: Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Summary: Robert catches up with G

Robert had let G do his thing, while he took care of Liam, took stock of their supplies. They had brought diapers and milk, but there was no way that they were going to last forever. It might be time to toilet train Liam, at least during the day. What better place than the prehistoric age to have a kid running around naked. God, his mother would have been horrified.

He tried not to think about it for too long. That was made easier when he saw G. Robert approached him with Liam not to far. This time, he took the time to hug his brother. "It's really good to see you, G." He looked down. "Say hello to Uncle G."

"Hi," Liam said cautiously, standing by Robert.

Robert smirked. "He's a little suspicious. I don't know where he gets it from. Give it a few days. He's good with the family. Mostly. We're still working on me holding Jamie. He's really not happy about Bambi's kid, but it's not her fault his parents are idiots, so we're giving her the benefit of the doubt. Isn't that true, Liam?"

Liam stared up at his father with a frown.

"I guess he's not really convinced yet." He grinned at G. "So how have you been? Did you give us for lost already? Would you like to plea the fifth?"

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g_callen
2013-06-06 11:56 pm UTC (link)

G hadn't been hugged so much in months. He and Sam touched, hugged, kissed, but this was different. He was going to have to get used to being touched again. At least that would be easier than getting used to this barrage of words and half finished sentences in his head. At this point, he couldn't even separate one person from another anymore and was just using some of the techniques he'd learned in working with Marty to focus on his own thoughts and push those others to a dull roar in the background. On top of trying to get things organized all these people taken care of, he was going to have to learn how to control this new power in a hurry. Nothing like a little pressure to make G's day.

Matching his brother's smirk, he squatted down to look his nephew in the eyes on his lever. "That's okay," he said in English before switching to Russian, curious if Liam would at least recognize the sounds if not the words. "We don't have to be friends until you're ready." He switched back to English. "Your cousin Savannah tells me you and the other kids helped take care of Harley and played with him while I was gone. Spasibo."

Standing again, he chuckled at Robert's question but shrugged unapologetically. "Had no way of knowing you could track us and no way of getting back. No time for hope or depression while figuring out how to bronco ride giant reptiles." Not exactly a confession, but close enough for his brother to understand. His smirk deepened until his dimple appeared. "It was a nice vacation."

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r_callen
2013-06-07 01:05 am UTC (link)

"We do so much better in Romanian, and that I'm still not teaching anyone else," he said, before switching into Romanian and looking at Liam. "What do you say to Uncle G?"

"You're welcome?"

Robert nodded. "That's actually easier to pronounce in Romanian than English." He looked at G and decided that since privacy was non existent, they might as well switch to the one language that no one else spoke. "I'm glad you could relax, because you have plenty to catch up to. There were a lot of changes and a lot of confirmations. Savannah is... that girl never gave up, not once, she refused to let anyone consider the alternative. Deeks has been in charge as you know. He and Savannah... it wasn't good for a while. I think they both felt the burden of his command and she... God, she's fucking you at times. She feels she's responsible for something and she wants to do it all, even if she was pregnant, two kids and not in charge, and yet she felt responsible for everyone, because she was going to protect your team. Yours. The thing is that somewhere along the line they finally started working together, really together, and suddenly they were on fire, both of them. She was the perfect military wife who instead of tea taught sniper classes. You have a strong team there and they have managed to pull in pretty much everyone, even the Hammond twins, and that should tell you something."

He looked around, although it didn't really matter considering he was still speaking Romanian. "I might have finally started to act like a Colonel. Maybe a Major," he said, laughing. "I know you never really put me in charge of anything other than the plane, and that's... thank you. You could have pushed, and I get that it's not like you had other choices with that, but you didn't push even when we didn't have the plane. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm ready if you need me."

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g_callen
2013-06-14 04:21 am UTC (link)

G just shrugged. Russian was and always had been his default. It was the one language he'd learned because he wanted to, not for a job. But, Romanian was a language he could share with his brother and that made it different in its own right in addition to the security in being the only ones they knew of who could understand it.

His hands slid into his back pockets while he listened to Robert speak, eyes tracking from his brother's face to Savannah and Marty and back. It hadn't taken long for G to accept the fact he was never seeing them all again. That was just his life, it was what he was used to. What he wasn't used to was the way old responsibilities seemed to just settle back on his shoulders like they belonged to him. Family. Team. "That's my girl," he said with a smirk because he could just see her giving sniper lessons and serving tea. It wasn't her responsibility to take, though, not to take on for him. "But not Hammond or Barrish?" he queried, keeping up the Romanian his brother had begun. Marty had mentioned giving the twins a chance. And now Robert was calling them part of the team. G would have to keep an eye on them. "So, tell me about this team, strengths, weaknesses. Marty gave me his opinions. I want to hear yours. You think more like I do."

Smiling, G shook his head. "Could have, but wouldn't. Pushing wouldn't have been good for you and it wouldn't have been good for the team. But, you're welcome. And we're going to need every asset we have here, especially while we're learning about this team the same as they're learning this world."

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r_callen
2013-06-14 05:09 pm UTC (link)

It was strange. He had grown up learning different languages, but Romanian felt familiar in a way only English did. He wondered how much time his mother had spent talking to him in Romanian, but it certainly was useful now that the entire discussion was in Romanian.

"We didn't even know he had a power until this morning, let along how good his control was. I think they will help, they do believe in the greater good, but they are politicians and presidents," Robert said, avoiding names for now, although if he was going to talk about the team, names would eventually become necessary. "They feel they are the ultimate judges of what the greater good is, and that makes me not trust them, just like I never trusted the politicians while serving. Her mother will do what she said, and besides, she had a drinking problem that is going to hit her hard in this dimension."

He looked over to where Spencer was talking to Morgan. "You know my feelings about them, but things got worse. They found one of the serial killer. They say they just ran into him and contacted us. Vance didn't believe them. He made a personal trip to give them an ultimatum, still giving them the choice to come back since we knew that hospitals were out of the questions. Vance didn't make trips, but he made this trip. That's how much he didn't trust them, and they still turned him down only to show up when everything was going to hell. I never liked them, but there's a lot of people who won't trust them now." He didn't particularly care that they'd be ostricized, but he would have a problem if Morgan started to play the mediator and got people killed in the process.

"Other than them, I trust this team. It's a solid one, a squadron if you will. Derek has been pushing the life together, hunting together, training together., cooking together, eating together. Less units more of a team, but to know the strength of the team, you need to know about the people, so let's start with the ones you know. Deeks and Savannah, you know although she worries me. He is good, but he puts his own limits. He is a cop. He won't have a problem with animals, but he has his internal limits with people. She has no limits. She has Sam's drive, your slyness and a goodness that's all hers. She can get anyone to do what she wants, and honestly she'd freak the fuck out of me if she developed Deeks' power." He didn't mention that she'd likely use it as G wanted, but then G had very few limits himself.

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r_callen
2013-06-14 05:09 pm UTC (link)

"She also needs you to stop her. I had to speak to the new doctor to bench her, because she was pushing while pretty much ready to give birth. Deeks was in charge, but there was a sense of complicity there, they make some decisions together. You, she listens to. Most of the time. Sean was... just as driven. Jenna's death hit him hard after Sam, but he's Sean. He makes it up by focusing on the next thing. All of a sudden, it was training. He wasn't any better than Savannah. She got him to shoot sniper rifles. Things got a little better when Tamira arrived. She's sassy, strong, direct. She's like Sean, but without the insecurities. Her fitness is pretty good for a woman her age, but nothing compared to what we do. On the other hand, she's not going to whine about working out. Troy helped, too. He's... Troy. He's sharper, more focused. He can shoot much better than he did. We've worked on rifles as well. He won't have a problem with animals. He was strong and on point when Travis was shot. He and Nell took the bullet out so that Maura didn't have to open him up. You can rely on him, but he was still cracking the joke two seconds after that bullet came out. I don't think that will ever stop."

He realized that he was describing family first, but it was as good a system as any. "Dom has been working non stop on everything. Training, machine, physics. If we needed it, he's done it. He got worse after Jenna, literally working on that machine every second he was awake. There might have been some subtle and not so subtle reminders that he still had a son. I'd keep an eye on him now that he knows she's dead. Mike... he's Mike, you know? You know what he can do. His senses are even sharper now. Other than that, he doesn't rock the boat." It wasn't something he ever talk about, mostly because he didn't trust anyone, but if there was someone that he could talk to, it was G. "It's like being with Kensi again. We avoid anything that could cause problems, we take care of the kids. I know what he wants. He wants me to say that we're one, big, happy family; that Liam is his and Eve is mine; that my family is his family, but I can't give him that. I mean family dinners and picnics, sure, but Liam is mine. He'll always be mine and he will be raised like a Callen, and I can never feel about Eve the way I feel about Liam. She's like... like the twins, or JR, or Blaze, you know? I care about her, I even love her, but she's not my kid. But, since that's the deal breaker, we never talk about it and pretend. And that has nothing to do with the team, because we still work as well as ever in a unti, not that we've had the chance lately, but that hasn't changed."

It was time to move on to the next group, and realized that the only other person left from NCIS was Nell. "Your sweet analyst is as competent as ever, trained even better, can predict the team's need even better, but I get a feeling that she likes the field more than the office. She's gotten close to Derek. No, I shouldn't even say that since they were close before, but she and John are the only ones who can make him relax. Her more than him, which is why I put them in the same car. He needs some normal. The man is good, especially with this survivor stuff, but his PTSD could be triggered by who knows what. I think she can get to him. John could do, but if Derek has to listen to him and Brian every day, he might just shoot them and blame PTSD. And, that brings us to John and Brian. It took a while for things to improve there. It started around John's birthday and he's been spending more time with Brian and less with the laptop. Brian has been training more, actually doing stuff instead of doing the minimum necessary to get by. He'll still bitch about everything, but he's been on top of things. He'll never be a fighter, but if you need to plan, you need an administrator, that's him. Also, rings appeared when we went on vacation. They had to be his idea, because they match John's bracelet and there's no way that John picked any of that. Keep them together, and you have Brian's cooperation. Split them apart, and he's going to screw you over.

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r_callen
2013-06-14 05:10 pm UTC (link)

"Alexis and Tim have both been working as hard as ever, but the quality of it has changed. They aren't training to defend themselves, but to help the team, coming up with new ways to use their power. And that brings us to the end of the people you trained. Now to the ones you got to know. Claudia is... she reminds me of the Energizer bunny. She keeps going no matter what you throw at her. She's adaptable. Her cover was that she was the Hammond's daughter. She learned to speak like them, or at least she tried," he said with a laugh. "Her speech is more normal, but I don't think she gets that it's not the number of syllables that makes you speak like them. Or me. It's not the words, but the way you put them together, the arrogance behind them. She doesn't have that, and I doubt she'll ever learn that. And speaking of the Hammonds." Robert wondered if he was being partial when it came to them, but he didn't think so. "She doesn't get them, but I do. They are me without the Air Force. I'm only saying this, because there might be a bias that I can't see. Both will do what needs to be done. They bitch, but never ask for special treatment. Contrary to what it looks like, I think Thomas is more integrated than his brother, and not just because of Travis or Savannah, but he's looking for a place to belong, I think. He might not like this one, he might not like the people, but he tries. Douglas... I don't know, I can't really get a feeling there. I know Deeks trusts him, and they were out to take care of that serial killer, just the two of them, so something happened there. It had to be, because that's really the only major op they were out together. I believe that he'll do the work. He's a fixer. His mother ran state, but he ran her agenda, so that takes skill. I don't know if he's as integrated, though. He uses words and smiles to keep a polite distance, even more so than his brother, and he doesn't have someone like Travis to connect him to the rest. He married Maura, but... something's up there. I loved Kensi more than those two love each other. Maura is good, though. You know how much I like doctors, but she's proven that she's good in a crises, or if you explain things to her. She comes from a very different environment, so you need to spell out what she needs to do. If you don't, she'll just assume that people will talk to her when there's a medical emergency. It's why I might... have gone off on her a few times, when I felt she wasn't doing her job, especially with Savannah. It turns out that she didn't think it was her job since Savannah hadn't asked for her help." And then she learned that waiting for Savannah was not a good thing.

"Finishing up that family, you have Travis, who's pretty much Deeks. He's the cop. He's loyal to a fault Things aren't black or white, but LAPD blue or not. Amazing shot, good undercover, but not an agent. The LAPD connection is also why they got adopted by Savannah regardless of what they say," he added, with a chuckle. "It's not a bad thing, though. It's pulling at least three out of the four into the team. I just wish she'd be as successful with Douglas. To finish up this group, we have Oliver and
Tommy. They were living with Deeks and Savannah and in her unit, so she might not have adopted them, but she didn't have to, since they were already there. She's been working with them, and she's a good teacher. Oliver is solid when it comes to physical training. His weakness is how aloof and isolated he is, but both Savannah and Tommy have helped. Tommy is the reverse. He might not be anywhere near as good, but he's got the right personality to make him fit and he's loyal.

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r_callen
2013-06-14 05:14 pm UTC (link)

"Last group, the ones you don't know. Helena comes from Claudia's dimension; they worked together. She's a good shot. She's very formal when she speaks, and I don't mean like the Hammond, more like she grew up in another century. I didn't think even public school in England did that anymore. It certainly didn't work with the royals, but who knows. Of course, it does make me wonder how a posh Brit got a job with the US Secret Service." He smiled broadly. "I might trust the team, but I'm still suspicious when things don't add up. Brian is a LAPD cop turned criminal. You can imagine how much Deeks and Travis like him. I get a feeling that he will help as long as we get home. You try to get him to work with the government, and you'll have a serious problem. He identify with the team, because we're not the cops or agents here, but the criminals on the run, if you like analogies. Matt is a firefighter, lieutenant from Chicago, and we all know the scandals there. So to get so far so young, he must be good, and he is from what we've seen. He has no ties to anyone, but he's tried to help when he could. Finally, we have Mike. He's BAU, but not like Morgan. Thank God," he murmured. "He comes from a military family so he gets both sides. He's gay, been spending time with Brian, but I think it's all platonic. I think he saw a hole and plugged it, which when I pointed it out to Savannah, her answer was 'yay team'. That's it. You've got a good solid team here, one that's used to working together. For the most part."

Robert looked at G for a moment. "I guess I forgot me. I was suddenly in charge, but maybe it wasn't so suddenly. I was helping already, plugging those holes, helping Deeks, talking to Savannah, to Maura. It started with family and it snowballed." He looked up at the sky. "We need someone to deal with aerial attacks. I want that, G. I want a team, because that's were we're weak and that's why I've spent years dealing with, but first, we have that mountain. We need caves higher up to put the supply trucks. Something hits that tanker and we're all dead. We need those out of the way without weakening the structural integrity of the mountain, and then we can move to the rest."

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g_callen
2013-06-17 07:28 am UTC (link)

G couldn't help smirking a little, listening to his brother. He'd asked for his opinion and wasn't at all surprised when it came in the form of a full debrief. In a strange way, the fact they were doing this all in Romanian, which forced him to think in Romanian, helped to push the clamor inside his head further to the background.

"Sounds like things have been just fine without us," he said once Robert finished. He was mostly teasing. But no one had worked this well together when they left. Hell, he and Savannah hadn't even been working. "Yay team, huh?"

"Alright, so we have politicians that can't be trusted because they are politicians. Nothing new there. I am surprised Marks was able to get their sons to come back. When they left, I was sure that was the last we'd see of them. Depends on when that particular romance bloomed, most likely. But, with both you and Marty speaking for them and Savannah naming her son after one, I suppose they get a chance. That's not you, though, Rob. Money, entitlement, lifestyle, maybe there are similarities, but you you had one advantage they didn't. You had your mother. From what you've told me about her, she built you up, made you stronger. She never would have spoken to you the way theirs did when Thomas first made the decision to go off on his own. Makes a difference. Getting away from that may have been the best thing for the two of them.

"The other three proved they have no honor or loyalty long ago and left as soon as it was more convenient for them. So, it doesn't surprise me Vance had to do clean-up. How many people know about that trip or the reason Vance made it? And why are hospitals out of the question?" G had lost all respect for them the minute he found out they intended to keep his brother's child from him if it had turned out to be Robert's child. He had never said anything or let on to any such feelings, knowing it would undermine the way the team functioned. But, he hadn't been sorry to see them leave. There was something else bugging him about that incident, though. "You said Marty and Douglas were the ones taking out the serial killer? How messed up did that make him and how long ago?" Marty was a cop, through and through, no matter what Hetty had wanted him to be. G had a pretty good idea what the other man's limits were and assassination, which is what that amounted to, was not within those limits.

"And why were hospitals being out of the question an issue? They never should have been an option."

He smiled a little. "You know, Sam and I have always said that Savannah and Sean working together with a single focus would be a dangerous proposition for the rest of us. Savannah's always pushed. It's why we set the limits we did at the beginning, force her to stop and not do everything or be everything to everyone." When things settled some, he'd have to have a talk with her, see how much further they'd need to talk her down if she'd spent the last five months trying to take care of his team. "Dom and John have their work cut out for them now. But, there won't be any forgetting he has a son on my watch. Bolton took out a bullet with his power, hm? Imagine that.

"Nell doesn't surprise me. We let her outside the office once or twice back home and she took to it well, fearless." That fearlessness was one of the reasons he'd been worried about the signs he'd seen last summer, signs of trauma he knew too well, too personally. But, she'd seemed to be steadily improving even before they'd left. "What exactly happened with Reese? The version we got was sketchy. Thomas was playing? Music or some kind of game? And it triggered a flashback where Marks was shot? It might help if we had some idea of what could be triggering. The last thing we need is something triggering him out there, especially if his instinct is to go for his gun. And I've always known the key to getting Kinney to cooperate was John. I knew it before Kinney did. The rings are a surprise, though, being who he is."

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g_callen
2013-06-17 07:30 am UTC (link)

Pausing, G flipped through the mental list he'd made while listening to his brother. What else did he need addressed or further information on? Alexis, Tim, Claudia, Marks...all good for now, although he wanted to have a talk with Marks and Dr. Isles both to get an idea of the man's current ready status. "A doctor you can speak about civilly, this could get some getting used to," he said with a smirk. "Okay, explaining. Well, that's not different from what we've had to do with others, even Savannah. No one's telling me she nearly killed Marks, so we'll call it a step in the right direction. Tell me she's running medical now? And how is that working with April back? Am I looking forward to refereeing bruised egos?"

He was going to have to observe the newest people on his own to really get to know the assets and liabilities. But, at least Robert had given him a good platform to start from. Sam would love having another criminal among them, he was sure. He'd always had more of a problem working with them than G had. Not in the sense of not being able to work with them, but never being able to think of them as dependable. G just saw skills he could use as he needed. Morals were secondary to getting the job done and keeping people safe.

"You've been building up to taking a more active role in command for a while, you know. Since Liam was born, you've been pulling yourself back up. You just hadn't seen it yourself, yet. But, I did." He cast a smile down at his nephew, still right by his father's side. "You needed a reason to care, same as I did. Sam gave me a push toward Savannah. You had Liam. This thing with Renko...I get it. Savannah's mine. Sean and Jenna, they're Sam's. There's a difference, no matter how much we care about all of them. If he were honest with himself, I'd bet he'd realize that he'll always put Isabella first without a second thought because she's his. No matter if we're all family. There's always a hierarchy. It's human nature. Even Savannah has one. She just finds a place for everyone on it, in their places and differing levels. Can you be happy like that, though, Rob? I know you never planned on the grand romance at home, either. But, if a deal breaker exists, it's still a deal breaker whether it's spoken of or not. What happens when it can't be ignored any longer?"

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r_callen
2013-06-17 04:11 pm UTC (link)

"Yay team!" he answered with a chuckle. "We do work well together, but it's not surprising. You have fewer monolith blocks with years of training, and some of the new arrivals aren't teenagers, but law enforcement. There was also a common goal. It's always easier when there's a common enemy, even if it's a dimension. Training helped, too, though. Once we knew where we were going, we concentrated on survival skills, and that was done as a group. Units became less relevant. You guys are used to working in small groups. I don't think Derek does, and he was running the show when it came to survival."

Robert looked at where Thomas and Douglas were talking, Travis not too far. "It doesn't really matter. Thomas was craving for someone to put him first and Travis adores him. It's not just the way he treats him, but the way he treats Douglas. Those two have the unhealthiest brotherly relationship I've ever seen." Caring about family was normal, but codependency was not. "You're right. I'm arrogant because I know I'm the best. They are arrogant, because of who their parents are. Still, I'd worry about Douglas more than Thomas as long as Travis is around. Thomas is pulling away a little, because he has someone else. Douglas doesn't. That marriage is friendly understanding at best. He still relies on his brother more than his wife, and even that… I don't know, I get the feeling that it's all smiles and politeness. A perfect wall to keep everyone away. Deeks can tell you more, I'm sure. They have been part of his unit since they arrived, pretty much.

"And speaking of Deeks, I think things started to go South with Savannah around then, but I can't be sure. You know how she is, things build up, so it took a while for me to notice," he admitted. "You know I've tried to tell him without coming out and saying it that it was okay to talk to her, that he could still tell her what happened without violating need to know, and if he didn't want to talk to her, there were others who understood. I think he got it, because things got better for both, but I never asked how much he shared. I definitely didn't need to know since I technically don't know what he did. Just a lot of educated guesses." He thought need to know was bad enough when he was in the Air Force, but it had reached a whole new level here. "Deeks and Douglas are the only ones who know what happened, and I don't even know how much Douglas knows, but he's smart. He would have made a few guesses himself. Troy and Claudia were on the plane. They had enough bits and pieces that could have guesses, but neither is the type to care, so I doubt they know. Derek's unit -Nell, Alexis and Tim – went to the house with us. Derek is the one who probably won't be affected at all, not because he trusts them, but because he doesn't trust anyone."

He couldn't help but smile. "Oh, you missed the mandatory physical thanks to Maura. They came with lots of 'fuck yous' from me, and strongly worded objections when she didn't stop talking, and finally, I let her run the tests, after she explained everything. She analyzed the blood sample and found that we all carry an antibody that doesn't belong to any isotype associated with humans. Now, most exams wouldn't show it, most technicians wouldn't see it even if they did the testing manually instead of through machines, but there's no guarantee that some eager doctor wouldn't catch it."

What exactly had happened with Derek? That was the million dollar question. "I don't know exactly, because he's pretty tight-lipped and he shared what he needed to convince Vance that he wasn't going to murder everyone. You might want to check with Mike- Weston. What I know is that Thomas was playing on the piano, Chopin, and it's the same music that they used when they were torturing him. In his state, he thought he had escaped and found his captor and shot him. Travis just happened to jump in front of Thomas, which is the only reason Thomas isn't dead. If he's had any other flashbacks, I don't know, but yes, he will always go for his gun. In fact, we were damn lucky we were at the trailer park and not the island, because otherwise, he'd have had a rifle and a lot more people would be hurt or dead."

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r_callen
2013-06-17 04:12 pm UTC (link)

He shook his head. "John isn't the way to get to Kinney. Kinney is the way to get to Kinney. John would never let himself used that way and Kinney doesn't really react like a normal person. He said that he's going to stay with John. I thought he was joking, even if that's when he started working out like he should. Those rings, though. He means it and that's what's changed. He's got a reason to stay alive, to stay with John."

Robert snorted. "I always speak civilly, even when I insult them, but she's very… cold, almost like Sheldon. Not as bad, but not normal either. I don't think she knows how to process feelings, which goes back to what I said about the wedding. She's very business like and efficient and she doesn't take feelings into account. You should have seen her with Travis. Bambi comes in, like she's the Head of Surgery, asking for status. Maura tells her that she'll call her when she's needed and if she's strong enough, she can hold Travis still. There's going to be bruised egos on Bambi's side, definitely, but people don't trust her, and they trust Maura, especially that family. There was no way Thomas was going to let a stranger touch Travis. Fuck, if Savannah hadn't shadowed him all day, I'm not sure what would have happened. She was plastered to him, while his parents were having cocktails or something."

He wasn't sure it was building up for as long as G thought, but things were different now. "I know what you're saying, but I don't think it's… You fight for Savannah, but if it became a choice between Savannah and Sam? It'd be a close call. And Sam? He'd find a way to have Sean and you. You two put each other on the same level as the kids, and I get that it's different for you, because the so-called kids are married with kids, but I wouldn't have to think about it. Liam would come first. I… I don't even know how to explain it. This isn't about whose life is worth more or who you'd save, because obviously the kids would always come first, all of them, even Eve, and she's not family, but it's about… everything else." He brushed Liam's hair. "He's everything else, G, and I think Mike understands, which is why it will be ignored forever, and if it can't-" He shrugged. "As you said, I never looked for the grand romance, and I'm not looking for it here. I have what I need." He raised his eyes from his son to his brother. "So are you going to give me aerial? I have ideas," he said with a grin. "I'm sure plenty of people will have ideas, lots of ideas. We can all tell you what you've been doing wrong or forgetting, because we've been playing survivor for five months. The grand prize was a holiday at a place where the rooms were closer to a thousand dollar per night than a hundred. God, you and Sam would have hated it the place, huge, open, no control. You know I think that's one thing that helped with Derek's style of command. He tells you what to do and he tells you that he doesn't give a shit if you die because you don't follow the rules, but he's not putting people's lives at risk for your stupidity. I don't know if he means it, but it sounds like he does and it makes people think twice. You? You're just unable to watch people die without trying, which is why you do what you do."

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g_callen
2013-06-24 06:14 pm UTC (link)

"And yet, look at the teenagers and young adults we have," G pointed out. He and Sam had both always said the younger ones among them were the most adaptable in the end. Even John, who had come to them already knowing more than any teenager should about weapons and tactics, had changed and honed those skills. "But, units will change again. They have to. Units as we know them won't work here." Given how they would need to put people together based on tasks: scavenging, gathering, cooking, etc, G couldn't help but think this would be a sociologist's wet dream experiment in primitive society.

Snorting, he shook his head. "I'm the last one who should comment on unhealthy or healthy relationships." The ones he had were probably good for him. But, there was no way he was good for them. Still, if Douglas was the only one other than Marty who knew exactly what he did, that would explain a lot. It was a situation that would bear further watching, for both personal and professional reasons. Marty wasn't Sam, after all. "Of course, your educated guesses are probably more accurate than most people's facts," he said with a smirk. "But, that would make sense. We'll have to keep an eye on the situation...keep a situation from developing."

At the thought of mandatory physicals, both eyebrows shot up. Fuck physical exams, Vance had let her run blood tests? G was suddenly extremely glad he hadn't been there. He was pretty sure he'd have wound up going head to head with his boss and it wouldn't have been pretty. "So, essentially I was right from the start and we can't trust doctors or hospitals to be safe, ever. We won't be needing further blood tests to tell us that."

Or anything else. Who knew what worlds they could end up on if Dom and John got the machine working. Moving on, G made a mental note to talk to Weston about Reese, check on Marks and the Hammond brothers, make Dr. Isles' reacquaintance, keep an eye on relations with April and Dr. Isles. Not that he could say he blamed Thomas. If it had been him needing someone for Sam, G wouldn't have let just anyone, especially someone he didn't know or trust, touch his partner. "Savannah does seem to have taken a liking to him. I've been informed my grandson is his namesake, was delivered by him, and something about an earthquake and making him completely gay." G snorted. He'd have to talk to Savannah later and get that whole story sorted. " But, while you might always speak civilly, you almost sound like you approve of this one. Or is that just satisfaction at seeing 'Bambi' knocked down a peg?"

Sighing, he shook his head. "No, it wouldn't be a close call because Sam and I...we know what we mean to each other." Or Sam knew what he meant to G and G was steadfastly reminding himself what he meant to Sam until he could beat his own insecurities into submission. "But we also trust the other to be able to survive until we can get to them, no matter how long that takes or who we save first." It was no different from the job, really. They completed the mission, got hostages out, and trusted the other to stay alive until they could get to them. Simple as that. If only one of them had been brought here and the other stranded in Omega, G wouldn't have given up as easily on seeing his family again. He'd have known Sam would find him. "I'd kill him myself if he chose me over Sean and I'm pretty sure he'd do the same if I chose him over Savannah. Doesn't matter that they're grown with spouses and kids of their own. But, we're not normal and I doubt that's exactly what you mean for the two of you. You know what you need and what you can live with, hopefully he does, too. If not...well, you still have your certifiably insane big brother."

G snorted. "Of course you get aerial. Who else would I give it to? People are always welcome to float us ideas same as always...and we can ignore any that don't work same always." He shrugged. Other people's opinions meant very little to him when weighed against their survival. "Maybe he does. But, while I might be physically incapable of watching them die, they're not endangering others for their stupidity." Just G, who would always feel obligated to come to the rescue. "I also don't care if they hate me for it. They can hate me and stay alive."

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r_callen
2013-06-24 06:41 pm UTC (link)

"Yes, but you had months to get them trained. When it comes down to weeks, I'll take the cops and agents," he said. "Just imagine training teenagers here, but let's not borrow trouble, right? We'll do what we have to."

Robert snorted. "Keep watching them and then you let me know. If we touched, hugged and kissed each other as much as they do, we'd shoot each other. Don't get me wrong, I like them wll enough, but it's werid to watch." He smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just guessing."

The discussion about physicals had him laughing. "Yes, you can be thankful that you weren't there, but she's thorough, and she has learned some things through those physicals. It wasn't a waste of time, and yes, I approve of her. I respect her and the way she does her job. She's efficient and knowledgeable; she doesn't let emotions get in the way." He sighed. "And Savannah would have scared the crap out of us if we'd been around. We were out on mission. She was in charge of the entire group. It's why she was being with Sheldon. I'm sure she'll tell you the whole story if you ask, or even if you don't."

He clapped G's arm and it was nothing like the touches between the Hammond twins. "I know you're insane, but everything is fine. You don't have to worry about us."

Grinning, he looked up at the sky. "Great, I'll take a few trips up on that mountain, see if there are any places we can hide, or even where to put caves, maybe figure out who's powers can help, but that's going to take some time. We'll work on the basics first." He looked at G again. "It has nothing to do with hate. Derek forces to be responsible because they think that he won't let people risk their lives for them. It's fear, it's survival. You? Everyone always knows that you and sam will take the rear. I'd ask you to change, but there's no way you'll change. Hopefully, no one will be stupid. And now, I'll let you go. I'm sure you hae plenty to do."

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