We are Family

Day 19: Memory Lane

Note: As impossible as it seems right now, I hope there is a scene close to this at some point.

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Callen took Hetty to the spot where they met all those years ago.

'Why are we here, Mr. Callen?' Hetty asked.

'To remind you of how much you matter to me, and to remind you that you are not a failure.' Callen responded.

'Sigh.'

'You see that spot? If you didn't show up there when you did all those years ago, I would've gone to jail. I most likely would've had my life ruined forever, and we wouldn't be here right now. You saved me, Hetty. Because you saw something in me that I didn't see in myself back then.' Callen said.

Silence.

'Please say something.'

'Sigh. You could've turned out bad. I kept all those secrets because I was afraid of losing you. Why did you turn out so good?' Hetty asked, with a sad face.

'I had help, and someone who loved me. I know that you're feeling guilty because Akos turned out evil, but not every orphan you trained turned out bad. I and Grace turned out good.'

'Sigh. I can't seem to shake the feeling that I did a bad thing with those orphans. I mean, I trained them to be killers, to live in a world where anyone can betray you at any moment, what kind of life is that anyways?' Hetty said.

'It's the life we both led. And you trained them to fight crimes. Didn't you once say, that there always has to be people out there to keep this country safe?'

'I did. And I saw something in those orphans that no one else did. They were either abandoned by their parents or stuck in foster care hell. I, wanted to give them an actual life.' Hetty said.

'And you did a very good thing. They most likely would've ended up in jail or dead on the streets if it wasn't for you! One bad apple, dosen't mean the whole tree is ruined.'

Smiling, 'Thank you, Callen. I feel pretty good now.'

'You're welcome, Mom.'

Staring at him in wonder: 'Did, you call me Mom?'

'I did? Oh, right!' Callen responded.

'Chuckle. Thank you!'