A/N: So I'm still learning how to use this site, so forgive me if it looks a little funky. All grammatical mistakes are mine and comments and critiques are always appreciated!

The show and characters are not mine (sadly) but every once in awhile my little creative minions like to play.

Onto the story!

Callen Gets the Flu

Nell went down to the bull pen to speak with Callen before anyone else came into the office but she was surprised to find he wasn't there. She decided to try the gym and upon not finding him there doing his morning ritual workout, she went as far as to check the men's locker room. Hmm, Nell thought. It isn't like Callen to not be at work.

Becoming more and more uneasy about her favorite team leader not being there, she decided that she would track his cell phone location using her technological ninja abilities. So it surprised her when she figured out that his cell phone was at his home and had been there for many hours.

Nell thought and though about what to do. She had two very good options. The first being that she could call Callen to make sure he was okay. Nell quickly ruled that out simply because it was entirely too early to be making welfare calls. Her next option was to call Hetty and let her know that Callen wasn't in the office yet. While that seemed like a reasonable thing to do, she decided against that too, being that it was only 4:30 in the morning.

There was one more option and since the office didn't technically open until eight and most people didn't bother coming in until nine, Nell decided that she would drive to Callen's house and make sure for herself that he was okay. Deciding that an in-person check up on the devilishly handsome blue eyed agent, she grabbed her purse and car keys and sash-shade out the door.

Turning the key to her Mini Cooper, she decided that it was warm enough to put the top down. Pressing the button, she watched as the top went down. Once satisfied that the top had securely latched, Nell took off toward Callen's house. She was nervous because she wasn't sure what the agent would think of her impromptu visit, but she tried to push that to the back of her mind as she drove down Pacific Coast Highway.

Nell stopped the car across the street from Callen's home. She sat and gathered herself before unbuckling the seat belt and opening the door. As she walked up to the door, she glanced up to see Callen standing out of the window in the living room. Nell smiled at him and he walked away from the window. As she started to knock on the door, Callen opened it and leaned against the pine door frame.

"What are you doing here, Nell? It's early." Callen said as he looked the younger tech analysis over, making sure she didn't have any physical injuries. Nell never just appeared on Callen's doorstep before so he was concerned that she was hurt. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, I guess you could say something is wrong. You weren't in the office when I got there and I was a little concerned something was amiss. Are you okay?"

Callen stood there a minute in the door frame before moving inside the house and waiving Nell inside. He figured since she was here, he could at least tell her why he wasn't in the office during his normal early morning time.

"I have the flu."

Nell looked at him and then laughed.

"You have the flu? Callen, you never get sick!" Despite her earlier laugh, Nell genuinely looked concerned. She reached up to touch Callen's forehead. "Oh, you feel like you have a fever. Lay down and I'll bring you some soup and toast."

"Nell, you don't have to. In fact, you'll have to go to the office eventually. Besides, I'm a big boy."

"I know you are, Callen, but I don't like seeing those I care about sick, so I'll stay and take care of you."

"Nell…" Callen started, but before he could finish, Nell shut the door behind her and ushered him to the only chair in the living room.

"Sit. And if you know what's good for you, you'll listen to me," Nell replied with a sly smile on her face. Now that she knew Callen was sick, she figured out that this was her time to make a move to show him just how much she cared for him.

After making sure that Callen followed her directive and sat down, Nell made her way to his kitchen. After looking around for a few minutes, she realized that Callen had little to no food. She managed to find some egg noodles and chicken broth in a cupboard and some chicken in the fridge along with an ear of corn. As she started to heat up the ingredients in the only pot in the kitchen, she looked up to see Callen standing there watching her.

"I thought I told you to sit." Nell stated as she continued to cut up the chicken to throw into the soup. "You really don't like to listen, do you Agent Callen?"

"Well, Miss Jones, I was intrigued by all the noise I heard coming from my kitchen and wanted to make sure you were alright. Now that I see you are, I'll go back to the chair." Callen smiled and Nell could have sworn that he winked at her as he turned around and made his way back to the living room.

Once Nell was done mixing the soup ingredients together, she called Hetty to tell her that not only was Callen sick, but she would be taking a personal day to see that their lead agent was in tip top shape for the next big case. She had a feeling that Hetty knew about the tiny crush that Nell had developed on Callen, so she was pretty sure Hetty wouldn't put up a fight about both of them not coming in. Nell just hoped that the rest of the team wouldn't think anything of it.

She stirred the soup as the phone rang. When it went to voicemail, Nell let out the air she didn't realize she was holding and prepared to leave a message. Once the phone beeped, Nell left a short message and hung up. Laying her phone down on the counter, she scrounged around for two bowls and two spoons.

"They're in there," she heard Callen say as he walked toward her. Once he was behind her, he pulled the drawer to their right open and grabbed two spoons. As he shut the drawer, he felt her turn around to face him. He brushed a stray hair out of her face and let his fingertips wander down her face.

"You don't really have the flu, do you?" Nell asked as she looked into his baby blues.

"What do you think?" he said as he leaned down to kiss her.