Thanks to Phnxgirl who gave me the suggestion for this story. It will be a short one, likely just one more chapter.

xxxxx

"G?"

Callen suddenly realized his partner had said something to him. He had no idea what though. "Sorry, Sam. I guess I was off in my own world."

"You've been doing that a lot today," Sam said, his eyes displaying concern. "Are you okay?"

Callen nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Get some rest this weekend," Sam said. It hadn't been a particularly tough week at work, but G looked tired and a bit pale when Sam really looked at him.

"I will. You have fun with Kamran."

"You sure you don't want to come with me?" Sam asked. "You know my daughter always likes a visit from her Uncle Callen."

"Some other time, Sam. I'll let you have some quality daddy - daughter time this weekend."

"Okay." Sam pulled the Challenger up in front of Deeks' bar and glanced at his partner once again. He couldn't help but think something was wrong, but he couldn't put a finger on it. "You sure you're doing okay?"

"Don't worry about me, dad," Callen said with a grin as he opened the passenger side door. "Tell Kamran I said hello and have a great time. I'll see you on Monday."

"I'll call you on Sunday."

Callen nodded. "Talk to you then."

Sam watched as Callen headed into the bar and sat there a few moments afterwards. Finally, he sighed and pulled away. Even if there was something bothering his partner, it was always like pulling teeth to get things like that out of him. Hopefully, it was nothing too major.

xxxxx

Callen took a deep breath and slowly exhaled once he was inside the bar and out of his partner's scrutiny. The truth was he hadn't been feeling well since earlier that afternoon. They had gotten Chinese food for lunch, but he'd never had a problem with that before and his other team members all seemed okay. In any case, maybe he just had a touch of something. The bar was relatively quiet for a Friday night. Then again, it was still pretty early. Hopefully, it would get busier as the night went on. Deeks had put a lot of work into this place and he really wanted him to be successful.

"Hey, Callen, how are you doing?" Bertie asked as he walked over to the bar to say hello.

"I'm good. How are things here?"

"Not too busy yet, as you can see, but I'm hoping it gets more busy later. By the way, a delivery is being sent here tomorrow after 10. Do you think you could help me with it?"

Callen nodded. "No problem." He knew that Deeks and Kensi were away for the weekend and he'd do whatever he could to help Bertie out.

"Thanks, doll."

"You're welcome. Well, if you don't need me for anything now, I'm going to head upstairs."

"I can warm you up some dinner. It will only take a few minutes."

"No thanks," Callen said with a shake of his head. The last thing he wanted right now was to eat anything. "Big lunch."

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning then. If you change your mind there's food back there in the fridge. Rest well."

"Thanks. You know where I am if you need me."

xxxxx

Callen went up to his apartment and immediately stretched out on his bed. He really did feel pretty lousy. It didn't take very long at all before he fell asleep. A couple of hours later, he awoke freezing and very nauseous with stomach pain that was radiating towards the right side of his abdomen. He barely made it into the bathroom before he threw up everything he had eaten for lunch and whatever else was in his stomach. After he had brushed his teeth and rinsed out his mouth, he pulled a bucket from the cabinet underneath the sink and took it back into the bedroom in case he needed it. Then, shivering vigorously, he crawled back into bed and covered himself with the blanket and quilt, trying to warm himself up.

xxxxx

Bertie turned the bacon, making sure it was cooked to a perfect crispiness. She had to admit, Marty buying this bar was the best thing that could have happened in her life. It gave her a renewed sense of purpose and she enjoyed having more frequent contact with her son and getting to know his team. As for Callen, she understood he preferred to keep to himself much of the time, but she tried to give him some home cooked meals when she could and he seemed to appreciate her efforts. It was almost 9:30 and she had to admit she was surprised he wasn't up yet. He usually made an appearance much earlier on the weekends, at least to get himself some coffee. Unsure if she should awaken him or not, she finally decided to head up to his apartment, just to be sure everything was okay. She hoped he wouldn't think she was being a busybody.

She headed up the stairs and lightly rapped on his door. "Callen? Are you awake? I made breakfast." There was no answer. Sighing to herself, she tested the doorknob and found the door to be unlocked. She walked quietly into the apartment. "Callen?" She passed through the small living room and walked to the bedroom door. "Callen?" She nervously opened the bedroom door and saw that he was still in bed. "Callen? Are you okay? She asked approaching him. Once she got closer, she saw that he was definitely not okay. His face was bathed in perspiration and he was moving restlessly in his sleep. "Callen, honey?" She gently shook his shoulder. "Callen! Wake up."

Finally, Callen sluggishly opened his eyes and looked up at Bertie, appearing a little bit confused. "Bertie? What are you doing here?"

"I made you breakfast and I was coming to get you before the delivery got here, but that's not important. How long have you been sick like this?"

"Uh...since last night."

Bertie put her hand on Callen's forehead and shook her head. "Oh, sweetie, you're burning up. We need get you to the hospital."

"I'm okay."

"No, you most certainly are not okay. Now come on. You need to get dressed." She put her arm around him and managed to get him into a sitting position, but he grimaced as she did so and almost doubled over in pain. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Do you have sweats or something easy to change into?"

"In...in the drawer," he said shivering.

Bertie went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of gray sweats and gently helped Callen to put them on. "Do you think you can stand up?" she asked him as she put his feet into a pair of sneakers and tied the laces.

"I...I think so…"

"I'll help you." Bertie assisted in getting him to his feet. "Come on." She led him out of the apartment and actually considered calling an ambulance, afraid that he was going to fall down the stairs. She managed to get him down to the bar though and left a note for the delivery company that they were going to need to come back due to an emergency. She then got Callen seatbelted into her car and drove in the direction of the nearest hospital.

xxxxx

Bertie sat nervously in the surgical waiting room as she waited for Callen to get out of surgery. The diagnosis of appendicitis had been made quickly and they had wasted no time getting him to the OR. She felt like she ought to call someone, but she really didn't know who to call. Marty had never really mentioned much about Callen's family and she didn't really want to interrupt his and Kensi's weekend. They had been planning this little pre-wedding getaway for weeks and they would be home tomorrow anyway. The same went for Sam. She knew he had gone to see his daughter and she didn't want to ruin his weekend. It was a shame that Hetty wasn't around, but evidently she hadn't been communicating with the team for quite some time. For now, she would be here for Callen and do everything she could for him.

"Family of G Callen?" the doctor asked when he finally came into the surgical waiting room.

"Yes, I'm his step-mother," Bertie fibbed without missing a beat.

"Well, he came through the surgery just fine. He's in the recovery room now and will be moved up to a regular room soon. Someone will give you his room number as soon as he's brought up."

"Thank you very much, doctor," Bertie said with a smile as she breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness everything was okay with him. She sat patiently waiting until a staff member gave her Callen's room number then she went off to the gift shop. Unsure what to buy, she got a small balloon bouquet, some magazines and at the last minute grabbed a small stuffed bear. She knew he'd think it was silly, but somehow, she just had to buy it. She then headed up to Callen's room. When she arrived, she quietly walked in and sat in the chair next to his bed. He was asleep and she was relieved to see he looked a lot more peaceful than he had earlier that day. She put the things she had bought on his nightstand and sat back, just keeping watch over him. She knew if it was Marty in this situation, she wouldn't want him to wake up alone. She felt a compelling need to be there with Callen. Maybe it was just a motherly instinct, she really wasn't sure. All she knew was that she wasn't going to leave him here alone.

xxxxx

Callen slowly started to awaken, relieved that he was no longer in pain. He'd awoken briefly in the recovery room but had quickly drifted off again. Now he was definitely more aware. He opened his eyes and slowly got his bearings as he looked around the room. He was surprised to see Bertie sitting by his bed. "Hi," he said, meeting her gaze.

"Hi yourself," she said with a friendly smile. "How are you feeling? I've got to say you look a lot better than you did this morning. You gave me quite a scare."

"Sorry about that…" he said, looking embarrassed. "I didn't mean to cause so much trouble."

"Oh honey, you don't have anything to be sorry about. I just feel bad you got so sick. I wish you had told me last night instead of suffering like that. Now tell me, what can I do for you? Is there anyone you'd like me to call?"

Callen shook his head. "No, nobody." He would have called Hetty if things were different but they weren't different and he had no idea where she was.

That made Bertie feel more than a little bit sad. "How about your team? Should I let them know?" She was going to call Marty later on regardless of what Callen said. She wanted to inform him of what had transpired in his absence.

"No. There's no need to bother them on the weekend." He would talk to Sam when he got home and he was sure Bertie would tell Deeks.

She was going to ask about any family, but something stopped her from inquiring any further. She had a feeling there weren't very many people for him to call, or maybe he just didn't want to bother people? She really wasn't sure. She was going to have to see what her son knew about Callen's situation, especially since he was going to need some help during his recuperation and she fully intended to be there for him.

"Okay, why don't you get some rest then. Is there anything I can get you? I have some magazines here that you can read when you're feeling up to it."

Callen looked at the little display she had set up on his nightstand and smiled. "You didn't have to do all that for me...thank you."

"You're very welcome. Now get some sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up."

He was going to tell her that wasn't necessary, but somehow he knew she would stay anyway. He gave her a sleepy smile and closed his eyes. It was nice to know someone was with him who cared.