The To Do List.
Most days, he only had 4 things on his To Do List, everything else was flexible. Most days he never got to finish his list.
1. Get out of bed.
He got up, stretching the muscles he had overused on his run last night. He was over tired even for him, living this life sometimes tired him out. Now he was really appreciative of the fact Hetty had taken him to a store, and insisted he purchased a bed, after all he had run wild for over five hours in the forest last night, reveling in his wolf form and that alone had worn him out. He knew he had overdone it, but had been stuck on that ship with Kensi, Deeks and Hetty for 48 hours. Although Hetty knew what he was, there was no way he was shifting on a ship out of his domain, with roughly three hundred and fifty service personnel aboard. That would be just too dangerous.
When they had finally docked, he had all but run off the ship, needing forest air and to feel the ground under his paws.
Kensi and Deeks had watched as he hailed a cab and left, remarking that he was probably missing Sam, Michelle and the kids, then promising to go and remake their own Christmas, before realizing that Hetty was within earshot.
Luckily, Hetty was concentrating on watching the cab containing her boy go off into the distance, worrying as usual about his inability to commit to the pack he desperately needed.
He had had the cab drop him off at the edge of The Los Angeles National Forest, reassuring the driver that he was meeting friends and was not going to do anything stupid. He had waited until he could no longer see the taillights of the cab anymore, and had undressed, stowing his clothes in his bag by a tree stump and shifted.
He had completely lost track of the time, and it had been 4am before he had made it home and tumbled into his bed. Now only a few hours later, he had to wake for work.
He looked at the To Do List on his phone as he sat up, and pulled his pants and socks on.
"One down, three to go." He said cheerily, as he grabbed his bag and headed for his kitchen.
2. Find Coffee.
Looking through his empty kitchen and making a mental note to buy food, sometime…he finally found what he was looking for, coffee.
He almost groaned aloud; the jar was empty. He had meant to refill it before the last case, but had gotten sidetracked.
He almost growled as he realized he would have to go to work without his favorite beverage.
Sam pulled up and scowling, he grabbed his bag and walked over to the car.
"What's your problem G?" Sam asked, looking at the face Callen was pulling.
"Out of Coffee." Callen groused as he slumped into the seat, ignoring Sam's sidelong smirk.
"Bet ya didn't eat breakfast either, did you?"
Callen growled softly in his throat as Sam chuckled. "I'll stop on the way, maybe pick you up some…"
"Bacon…" Callen interjected with a sigh, "I need bacon."
Sam sighed and pulled over in front of a coffee shop, "You should stop and have an egg white omelette, more protein."
Callen scowled and climbed out of the car. "Coffee… bacon…" he snapped and walked towards the shop, leaving a full out laughing Sam standing next to the Charger.
3. Pretend to be Human…
Walking into the bullpen, feeling much better now he had eaten and had a coffee, Callen placed his bag on the ground and went to see Hetty, dropping off the report he had filled out before their last operation.
"How are you this morning Mr. Callen?" Hetty smiled.
"Fine, thanks. Went for a run when I got back." He told her quietly.
Hetty nodded, "Miss Jones kept a discreet eye on you. You need to alter the route you take in the forest, too many mortals go the trail you took."
Callen nodded, "I know, I was… ya know?"
"Cooped up? Antsy? Desperate?" Hetty guessed, raising an eyebrow.
Callen nodded.
"Have you been to The Inn recently?" She asked. "I know Sykes was asking after you."
Callen shook his head, "No… but I will try and go soon." He smiled.
Apart from the Ne'er Worlders in the office, the only other person he truly trusted was Sykes, the proprietor of the Inn."
"Well Mr. Callen," Hetty started. "The day is wasting, and I know you have a mountain of paperwork to do, so I assume you are properly caffeinated and ready to start your day."
Callen smiled fondly at her, "Cheeky Imp." He whispered, and as she chuckled, he turned to go back to work. Looking longingly over at his second cup of coffee of the day, that was sitting on his desk, supplied by Kensi and Deeks, whose morning banter had covered his and Hetty's conversation.
He headed over and began his day as Federal Agent G. Callen, Human, mortal... Normal.
4. Tell her…
Number 4 was always on his to do list. Number 4 was never completed.
He ran as the sun set, through the woods adjoining her property. She ran with him, beautiful in her pure wolf form, his hybrid wolf form was larger than hers. He wagged his tail, and licked her muzzle gently as they lay together on the ground in the dappled sunlight. He loved the way the sun glinted in her eyes when she was both human and wolf.
He loved everything about her. As a wolf, his heart already belonged to her, as a man he needed to tell her that she was more than a friend.
Arkady watched from his patio, as his daughter and the man he knew would one day become a member of his pack frolicked in the wood behind his home. He knew that even though Callen was a hybrid, he was a good choice for his pack. He had asked a few times, but even though Callen used the Arkady pack grounds to run in, he still worried about accepting the invitation to become pack. Worried that his hybrid status would smear the pack's reputation.
Maybe one day, Callen would tell Anna the one thing that the Alpha of the Kolcheck Pack knew in his heart.
That Callen loved her.