Thanks for all the great reviews for the first chapter. I hope you enjoy the second instalment. It turned out a lotlonger than I intended, hopefully you won't get bored (excuse the pun) half way through. Thanks for reading! Zoe.
G Callen had never been so bored in all his life. It wasn't a feeling he enjoyed or one he was used to. It was 1pm on a Saturday afternoon and having cleaned everything in sight, mowed his lawn, organised his few belongings more than once, read the paper and finished a book he had started several days earlier, Callen was lying prone on the floor with his arms thrown out to either side of him. As he stared at a spider slowly crawling along the ceiling, he began wishing his cell would ring calling him in to the office. Not that he wanted something requiring his team's skills to actually happen, but he needed something…anything…to do. The past few weeks had been uncharacteristically quiet and he didn't even have the excuse of needing to catch up on paperwork to just go into the office because for the first time in years, his inbox was empty. He was bored. Absolutely, totally and utterly bored.
Any other weekend and he would simply have called Sam and insisted he meet him for lunch and a few beers, but Sam was away with his family on a camping trip. Callen thought about calling Kensi but remembered as he was about to hit the 'call' button that she was also away for the weekend, reconnecting with her mother. It momentarily crossed his mind to call Deeks but as much as he got along with the Detective, they weren't exactly what you would call buddies and he wasn't sure spending the afternoon with him would be any more fun than being bored out of his skull. The same went for Eric. He liked the young technical operator but they had nothing in common and their relationship was definitely more of team leader/team member than friends.
As he drummed his fingers on the floor, Callen realised he did have one option left. It wasn't that he put this particular option at the bottom of the list. He just wasn't sure where in the realm of colleagues vs friends they stood and whether it would be appropriate to ask. Still, if he didn't do something he was sure he was going to go out of his mind. So picking up his cell he opened a new message and typed.
Bored senseless. You busy? Callen
He entered the number, hit send and then waited. But he didn't have to wait long. A reply came inside of a minute.
Me too. Not busy. Got a plan? Nell
Smiling, Callen lifted himself up and stared at the message. He was a little surprised she had responded so quickly and that she had said yes, but he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Will have when I pick you up in 30!
Great. All he had to do now was think of something to do. Like he hadn't been trying to do that all day when he was counting cracks in the ceiling and wondering whether his toaster would survive another deconstruction. He had thirty minutes though and if nothing else, Callen worked best under pressure.
xxx
Nell was peering out of her window, waiting for Callen to arrive. She had been incredibly surprised to receive a text from him asking her to hang out. She had never really thought of him as anything other than a colleague and aside from joining the agents on a couple of nights out, she hadn't spent any time alone with him away from the office. Unless of course she counted the night he stayed at the hospital after the car accident but she had had a concussion and was asleep half the time. Still, she was bored out of her mind and could see no reason not to hang out with him. She wanted to be friends with the people she worked so closely with and what better way to achieve that than doing something with Callen out of the office. So she had fired back a text back quickly and smiled when he told her he would be by in half an hour. That gave her just enough time to clean herself up and change out of her the old faded jeans and t-shirt she had been cleaning the apartment in, and into fresh jeans, a fitted red t-shirt and her sneakers. Having no idea what Callen was coming up with for them to do, she figured her ensemble would cover most eventualities.
As she saw his car pull into the street, she stepped away from the window and grabbed her cell from the table, stuffing it into the front pocket of her blue jeans along with some cash. Then taking her house key from the bowl on the table near the door and grabbing a sweater off the hook, she locked up and hurried down the stairs to meet him.
"Hey." She greeted him as she jumped into the passenger seat.
"Hey yourself." He smiled back.
"So, you come up with a plan then?"
"Of course." He laughed. "Santa Monica Pier."
"Nice." Nell nodded. "I haven't been there in forever."
"I thought we could hit Pacific Park, maybe go to the aquarium?" Callen suggested as he pulled back out into the street.
"Sounds good. But then again, anything would be better than sitting in my apartment wishing Hetty would call." She glanced over as Callen started chuckling. "What?" she asked with a laugh in her own voice.
"I thought I was the only one thinking that this morning. It's nice to know I'm not the only workaholic."
"I'm not a workaholic." Nell stated. "I just don't like having nothing to do."
"If you don't mind me asking." Callen began, glancing away from the road for a moment to look at her. "Why are you so bored today?"
"Well, after Hetty made me take that week off after the accident last month I managed to finish every book in my apartment. I was working on a couple of side projects with some friends but they're out of town this weekend. We're all caught up at work so no reason to go to the office, and I guess I just ran out of things to do after I cleaned my apartment this morning."
"Sounds familiar." Callen nodded.
"What a pair huh." She laughed.
Xxx
Santa Monica Pier was bustling when Callen and Nell arrived. It was a hot day and the place was swarming with tourists and locals, all making the most of their weekend. Callen and Nell wove their way through the crowd and headed straight to Pacific Park. It was the ideal place to relieve boredom, with a miniature golf course, games, a climbing wall and a Ferris wheel.
As they made their way into the park, they took a look at the big board mapping out where everything was.
"Miniature golf?" They both suggested at the same time, looking at each other with big grins when they realised they were thinking on the same wavelength.
After a short wait for the course, they soon had putters in hand and were making their way through the pirate themed 9 hole course. As they made their way from hole to hole, both found themselves entirely relaxed in each other's company. Conversation came easily and didn't revolve around work which surprised both of them. Callen also discovered Nell was very competitive and didn't mind bending, or breaking, the rules.
"Hey!" he called, pointing his putter at her after she tapped her ball with her foot to move it into a better position at the 9th hole. All so she would sink it with one shot less than Callen and win the game.
"What?" she smiled, pretending she had no idea what he was talking about.
"I saw you." Callen raised his eyebrows and looked at her with mock annoyance. "You cheated."
"Prove it." Nell laughed as she held his gaze.
"I will." He stared he down.
"What, are you going to call Eric and have him hack the security cameras?" she joked as she stood with her hands on her hips. Callen looked at her, and realising it was a very good idea, reached into his pocket pulling out his cell.
"Oh my gosh, you are not going to do that." Nell hurried over to him and as he fended her off with one hand while she tried to grab his cell, he pretended to call Eric.
"Callen." Nell laughed.
"I'm kidding." He laughed with her. "Kidding." He stuffed his cell back in his pocket. "But seriously, who knew you were that competitive."
"Clearly you don't know me very well." She smirked as she returned to her ball and tapped it into the hole with the putter. "I win!" she exclaimed, raising both arms in victory. Callen shook his head and smiled.
"I'd ask for a rematch but you'd just cheat again."
"Sore loser." She muttered.
"Whatever Jones."
After returning their putters, they left the course and after just a short walk found themselves standing at the bottom of a climbing wall, watching as some kids scrambled up, shrieking with laughter.
"So, I hear Hetty beat you up the wall in the gym." Nell teased, throwing Callen a sideways glance.
"Who told you that?" Callen asked defensively.
"Sam." She grinned. "He said she was like a ninja while you got stuck half way up."
"I'm gonna kill him." Callen shook his head.
"So it's true then." Nell laughed. "I thought he was making it up."
"And you can do better?" Callen told her.
"Maybe." She smiled coyly. "Are you challenging me?"
"Loser pays for dinner." Callen said, issuing the formal challenge.
"You're on." Nell accepted with a grin.
After queuing for ten minutes, they started getting strapped into the harnesses by the staff, and Nell found herself thinking about how much fun she was having. She had never really seen this playful side of Callen. And she was glad he was comfortable enough around her to show it. He really didn't know her very well, nor she him and this unexpected day out was turning out to be a great way to really break the ice between them.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Ready." She replied.
On the count of three, the two of them began to climb the wall. Callen took off like a shot, determined to get to the top before Nell. Even if she never mentioned it to anyone, he would never live it down if she beat him up the wall. But he didn't have much to worry about. By the time he was three quarters of the way up, Nell was barely a third of the way. Glancing down, he could see the frustrated look on her face and for a moment he felt bad.
"You're doing great Nell." He called down. He watched as she glanced up at him and for a second, he thought he saw defeat in her expression. But upon hearing his encouraging words, she gritted her teeth and was soon pushing herself upwards, closing the distance between them. Callen carried on up the wall and within a few minutes he reached the top.
"Guess I need to get more practice in." she grinned when she joined him there a minute later.
"You should come down and use the wall in the gym more often." Callen told her. "You ready to go back down?" he looked down behind him and saw the staff waiting for them to repel down.
"Yup." Nell nodded and as Callen signalled to the staff, they leaned away from the wall, zipped back down to the ground and were quickly hustled out of the harnesses so the next climbers could get their shot.
xxx
Callen and Nell wiled away the next two hours wandering around the Aquarium, taking the opportunity to handle the different creatures in the touch tanks and see the sharks being fed. Callen was surprised by how much Nell knew about marine life and when she caught him throwing her a curious look as she talked about the sea horses and how they are actually carnivorous, she explained that she took a marine biology class in college when her advisor felt she needed to broaden her course load. If nothing else, Callen was learning an awful lot about the youngest member of his team and he was glad he had decided to ask her to hang out - his boredom was long gone.
"So, I guess I owe you dinner huh?" Nell smiled as they left the aquarium and wandered along the pier, back in the direction of the Park.
"That was the bet." He nodded.
"Wait here." She told him as she took a quick look around.
"What for?" Callen asked.
"Just wait." Nell repeated as she backed away and disappeared into the crowd. Callen tried to follow her with his eyes, not entirely comfortable with her wandering off alone but he lost sight of her amongst all the people. He shifted on the spot, wondering where she had gone but he got his answer a few minutes later when she returned, carefully balancing two drinks cartons and a brown paper bag in her hands.
"What's that?" Callen asked, eyeing the bag suspiciously.
"Dinner." Nell replied, thrusting the bag towards him. Callen took it and opened up the top, peering inside. A bark of laughter escaped his lips as he pulled out a hot dog.
"You said I had to pay for dinner, you didn't specify what dinner was." Nell grinned.
"True." Called nodded. "Though I was in the mood for steak." He mused.
"Next time." Nell replied, before really thinking about whether there would or should be a next time.
After a quick reorganisation of the items, they began to wander through the crowd, eating their hot dogs and sipping on the cokes. The sun was going down and as the natural light faded, the bright lights of the park started to illuminate the sky. Music and loud noises from the games in the Park filled the air and as the pair wandered, they ended up near the Ferris wheel.
"Feel like a spin?" Callen asked as he looked up at the big wheel lighting up the sky.
"Are you sure that's a good idea. We just ate." Nell replied, looking a little nervous.
"It's doesn't exactly go very fast." Callen smirked. "Come on." He grabbed her empty coke carton from her hand and tossed it in a trash can along with his own then started towards the base of the wheel. By the time Nell caught up with him, he had already secured them seats on the next gondola.
"After you." He stood aside and let her step into it first. Then he settled himself beside her and waited for the operator to secure the bar. They were the last new occupants so the wheel immediately began to make a full circle. As their gondola lurched backwards, Callen didn't miss the death grip Nell had on the bar in front of her.
"You can't be afraid of heights, you climbed the wall." He whispered, leaning in towards her. Nell snapped her gaze up to his.
"I'm not afraid of heights." She confirmed.
"So what's with the white knuckles." He asked, wondering if perhaps he should have stopped to make sure she actually wanted to go on the ride and worrying a little that she would be upset with him.
"I don't know." She shook her head. "These things just never feel secure." She smiled nervously.
"You're perfectly safe." Callen assured her.
"Uh huh." Nell looked around her.
"Trust me. Just relax and enjoy the view." Callen smiled as he slung his arm across the back of the seat behind her.
"It is a spectacular view." Nell replied as she loosened her grip on the bar and leaned back against the seat, feeling Callen's arm at her shoulders.
"You know, we get so caught up in what we do, I don't think we take enough time to smell the roses, as they say." Callen mused.
"Are you getting all philosophical on me?" Nell grinned as she turned her head to look at him.
"It happens from time to time." He looked down and met her gaze, smiling warmly back at her.
"You're right though. I spend all day every day in ops, staring at computers and searching data and information, it's really nice to get out and just live life." Nell sighed with content.
"Now who's getting philosophical?" Callen laughed.
"Just enjoy the view." She gently swatted his chest with her hand as the Ferris wheel continued to make a slow circle.
They sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the ride. Nell didn't quite let go of her nerves but with Callen sitting beside her looking completely relaxed, she felt more at ease and enjoyed the magnificent views out over the pacific and down the beach. It was a side of LA she had never seen.
When their ride was over, they stepped down and back into the crowded park. Going straight past the bumper cars, they found themselves by a number of small game stalls.
"Oh my gosh. Whack a Mole." Nell grinned and hurried over to the stall with the classic game. "I love this game." She grinned as she dug some bills from her pocket and paid the stall holder. "It's so addictive."
"And almost as therapeutic as a punching bag." Callen laughed as he took the mallet from the stall holder. As the game started, Callen and Nell stood beside each other hitting the little moles as they popped up through the holes. Nell was so focused on hitting them that Callen found himself distracted by her. Her hand moved like lightening, successfully slapping down each and every mole that appeared.
"Aren't you going to help?" she asked without taking her eyes off the game.
"Oh, I think you're doing just fine on your own." Callen laughed and stood back watching with amusement. When the game was over, Nell collected the strip of tickets which would earn her a prize when she cashed them in.
"I feel kinda bad, taking over that game." She said. "What do you want to play?"
Callen looked around and his eye was immediately drawn to a basketball free throw stall. It had five different baskets at varying distances and levels. Players got five balls to shoot and more points and therefore more tickets to win prizes were won for sinking the balls into the highest and furthest basket.
"All shots in the back basket. Loser buys beers?" he asked.
"Oh, you're on." Nell readily agreed.
Standing side by side, they each took a ball. Callen threw first, his ball sliding right into the top basket. Nell took aim next and her first shot also hit the mark.
"You played netball right?" Callen asked after he sank his second shot.
"Varsity." Nell grinned as she threw hers and dropped straight threw the net.
"Interesting, gave you some skills." He smirked as he threw his third ball and once again hit the mark.
"Some?" she glanced at him with raised eyebrows then took her shot, keeping the score even.
"Yeah, but it's no match for the real thing." Callen winked at her as he took his fourth shot and scored. Nell threw him a playful glare and aimed her shot. But just as she was releasing the ball, Callen coughed loudly, startling her, and her shot went wide, completely missing the net.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. "That's cheating."
"And moving your golf ball isn't?" Callen countered as he quickly sank his fifth and final ball, securing the win.
"Got me there." She laughed as she threw her last ball, making the shot but knowing she had lost.
"Dinner and beer. I think I got the raw end of the deal." She shook her head. "Aren't you collecting your tickets?" she asked, realising Callen hadn't noticed the stall holder waiting to hand them over.
"I guess I did earn them." He grinned and leaned across her to take the tickets from the stall holder. "Let's go cash these in and then you can buy me my beer." He settled his hand on her lower back and steered her towards the stall with all the prizes.
"What'll it be folks?" the older man behind the stall asked.
"I have these." Nell handed over her tickets.
"You can pick from anything in the middle row." The man gestured to the prizes which ranged from small stuffed animals to plastic toys and mini game packs, and Nell began to scan her options.
"Add these to hers." Callen handed his over and Nell turned in surprise. "What am I going to do with a 'my little pony'." He shrugged.
"In that case Miss, you get one of these." The man reached up to the second highest row and plucked down a cute and fluffy full sized teddy bear. It was beige with dark brown patches on its paws and a bright red bow tie around its neck.
"Thanks." Nell grinned and took the bear from him, giving it the once over then flashing a smile at Callen. "He's cute."
"Uh huh." Callen shook his head. He had never seen the appeal but who was he to argue if it made her smile. "Now, how about that beer?"
xxx
Twenty minutes later they were sitting at an outside table at a busy bar near the end of the pier. It was getting late and the air was noticeably colder. Nell could feel goosebumps on her arms and rubbed them quickly.
"Didn't you have a sweater with you?" Callen asked, recalling she had one in her hand when he picked her up.
"I left it in your car." Nell replied. "I'm fine, don't worry." She smiled.
"The car's only a couple minutes away. I can run back for it." He offered.
"You don't have to." Nell replied, though touched he would offer.
"It's fine. I could use my own jacket anyway." Callen rose to his feet. "Why don't you get another round in while I'm away." He tossed a couple of bills on the table. "This one is on me." He smiled as he headed off.
When Callen returned a little over five minutes later, having donned his leather jacket and picked up Nell's sweater, he saw that she was no longer alone at their table. A man in his mid-thirties with slicked back hair and a scraggly beard was hovering very close to her and Callen could tell from her body language that she was uncomfortable. He quickly crossed over to her and situated himself at Nell's side, putting himself between her and the other man.
"Hey Nell, everything okay here." He said as he dropped his hand to her shoulder protectively. She looked up at him gratefully as the other man gave Callen the once over. With his rakish facial hair, black leather biker jacket and dark jeans and t-shirt, Callen oozed 'bad boy', and the other man straightened up, feeling a little intimidated.
"I told you my boyfriend would be back." Nell smirked, turning back to her admirer.
"You know how many times I hear that and it's actually true." The man laughed as he backed off and began to look around for his next target.
"Good timing." Nell sighed as Callen settled back down in the chair next to her.
"Boyfriend huh?" Callen asked, his eyebrows raised and a smile tugging at his lips.
"Well he was hardly going to leave me alone if I said 'Hey, my platonic friend and co-worker is coming back' was he." Nell shrugged and took a sip of beer.
"True. Here's your sweater." Callen handed her the sweater he had retrieved from the car and she shrugged it on.
"Thanks." Nell was immediately glad of the extra layer.
As they settled back into their chairs their conversation turned to work and they shared stories about operations and hijinks that one, the other or one of the team had got up to. Nell had a couple more beers while Callen switched to club soda since he was driving, and their conversation carried them from the bar, back to the car and throughout the drive home.
As Callen pulled up outside Nell's apartment, she took off her seatbelt and retrieved the teddy bear, now named 'Henry', from the foot well of the car.
"Thanks for today, I had fun." She grinned.
"Thank you for rescuing me from my boredom." Callen returned the grin.
"Anytime." Nell nodded.
"You want me to walk you up?" Callen asked.
"I'm fine, but thanks." Nell nodded as she opened the car door. "I'll see you Monday."
"Yeah, enjoy the rest of the weekend." Callen told her as she stepped out.
"I will." She smiled. "Good night Callen." She added as she closed the door and backed up towards the path. Callen sat and waited as she walked the short distance to the main door and gave a wave as she stepped inside. He waited another minute or so until he saw the lights turn on in her apartment. Only then did he pull the car away from the kerb and into the street, turning it in the direction of home.
Nell watched Callen pull away from the kerb and as she set Henry down on the table by her couch, she smiled to herself. Callen was the last person she had expected to hear from that day and being honest with herself, she hadn't expected to have such a fun day. Callen was a lot less serious than she the man she knew from work. She liked that side of him and she wanted to think that now she could consider him a friend.
As Callen drove home, he couldn't help but think how glad he was that he had been so bored earlier. Without it, he wouldn't have spent all day with a fun, exciting and unpredictable woman and he wouldn't have the answer to something he questioned earlier. That afternoon he didn't know if he could actually consider her a friend, but after today, he was sure he could. And he hoped she felt the same.
I'm still figuring out exactly how this story with all the different emotions is going to play out but I wanted this chapter to establish a friendship between Callen and Nell, because every good relationship is based on friendship. I hope there were enough 'moments' to keep you interested, and I'd appreciate a review to let me know what you thought.