Thanks to all those who have reviewed. You made my day. People at work were wondering what the happy juice was I had drunk this morning, I had such a huge grin on my face.

So this one is very long and doesn't have much chaos in it but the next chapter will have plenty. I though how would Barry help Callen deal with Dom's death. And with so many of you saying that you enjoy the moments between Callen and Hetty, this kinda happened. So it's after midnight here and I have to go to work in a few hours so I'm posting this and hitting the hay. Thanks again for all the reviews.

Disclaimer: Nope not mine, still. Bugger!

Callen spent many nights at the mission, and most times he had the best sleep then as Barry helped to keep the nightmares at bay. Mainly by tiring him out with games of hide and seek and chasy.

Then, Dom died. After telling Sam to go and be with his family and Kensi to call a friend, any friend, Hetty found Callen in the bathroom, trying to wash the blood from his hands. Hetty could see that there was nothing on them but she also knew the feeling of the blood still being there. She watched as he scrubbed furiously at his hands, muttering as he did. She picked up a few choice swear words, but when she heard them directed at himself, she couldn't stand by silently and let him fall into the trap of thinking it was his fault when it wasn't. She walked over and grabbed his hands, stilling them and pulling them away from the sink.

"It was not your fault, Mr Callen. If you want to blame someone, blame the men who took him, blame the man who shot him, blame me, but never yourself. You understand?" she looked up into his eyes. She had never seen them so dull, so lifeless, so grey. The usual blue spark that attracted so many women to them was gone, and she only hoped that it would return.

"You, Hetty?" Callen looked from their hands and met her eyes, "Why would I blame you?" his voice was flat, not a hint of the ever present smirk.

"Because I was the one who didn't try hard enough, I was the one who lost hope of finding him, in any condition; I was the one who gave up on him."

"We both know that's not true. You spent every minute you had, called in every favour you could and offered several more to try and find him. You never gave up on him." He squeezed her small hands slightly as he said the last sentence. "And I could never blame you. You'd come after me with your letter opener." Some of his cheekiness returned as he straightened and processed Hetty's words. He realised that, while he had done everything he could, they all had; there was nothing he could do that would bring Dom back.

Hetty heard the sassiness return as he straightened and she released her hold on his hands. She had been afraid that he would go off on his own to try and find Keshwhar. But as he straightened, she heard the tone that meant, while he was still upset and would be for some time; he wouldn't abandon his makeshift family. She could see the resolve in his eyes as a tiny little spark of blue started to find its way back into them again. She smiled, stepped back and watched as he cleaned up the remnants of paper towels.

Then they both headed back to the bullpen. Callen went into the kitchen area and started the kettle while Hetty ducked into her office and pulled out a case. She took it into the kitchen, but stopped and watched as Callen stood, turned and held a fluffy orange bundle to his chest. She smiled and let a small chuckle escape her lips.

"I figured you knew about him." Callen said as they walked into the kitchen as the kettle finished. He held Barry in the crook of one arm as he helped Hetty pull out the tea set she had in the case.

"Yes, the morning after we moved in here I found him sitting on my desk. I scolded him not to do it again and every morning after he has awaited my arrival on that sofa." She nodded in the direction of the couch. She let Callen take the tea pot over to his desk as she carried the cups. She sat in his chair as he snagged Kensi's and sat next to her.

Callen took a sip of tea and, looking at the pattern, said "I don't think I've seen this set before. Where have you been hiding this one?" Callen was sure he had never come across this one previously. While he was a coffee drinker, he liked the occasional tea, especially with Hetty. Stories usually came about while they drank and often included how she got the set they were drinking from. The pattern on this one was of small hand painted Forget-me-not's and pink and white carnations.

"A friend had this made for me many years ago. Sadly he never saw it finished." She sipped her tea and watched as the little cat settled in Callen's lap. She could hear him purring as he patted him. They both needed the distraction of the story she was about to tell. "He had saved my life several times and I his, however this was one time I could not." She put the cup down and leaned back in Callen's chair. "He had been shot several days earlier and had not told me. We were racing to get out of the country and it wasn't until we got to the safe house that he told me he was wounded."

Callen listened as he sipped his tea and patted the small cat on his lap. He didn't look up at Hetty as she told her tale, feeling that the story had a special meaning to her. He loved her stories, mainly because it was rare for her to tell them, to anyone. But this one was different. This one she was telling him had no trace of the laughter that he often heard in others, so he paid attention to every word.

"He told me of this tea set after we arrived at the safe house. He had placed the order detailing the design just after getting shot. He found out that I had been discovered and knew he was dying, but instead of getting help, he had gone back into the lion's den. Even after his cover had been blown, he risked everything to save me. He died three hours after we arrived from blood poisoning."

Hetty sat forward and poured herself another cup and refilled Callen's when he held it out before continuing. "He made me promise to have a cup for him when I got it. It took me a long time to get it. The country was unstable for a long time and my cover had been compromised. As it was, I got it on the tenth anniversary of his death." She took a moment to have several mouthfuls of the tea. "The last time I used it was after Agent Sullivan's death."

"What do the flowers mean?" Callen knew that there were certain flowers that had meanings but didn't know what these ones stood for.

"The forget-me-not, remember me forever; the white carnation is remembrance and the pink is gratitude."

"We'll never forget Dom, he'll always be remembered and he was grateful to you for giving him a chance when he had just finished training." Callen looked into her eyes and didn't know what he saw there, she was concealing her thoughts from him too well. Maybe I'm tired. Even though it was only 2100, it had been a very long day. "If it's ok with you Hetty, I'm going to crash here tonight. I don't feel like driving anywhere tonight."

He saw her nod and, lifting Barry from his lap, stood and placed the cat on the sofa. The returned to his desk and picked up the cups. Taking them to the sink, he washed, dried and placed them back into the case. He did the same to the pot and by the time he was finished, Hetty come over to him and took the case as he held it out to her. She nodded her thanks and after placing the case back in its proper place left for the night.

Barry was still curled where Callen had placed him and he laid down next to him, pulling the throw over them both. The nightmares started shortly before dawn, but this time, it was one where Dom was getting shot that Barry woke Callen from, the same way as he always did. Callen woke sharply, sitting up suddenly on alert until he saw Barry, and he calmed down. He swung his legs off the sofa and sat with his head in his hands as he thought about the night before.

He wasn't sure what he had seen in Hetty's eyes. Her face was blank, and he was worried. He vowed to keep an eye her. His fears were confirmed when the director made a show of allowing him to see the letter Hetty had given him a couple of days later. After picking Vance's pocket, Callen slipped into Hetty's privet store of liquor and took a bottle and a couple of glasses.

As he poured the second round of amber liquid later that night, he felt Barry wind himself around his legs. Before he could lean over the arm rest and pick him up, Barry jumped up on to the desk and made his way over to Hetty. He sat right in front of her and tipped his head to the side. Strangely, Callen had tipped his own in the same direction as he wondered what the cat was doing and it brought a smile to her face. She and Callen leaned toward the tabby at the same time, her to pat him, Callen to pick him off the desk. Barry stepped toward Hetty, simultaneously and when she was close enough, swatted her on the nose before Callen could reach him. She jumped back in shock as Callen whipped him away.

"What the hell, Barry? What was that for?" Callen was furious at him and at the same time a little worried. What if he had hurt Hetty and she didn't want him at OSP anymore. He turned back to Hetty to make sure she was alright and to apologise.

"I think he was saying how could I contemplate the notion of leaving you." She put her hand to her nose and was relieved to see that there was no blood on her hand as she looked at it. She looked at the cat and realised how much of a wakeup call Callen got when Barry hit him. It defiantly would chase away a nightmare. She saw the ginger face looking at her as though to say I hope you're staying put now.

She said "I'm not going anywhere Barry." And hearing that, as though he could understand her, Barry started to purr, loud enough that she could hear him.

Callen calmed down when he realised that Hetty wasn't going to do anything to his cat and sat back down. The pair of them talked long into the night about people they had lost, of those they had watching for a while and those yet to reach their potential. Hetty left Callen on the sofa again with his orange protector watching over him and the OSP from the back of the lounge. She nodded to Barry as a promise that she would be back.

Author's note: Sorry if this one doesn't make a lot of sense. Like I mentioned earlier, it's late. Does that even make sense? Anyway, going to bed now. Hope you enjoyed this one. Marty meets Barry in the next chapter.