Chapter 7

Epilogue.

Two months, two months was all it took for Callen to get well and for him to become close to the child that Hetty knew Clara would have wanted him to be.

Every day Callen did his physical Therapy, he ran on the beach with Buddy, threw sticks, (Against medical advice) and swam in Hetty's pool.

He had stopped sleeping on the floor in the room she provided and slept in the bed.

Hetty had given him books and games and noticed that he had a flair for languages. She was surprised one day to hear him talking in Russian to the dog.

"Khotel by ya ostat'sya zdes' navsegda," he told Buddy. (I wish I could stay here forever)

Hetty sat next to him on the step. "I wish you could stay here forever also." She said with a smile, "You have been a delight to have here."

He looked at her, "You speak Russian?"

"Da, gde ty nauchilsya govorit' na russkom ?" She asked. (Yes, where did you learn to speak Russian?)

"I learnt from the Rostov's, I had them as Foster parents just before the Taylor's." Callen said "I would like to learn more." He admitted.

The next morning he woke up to a present, a game of scrabble in Cyrillic so he could practice, over the two months with Hetty, Callen came totally out of his shell, he laughed, he cried…mostly from laughing and he settled down in the first real home he had ever had.

Callen woke up as usual with Buddy asleep at the foot of the bed across his feet. Callen stretched and looked over at the picture that Hetty had taken of him and Buddy two days before. He was sat on her patio looking out at the ocean and Buddy snuck up behind him and licked him in the ear. Callen had fallen about laughing and Hetty had grabbed the photo.

He quickly washed and dressed and ran downstairs to the garden to take Buddy for his walk before breakfast.

Coming in with the dog he stopped as he saw someone strange in the kitchen.

"Mom?" Callen said not thinking…. "I mean, Miss Hetty…who's this?"

"Mr. Callen, this is Miss McCall from children's services." She said.

Callen grabbed Buddy's leash tight and Buddy, sensing Callen's nervousness moved closer.

Annabeth McCall looked over at Callen, he certainly looked different from any of the other pictures she had seen of him, he looked healthier and happier, a lot more cleaner and well dressed.

She felt like a heel.

"Hi, Callen, My name is Annabeth; I'm your new support worker. I've come today to meet you and help with your transition to your new home." She said with a smile.

Callen backed up a bit.

"No…I…I don't wanna go…please mama?" he asked looking at Hetty pleadingly.

Hetty patted walked to her sofa and patted the seat beside her. "Callen, Son, you knew you could only stay here for two months full time, I have to go back to work and my job means I'm away a lot."

"But I'll be good….please?" Callen felt like his heart was going to break, he had finally found a home and a family and he was losing it all again.

He clung to Buddy like his life depended on it.

"Mr. Callen, your room here will always be your room, you may leave whatever you wish here and I expect you to come and visit me often. I will be able to have you for the odd week, but no longer than that."

"But I can come back?" He asked his voice full of hope.

"I should hope so, after all, Buddy will miss you if you don't come visit him, Miss McCall has told me that you cannot take Buddy to your next foster home, so I wondered if it would be alright with you, if you come and visit him here regularly," she said with a smile.

Callen flung his arms around the small woman.

"Thank you…Thank you for not giving up on me mama." He said

"I will be picking you up in a week for your move to your next home," Annabeth said, "I will make sure Ms Lange can see you anytime you want and that you can contact her and Buddy," She smiled ruffling the dog's fur.

He didn't want to leave here and he didn't want to leave Buddy, but he had been given a week's notice, normally he only had hours or a moment so he made the most of it.

He played scrabble with Hetty and she introduced him to a few other languages to learn and he promised faithfully to practice, he boxed up the stuff in his room, leaving a few things out for when he visited and he spent every spare moment with his dog.

"I have a secret for you Buddy," Callen said quietly while sitting on the beach the night before his last day. "You saved my life." He told him.

At the end of the pier on the day that Callen had found Buddy he had been considering jumping off and just swimming off to die in the ocean and then he had heard the men.

"I think you save me, just as much as I saved you." He said his head buried in the dog's fur and his arms around his neck.

The next day with a kiss to Hetty, Callen left with Annabeth McCall, staring out the window as the car drove off down the driveway watching Hetty and Buddy get smaller as he went.

He was changed; he worked harder at all his studies and didn't let any of the other homes get to him. He had a few where things got tough, but he knew now that he had a place to call home in an emergency.

Ten years later.

Callen got up for work, another day another dollar.

Walking into the CIA he dropped his bag on his desk. "You got a call Callen." His new partner called from across his desk.

"Callen." He said picking up the phone, "Da, spasibo mama." He said and put the phone down. He got up and looked at his partner, "I have to go for a few hours, cover for me."

"You ok?" Henson asked.

"My mom needs me." Callen said and walked out.

Tracey Rossetti looked over the desk, "His mother? I thought he was an orphan?" She said, Henson shrugged and got on with his paperwork getting ready for a big case overseas.

Callen pulled his car up outside the large house and ran inside.

"MOM!" He called.

"In here Mr. Callen." Hetty called.

Callen ran in and stopped, Hetty was sat in Callen's room; everything Callen treasured was in here, on the bed an old dog was breathing heavily.

"What did the vet say?" He asked tears threatening to fall; he sat softly next to the dog.

"It's old age, Buddy has just reached his time." Hetty said sitting the other side and stroking the dog's fur and whispering to him.

Buddy lifted his head feebly and his tail thumped a few times, he licked Callen's hand in greeting.

"Hey Buddy, you alright pal, I'm here now." Callen said; he didn't care that Hetty was watching his tears fell unashamedly. He maneuvered Buddy carefully till his head was resting on his lap.

"It's ok pal, you can go, I'll look after Mom now and she's got me, we aren't alone anymore, you're a good dog." He said

Buddy wagged his tail one more time…and then he was still.

Callen bent his head and wept over his beloved dog, Hetty moving by his side and holding her son.

"Mom, he saved me. I'm gonna miss him." Callen said wiping his eyes.

"He saved us both son; he made us a family." Hetty took him into the kitchen and made him a cup of tea as the vet moved past them to deal with Buddy.

Callen cried for the loss of his dog and marveled in the fact that if he hadn't met Buddy, he wouldn't have been the person he was today, he would have ended up like some of the other kids he knew from foster care, drunk, alone and on the streets.

Later, just before he went back to work he stopped in Hetty's study.

"You ok?" he asked

Hetty looked up, "Are you leaving?" she asked.

Callen nodded, "CIA assignment, getting fake married for this one. To Rossetti no less." He let out a small laugh, "Even have to pretend we have a dog."

Hetty nodded, "You stay safe and come back to me," she ordered him and he nodded, no one ever disobeyed an order from her.

He kissed her head and looked out of the window on his way out. "Mom? Can we bury Buddy under that willow tree?" he asked, it had been one of Buddy's and his favorite spots as a kid.

"It'll be done by the time you get back, now go and be careful." She said.

Callen walked out of his home, the only place he had ever thought of as home…thanks to a small, strange woman and a devoted puppy.