Callen left the hospital when Anna was taken to the Operating Room. He started with the call to Arkady, while driving home. As expected, the Russian put on his usual act: he got agitated, demanded explanations, blamed Callen for not calling him sooner. He then offered to, in turns, send a chopper to take Anna to the best hospital (where she already was, but that he would not hear) and hitmen to go after Callen or whoever was responsible. Callen sighed, barely paying attention to the ranting of the old man and relieved that Anna was saved from his showdown. Callen eventually cut him short, asking him to go to hospital and wait for Anna to come out of the OR.
He then called his father. It felt equally awkward to confide in a man he barely knew, and just right what he needed. Garrison had remained silent the whole time Callen was talking, and then simply said "I feel for you both. I am here for you if you need anything". Callen thanked him and hung up. He knew his dad would be present, one way or the other. He then drove to the Mission, and headed straight to Hetty's desk. She got up from her chair as he approached and took his hands. He shook his head to let her know about the negative outcome and she squeezed his hands a bit harder, leading him to the chair. She stood up in front of him, one hand on his shoulder, and said "Is there anything I can do, Mr Callen? " "Yes, I am going to need some time, a few days, to look after Anna until she gets better". "Of course, take as much time as you need, Owen and I will take over on your team's lead". Callen thanked her and remained silently seated for a while. He felt safe and protected next to Hetty. For years, she has filled in, being the mother he no longer had. Sam arrived, along with Deeks and Kensi. Callen felt even safer and comforted with the whole team around him. That's what he had come here for. Sam was particularly caring. A father himself, he knew what Callen was going through.
Callen then headed home, for a shower and breakfast, and grab some items to move to Anna's. He parked in front of his house and saw Garrison seated on the porch, holding a few paper bags, for what looked like enough food to fix a breakfast. Callen smiled. He knew his father would show up at some point.
Garrison was not any more talkative than his son. They hugged and entered the house, Garrison heading towards the kitchen, "I will make breakfast" and Callen went to his room.
The two men met later on to eat. Garrison asked Callen if he was ok to relate the whole story, from the beginning. Eventually, Garrison said: "If you need to talk, I will be there".
Callen looked at his watch and decided it was time to go back to Anna's side at the hospital. He thanked his dad, hugging him a bit longer than he had planned.
At the hospital, he was met with a very agitated Arkady, pacing back and forth in front of the Operating Room. He was clearly worried. "They told me nothing, the bastards. I don't know how she is…", grunted Arkady as he grabbed Callen by the arm. "It's a routine surgery, they know what they do, no need to worry", replied Callen. They walked to the lobby and asked if they could wait in the box that was used as Anna's room. The nurse agreed, advising them it would be another 15 mn before Anna was transferred back anyway.
As she woke up, Anna saw her very distraught father and Callen together at her side. She smiled at the irony of the situation: two men whom she was totally estranged less than 6 months ago and who were now the only two people she wanted to be with. Nothing seemed more natural at this hour. She had just been severely beaten up, had lost a baby she did not even know about and felt so much fatigue that all she wanted was to be taken care of!
Later on that day, after the doctor's round, Anna was discharged. Despite Arkady's protests, she decided to stick to her plans: she would go back to her place, Callen would stay for the first 48h and the doctor, who had drawn close to the odd couple, offered to stop by the next day for a check-up.
Anna was wheeled to Callen's car. She tried to stand from the chair, refusing Callen's help but as soon as she was up, her legs betrayed her and she slumped back on the seat, defeated. She looked at Callen, who was standing in front of her, arms crossed and a small smirk on his face. He would have done exactly the same thing! He promptly picked her up in his arms to settle her in the front seat, and again as they arrived to her place, to take her to the couch. She was clearly annoyed and frustrated by her ordeal, he could tell by the way her body stiffened and her jaws were clenched. Definitely a romantic moment, that one!
The rest of the day was spent in a similar vibe. Anna was uneasy, tired, she felt physical pain both from the beating and the surgery, and more than anything, a terrible sadness and feeling of void. No matter how tired she was, she could not sleep. Callen kept busy, without addressing to her. He did some exercise, read the newspapers, answered his emails, spoke in length with Hetty about a forthcoming mission, and eventually fixed a light dinner for the two of them. He did it all in quiet and relaxed mode, which Anna felt comforting. She appreciated his poise, despite his apparent sadness and fatigue. "No wonder he makes an excellent agent", she thought, "he knows exactly how to behave in any circumstance". Callen never left the house, and yet, gave Anna enough space to rest and get back to her senses. Towards the end of the day, her mood lightened up slightly. They had just finished eating and Callen was flicking through Netflix catalogue, looking for a comedy, or a funny show, as he thought they could both use some humour.
As they were seated on the couch, Anna decided to bring up the topic of their relationship. Callen was taken aback. He knew they would eventually have to talk about it, he just did not realize now would be the time.
Anna, in her usual self when nervous, talked fast: their night in Moscow, how much pleasure she had felt and how special their relationship was, their job, her working with the team, the baby, her decision to move to LA. All of it came in blocks but Callen managed to follow her train of thoughts. Eventually, she concluded: "I've just moved here, what happened today is a lot to process, I'm going to need some time. This is not about you, or about wanting or not to be together, but I need to take it slow… I hope you won't be mad at me".
Callen smiled back, and held her hand: "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere". Actually, he was relieved as well. It had been a lot to take in and he wanted Anna to get better. He took her in his arms and settled them comfortably to watch the film.
