A.N.: Thank you as always for your nice comments :) I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story.

Chapter 21

G didn't sleep well that night. Nightmares haunted him each time he closed the eyes and adding to the equation pain, fever and Hetty's mother hen attitude, the result was all the anger he was feeling.

- "Mr. Callen, you promised!"

- "I was forced to agree with a check-up, Hetty, but you didn't tell anything about going to the hospital."- G was furious.

- "And that would have been the case if you haven't stabbed the doctor with your toothbrush!"

- "How many times do I have to apologize?!"

- "A life apologizing wouldn't be enough"- Hetty murmured trying to find some remaining patience.

- "What?"

- "Mr. Callen, walk before me!"

Callen fixed his steeled and defiant gaze on Hetty. He was anxious, tired and afraid of the results. He knew that sooner or later he had to give in to Hetty's commands, but he wasn't going to make things easy for her.

- "I tell you Hetty, you've seen my arms, I've not a single spot without a hole or a blue; I'm not letting anyone to poke me with a needle."

- "I'm not repeating this. Get. In. The. Car."

At the hospital Hetty was pleased to confirm that G's infection was subsiding thanks to the effect of the antibiotics and Callen was switched to the intramuscular version for three more days to his dismay, nevertheless she had to handcuff him in order to allow the nurse to do the task. She was getting old for dealing with his rebellion.

On their way to the office Callen started to search through the small glove compartment of the Jaguar.

- "Mr. Callen! Stop bending your head like that if you don't want to cause yourself a vertigo attack! What are you looking for, anyway?"

- "My lollipop." – said a pale Callen going into a mood- "If the shot hurts Sam gives me one. Besides I need some sugar."

- "Today is not sugar what you need"- muttered Hetty.

- "What?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Since Hetty ordered it the N.C.I.S. L.A. unit was ruling on the minimum staff. That seemed to agree with the two techs that completely owed the operation center.

- "We have just few minutes before anyone can detect us. Are you ready?"- asked Eric typing fast on his computer. He was feeling bold breaking the rule of not using ops for personal purposes.

- "We're not Eric! You know the first question Sam will ask will be about Callen, so if you don't know the answer, don't connect."- said Deeks earning a punch from Kensi. – "Ouch!"

- "Too late"- said Eric – "Hello Sam!"

The big screen illuminated and the Hanna family appeared suddenly. Sam was holding the tablet and the kids were behind him making funny faces.

- "Hi guys."- saluted Sam.

- "Hiiiii" – they answered clumsily from ops.

- "Where is G?"

- "I told you"- murmured Deeks at Kensi's ear- earning another punch. This moment Nell entered in ops just in time to hear the question.

- "Hello Sam, hey you two! G is with Hetty at the hospital."

- "Is she ok Nell?"

- "Routine check- up, I've just talked to her, nothing to worry about, they are in their way here."

- "How are you Sam?"- asked Kensi.

- "Already regretting being here with these two! Hey, would you stop, please?"- he said to his kids in a tone more acquiescent that angry.

- "Hello Kensiiiii!" – said Kamran sticking out his face from behind her father's arm.

- "Hi sweetie!"

- "I see that you are not bored Sam!"- said Deeks smiling and waving his hand to the girl who waved back.

- "Sometimes I wish!"

- "Hey Deeks" – intervened Aiden- "Why don't you guys come here and teach me some surf?"

- "Aiden for once you had a great idea"- said his sister.

- "That would be awesome!"- exclaimed Eric.

- "Yeah, anyway we don't have much work in here, and we all have pending holidays."- explained Kensi.

- "If you can come I'll be eternally grateful"- said Sam rolling his eyes at the explosion of cries of his children.

The door opened and G entered the room. He wasn't expecting to see his partner and the kids on the screen.

- "G!"- exclaimed Sam. He couldn't see his friend properly being in the back of ops.

- "Hello Sam, hi guys! Are you ok?"

- "Uncle Callen! Are you coming?"- interrupted Kamran.

- "G, is Hetty alright?"- asked Sam regaining the control of the tablet.

- "At this moment very upset."

- "Why?"

- "I guess I pissed her off."

Everybody laughed at the occurrence.

- "Sam let us know if you need anything!"- proposed Nell.

- "We're good Nell, thanks."

- "Hey guys, we need to cut, we're exceeding the time"- said Eric -"Talk to you soon. I'm sending you a video of the best Hawaiian surfer Aiden!

- "Coooool"

- "See you soon!"

- "Bye."

The screen went black and Sam's image disappeared letting everyone in the room with a silly smile. It was good to see his friend.

- "Callen!"- Kensi hugged G who tensed anticipating the pain.

- "Kens, good to see you."

- "What happened to your chin?" she asked touching him lightly at the side of the bandage.

- "I felt down."

Everybody laughed again taking Callen's answer as a joke.

- "So, no cases?"- asked G somewhat confused about the reaction of the team.

- "No new ones. I think the order is coming from Washington. What did you do to upset Hetty?"- said Eric nonchalantly.

- "Just being me"- He sighed kind of sad. Without further explanation G went downstairs ruminating what Eric said and thinking about Sam.

When G opened his laptop Kensi's pencil rolled to the floor. His first instinct was to bend down and pick it, but the stabbing pain in his back prevented him from doing it.

- "I got it"- said Kensi taking the pencil- "Sorry about the mess."

- "I'd worried if your desk was clean."- smiled Callen trying to hide his discomfort.

- "Your back. You're still sore from the shot, aren't you?"

- "More than sore and very mad: I can't be on the field."

- "Well, take it as a holiday. You can join Sam and the kids in Hawaii and sunbathe a bit."- she said remarking how pale Callen was.

- "As much as I would like to do that I couldn't right now. Hetty…"

- "Is she ok, Callen? Is agent orange …?"- she asked alarmed.

- "No, no, nothing like that." – then he added mischievous –"Turn your head just a little bit and look at her."

Hetty was sat at her desk blowing her cup of tea and staring at Callen's back.

- "She had his gaze fixed on me, I can feel it."- murmured G at Kensi's ear.

Kensi laughed. She was always amazed by the strange relationship Hetty and Callen had.

- "So, why is she pissed off?"

- "She treats me like a child so I behave like one. She wants me to rest when in fact she is the one who needs to do it, but she's too stubborn to recognize it."

- "I see."

- "Well, and you? Don't you have anything to share with the rest of the class?"-mocked G.

- "Me? No. Why?"- she asked somewhat embarrassed.

- "I don't know. Just guessing. You went to the beach recently with a ring that you're not wearing today in a special finger." – he said taking her hand and signaling the white stripe on his ring finger – "Deeks is throwing another kind of gaze to you and he has a cord around his neck with a round pendant."- at this point Kensi was turning red- "What do you give him, the ring to flush the toilet? Ouch!"

- "It is the ring of a grenade! and close your mouth if you don't want a broken rib!"

- "Ha, ha, ha. No, please, I've enough! I was just guessing. Congratulations Kens… or should give you my condolences?"

Kensi raised his fist.

- "I surrender! I surrender! I'm happy for you, honestly. He's a great guy."- G said hugging his friend.

- "Please, don't tell anybody. It's not the best moment to announce it, for Sam."

- "Don't worry. You know he would know sooner or later, right?"

- "Later is good."