Hi, everyone! Here's the next installment in the saga. Hope you enjoy!

He was in a bad mood. He was grumbling and his jaw was set. So far, his morning was not going as planned. He'd overslept for the first time in his life, then burnt his bagel and let his tea steep for too long so that it tasted bitter, then, in his hurry to still be at the office in time, had ripped his shirt because it caught on the door handle he'd promised Dee he'd fix.

Honestly, he was plain miserable without her. It had been two weeks, and although they at least tried to text every day and Skype on a few occasions, he missed her. So he'd been short tempered and moody.

He stalked into the mission, threw his bag on his desk without acknowledging anyone and went over to Hetty's desk. "I need some time off." No intro, no request, just an announcement.

The Operations Manager wasn't even caught off guard. "Oh, finally! He's here to ask for time off."

Callen raised an eyebrow. "Is it that bad?" He knew he hadn't been himself, but he tried to reign himself in and not take it out on the others.

Hetty folded her hands on her desk. "Do you really want to know? You've been sulking ever since you put her on that plane."

"I miss her."

"I know you do. It's not that."

"Then what?"

"Why didn't you ask for time off when you convinced her to go to London? And just go with her?"

He bit his lip. "Because we needed space. Space to figure out what we wanted. You know, together and as two individuals."

"And what do you want?"

"Her." Even he was surprised by the bluntness of that statement. "I mean it, Hetty. I want her. This is my way of showing her that I want her. Hoping that she'll have me in return."

Hetty eyed him. "Are you going to propose?"

It took him three seconds before he shook his head. "Nope."

"Ever?"

"No, I'm going to propose. Just not in London."

She smiled. "Why haven't you proposed yet, Grisha?"

"Because when Bogdanov happened I was still trying to figure out how and when, and then after Bogdanov we weren't really in place to propose."

"Are you now?" Hetty wanted to know.

"We're getting there."

Hetty was still stunned by the changes she saw in her agent sometimes. So much had changed in the past eighteen months that he'd known Deja. He'd found a place in himself that was comfortable enough to accept his truth and talk about his feelings.

"How's the house hunting?"

"Not doing that until she's back."

"Grisha…"

But he shook his head. "I know you mean well, Hetty, but we're not looking at new houses until we're back. I'm not making that kind of decisions without her; they're to important."

And he was standing up for himself. Which was good too. Hetty gave in. "Fine. But as soon as you've set foot on American ground again…"

"Yes, we'll start looking for another house."

"Okay." She leaned back in her chair. "How long do you want to go?"

"How long can you give me?" he asked.

Hetty pursed her lips. "Technically, with all the leave you have on the books, probably until the end of the year. But, as I can't have Mr. Hanna without a partner for that long, will three weeks suffice?"

Overwhelmed, Callen opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He nodded. "And I was hoping for a week."

"I can still give you a week," Hetty mock-threatened him.

"No, I'll take the three." He wasn't going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers. "Thank you, Hetty."

"Enjoy, Mr. Callen. And please, take her home with you."

With Hetty's blessing, he landed in London two days later. He hadn't told Dee that he was coming, but he'd heard Dee out about what she was going to do the next couple of days, so he had an idea where to find her. Having dropped his luggage off at the hotel, he took another taxi to Kensington.

If he was correct, Dee was having tea with Nanna. He was greeted at the door by the hostess. "Good afternoon, sir. How can I help you?"

Grisha cleared his throat. "Actually, I'm here as a surprise. I believe you have a standing reservation for Mrs. Elizabetta Barrow?"

"And you are?"

"Grisha Callen. I'm her granddaughters boyfriend. Flew in from the States this morning." He hoped it was enough to get him in. He'd never done this before. He'd never been completely honest about why he was surprising anyone.

The hostess smiled. "Well, we normally don't let anyone in without a reservation, but since you've come all this way… They're in the back of the garden, under the gazebo."

"Thank you." Relief didn't quite cover what he was feeling. Walking in the direction she had pointed out to him, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed her number. Dee picked up at the second ring.

"Hey you."

He stopped when he finally saw her. And when he saw her, his body relaxed. She was sitting with her back to him, facing an older lady that he assumed was Nanna. "Hi."

"Is everything okay? It's awfully early, even for you." Her voice sounded concerned.

"I'm okay," he breathed. "I just wanted to hear your voice."

She settled back in her chair. "I'm here. What do you want to talk about?"

"What are you doing?"

"Remember that I told you about going somewhere for tea with Nanna? Today is that day. She wants me to judge their tea."

"How in the world do you judge their tea?"

She laughed and he swallowed. How he had missed that sound. "I don't. As long as it comes in tins instead of paper bags, we're good. Nanna wants me to tell her what I think of their pastries, sandwiches and scones. Sorry, tea in England usually includes all those things."

"Aha. So have you tried anything already?"

"We've just arrived. So, no, all I've had so far is a sip of some very fancy champagne."

"Champagne?"

"Complementary. Couldn't really say no."

"She's spoiling you."

"As you would if you were here."

"I would certainly try." Grisha paused. "Do you think there's room for one more?"

He saw the confusion dawn on her face; her brows knotted and she sat up in her chair, looking around. "What are you saying?"

He stepped into view behind her. "Turn around."

Her head turned, eyes flicking from left to right, searching for him. When she finally saw him, he grinned. "Surprise."

Her phone fell to the ground as she sprang to her feet and started running to him. "Oh my god…"

Grisha caught her in his arms, so relieved to see her in real-time. He smelled her scent, felt her body fold into his.

Dee held him tight. After two weeks of complete (physical) absence, she found the expression to be correct. Absence did make the heart grow fonder. "Why didn't you tell me…?"

"Would it be a surprise if I had told you?"

She shook her head no, ran her hands through his short hair and checked every inch of his face. Then her eyes rested on his. "I love you."

"I love you more." He leaned in and did something he hadn't done in two weeks. He kissed her.

When they came up for air, Dee bit her lip. "I'm sorry you had to send me all the way to London to get some clarity."

"If you found it, it doesn't really matter," he said. "And even if you haven't found it yet, we'll have the next three weeks to figure some things out. If you don't, you'll just have to stay longer."

Her eyes went wide. "Three weeks? You're staying for three weeks?"

"I am."

The smile he loved so much lightened up her face. "Oh, that's wonderful!"

Just having her near made that his mood improved in tenfold. With every minute he was here, he was more and more convinced that asking Hetty for the time off was a good idea. Maybe so good, that he'd do something with the ring he packed after all. Just in case…