A/N

Guest Review:

Chapter 169 Recovery Moments6 - Guest: Thank you :-) Yeah, that was fun to sneak that moment in where all seemed to be well again. I've missed writing the heat between these two and wanted to bring it back a little sooner than it really could. I'm not sure Callen wasn't ready to hunt me down and make it real though, perhaps he knows what's coming and is being patient. I figured, as much as Callen has been good about his recovery, there would be certain moments that were pure frustration for him, and anything to do with Jessie being hurt would certainly come under that banner. I didn't want him to come across as perfectly accepting of being stuck doing nothing so hopefully I've filtered enough moments in to be realistic. One of the benefits of Jessie's multiple jobs I think would be to see things from different sides a little easier - though not necessarily when it is very personal - and it was nice that the things she's learned with OSP have given her skills to help with her other role. Yep, perspective does make for interesting comparisons. After childbirth pain was definitely relative and easier to handle! ;-)

Made some time because I seriously needed to stop thinking, and doing, things that weren't for me for just a little while. I know that the rest of the week is complete madness so the next chapter won't be out until early next week. Cross fingers that we can pull off the show this weekend, still feels like there is so much to do.

Thank you all once again for your support on this story. I know it's huge and has been going on forever (well perhaps more just forever in terms of a Fanfiction story) but I've thoroughly enjoyed writing it and sharing it with you all. The end may be coming but it's still a little ways off, plenty more to happen first.

Enjoy, love to hear from you and have a great week.

Chapter 174 - Bachelor

Callen watched in mild amusement as Trevor hustled Jessie down the path to the SUV that was waiting at the kerb.

"Remember you can have her back tomorrow, not a second sooner. Until then she's ours."

Alex chuckled beside him at Trevor's words and then closed the door. Callen turned and looked at the men around him. He'd known this was happening. Trevor had called him a couple weeks ago to ask about it. Both of them agreed it was a good idea for Jessie to get out and have some fun with friends and celebrate. It wasn't that they didn't have fun, just that for the last few months her life had revolved around making sure Callen was taken care of more than anything else. The only part he hadn't known was happening, at least in terms of people, was Ryan. But that didn't surprise him now he'd had a chance to think about it. After all that was an exit opportunity for Jessie to use if it hadn't been covered. It wasn't like he didn't know Ryan. The man had been there for him a couple of times now when he'd been most vulnerable and come through for Callen. He could still remember that first time when Ryan had talked him all the way through the sedation when Jessie had been stitching his leg up and kept him distracted and calm. It was his most … enjoyable for lack of a better word, time he'd experienced being sedated. And of course he was there for Jessie even though he wasn't scheduled to work then.

"Right," Alex clapped Callen on the back, pulling him from his thoughts, admittedly with a lot less force than the man who rivaled Sam in size could've. "First thing we need to do is get this man off his foot and a boot back on it. Eric," Alex tossed his keys to him. "Go get those games you're desperate to set up. Marty you can help. Sam, you're taking care of bringing in the food and we'll make sure to get Callen settled."

Callen watched Eric and Deeks head off quickly, no arguments, not that he'd expect one from Eric given the task but Deeks was a bit of surprise. Alex was certainly giving off an air of authority.

Alex turned to Callen and raised an eyebrow. "Go, sit," he ordered and Callen found his feet moving before he even thought about it. He chuckled to himself. Yep, definitely an air of authority. He'd love to see him in court one day.

Callen sat on the couch, Ryan choose one of the single chairs and Alex sat next to Callen. "Where's the boot?" Alex asked.

"If I'm not walking around -" Callen stopped when Alex handed him a piece of paper. "What's this?"

"Trevor's schedule. There's been a slight change to what he sent you."

Callen glanced over the schedule, a smile lifted at his lips when he saw the change. "The boot stays on." He handed back the paper and reached beside the couch where he'd put it when he took it off earlier.

"If you want it off later." There was a knowing twinkle in Alex's eyes and Callen grinned.

"Oh I'll definitely want it off later."

Alex grinned back. "You need anything sorted, let me know."

"As long as you let me move, I can get what I need." He had plans already ticking away in his mind that he could use this change to his advantage.

"In other words you don't want me to be nosy."

"Let's just say it's personal."

Alex rose and headed to the kitchen.

"Personal?" Deeks came round the corner, arms loaded with technical equipment. "What's personal?"

"Don't you even know the meaning of the word?" Eric rolled his eyes. "The fact that it's personal means you don't ask."

"But we're friends," Deeks protested, "buddies. Family. There should be no secrets."

Callen raised his eyebrows at that. "Are you going to tell us your secrets?" he asked.

"I'm an open book."

Eric snorted. "Yeah right. If that's the case then tell us about the upstairs supply closet you and Kensi came out of yesterday."

"That was … we were..."

Deeks was seriously blushing which Callen found quite amusing.

"We were just looking for stationery. Yeah stationery. Where does this plug in?" Deeks asked, desperation clear in his tone to change the subject.

Callen chuckled. "I doubt that."

"We were," Deeks said.

"Then perhaps," Eric said, "you shouldn't have left a certain item of clothing in there."

Deeks' eyes went wide. "Damn. That's where we … Beale," Deeks shook his head. "You're getting sneaky."

"I learned from the best." Eric settled in front of the TV and went to work on the game console he'd brought in.

Callen smiled. Oh this was going to be interesting if Eric could fluster Deeks already. It should be an interesting afternoon and evening.

The day went smoothly. Good times, good food, and a nap for Callen mid afternoon. It didn't take much to convince him to do so. Alex just raised an eyebrow to remind him of later and he went off. He still felt tired at odd times, like his body needed a break from fixing itself and doing something else, to just simply rest. They'd played some games on the consoles that Eric had rigged up so the six of them could play together. During his recovery Eric had come over fairly frequently and convinced Callen games would be good to give him some distraction when he couldn't get up and do things. Callen hadn't had the heart to tell Eric he didn't really enjoy games. Instinct had told him this was Eric's way to be a part of taking care of Callen. However Eric was a smart guy and had been able to pick up on what Callen enjoyed, and didn't enjoy, about gaming and eventually they'd found something he did like. It wasn't until the pizza, Alex made not takeaway, for dinner that the conversation briefly turned to Alex's bachelor party.

"So," Callen glanced at Alex who was once again sitting beside him, "what about boats?"

Alex shook his head. "Nope. She'll kill me."

"I think we all know she won't," Callen argued. Alex's lips twitched because they did know that very well.

"Let's just say," Alex said, "that while it was fine, of sorts, for my bachelor party, it wouldn't be for you."

"Because?" Callen noticed the others were all eagerly listening to the point the pizza in their hands seemed forgotten.

Alex sighed. "Fine. But you make sure this doesn't come back to bite."

"I promise she won't bite." Callen grinned. "Not you anyway."

Deeks snorted, Eric blushed and Sam and Ryan both grinned. Callen rolled his eyes and waited.

There was a moment of silence before Alex gave in and spoke. "We were back in Boston for the wedding. Wasn't a big one but there were some friends we were catching up with. It was a joint one for Trevor and I. It went in a direction we didn't expect."

"Was Jessie there?" Callen asked.

"No. She got called into a work emergency, which even with hindsight I still haven't worked out whether it was a good thing or a bad thing."

Alex took a mouthful of his drink. In deference to Callen's recovery there was no alcohol. It hadn't mattered. They were all enjoying themselves. Ryan apparently had been put in charge of drinks and had come up with some interesting non-alcoholic combinations - some hit some miss, but it had been fun testing them out.

"We were supposed to go on a dinner cruise, it was where Trevor and I had one of our first dates. Half the guests were already on there. The other half were running late."

There was a hint of something in Alex's eyes.

"Let me guess," Callen said, "you and Trevor were in the half that was running late."

Alex grinned and nodded. "We were. Anyway, the cruise was already on its way when we arrived, just a little late. There was this other boat, about to leave the dock and we hopped on." He shrugged. "We'd figured it was going in the same direction and was more modern and we'd catch up and change boats."

"In the middle of the water?" Deeks asked.

"We were already a little beyond sober. It seemed like a logical idea at the time."

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Turned out the boat wasn't following and by the time we realised we were out in the middle of the bay on a weekend cruise and photo shoot with a bunch of swimsuit models … and we were the only guys on board."

Callen raised his eyebrows. "How many girls?"

"At least thirty."

Deeks whistled. "Ultimate bachelor party … mistake. I mean I wouldn't want…"

"Deeks," Sam shook his head. "Stop."

Deeks took a drink and stopped talking.

"You called Jessie to come and get you?" Callen knew the answer was no even before he finished the question. The look on Alex's face was a give away.

"No." Alex sighed. "They were a fun group of girls and Trevor was having a great time helping them with their poses, not to mention impromptu dance lessons."

"And you were having a fun time seeing him have fun."

Alex smiled. "Yeah, and we didn't really want to disturb Jessie at work. But we forgot to let her know what happened and the change of plans until she called us in the morning when we weren't home."

"Ouch." Callen shook his head. "I'm guessing that did not go down well at all knowing how much she worries."

"It wasn't too bad considering but probably only because she was working and if anything happened we'd have ended up in her hospital."

"So why did she say no to boats?" Deeks asked. "It's not like it was that bad."

"Deeks," Alex turned to face him, "how would Kensi react to you being stuck on a boat with thirty swimsuit models?"

"Ah," Deeks said. "I see your point."

"She'd have nothing to worry about," Callen said.

Alex turned to him. "She tell you about pain in the arse number two?"

Callen's eyes narrowed. "Maybe, though she's not referred to him as that."

"Tequila."

The puzzle pieces fell into place. "Then I have heard of him."

"Right but did you know that a swimsuit model, or three, were involved there?"

"No."

"Even though she's got nothing to worry about with you it's a painful spot to prod."

"Tequila?" Eric asked. "Nell said something about Tequila for the girls. They aren't playing that game are they?"

"What game?" Alex asked.

"The one with the cards Deeks has."

Callen barely managed to stop spitting out the mouthful of drink he'd just taken. "Deeks you didn't?"

"Didn't what?" Deeks asked, actually looking truly confused.

"Show Eric those cards?" Please no. Callen didn't want even a glimpse of the thought of Eric and Nell… He shook his head hard to stop his thoughts.

"Of course I didn't. Only Ken - Nevermind."

"Do they know?" Alex asked Callen.

Callen shook his head.

"Maybe they should know."

"Know what?" Eric and Deeks asked together.

Callen shrugged. As much as it was personal, he knew Jessie well enough that she probably wouldn't mind and he also trusted Alex enough that he wouldn't reveal anything she seriously wanted kept private. "You do it if you want."

Alex turned back to the others. "Ditch the cards Deeks. For Jessie. The PITA who made them was her boyfriend at the time. But it wasn't her he made them with."

Deeks was momentarily speechless. "You're kidding. What idiot would do that to her?"

"Idiot is putting it mildly, but thankfully he didn't mean enough to hurt her too much but it did put a little dent in her confidence which," Alex looked at Callen and smiled, "has been very nicely removed."

"What's on the cards?" Eric asked.

"You're too young," Callen said quickly.

"He's not," Alex countered. "But out of politeness and respect for Jessie, don't play it. However," Alex tossed a small pack of cards to Eric and then followed it up with one for the rest of them, including Callen. "These on the other hand are certainly interesting, and if I do say so myself, much better than that other set. Consider them a bachelor party gift but only open them with your girls, alone and privately."

Eric blushed furiously, fumbled to put them away. Deeks looked like he was contemplating peeking until he looked up and caught Alex staring at him and then quickly put them aside. Callen slipped his into his pocket.

"Well," Ryan grinned and tapped the cards, still sealed, on his leg. "This will make for a very interesting day tomorrow."

"You ready Callen?" Alex asked quietly later that night. The movie was almost done. Callen glanced at the time. Eleven thirty pm.

"Have been for a while." He glanced around at the others. "Do they know?"

"Not yet." Alex flicked off the television and the other men groaned. It was at a rather inconvenient point.

"Hey!" Deeks protested.

"Trust me," Alex said. "The interruption will be worth it." He rose from the couch. "We have somewhere to be at midnight. Let's go."

"Where?" Deeks was the first one up. "Didn't think Callen was the strip club kind of guy."

Callen grinned, the opening was there but he declined to take it though Sam didn't hold back.

"Course he's not. He's not you."

"Gentleman," Alex's voice was firm and they stopped. "At midnight Trevor relinquishes Jessie to Callen." He held up a handful of keys. "And if you all behave between now and then, you too can enjoy a night in a lovely luxury hotel suite with your significant others, at no cost to you."

"What's the catch?" Eric asked. "Aside from behaving which we know I am very good at, even if the rest of you aren't." Callen caught Deeks' open his mouth to protest but then stopped and shrugged. They all knew out of the lot of them Eric was the one to behave the best - not always completely but certainly better than the rest of them. Even though Callen didn't know Ryan very well, he suspected the man was very good at getting into trouble, especially with Heidi.

"None." Alex smiled. "Consider it a thank you for taking Jessie under your wings. You've all done a wonderful job and it eases Trevor's and my mind to know she has such wonderful… family surrounding and supporting her."

"Enough chatter," Callen rose. "I have a bride to be to sweep off her feet in less than thirty minutes."

"Sweeping off her feet literally? Perhaps not yet," Ryan told him, "though I'm sure you'll figure out something appropriate."

Callen grinned. "Already have."

The anticipation had been building through the day slowly, but once Callen stepped into the elevator at the hotel it rose quickly. As they went up Alex handed keys out to each of the men.

"Why not keycards?" Eric asked.

"This place is a little old fashioned in some ways, but there is more luxury than the outside hints at."

They stepped out of the elevator. Alex turned to face them with a finger over his lips. "Quiet. And follow me."

Callen had a backpack over his shoulder and his boot in one hand. His shoes were easy to slip off which he did when they arrived near the door to the room the girls and Trevor were in. They were barely there a minute before the door opened quietly, Michelle on the other side. She ushered Callen in and Nell and Kensi slipped out.

Callen watched Heidi drop her hand from Jessie's shoulder.

"She's good," Heidi said and then stepped back from Jessie to walk silently across the room and out the door.

Trevor put his hand on Jessie's shoulder.

"Trevor."

Trevor chuckled at the same time he waved Callen closer. "Should've known you'd figure it out so quickly," Trevor said. "But, can she get the next one as easily."

At the look of invitation in Trevor's eyes, Callen shifted in behind Jessie. Close but not close enough to be touching her. He lifted his hand, brushed the backs of his fingers very lightly against her neck. He felt her jump a little and heard her breath catch.

Trevor stayed close. "Do I stay or do I go?" he asked Jessie.

"Go."

Her answer was instant which brought a smile to Callen face. Even blindfolded she knew it was him. She was just as in tune with his presence as he was with hers.

Trevor kissed her forehead. "Thank you for today, for letting me do this for you. Love you."

"Love you more," Jessie replied and Trevor slipped away. The door closed with a soft click.

Jessie's shoulders rose and fell with quickly with her breathing. He was tempted to pull her back against him, brush his lips over her neck and shoulder but instead he moved around, stayed close but made sure he didn't touch her not until he was right in front. And then only enough to brush against her. He felt the slight tremor that went through her and heard the rush of her breath. He lifted his hand to the soft waves of her hair that hung loose and rubbed it between his fingers. Then she surprised him and shifted, and her lips were against his, a gentle hello before they brushed over his once again, firmer and seeking.

Callen slid his hands into her hair and pressed his lips to hers, a brief hello of his own before he turned the heat up and kissed her with all the anticipation that had been building through the day. His hands held her head still while used his lips, his tongue, his teeth and his knowledge of her responses and what she liked to take her breath away and flood her senses. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she clung to him, the soft whimpers and moans and her active response almost brought him to his knees too but he held his ground and held her up. They pulled back at the same time, their breaths unsteady. He rested his forehead against hers. His fingers, still buried in her hair, rubbed gently against her scalp.

"So who did you trust the most?" Callen asked Jessie. He focused on listening for her voice and words rather than wanting to pick her up lay her on the bed and continue the kiss that was taking them into flood of sensations. That would come just a little later. First though some degree of control needed to be found before this was over before they knew it.

"I know you G," she said softly. "I felt you even when you weren't touching me, felt your presence behind me. I know. I felt safe, home."

Safe wasn't something Callen had defined himself as, not truly. Not until her. Sure he would always protect those he cared about, those he didn't even know, but he never truly thought anyone connected to him would be safe with him, not like he knew she felt. Even with the things that lurked in the shadows, things he could never be sure wouldn't come out and take her from him, he knew she was safe with him - her heart especially was safe in his hands. To hear her say it though, to know that she felt so very safe with him, it warmed him from the centre right through, sometimes even more than hearing her say I love you. He'd never get tired of hearing either of those phrases from her lips.

"Right where I'm meant to be," Jessie continued as her finger traced his lips. "And I definitely know these lips and your kiss."

Callen fingers tightened in her hair at the feel of her touch. He took a breath and held himself still. She wasn't finished yet.

"But you are right," Jessie said. "It wasn't just me. I also know Trevor. He would never have left me alone if I wasn't safe. And that meant you."