Callen was watching Kensi out of the corner of his eyes. He'd taken the opportunity of a slow day at work and Deeks needing to be at LAPD to visit Kensi in the hospital. It was always nice to spend time with her and he'd really been missing her presence on the team. Though, he joked that he could actually reclaim all of his desk. He'd gotten a weak punch in the arm for that comment but he'd let her. It was nice to see such a Kensi-ish response.
They'd been having a good enough time, catching up and just being together. He and Kensi were cut from the same cloth in most things. They were straight to the point, almost blunt, didn't like a lot of fuss and the calm half of their partners. Their personalities closely matched in some ways which made it easy to work together, though in large doses would probably drive each other insane. They were more of the loner type and referred to get things done themselves. They would call it independent and not wanting to waste resources unnecessarily, their partners would call it infuriatingly stupidity. Poh-tay-toes, poh-tah-toes.
He smiled to himself, thinking of the friendship that was so easy between them. He'd never thought he'd have someone like Kensi in his life, so free with affection and bold in her actions. It was easy to depend on her and she was the first person that he'd willingly returned a hug to, thinking his return after his shooting seven years ago. He'd shocked her that day. He'd let her hug him, Hetty having explained that that's how Kensi showed her trust in people, but he'd never returned it. Until then, he'd just let the hugs happen. It was kind of nice to have someone hug you who didn't expect anything in return. Sure, she did fully get him or him her, those accolades went to Sam and Deeks, but there was a closeness there that he didn't have with anyone else. It was admiration, affection, trust and protectiveness all rolled into one.
Callen wondered if that's what having a little sister was like.
This is why seeing her now was so difficult. He hadn't been able to protect her, as her team leader, friend or brother, nothing had stopped this. He was meant to keep things like this from happening to his people. Callen clenched his fists, the only outward sign at his fury and helplessness washing over him as the memory of that whole day replayed in his mind.
Shaking his head, Callen returned his attention to Kensi. Their conversation had fallen by the wayside a few minutes earlier, Kensi still tiring easily, but he hadn't wanted to leave just yet and Kensi seemed happy enough.
Or she had.
It looked like she had slipped into depressing and or self-destructive thoughts again. He knew what those were like. Her legs were crossed under her, like they had been all evening as they'd talked, but with her head falling forwards in an attempt to hide her face. Of course, her hair had followed suit and, in its unkempt state, had completely got in her face. She was trying to brush it out of the way -deliberately using her bad hand (that Deeks had affectionately nicknamed 'The Claw' which hadn't cheered her up at all).
Callen frowned, that wasn't going to work. She was trying to tuck her hair behind her ear but it kept on slipping out of her grasp. She simply wasn't able to do even that level of fine motor control yet and she knew it.
He frowned harder. Her hair should even be in this state, not when she couldn't sort it herself. Didn't the nurses know that?
Well, good thing he knew how to fix this he thought, picking himself out of his chair.
"Shh. Stop fussing. I'm just braiding your hair," Callen said to her soothingly as she startled at his sudden presence behind her.
She really hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings because if her frustration.
"What?" she asked, more than a little confused.
"I'm braiding your hair," Callen repeated calmly, separating the pony tail he'd created into rough thirds.
"Why?"
She tried to turn her head to look at him, nearly messing up the start of the braid. He managed to stop her before he accidently formed a bump in it. They were just irritating and he was sure they didn't feel comfortable.
"Because your hair was getting in your way and annoying you," he replied simply, tugging on her hair gently to make sure he had the right tension.
He could see her expression but he suspected she was biting her lip, stopping herself from blurting out that she was fine because they both knew that would be a line.
Instead, she asked disbelievingly, "You know how to braid hair?"
"Of course, I do?" he said in a mock affronted tone, braiding quickly to prove his point.
She'd see.
He could practically see her raising an eyebrow in disbelief.
"How?" she demanded.
"It's just one of my many skills," Callen replied airily.
"Hmm mmm."
An eyebrow went up.
"Kamran taught me. When I babysat once, she'd wanted loads of little ones and cried when I said no," he admitted sheepishly, wincing at that memory.
He hated seeing any of Sam's kids upset but particularly Kamran.
"So, you learned?" Kensi guessed.
"I learned."
"That's so sweet," she told him.
"Yeah, yeah," he brushed off, getting to the end of the braid. "Yours is easier. Hair tie?"
Kensi held up her wrist, where a black one was present. Moving the braid to one hand, Callen awkwardly prised it off her wrist and quickly looping it around her hair.
"Done," he announced, quite pleased with himself.
Reaching around the back of her head with her good hand, Kensi pulled the braid over her shoulder so she could see it. A surprised sound came from the back of her throat.
Callen looked at it critically. It wasn't his best work but it wasn't his worst either. Kensi's curls just didn't like to stay in place but the overall effect was quite tidy and it served its purpose of keeping hair out of Kensi's face.
"Wow, Callen, this is really good," she praised, fingering the braid in awe.
"Of course, it is," he said smugly. "I've got skills."
She rolled her eyes but her expression didn't slip back into that melancholy one she had been sporting.
It was good to have her smiling again
