Sorry for how long it's taken me to get this chapter written...
it was about 90% complete when my laptop died. turned out the screen had burned out, and needed replaced.
Owing to work and financial demands, getting it fixed had to wait till just before Christmas... although it took a few weeks to get the required parts.

Anyway, here we are... chapter 5. All being well I expect chapter 6 to be the grand finale.

#5

"Callen? Dinner" Nell called out at she carefully closed the front door behind her

When she didn't see or hear him, she got worried.

Normally he was sitting in the lounge… either listening to the radio, or just sitting there, waiting. It had been unusual for her to find him anywhere else in the house, unless he was out with Sam or Mike, and even then he had been letting her know about his 'field trips' before she left work, so she knew whether he would need food brought over.

"You Home?" She again called out, as she carried the takeout into the kitchen to put it out

'I wonder if he's sleeping?' she wondered to herself, leaving the takeout on the counter and walking through to the area of the house where the bedrooms were located

Not finding him in any of the bedrooms, she made her way back through to the kitchen, but stopped to wash her hands.

Upon opening the bathroom door, she dropped to her knees, lifting his head into her lap

"Callen, wake up"

The lack of response bothered her, but not nearly as much as the small amount of blood around his eyes did, where he must have been scratching, by the looks of it.

"Don't do this to me"

….

"Ms Jones?"

Nell didn't answer.

"Ms Jones!" Hetty repeated, with more urgency and force

"He was just laying there" Nell eventually answered in a small voice

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I was just taking him some dinner, and I found him in the bathroom"

"You did the right thing. Now, I suggest you return home. When he wakes up I'll see that someone calls you"

"If it's all the same, I'd rather wait here to see for myself"

"My dear, you'll be no good to Mr Callen or myself if you're too exhausted to think straight. I promise you, when his condition changes I will personally let you know"

….

When Callen woke up, all he could hear was the pitter patter of rain hitting the hospital room's window, not the usual rhythmic beep of the hospital machinery.

He had no idea where he was or how long he had been there for. Last thing he could remember was being at home. He had been thinking about what Mike had said… thinking about what he should do… he was none the wiser as to what he should ultimately do, but the last thing… the very last thing he could remember was a sharp.

"Mr Callen. I'm glad to say you are still here among the living. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Hetty?"

Of course it would be the diminutive spy… who else would watch over him like a hawk

"Where am I, and how long have I been here?"

"You're in the Accident and Emergency ward in Cedars-Sinai. Now, can you tell me what happened?"

"I was washing up, and I don't know… it was like a migraine. I must have fallen over and hit my head, and then it's a blank until just now"

"Hmm. Well the doctor wants to run another scan on you. So I'll step out and let Ms Jones know that you've woken up, while the doctor checks you over"

….

"I told you he'd be fine"

"I never said he wouldn't be fine. I was just…"

"You were really worried. Why don't you just tell him you like him?"

"So I can look like a lovesick teenager… No thank you"

"You know, he cares about you too"

"Yeah, like a friend or… or a colleague. Not like a realistic dating option"

"Well get drunk and tell him you like him, and then you can blame it on the wine if he doesn't react like you want him to. Seriously, Nell. Life's too short to not let someone know that you care about them"

….

Staring into the hospital room, finding him awake, and upright delighted her… even if she felt ever so slightly like a silly little girl.

"I know you're there, Nell. You can come in. Or you can go home… Your choice. But either way, cut out the staring"

"I'm not… how do… Stopping" Nell replied, moving our of the doorway and into the room, carefully edging herself over and into the chair by his bed

"Can you see me?" Nell asked

"No. But I knew you'd be there…" When Nell didn't say anything in response, Callen explained exactly how he knew she was there "I heard the nurse 'welcome' you. Since I'm assuming you're still letting them believe you're my wife"

"Hetty knows… I swear"

"Never said she didn't." Callen paused for a second to allow Nell the chance to breathe "How would you like to get dinner?"

"Sure, what do you want? I'll go grab it, whatever it is"

"No. I mean… Do you want to get dinner… with me?"

….

"You look very beautiful tonight"

"It's sweet of you to say, Callan. But you can't see me… I could look like a dogs dinner"

"Except that I know you don't. You're always smart and tidy. Always beautiful"

"Well thank you"

….

"So?"

"So, what?"

"How was the date?"

"It wasn't a… ok, it kind of was. It was very nice. He complimented me on how I looked, even they he couldn't see me" Nell replied, hoping Kensi wouldn't ask much else

"…So…. Come on, Nell, don't leave me in suspense…. Did he kiss you?"

….

"Come on, G. You know you can trust me"

"What do you want me to tell you, Mike?"

"What happened!"

"We had a meal, I complimented her… she brought me home"

Mike didn't know what to say… Callen hadn't answered how he had hoped he would. He hadn't been very specific about the date, but Mike was determined to get more information direct from the horses mouth

"Come on, brother. Give me a bit more than that… Did you kiss?, did you come back here to… well, you know?" Mike asked, suggestively moving his eye brows, despite knowing Callen couldn't see his expression

"I kissed her cheek. Well I hope it was her cheek. She brought me home, and then she went home. No funny business. Just an enjoyable evening"

Mike was disappointed that Callen hadn't sealed the deal like he normally would. But glad that he had at least enjoyed himself. But it left one important question

"Will there be a second date?"

….

Callen woke up, feeling the sun casting its warmth over him. He would never admit it, but he was glad that Nell had talked him into sleeping in the bed, rather than sleeping on the bed roll on the floor. It was at that moment that he felt an overwhelming peacefulness. He couldn't imagine feeling any better than he did… well it would be perfect if he could see again. But he wasn't going to pin any hope on that particular donkey.

….

Having spent the afternoon, and early evening, listening to the radio, he was well aware of just how slowly the afternoon had dragged by.

The one thing that he was looking forward to was Nell popping in to have dinner.

It had initially been a pain in the backside having Nell come by with food for him, or just to check on him. It made the whole situation all the worse, not being able to do anything by himself…

could he boil the kettle so he could make a cup of coffee?, Yes.

Was he allowed to?, No, not after having burned his hand

Had he come to appreciate the young Analyst's visits?, yes, although he had come to appreciate everyone's help and their visits… but it was Nell that he saw most often, well not 'saw', but he knew what he meant before thinking about this.

After he had grudgingly accepted help from everyone, he had found it much easier to manage. But he had also somehow managed to convince them that he didn't need them spending every spare moment of time around him… they knew that if he needed help, he would ask them.

Having just finished listening to the evening news, Callen turned the radio off and got up and moved through to the kitchen. The least he could do was get the plates and cutlery out for dinner.

Having done that, he returned to the lounge and carefully sat back down where he had been only a few minutes ago to await her arrival… but she never arrived.

….

"You're going to have to tell him"

"No I don't. I really, Really don't" Nell replied, wanting to put the ugly subject to bed

"So what are you going to tell him?"

"I'll tell him I got held up at work, or that my car broke down. There's no reason for him to ever find out that I was mugged"

"Come on, Nell. You think he won't find out?, he will. He's like Hetty in that way"

"Can we just stop talking about this. I Don't want to think about it. I don't want to feel like a victim. And right now, he's the only one that won't treat me like one…. Because he won't know"

….

She stood outside the door, bracing herself… she didn't want to lie to him. She didn't want him to treat her like a victim. She just wanted to lose herself in… whatever this was that they were doing.

'He'll have heard the car pull up. Can't wait out here much longer' she thought to herself just before she pushed her key into the lock

"Sorry I'm late. I got held back at work and then I had a puncture and had to wait for AAA to come change the wheel. I know it's Monday night, and I know we normally have thai food. But I got Chinese instead." She said, seeing him sitting in his chair

"Are you okay?"

"Sure. Nothing wrong. Just a rough evening. I Take it you have the plates ready?"

"Yeah, in the kitchen" Callen replied as he lifted himself out of the chair, and felt his way to the kitchen, not truly believing what Nell had just told him. But he decided whatever was going on, he would let her have her secret. He owed her that much at least.

….

"Is it getting to that time?" Callen asked as he carried their plates through to the sink

"I guess it is" the young analyst replied, starting to worry about how she was going to manage through the night after the start to the evening she had, had. "Could I maybe… I know it's soon, and we haven't really spoken about 'where we are'. But could I maybe… stay here… just for tonight?"

"Yeah. You don't have to ask. I can take the bedroll and you can take the bed" He called out from the kitchen as he crudely managed to wash their plates

"Thanks, but would you maybe… could you…. Could you maybe sleep in the bed with me?"

….

Callen was awoken at some point during the night… obviously he didn't know what time it was. It wasn't so much the being woken that troubled him, after all he had never slept all that well or for all that long, it was the fact that Nell was tossing and turning… obviously having some sort of nightmare.

"Nell?. You're having a bad dream. You're safe, you're okay"

Nell continued tossing and turning, until suddenly she sat up, her eyes shot open and she gasped… clearly upset by whatever she had been dreaming about

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"What?" Nell replied, having remembered where she was and who she was with

"Whatever you were dreaming about. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't remember what I was dreaming about" she replied abruptly "Maybe I should go home"

….

The rest of the night hadn't been any better… Nell had grabbed her clothes and ran out to her car and away home, leaving Callen alone, wondering what had happened…

He hadn't been able to get back to sleep… not that he truly expected that he would, or even could. He sat there, on the edge of the bed where he had been sitting since he had felt his way back to bed after hearing Nell speed off in her Mini.

'Maybe I shouldn't have pushed' he thought to himself as he continued analysing the evening before retiring back to the bedroom to try and rest from the headache he now had.

….

The rest of the night was no better for Nell.

She had sped home and rushed into her apartment, quickly locking the door behind her, proceeding to make sure all the windows were locked, and that the blinds were closed.

Why had she freaked out… maybe Kens had been right. He wasn't an idiot. He would know something was wrong, but being 'very Callen', he had let her keep her secret… he hadn't even argued when she asked to stay with him… not that he had rushed her into anything. He wouldn't do that.

By the time the sun came up, Nell had worried herself into quite a state.

It had started because of what had happened to her, it had then moved onto what happened after waking from her nightmare. Then the largest part of the worry was about Callen. If he had been able to see, she knew he would have pushed for information and then he would have hunted down the guy that had mugged her. And it wasn't like he would only do it for her because of… well, whatever they were. he would do the same for any of the others.

She just didn't want to seem weak in front of anyone, especially not Callen.

….

After she had had a shower and several mugs of coffee, Nell ventured outside to her car and drove over to Callen's place. She owed him an apology and an explination.

Out of habit, Nell had knocked on the door before she opened the door. Why she still did this she didn't know… he had been the one to give her a key. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't trust her. So why did she still knock on the door like she was a complete stranger.

Opening the door, She didn't find Callen in his chair, he wasn't in the kitchen, bedroom, or even the bathroom.
Maybe one of the others had taken him out… but he would have let her know if he was going out. So where the hell could he be.

Nell's worried mind focussed on where he was and why he wouldn't have let her know. There hadn't even been a note left on the kitchen counter.

Nell sat down on the sofa to wait on him. Wherever he was, he would eventually have to return home.

….

At some point Nell had nodded off to sleep while sitting on his tatty old couch.

It was just then that the front door opened and in walked Callen. Noticing Nell slumbering, he quietly closed the door behind him and slipped through to the bedroom to grab a blanket to cover her in.

Sitting in his chair he would periodically glace over from his tablet to Nell's slumbering form. If he knew her, and he did, she wouldn't have done much sleeping at home. Probably spent the remainder of the night worrying about whatever had happened to her. It annoyed him that she couldn't trust him with whatever had happened. He had thought they were closer than they obviously were.

A little after 2pm Nell seemed to start to waken. Leaving Callen with a dilemma… Should he tell her he could see again, or keep quiet until after his hospital appointment tomorrow.

Nell started to groan a little as she started to wake, the still bright warm sun filtered in through the lounge window. When she saw Callen sitting in his chair she got up and moved over to him, throwing her arms around him, like they hadn't seen each other for weeks… well, like she hadn't seen him for weeks

"Where were you?" She asked, not giving him a chance to answer. "I'm sorry about last night… I just… well, I should have told you right away…"

"Me first" Callen started, before she interrupted him with her own story… explaining what had happened, and why she hadn't told him.

….

Nell had gone to sleep properly later in the day, slumbering right through the night.
Giving Callen a chance to do some sleuthing.

Grabbing his cell phone, he quietly slipped out into the back yard and started dialling

"I need a favour" Callen said, not giving the other person a chance to get a word in.