Sorry it's taken me so long to finish this. It's been on my mind how best to finish this... and didn't want to mess it up.
Hopefully you enjoy this
#6
"This doesn't go any further…"
"Fine. But one day I'll call on you for a favour"
Callen grabbed the file folder and slipped out of the car, and back into the house
Finding Nell still asleep, Callen turned his attention to the information contained in the folder.
The more he read, the more he was infuriated. How could anyone hurt Nell.
….
"So how are you feeling, Mr Callen?"
"Honestly, I feel much better. I've not told my wife yet, but I regained my vision yesterday. I guess I wanted to wait until this check up before telling her. It's not that I want her to worry. I just… let's just say there's something I need to do before I tell her the truth"
"I won't tell her. That's up to you. But she seems to genuinely care about you, and worries. Surely it would be better to alleviate that worry"
"I promise you, I'll tell her tomorrow"
….
"This is fantastic news, brother. How did Nell react when you told her?"
"I've not told her, Mike. I need to do something first. And I need your help."
"You know I'll help you. Never said no to you yet, not gonna start now"
"Nell was mugged a few nights ago. I want to catch the scum that did it."
"Fair enough. Where do we start?, I assume Nell didn't go to the police?"
"I Don't think so. Pretty sure she just left it alone. You know her, so doesn't want to seem weak in front of us. More than that, she doesn't want to have us do what we're about to do"
"And that's catch the guy that hurt her?. We're not going to do anything OTT, right?"
"I promise you, Mike. We're just going to catch the guy that mugged her, and pass him off to LAPD"
….
Picking up the basic cell phone he had been using since getting out of the hospital, Nell's idea, so he could call any of his friends of co-workers if he needed to ask for help or just… if he wanted to talk and keep updated on what was happening outside of his 'little bubble', he dialled Nell
[…]
"Just wanted to let you know I'm off out with Mike. Not like last time. He's just taking me to meet with someone. Nothing sinister. I'll be home around 10pm, if you want to come over"
[…]
Ending the call, Callen locked his front door and got into Mike's waiting car
"Ready, Brother?"
"Yeah. Let's get this done" replied Callen as he jammed the clip into his … well not his SIG, since that had, presumably, been locked away back at OSP awaiting his potential return to service. But into the SIG provided by Mike, that had come from god only knows where.
….
[…]
"Hey. I wasn't expecting you to call"
[…]
"Okay. I'll see you tonight"
Nell ended the call, and slipped the cell phone back into her jeans. Unable to stop smiling, she knew someone would notice… but she was feeling good, and no one could take that from her
"Callen?" asked Kensi
"Why would you think that?"
"You've got a goofy grin on your face. So I figured it was either Callen… only other thing that gets you grinning like that is an Oreo
Nell just continued smiling between sips of her tea
"You're genuinely happy aren't you… !"
"I am. I'm not gonna pretend that things haven't been tough lately. But I really am happy. Happier than I ever thought I could be"
"You should have told him that you liked him long ago"
"I dunno about that, Kens"
"Come on, Nell. If you're not able to admit everything, you can at least admit that…"
Nell looked at her friend with a genuine confused look upon her face
….
Callen and Mike ran down the corridor, after their suspect. Callen was adamant that this piece of shit wouldn't get away… it was bad enough that he had managed to escape capture because Nell didn't want to draw attention to herself… He would die trying to catch this guy if it came to it. There was no way he would let him escape punishment for hurting Nell…
Getting close enough to reach for the guy, Callen jumped, launching himself at the guy. Did it hurt when he hit the ground?, sure. But it was worth all the pain the world could inflict on him, so long as Nell would be safe.
"Call Bates. Get LAPD down here ASAP" Callen asked, knowing that now, he had to face up to admitting to Nell, that his sight had returned, and he had lied, by omission, about the state of his sight.
Would she still want to be with him after his deception?.
….
[…]
"Sure. I'll meet you there. Just give me 20 minutes?!"
Nell ended the call and slipped the cellphone back into her pocket
"Everything okay?"
"Mike has … he's done something, and dragged Callen with him. I need to go pick him up"
"You want me to come with you?" Kensi asked, knowing that the younger woman could do with some moral support, even if she wouldn't admit it
….
Nell and Kensi walked into the LAPD precinct, and approached the information desk
"Hi, I'm here to pick up my friends. G Callen and Mike Renko"
"They're through there" The desk sergeant replied, gruffly while pointing at a set of double doors at the far end of the room
Kensi gently grabbed hold of Nell's arm and walked with her, through the doors, not knowing what this was really about. Sure, Mike could get into trouble in a church, but he normally had good cause. But why would he have dragged Callen into whatever this was, it wasn't like when Callen would watch out for his friend, and ex partner. It was inconsiderate, if not totally and morally wrong to drag a blind man into whatever he had gotten himself into.
Finding Mike sat on a bench, but no sign of Callen, Nell got worried… where was he. Was he okay. Why wasn't he sat with Renko, waiting for her like he had told her on the phone
"Mike…?" Kensi began, knowing where the younger woman's focus was "… What's happened?"
"Not my place to say, Kens. But it's nothing bad. I promise you both."
"Where is he?, is he okay?. Why did you drag him into … whatever the hell this is" Nell asked, not able to remain quiet, not able to ignore her worries
"I promise you, Nell. He's okay. We just had to do something. Just trust me… you'll be happy"
….
Nell rushed into the interview room, unable to wait outside any longer.
"Why are you holding this man. Can't you see he's unable to be involved in whatever this is about… can't you see that he's blind?..." Nell began before Callen turned to her and interrupted her
"Nell. I'm sorry. I've lied to you…"
Nell started to worry, well… worry more than she had already been. Was this where he'd tell her he had only settled for her because he couldn't see… was she just a consolation prize.
He saw her withdraw into her mind, saw the focus of her sight drop down to the floor
He quickly got up onto his feet and asked the LAPD officer to give them a moment. As soon as the officer had left and closed the door behind herself, Callen reached out his arms and pulled Nell into a hug. Knowing that she was questioning him, questioning their relationship.
"My sight came back the other day… before… before you told me about having been mugged. I tried to tell you. But I couldn't tell you… not when I knew you needed to vent. I really care about you… more than … well, more than… more than I maybe should. After you told me about what happened to you, I couldn't sit still. I had to…" Callen paused, trying to pick the right words "…Mike and I found the guy who mugged you. It's where we went today. It's why we're here. I need you to know I'd never intentionally hurt you…. I'd never let anyone hurt you if I could stop it. You… You were just like this great bright light in my otherwise dark existence… I couldn't let you lose that bright light within yourself because some guy tried to hurt you. Bates has all the proof he needs to prosecute the guy that mugged you… looks like he's done it to other people. All he needs is for you to confirm it was the guy Mike and I caught"
Nell took in all that she was being told. A little voice in the back of her mind told her that now that he could see, that there would be no future for them. But that wasn't what he was saying to her… he wanted to protect her. I genuinely cared for her… not as a consolation prize, not as a random girl he was trying to hook up with…
But he had lied to her… by omission or not, that wasn't something she could easily accept.
Nell walked out of the interview room and into Lieutenant Bate's office to give her formal statement. After that, she didn't know what she was going to do… could she forgive Callen?
….
Nell disappeared after that…. She didn't return to work in the days that followed, she wasn't at her apartment… no one knew where she had gone… well, Eric probably knew, but if he did, he was being a good friend, and wasn't going to betray his best friend. Hetty probably knew, but like Eric, wasn't going to spill the beans
….
Callen became depressed, rarely leaving the house other than to work. Everyone had tried contacting Nell by email, facebook and by phone. Never getting any answer.
"Sorry, Mike. Not tonight. I… I just need to stay home tonight. But you have fun"
Callen couldn't bring himself to go out with Mike. Couldn't bring himself to try dating again. A few months ago, what would he have said if someone had told him that he would be in love with the young analyst. He'd probably have laughed at the prospect.
….
After a few months they had all had to move on, Callen still refused to go out… refused to forget about the young woman who had shown him that life could have a meaning outside of work. The young woman who had shown that he could love something other than casual sex.
He had cooked himself a simple meal, and sat down at the bar and ate his dinner.
He had reached out to anyone that owed him a favour… NCIS agents, Analysts, FBI, CIA… you name it, he had called in favours from anyone and everyone that owed him anything, desperate to find her.
He could hear a car pull up outside, but knew that he wasn't expecting anyone. It was probably Sam or Mike, trying to get him to go out and socialise
Hearing a knock at the door, He got up, and readied himself for the attempt by Mike or Sam.
Opening the door without looking through the peep hole, he found himself standing face to face with none other than Nell Jones… he was so elated to see her, that he almost didn't notice what she was carrying…
"Hi, G. It's been a while…" she began "…Could we come in. I kind of need to change Grace"
Callen looked down at the young child she was cradling gently in her arms