"Are you gonna tell, Callen?"

"I don't think it's a great idea. I mean he 'slipped' just because Eric and I slept together. What do you think he'd do if he found out Eric wants to propose to me"

"I don't think it's a good idea not to tell him. I mean if you don't tell him and then he finds out from someone else, it'd break his heart" Kensi replied "If it was Callen asking you… would you say yes?"

….

Callen strolled into 'the mission' and made a bee line for Hetty's office. He had to face up to the little ninja sooner or later. And he hadn't told her that he had accepted the Russian case from the director. Callen couldn't help but think he would be better off going back to Moscow and letting the bratva member finish the job they started.

"Mr Callen. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I owe you an apology, Hetty. I left town without letting you know. I just thought it was the best option for Nell's wellbeing"

"Well thank you for saying so. But I want to make it clear, that if you ever do that again, I'll be introducing your nether regions to my letter opener. I'd advise you let the swelling go down before you return to work. I expect that Ms Jones will be glad to find you home" Hetty responded, taking a quick breathe before saying one more thing "And Mr Callen, You needn't worry about your bratva friends, they have been… dealt with"

….

"What do'you think?"

"Bit soon, isn't it?"

"I love her. And I was apart from her for too long. I want us to be together"

"Have you run this past Hetty?"

….

"…please. Just see one of the doctors"

"Mike already had me checked out. It may have been by a coroner, but one doctor's as good as another"

"and how do you know that you didn't end up with some brain damage, huh?"

"Kens, tie breaker. Do I need to be seen by a doctor?" Callen asked, turning to Kensi's direction

"I'd get checked. Nell's right… I mean it's not like you're talking about a bump on the head. Your face is still really swollen, and god only knows how far your bruising extends"

Nell thanked, Kensi… knowing her best friend would side with her, despite her longer history with the senior special agent.

"Not that I don't trust you, but I want Kens or Mike to go with you, so I know you've been properly checked over"

….

"Regretting comin' back, Brother?"

"Up til now, no" Calllen replied, adding a quick laugh at the end

"You know I hate to say it, but she's right. Rose is good and all. But we don't know how far your injuries extend"

"Oh come on, Mike. It's just some bruising. It'll fade in a couple of weeks"

"Yeah, well, nowt you can do 'bout it now" Mike began "You spoken to Beale, since you rose from the 'dead'?"

"Not yet. Been trying to make it easier for Nell. Figured it was better to stay out of sight"

"Callen?" a doctor called, from the doorway

….

"It seems to be just cosmetic damage. Nothing to worry about too much. But I'll give you a prescription of Co-codamol, if you feel any pain I'd urge you to take 2 tablets, no more than twice a day"

"Thanks, but I doubt I'll need them"

"He's only here because his girlfriend was worried"

"Well it sounds like you should be listening to your girlfriend, rather than trying to be a tough guy"

The doctor earned himself a angry growl from Callen for that comment, despite the fact Callen knew that the doctor was right.

But it was a risk of the job, and Callen had accepted that doing good occasionally meant taking a bit of a beating. At least on this occasion none of his injuries have come about due to a gun.

"If I've learned one thing 'bout your 'little woman', it's that she's frequently, annoyingly, right. I'll deny this if I'm ever asked, but you've got a good one…"

"Yeah, I do"

"You're gonna have to deal with, Beale, sooner or later… and I think you know my opinion about him" Mike said, redirecting the conversation as they left A+E and headed back up to Nell's room

"What am I meant to do, Mike. Huh. He's the kid's father. I can't exactly say 'stay away from, Nell' can I. He has to have a relationship with Nell, if he's gonna have one with Grace"

….

Callen had sent Mike home, after the trip to A&E, and was walking back to Nell's room. Hopefully the doctor would have been by, to let her know when she could go home. It was when just outside her room that he could hear talking… definitely not the doctor. Only confirmed by the fact that Nell's doctor was a woman, a very friendly woman, and the other voice, aside from Nell, he could hear, was definitely a man… none other than Eric Beale.

He knew that he should walk away, and not eaves drop. However despite wanting to walk away, he edged closer to the door so that he could hear clearer.

"Just think about it"

'Think about what?. What's he want her to think about' Callen thought to himself, wishing he had arrived a minute or two earlier.

"Okay, I promise I'll think about it"

One again hearing movement, Callen quickly, but as close to silently as he could manage, rushed down the hall and ducked into another room, which was, thankfully, empty.

Why was he hiding… he hadn't done anything wrong… apart from hearing a snippet out of a serious conversation. He was back on the books with OSP, so he had no reason to hide from anyone, least of all Eric Beale.

Considering his physical condition, there was every possibility that if Eric had seen him, he wouldn't recognise the senior agent. But then again, Callen wasn't hiding from Eric for himself, instead he was hiding to make things easier for Nell. If the last few weeks have proved anything to Callen, it was that there was very little he wouldn't do or endure for the intelligence analyst.

….

"How was Eric's visit, anything interesting come up?"

"Apart from complaining about how Mike treated him the other night, not much" the way that Nell avoided looking at him as she said this, added fuel to the fire that he was worried about

"Fair enough, Mike didn't use much tact, but his heart was in the right place"

"I know. And I'm so grateful that he did interrupt. It was the best thing he could have done, for a multitude of reasons"

….

"She's keeping something from me" Callen blurted out between swigs of beer

"You know that for sure?"

"She was still talking with Eric when I got back to her room. I heard him pressuring her for an answer"

"..to what?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be as worried, as I am"

"Well, trust your old, buddy. I can let you be a fly on that wall"

"What've you done, Mike?!"

"Watched out for your fair rose"

"Mike?"

….

"What time was it?"

"Round about 7pm"

Mike opened his laptop and switched it on. After a few moments letting it start up, he opened a file folder and set about fast forwarding through a surveillance video

"Call me crazy for asking…" Callen began "…but why did you have Nell's room bugged?"

"Well if something had happened while she was in the hospital, you'd have been pissed, right?"

"I guess so"

"So Kens and I agreed to have footage recording her room, for just such an instance"

"I take it that Hetty doesn't know!?"

Mike stopped fast forwarding the footage and half turned to face Callen "It was her idea"

'Of course it was her idea' Callen thought, before silently thanking the little ninja

As Mike got the video to around 7pm, he started playing it at normal speed with the audio volume turned up

Callen watched the video, showing Eric mumbling and talking about some sort of computer thing that clearly Nell understood, and then felt his jaw drop, almost comically, as he watched Eric reach into his bag and pull out a box that he proceeded to open as he dropped to one knee. He was proposing to Nell…

Callen felt the blood drain from his face, felt himself starting to stagger backwards in shock until he came into contact with Mike's couch

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted that worm" Mike began, Callen never heard the rest of what Mike had to say as his thoughts turned to visions of seeing Nell marrying Eric.

Was it a shock to anyone that the technical operator harboured feelings for his 'partner'… no, anyone who spent more than a few minutes in the same room as Nell and Eric knew that Eric had more than friendly feelings for her… it was like the early years being around Deeks and Kensi, when neither would admit to caring for the other beyond simple partnership… but seeing him propose to her… it left Callen with a feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't begin to describe.

Mike slapped Callen's face, shaking him out of the thoughts he had lost himself in

"Snap out of it man"

"I already told you, if he's to have a relationship with Grace, he has to have one with Nell. I just thought… maybe I had more time than this" Callen explained at a much lower volume than normal

"Brother, it's not news. You just have to decide whether you're gonna lose her to him. She said she would think about it… not that she is gonna say 'yeah'. You catch my drift. If you want a future with her, like I think you do, then you're gonna have to fight for her"

"No offense, Mike. But I think I need to talk to Hetty about what we spoke about before"

….

"Hey" Callen said, speaking softly after walking in on Nell starting to doze

"Hey, yourself" Nell replied, also speaking softly, Glad to see him after the day she had had "Doctor McGhee says I can go home tomorrow" she continued, sounding very pleased

"That's great" Callen began, before pausing completely, not knowing how to proceed… thinking about what Mike had shown him, about the conversation he had with Hetty, and most importantly, what was best for Nell and Grace. Even having selfish thoughts about what he wanted… "I know what you spoke about with Eric" He blurted out "I know he asked you to marry him…"

"It's not what you think…" Nell said, suddenly panicky

"I know what it is. I think we both know what has to happen"

"NO!. We're not going through this again… I just got you back"