#15
"This was a mistake. I'm going, mike"
"Come on, Shortie… You came all this way" Mike offered, trying to help Grace.
Just because Mike couldn't stand the sight of Nell, after what she'd done… didn't mean Grace didn't need her. The kid had suffered enough for her mothers actions
"No. I was wrong… I don't need anything from her" Grace replied, while knocking on the door for the guards to let her out
Mike sat there, not quite believing what had just happened. After 3 years Grace came back to LA specifically to speak to her mom, and then left because Nell had been a bitch to him
"She found a lump. Thought it was maybe something you could help her deal with" Mike said to Nell, as he got up and did the same as Grace had done
….
"Hey. Come on Kiddo…" Mike called out, chasing grace down the hallway to reception. "You came all this way. You should atleast have spoken to her"
"After how she spoke to you!?"
"I'm big enough and ugly enough to deal with your mom. Come on, we'll go back and you can talk to her…"
"I don't know if I can go back in there, after that"
"You know my opinion of your mom. But she's still your mom. I'll tell ya… I wish my mom was still about. What I wouldn't give for 10 more minutes with her"
Grace stopped walking. Seemingly deep in thought.
Mike caught up to her and pulled her into a hug
"Come on. I'm not going anywhere Kiddo. Let's go back" he urged, while trying to convince the young woman that she wasn't going to lose him
….
3 Years ago
Mike was just walking back into his and Sydney's place with Grace when his phone started ringing
"in you go" he told Grace, pulling the door closed and heading back out to the car when he saw the name of the caller
Swiping a finger over the cellphone screen, he pulled the phone to his ear "Hetty?"
….
Mike rushed into the waiting room, looking about for Hetty, Hoping she would be able to tell him more about what had happened. He wouldn't tell anyone but Hetty, but he was starting to get the sinking feeling that Callen wasn't going to come back to any of them
"Mr Renko…" Hetty began, before being interrupted by Mike
"What happened!?"
"Mr Renko. I want you to take a breath and calm down. But should you decide not to, you are in the correct place"
Mike did as he was told and took a breath, but didn't feel any less worked up
"What HAPPENED. You said he was going to be okay… You said he was fit to come home"
When Hetty didn't answer any of his questions he repeated himself, getting louder and attracting the unwanted attention of other hospital visitors
"What happened" He repeated, in a calmer tone of voice while pulling Hetty down into one of the vacant seats
"The doctors have said he had a stroke. There is no way of telling how bad it is until Mr Callen comes out of the coma"
Mike's mind was spinning in a hundred different directions. It was only a few days ago that Callen was in surgery. It was only a few days ago that Mike had dragged Grace and Jake onto the plane back to LA, with the hope of a fresh start
"Sam, Kens… Deeks. I take it you've told them?"
….
Mike had been sitting out in the drive for a while. He had been there with Hetty when she spoke with the various doctors… but as important as it would have been to be able to repeat what he had heard. He couldn't think about it now… for now he had to work out how he could tell Grace about Callen, without destroying her whole world. A few days ago he had thought that at the very least Grace could get on with her life while knowing her dad was having some sort of 'happily ever after', but this… There was every possibility that he would be lucky to dress himself, to say nothing of his mind. Hetty had promised to have Callen moved to a facility that could deal with his 'transplanted' personality, where every staff member had signed a confidentiality agreement due to the classified nature of their work.
Mike was shocked out of his thoughts by a knock on the car window. Looking round he found it was Sydney. Where would he have been without her… he probably would have tried to kill himself.