"Dad…she's bringing like a million things," Aiden complained to his father as he carried Kamran's backpack into the living room. "You'd better tell her she needs to lighten her load. She's not going to be able to carry it and we're going to get stuck lugging all her useless stuff around." He unceremoniously dropped the backpack to the floor.

"Mom always said 'Don't pack light, pack right," didn't she daddy?" Kamran asked.

Sam sighed as he wondered what had possessed him to undertake this trip. It had seemed like a good idea, a last special family vacation before Kamran went away to school, but right now it seemed almost overwhelming. He wasn't ashamed to admit that Michelle had been the peacekeeper between their two kids. He went over to the backpack and picked it up. Aiden was right. It was much too heavy to bring. "Kamran, you need to take some things out of here," he asked. "What's in here anyhow?" It had to be more than clothes.

"Woman things," Kamran said, tossing her head.

Aiden smirked and rolled his eyes. "You're not a woman, not even close. You're just a little pest," he said.

"I am too a woman!" Kamran yelled, her eyes flashing angrily as she squared off against her brother.

"In another minute we're not going to be going on this trip at all!" Sam said loudly. "I told G we'd be at his house over 20 minutes ago and we're not even read to leave yet. Kamran, get some stuff out of that pack, now!"

"Fine." In a huff, Kamran knelt down on the floor next to her backpack and opened it. She then proceeded to take two large books out of it.

"You were planning on reading those huge books in the middle of the Grand Canyon?" Aiden asked, laughing. "You're a barrel of fun, Kam."

"You shut up, Aiden," Kamran said. "They're for my summer reading list. You probably haven't even read your books yet. I hope you flunk!"

"Fat chance of that happening. I've made high honors every semester. If anyone's going to flunk it's you. I can't even believe you're going to my school. You should have found your own school."

"That's enough, Aiden," Sam said. "Your sister has every right to go to Keating and I expect you to look out for her when she's there, as well."

Kamran stuck her tongue out at her brother and once again Sam wished that Michelle was there. He picked up his daughter's backpack to test its heaviness and nodded, satisfied that its weight had been lightened satisfactorily. "Okay…let's get this show on the road. Do you both have everything?" Aiden and Kamran both nodded as Sam handed the backpack back to his daughter. "Let's go pick up your Uncle Callen."

xxxxx

Callen was all set with his backpack and gear at the front door when Sam arrived on his doorstep. "Good morning, G," Sam said, his expression not exactly enthusiastic as he leaned down and picked up some of Callen's stuff.

Callen looked at his partner curiously. "What's the matter, big guy?" he asked.

Sam shook his head. "It's just the kids. They've been at each other all morning."

"Well, I can drive for a while if you'd like," Callen said as they made their way out to the SUV. "You can take a nap."

"I don't need a nap," Sam growled as he threw Callen's sleeping bag into the back.

"Okay then," Callen said with a shrug as he turned to head towards the passenger side of the vehicle.

"G," Sam grabbed his partner by the upper arm, stopping him in his tracks. "I'm sorry…I just expected the day to start off better than it did. I'm fine. Everything's fine."

Callen shook his head at his partner. "Come on, Sam. You don't need to tell me you're fine when you're not. I get that this isn't going to be the easiest trip in the world for you. I'm here for you…whatever you need…if you have to yell or vent or just need someone to punch."

Sam couldn't help but smile at the last part of that. "I'm not going to hit you, G."

"Yeah, I know," Callen said with a grin. "But you've got to admit, it was nice of me to offer."

"Come on, let's get going. We're already behind schedule."

"It's vacation, Sam. Schedules don't matter. We can just go with the flow."

xxxxx

"When are we going to get lunch?" Kamran asked from the back seat of the SUV. They had been on the road for about three and a half hours and she was hungry and itching to get out of the car and stretch her legs.

"Soon," Sam replied vaguely, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I'm pretty hungry too, dad," Aiden piped in, backing up his sister for once.

Sam turned his head to glance at his partner. "You hungry, G?" he asked.

Callen nodded. "Yeah, I could definitely eat," he admitted.

"Even after eating three donuts?" Sam asked. "I really don't know where you put everything…"

"It was really only 2-1/2 donuts. I split the last one with Aiden. Besides, it's vacation, Sam…calories don't count when you're on vacation."

"No?" Sam asked, amused in spite of himself. "Where do vacation calories go exactly?"

"I think they kind of just fly away to never-never land," Callen said.

"Oh daddy, there's a sign for a diner that has the world's best apple pie," Kamran pointed. "You like apple pie, daddy, don't you? It's only 10 miles away. Can we go there?"

"G?" Sam asked his partner.

"Well, I'm not about to turn my nose up at the world's best apple pie, Sam," Callen stated,
especially if its served hot with vanilla ice cream."

"I wonder what Hetty's going to say when I return with my 500 lb. partner," Sam said with a smirk. "Okay, kids. We'll head to the diner."

"Yay!" Kamran said enthusiastically.

xxxxx

A short while later, the group of four was seated in a booth at Miss Rosie's Finer Diner. Sam sat on one side with Kamran while Callen and Aiden sat opposite them.

"Can I get you folks something to drink?" A young pretty brunette asked as she passed them each a menu. Aiden and Kamran opted for Cokes, Sam ordered a sugar-free iced tea and Callen settled for water. "You sure that's all you want, sweetie?" the waitress asked, smiling at Callen as she looked him up and down. "I can bring you a raspberry lemonade on the house. It's our specialty."

Callen shook his head, ignoring Sam's smirk. "Uh, no thank you. Water is fine."

"Why didn't you let her bring you a specialty drink, G?" Sam asked, smiling after she had left. "I think if you play your cards right you could get your whole meal for free."

"I think she was offering you more than a free meal, Uncle Callen," Aiden said with a grin.

Kamran rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You have a one-track mind, Aiden," she said. "She just thought Uncle Callen was cute. He is cute. My friends all think so."

"Your friends are just little pests like you," Aiden said. "They don't know anything about it."

"Yes they do so," Kamran insisted. "Uncle Callen has beautiful blue eyes and he's very handsome. Bridget says she could lose herself in his eyes."

"Oh my God," Aiden said, laughing. "Is this what you girls talk about, Uncle Callen's eyes? Your friends are as dumb as you are."

Sam could see his partner's flushed cheeks and knew he that was more than a little bit uncomfortable so he decided a change in the topic of conversation was in order. He definitely hadn't brought G on the trip to torture him with his children. "Let's talk about something else, guys," he said, nodding as Callen gave him a grateful look. Aiden looked like he was about to say more, but the look in his father's eyes caused him to reconsider and instead he turned his attention to his iphone.

When the waitress returned, she kept her flirting to a minimum, much to Callen's relief. They then ordered burgers and fries for lunch, except for Sam who ordered a fish sandwich with a salad.

"So, are we staying in a hotel tonight?" Callen asked after he finished munching on a French fry. He had been content to let Sam do all the planning, feeling like he was just going along to support his friend and family on their vacation. But now that they were actually on their way, he found himself more curious about what exactly they would be doing. He knew they'd be hiking and camping, but didn't really know much about the details.

"We are," Sam said. "We'll stay at a family inn not too far from the south rim entrance to the canyon and then tomorrow morning we'll hike down to our campsite."

"It's going to be awesome," Aiden said enthusiastically.

"I've been wondering when you were actually going to show some interest in this trip, G," Sam said grinning at his friend.

"Well, we've been pretty busy at work, Sam," Callen said. "I've always been curious. I just didn't want to nag you about it."

"How far is the hotel from here, daddy?" Kamran asked.

"We've still got a long drive ahead of us, Kam," Sam answered. "At least another four hours."

"Oh…that's a long time."

"Maybe you should have put your reading assignment books on your tablet instead of trying to lug huge books with us," Aiden said. "You should have seen the giant books she wanted to bring with us, Uncle Callen."

"You shut up, Aiden," Kamran said, immediately angry. "You're just mean. All my friends think it's cool that I have a big brother, but I tell them what it's really like."

Sam sighed heavily. "Aiden, stop picking on your sister. Kamran, this place has wireless internet access. Go onto Amazon, find the books you need for your reading list and we'll get them, okay?"

"Thank you, daddy," Kamran said. She immediately brightened up and returned to her lunch.

Callen watched as Sam dealt with the latest small family drama. He was beginning to realize more and more that Sam's new role as a single father was not an easy one. Then again, the kids were going to be off to school in just a few short weeks and Callen knew that was going to be even more difficult for his partner.

xxxxx

After lunch, Callen convinced Sam to let him take over the driving and they drove peacefully for the next couple of hours, just listening to the radio. The kids were quiet in the back, Aiden using his iphone and Kamran reading from her tablet. Callen couldn't help but wonder what the trip would be like if Michelle was there instead of him. He imagined Sam sitting behind the wheel, laughing as his wife chatted away. He glanced over at his partner who seemed lost in his thoughts. He suddenly felt like a very inadequate traveling companion, unsure of what to say or do to make the trip better for his friend and his family.

"You want me to take over the driving?" Sam's voice broke into Callen's thoughts.

"I can drive for a while longer, at least until we're ready to make a stop," Callen replied.

"You sure?"

Callen nodded. "Yeah, Sam. I'm fine driving."

"I could drive too," Aiden said eagerly from the back seat.

"Maybe on the way home," Sam answered quickly.

"Aww…come on, dad," Aiden persisted. "I'm a good driver."

"We'll never get there if you drive. You drive like an old lady," Kamran said, giggling.

"I do not."

"Do so."

"Kids," Sam said. "Enough."

Aiden and Kamran both quieted down for about an hour before Kamran spoke up again. "Can we stop to get some ice cream?"

"I'd like a shake," Aiden spoke up quickly.

"They're always on the same page when it comes to eating," Callen said, smirking.

"We only have another hour or so before we'll be able to stop for the night," Sam stated. "You can get ice cream after dinner."

"Oh daddy, please?" Kamran pleaded. "What if the restaurant doesn't have ice cream?"

Aiden laughed. "I'm sure the restaurant will have ice cream, Kam."

Sam shook his head. "You won't eat your dinner," he stated. He knew this from many past experiences with his daughter, and she had only recently started to get her appetite back, which had been poor since the death of her mother. "Later."

"Fine." Kamran recognized the finality in her father's voice and knew enough not to push things any further.

Finally, and not a moment too soon as far as Sam was concerned, they arrived at the Johnson Family Inn. There was also a restaurant on the premises so they wouldn't have to go off in search of something for dinner. They put their belongings in their suite and then walked over to the hotel restaurant.

"Are we going to have breakfast here tomorrow, dad?" Aiden asked as they perused the menus.

"Why are you worried about breakfast now?" Sam asked as Callen smirked. "Why don't you figure out dinner and worry about breakfast tomorrow?"

"They serve breakfast here all day and it looks really good, but if we're going to be here for breakfast tomorrow, I can wait until then. If not, then I'll get the breakfast for dinner."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Fine, we can have breakfast here tomorrow."

"But daddy," Kamran began.

"Kam…please?" Sam said, giving her a pleading look as he wondered why everything had to warrant a debate. "You can pick the next breakfast place, at the end of the trip, okay?"

Kam nodded, satisfied. "Thank you."

They ordered their dinner and ate quickly with a minimum of conversation as they were all hungry and tired. After dinner, they ordered ice cream to go and brought the cold treats back to their two bedroom suite. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Callen asked as he savored a spoonful of his hot fudge sundae.

"We've got a campsite reservation at a place called Indian Garden. It's about a 4-1/2 mile hike down to get there. Supposedly, there are some pretty amazing views."

"Mom was so excited about going there…" Kam said suddenly, her eyes sad. She suddenly seemed to realize what she had said and gave her father a guilty look. "Sorry, daddy."

"You don't have anything to be sorry about, angel," Sam said. "As I've told you before, its okay to talk about your mom, even if it makes us sad. It's a natural thing. We should talk about her.

Kamran nodded. "I know, but…sometimes it makes me too sad to talk about her." She glanced over at her brother who had put his earbuds in his ears and was listening to music. She knew he tended to avoid talking about their mother. It was hard for him.

"Just so you know…I'm always here for you if you want to talk about her," Sam said softly.

"I know, daddy." Kamran got up from the chair she was sitting on and went to her father. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, baby girl," Sam said, returning her embrace. "Now, I think we all ought to consider getting some sleep."

"Okay, good night daddy," Kamran kissed his cheek and then went over to Callen and gave him a goodnight kiss as well. "Goodnight, Uncle Callen. I'm really glad that you came with us."

"Thanks, Kam," Callen said, smiling at her. "I'm really glad too. I'll see you in the morning." They watched as she went off to her bedroom.

"Guess I'll hit the sack too," Sam said as he got up from the sofa. "I still think you'd be better off in the other room, G," he said. "The beds in there look really comfortable. I don't know about this sofa bed." He looked at it doubtfully.

Aiden pulled the earbuds out of his ears and nodded in agreement with his father. "Go take one of the beds, Uncle Callen," he said with a grin. "I'm young, it's easier for me to sleep out here."

Callen hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "Are you sure, Aiden?" he asked. It had been a long drive and getting a good night's sleep in a comfortable bed actually sounded like a good idea at the moment.

"Definitely. Go ahead. I'd rather sleep out here anyway. Dad snores," he said, smirking at his father.

"Okay, thanks Aiden, Callen said. "I'm used to your dad's snoring."

"You two are hilarious," Sam said, shaking his head.

"Goodnight." Aiden said as he put his ear buds back in and went back to listening to his music and Callen and Sam headed off to get some sleep.