Called walked through the doors of OSP after being undercover for the past two weeks. The rest of the team had already left for the night when he heard footsteps. He turned around to see Hetty with a pile of clothes in hand.
"Welcome back, Mr. Callen" she said.
"Thanks Hetty" he said.
Hetty walked into the bullpen and placed the pile of clothes carefully on his desk. Then she headed for the door.
"If you plan on going to see someone in particular, Mr. Callen, I think it would be best if you shaved, and took a shower. You smell awful" she said before departing for the night. Callen chuckled and grabbed the clothes, heading for the showers.
He looked in the mirror and saw what she meant. He was covered in dirt and grim, probably from being in the unpleasant living conditions he occupied for several weeks. He ran a hand over his chin and felt the prickling of facial hair. That had to go.
After showering and shaving, he placed his old clothes in the trash, there was no way Hetty would want those back. She would have burned them before letting them go back into wardrobe. He changed into the clothes Hetty and given him and then headed out of the office towards the parking garage to his Jag.
He then headed for a flower shop he had visited before and picked up a bouquet of roses, heading for her apartment.
Callen pulled up to the apartment complex and saw her car sitting in its usual parking space and he smiled, glad that she was home and he hadn't came all this way for nothing. He grabbed the flowers and headed for her apartment on the fifth floor.
He smiled when he got to her door and heard music blaring from the other side. He hid the flowers behind his back and then knocked loudly, hoping she heard above the stereo. Moments later the door opened revealing a pair of shocked gray-blue eyes.
"You're back" she said, shocked. Then a smile lit up her face as she opened the door further and let him in. He smiled.
"I am" he said as he hugged her and kissed her cheek. He pulled the flowers from behind his back and then handed them to her. She smiled and buried her nose in them, smelling the fragrance from the roses.
"They're beautiful G, thank you" she said kissing him quickly. She went and turned the stereo down before heading towards the kitchen to find a vase for them. Callen shut the door and followed her.
He looked around the apartment and was shocked to see that it was surprisingly clean, at least, for her standards it was. There were still easels and stacks of canvases taking over what should be the dining room, but the living room actually looked clean. There were no paint pallets, cups of colored water, or paint brushes littering the coffee table. The papers on her desk were stacked neatly and pushed away from her computer and tablet.
"Do my eyes deceive me, or did Sarah Shaw actually clean her apartment?" Callen teased leaning against the island in the kitchen.
Sarah turned off the water and placed the flowers in the vase before shooting Callen a mock glare. "Believe it or not Gregory Callahan, my apartment can be clean at times" she said before laughing and placing the vase on the island.
"So, how was New York?" she asked leaning against the island across from him. He had told her that he would be in New York for several weeks for meetings with the firm's office located there.
Callen shrugged. "Boring, just a bunch of mandatory meetings about things we already knew that just wasted our time" he replied.
"So no exploration of the city that never sleeps?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Callen shook his head.
"Nope, but the Chinese there is pretty good" he said and she laughed. Callen smiled, he had missed that laugh.
"So, how about some lasagna?" she asked heading towards the cabinet.
"You mean frozen lasagna right?" Callen teased referring to the multiple frozen meals she kept stocked in her freezer. She looked back at him and rolled her eyes, grabbing two wine glasses and a bottle of wine.
"No, I mean real lasagna. Believe it or not G, but I can cook" she said opening the wine and pouring them both a glass.
Callen shook his head. "Not sure I want to take my chances of being poisoned" he joked.
Sarah grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him towards her. "Very funny Mr. Callahan" she said.
"I try" he said before bringing her closer and kissing her. Callen wasn't keen on admitting things, but there was one thing he would gladly admit to her.
"I missed you, Sarah" he said quietly, looking into her eyes.
"I missed you too, Greg" she said just as quietly as he did. He kissed her again and then he watched as she pulled away. She grabbed a glass of wine and handed it to him before grabbing the other.
"Now, lets make that lasagna and celebrate" she said taking a sip of wine. He smiled and then took a sip of his before rolling up his sleeves to help her.
She opened the fridge and began to take the ingredients they would need out and placed them on the counter.
"Oh, Greg?"
"Yes?"
"Try not to burn my apartment down, will you?"
He laughed. "I can't make any promises" he said and she laughed with him.
As they worked together, side by side, in her kitchen Callen couldn't help but like what this was. Being with her, here, tonight, was making him forget all about the undercover assignment he had just done, and what he had to do while on it. This made him feel...this made him feel like he was just a normal guy, and to anyone else, they looked just like a normal couple, cooking and celebrating his return home from a business trip.
Callen couldn't help but feel like this was something he wanted in the long run.
