N/A: Thank you foryour patience and your support, not too much time these days! Anyway, just two lines to let you know that this is the last chapter. I hope you'll enjoy reading as much as I did writing it.
Chapter 20
Christmas lunch at Hetty's was a serious thing. A beautifully decorated table was ready on the dining room. Callen, with the familiarity of gestures of someone who have done the same during years, move away Hetty's chair at the top of the table to help her to sit and headed without thinking to the opposite place.
If the silverware was refined the meal was delicious.
- "Mr. Beale! This is not a burrito, it would be much appreciated if you use the fork."
- "Which one Hetty?"- Asked Eric making everyone laugh.
- "Eric, flatware is laid on the table in the order of use." – said Callen –"A placement that starts on the outside of the place setting and moves inward toward the plate" - he recited, making Hetty smile.
- "And you know that because a posh alias of yours"- said Deeks.
- "Sadly any of my alias eat that well."
In spite of the fact of being hungry Callen wasn't able to finish his dish and he barely touched the dessert. Too many time without food, he needed to take it easy.
After the succulent meal a coffee was served on the terrace. The sun was high but a gentle breeze made the temperature perfect.
Funny tricks and laughs continued between the team members, but Kensi muttered a feeble excuse and got away from the group to walk around the garden. It was difficult for her to deal with the emotions and the sight of Callen so thin and wounded was suddenly too much to bear. She was absorbed contemplating the pond with the koy fishes when she heard steps approaching.
- "I found you"- said Callen.
- "That's more than I'd done for you"- replied Kensi turning her head trying to hide a betrayer tear.
- "Hey Kens… c'mon, what do you mean? Come here, please don't make me walk."- G said sitting on a bench and touching his bad knee with a grimace of pain.
- "Are you alright?" –asked Kensi sitting at his side.
- "I'll be ok if you're. What's wrong?"- G said.
- "Nothing is wrong! You're here in nearly one piece, we're together celebrating… "
- "But…"
- "But you needed me and I wasn't there for you! I couldn't help you and it drove me crazy!"
- "Kens, come here" – he said attracting her head to his good shoulder- "you're completely mistaken. If someone save my life out there was you, one thousand times! That first aid kit for a regiment, the damn antibiotic shots, the Celox…"
- "Did you use it? Does it work?"- she asked curious raising her head and looking G in the eye.
- "Oh yeah, it works, but it's the most painful thing I've never try. And next time, remember, pills are the key word. My legs are all the colors of the rainbow now."
- "Pills, really? a guy who get sick in a car asking for pills that he wouldn't be able to swallow?"
- "Thank you Kens."
Kensi kissed Callen on the cheek and smiling relieved for the first time she answered:
- "You're very welcome."
Approaching from the other side of the house Deeks interrupted the conversation:
- "Here you're! I get lost in the garden!" –– he said signaling another path between the trees. -"Nell is looking for you, Kensilina, something about a secret weapon she wants to show you."
- "Oh yeah I forgot"- she said running to the house. From the distance she shouted turning her head– "Hey Callen! I'm glad you're ok."
- "Yes man, I'm so happy you're here, it's kind of a Christmas miracle."- said Deeks to Callen giving him a hand to get up from the bench. Together they set out towards the house.
- "Yes, Deeks, and you did the miracle."
- "Well, I've just brought coffee and cookies to ops".
Callen started to laugh but he stop walking grabbing his side.
- "Don't make me laugh, it hurts!"- he said still amused – "I mean, I heard the song."
- "You did, really?"- asked a bit embarrassed Deeks.
- "In one of the worst days of my life I heard your voice at the radio dedicating me "I'll be home for Christmas" by Frank Sinatra. I thought I was losing my mind, but I just remembered you're crazier than me."
Callen extended his hand and said:
- "Thank you Deeks."
Deeks took G's hand and gave him a brief hug careful not to hurt him.
- "Thank you for being here, next plan was to bring tacos to ops and I don't know what Hetty would have done with me. By the way, she asked me to tell you that your date has arrived."
- "My date?"
- "Your date is here Mr. Callen"- said Hetty enigmatically meeting with them.
- "I didn't know I have one" – answered Callen puzzled not knowing Hetty's plan but not liking it even a bit.
- "Because it's not a date, it's an appointment, G."- said a seductress voice from the door. An attractive brunette and tanned woman in high heels dressed in a short tight-fitting black dress that highlight her voluptuousness entered and kissed Hetty.
- "Braids"- said Callen not very happy with the apparition.
- "Hey Callen, don't you introduce your friend here?" Asked Deeks ogling the invitee and earning a well-deserved nudge from Kensi.
- "Guys this is Lola, Lola these are the guys."
- "Would you like a cup of coffee, maybe some tea?"- Asked Hetty smiling.
- "No yet, Hetty. You told me G needs a steady hand." – she said smiling back.
- "Always my dear, always."
- "When I finish with him I'll accept that tea."
Sam spilled his coffee dying with laugher and catching the others. Callen blushed but tried to conceal it.
- "Ok, you win. Let's get over it, "Braids"." –He said extending his good hand to the woman.
- "Don't be rude, little one, you know if you're a bad boy I can make it a very painful experience for you"- teased Lola.
- "Hetty, why her?"- complained Callen.
- "You know Mr. Callen, she is the best, and frankly I think that in that moment her extraordinary abilities are the ones you need to solve your problem."
- "All right"– he said resigned. – "Lola, please, would you be so kind to follow me?"
- "Good to know you haven't lost your manners…little one"- said Lola standing and holding Callen's hand following him out of the terrace.
The exchange made all the team wonder what was happening.
- "Ok G, where do you want to do it? Your room? It has been a long time."- asked Lola playfully.
- "In fact, Hetty has a torture chamber you'll adore." – said Callen leading the way to the treatment room.
- "Oh a new play room! Remember when you tried to convince me to play doctors with you? Well I guess it's my turn, little one". –said Lola giving a cursory look around.
- "Don't call me that if you want me to behave."
- "Fair enough. Do you want to lie down or do you prefer the torture chair? She asked signaling a dentist chair on the other side of the room."
- "I rather go for the chair, yesterday I had my session on the table and I didn't enjoy it."
Trying to surround the table, Callen stumbled hitting the chair back with his left elbow. The sudden pain overwhelmed him and he bend over supporting his arm. Lola realized that he was on the verge of passing out. She helped him to sit down and manipulating the commands of the dentist chair she lifted his feet.
- "Stop, stop, stop!" – begged a pale Callen, eyes closed tightly. The weight of the splint was too heavy for his side to support. Lola helped him to take the sling off.
- "Broken?"- She asked holding his arm.
- "Yeah…"
- "Ribs?"
- "Some cracked."
- "And your leg?"
- "That's nothing…"
- "C'mon G, you were limping all the way here!"
- "Nothing serious I mean…"
- "Anything else I need to know?"
- "Don't touch my left shoulder."
- "For God's sake G! you break your collarbone again?"
- "No, just a wound."
- "Stitches?"
- "Uh-huh"
- "What the hell you did this time? When Hetty called me I thought that we could have fun together, but frankly you're not in shape to keep up with me, little one. Ok, I'll have a look on your shoulder after I finish with your eyebrow."- she said touching his forehead. – "Callen, you're running a fever."
- "No, I'm not."
- "Who is the doctor here? You're going to take two Tylenol right now, mister."
- "I rather not."
- "All right, I can give you a shot or even better, a suppository."
- "Give me the pills and don't give any ideas to Hetty!"
She helped Callen with the pills and positioned his head on the chair moving closer the lamp to light up the side of his face. She put a pair of surgical gloves and started to examine his wound. Callen's breathing became quicker, anticipating the pain.
- "Hey, G, calm down." - She said preparing the surgical instruments.
- "You just make it quick."
- "No way, I have to stitch several layers and Hetty will kill me if you got a scar. Hell, I'm seeing your bone here!"
- "Lola, I don't think I can…"
- "Just close your eyes"- she said hiding from his sight a syringe.
- "Lola…" -he started to say when he felt an acute pain for the piercing of a needle. – "I hate needles!"
- "I know, but in one second you won't feel a thing"- she said injecting him again and again on the wound with a local anesthetic. – "Don't move!"
- "It hurts!"- Said Callen hissing. – "I don't like shots! Why don't stitch me up directly? It would hurt the same."
- "Don't be silly. It would hurt a lot more, besides I need you to relax."
- "How the hell you want me to relax if you are using me as a pincushion? Arggg stooooop!"- complained Callen.
- "Three more…"- Lola said injecting Callen's forehead again. – "done!- Now you can rest and in some minutes I'll start the reconstruction."
Callen was trembling more for weakness than pain, he was exhausted and he hated his vulnerability.
- "C'mon, honey, all these years wanting to play doctors with me and now you back out."
- "I had another scenario in mind, Braids, my dream is becoming a nightmare every minute."
- "Speaking of dreams. Who is the beauty on the green dress? You have to introduce us properly."
- "She's a friend and she has a boyfriend."
- "Any chances of her playing for the other team?"
- "For most annoying her partner could be sometimes, I don't think so, but, hey, feel free to ask."
- "I'll do"- Smiled Lola.- "Ok, let's do it. I need you to stay still, if you can't, I'll bind you to that chair, I'm serious. If you have to move just let me know and I'll stop. We don't want an ugly scar spoil your cute face."
- "First time you say I'm cute!" - smiled Callen.
- "I never said you weren't, just you're not my type. Close your eyes now and don't move"- she ordered as she started to operate on G.
In spite of the anesthesia Callen could feel the needle in and out of his eyebrow. It wasn't painful, but very unpleasant. The effort to remain calm and still was enormous and the doctor had to stop several times to wipe off the sweat of his face and to let him catch his breath.
One eternal hour after, G was wearing a big white bandage covering the right side of his face. He tried to get out the chair, but a firm hand on his chest prevented him from doing it.
- "No so fast Callen, I want to play a little more with you, don't you?"
- "Definitely not."
- "All right chicken, I guess you prefer Hetty to check on your shoulder."
- "That's not fair! You're taking advantage of a poor defenseless man!"- G said as Lola sat down on him each leg at one side of the chair. Slowly, as in a sexy dance she unbuttoned his shirt discovering Callen scarred and bandaged chest.
- "Wow cowboy! Now I understand why Hetty has this room." –she smiled as she took the bandage of G's shoulder off. Gently she prodded the wound checking for symptoms of infection. G was panting and he felt sweat running down his back.
- "All right, everything seems in order here. Not much I can do to avoid a scar, but as you are a collector…"- she pretended to make a joke, but she realized that Callen wasn't in the mood. In fact he seemed to struggle to remain awake. Time to stop the torture. She produced an antiseptic and prepared a new bandage.
- "Hey G"- Lola whispered- "no matter how carefully I'll do it, this is going to sting. Can you hold on a little bit more?"
- "Do I have a choice?"
- "Not really."
- "I supposed so."
At the contact with the lotion Callen paled even more, closed his eyes and bit his lip. No way he'd cried in front of Braids, but he felt the pain was winning this battle and if she didn't stop soon he couldn't control it anymore. Luckily in seconds the bandage was in place as well as the buttons of his blue shirt.
- "I... I need a minute."
- "No, you need some strong painkillers and a good nap. In fact I don't know why you aren't in a hospital. Let's get you out of here."
Lola helped G to lie down on the couch of the big living room. A huge Christmas tree without decoration dominated the space. In spite of the exhaustion and the pain Callen smiled from ear to ear before he dozed off.
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While Kensi, Nell, Deeks and Eric played volley on the swimming pool, Sam was pacing restless in front of Hetty.
- "Mr. Hanna, don't worry, he is in the best hands; Lola knows Mr. Callen since they were teenagers, she was our neighbor and now she's a reputed surgeon in Dr. Bricks' team. The good doctor was too scared to treat Mr. Callen again, I'm afraid. I assure you she can deal with him, no tricks this time."
But Sam was harboring a secret pain; Callen's return was a wonderful new, the best he could wish for, the answer to his prayers, after the frustration, the uncertainty, the despair, to have him again was just a dream. But now he believed that Callen never needed him, and acknowledging the fact, was painful. He felt a conversation was missing although he knew that making G talk would be mission impossible.
-"He's resting now, but he needs to take it more than easy for the next days"- announced Lola joining Hetty and Sam on the terrace. –"Don't worry Hetty, I made sure he won't have an ugly scar."
After some time of polite conversation Lola leaved Hetty's house and Sam went inside to look for Callen. From the double door on the corridor the big boy glanced over at G who instead of resting was trying to carry, without success, a big box near the huge Christmas tree. He saw the grimace of pain his friend couldn't hide when the box felt, and then how Callen struggled trying to drag the box. -"Bloody stubborn, he's going to hurt himself"- he thought, but suddenly he understood that it was just Callen being Callen. When he entered the room, G looked at him and smiled openly.
- "Hey Sam, do you help me?"- he asked signaling the tree.
- "You didn't ask for my help before."- Sam answered still hurt.
- "I'm doing it now, partner."- said G offering Sam a red Christmas ornament like extending an olive branch.
Taking his time and holding G's stare, Sam took the ornament and changed his serious gesture for a smile, then the two partners started to decorate the tree together. Between them words were left over.
- "Finally! You're here"- said Eric, that followed by Nell, Kensi and Deeks entered into the living room – "We'd get lost on the house looking for you guys."
- "Are you decorating the tree? - Asked Kensi taking a glance to the Christmas pine; nearly half of it was perfectly decorated in red and the other half had some scattered blue ornaments clumsy hooked on.
- "You need some yellow around here" – said Deeks hanging a gold lace.
- "Gold, Deeks, gold"- intervened Kensi surrounding with tinsel the trunk.
- "I've found the lights!"- exclaimed Eric.
- "Don't forget the candy canes"- said Nell.
- "Candy canes next to blue baubles?" – sighed Sam.
- "And why not?"- asked Eric.
- "Yes, why not Sam?" – teased G.
From the door Hetty witnessed the laughs and the banters and somehow the ugliest tree she ever had, become just perfect.
THE END
PS: a little epilogue is coming!