So, will Callen get to go home soon? Will Nell come see him either in the hospital or at home? Will he behave himself in the hospital or will Hetty have to get out her letter opener?

I only own my own characters which include Stefan and Mark in this story.

Anything in italics within single quotes is a quote from my one-shot "Can't Stay Away". Anything in italics and double quotes is thoughts.

Nope…no matter how hard I wish, NCIS LA nor any of the characters on the show are mine. And sadly, they never will be.

Reviews are always welcome. They are what inspire me to put all of the hard work into my stories. Without them, I can't tell whether I'm hitting a chord with my readers or not. I've only received a few so far. If you are enjoying this story, especially this chapter, drop me a line and tell me why. Even if you're not enjoying it, let me know. My minions and I will really appreciate it!

Enjoy.

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CHAPTER 9: The Hospital

The ambulance pulled into U.C. Medical Center, parked and then moved Callen into the Emergency room. He was immediately moved into a trauma room where he lay on the gurney in a foul mood. He hated hospitals and didn't think he needed to be there and didn't want to be there either. He would never admit it to anyone, including himself, but hospitals scared him. They made him confront his mortality. He felt vulnerable in a hospital and no matter how many times Sam would try to reassure him, he always flashed back to the drive-by shooting and the consequences he suffered because of it.

"It was only a flesh wound after all and I could have taken care of it myself! Why did I let myself be bullied into coming to the hospital? Sam can sometimes be too much like a mother with one chick to protect and unfortunately, I'm the chick." He lay there with all those rebellious thoughts in his brain, but he was more scared of what Hetty would do to him if he left against medical advice than he would like to admit, so kept his feelings to himself. Besides, he didn't want anything or anyone to prevent him from getting to Nell as soon as possible. The thought of her frantic with worry about him had his stomach in knots and him contemplating making a break for it as soon as possible. The only thing that stopped him was the doctor arriving.

The doctor came in, introduced himself and began examining his arm and checking his vitals. Once he was done, he informed Callen he was going to give him a blood transfusion to replace the blood he had lost.

"Can I go home afterward, doctor? I feel fine. It's jus a flesh wound." Callen was hoping the doctor would let him go before Hetty got there. He wasn't looking forward to seeing her. He knew he wouldn't be able to bluff his way out of the hospital if she was watching him.

The doctor reluctantly agreed to let him leave once the transfusion was complete if all of his other vitals looked good. If not, he would be admitted overnight for observation. Callen was keeping his fingers crossed that it was the former and not the latter. He was becoming more anxious as time went on about Nell's reaction to everything that had happened to him today. "What if she can't handle this and wants to end our relationship? Am I being fair to her by having her in my life with the danger I'm in every day? I don't want to lose her, but I don't want her to constantly worry about whether I'm coming back in one piece or not. Shit!...I don't know what to do!" This was the first time he had been hurt since they started seeing each other and he didn't know what her reaction would be. Not knowing what to do was a new feeling for him and he didn't like it.

Hetty arrived before he found out whether or not he would be released. If she was surprised to see him laying there quietly letting the transfusion do its job, she didn't let on. She could tell he was itching to get out of the hospital and thought she might have to threaten him with her letter opener to get him to stay if the doctor wanted to keep him overnight. "I see you needed a blood transfusion. How are you feeling now Mr. Callen?"

"I'm fine Hetty, it's really just a minor wound. I'm good to go." Callen looked at her hopefully.

"Let's let the doctor decide that shall we, Mr. Callen?" she gave him a smirk as she saw him sigh but try to control himself. He was on his best behavior and it made her somewhat curious. She wondered if it had anything to do with a certain analyst on her staff, but she wasn't about to let him know just how much she was aware of. There would be time for that later if necessary. "Is there something you want to tell me while you're waiting for the doctor?"

"No, why would there be?" Callen replied.

"About the case. What did you find out about the case, Mr. Callen?"

"Oh" Callen stammered. "We didn't find anything suspicious other than the obvious. The police are going to send us everything they found so that we can analyze it. Hopefully something will give us a lead." Callen was sure he had made her suspicious. "Damn, what information is she fishing for? Does she know about Nell and is trying to get me to accidentally say something to let her know she's right? She can't, can she? We've been really careful at work not to get caught. She can't know anything, can she? But…then again, this is Hetty we're talking about. She knows everything." He surfaced from his thoughts and continued "I just want to get out of here…that is if the doctor okays it" he hurried to add as he saw the doctor approaching his room.

"Everything looks good Hetty. I think we can let Mr. Callen leave, but I do want him to take it easy for a couple of days. He lost enough blood to warrant a blood transfusion after all." The doctor continued, "The nurse will be in with the discharge papers in a few minutes."

"Thanks doc" Callen was relieved he was getting to leave. As soon as the discharge papers were signed he plopped into the wheelchair. He wasn't going to argue about anything as long as he could get out of the hospital and back to OSP where he could see Nell and reassure her. He wanted to see her as soon as possible. Hetty interrupted his thoughts of Nell by informing him "Mr. Callen, you have the rest of the evening off. I'm sending Sam home with you and there will be a guard on your home until we figure out who wants you dead."

"But Hetty, I'm okay to do paperwork. Even if I can't go into the field, I can help from OSP."

Hetty just stared at him until he gulped and gave in "Home it is." Sam arrived a couple of minutes later with some extra bandages and supplies given him by the nurse and the discharge papers along with medications and instructions for Callen to follow.

"You ready to blow this popsicle stand, G?" he asked.

"Sure am, Sam. Let's get out of here."

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Sam drove Callen home and stayed with him until the guard was in place. He then left to go back to the mission after warning Callen not to do anything stupid. "G, so help me God, if you don't stay here and take it easy, I'll whip your ass! Got that?"

"Yes, Mom. Now get out of here; I'm fine." Callen watched Sam's car until it was out of sight, then whipped out his phone and texted Nell "I'm fine. Hetty wouldn't let me come back to work but sent me home instead. Come over later?" He was on pins and needles waiting for her to respond. As the minutes passed he began worrying she had decided they shouldn't see each other. He wanted to see her so much and reassure her that he was fine but he didn't want to push, so he just leaned back in his chair and waited to hear from her.

He dozed off unexpectedly then jerked awake when his phone chimed with an incoming message, almost dropping it in his haste to see what the message said. Once he got himself together and read what Nell had sent, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. "I'll be there with food in a little while." While it didn't say much, it said enough. He was going to see her soon. He decided to take a quick shower and clean up since he still had blood on his clothes and body. He didn't want Nell worrying any more than he was sure she already was. Being very careful not to get his bandage wet, he showered, changed, then went back to waiting impatiently for her to arrive.

As he waited, he began thinking over what had happened between them so far. He couldn't believe how much the small woman had come to mean to him in a relatively short period of time. Her face and pixie hair cut was so beautiful and she might be small, but she was all woman with just the right amount of curves in all the right places. He continued thinking about their evolving relationship. "I am so in love with her…wait! did I just admit to myself that I'm in love with Nell Jones? When did that happen? I never thought I would ever be part of a couple or be in love. I feel like a schoolboy with his first crush on a girl." The thoughts ripped through his mind like lightening, but then left behind a warm glow that warmed him from the inside out. Yeah, he was in love with her. He could only hope she felt the same way and that they could make it work between them somehow. He didn't want to think about losing her.

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