Trying to make progress on as many of these stories as I can. I don't want to leave them unfinished. In any case, I think one more chapter for this one and it will be complete. Thanks for reading :)

xxxxx

Callen awoke at a little after nine. He sat up in bed and stretched, wondering who was going to babysit him today. He had to admit that he needed some help but it still made him feel like a little kid who needed to be watched every minute. In any case, he was curious if Hetty was still there or if someone new had arrived. He maneuvered himself so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, grabbed his crutches and carefully stood up. After he had balanced himself, he made his way out into the living room.

"Hey Callen," Eric looked up from his seat on the couch and gave Callen a friendly smile. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm good," Callen said as he crutched over to the couch and sat down heavily beside Eric. He was still surprised at how tiring everything was for him. He then rested his leg on the ottoman and made himself as comfortable as he could.

"Are you hungry? I brought coffee and donuts. I know that's not the most nutritious choice," Eric said, looking apologetic. "It's no trouble for me to make you something though. I can make you eggs or French toast, anything you'd like really."

"Relax, Eric. Donuts and coffee are perfect," Callen said.

"Great. I'll go get them. They're in the kitchen." Eric jumped up off the couch and Callen couldn't help but compare him to an overactive puppy. While Eric was out of the room, Callen's eyes caught sight of what appeared to be some kind of game system by the television set. There were also two controllers.

"So what's with the gaming system?" Callen asked Eric when he returned to the living room and handed Callen a cup of coffee.

"Oh...It's a Playstation 4. I...I didn't know if you might want to play." Eric placed the donut box next to Callen on the couch and sat down. "I mean, obviously it's only if you want to. You already know that, of course. You can do what you want. I mean, I couldn't make you do anything even if you do have a broken leg, not that I would..."

Callen gave Eric an amused glance as the younger man nervously babbled on. "Calm down, Eric. Why are you so nervous? What do you think I'm going to do to you? You said it yourself, I have a broken leg."

Eric stopped talking and glanced back at Callen. "I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "Nothing?"

"Exactly," Callen said as he opened the donut box to find a dozen of assorted treats. "These look great." He picked out a jelly donut and took a big bite out of it, keeping a napkin underneath so as not to get the white powdery coating everywhere. "Mmm...delicious. Have one, Eric. They're really good."

Eric took a donut out of the box and began eating it. Once he did so, he appeared visibly calmer much to Callen's relief. "So…" Eric began after he had finished the first donut and was partly through another. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a shower and I think I may need some help with that," Callen replied.

"Sure, that's no problem, Callen." Eric was actually relieved that there was something he could do that made him feel useful.

"Thanks, Eric." Callen smiled as he took a bite of his second donut. "After we finish breakfast we can do that and afterwards maybe you can show me what this game system of yours can do."

xxxxxx

"Wow Callen, you're kicking ass with this game," Eric was more than a little bit impressed as he watched Callen expertly making his way through Call of Duty World War II.

"I've got to say, this game is awesome." Callen had quickly gotten the hang of the first person shooting game and was finding the time was passing quickly as he played it.

"It's almost 2. We should probably have some lunch." Eric didn't want Hetty finding out he hadn't taken proper care of Callen during his shift. Not that Callen would want to be taken care of, but Hetty had made it clear that was the team's so-called mission during the week. Operation Taking Care of Callen, at least that's what Eric called it inside his own head.

"Okay, what do you want?" Callen asked, his eyes lighting up as he hit another target.

"You decide," Eric replied with a shrug.

"Pizza?" Callen asked. "There's money on the counter in the kitchen. Get whatever you want."

"You don't have to pay for it," Eric objected.

"It's fine, Eric," Callen said, grinning as he made his way through a particularly difficult part of the game successfully. "I can't imagine this babysitting assignment is anyone's idea of a good time."

"We're not babysitting. We're just helping you out. Everyone needs help sometimes."

"I guess…" Callen said, not really looking like he believed it.

Eric knew that neither of them wanted to get into any kind of in-depth conversation so he changed the subject. "What kind of pizza do you want?"

"Pepperoni."

"Okay. I'll go order it."

xxxxx

The rest of the day went by quickly thanks to the game. Callen really had no time at all to be bored. That evening, Eric heated up one of the pre-made frozen dinners and the two men ate in companionable silence. After dinner, they decided to watch some television. "You should probably pack up the game," Callen said, sleepily. "I won't be playing it anymore tonight.

"I thought I'd leave it here for you while you recuperate," Eric said.

Callen's eyes lit up momentarily but then he shook his head. "Thanks, Eric, I appreciate it but you should take it. I know you play these games pretty regularly."

Eric grinned at Callen. "Come on, Callen. Surely you don't think this is my only game system? Don't worry about me. I'll be able to keep up with my gaming just fine. Keep this until you're better. Who knows, maybe you'll end up buying your own one of these days."

Callen was about to deny what Eric said, but when he really thought about it he realized it might be a different way to destress after tough cases. Nothing he was sure about, but it might be worth thinking about. Stranger things happened.

xxxxx

The next morning, Callen and Eric were both up early to play a quick video game before Eric's relief came. "Any idea who's coming today?" Callen asked, frowning as he missed a target.

Eric shook his head, barely managing to hold back a smile. It was good to see that Callen wasn't always the game master he had appeared to be the previous day. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Callen nodded. Not that it really mattered. He had to admit that having his teammates with him had made the week go by a lot more easily than if he had been on his own. After they had been playing for about a half hour, the doorbell rang. Eric immediately got to his feet and went to the front door. He opened it to see Kensi. She was carrying some kind of a plastic food container and had a brown khaki overnight bag slung over her shoulder. "How are you, Callen?" Kensi asked when she entered the living room. Eric took the food container from her and she dropped her bag to the floor then walked over to Callen and gave him a hug. "I've missed you."

"I'm doing good, Kens," Callen said as he returned her embrace. "I've missed you too."

"You guys didn't already eat breakfast did you?" Kensi asked. "I have homemade omelets and there's plenty for you too if you want to stay, Eric."

"Uh…" Eric gave Kensi an apprehensive look. "Homemade? As in...you made them?"

"What if I did make them?" Kensi asked, looking insulted. "Are you implying that I can't cook?"

"No!" Eric shook his head vigorously. *"I mean...I was just wondering…" He looked toward Callen for help but the team leader just looked on in amusement.

"If you must know, Deeks made them," Kensi said.

"Oh, I'll be happy to stay," Eric said quickly. "I mean, even if you had made them I would have stayed."

"Hmm…" Kensi turned her attention to Callen and smiled sweetly at him. "I'm going to go heat these up in the microwave. Do you just want to eat here?"

Callen nodded. "Thanks, Kens...that sounds good."

Kensi took the food container and went off to the kitchen while Eric looked anxiously after her. "Do you think she's really mad at me?"

"I guess you'll find out if there's super hot sauce in your omelet," Callen said with a smirk.

Eric's eyes widened. "Hot sauce? I don't do well with that, Callen. I break out in hives from really strong spices. Maybe I should leave."

Callen started to laugh. "Come on, Eric. I'm just pulling your leg. She's not going to do anything to your food. It'll be fine. Relax."

"Okay," said Eric, but he still looked visibly nervous and he didn't really calm down until they had finished their breakfast. "I guess I'll get going. Is there anything either of you need before I go?"

"I'm good, Eric," Callen said. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem. You two have a good day."

"You too," Kensi said and with that, Eric headed out.

"You almost scared the life out of the poor guy," Callen laughed after Eric had left .

"Oh stop it, I did not."

"Yeah you did. He thought you were going to put hot sauce in his omelet and give him the allergic reaction from hell."

"You're lying," Kensi said, grinning back at Callen.

Callen shook his head. "I swear."

"I guess I'll call him later to apologize."

"I think he's over it," Callen said. "You should just pay more attention to your scary evil power in the future."

Kensi shook her head, but she was glad to see Callen in such good spirits. She had expected him to be more subdued or cranky. "So, what would you like to do today?"

Callen shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Whatever you'd like."

Kensi smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Really? Do you mean that?"

"Well...outside of running a marathon or something. I don't think I'm up for that."

"Oh no. Nothing like that. You can stay here, comfy on the couch, all day long." Kensi leaned down and grabbed her overnight bag from the floor and unzippered it. She then proceeded to pull out a stack of DVDs."

"Movies?" Callen asked. He was okay with that. Kensi probably wanted to watch some sniper movies or something like that. Maybe the Godfather. That would be good. He could easily spend the day watching those movies.

"T.V." Kensi stated as she looked around. "Oh...do you have a dvd player?"

Callen nodded as he pointed at the shelf underneath the t.v. "There's a blu-ray player down there. Sam gave it to me for my birthday last year. The remote is down there also."

"Perfect." Kensi smiled happily as she turned on the television then did the same with the blu-ray player and popped a dvd into it.

"So what are we watching?" Callen asked as he made himself comfortable and leaned into the back of the couch.

"You'll see," Kensi said. She sat down next to Callen, aimed the remote control and hit play. Moments later, music started playing and women were flashing across the screen.

"Wh...what is this?" Callen asked, looking more than a little bit appalled.

"It's America's Next Top Model!" Kensi said. "Deeks burned these all onto DVDs for me. I have all the seasons. We can binge watch all day long!"

"Deeks?" Callen asked. "Deeks did this?"

"He gave them to me for a gift and he adds on whenever there's a new season. I thought it was the most thoughtful idea," Kensi said. "He just does the sweetest things sometimes."

"Yeah...real sweet…" Callen thought about protesting. He was pretty sure Kensi would give in to him, but she looked so excited. He guessed it wouldn't kill him to watch it for one day...he hoped it wouldn't anyway.

xxxxx

"This girl is such a catty bitch, don't you think?" Kensi asked. When Callen didn't answer her, she turned to look at him and saw that he was fast asleep. "I guess Deeks was right...he said you wouldn't be able to get into this." She thought about finding something else for them to watch, but decided not to wake him, figuring he might not have been getting much sleep during the week. She had no idea how much pain he was in and assumed it wasn't something he would share. Instead, she went into the kitchen and got the lasagne out of the freezer to heat up for dinner. Hetty had told her that would be a good choice as it was one of Callen's favorites. After she preheated the oven and put the lasagne in, Kensi went back into the living room. She settled back down next to Callen and turned down the volume on the television. She thought about calling Deeks, but decided to wait until later and she resumed watching her show.

xxxxx

"Callen...wake up. It's time for dinner," Kensi said in a sing-song voice as she gently patted his shoulder.

Callen opened his eyes, yawned and stretched then looked at Kensi sleepily. "Hi...I guess I dozed off."

"You've been sleeping for hours," Kensi said. "I guess models aren't your thing."

"No. They were fine, really interesting," Callen protested. "I guess I was just tired."

"Really?" Kensi asked. "Who was your favorite one?"

"Uh…" Callen struggled to remember any part of the show, but he was at a loss. "Does Deeks like this show?"

Kensi smiled. "I don't think so, but he's really good at pretending."

"I guess those are the kinds of things you do for the one you love," Callen said, smiling.

"Watch t.v. shows you don't have any interest in?"

Callen nodded. "And movies too."

Kensi giggled. "That's true. Deeks loves musicals. I'll watch with him, but most of the time I can't stand them."

"You two are definitely meant for each other." They sat in companionable silence for a few moments until Callen sniffed the air appreciatively. "so, is that Hetty's homemade lasagne I smell?"

Kensi nodded. "She said you really like it."

"She's right about that," Callen said. "I'm starved."

"Me too," said Kensi. "Let's eat."