A/N: Apologies for the delay in updating this story. I got a little stuck but then one of my other stories took on a life of its own and I found myself concentrating on that. I'm back to this one and hope it doesn't disappoint. Please read and review as I look forward to hearing what you think. Happy New Year to you all.

Chapter 28

On the drive home Hetty was pleased to see that Callen remained in a very good mood. Obviously the prognosis given to him by Michael had eased his fears about permanent damage to his hand. However it was the trip to the Mission to see his team mates that had much to do with his good humour. She knew that Callen missed his friends and colleagues at work as well as the focus and danger of the work itself. His original injuries were debilitating but damaging his hand only set back his recovery further. Callen was easily bored and a bored Callen was very dangerous. She fervently hoped that her boy could get himself back on track and he would have no further upsets.

On arrival at Dovecote, Callen got out of the car whilst Hetty drove round to the garage. Inside, Callen found Gibbs in the kitchen busily preparing a meal for them all.

"I thought you'd be hungry" said Gibbs.

"Yeah I am" answered Callen. "What you doing for us?"

"Steak and French fries" stated Gibbs. "The fries are nearly ready but I had to wait till you got home before I put the steaks on. Oh, I've done some salad too in case Hetty wants something a bit healthier" added Gibbs with a chuckle.

"And why, may I ask would you think that steak and French fries would not meet with my approval, Jethro?" asked Hetty as she suddenly appeared in the kitchen, startling both men.

Turning to Callen Gibbs said "Does she always do that?"

"Yep" answered Callen smirking and Hetty chuckled at their response to her silent entrance. Her ability to move stealthily and to appear suddenly had saved her life on numerous occasions over the years. In her current job, it proved useful to see what her team were plotting especially if they knew their plan would not meet with her approval. It had therefore earned her the nickname of the 'tiny ninja'. Whether her team were aware that she knew what they called her behind her back, she did not know, although she believed Callen had an idea. In reality she was amused and quite pleased by the label, but she would never let them know it.

"Gentlemen, do you wish me to lay the table for you?" she asked. Gibbs nodded and as Callen went to help, Hetty countered "No, G it's been a long day for you. Just relax. I'm quite capable of doing this especially as Jethro is doing the cooking." Callen did as he was told and watched the woman who had taken him in all those years ago, busy herself getting plates and cutlery ready and laying them on the kitchen table. "I assume you're happy to eat in here?" she asked.

"Yeah, great" answered Callen.

"Fine by me" said Gibbs, putting the steaks on the griddle. In no time they were ready and Gibbs loaded the plates with steak and fries and placed them on the table in front of Hetty and Callen before sitting down with his own meal. Hetty helped herself to some salad and was pleasantly surprised when Callen did the same.

Callen cut a piece of steak and put it in his mouth. "Mmmm this is delicious Gibbs" he said appreciatively. "Just how I like it!"

"It's cooked to perfection" said Hetty. "Thank you Jethro. It was kind of you to go to all this trouble."

Gibbs shrugged, a little embarrassed by the praise, and said "It's no trouble. I had time on my hands waiting for you to come back. I guessed G would be hungry so I thought I'd cook for you to save you having to do it after a day away. I'm used to doing my steaks on an open fire so I wasn't quite sure how they'd turn out done on the stove" he added.

During their meal Callen told Gibbs everything that happened at hospital and enthused about the upright scanner. Gibbs was delighted by his friend's mood and pleased to hear that there was no permanent damage to the hand although Callen had already phoned to tell him. He did not dare imagine what it would do to his friend if there had been. A life of an agent was all he knew and he could not imagine him doing any mundane job.

Hetty refused to let Gibbs or Callen clear up after the meal. She busied herself in the kitchen and then came to join them in the lounge. Over drinks Callen recounted his visit to the office. Hetty was pleased that Callen was so animated and hoped he had turned a corner in his recovery although she knew he had a long way to go before he was passed fit to be active in the field.

After a pleasant evening, the trio retired to their respective rooms. The next morning Hetty and Gibbs met in the kitchen but Callen was nowhere to be seen. Gibbs checked his bedroom but he was not there.

"Oh dear, he seemed so happy yesterday" said Hetty. "I truly thought he'd turned the corner and was willing to accept that everything was alright but that it'd take a long time. Where can he be?" said Hetty, starting to worry about him.

"I think I knew where he is" said Gibbs. "Let me go and check." He left the kitchen and went outside, making his way over to the pool. Gibbs was relieved when he saw Callen swimming up and down, doing a powerful front crawl. Not wanting to disturb Callen or to make him feel that they did not trust him, Gibbs returned to the kitchen and informed Hetty.

"I'm so relieved" she said. "He was anxious to swim as soon as we came home yesterday but I wouldn't let him. I thought he should wait as it'd been long and emotional day for him and of course you'd cooked for us."

"He's not one for patience" laughed Gibbs.

Hetty chuckled. "Indeed he isn't" she agreed.

Shortly Callen entered the kitchen with a towel wrapped round his shoulders. Hetty looked over towards him and scowled.

"Please don't drip on my kitchen floor" scolded Hetty.

"Sorry" he said as he stepped outside again and dried himself off a bit better and put on sweat pants and a t shirt before entering the kitchen again.

"Couldn't you have waited?" asked Gibbs smiling knowing full well the answer.

"No" Callen responded with a smirk. "I was so annoyed with myself for falling and injuring my hand and frustrated about setting myself back with my recovery. Then discovering I was not able to do many of the hand exercises, I needed to get back in the pool as soon as Mike gave the all clear yesterday" added Callen grinning, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Did you cover your hand?" asked Hetty, a little concerned that in his enthusiasm Callen would have forgotten Michael's instructions.

"Yep" Callen replied, holding up his hand to show her because he was still wearing the latex glove. "In fact can you take it off for me please?" he asked holding out his hand to Hetty, who stepped forward and gently removed it.

"There you go, my dear" said Hetty, full of love and pride for her boy. "Are you ready for some breakfast?" she asked.

"Yeah, please" he answered. "I've really worked up an appetite."

"Come on then" Hetty said. "Take a seat. What do you both want? I can do eggs or pancakes or both if you want" she added knowing how much the two men could eat.

"Do you have bacon?" asked Callen.

"You know I do" answered Hetty.

"Well" said Callen beaming at Hetty, with his blue eyes smiling and a smile that would melt the coldest heart "can I have eggs, bacon and hash browns please?"

Hetty looked at him fondly knowing she could deny him nothing when he smiled at her like that and answered "I think we could rustle that up for you. Jethro, does that work for you?"

"Great" answered Gibbs. "Do you need any help?"

"No, thank you but you could lay the table before you go and relax with Callen. I'll call you when it's ready" she answered.

Hetty called the men into the kitchen when the food was ready and the trio ate their breakfast and chatted amicably. As they were finishing, they heard the front door open and shut and footsteps approach. Michael entered the kitchen.

"Michael, what brings you here so early" asked Hetty. "Do you want breakfast?"

"No thanks, I've already eaten but I'll have some coffee" answered Michael. Hetty got up and got another cup before pouring coffee into it and handed it to her godson. "Thanks" he said as he took it from her. "Please excuse the intrusion and for letting myself in." Hetty waved a hand as if to dismiss his arrival as an intrusion. "Hey, don't look so worried G" Michael said seeing the look on Callen's face. "I've finally got the results and analysis of your medications and I thought you'd like to know that a side effect of one of them is dizziness. I'm going to swap it out for another one, and see how you get on with the new one. I'm hoping that I'll be able to reduce your meds in a day or two anyway."

Callen visibly relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear" he said. "So there was nothing physical that caused me to pass out?" he asked.

"Not entirely" said Michael. "As I said at the time, you were dehydrated and might have had a touch of heat stroke which could have contributed to it but no, there's nothing physically wrong with you."

Hetty and Gibbs looked at one another, both pleased with the news Michael had brought and knew it would put Callen's mind at rest as well. Anything positive about his situation would only be beneficial to his well being and his recovery.

Hetty said "He's been swimming already this morning."

Callen glanced at her and rolled his eyes as if she had told on him. "Mike did give me the go ahead" he said in his defence.

Michael chuckled at the interaction between Hetty and Callen. "How did it go? Any pain?" asked Michael.

"It was good. The hand's a little stiff and a bit sore now but there's no pain whatsoever" answered Callen truthfully. "And I covered it as you wanted" Callen added.

"That's good. Don't overdo it though. You'll only set yourself back again" said Michael.

"I won't" said Callen. "Besides I've got these two watching me like hawks. Fat chance of being able to do anything without them knowing" he added smirking.

"Indeed, my dear" said Hetty. "We both know what you're capable of so we'll be keeping a very close eye on you!"

Callen rolled his eyes and Hetty joined in with Michael and Gibbs' laughter. Callen was soon laughing with them. He was emotionally in a good place and felt blessed that he had these people who cared enough about him to want to help him. At the back of his mind, Callen wondered what he had done to deserve it and was afraid that it would be taken away from him. In truth, he was never particularly comfortable relying on others, finding it better to trust only one person, himself.