Forever's a long time

Chapter 22

Callen woke up, he was a bit disorientated and blinked as he looked over at Sam.

"Where am I?" He asked.

Sam smiled, "Hospital. You had the chip removed from your ear."

Callen looked confused, feeling his ear and wincing slightly at the gauze patch covering the small wound. "But that's not for a few days." He replied.

Sam crossed the room in a few quick steps, "You had a bad reaction to some news that Anatoli gave you. He had his doctor sedate you for a few days. You agreed to it as you needed to rest before your operation."

"Anatoli? Did he... Has he got the chip?" Callen asked his throat suddenly feeling dry.

Sam handed him some ice chips, his hand carding through his hair.

"I have it. Anatoli wouldn't take it when the doctor handed it to him. He said it was yours to do with as you saw fit and he said he wouldn't take it without your say so."

Callen blinked in surprise then his face darkened.

"What about Granger?"

Sam shook his head sadly. "He's been texting to ask if you are alright and when I would be handing the list over to him."

"We need to know how to read this thing. I need to know Sam." Callen stated.

"Soon... G, you need to rest babe. I have been worried about you. You haven't been well, you were dehydrated and had an infection when Anatoli's doctor looked over you."

"It's been so much Sam, one thing after another." Callen sighed.

"You trust me Brat?" Sam asked.

"With my life." Callen replied without hesitation.

"Then please, let me take care of you. Trust me to know what's best for you." Sam offered.

"You want to pick between Granger and Anatoli?" Callen asked, even though the question was posed sarcastically Callen really hoped that Sam could help him choose who to give the chip to.

"Possibly..." Sam smirked as he lifted the lid of a laptop he'd had on the small table that sat across the bed Callen was in.

"Hi Nell." Sam said as Nell's face appeared on the screen.

Nell wasn't in Ops, she was sleepy and her hair was slightly awry, it was obvious from the background that she was at home.

She smiled as she saw them and rubbed her eyes slightly. "Hey guys, long time no see. How are you feeling Callen? Sam told me you'd been operated on."

Callen smiled, still slightly dopey, "Sam's looking after me." He said shooting a look full of love at his partner.

Sam couldn't help the warm feeling that look of love and trust gave to him, but he needed to get back to the matter at hand. "What did you manage to dig up?" Sam asked.

Callen looked over at him confused, unsure as to what Sam had asked Nell to look for.

"I have been looking into Grangers file." Nell started, waiting for a moment as she let the shock settle on Callen's face, waiting for a small nod of approval before continuing. "His files don't add up. There are a lot of things missing or just wrong in his timeline."

"What do you mean?" Callen asked, worried for the safety of his team.

Nell looked over at Sam worried. "I'm not sure that I should say. I mean, he is the Assistant Director?"

Callen sighed, "Nell... He's my father, I want to know if he is responsible for my mother's death. I need to know if I can trust him."

Nell looked shocked for a moment and then guilty. "I thought the Comescu's were responsible for your mother's death?"