A.N Ok so this is my annual Callen christmas fic only this year it is a sequel to The Tombstone. So for this to make sense it would be a good idea to read that first. It is a Nallen fic so you have been warned.
Is this how they do it?
Chapter 1.
Callen had been back in LA for nine months, Director Vance was ok about him using his old name as his work name and his real 'new' name as his out of work alias, in Callen's case it was a safer thing for him to do.
For a month, every morning Callen would grab his notebook out of his bag and scribble notes, looking on his laptop for things and nodding, grumbling and once or twice slamming the lid of his laptop in frustration. "Dammit!" he snapped walking out of the bullpen and heading up the stairs to ops.
"We got any cases Eric?" Callen asked as he walked in.
"No why has Hetty said anything?" Eric asked looking slightly overworked.
"No…just wondering." Callen left walking back down the stairs and his phone rang.
"Callen." He said stopping on the balcony to answer it.
He smiled as he recognized the voice on the other end, "Hey grandpa…you are, that's great!" he smiled "Sure I can get you…when? Ok then I'll be there." He closed the phone and the smile slipped from his face. "Oh God!" he exclaimed and sank onto a nearby bench.
Hetty saw him and walked up the stairs, "Mr. Gibbs?"
Callen gulped, she only called him that when he wasn't on the clock, or she was talking to him about anything non case related.
"Hetty…I…." he didn't know what to say.
Hetty looked down the stairs, alerting Callen to the fact that his team was in fact all watching him.
"I'm fine Hetty," Callen said standing up.
The shake in his hand as he picked up the phone was noticeable by Hetty, "Is your family alright?" she asked.
Callen nodded, "Yep, Dad's fine, as far as I know, and My Grandpa is closing shop early and is heading to Los Angeles in a few days."
"So this is a good thing?" Hetty pushed,
Callen looked at her, "Yeah great, sorry Hetty I have paperwork to do." Callen said and all but ran down the stairs.
Hetty looked at Sam who nodded and followed Callen as he went outside.
Callen was pacing up and down as he typed a number into his phone and waited as it rang. "It's me I need to see you…" he stopped as he noticed Sam, "Later…please, Love you." He said and slammed the phone shut.
Sam smirked for a few weeks he'd been under the impression that Callen was seeing someone but he hadn't said anything. "So is she the reason you've been jumpy?" Sam asked.
Callen stopped, "No! N…She's not."
"Wanna share?" Sam smirked.
"No….why are you out here?" He asked.
Sam sat on a low wall next to the building, "G, for the last month you've been toting that damn notebook around with you like it's the holy bible, and you've been taking notes in it and muttering when you think we can't hear you, what's with you man, you're freaking the whole team out."
"It's nothing." Callen snapped embarrassed, he hadn't realized he'd gotten that bad.
"G, I'm your partner, if you can't share with me…." Sam left the rest unsaid.
Callen paced a few more times, "I…I can't Sam, not everything." Callen said,
"Do you love her?" Sam asked.
Callen's eyes lit up, "Yeah Sam, yeah I do….that's kind of the problem, she's gonna meet them and I don't know how they'll take it."
"Why?" Sam was curious now, he had met Gibbs more than once, and Jackson while Callen was in hospital recovering, both seemed like good men, so he hadn't a clue why they wouldn't be happy for him.
"She's younger than me…but I don't care, that's not my problem." Callen said sitting next to Sam and staring out over the Los Angeles skyline.
"Is she pregnant?" Sam asked.
Callen said nothing.
"G?"
"I don't know how to do it?" Callen blurted out.
"What SEX?!" Sam asked incredulously.
Callen burst into laughter, "No Sam, that I got pretty much covered. Christmas, I don't know how to do a family Christmas, Grandpa's on his way up earlier than I thought…I need to make it perfect, I wanna…." Callen stopped, there were still things he didn't know or want to share with Sam just yet.
"I don't get it?" Sam asked, "What don't you know about a family Christmas, you've spent Christmas with my family, you've had at least 42 Christmases in your life."
"Not…." Callen stopped, "Not as…Look I know you get a tree, a load of food you eat it and open presents….but there has to be more….I know there's something I'm missing…"
"What have you got?" Sam asked him.
"I have some of those decoration things, I haven't picked a tree yet…I got some food, a turkey and some ham and potatoes, I even brought a table, I'm borrowing the plates and stuff, N…she's got table linens too. Apparently I need them."
"So why aren't you tell me this mystery woman's name…do I know her?"
"Sam! You promised, you said you'd help me."
Sam knew he hadn't promised anything. "I think families Christmases are different to everyone, maybe you should ask everyone what they liked the most about their family Christmas see what you need to add to yours."
"No…I can't they can't know." Callen worried, "I'm the team leader, and they don't need to see me like this."
Sam nodded, "maybe you're right, when does Jack get here?"
"Three days." Callen said.
"You got furniture in your place?" Sam asked.
"Sure all her stuff…." Callen trailed off mad with himself again. "We need to get back to work." He snapped and walked back into the mission.
Kensi and Deeks looked up as they entered, "You guys good?" Kensi asked.
"Fine," Callen snapped then relented, "Honest I'm good Kens, just looking forward to my grandpa coming."
"Mr. Callen, A word." Hetty voice floated through the bullpen and he stood up and walked to her office.
"Did your talk with Mr. Hanna yield the desired results?" She asked.
"I feel a bit better," Callen admitted.
Hetty smiled, "Maybe when you get home, you should talk with your 'other' partner." She hinted. "I understand your keeping this under wraps, however I do feel that the team should be let in on things and maybe soon? I understand you haven't even told either your father or her parents?"
"It just hasn't seemed the right time, I mean, you know…but you had to so you could arrange her 'transfer'."
"Things would be so much easier if you'd share with the team." Hetty prodded,
"I'll ask her." Callen said, "Can I have a few extra days Hetty, we don't have a pressing case right now and Jackson's coming in soon and I have a few things that I need to sort out."
"Take the days Mr. Callen, but if I we have a case you will need to come in." Hetty said.
Callen grabbed his bag and left after letting Sam know that he was going to try and sort his problem out.
"Great you're leaving us shorthanded?" Eric said as he walked through the bullpen, He'd been cranky since Nell had been transferred to Washington to assist the director in his upgrade of D.C's computer system.
Callen ignored him and left.
Arriving back at his home he was surprised at how much the house had changed since finding his father and falling in love.
She was standing in the kitchen with her back to him as he entered.
"You're home early." She said the laughter evident in her voice.
He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her ever expanding waistline. "Hetty gave me some extra day's Jack's coming early, oh and honey…" he kissed her neck and moved to the fridge to grab a beer, "Call Eric, he thinks Vance is going to keep you in D.C forever."
Nell turned and looked at him, "What did he say?" she asked rubbing her hand over her burgeoning belly.
"Something about me leaving him short handed." Callen said taking his shoes off and sinking into her couch, well their couch now as she had moved in with him.
Nell flopped onto the other side of the couch, lifting her swollen ankles into Callen's lap and groaning as he absentmindedly rubbed them for her. "Umm...Nico..." she sighed.
"Hetty still coming for dinner tonight?" Nell asked a few moment later.
Callen nodded, "She didn't say she wasn't." he told her. "She say's we should tell our parents, and the team."
Nell nodded, "We should, we will tell your father and Grandpa first, then the team…my parents, later." She said.
Callen frowned as he did every time she brought her parents up. "I hate lying to them, when I tell them about us; I will have to tell them what I really do for a living."
Callen nodded, he didn't understand really, but she was carrying his child and at eight months pregnant he wasn't going to do anything to upset her."
Nell tossed her head back and groaned, "I'm so tired." She sighed. Callen picked the blanket up from the back of the couch and laid it over her, "You sleep babe, I'm gonna finish up, I will wake you before Hetty gets here."
Nell nodded and fell asleep. Callen watching lovingly as the mother of his child to be closed her eyes.
He knew when his dad and grandpa got here they would be mad that he had kept this from them but right now, she was his and his alone and he didn't need to share. Right now he had peace; he stared at her totally contented till he too fell asleep.