A/N For once, I'd like to see the G. Callen less hurt. A one-shot only!
Thanks for lending the lovely character to play with in our stories, although we all know we cannot own him nor the other characters that belong to CBS & Shane Brennan...
At 6.50 in the morning, Callen only needed ten more minutes to finish his half hour of spinning when the door to the gym was opened and a woman stepped in. He was definitely not used to seeing any co-workers coming in this early and he did not recognize her at all. Probably a newbie at the NCIS Office of Special Projects.
"Oh, hi there" she said. "Could you, ehrm."
Callen pressed the buttons on his bike so that it slowed down and finally stopped. He breathed heavily after this session. "Hello. You're in early".
The woman nodded and some curls of her long, auburn hair peeked out of her ponytail. "I am indeed. It's supposed to be a long day, so I thought I might go for a sports session first. Should I redress in there?" as she pointed toward the locker rooms.
"The left one", Callen answered. "Or else you might end up showering between male agents." The remark made her blush, he noted, and she looked away as she mumbled "Thank you", turned around and took her bag with her.
No good first impression, G Callen, he thought. Of course, not everyone woman reacted just as forward as his team member Kensi Blye did.
He used his towel to wipe away some sweat and took some gulps of fresh water.
Looking at his watch, he saw he still had nearly an hour left before he would have to leave the office, so there was enough time left to use the new boxing machines Hetty had installed in the gym.
He was wrapping his hands when the woman came back in the gym. This time, she wore a green tank top and black gym pants. He had to admit she looked great, a well-trained body, better than some of the other agents he'd seen in here.
"First time in here I reckon?" he asked.
"Yes, it's the first day in here. I'm scheduled for an interview with a Mrs. Lange at around eight," she said.
"Ah, Hetty. Be aware, it's Miss Lange. She's the operation manager in here, hardly five feet tall but tougher than most of the people I've ever met," Callen said. "So, nervous about day one?"
"Just a little" she answered, "I never worked at an agency like this before. I'm Teri, by the way". He answered with a short "Callen" which for this moment seemed like enough of an introduction to him.
She observed the gym and then took one of harnesses and anchored the top rope, talked her hands. After that she eyed the wall and started climbing it. It was one of the only things Callen really detested in the gym.
By the time he started hitting his electric enemy, the woman was descending already.
He felt her eyes on him, on his actions. He stopped the system. "Do you want to try it too?" he asked her. Teri looked at him and said "I don't know, never tried it like that. I prefer a punching bag, I guess."
"Give it a try. I'll show you how", Callen said. "Just get your hands wrapped carefully, Billy is a hard one to beat."
Now she stood closer to him, he noticed she nearly looked shy. There were sparks of grey in her dark blue eyes and he liked the way her left hand was trying to push a loose curl back in place. "Do you need a hand?" he wanted to know.
"With the wraps? No, I'll manage" She blushed slightly and wet her lips as she saw his azure blue eyes watching her efforts and for a split second let his gaze go over the rest of her body. Unlike other men she met he did not show anything at all which made her… well, perhaps a bit disappointed because she definitely liked what she saw. Although he was kind to her, he kept a distance and he seemed to be unaware of his own good looks.
Once she was ready to give it a go, he explained how Billy – the boxing mate – worked. It was more fun than Teri expected and although 'Billy' defeated her, she tried again.
After some more punches, she felt he was looking at her. It made her a bit nervous, trying to perform even better.
"Mind your balance" he said.
Teri stopped. "What's wrong with it?" The machine continued and she didn't know how to turn it off. Callen came closer and paused it.
"If you switch your balance to your other leg, you'd be able to defend yourself better when there is more than one person to attack you," he said. Somehow, his remark seemed to scare her. "I'll show you, let's spar."
"Oh, no. Not a good idea", she murmered, as her eyes largened.
Just like he thought. The girl definitely was not ready for fieldwork. Callen came closer to her, while Teri stepped backwards, not noticing he forced her towards the built-in dojo. "Oh, come on, Teri, just hit me."
She shook her head. "No. I'd rather not".
Callen smirked. "You'd better hit me before I knock you out. Just pretend I'm Billy."
"It's a stupid idea. I don't do sparring, I'm not—"
Without any more warnings, he came toward her, ready to hit her. She was quick enough to put her arm up to defend herself for a blow. To his surprise, her defense was better than he expected.
Callen attacked again, this time he combined the movement of a strike with a kick that swept her legs from under her and had her falling onto the mat. "There you go. That's what I meant with the balance" he said.
Teri didn't know if she should be laughing now or get angry. Then she decided there was another way to attack, something she remembered from a movie. She scissored her legs and locked his ankles together, now bringing him down next to her.
"All in balance, Callen", she said with a slight mischievous smile.
It was the first time she saw a real spontaneous smile that made his blue eyes sparkle. He laughed "well done."
He stretched out on his side, only inches from her. Without looking her in the eyes he brushed away some of her long curls that refused to stay in her tail.
Although Teri was used to work with men, this move, his strong arms and even his sweaty grey shirt made her mouth go dry.
"So… Teri. Who will be your coach in here?"
"A coach? Well, I don't think I need one." She got up, put both her hands around her hair and tried to put all the curls back in a ponytail, not aware that in that way her top revealed just a tiny bit of her tanned tight tummy to Callen.
"Until now I've always been perfectly able to take care of everything myself" she said.
Knowing that everyone who started their career at this NCIS office would be coached for at least three months Callen laughed out loud at her naïve remark. He'd gladly apply for the coaching part.
Teri was about to react to his laughter, but then there was an interruption from the direction of the entrance door.
"G, are you around?" he heard Sam. "In here!" he answered. In fact, he had forgotten time.
"Really G, it sounded as if you were laughing". Sam studied his partner's face and noticed the faint smile and the sparkles in his blue eyes that were there far too little. Callen looked around and in one way or another, it did not surprise him that Teri had left.
"Had a pretty good work out, Sam. I'll need a shower, give me five minutes."
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
Callen tried to focus on the report Hetty had asked to finish today. As a team leader, most of the paperwork landed on his desk.
It had been the third day in a row Callen performed as Aleksandr Roesakova, journalist, who covered a story about rich Russians in the United States. In fact, he dealt with a criminal family and to find out who helped them smuggling arms from Pendleton to Chechnya.
At the same time, Sam, Kensi and Deeks worked at Pendleton. For them, it had not taken long to bring in a suspect. Unfortunately, petty officer Hollman did not work alone and his partner, staff seargant Sutherland found out about Callen's cover.
Although Sam was in time to have his back, as ever, Callen had been beaten up pretty severe.
He stretched his back as his body ached in this position.
"Hey man, are you alright?" Sam asked.
Callen nodded. "I just seem to have all the fun today", he said.
"See you tomorrow guys!" Kensi, Deeks, Nell and Eric giddily left all together, having a movie night at Kensi's place.
"Sure you don't want me to wait, G?"
"Nah, just go and enjoy your night with Michelle and the kids." Callen watched his partner leaving.
Concentrating on the laptop again, he was disturbed by the soft steps of their office manager coming closer.
"Now, Mr Callen, you are aware that you were scheduled nearly half an hour ago for the vitality program?"
Callen looked up and raised his eyebrows. "A vitality program? Really Hetty. I just want to finish this and go home, grab a pizza and a beer and do no-thing anymore. I'll skip".
"Do you know the word 'obligatory' Mr Callen? Remember the notification you all received last week from director Vance".
In fact, he did remember he saw a letter but he had no really come to read it.
"Now, shoo, you are the last one on today's schedule, don't let somebody else wait for you."
Knowing that Hetty would not show any mercy, he got up, murmuring 'It will add up to all the fun I had today'. "Where do I go Hetty?"
"You might hurry to get in the gym, Mr. Callen." The tiny woman watched the senior agent walking away from his desk reluctantly. Oh, how she wished he had a place where he'd really feel at home, or at least a place he would be able to relax more. She knew he would probably stay in this office to do what he had to do, finish work and cat nap on the couch.
Hetty Lange sighed, closed her laptop, took her purse and coat and went home.
o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)
Theresa Miller had a long day in the office of Special Projects. One by one, the agents had been scheduled for a series of health tests and a list for a personalized training program.
She was tired and certainly not amused that she had to wait for the last person of this day.
She took the paperwork she had collected over the day and put it in her briefcase already. When she returned to the room, there he was. Dressed in a black jeans with a black button-down shirt he was waiting near the table that she put in there.
"It's been a long day, don't you think?" she said when she noticed it was Callen. His tired and non-enthusiastic expression made way for a twitch of his lips.
"Seriously, Teri? I thought they were waiting for me in here" he said.
"I am. Waiting for you, that is", Teri answered.
"You waited for me?" It never came to his mind that she, Teri, was the one running this program. How stupid he suddenly felt, remembering the discussions they had this morning. Callen looked at her, dressed in a tight white jeans and a blue t-shirt that matched the color of her eyes.
"Sure thing mister Callen. Now, if you would please loosen your shirt, or take off" she said.
He looked at her and smirked "Really?"
Teri slowly nodded "really." She watched him as he unbuttoned the shirt partly. Although this morning she had seen his masculine body already, she bit her underlip as she liked what she saw.
"I'm supposed to take your blood pressure and check your cholesterol levels. Please, sit down." As she took her equipment, he leant on the table and looked at what she did. There was the short rasp of his stubble against her upper arm which gave her the butterflie-feeling in the stomach all of a sudden.
"No needles Teri" he certainly said nervously.
"No needles. Anything you don't want me to do?" Callen noticed her cunning smile when she asked.
"Vitality, wellness, is it all the same?" he asked.
"Not really, though it is related. You look pretty tensed. Anything I can do to get rid of the tension? A chair massage might help," Teri suggested.
"How about a back massage? On a day like today, I might need it. Is it impolite to ask" he wanted to know, as he continued unbuttoning his shirt. He heard her inhale her breath as she saw his back.
"Those bruises, they're new. Does this hurt", she said as she let her fingers softly go over them. It felt good and a soft moan escaped his throat.
"Should we… go anywhere else?" he managed to ask, looking in her eyes that nearly looked black now. She took off the bind that kept her long dark hair together, let the curls tease his bare skin and smiled.
"The left shower room will be a perfect start of your vitality program of this evening, mister Callen".
The rest is all up to your own imagination. Thanks for reading!