G.Callen - To be opened upon my Death

Complete/ one shot.

G. Callen - To Be Opened Upon My Death.

It sat on his desk staring at him as he took his suit jacket off and hung it across the back of his chair, still mindful to her memory not to wrinkle the fabric. Kensi and Deeks sat with Nell and Eric in the corner talking quietly amongst themselves. Sam and Granger stood in what had been Hetty's office, talking quietly and shooting worried glances in the direction of the team leader. Callen sat, his fingers lightly brushing the large white and red envelope. For a moment he wondered how it had been placed there. But knowing Hetty she had arranged this beforehand...before...

He blinked back a tear. Not here. Not now.

He wanted to open it, but opening it would make it final. She was gone.

Hetty was dead.

She had died a few days ago, not fighting crime like she would have wanted to go, but a heart attack in her sleep. He smiled slightly as he remembered the conversation they had had about smothering her with a Hypoallergenic pillow if she got too old to remember to keep all her secrets inside.

He had been the one to find her. After failing to turn up for work, he had decided to see if something had happened to her. He knew where she was as they had had their usual family dinner the evening before. Callen and Hetty catching up on family stuff as opposed to the work they had left behind.

The previous evening had been comfortable, playing scrabble and drinking a new blend of tea that Hetty had wanted to try. It ended with Callen lying drowsily on the couch as Hetty read him Tolstoy in the original Russian. As the clock struck two Callen had woken as Hetty had pulled his blanket from the back of her couch and placed it over him. He had stretched and kissed her cheek goodnight as he left, waiting until the house lights were out and her bedroom light was on before heading home.

Climbing the stairs with Sam in tow the next day, he had been convinced she had just overslept. He had knocked quietly on her door and as he entered her room, he knew she was gone. The warmth and the safety he had always felt on entering her inner sanctum, was not there.

"Hetty?" He had said quietly, his voice shaking.

Walking over to her bed he knelt and reached out for her hand, pulling it quickly back as if burned.

She was cold to the touch.

Not caring that Sam was there, the tears began to uncontrollably fall as he mumbled a string of unintelligible Russian words.

Sam had quietly phoned for a paramedic, informed the team and Granger and then waited as Callen got a handle on his grief.

"Do svidaniya mama," he said softly as Granger and the paramedics had arrived at the same time.

Sam moved to see if he was ok, but Callen shook his head and walked off.

No one saw him again until the funeral.

The Office of Special Projects had been put on stand down with the exception of emergencies for a few weeks as they coped with the loss of their leader. Granger was appointed acting Operations Manager in Hetty's stead. He was surprised by a letter in her desk with detailed instructions on how she wanted her funeral to be conducted. And under no circumstances, was Callen to take the task on entirely on his own.

Granger and Sam had been concerned with Callen's disappearance. They had been by Callen's home to look for him but he wasn't there. Neither of them knew if he would even attend the funeral. But there he was as the team arrived, talking quietly to the priest who had also been a good friend of Hetty's. They watched as he placed a comforting hand on Callen's shoulder. He nodded in thanks and turned to his friends.