6 Callen

Anya heard the barking even before there was a knock on the door. She knew that annoying whine anywhere, Comet was finally back home. Well, only if Anya could prove that she was well enough to take care of him. She wiped some sweat off of her brow, taking off the bandana she used to cover her hair while cleaning. The apartment had taken a lot to clean, but it was at least somewhat presentable, not quite the depression nest it was before.

A hesitant knock sounded on the door through the high-pitched barking. Anya threw her bandana into the hamper and and shoved it into the closet. There was another few knocks at the door before she yelled, "On my way!" She ran down the hallway into the entryway and opened up the door.

Before Anya had time to adjust, Comet was leaping across the gap between her and the guy. He hurtled toward her, and Anya was just barely able to catch him in time. "Well hello there little buddy!" She was practically assaulted with kisses as Comet squirmed in her arms. He was jumping up onto her face and pawing at her. "Jesus Comet, you are going to tear my face to shreds!" Hearing his name seemed to excite him even more as he continued to jump up at her face and give her kisses. "Yes, yes, I love you too. Buddy you need to chill. I'm going to need a skin graph at this point."

Anya looked up and realized that the man was still there standing silently. Shoot, she forgot he was even there. Her cheeks flushed as she set Comet down into the foyer and said, "Hi, sorry about that. Why don't you come in and have a seat?"

"Oh, it's no problem" the man chuckled. "It seems you were right, and he really missed you a lot."

"Of course, he's my baby." Anya led the man down the hall into the living room. "He loves his mama more than just about anything. Please have a seat." She gestured to the couch.

He sat down on the edge of the sofa not seeming too comfortable. "Just about anything?"

"He does love his cheese." Anya moved toward the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink? I just put on a pot of coffee."

The man chuckled before he responded, "A coffee sounds nice, just black please."

She ducked into the kitchen and began to pour two mugs of coffee. Its a good thing that he didn't want anything in it, because she didn't have any sugar or cream. As she brought back the two cups she was hit with the sudden realization that she didn't know his name. He had said it on the phone, she thought, but she couldn't remember for the life of her what it was. Anya set the coffees down on the side table and had a seat in the chair on the other side. "Here is your coffee, uhhh."

"Callen," he answered. "I was the guy that you talked to earlier."

"Yeah, uh, I'm sorry." Anya's face heated. "I'm not really good with remembering names." She chose to break her awkward fumbling with a sip of coffee; it would taste better with oat milk. There was a beat of silence as Callen just looked at her expectantly. What was she supposed to say? "Oh, um, I'm Anya by the way." Man, she hadn't spoken to anyone besides Alex in weeks. This was so awkward it was painful. "It's nice to meet you by the way."

Callen smiled as he took a drink. "It's ok. I'm not that good with talking with people either. That's why I choose to spend all my time with dogs." He held his mug in a way that looked like he was warming his hands.

"Are you comfortable I can turn up the heat if you like or..." There was a big thud on the other side of the room. Comet had found his toy bin and was tearing through it like a mad man. If he was human, he would be laughing manically at this point. "Oh lord, I thought he wouldn't go straight into destruction mode."

"It seems pretty on brand for Comet to me."

"Yeah, I was just trying to put it nicely. He's pretty crazy." As Anya said this, Comet had proceed to get his head stuck in his toy spaceship. Callen looked over at her in question. "Oh, don't mind that. I sometimes put treats in there, and he's convinced that's where they hide when he's not looking." Comet proceeded to bonk his head around the other toys, sniffing loudly. "He'll get it off once he notices there aren't any treats."

Callen smiled again. "He is the wild child of the center that's for sure."

"I was looking at your pictures, and I saw him playing with all of the other dogs. He is quite the flirt."

At this Callen let out a huff of a laugh. "Oh he does more than flirt. He's the leader of the whole pack. Nothing gets past Comet."

"And I bet he rules with an iron fist. He's always done exactly what he wants, little brat." Comet heard this and waddled over to Anya, spaceship still hanging off his head. "Yes, I called you a little brat, because you are the most spoiled boy ever." Comet jumped up into Anya's lap and rolled over exposing his belly. "Sees his mom for the first time in weeks, and he's already demanding belly rubs. What a diva."

"Diva, that is a perfect word to describe him." Callen looked over at him with a grin. "It must be the chiweenie in him."

"Oh, I didn't know you guys knew what he was. I always just say he's a mutt, half adorable, half psycho." Anya continued scratching his stomach as he began to close his eyes. "Sometimes I feel like he got the big attitude of a chihuahua, and the stubbornness of a dachshund. Either way, those are the two most insane breeds."

"Did you not expect that when you got him?" Callen asked a bit skeptically.

"Oh, I didn't buy him. I rescued him while on tour. He was already about two when I adopted him. We don't really know a lot about his life prior to the adoption, but I'm sure he was just as sassy back then." Anya noticed Comet had drifted off, so she reached for her cup. As she moved her arm, Comet's paw whipped up and moved her hand back onto his belly. "So high-maintenance this one."

"Classic Comet." Callen looked back at Anya serious now. "So, can you tell me a little about why Comet was staying so long at the day care? I know he is a regular, but he usually doesn't stay for that long."

"Ah," Anya forgot for a moment that she needed to prove herself fit to Callen. She tried to think of the words that would best describe the situation. "So, as you probably know, a few weeks ago Dayton Fillsbro went out and said some pretty nasty things about me. We were best friends for as long as I can remember, and it was a difficult time for me to deal with. I just felt that Comet would be better off with you guys instead with me, where I couldn't even go out in public so I couldn't walk him or anything like that."

"Wait," Callen started, "you're talking as if I know your situation. Nothing was listed on the forms for Comet's boarding, so I don't know what you are talking about. Why couldn't you take Comet out? Were you injured?" Callen looked at Anya expectantly.

"Um," Anya hadn't anticipated this. Does this guy really not know anything about her? What does he know? Is he faking it to make some sort of statement? "I don't want this to sound presumptuous, but do you not know who I am?"

"Well," Callen looked around the apartment, "it seems as though you have quite a bit of money so maybe you're a celebrity or something? I don't really follow the tabloid news." He spoke this in a flat, serious tone.

Oh my God, Anya thought, this guy seems like he is telling the truth. "So... you don't know anything about me?"

"I know your name is Anya," Callen replied. "But don't think that because you are rich that you can pay me off to let go of Comet. I really care about my dogs, so their safety is more important than anything."

"Yeah, of course," Anya stammered. "It's just, I'm a little surprised is all." They sat in silence as Anya thought of the right words to say. "O.K., so basically, I was going through some personal things, and it was really hard to take care of myself" Callen's eyebrows raised. "But, I'm doing so much better now, and I'm ready to take care of Comet again. I know he'll be fine with me."

Callen didn't say anything for a while. He looked over at Comet resting in Anya's lap and sighed. "You know, against my better judgement I feel like you are a pretty honest person. Are you sure you can meet all of his needs?"

"Absolutely," Anya had been taking care of comet for over five years now. She was starting to get a little peeved now. Her apartment was clean and safe, what else did he need? "Besides, I'm still planning on brining him to the day care often so he can play with his friends, so it's not like you won't be seeing him often."

"Hmmmm," Callen scratched the stubble on his chin. "O.K. I'll let him stay here for now, but I expect to see him in a few days. Call me if anything comes up." He stood up and started towards the door. "It looks like you have everything under control here." Anya followed him and opened up the door. Before he left, he turned and looked Anya directly in the eyes. "Please don't make me regret this." And with that he turned and left, the door closing behind him.

Anya loosed a breath and slid over to the sofa. How long had it been since someone had talked to her like that? While she appreciated his concern for Comet, was he being a little extra rough? Anya found it hard to believe that he had never heard of her, but he didn't seem to know anything about her situation. She turned in towards the back cushions. They smelled like leather and pine, which seemed a little weird. Comet jumped up onto the couch and nestled himself into the crook of her arm. Anya decided that she was going to ignore the unusual feeling growing in her gut and take a nap with Comet.