Impure
By shaz1
Disclaimer- none of the characters in this story belong to me, they are the property of the awesome Shane Brennan and the actors that portray them.
This is in response to the Callen's Corner challenge from the NCIS LA magazine. This is set in the two hour gap of the season four episode 'Purity'. Please forgive any inconsistencies as I am UK based and as such am yet to see the episode.
As usual please review!
Impure
"Worked like a charm" the weary NCIS agent slurred to his partner. Sam Hanna glanced over his friend, who still remained slumped to the floor where he had obviously fallen.
"You good?" he asked his friend, when the younger agent made no attempts to move.
"I'm fine Sam" Callen responded, his voice tired and his face pale. Sam stepped closer and held out his hand to his friend, Callen tiredly reached out and allowed the former seal to pull him to his feet. Sam tightened his grip as he felt his partner swaying dangerously beside him.
"Sure you are G" Sam commented, looking his friend over and not liking what he saw.
"Sam?" Kensi called out as she entered the building.
"I got him Kensi" Sam hollered, and she was guided by his voice to join the senior agents.
"Callen? You ok?" she asked stepping towards him in concern. The junior agent placed her hand on her team leader's shoulder gently, unable to miss the tremors that ran through him.
"I'm fine Kens" he responded offering her a weak smile.
"Can you bring the Challenger round please?" Sam asked her as he handed her the keys- not convinced his partner would manage even the short walk to where the car was currently parked.
"We'll just wait here G and then I'll drive you to the ER" Sam stated.
"I don't need the hospital Sam- just give me a minute" Callen argued, swallowing passed the nausea that was rising in his throat.
"G…" Sam warned, not liking his friend's pallor or stubbornness one little bit.
"Sam- I'm fine, please just take me back to Ops" Callen requested, trying not to beg. The larger man shook his head in frustration, but didn't release his grip on his trembling partner; he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when the challenger drew to a stop just outside the door.
"Come on G" he stated as he led his friend to the vehicle and helped him ease into the passenger seat. His worry growing as the other man leant back against the head rest with his eyes closed. Sam pushed the door shut quietly, not missing the look of worry in the junior agent's eyes.
"You taking him to hospital?" Kensi questioned softly.
"He says he is fine" Sam responded with a roll of the eyes.
"Callen always says he is fine" she argued.
"I can't force him Kensi" Sam stated as he walked round to the driver's side of his car- his partner having not moved.
"Hetty can" she responded with a grin moving to her own car to follow the older pair back to Ops.
"How's Callen?" Deeks questioned as his partner rejoined him.
"He doesn't look good- but stubborn as ever" she replied as she started the engine and set off.
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Callen remained silent for the journey back to Ops, Sam couldn't help the sideward glances that he kept directing at his partner. He was relieved to finally stop the car as he drove into the compound.
"G- we're here" he stated to wake up his friend. Callen nodded, too tired to open his eyes and his stomach too unsettled to allow him to sleep. "You good?" Sam asked, not missing the lack of action from the younger man.
"Yeah I'm good" Callen responded with a sigh, opening his eyes and pushing the door open. He hoisted himself out of the passenger seat- desperately ignoring the dizziness that the action caused.
"Sure you are- come on Hetty is waiting for you" Sam commented as he walked around the car to be there to catch his partner if required. The duo walked slowly into the building, and Callen had barely stepped through the door before the Ops manager was beside him.
"Come and sit down before you fall down Mr Callen" Hetty instructed, gesturing towards the sofa. Callen refrained from responding and merely concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other to move to the sofa, he eased himself down gratefully, and rested his head back. "Now why the hell have you not gone to the hospital?" the petite woman questioned, her arms folded across her chest as she took in her lead agent's appearance.
"I am fine Hetty" Callen stated, not moving from his position.
"Tosh" she argued with a hiss. Silently she moved back to her office and returned a few minutes later carrying a tray of china. Setting it down on the coffee table she poured a cup and handed it to the clearly suffering man in front of her. "Drink this" she instructed. Callen pulled himself up so that he was sat straighter and reached for the drink, unable to hide the trembling to his hand. His first attempt to grip the cup failed as his fingers refused to do as his brain requested. Sam intercepted and took the cup from the woman and handed it to his friend, not letting go until the younger man had both hands wrapped securely around the drink.
"Thanks" he murmured, trying to not notice the hot liquid swilling around in the cup as his hands continued to shake.
"Now what happened?" Hetty asked sitting down beside the man that she was so fond of.
"He told me I had two choices- they could shoot me or I could drink the cyanide. I chose to drink the cyanide" Callen explained with a shrug.
"You chose to drink it?" Hetty questioned, shocked that her agent had been so reckless.
"I had the antidote on me- seemed like the safest option" Callen responded, his voice finally losing the slur that had his friends so concerned. Hetty sighed, she would never get used to the young man's blatant disregard for his own welfare- yet she couldn't dispute the logic in his words. "Now what's the next move?" he asked, sipping at the hot tea.
"The next move for you Mr Callen is to get some sleep- and in an hour if you are no better then you will be taking a trip to the ER" she stated, he opened his mouth to argue but the woman prevented him from doing so. "If after some rest you can convince me that you are fit to assist in the takedown then you may do so- but only if I can be sure you will be safe" she reasoned. "Now do we have a deal?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Do I have a choice?" Callen parried softly.
"I thought you would agree, now get some rest" she instructed, as she got to her feet and stood watching her agent. Finally he took her subtle hint and with a dramatic sigh he swung his legs up on the sofa and rested his head back against the cushions closing his eyes- within minutes he was asleep and didn't even stir when the ops manager tenderly placed a blanket over him.
"Will he be ok?" Sam asked once he was sure his friend was asleep.
"The antidote is proven to work Sam, there is no reason why Mr Callen shouldn't be just fine- if he allows his body the time to rest that it needs" Hetty responded.
"Should he be in hospital?" he asked.
"Of course, but we both know he is far too stubborn for that" Hetty exclaimed. "The best thing that you can do for your partner is to keep an eye on him. I will make contact with a doctor and see if there is anything else we need to do" Sam simply nodded at the comments of the ops manager, and headed to the coffee station to pour himself a drink before returning to his friend, leaving the rest of the team to gather together information for the next stages of the op.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
An hour had passed and the team leader had not as much as stirred.
"How's he doing?" Kensi asked as she pulled up a chair next to the former navy seal.
"I think this is the longest I have ever seen him sleep for undisturbed" Sam responded with a wry smile.
"What did Hetty say?" Kensi asked.
"That he should be ok, as long as he gets rest" Sam replied. The doctor had advised the ops manager that in the circumstances Callen should undoubtedly be in hospital and monitored closely subject to test results he would be released a few days later- however the canny woman that negotiated it down to her conducting observations and the agent attending the hospital for tests as soon as the op was completed- followed by more tests on an outpatient basis for the next seven days. Hetty was yet to share the information with the agent in question- for if she was not satisfied in his condition then all bets would be off and regardless of his complaints Callen would be taken to the nearest ER and tied down to receive treatment if that's what was necessary.
"Yeah good luck with that one" Kensi commented, knowing full well that her friend was the most stubborn person imaginable when it came to his own welfare, and there was no way he would rest when there was a mission to complete.
"I think we may need it" Sam responded with a sigh. "Well the hour is up, I suppose I better get him up" he added, highly tempted to simply leave his partner to sleep whilst the rest of the team headed out to check the water supply. Knowing that his friend would never forgive him he got to his feet and carefully moved closer to his partner. Knowing full well what a big mistake it would be to startle the younger man, he reached for his shoulder and gave it a gentle shake, keeping the rest of his body out of reach. Slowly the younger man stirred awake, confused blue eyes blinking open to finally fix on Sam.
"What time is it?" he asked, his mouth dry and his voice cracking.
"An hour since you went to sleep G- how you feeling?" the larger man asked. Slowly Callen pulled himself up into a seated position.
"Like I got hit by a truck" he commented, rare honesty being expressed in relation to his health displaying to Sam just how badly the other man must be feeling.
"Here- Hetty left these for you for when you woke up. She checked and it's safe to take" Sam explained handing his friend two pain killers and a bottle or water. Silently he surveyed the lead agent, and noted that he had regained some colour and did look better than he did an hour ago- even if not completely back to normal.
"Thanks" Callen stated sipping at the water, and feeling the relief as it hit his parched throat.
"You up for this G?" he asked, and both men knew what he was asking.
"Of course" Callen responded, pulling himself up to his feet with only a slight sway.
"No so fast Mr Callen" the ops manager interjected reappearing beside the partner's with a stealth that no one could understand. Callen stifled a groan at the appearance, whilst Sam struggled not to chuckle at his friend's reaction. "Sit back down, you were aware of the conditions of the deal" she stated, pulling on her rubber gloves and removing a thermometer from her pocket. Sam stepped away, unwilling to be dragged into this battle between his partner and his boss.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
"Once the mission is completed you have an early morning appointment with a physician for blood tests and a full workup, there is no room for argument Mr Callen" Hetty stated.
"I am fine Hetty" the agent stated tiredly.
"You nearly died Mr Callen, and I have invested far too much time and effort into making this team the force that it is for it to be wasted by you not getting the necessary attention. Now you either agree to my terms or I ship you off to the hospital right now" Hetty stated, her tone firm.
"Fine, I will do as you say" Callen responded, unable to spare the energy for any further argument.
"Good, and then you will do whatever the doctor says tomorrow- and again no arguments" Hetty added.
"Fine, now what's the plan for tonight" he asked, finishing the bottle of water the tremor to his hands less noticeable Hetty was pleased to observe.
"The team are waiting for you in the armoury" she told him. "Be careful Mr Callen" she bid him hoping against hope that she wouldn't regret her decision to allow him in on the op.
LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
Callen removed the clip from his SIG and focussed on cleaning his weapon, his fingers feeling heavy and uncontrollable he focussed on the conversation going on around him.
"Ops is monitoring all water sensors and access points to underground utilities. And GWP is ready to cut off the water supply at a moment's notice." Sam informed the team as he cleaned his own side arm.
"We've got local law enforcement and Kaleidoscope looking for them. Eventually they're going to have to show themselves." Deeks added.
Callen attempted to fasten the clip back into his gun, having nothing to add to the conversation. His hands still refusing to do as his brain intended and the clip clattered to the table, a bullet rolling out and by some miracle the lead agent managed to catch it before it rolled to the floor. His frustration showing a breath escaped him before he could stop it- he knew that gazes of the team were fixed on him and as much as he appreciated the care he hated the attention.
"Callen, you sure you don't want to guide us from Ops?" Kensi asked quietly, knowing her friend well enough not to push but unable to ignore the concern she felt for the still struggling team leader.
"I'm fine." He stated, not looking at any of his team and focussing solely on reloading his weapon. He could feel Sam's gaze burning into him- and he knew full well that his partner wasn't buying his act for a second, yet he was unwilling to back down on it.
"Yeah? 'Cause a couple of hours ago you could barely move." Deeks commented, being unusually direct to the team leader. He wasn't blind and he could clearly see that Callen needed nothing more than to be wrapped up in a duvet and put to bed.
"You want to arm wrestle?" Callen challenged the detective for lack of anything else to say to the younger man.
"Fair enough." Deeks grinned, knowing when he was beaten- but still determined to keep an eye on the man that he had grown to consider one of his best friends.
The End
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