Chapter 4
Hetty and Nate walked over to the nurses' desk to have them page Dr. Thompson down so they could speak to them. Hetty knew that Dr. Thompson had said that Deeks needed to be here for three days, but she wanted to speak to him once again to make sure that was the earliest that Deeks could go home. She knew that Deeks hated hospitals and she could understand that from how often he was in the hospital from growing up. She knew that having Deeks being back home would be the best thing for him. She was just hoping that he would only have to be here for three days. After a few minutes Dr. Thompson came over to them.
"What can I do for you both?" Dr. Thompson asked politely.
"Dr. Thompson, this is Dr. Nate Getz, he is the team psychologist. We just wanted to have a quick word with you in regards to Mr. Deeks' condition." Hetty began.
"Of course. I'm sure you have been briefed about Mr. Deeks' injuries." Dr. Thompson said to Nate.
"I have gone over the medical file. I understand he does have a lot of injuries, but they are minor ones. The most concerning is his concussion. Ideally the best thing for Marty is to be home. He hasn't been home in eight months. I'm just wondering when he will be able to leave the hospital." Nate said.
"The sooner the better. Mr. Deeks doesn't do well in hospitals; he's been in them too much from growing up." Hetty added.
"I've seen his medical file, it was rather large. I can understand that he doesn't like hospitals, no one really does. My concern is the concussion and yes his injuries are minor; however, a lot of minor injuries can be just as dangerous as a serious injury. I'm going to stand by my original opinion that Mr. Deeks needs to be here for at least three days. After those three days if he hasn't had any complications and he seems to be healing well then I will be comfortable letting him go home. I can understand that mentally and emotionally his need to be home and around his things. I want him to be home as well, especially with the withdrawals. He needs to be here at least three days though."
"That's understandable and I wouldn't want Mr. Deeks to be going home if it's not physically safe for him to do so. I think we can manage to keep him here for three days." Hetty said.
"I also would like to speak to him perhaps tomorrow about some rehab options. I know this isn't an easy topic to discuss, but he should know about the options available to him. Also what the withdrawals will be like." Dr. Thompson said.
"I appreciate that Dr. Thompson, but I think it would be best if I took care of that. Mr. Deeks won't be very open and happy with discussing the heroin. It might be best to come from me." Hetty said.
"Very well, I will get you some information and pamphlets on rehab options for him. For now the best thing for him is to sleep and keep hydrated. He needs to eat, but his body isn't used to eating so he needs to take it slow. A nurse is going to bring him some Jell-O in about an hour for him to try and eat."
"We will do what we can. Agent Hanna is with him right now. The target of Mr. Deeks' operation is still out there. So until we have arrested the target one of my agents will be with Mr. Deeks as protection." Hetty said.
"That is fine and I will let the nurses know so they won't give any of your agents a problem. Do either of you have any more questions for me?"
"Not right now. Thank-you." Hetty said.
"Not a problem." Dr. Thompson said before he walked off.
Hetty turned to Nate.
"Do you think three days here will be a problem for Mr. Deeks?"
"Not if he knows that at the end of it he can go home. He needs to be home Hetty. He needs to be around his own things and back on the beach. I need to figure out a way to get him talking and not just about this. You know just as well as I do that Marty has a lot of rage about growing up. If he doesn't deal with what happened growing up he could explode after everything that happened. I've read the same files that you have, what happened to him will only drag all of those memories up."
"He doesn't know that you know. He might believe that I know about it, but he's never said anything nor have I. I don't know what he is going to be like after all of this. I just hope we can get him past the withdrawals. The rest of the team hasn't thought about it, but there is still a very good chance that Mr. Deeks won't get clean right away. He's been on heroin for eight months, forced or not his body needs the drug. He might not be able to say no."
Nate let out a sigh. "I have thought about that and I won't know more until I speak to him and a few days have gone by. He might not start going through withdrawals for four or five days from now. Unfortunately this isn't something we will know until he starts to go through the withdrawals."
"The heroin is clouding his memories, but once the heroin is out of his system those memories will start to come back. Along with the ones from growing up. Hopefully he will be able to push through this with our help. I would hate to see him go back down the wrong path after everything he has done to get out of that world."
"If he's awake when I get back to his room then I'll speak to him and see if I can get him to start talking to me. I don't know how well that will go over right now though."
"All you can do is try. No one can make Mr. Deeks get better, he has to want to."
"It's him wanting to that I'm worried about. It's too easy for Marty to hide under an alias. It might be too tempting for him to escape from his world and just be someone else."
"Hopefully that does not happen. I would hate to lose Mr. Deeks to anyone, but especially himself. Go and speak to him if you can. I will go back to Ops and see how everything is going there."
"We'll get him through this Hetty, it just might not happen as quickly as we would all like."
"I know. Mr. Deeks is strong, we got him out and back home the rest is up to him."
Nate gave a nod and watched as Hetty walked down the hallway to the elevator. Nate headed back the other way to go to Deeks' room. He didn't know if Deeks would still be awake or not. His body was exhausted and it needed sleep. Nate headed back to Deeks' hospital room and figured he would see if Deeks was awake or not.
Sam went back into Deeks' hospital room to see Deeks was lying down, but he wasn't sleeping. Sam could see the exhaustion in Deeks' eyes, but he wasn't giving in to it yet. When Sam opened the door Deeks' head snapped over to it and Sam could see the fear in Deeks' eyes. When he saw it was Sam he relaxed slightly. Sam came over to the right side of the bed and sat down in the chair.
"You guys all done talking about me?" Deeks said with a slight snap to his voice.
"Hetty was just getting us organized. Kensi and G are going to get a tactical squad together to go and raid the bar. We all just want to make sure we got everyone. Nate and Hetty are speaking to your doctor to see when the earliest you can leave is."
"I guess there's no chance of that being today."
"No, it's probably going to be three days, but today counts as a day, so really only two more after today."
"So what are you doing here? You get the short straw?"
"No, I wanted to be here. Nate will probably be back in to speak to you later. We also need to get you to eat something."
"Not hungry."
"That's because you are used to not eating properly. You need to start to get back into eating properly. You need to get your strength back. I'll get you on an eating plan and fitness plan and you'll be back to your old weight before you know it." Sam said with a smirk.
"I thought thin was the new in."
"Not for men. Or women in my opinion. A man needs a little bit of curves to admire."
"Some more than others." Deeks said with a weak voice.
Over the course of the last hour Deeks' voice was getting worse and worse. It was still healing from what happened to him and Sam knew Deeks shouldn't be talking so much for a few days. Deeks closed his eyes and Sam thought that he was going to fall asleep. He wasn't on any pain medication, because of the level of heroin in his system still. Sam was just glad that Deeks wasn't in pain yet at least. Deeks opened his eyes slightly and asked Sam what he had been afraid to ask earlier.
"How many were in the house?"
"Eleven total, all are dead."
"Did you ID them?"
"We did. It took a little while, but Eric and Nell did manage to get all of their names."
"Was he there?" Deeks asked with a shaky voice.
"Deeks"
"Don't Sam, don't lie to me. Just tell me, was Martinez there?"
"He wasn't, but we are going to find him Deeks. Hetty has killed the alias off, so as far as anyone knows James Denver is dead. We will find Martinez. Callen and Kensi are going to the bar, he's probably there. We'll get him." Sam said in a serious voice.
"Do me a favor."
"Anything"
"Don't take him alive."
"None of us plan on it. You are safe Deeks I give you my word." Sam said as he looked Deeks right in the eyes.
Deeks just gave a weak nod and tried to get the fear under control. His mind was just so exhausted that he couldn't even think straight. He just wanted to be back home with the view of the beach and in his own bed. He just wanted to be able to curl up in his own bed and sleep the memories and the pain away.
"You okay?" Sam asked as he saw Deeks get really quiet.
"I just want to go home." Deeks simply said.
"I know you do, I don't blame you. The time will go by fast. Most of the next few days you are just going to sleep away anyways. You'll be home soon."
"It's probably a huge mess right now. At least all my bills are automatically paid through my bank account. So I guess it could be worse, I could be homeless right now."
"You would never be homeless. As for your place we'll make sure that when you can leave this place that your apartment is liveable. You are family Deeks and we take care of our family."
The door to the room opened and Nate walked in. He gave Deeks a smile before he went over to the left side of the bed and sat down in one of the chairs there.
"Hello Marty."
"Hey Doc. Are you here to spring me?"
"Not yet. Dr. Thompson wants you here for at least three days to make sure there are no surprised complications. So as long as nothing happens then in two days from now you will be able to leave and go home. That was the best that we could do."
"Well at least it's something to count down to." Deeks said with a hoarse voice.
"Three days will go by fast and then you can be home. I'm sure there is a way we can figure out how to sneak Monty in at some point." Nate said with a smile.
"Kensi has him right?" Deeks asked with a smile.
"She does. G, actually had him for a little while in between. I think G is actually thinking about getting one of his own. I think he wants a retired police dog as well. Monty actually came with us on a few operations and that damn mutt found another bomb for us. You would never know by looking at him that he's a police dog." Sam said.
"That's the point in bomb dogs, so you don't expect them to be a police dog. German shepherds are too easy to figure out. Monty doesn't look like a police dog so no one thinks twice about him." Deeks said.
"Oh the suspect didn't. He tried to run and Monty grabbed him by the ankle and wouldn't let him go." Sam said with a smile.
Deeks smiled at the thought of Monty attacking a suspect. He was a very gentle dog, but when he was on duty he could surprise you.
"That must have made him hyper for the rest of the day." Deeks said.
"It did. Kensi had to take him outside for a few runs around the track that night to get him to sleep. He's a good dog."
"He's a great dog. I miss him."
"I'm sure Kensi will figure out a way to sneak him in." Nate said.
"We could always say he's a service dog." Sam added.
"Have to get Callen to charm one of the nurses." Deeks said.
"That could work. It might also get him a date to go with it." Sam said.
"He could use some social interaction. How about a coffee Sam?" Nate asked.
"Ya I could go for one. Do you want one?" Sam asked Nate knowing that Nate just wanted Sam out of the room for a few minutes.
"Ya that would be great." Nate said back with a smile.
"I'll be right back." Sam said as he got up and headed out of the room.
Deeks turned his head to look at Nate and he knew what Nate was doing. He knew that Nate would want to talk about what happened and about growing up. Deeks didn't know how much Nate knew about his childhood, but he knew that Nate knew some of it at least. The last thing Deeks wanted to do was talk about either of those topics.
"Marty'" Nate began, but Deeks cut him off.
"Not now Nate. I know that you want me to talk about it, but I can't right now. I'm tired, I'm just so tired." Deeks said and Nate knew that Deeks didn't just mean physically. Mentally and emotionally he was done for a few days. He needed rest and then he would be able to handle more.
"When you get back home we will have to start to get passed this. I can understand the need for a few days to adjust to being back and not in that basement. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, if you want to talk about anything."
"Thanks."
"You should get some sleep while you can before a nurse comes in to check on you. Sam and I will be here for a while. You are safe Marty, so give in to what your body needs and sleep." Nate said with a gentle smile.
Deeks just let out a breath and gave a small nod before he closed his eyes. It didn't take long before he was back asleep.
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Callen, Kensi and a NCIS tactical squad were outside by Crossroads Bar. Callen grabbed the picture of Jose Martinez and showed everyone as he spoke.
"This is the target if he is not in there we need some of these men alive so we can interrogate them. This man took one of our own and tortured him for eight months. Jose Martinez is the target and we need him dead or alive. He is the priority."
They all nodded their understanding and then took their positions. Once Callen gave the order they all stormed into the bar and started to get people down on the ground. Kensi saw Martinez going towards the back door. Kensi ran after him as she spoke into her comlink.
"Callen, I got Martinez he's going out the back."
Kensi ran after him and Callen ran out the front and around the back. Kensi got outside and raised her gun as she yelled at Martinez.
"Federal Agent, stop right there Martinez."
Martinez turned around and fired off a shot at Kensi. Kensi took cover quickly and fired one shot hitting Martinez dead center of his chest. Callen came around the back just in time to see Martinez going down to the ground. He looked over at Kensi as he spoke.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm good."
They went over to Martinez and saw that he was dead. A quick death was too good for him, but at least Deeks could have peace in knowing that it was over with now. Deeks was safe and that is all that they cared about. With Martinez dead there wouldn't be a trial and Deeks could just focus on moving on from all of this. Callen and Kensi went back inside the bar and saw that the tactical squad had everything under control. Callen went back outside of the bar and pulled out his cell phone to call Hetty and let her know that Martinez was dead. He then sent a text to Sam who was still at the hospital with Deeks to let him know as well. At least Deeks was safe.
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It had been a rough three days, but Deeks was finally able to get out of the hospital. He still hadn't spoken about what happened to Nate or to anyone. They knew they couldn't push, but that didn't make it any easier. They were just glad that Deeks was alive and able to leave the hospital. His doctor didn't want him to go just yet, but after the last three days he knew he wouldn't be able to get Deeks to agree to stay. Deeks had basically been climbing the walls with anxiety about being here. He wanted to be home and they could understand that. It had been eight months since he had been in his own apartment and able to sleep in his own bed. Right now that was all he wanted to do. He wanted to have a hot shower and just curl up and sleep. He wanted to be able to see the beach and feel the wind on his skin. He just wanted to be back home. Deeks had changed into the sweats that Kensi had brought for him. He was just finishing signing his discharge papers after hearing all about after care from the nurse. He had just handed her the clipboard when Sam, Kensi and Callen walked into the room, Kensi pushing in a wheelchair. The nurse smiled at them as she left and Deeks didn't waste a second before he spoke.
"What is that for?" Deeks asked as he pointed to the wheelchair.
"It's for you and its hospital policy so get over it." Kensi said back with a smile.
"I'm fine, I can walk."
"It's just a policy Deeks. The sooner you suck it up and get in it then the sooner we can leave this place and get you home." Sam said.
Deeks didn't look happy, but he wasn't going to argue with Sam. He just wanted to be home. He was already starting to feel the heroin leaving his system and he just wanted to be able to sleep through it. His body was in pain so the doctor had given him some OxyContin to take to help with the pain. Deeks wasn't one for taking drugs, but in the past eight months his body had grown dependent on the heroin and even though it was against his wishes, he still found himself craving it. Deeks didn't know what the withdrawals would be like, but he knew he wasn't looking forward to it. He had never gone through it himself, but he had seen other junkies going through it from being on the street and as a cop. Deeks knew it wasn't going to be fun. He was just hoping he could pull through it. Deeks wasn't a fool, he knew that heroin was the hardest of all of the drugs to quit and even though the heroin was forced into him he still found himself thinking about all of his contacts. He had made a lot of contacts in the drug world as Max Gentry and it wouldn't take long to get the heroin he needed. He wouldn't even have to pay for it he would just owe them a favor. That was what was dangerous about it. He could get a pound of heroin for being a body guard for one night. Deeks was worried he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of it all. Even though Deeks didn't want the heroin at some point he knew he stopped resisting it. He welcomed it, because it would stop the pain, it would stop his emotional pain and just let him escape for a little while. Those escapes are what he looked forward to the most in the last eight months. The ability to forget for a few hours was powerful and Deeks didn't know if he could get passed it without the heroin. Deeks got up off the bed and carefully went over to the wheelchair and sat down in it.
"Come on, let's get you home." Callen said with a smile.
The four of them left Deeks' hospital room and headed down the hallways and out of the building. Kensi had parked right out front and when she got to the passenger side door Deeks got up and got into the seat. Kensi went around to the driver side while Sam and Callen went over to Sam's car. They all took off for Deeks' apartment.
"Would you be able to keep Monty for a few more days for me?" Deeks asked.
"Of course I can. I can keep him for as long as you need. I know you are still in a lot of pain and the last thing you are going to want to do is take Monty for walks. Besides he's getting pretty used to coming to work with me. I don't know you may have lost a dog." Kensi said with a smile.
"Not a chance. I trained him; I got him off the streets. He'll never leave me."
"You found him?"
"Yup, I was undercover as a homeless man and he was a stray. He followed me everywhere and when the operation was over I couldn't help, but take him home. You think he's scruffy looking now you should have seen him before. He was all bones and his hair was matted and missing in some spots. He was a sad looking puppy. I brought him home with me and got him better then trained him to smell out bombs."
"That's actually a really cute story." Kensi said with a smile.
"You should have seen the look on Bates' face when I walked into the station with Monty. He smelt as bad as my clothes did." Deeks said with a smile, the first smile Kensi had seen since he got to the hospital.
"Yet he let you keep him."
"He did and when he found out that Monty had been helping to find bombs he even started to pay me extra to help out with Monty. He was never officially a police dog, but the force wanted to help pay for him even if he's not a traditional police dog."
"Well you don't look like a traditional cop so you and him make a great fit. He's a really sweet dog. Callen likes him, Sam he hates dogs and I think Monty knows it. Whenever I brought him into work he would sit and stare at Sam all day long." Kensi said with a laugh.
"He's a sensitive dog; he probably sensed that Sam didn't like him. He's a good dog."
"He is and he's really sweet. I'm gonna miss not having him around."
"We can set up play dates if you want." Deeks said lightly.
"We might have to. He's going to miss me." Kensi said with a cocky smile.
"Oh no, you spoiled him didn't you?"
"Oh I spoiled him and he loves techno now two."
"Oh God. You've corrupted my dog." Deeks said with a groan.
Kensi laughed and she was glad that they were able to still banter back and forth. She was worried that she had lost her partner for good and now she could see a glimmer of hope. He just might be able to pull through this and be back to his old self. They arrived at Deeks' apartment fifteen minutes later. Callen and Sam came over to the passenger side of Kensi's car and helped Deeks get out of the car. They all started to head towards Deeks' apartment and up the outside stairs. Callen and Sam stood close by just in case Deeks' legs gave out on him. He was out of the hospital, but his injuries were still serious and his body was still weak. They didn't want him pushing himself and further injuring himself. They went at Deeks' pace and made sure he was alright. When they got to his apartment Kensi unlocked the door with Deeks' spare key and they went in. The first thing Deeks noticed was that his apartment was clean.
"How is my apartment clean?" Deeks asked as he went over to his couch and sat down. He let out a breath as he felt his body shaking slightly from the walk to his apartment.
Deeks knew that the doctor said it would take a while before he was back to his normal endurance. Deeks wasn't happy about it, but he could live with it for now. He was just happy to be out of that hell hole and now back in his own apartment.
"We came by yesterday and cleaned it. We also stocked your fridge so you won't have to worry about food for a couple of weeks." Sam said.
"Thanks, you guys didn't have to do that." Deeks said with a small smile on his face.
"Oh don't thank us yet, you haven't seen what the food is. I tried to get junk food, but Sam said you can't live off Twinkies and ice cream." Kensi said with a smile.
"And yet here you stand." Deeks said with a smile.
"It's good healthy food to help build up your immune system and start getting weight back on you." Sam said.
"Kensi still snuck in some ice cream and junk though." Callen said with a lightness to his voice.
"I got my partner's back." Kensi said with a smile.
"Thanks guys." Deeks said.
"Do you need anything?" Sam asked.
"No I'm good. I'm just gonna shower and get some sleep."
"We can stay with you Deeks. We don't have anywhere to be." Sam said with a gentle tone.
"I know, but I really would like to just be by myself for a little while. I'm fine really. I'm just gonna shower and then sleep."
"Alright, if you need anything you call." Sam said in a serious voice.
"I will."
"I'll come by tomorrow and check in on you before I go to work. I'll bring Monty by so you can see him." Kensi said.
"Thanks that would be great."
"Take it easy Deeks and remember you need anything just call." Callen said.
"I'll be fine guys."
"See you tomorrow partner." Kensi said.
"See you tomorrow."
Callen and Kensi went to leave and Sam stood there just looking at Deeks.
"I'm okay. I'll call if I need to. I promise." Deeks said answering the silent question between them.
The last three days Sam had been by his side the whole time. He refused to leave and after the second day they had all given up on trying to get him to leave. Deeks had appreciated Sam being there for him. Deeks knew they had never really gotten along, but he knew that with Sam there no one would hurt him. At the time he needed that protection. Now he needed to know if he could be by himself again.
"They can't hurt you Deeks. You're safe remember that." Sam said in a serious voice.
"I know. I promise if I need to, I'll call Sam."
"Alright. Be safe and I'll come by tomorrow and see you."
"Ok"
Sam left with Callen and Kensi and they all headed back to Ops to let everyone know that Deeks was home safe. Deeks let out a breath as he looked around his living room. It had been so long since he had been home he almost felt like a stranger. He also felt relieved to finally be back home. Deeks decided he needed to shower before his body gave into the exhaustion. He pushed himself up off the couch and headed into the bathroom. He avoided looking in the mirror and just went about getting the water running. Once the water was the right temperature he got in and just let the hot water run over his battered and abused body. Deeks didn't know how long he had been just standing under the water, but he felt his body shaking with exhaustion so he decided he would quickly wash his hair and get out before he passed out. Once he was washed he got out and dried off and got dressed again. He went into his bedroom, holding onto the walls as he walked. He got into his room and headed straight for his bed. He got under the covers and laid down. It wasn't even two minutes later that he was fast asleep.
