Author's note: Hey guys! Sorry for the crazy wait. I knew exactly how I wanted this chapter to end but I had some trouble filling the events from where I left off last chapter, so it took me a while. As a result, there's a lot of fluff in this chapter which isn't my favorite thing to write but everything was driven by angst and worry for Callen, which is something I love 😊 Writing this has been so fun and rewarding with your reviews. I really can't thank you all enough for that part because I know you don't have to write anything at all.
"Don't worry G, he was neutralized, Miller confirmed it." Sam quickly answered.
"No, no, the heat signature, how many…" His voice trailed off as the medications seemed to be taking effect. "One more…" he slurred and that was the last coherent word Sam heard before Callen slumped limply against the hands holding him up as he passed out.
"One more what…? G?" Sam turned to look at Ames. "Doc, what's wrong? What happened?"
"He's out." One of the nurses answered for Ames and Sam shook his head. The agent was beside himself.
"I need to know what he was talking about! You said he couldn't be knocked out or his chances went down, why did you-"
"The dose wasn't strong enough to knock him out." Ames interrupted. "His body's too exhausted, this is a natural sleep not induced by medications, he'll be okay." The ER doctor tried to calm the agent who had now witnessed his friend lose consciousness for the second time today.
There was a quiet pause where all the medical personnel continued to work on Callen, many still holding his limp body up on his side. One nurse finally spoke up. "Are we in danger here?"
Sam looked to his left to see a nurse staring right at him. He knew what she was referring to, the last words G had spoken about the shooter. "The sniper was found and taken care of, everything's fine now." Sam assured the crowd.
"Alright, the bleeding's under control." Clemens suddenly reported to the room. "The entry wound is sutured and starting to clot."
Sam glanced up at the surgeon and then looked down at Callen's back. The amount of blood that coated his friend's skin, the surgeon's hands, and the floor was concerning, to say the least.
"That's a lot of blood." Sam stated in apprehension. No wonder his friend had passed out.
Clemens nodded his understanding and spoke. "He was on blood thinners after the surgery. It's procedure, however, when he had the seizure he reopened his stitches and the bleeding was excessive, it's under control now though." Sam broke his eye contact with the surgeon and looked down at his friend's lax face. It was comforting to know at least his partner wasn't in pain at the moment.
The surgeon looked up at Sam again and spoke. "Sam, thankyou for your help. Jordan why don't you bring him back to the waiting room so we can get Agent Callen settled for the night, and get this room cleaned up."
Sam knew better not to argue. Twice now, these doctors had let him stay in the room while they worked on his best friend and surrogate brother. That had never been allowed before, not even with his own family and kids.
"Okay. Thanks for everything guys." The agent glanced at both doctors before reluctantly turning and heading out the door. He took one more glance at G's side lying form before he exited the room into the quiet hallway.
Once in the hallway, Sam shook his head, he couldn't figure it out. "Why did they let me in there?" Sam spoke aloud but the thought was merely for himself.
Jordan glanced at Sam and offered an answered. "Both Ames and Clemens were surgeons in the army before they were surgeons here. They're old school you could say. They also treat similarly. I guess in their field experience they found no medicine works as well as people do."
Sam looked at Jordan and then down at the floor. He nodded his understanding as he shared the same outlook. He also shared many first-hand experiences, back when he was a SEAL.
"I gotta thank him later." Sam stated aloud, again, more to himself than to the op nurse.
Sam rounded the corner and pushed through the waiting room door, nodding his thanks to the nurse who had walked him back.
As soon as Sam pushed through the door, Kensi and Deeks shot up from their seats in obvious distress. Hetty's eyes bore holes in Sam's face trying to read his facial expressions and Nell spoke immediately. "What happened to him? Is he okay?"
Sam quickly nodded and spoke to his worried colleagues. "He had a seizure and they were having trouble removing the breathing tube after he came out of it, I just talked to him." Sam stated simply. "He's passed out now, not in pain at the moment which is great." The agent added, trying hard to find the positives in this scary situation.
His coworkers looked relieved but Hetty pressed on. "A seizure? I don't remember him sustaining any head trauma during..." Sam looked at her and shook his head in question. "I don't know why he had one, he didn't hit his head I don't think."
Nell chimed in. "You can have one if you have a high fever too." The tech agent tried to come up with a logical explanation for her friend's symptoms, it was her nature after all.
Kensi finally spoke. "Well, when can we see him?"
Sam shook his head again. "I'm not sure, they said once he's cleaned up, and I'm assuming stable." Sam offered. Kensi looked disappointed and gazed away from Sam and down at the floor.
It looked like the agents would just have to wait, again.
xxxx
About forty-five minutes later, a voice broke the light banter between the NCIS agents in the small waiting room. "Family of Callen?"
All six heads snapped up and made eye contact with the dark haired, averaged height man with a white coat and scrubs on.
"My name is Dr. Clemens, I operated on your friend earlier. I wanted to let you know he is stable and in recovery."
Everyone sighed in relief. "Thankyou Dr. Clemens. Is he awake?" Hetty asked eagerly. She needed to see her boy.
"No he is not." And just like that the surgeon crushed her hopes.
"However, I know you've all been waiting here for a long time, so I will allow one, a maximum of two, visitors at a time to see him now… if you'd like."
The agents looked at each other and back at the surgeon gratefully. They were finally going to see Callen safe in a hospital bed after this long night and morning they all bore witness too.
Sam looked at Hetty while the surgeon waited. "I'll go last." He declared. "You all need to see him first… and to talk some sense into him so he stops scaring us half to death."
Kensi nodded and looked at Deeks. "Hetty why don't you go, we'll go after you." Nell and Eric nodded their agreement and saw Hetty stand up.
The small woman walked up to the surgeon and said, "Shall we?"
"Of course." Clemens uttered.
The pair moved out of the waiting room and into the hallway as the door shut behind them. The surgeon looked down at Hetty and spoke. "Ms. Lange, as you are G Callen's healthcare proxy, I wanted to update you on his most recent status."
She nodded, curious what the surgeon was about to tell her. "Yes, Mr. Clemens."
"I wanted to prepare you, it appears Agent Callen has been having nightmares since he's been unconscious. My guess is they are linked to the events that lead to his admittance today which is not unusual considering what he's gone through. I don't know if you have experience with this but I wanted to prepare you none the less." Hetty did not look up.
"Oh Mr. Clemens." She began. "I unfortunately am too familiar with the repercussions this job has on my agents, on Mr. Callen especially. He was dealt a tough hand and has been through too much hardship in his lifetime already." She stated sadly without looking at the surgeon.
Clemens looked down at his feet. He felt foolish for assuming his patient's social history was unscathed. He knew the agent had a history of gunshot wounds but other than that, the man was a mystery to him.
"He also has been talking in his sleep, I haven't been able to understand any of what he's saying though." The surgeon added. Hetty nodded again without looking up. She did not seem phased or surprised by what Clemens had just told her and the surgeon became even more intrigued by his patient than he was before.
The two reached Callen's room and Clemens lead Hetty through the door.
The operations manager stepped over the threshold and finally looked up in search for her surrogate son. She saw Callen's supine form on the hospital bed but was unable to see his face as it was turned away from the door towards the wall. She could see the slow rise and fall of his chest that was half covered by white dressings. She hastily moved forward towards the bed and looked down at Callen who was quietly mumbling in an obvious restless sleep.
Hetty placed one hand on the side of the lead agent's chin, the other on his forehead and gently turned his head so it was facing up towards the ceiling. The agent's eyes were scrunched shut and he muttered something that Dr. Clemens still could not understand. The surgeon stood back in a trans waiting to see if the NCIS manager could calm his agitated patient.
"Oh my dear boy, just rest now, you are safe." Hetty stroked the agent's forehead in an attempt to calm his terror filled dreams. Callen tilted his head to the side which increased the pressure his cheek made against Hetty's small palm. He continued to mumble, some words louder than others, all seemingly incomprehensible.
"Baiatul meu." Hetty repeated her previous statement in Romanian. "Ma odihnesc acum." She stroked the agent's forehead trying to calm him.
The surgeon shook his head in disbelief. He felt like the dumbest man on the planet. So apparently his patient was speaking a different language which is why he couldn't understand his restless statements. That certainly explained a lot.
After a few seconds, the agent's scrunched expression lessened and his mumbles began to quiet. "That's it, esti in siguranta." Callen's expression continued to soften and suddenly, his eye lids fluttered and cracked open. He looked confused and alarmed but seeing the blue orbs brought joy to Hetty's heart. "Everyone is okay, just rest for now, we are all here." Callen looked towards Hetty but the ops manager was unsure if her agent was truly seeing her.
"You will rest Mr. Callen, that's an order." Callen shut his eyes and after a few moments, nodded his understanding. He let his head slowly turn to the side as he welcomed the blackness of sleep once again. He had heard Hetty's voice near his ear and knew he was safe again.
xxxx
Over the next hour, everyone had gotten a chance to see Callen and confirm that he was quietly resting and out of danger. Once the lead agent had been cleaned up and stabilized, Dr. Ames had returned back downstairs to finish off the end of his shift before he was to head home. On the other end, Dr. Clemens had just started his shift and was off performing back to back scheduled heart surgeries while Callen continued to rest.
Nell and Eric were sent back to the OSP building to review the mission and figure out who these people were that had assumingly targeted Callen directly. They were to start by IDing the suspects in the morgue and figure out what ties, if any, they may have had with the NCIS agent.
After sitting with Callen for twenty minutes or so, Hetty had since returned to the operating waiting room and had no intentions of leaving any time soon. She kicked back and read a book she had left in her car, making sure to stay in close-proximity to her vulnerable agent down the hall.
Kensi and Deeks had relieved themselves to the cafeteria for some much-needed breakfast but had intended to return and keep Hetty company while Sam stayed in Callen's room, once they were finished.
Sam sat next to Callen's sleeping form in utter silence. His elbows were rested on the bed next to G's lifeless arm and his hands covered his mouth. Sam was staring blanky at Callen's hand which revealed small jagged cuts the tile pieces must have made when the sniper was shooting at them in the hallway. Sam had matching cuts across both his forearms that had yet to be cleaned, but he could care less about them right now.
G began to stir suddenly and his eyes fluttered. Sam switched his gaze to his friend's face and waited with hope to see if his partner was coming to. To his excitement, Callen's eyes finally cracked open and were trained up at the ceiling. "G, you're awake."
The young agent's eyes suddenly darted to his left and he made eye contact with his partner. "Jesus, you scared me." Callen shut his eyes, and then after a moment, reopened them. "And good observation."
The edges of Sam's mouth suddenly crept up as his previous worried expression shifted to amusement and relief. "Sorry man, you've been sleeping for way too long, you're so lazy." Sam added the last statement as a jab which finally caused Callen to crack a smile.
"God, I feel like I've been hit by a train." Callen stated as he squeezed his eyes shut in obvious discomfort. His voice still sounded raspy and weak but Sam couldn't be happier to hear his old friend talking like himself again.
"Do you want me to get the doctor?" Sam asked but G had already started shaking his head no before he spoke it. "No, please, I hate how foggy those meds make me feel." Sam nodded his understanding and continued to stare at his partner's face. The two sat in silence for a few minutes until Callen finally spoke.
"Thanks for being in there with me man."
Sam looked up at Callen's face and replied. "Of course, I still can't believe they even let me though."
Callen's brow furrowed in thought prompting him to ask. "Wait, what kind of strings did you pull to get access to my room during all that?"
Sam shook his head, still in disbelief and answered. "It was your ER doc, Dr. Ames. He was apparently a surgeon in the army and understands the importance of teammates in the field, he saved your life, him and your surgeon."
Callen looked away from Sam's gaze and shook his head in astonishment. "Wow, I gotta thank him…" The lead agent stated to himself.
Sam let out a snort of amusement and agreed. "That's exactly what I said during the second walk I took when I left your room and all that chaos. He literally asked for my help, he's a good guy."
Callen shut his eyes, he was becoming more aware and alert which he liked, but his body was so tired and painful. It was beckoning him to sleep again. "Hey can you get me some pants to wear, and maybe a gallon of water to drink, my throat is killing me."
Sam let out a chuckle and stood, turning his back to his friend and walking towards the small closet next to the door. "The pants, I can do." Sam grabbed a blue pair of hospital scrubs from the shelf and threw them towards his friend. The material landed on Callen's blanket-covered legs which the lead agent quickly grabbed and worked to don. "The water not so much, they did leave you ice chips to have for now though." Callen nodded his thanks and after getting the pants on, he was wiped.
Sam took a look at his partner and could tell he was drifting again. "Why don't you rest for now, it's almost time for rounds and your surgeon should be checking in with you sometime soon."
Callen sighed tiredly. He let out a yawn and then started rubbing at his chest. "This is itchy." He stated as his fingers reached through the white dressings in an attempt to relieve his discomfort. "Ow! Shit…" Callen gasped and removed his hand, he had hit something that was tender which shot a wave of pain through his chest and down his arm.
"Jesus G, leave it alone." Sam reached for his hand and pinned it gently down to the bedspread. "You got shot and had surgery, don't scratch at it, you can't just poke at an incision."
Callen sighed. "It was itchy Sam, if something itches you itch it." Callen knew he was being stubborn but he hated being pampered, or told what to do. G reached his hand up towards the dressings once again instinctively to relieve the itch again.
Sam intercepted his reach and returned his hand back down to the bed. "Don't touch it."
Callen groaned in frustration, he was already bored. This was going to suck royally.
Sam exhaled audibly. He knew his friend was in pain and knew he hated hospitals purely due to the sheer boredom of the whole patient experience. He looked around and reached for the remote. "Why don't I turn on the TV for you. I'm gonna let someone know you're awake too."
The agent pouted and shut his eyes. "Yeah, sure."
Sam clicked the power button on and moved the monitor closer to G's face. He placed the remote on Callen's lap and then picked up his partner's hand, positioning it on top of the remote. "Okay, there you go, why don't you put on your favorite show." Callen slowly opened his eyes and glared at Sam. "You know I don't watch TV."
Sam let out a chuckle "I know buddy. Okay, I gotta go make a phone call, can you just not do anything stupid for like five minutes?"
"Probably." Callen stated in his raspy voice. Sam turned to leave.
"Sam?" Callen called out and Sam quickly turned around. "No narcotics, but I could use a high dose Advil, can you ask?" Sam nodded seriously and replied. "Say no more buddy, I'm on it."
Sam continued to look at Callen. "I'm so glad you're awake man, you really scared me this time." Callen looked down awkwardly and then back up at his surrogate brother. "I scared myself, thanks for everything though Sam."
The tall agent gave his friend a smile before he exited the room and made his way down the hall. He had to call Eric. He had just remembered Callen's comment about the fourth heat signature and wanted to get Nell and Eric working on a head count of fatalities for the operation last night.
Sam made a stop at the surgical floor desk and informed the nurse sitting there that Callen had woken up and that he was in pain but was refusing narcotics. The nurse nodded her understanding and made her way to inform a doctor on call as Clemens was stuck in surgery. Sam voiced his thanks and then headed down the stairs to the first floor. He needed some air and wanted to get out of all these small rooms he had been subjected to while waiting for Callen to recover. He walked through the ER hallway and took a seat in one of the chairs nearest the front entrance.
Sam pulled out his cellphone and dialed Eric's number in the Ops Center. The phone rang twice and the agent shut his eyes in exhaustion. "Hello Sam, what can I do for you?"
"Hey Eric, I need you to look up-" Sam was suddenly shoved forward out of his seat and was swiftly kicked in the side of the jaw. He was caught completely off guard and his phone went flying. Sam flipped onto his back instinctively to figure out who had just hit him when a man in a grey hoodie jumped on top of his body and pinned him to the floor.
The man held a gun trained right at Sam's head and spit out in a heavy Russian accent: "Where's the agent Callen, tell me NOW!"
All the people in the waiting room reacted and many screamed in terror as they ran away from the entrance. "He has a gun!" One woman screamed as she lifted her young daughter up and away from the scene.
A nurse at the front had ducked down beneath her triage window as soon as she saw the gun and yelled. "Someone call in a Code Silver, get security down here now!" She screamed to nurses behind her.
TBC
