The team sat waiting in the hospital, desperate to hear that their friend and colleague was alive and would be fine. Nell met them at the hospital, she had left Ops as soon as she sent the helicopter in; she'd had it on standby, so Callen and Kerry could be flown to the nearest hospital as soon as possible.
"Hetty Lange?" A doctor appeared in the waiting room, startled to see seven people waiting to hear about one patient – but he was aware that the patient was a Federal Agent. Hetty stood up and the doctor recognised her, although he hadn't remembered the name. "Nice to meet you again Miss Lange, well I guess not." She smiled and nodded for him to continue.
"Doctor?" Sam asked, cautiously.
"You are all here for ?" They nodded. "He is stable, although still unconscious and the surgery went perfectly well. He should make a full recovery – but he needs to take the full amount of leave from work this time." None of them believed that would ever happen but Hetty allowed him to carry on. "The stab wound ruptured his spleen but luckily missed his vital organs; he has lost a lot of blood but we have given him a transfusion so that will not be a problem. It appears he was hit so many times around the head that he has suffered severe concussion and will likely be very confused when he wakes up. He should regain consciousness tomorrow; one of you will need to be here for that…"
But a crash from down the corridor interrupted the doctor Sam followed him, guessing that Callen had probably woken up earlier than he was meant to.
What the hell? Callen was so lost and confused; he had no idea where he was or why he was there. He could see that it was a hospital and knew deep down that the nurses didn't want to hurt him, but one of them had tried to stab a needle in his arm just as he woke up and his instincts had taken over. He was stood with the nurse in a headlock and he backed up against the window, just as the door flew open and a doctor came in, followed closely by someone Callen trusted above most others.
"Sam?" He asked, scared.
"G? What are you doing now? Why can't you just sleep when you are supposed to?" Sam put his hand on the doctor's shoulder and walked towards his partner. Callen let go of the nurse and started apologising desperately, before grabbing his head in severe pain.
"I'm so sorry; I just... I didn't know what was going on..." But she cut him off with a soft smile.
"Don't worry Mr Callen, I understand. Can I give you the injection now please?"
"No!" Callen shook his head.
"G? Just have the injection… I can't believe you can laugh in the face of a man with a gun that wants you dead, and you don't care about a stab wound, but one little needle scares the hell out of you." Sam couldn't stop laughing and Callen glared at him, he nodded to the nurse and she stuck it in his arm really quickly, it was done in a matter of seconds.
Hetty stood in the waiting room and listened to Sam's account of what had happened, she agreed that his fear was irrational – considering what he wasn't afraid of – but Callen hadn't given Nate the chance to try and cure him of his phobia. Moments later, Kerry came running into the waiting room asking about Gabriel.
"Hetty? Is he alive?" She was so relieved when Hetty explained that he would be fine after some rest. "Can I see him?" She asked, Hetty asked her to wait a moment. The doctor had just finished checking over Callen's injuries agreed that he could see his visitors now, although he limited it to no more than four at once.
Hetty entered the room with Sam, Nate and Kerry only to find Callen glaring at the IV in his arm, blatantly considering ripping it out. When Callen looked up to see those closest to him, he grinned and looked happier than he had for a good long while.
"Gabriel!" Kerry flew towards Callen and wrapped her arms around him, making sure she didn't touch his side. "Is it true? You're going to be alright?" Callen laughed and moved over so Kerry could sit on the bed beside him.
"Yeah, I've had worse, don't worry." His words were intended to comfort her but the girl turned to Hetty in horror and asked for an explanation. "Kerry, don't worry. I was shot a few times, that's all." Callen tried to reassure her and Sam chuckled.
"That's true, although you were shot five times at once the one time." Callen rolled his eyes.
"Shut up Sam!"
Callen was so pleased to have his friends with him; it made him so much better than he would ever admit. He also found himself delighted to have Kerry there too, not just because they had a history and he was glad she was alright… he really liked her. He couldn't stop staring at her, she was beautiful and he had always hoped that she would be safe and happy.
"Callen?" He looked up to see Kensi, Deeks, Nell and Eric peering through the door. He waved them in with a smile; they were his family too. "We're going to head home, we just wanted to see you and say we're glad your okay." They all came over and gave Callen a hug or shook his hand – Deeks and Eric weren't really hugging people but neither was Callen, although he made an exception for the girls.
"Thanks guys, I'll see you tomorrow… right?" They nodded, confused by his careful question and left to get some sleep.
"I think you should also consider getting some rest Mr Callen." Hetty sounded serious, but he doubted he would fall asleep.
"I'll lie here and try Hetty, but you know me – I don't sleep, even when I'm pumped full of sedatives, I know that's what the nurse gave me." Hetty nodded and sat down in a chair just beside the bed, Sam and Nate took to sitting in the chairs beside her; none of them were planning on leaving any time soon.
"Gabriel?" Kerry whispered, Callen looked at her gently with a smile. "Can I stay?" She asked and he didn't even have to think about it; he wanted nothing more. He shuffled over and let her lie beside him.
"Just like the old days…" He laughed; Kerry smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. Within minutes he could feel her breath slow down and he knew she was asleep. Her presence calmed him down and he felt the sedatives finally kicking in; it wasn't long before Callen also fell to sleep.
Sam stared at Callen as he slept, he had never seen his partner like this, sensitive and calmly asleep. Callen was known for keeping his emotions 'close to the vest' and for his chronic insomnia; he never slept for more than an hour or two at a time and he was often found 'catnapping' at his desk at work. Sam wouldn't believe how quiet his friend was, he had seen him sleeping on the couch at work and he knew he often slept there. G was always rolling around and muttering in his sleep, Sam was often worried about the nightmares he seemed to suffer through, but G had never spoken about them and Sam doubted he would for a long time.
"Hetty?" Nate had finally spoken; the room had been silent since Callen had fallen asleep that Sam and Hetty both jumped a little at the sudden sound.
"When Johnson had Callen on the floor and he was unconscious, what was it that you said to him?" Nate spoke cautiously, he was careful in case it had been private, but Hetty didn't mind sharing at all.
"Wake up my son, you have not finished yet. You still have to find your name and your family and you can't break your promise to Kerry." Sam smiled, it wasn't surprising that Callen had come to after Hetty's words; she had only told him what he needed to remember to stay alive.
"Do you think he would have woken up if you hadn't said anything?" Sam asked, curious.
"I don't know Mr Hanna; I don't think we ever will."
"He would have died if he hadn't been able to get free, I still don't know how he did it but we couldn't have saved him." Sam's voice broke and Nate put a hand on his shoulder.
"You don't know that Sam, besides, it wouldn't have been your fault if that had been the case. Callen knows what he is doing – at least half of the time – and he understands the risks he takes every single day. He would not allow you to blame yourself." Sam felt a little better after that, but he couldn't cope with the idea that he couldn't save his partner, that he couldn't have stopped Johnson from killing him. Then Sam remembered that G had whispered something before he passed out.
"Hetty, he whispered something in Romanian before he blacked out, what did he say?" Hetty looked at Callen asleep on the bed with a sad look on her face.
"I'm sorry momma, I failed you again." Hetty looked like she was about to cry, his words had really hurt her, and they hurt Sam too.
"I'm gonna kill him when he wakes up." Sam growled, which made Hetty and Nate laugh, now all they had to do was wait for their friend to wake up.
