Thanks so much for all your exceptionally nice comments for the last chapter. Can't begin to tell you how much it was appreciated :)

xxxxx

Sam walked slowly back to the waiting room, looking troubled. He had assumed that Deeks and Kensi would still be there, but he was a bit surprised that Hetty and Granger were still waiting, also.

"How is he, Mr. Hanna?" Hetty asked, giving Sam a concerned look. She could see by his expression that all was not well.

Sam shook his head slowly. "I don't know, Hetty," he admitted. "He does finally believe that I'm alive, at least, but…he's in a bad way. It's like he's lost all of his confidence…like he's given up…" Sam sighed as he sunk into a chair next to Deeks, but his eyes were on Granger. "Granger? You should go in and talk to him."

Granger gave Sam a baffled look. "Me? You've got to be kidding, Hanna. Of all the people in this room, I would be the least likely to do Agent Callen any good. Henrietta would definitely be a better choice."

"Actually, I beg to differ. I think you would be the ideal choice in this case," Sam said. "He's worried about his job. He thinks you want to fire him. You need to put his fears to rest. I think you could really help him."

Granger sighed heavily, looking very uncomfortable with what Sam wanted him to do.

"What harm can it do to try, Owen?" Hetty asked him.

"Alright," Granger said as he stood up and began walking out of the waiting room. "Just don't blame me if I make him worse instead of better."

xxxxx

Granger quietly entered Callen's room and settled himself into the chair closest to Callen's bed. Callen was buried under the blankets, but at least his head was visible which Granger took to be a somewhat positive sign. Callen's eyes were closed, but Granger was fairly certain he was not asleep. "Sam's pretty worried about you," he said after a few moments of silence.

Callen sighed as he opened his eyes and looked back at his superior. "Why are you here, Granger?" he asked. "You and I both know you don't want to be."

Granger ignored Callen's comment. "I realize we don't always see eye-to-eye," Granger began. "But I think we've pretty much moved past any of the difficulties we used to have, wouldn't you say?"

Callen slowly moved into a sitting position and pulled the blankets up over his chest as if they were providing a barrier between him and Granger. "I guess so, but…" he shook his head and became silent once again as he stared down at his lap.

"But what?" Granger prompted. "Sam says you're worried about your job…is that true?"

Callen didn't say anything, but the quick look he sent in Granger's direction more than confirmed that it was very true.

"You can't seriously believe I would fire you over this, do you?"

Callen shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well I wouldn't," Granger said. "You've gone through hell and back and understandably you're having a few problems recovering. It's certainly not a reason for you to lose your job."

"It's not?" Callen raised his head and met Granger's eyes.

"Of course it's not," Granger said. "I'd be a real asshole to fire you over something like this, not to mention that Henrietta would rip me a new one and I can only imagine what your team would do to me."

A slight smile touched the corners of Callen's lips when Granger emphasized the team as still being his.

"You're an exceptional agent and leader," Granger continued. "I'd be pretty stupid to get rid of you. Try not to worry about your job right now. Just concentrate on getting yourself better. Everything else will fall into place."

"Thanks, Granger," Callen said. He knew that there weren't any guarantees, but at least he was being given the chance to get himself together again. Hopefully, he would be able to do just that.

xxxxx

Granger stayed with Callen for about a half hour before excusing himself and retreating back out to the waiting area. "Okay, I did what you asked," he said to Sam. "He's not exactly turning cartwheels, but it might have helped a little bit. "Maybe you should go see him now," he said, nodding at Deeks. "He could probably use a little bit of mindless entertainment."

"I'm pretty sure there's an insult in there somewhere," Deeks said with a grin, "but I'm certainly willing to give it a shot." He turned his attention toward Kensi. "Are you game?"

"Of course," Kensi said, smiling as she reached for her crutches. "Maybe we can help cheer him up."

"You want to come with us, Sam?" Deeks asked.

Sam shook his head. "No, thanks. I think he's had about enough of me for the moment. You guys go ahead and see what you can do."

xxxxx

Callen had just nestled back under the covers to try to sleep, when Deeks and Kensi came into the room. He sighed quietly to himself, wondering if he was ever going to get a moment's peace.

"Hi Callen," Kensi said as she crutched over to a chair and eased herself into it. "We're not disturbing you, are we?"

"Hey, Kensi," Callen said as he got himself back up into a sitting position and forced a smile. "No…It's fine. How's it going?"

"We're good," Deeks said, entering into the conversation. "How are you doing?"

Callen wanted to say that he was upset, on edge and just plain exhausted, but instead he just took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "I'm fine. I've just had enough of this place…I really wish I could get out of here." He firmly believed that the atmosphere of the hospital was making him feel worse than if he could just be home in his own house.

"I'm sure you do," Kensi said, taking his hand and squeezing it sympathetically. "You won't be here too much longer though."

Callen shook his head. "You don't know that, Kens…the doctors here think I'm nuts. Who knows how long they're going to want to keep me. Before I know it, they're going to be locking me up in the psych ward and throwing away the key."

"Come on…don't think like that, man," Deeks said, giving a worried look at their team leader. "You need to be thinking positively."

"Easier said than done," Callen admitted softly, his eyes appearing dull and lifeless.

"This just isn't right," Deeks whispered under his breath. He stared at Callen for a long moment and then got to his feet. "I'll be right back, guys, okay? Kensi nodded, giving him a curious look and Callen didn't really respond. Deeks then headed out of the room and back to the waiting area.

"That was a short visit," Sam commented. "Did he throw something at you?"

"I think it's time for us to go home," Deeks said, his eyes focused on Hetty.

Sam shook his head, looking a little bit annoyed. "No one's stopping you from going home, Deeks," he said. "Go ahead. But, I'm not leaving until my partner can go with me. He's gone through enough. I'm not going to just walk away and abandon him."

Hetty shook her head and spoke sternly, "Mr. Hanna…Mr. Deeks and Ms. Blye have been here for quite some time now. I believe they have gone above and beyond for Mr. Callen, in spite of what they, themselves, have gone through. I see no reason why they shouldn't return to Los Angeles, nor should you be making them feel bad for wanting to do so. They do not deserve that."

Sam stared back at Hetty for a long moment and immediately began to feel guilty as he realized that she was right. "I'm sorry, Deeks," he said quietly. "Hetty's right…you've done a lot for G and for me. Of course you should go home if that's what you want to do."

"I'm not saying we should abandon Callen, Sam," Deeks said, shaking his head. "I would never do that. I just think getting him out of here might be just what he needs right now."

"You obviously have talents I wasn't aware of," Granger said dryly to the detective. "When and where did you receive your medical degree? And did you double major in both Medicine and Psychiatry? You're certainly wasting your talents here with us."

"Callen isn't in that bad shape physically," Deeks said, ignoring Granger's sarcasm and refusing to back down. "Maybe he could be transported back to Los Angeles? I'm sure he could handle a two and a half hour Medevac flight back to L.A., right?"

"Deeks could be right…" Sam said quietly as he allowed himself to mull over the merits of Deeks' idea. "G wanted me to drive him back home last night. He wasn't making a whole lot of sense, but, he seemed pretty adamant about it. Emotionally, maybe this is what he needs."

Deeks nodded. "I think he's reached his limit, Hetty. I know there are a lot of reasons behind what is wrong with him, but I also think him being stuck here could be having a having a major impact on his well being. I'm just saying, if it can be done safely, I don't think it would be a bad idea for us to get him the hell out of this hospital and out of Seattle. I really don't think we're doing him any favors by keeping him here. So much has happened to him and basically, all he can do is lie here and think about it constantly. It has to be depressing. I think a change of scenery could do him a world of good."

Hetty looked at Granger who just shrugged, making it obvious that he would leave any decisions about Callen up to her. "Perhaps you make a valid point, Mr. Deeks," she said after carefully considering what he had said. "I will call my personal physician and have him speak with Mr. Callen's treating physicians here. If they can all come to an agreement, that this will not impede his recovery in any way, we will see what can be done."

"Thank you, Hetty," Deeks said with a nod, pleased that the team seemed to be onboard with his idea.

Sam stood up, inwardly impressed with the thoughtfulness Deeks was displaying toward Callen. "Aiden is away at school so G could easily be set up in his room. I know Michelle wouldn't mind and maybe a little TLC is just what he needs, even if he'd never admit that. Michelle and Kam would take good care of him."

Hetty nodded. "Perhaps Nate would be able to come and see him. That could be helpful as well."

Sam looked at Hetty doubtfully. "I'm not sure about Nate, Hetty. I don't know if G could trust him after that whole JDX case."

"Well, if not, I'm sure we can get a referral for someone else to treat Mr. Callen, said Hetty. "Although TLC and a bit of coddling may very well be what he needs, it still doesn't erase the fact that he is dealing with some very real issues right now."

"Agreed," Sam responded with a nod. "But for now, I'm going to take care of his more immediate needs. I'm going to go out and get us something decent to have for lunch. He does need to eat more. I'll be back in a little while."

"I'll go with you, Sam," Granger said, eager to escape the hospital for a short time.

"I'm going to get back in there. They're going to be wondering what happened to me. Well, at least Kensi will be wondering. Callen probably doesn't really care all that much," Deeks admitted with a wry grin.

"And I have a phone call to make," Hetty said. "We will meet up in Mr. Callen's room for lunch when you return. Hopefully, I will have some news by then and we will see if Mr. Deeks' plan can be brought to fruition."