There was a long pause, and into the quiet Dr Laura returned. Callen couldn't wholly suppress a shudder and Sam, biting back his own doubts and fears, leant forward and placed a calming hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Let's get this sorted out," he said, gesturing to Callen's arm. "And then… then we'll sort out this mess with Janvier. Together."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dr Laura eventually left, leaving her personal cell phone number with an exhausted and grumpy Callen. Treating the injuries to his hand had taken some time and taxed both his patience and his coping mechanisms to the brink. He almost hit the roof when the first needle touched his skin, a blood-curdling scream rising up before he could fully stop it, leaving Sam and the doctor stunned to silence at his quickly strangled cry of distress. The unexpected agony left him grey and sweating, waves of pain swirling, spinning, crashing over him just as physically as the waves that had tried to drown him when he escaped. The numbness the needle induced had been a relief of epic proportion.
Because of the various open wounds and abrasions, Dr Laura wrapped his arm in a synthetic skin bio-dressing under the protective cast she used around his hand and three damaged fingers. Under Callen's insistence she left his thumb and index finger, both battered but unbroken, relatively free, but the constriction of the cast on his dominant hand nonetheless left him feeling trapped and uneasy. Her insistence in turn that he kept the injured limb elevated as much as possible in a sling high across his chest to keep the swelling at bay didn't help matters.
Kensi had clearly been hovering anxiously outside, for as soon as the doctor departed she re-entered, with Connor a step behind. The senior partners were standing together by the large table in the centre of the room and Kensi moved quickly to Callen, wiping tears crossly from her eyes with one hand as with the other she took him into a gentle embrace.
"We thought you were dead," she whispered.
"Not yet," Callen responded dryly. He stiffened defensively against Kensi's touch, mindful of the bruising to his ribs, but gave her arm a comforting squeeze when she stepped back. He could see that tension was still pulsing through her and he met her eyes with a lop-sided smile in an attempt to reassure her. She gave him a watery smile back.
"How's your… Is your hand okay?" she asked, looking to where Callen's hand rested near his shoulder in its sling.
"It will be," Sam answered on Callen's behalf after a lengthening pause. Neither of them liked to say that at this stage it was impossible to know for sure.
Connor eventually broke the awkward silence.
"What do we do next?"
"We'll need to debrief you," Kensi turned hesitantly to Callen. It was a rare occasion when one of them crossed the line from agent to witness - to victim - and they never liked it. Callen nodded reluctantly.
"Pool what we know," Sam agreed. They all abruptly tensed when they heard the door open, each of them still on high alert. In one swift movement, Sam stepped protectively in front of Callen, at the same time reaching for his gun.
"Only me," Deeks said, entering the lounge area and once again raising his eyebrows as he was faced with a gun pointed towards him for the second time that morning. Sam coughed with mild embarrassment and holstered his weapon. "You realise that's the second time today… Anyone would think you and your partner have got it in for me…" Deeks winked at Callen, who had the decency to look apologetic for a moment.
"Nick and Peter okay?"
"Sleeping like babies," Deeks assured him. "I woke Nick to introduce him to Agent Collins, but he was exhausted and went straight back to bed. Best thing for him… it looks like you could take a leaf from his book." He looked Callen up and down, noting approvingly that Callen's hand had been properly dealt with, but he still looked exhausted and on edge: a far cry from the unflappable agent he usually appeared.
Callen ran his left hand over his head and deliberately loosened the aching muscles in his shoulders. "I'm fine," he said shortly. "But thanks." He quickly tacked on the last two words, and although they were brief, Deeks knew Callen wasn't just thanking him for his concern now, or for taking care of Nick and Peter, but for his assistance and discretion back at the beach house earlier that morning.
"What's the plan?" Deeks enquired. He'd moved without realising it to stand close to Kensi. Some of the rigidity in her muscles had relaxed in his presence.
"I think we should head back to Ops… it's more secure than here," Callen said carefully. He paused. "I don't want to scare anyone…" He looked round at them all before continuing, "I think we need to be extra careful… Janvier as good as told me he's got eyes on us. He might have been bluffing - but let's not take the risk, okay? He knows of the boatshed… We have to believe he'll use that knowledge if he needs to. Even if he was bluffing before, he'll almost certainly have it under surveillance now. Let's make very sure he doesn't get a location on Ops too."
"You just keep pulling out the good surprises, don't you, G?" Sam rolled his eyes and began to steer his partner gently towards the door.
With the exception of Sam and Callen travelling together, they headed their separate ways to Ops. Callen's words rang soberly in their ears making them all extra mindful of being tailed, and Sam elected not to swap the SUV back for his distinctive Challenger. He pulled the dirty truck into his usual spot right outside the mission.
"You ready for this?" He turned to Callen. "We're going to need some details, G."
"I know," Callen sighed. It was time for them to all share what they knew, but he wasn't looking forward to the debrief.
"I know you don't want to talk about it," Sam said, and Callen instinctively knew Sam was referring now to Joelle's death rather than the operation as a whole. He silently shook his head, not trusting his voice.
"If it was anyone else, I'd worry if you didn't," Sam continued. "But I guess with you it's more of a worry if you did... Just know that I'm here if you change your mind."
"Thank you," Callen responded, quiet but sincere. He composed himself. "Let's get this over with, shall we?" He got out of the car, hiding a wince as he felt the new stitches pull on his thigh. He could take weight more comfortably now on his damaged limb, and had flatly refused the offer of a cane, but infuriatingly he found he still couldn't completely disguise his limp.
"This way, hop-along," Sam teased with a wide smile.
"There's a nickname I hope never catches on…" Callen forced himself to rise to Sam's teasing.
"Remind you too much of that white rabbit you once had?" Sam grinned.
"It came with the hat…" Callen muttered. They entered the mission, and he couldn't help but notice a deathly quiet come over the building as agents and support personnel gradually registered his presence. He ignored all of it, moving as quickly as he could to the sofa in the bull pen, which was the closest available seat as well as the place he felt most comfortable in the whole building. He wasn't generally a possessive character, but he knew he wasn't alone in thinking of that couch as somehow his.
"Here," Sam said, pushing a file box across the floor and gesturing for Callen to raise his leg onto it. "Tea? Coffee? A bacon butty?" Callen's stomach roiled at the mere thought of a bacon sandwich. "You've got to eat something, G," Sam pressed. Without waiting for an answer, he disappeared to the kitchen area. Callen sighed as he rested his head back and closed his eyes.
He heard Hetty's distinctive footsteps approaching, and opened one eye a fraction to check whether she really was there.
"Yes, it is me, Mr Callen," her voice said dryly. "Or did you think that bump on the head was causing you to imagine things."
"You taught me to always expect the unexpected," he responded with similar satire. He opened his eyes properly and watched as she sat in one of the comfy chairs opposite him. "But seeing you back here is very unexpected…" Callen paused. "Thank you for the use of your beach house."
"I did say you could help yourself any time," she smiled indulgently.
"You keep it well stocked… you may be down a couple of pairs of jeans in my size now though." He glanced down subconsciously at the dried blood stain on the second pair of replacement denim.
"Tsk, tsk," Hetty admonished lightly, and then more seriously added, "A small price to pay for having you back with us." Callen met her eyes and for a fleeting moment saw vulnerability there instead of assurance. He noticed her gaze linger worriedly on his arm in its sling, questions hovering on her lips, and he was about to make light of it, but the quiet moment was broken by Sam's return.
"Where's Mosley?" he demanded. "Don't tell me she's pulled out?"
"She's gone to spend time with her son," Hetty said calmly. "She left a number, if we still need her."
"Mosley?" Callen enquired, mystified. "She's been here? Why? HOW? I thought she was in hiding!"
Sam chuckled at Callen's questions, not dissimilar to those Mosley had assaulted him with when they had met up the day before.
"Here," he said, handing Callen a steaming mug of tea, holding it gingerly around the rim so that Callen could take the handle. He balanced a plate of crackers and some grapes on the arm of the sofa. Callen raised his eyebrows. "Best I could find that you might eat," Sam explained. "If you want me to go out and get you something better, just say the word."
"Clearly I need to get banged up more often, if it brings out this level of attentiveness in you." Callen said the words in jest, and he missed the guilty look that flashed across Sam's face. Hetty didn't, and she patted Sam's muscular arm gently as he passed her to seat himself on the other chair, an attentive sentry to his partner at his time of need.
While Callen made an effort to eat something, the others gradually arrived, and they all congregated in the bullpen. Eric and Nell came down as well. Callen wished for solitude, but knew such a wish would go ungranted for the moment.
"Here," Deeks said, swooping into the bullpen and placing a bag full of tootsie-pops next to Callen. "Lots of purple ones in there." Sam looked on in amusement.
"His favourite flavour is blackcurrant," Deeks stated with authority.
"I thought it was orange?" Sam turned to his partner, not missing Callen's slight smirk as he watched Deeks' face fall.
"Oh you two are cute," Deeks muttered.
"Why orange then?" Kensi joined in with a grin.
"It reminds me of the freshly squeezed orange juice Hetty used to make every morning when I lived with her," Callen explained, with a totally serious face and a slight look of reminiscence in his eyes. He caught Hetty's eye and she chuckled, going along with the lie. Though the grave situation was far from over, she took solace in the simple pleasure of her team, just like old times, engaging in their banter together.
Looking around, changing the subject, Deeks asked, "Where's Director Vance?"
"Vance is here?" Callen mumbled around a mouthful of crackers.
"Flew down the minute Eric told him about the video," Sam answered him, adding a look which said, 'stop talking and eat up'. Callen cringed. That wretched video. He just wanted to forget all about it. Irrational though it was, he couldn't help but feel a huge amount of humiliation that his entire team, Hetty and Vance evidently included, had seen him roped up to a pillar, utterly helpless, and forced to do Janvier's bidding. The crackers suddenly felt dry and tasteless in his mouth, and he pushed the plate away with barely concealed revulsion hoping he wasn't going to be sick again.
"I'm here," Vance's voice could be heard the other side of the wall, and soon he rounded into view, holding up his cell. "It's good to see you back, Callen." His eyes scanned Callen up and down as he spoke, taking in the battered agent's appearance. Like Hetty half an hour before him, Vance's piercing gaze hovered on the sling, and he made a mental note to get a full rundown of Callen's injuries at a later point.
"I'm sorry it's not how we envisaged," Callen said.
"Yes, well…" Vance paused. "You did try to warn me."
"There were more factors at play than we knew about," Callen told him, by way of accepting Vance's apology.
Vance hitched a hip up on the edge of one of the desks. "I think you've got a lot of explaining to do."
Callen sighed, looking around him at the expectant faces of Vance, Hetty, Sam and his team. He wanted nothing more than for all this to be over with, for the details of the mission so far to remain forever a secret between him and the sea. But the truth would come out eventually, and they all needed to know the gist… though try as he might he still couldn't think of anything Janvier had said that might be of some use to them.
"What can you tell us, Agent Callen?" Vance pressed, and Callen noticed the subtle return of the use of his 'agent' title – a reminder from Vance that though they might have planned this mission together, in this particular scenario Vance was his boss not his equal, and the man wanted answers. "When were you compromised, and how?"
"You're not going to like it…" Callen stalled.
"Try me." The Director was having none of it, holding his steely gaze on Callen. With another sigh, Callen did his best to divulge as little as possible in the way of gruesome details, whilst also answering the many questions he knew they all had.
A/N: Thank you all for your reviews last week - this story has hit 150! I absolutely love to hear from readers and really appreciate all your thoughts and comments - sorry I haven't had time to reply individually to any of them yet. The talk between Sam and Callen was tricky to write, trying to keep them in character but also address the rift we saw on the show in S11 (and which if I'm honest I think is still there a little bit... they don't have quite the same dynamic as they used to :( ) It was also hard to write the Kensi and Deeks phone conversation, as I am not a massive 'Densi' fan! But I am trying to include a few more subplots and focus on other characters in this story even though my main thread will always be Callen, so I hope I am doing a reasonable job of them. There's a little lull in the action for a bit now (rest assured there is lots more to come - in the Covid-enforced re-write the plot bunnies added in an extra twist!) allowing Callen some brief time to heal and regroup, and so there will be more time with my favourites Callen/Sam and Callen/Hetty next week!