Chapter 13: Watch and Wait
Breaking the silence, Deeks asked quietly, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Hetty, realizing that Callen has drifted off to sleep for the moment, slowly removed her hand from his arm. She took a deep breath and moved tiredly to the couch.
Deeks took his cue to join her when she patted the space beside her on the couch. He sat down next to Hetty and waited for her to speak, wanting to help however he could, but guessing that she would try to be strong on her own.
Hetty raised her gaze to her injured Senior Agent, and then looked at Marty, her dark eyes flickering with a tired steadiness. "At the moment, I don't know of anything you could do to help him. I'm afraid it is just a waiting game."
Deeks lowered his head a little and looked up at Hetty through his eyebrows. "I meant you," He said softly, using the voice that he knew would get through her walls; a voice that reminded her he was trustworthy. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"Oh no, Mr. Deeks," Hetty replied, her voice wavering a little. "You need not worry about me. I'm just fine."
A hint of a grin appeared on the Detective's face. "I see where he learned it." He said quietly.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what you mean."
"Callen. You've taught him well. He's almost as stubborn as you."
Hetty leaned forward, smiled faintly, and patted Marty on the knee. "Mr. Deeks. Are you deliberately trying to provoke me?"
"No, Mam. I would never deliberately provoke you. I don't have a death-wish." Deeks paused, his expression becoming more serious. "What I am trying to do is make sure you're alright… No offense, but you look like you could use some sleep. And I'm sure seeing Callen sick, confused, and tied to the bed is stressing you out. 'Cause, you know, after me, he is your favorite."
"Now, Detective Deeks," Hetty protested, straightening up, a small indignant look coming over her features, "You know I don't have favorites."
"You don't." Deeks repeated, looking away. He pressed his lips together, then blinked, in his distracting way, then looked back at her. "You're not fooling anyone, Madam. Well, at least not me."
Marty knew he had gotten through when Hetty hesitated, taking in a deep breath though her nose and letting it out slowly. She turned her head toward the bed, her gaze lingering there for a moment before speaking. "I just feel powerless. It seems, every time things start solidifying in a decent manner, he takes another step back into deterioration."
"I assume you're not just talking about the physical?"
"You assume correctly. Whether from the drugs or from the head trauma, Mr. Callen has been reliving glimpses of his past. And I'm afraid, in his current state, he is just not fit enough to cope with those memories." Hetty laid both palms on her lap and took in another deep breath. "Mr. Deeks, Callen has constructed a wall between himself and the rest of the world, creating a safe place where there is no fear, no hurt, no rejection… He has been building that wall since he was a small boy. Watching helplessly, over the past several days, while that wall has crumbled…" Hetty closed her eyes and pressed her lips together.
Marty was at a loss for what to say. He did the only thing he could: he reached to his right and placed his palm over Hetty's hand that was resting on her thigh. They sat wordlessly for more than a minute.
Hetty eventually pulled her hand from beneath Marty's slowly and used both hands to take his hand and pat it. She gathered herself. "I'm sorry, Mr. Deeks. I should not have burdened you."
"Hetty. We're all worried. You're allowed to worry, too. You're human… At least I think you are. You are human… right?"
Hetty smiled at the young detective, knowing that this display of awkward humor was his way of dealing with the tension he was experiencing. "Someone in my position does not have the luxury of letting down their guard; it leaves one vulnerable."
"See? You really aren't that different from Callen."
"Oh, but I am. For me, it is a conscious decision." She looked over at the bed. "Mr. Callen developed this mindset by default; he simply knows no other way." She brought her gaze back to Marty. As she spoke carefully, he saw in her eyes a slight mourning. "If he expresses feelings, admits to pain, shows any degree of weakness, he is setting himself up to be hurt."
"Yeah, I've sort of noticed Callen's not the sharing type. Kinda like my partner?"
Hetty looked straight ahead and nodded strongly. "I believe they both live with an overwhelming sense of loss. Miss Blye lost the stability of family, and people she loved and who loved her. I think Mr. Callen's loss is never knowing that stability; always looking for those who might have loved him, and never finding them."
The conversation ceased when Callen let out a gasp. He shifted slightly in bed, and opened his eyes.
Hetty and Deeks both stood up and went to his side.
Hetty raised the head of the bed to a forty-five degree angle and offered Callen water from a small Styrofoam cup.
Making no attempt to drink from the cup, Callen peered cautiously up at Hetty for several seconds. His gaze drifted over to Deeks, and his brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Danny?" His voice was small and unsure.
Marty turned to Hetty with wide, questioning eyes.
She gave him a slow, tiny, approving nod.
Deeks, still perplexed by his mistaken identity, made eye contact with the Senior Agent. "Yeah?"
Callen's eyes were suddenly red and watery. "Danny. They tied me up."
"I know, man. I'm sorry."
"Please let me go. I won't run away. I promise."
Deeks felt his heart sink all the way to the pit of his stomach. He was carrying on a conversation with a child form of Callen. He took a short breath and answered honestly, "I can't, G. They won't let me."
Callen frowned and turned his head away.
Everything in Marty wanted to pull the nylon webbing and release the restraints. But he forced himself not to, understanding that the doctor was only trying to prevent Callen from hurting himself again. Frustrated, Deeks ran his hand through his curly, blonde hair and let out a breath. "I promise you this. I won't let anyone hurt you while you're tied up. Okay?"
Callen did not respond. He began to blink more slowly. Still looking at the window beside him, his eyes became droopy, and finally closed.
Surprised that Callen had already passed out, Deeks waited several seconds and then breathed out. He turned to Hetty and asked in a whisper, "Who the heck is Danny?"
Hetty motioned, with a flick of her wrist, for Marty to follow her. She sat down on the couch and Deeks took a seat in the chair next to her.
"Danny," Hetty began slowly and quietly, "was a young man who volunteered at the Orphanage where Mr. Callen was first placed. He was working on his degree to be a Social Worker, and would come by after classes each day to help with the children."
Deeks quirked an eyebrow at Hetty. "Wait, how do you know this? I thought Callen never talked about this stuff."
Hetty looked at Marty with a trace of indignation. "Not everything in Mr. Callen's file has been redacted.
Deeks peered back at her with a trace of skepticism. "Okay... So, you think I remind him of this Danny person or something?"
"Perhaps so. I know this young man was blonde, and about your height."
Marty's skepticism grew. "Right. And all of this is in Callen's file." At Hetty's scolding look for questioning her, he smiled at his Operations Manager. "So, this guy must have made an impression for Callen to remember him after all this time."
"Danny was like a big brother to these children. What Mr. Callen apparently does not remember at the moment, is that Danny was killed one night while on his way to the Orphanage. He had collected money from the students at the college, to buy Christmas gifts for the children. Someone stabbed him and took the money."
Deeks stared down at his shoes and shook his head slowly. "That just stinks," He said bitterly. After a pause, Marty looked up and asked, "Have you called Sam to let him know what happened this morning?"
"No, I have not," Hetty responded softly, yet firmly. "And under no circumstances are you to contact him. He is exactly where he should be at this moment; with his family. I expect him here after he has delivered his wife and children to the airport."
The door opened. Deeks and Hetty looked up to see Kensi enter the hospital room.
Kensi stopped just past the entrance. She looked at Deeks, then Hetty, to the bed where Callen was sleeping, then back to her partner. She sensed the mood in the room was rather dark. "Hey, guys." She greeted softly.
Deeks got up from his chair and looked at Kensi as if she was his lifeline.
"How is he?" The female agent inquired. "Another rough night?"
"Rough is not a strong enough word," Deeks said, keeping his voice low. "Try 'turbulent.' No," He continued to ramble. "That's not bad enough, either. Maybe 'intense'… Yeah. That might cover it."
Kensi could see the concern in her partner's eyes. "How bad?"
Hetty, still seated on the small couch, let out a breath through her nose. "Very bad, I'm afraid."
Concerned, since she had rarely heard Hetty use those words to describe anything, Kensi stepped up to the side of bed. "He's so pale." She whispered. "What happened to his head?"
Suddenly Kensi's phone buzzed and she looked down at an incoming text message. She turned and took a couple of steps toward her boss. "Hetty, Eric says he's been trying to contact you. Director Vance needs to speak with you. It's urgent."
Hetty got up from the couch, opened the bottom drawer of the small table next to the bed, and pulled out her small purse. After retrieving her phone, she opened it and read her messages. "It must be urgent for the Director to call Mr. Beale at home on a Saturday morning." Hetty closed her phone. "Please excuse me." She said, and then stepped out into the hall.
Marty and Kensi sat down next to each other on the couch. While their Operations Manager was tending to the urgent matter, Deeks described to Kensi, as best he could, Callen's bad reaction to the pain medicine and the incident in the MRI room that morning.
Kensi glanced over to the bed. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Wow." She breathed out. "That doesn't even sound like him."
"That stuff really messed him up. One time he wakes up and he's speaking Russian and thinks he's still working for the CIA and is being held captive, and the next time he thinks he's a little kid and I'm someone he knows. It's crazy. I think it even has Hetty rattled."
Kensi stood up and walked to the side of the bed. She looked down at Callen and shook her head in disbelief.
"I got here just as they got him back in the room," Marty continued. "He woke up and started trying to pull his IV out. He thought he was being poisoned. I really think he would have climbed over the rails. The doctor had to call for restraints."
Kensi pulled back the covers enough to expose Callen's right wrist that was secured to the bedframe. "What?" She blurted quickly, and just a little louder than she meant to. She shook her head again. "Does Sam know about this?"
"No. Hetty ordered me not to call him. I'm pretty sure she would inflict bodily harm if I were to disobey her."
Kensi and Deeks turned and faced the door when they heard Hetty speaking with voice raised from the other side. "Did you tell them that I have an injured Agent in the hospital?" Hetty said loudly. "Leon, he's extremely disoriented. It's going to take all of us to help him find his bearings… Yes. I understand. Tell them I'll be there in less than an hour."
The hospital room door swung open and a somewhat flustered Hetty entered. "Miss Blye, Mr. Deeks. Unfortunately, my services are required at FBI Headquarters. They are waiting on the appropriate documents from NCIS so they can formally charge the man who made an attempt on Mr. Callen's life Tuesday."
Deeks' eyes widened. "But, Hetty, can't it wait? What if Callen wakes up and tries to escape or starts speaking in Russian or something?"
Hetty made her way to the opposite side of the bed and looked sadly at her Senior Agent before responding. "It troubles me to leave him. But, it is imperative that I complete these forms this morning. The FBI has only forty-eight hours to process the paperwork after taking a suspect into custody. Without the proper reports and signatures, they will have no choice but to release Sykes this afternoon."
Deeks let out a loud sigh but did not protest any further.
Hetty moved the covers away from G's left side, exposing his left forearm and hand. "Please watch him closely; especially his left hand. Mr. Callen has the ability to escape soft restraints."
Marty and Kensi traded a glance that asked, 'for real?'
Hetty picked up her purse and walked to the door, turning to address Deeks and Kensi before leaving. "Oh, and I have my phone on, now. Please call me if there are any changes. Sam should be here within the next hour."
"Thanks, Hetty." Kensi said quietly from the bedside, very much aware of Hetty's reluctance to leave. "We'll take good care of him till Sam gets here."
When Hetty had gone, Deeks moved to the other side of the bed. He did not share his partner's confidence in their ability to take care of Callen while Hetty was away; he had seen, first hand, Callen's unpredictable state of mind. He looked across the bed to his partner's brown eyes.
Kensi tried to reassure him with a soft smile. Her smile quickly disappeared when she noticed Callen's eyes flutter open.
"Here we go," Deeks murmured under his breath.
Callen scanned the room, clearly not sure of where he was. He tried to move his arms, his breath hitching when he felt the resistance of the ties. He bent is left leg as far as the restraint would allow. The look in his eyes quickly changed from confusion, to fear. He looked up at the female to his right.
"Callen, it's okay," Kensi said with a gentle voice.
G turned his head and gazed up at the blonde man standing to his left. His brow furrowed in confusion. He gave the restraints another tug, turned his head back to midline, and lowered his eyes. Callen's body visibly relaxed. He now lay there, staring expressionless at the foot of the bed, as if he had given up.
Kensi looked across to her partner and shrugged.
Sharing Kensi's feeling of uncertainty, Deeks shook his head, not liking the situation, at all.
The two were still standing on either side of the bed, keeping watch, when Landon came into the room.
Kensi moved to the opposite side of the bed, beside Marty, to allow the male nurse space to attend to his patient.
"How is he doing?" Landon asked while hanging a new bag of IV solution.
"About the same." Deeks responded softly. "Don't think he knows what's going on. He doesn't act like he knows us."
"Dr. Lee said we should expect that for a while. Maybe by this afternoon…"
Callen's eyes shot up to the tall nurse, as if just noticing he was in the room. His fearful gaze drifted down to where Landon was connecting the new bag of solution. G dug his left heel into the mattress and tried to pull his body away from the nurse. Suddenly meeting the resistance of the restraints, Callen winced from the pain he had caused by his quick movement.
Landon studied Callen with concern.
The pain seemed to gradually subside. G relaxed, resuming staring blankly down at end of the bed.
The nurse looked up at the pair standing on the other side of the bed. "I'm going to defer checking vitals until he's more oriented. He just doesn't need the additional stress right now." After checking the patient's wrists and ankles for swelling and discoloration, Landon disposed of the empty IV bag and left the room.
Deeks and Kensi stood there in silence, both wondering what was going through Callen's mind, and hoping he would be back to normal soon. Seeing their Team Leader like this was rough.
