Chapter 14: Sam Returns
Sam opened the door to the hospital room at around 9:30. He made eye contact with his younger coworkers who were standing on the other side of the bed facing the entrance. After stepping into the room, and easing the door shut, his gaze went to his partner, relieved to be back in his hospital room to see for himself how G was.
Callen was quietly staring with blank eyes at the wall in front of him. He slowly turned his head toward the door.
Seeing the new gash on Callen's forehead, Sam took quick strides to G's bedside. "What happened?" He asked with alarm in his voice.
Callen flinched. His lips parted slightly and he stared up at Sam with wide blue eyes.
Kensi wasn't sure what to say, and as she opened her mouth wordlessly, her partner moved. Deeks quickly made his way around to the other side of the bed, where Sam was standing. Marty placed his hand on the large agent's upper arm. "Sam—"
Not pausing or acknowledging he had been spoken to, the ex-SEAL shrugged Marty off. Sam gripped the top of the side rail with both hands, and scanned his partner quickly with narrowed and annoyed eyes. "Did you try to climb out of this bed?" He gruffly asked.
Callen, becoming more frightened by the second, began breathing in short inhales of air. He pulled against the restraints, trying to move away from the huge, angry man standing over him.
Kensi's wide eyes went from Sam, to Callen and how he was reacting, back to Sam, and then to her partner. She moved a foot closer to the bed, ready to lean across it to shelter Callen from Sam if need be, hoping that Marty would calm Sam down first, somehow.
Deeks turned, so that he was facing Sam, the backs of his thighs against the bed. Urgency in his eyes, he reached out and placed his hand on the Sam's shoulder, only to have it batted away. "Sam—"
Sam lowered his eyes looking over Callen's feeble movements in the bed. Now noticing Callen's wrists were tied to the bed, his expression became more intense. "G, what did you do?!" He asked loudly, causing Callen to startle and painfully pull back from him even more.
Deeks, eyes now even more determined, intervened fully, pushing his way between Sam and the bed. This time, he placed a firm palm in the middle of Sam's chest and drove the larger man back a couple of steps. "Sam! You're scaring him."
Taking a breath, Sam leaned to his left so that he could see around Deeks. Suddenly aware of the distress, confusion, and fear in his partner's moist eyes, he allowed Deeks to guide him back even more, and then out into the hall.
Deeks closed the door behind him and walked a few yards down the hall to where Sam had begun pacing.
Sam stopped abruptly and faced Marty, looking as if he were ready to explode. "Deeks, what happened to him?" He barked, shifting his weight to his right leg, his hands in fists.
Deeks put his hands on his hips and exhaled. "He had a reaction to the pain medicine."
"Reaction?!" Sam echoed more loudly than he intended. Lowering his voice to a forced whisper, he asked, "What do you mean, 'a reaction'?"
"They say he got more and more confused last night. Then he sort of freaked out."
"'Sort of'?" Sam repeated, becoming more irritated. "Deeks, he's restrained!"
Marty shifted his weight, looked away, crossed his arms, and then looked back at Sam. "He woke up while they were doing the MRI."
"Inside the machine?" Sam shifted his weight to the other leg and crossed his arms, unknowingly mirroring the smaller man.
"Yeah. Hetty said they got him out as fast as they could. But Callen thought he was being held captive by the Russian Mafia. He busted one guy in the face and choked another. He pretty much tried to tear the place up."
Sam wasn't surprised this had happened. He had seen his friend demonstrate incredible strength while banged up before. He nodded once, showing he understood. "And the gash on his head?"
"Fell off the table trying to fight them off."
Sam's features suddenly softened and remorse filled his eyes. He bit down on his lower lip, looked to the side, and shook his head slowly. "I should have been here," He said more quietly, but with a hint of irritation still in his voice. "He's my partner." Turning his eyes back toward Marty, he asked, "Why didn't someone let me know?"
"Sam," Deeks began, reaching up to grip Sam's massive shoulder. "It was Hetty's call. There was nothing you could have done, anyway... He doesn't even know who we are."
Sam closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and took in a deep, calming breath.
Deeks paused for a moment until Sam had, once again, made eye contact. "We good?" Marty asked, staring intently into the older man's brown eyes, as if searching for his thoughts.
Sam pressed his lips together, cut his eyes to the left, and let out a breath through his nose. Now gazing at the door to Callen's hospital room, Sam nodded once.
Deeks gripped Sam's shoulder even tighter before dropping his hand to his side.
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As soon as Marty had escorted Sam out of the room, Kensi turned her attention to Callen who was at a frightened level that she had only seen him fake once before. She was internally freaked out since this was no act; G Callen was literally afraid and on the edge of hyperventilating or bursting into tears, she didn't know which.
Hoping to get him to stop moving around on the bed, which was probably extremely painful, she placed her left hand on his upper chest.
"Hey… Hey…" She said soothingly. When G looked up at her, his eyes still full of fear and unshed tears, her heart felt as if it had been stabbed. She quickly knelt down beside his bed and placed her other hand on his neck, right beneath his ear, using her thumb to rub his chin, exactly how she had tried to comfort her lost fiancé in the past. "Shhh… It's okay… You're safe… You're okay."
She had expected Callen to pull away from her, but was pleasantly surprised when he didn't do anything but look back towards the door. She continued kneeling attentively by his side, rubbing his face gently, since he wasn't fighting her. She didn't know if her touch was calming to him or not until she felt his labored breathing slow beneath the hand she had on his chest.
Just then, Deeks and Sam quietly returned to the room.
Callen surprised them all by calling quietly to Deeks, "Danny?"
Marty traded glances with Sam and Kensi before moving to the side of the bed.
"Yeah, G? What's going on? How you feeling?"
Callen's eyes blinked back sudden tears. "I know I'm not supposed to… Tell…"
Deeks allowed his eyes to show Callen he was paying absolute attention. "Tell what, G?"
Kensi and Sam met eyes. They both had no idea what was going on. Sam furrowed his brow, looking back at Callen. Kensi stilled her hands on G's chest and neck, feeling his heartbeat pick up slightly.
Callen looked away, licking his lips quickly before mashing them together, seemingly torn by something he wanted to say but felt he couldn't.
Marty repeated himself quietly, seeming to know what was happening and wanting to be sure Callen felt safe, "Tell what, G? Are you worried about the Director?"
Still averting his gaze, Callen gave a small nod. "Ms. Brockman says we can't be babies… She'll punish me."
Kensi traded glances with Sam again, now even more confused.
Sympathy filled Marty's blue eyes. "It's okay, you can say anything here. Nobody's going to tell. We won't hurt you."
G looked back at Deeks and took a shaky breath. Kensi felt him tremble slightly beneath her hands. His eyes started filling with tears again. "Please don't tell Director, Danny…"
"I won't, G. I promise."
Callen finally said quietly, his voice becoming faint near the end, "I don't feel good."
Kensi was stunned. She saw that Sam was, also. Deeks reacted better than both of them and leaned over to put a hand on Callen's shoulder, compassion in his eyes. "I know, buddy." He said softly, reassuringly.
Callen lost a few tears and tried to bring up his left hand to wipe them away and became agitated when he couldn't, letting out a very small, un-Callen-like whimper, looking down at his bound left wrist.
Kensi understood what was frustrating Callen, herself hating tears. Removing her hand from his neck, she quickly wiped the offensive wetness away for him.
While she moved, Deeks spoke lowly, "Buddy, forget about the Director. You're allowed to say how you feel whenever, wherever. Okay? You're human. Like me." Deeks squeezed Callen's shoulder. "And, I promise, as soon as we can get some medicine for the pain, we will."
G nodded, still trying to get his tears under control, seeming to appreciate Kensi's soft hands wisping the ones that fell away.
Deeks knelt down so that he could look evenly at Callen. The bloodshot, ice blue eyes found Marty's. "While you wait, why don't you take a little nap? Uncle Danny'll stay right here."
Kensi saw a small hint of a smile flit past Callen's features. "You're not my uncle," G said weakly.
Deeks grinned gently. "You don't know that for sure."
Callen leaned back his head and looked more exhausted. He said quietly, "You're silly, Danny."
Deeks softened his smile. "And you're pretty incredible, G Callen."
His words got a soft smile from Callen, who was breathing easier now and seemed ready to fall asleep.
Marty put his hand on Callen's arm through the bars, avoiding the restraint. "Get some sleep, Buddy. I'll be right here."
Callen responded with a faint, weak nod. His eyes were closed in seconds, leaving a dumbfounded and impressed Kensi Blye and Sam Hanna staring at Deeks.
Kensi removed her hand from Callen's chest and came around to where Deeks was kneeling. "What just happened?" She asked, whispering.
Deeks rose to his feet and let out a small sigh. He turned and slowly stepped away from the bed. Taking a seat on the couch, Marty leaned forward, his elbows resting on his thighs, and his forehead in his palms, a posture that told his partner that he was troubled.
Kensi sat down next to her partner and placed a gentle hand on his knee. "Deeks, what's going on? Who's Danny?"
Sam took a seat in the chair next to Kensi. "Deeks?" He asked, his tone sounding more like a warning than an inquiry to Kensi.
Deeks raised his head to look at the two sets of brown eyes staring at him intently. Kensi watched as he pressed his lips together, seemingly attempting to gain his composure.
"Hetty says Danny's someone who watched after Callen at the first orphanage he was placed in," He explained softly. Gazing over at Callen, he continued, "I must remind him of the guy... Dr. Lee said we're supposed to try to keep Callen calm until this medicine wears off so I've just been playing along."
After a short pause, Sam shook his head in confusion. "He thinks he's a little kid?"
"Yeah. He's in the orphanage and they've tied him to the bed so he won't try to run away."
Kensi swallowed. This was a more precarious situation than she had originally thought. Marty was worried for good reason. The medication had their team leader thinking he was a child again.
Sam looked over to his partner with sadness in his eyes. "No wonder he's afraid of me."
Kensi saw the hurt beneath everything. Sam would take this harder than any of them, not hesitating to place the majority of the burden on himself. She reminded herself to mention this to Marty next time they were alone. They needed to be sure Sam wasn't too hard on himself. Sam turned his head back toward Deeks. "How long's he supposed to be like this?"
Marty looked saddened. "The doctor said the stuff should be out of his system in twenty-four hours. Callen can't have anything to sedate him or anything for pain until in the morning."
Sam huffed. "Then how are we supposed to keep him calm?"
"Good question."
Kensi looked over at Callen. Not just a precarious situation. A tricky precarious situation.
Sam stood and slowly walked to the side of the bed. He reached down and touched Callen's right wrist, then moved down to the foot of the bed. He lifted up the edge of the covers, taking a quick peak at the restraint around Callen's ankle. Replacing the blanket he asked softly, "Can't we at least take these off him while he's asleep?"
Kensi understood Sam's concern over seeing Callen bound to the bed, wondering the same thing.
Deeks shook his head negatively. "We have to leave them on, for now. The doc will be back in a little while and decide if it's okay to take them off. Callen may seem dossal now, but, just a little while ago, he woke up kicking and fighting us. He was trying to pull the IV out; thought he was being poisoned. Took three of us to hold him down until they could get the restraints on him."
Still looking down at his partner, Sam narrowed his eyes. "So they think there's a chance of it happening again?"
"Maybe. The doctor just doesn't want him to hurt himself again."
Sam walked around to the opposite side of the bed. With a determined look on his face that looked more like his normal self, he pulled back the edge of the covers, exposing Callen's entire left arm.
"What are you doing, Sam?" Kensi questioned.
"Need to be able to see his good arm. I've seen 'Houdini' here work his way out of these things."
Deeks exchanged a smile with Kensi, his eyes showing his partner that he thought the "old folks" all read from the same handbook. "That's what Hetty said before she left… Only without the 'Houdini' reference."
Their smiles vanished when Callen moaned.
Kensi stayed seated and watched as Callen grimaced and his eyes blinked open. He pulled against the restraints, looked up at Sam with an exhausted expression that pleaded for help, and whispered a short phrase in Russian.
Sam's brow tensed. He studied G intently for a few moments, letting out the breath he was holding when his partner stilled and closed his eyes. Sam slowly made his way around to Kensi and Deeks, and took a seat in the chair next to them. He closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and lowered his head.
Kensi, reading Sam's body language, looked at him with concern. She placed her hand on his forearm. "Sam?"
Looking down at his shoes, Sam shook his head slowly. "What did I do?"
Kensi leaned toward the ex-SEAL. "Sam, it's not your fault."
Marty looked taken aback by the remorse in Sam's voice. "Dude. You saved Callen's life. He would have taken a bullet right through the heart if you hadn't tackled…" Deeks grunted when Kensi roughly elbowed him in the ribs. "Hadn't pushed him out of the way."
Sam raised his gaze to his injured friend. "I just wish it could have been the other way around."
"Well, for starters," Deeks teased softly with a smirk, "I don't think someone Callen's size could have even moved you, much less shoved you out of the way." Deeks received another jab from Kensi, and this time, she gave him a hearty glare. "And besides, he's lucky to have a partner who always has his back."
"Yeah, Sam," Kensi agreed finally, removing her hand from his muscular arm. "Who always runs in and saves his butt when he goes off, trying to save the world by himself?"
Finding just a bit of consolation in the words of the younger team members, Sam gave a quick, one-sided smile.
Kensi smiled ruefully in return. Now, if they could just keep Sam positive and get Callen over these reactions… She hoped that things would finally calm down.
