Chapter 18: Backfire

Sam sat next to the bed, keeping an eye on his sleeping partner. He had hoped that having the restraints untied would bring some comfort to G. But that didn't seem to be the case. Callen had flinched several times in his sleep, and had now begun to stir.

A few minutes had passed when Sam received a text from his wife. He had just replied to her message when he heard Callen mumble. Quietly, Sam put his phone away and looked over to the bed with a worried frown. Judging from G's listless movements, and the tension in his brow, the nightmares had returned.

Sam sat, watching, contemplating waking his partner, when all at once there was a loud bang from a vehicle backfiring on the street below.

Jolted awake from the sudden sound, Callen's eyes flew open, panicked, and he sucked in a quick breath of air.

Sam was on his feet and at G's side in a split second, but not in time to stop Callen from flinging himself over onto his right side, and grabbing the opposite side rail with his left hand.

Callen cried out from the intense pain caused by turning onto his injured hip, but he continued to grasp the rail, trying frantically to pull himself up and away from the side of bed Sam was standing on.

"G. Calm down. It's okay," Sam soothed. But when Callen only tried harder to scoot away from the hands that were now touching him, it was apparent that Sam was going to need backup. He pressed the Call light, and continued to try to coax his partner into rolling onto his back, keeping his voice calm, but firm. "Come on, G. You're hurting yourself. You need to relax."

In his disoriented state, Callen did not relax. He groaned painfully and continued struggling to move away from the "danger." He dug his left foot into the mattress, and in a desperate attempt to push himself up over the rail, lost his traction. His left heel slid backward, leaving his foot trapped behind him, between the bottom of the side rail and the mattress.

Nurse Landon and a male aide came rushing into the room just as Callen cried out in pain, letting go of the rail, and collapsing down onto his right side.

Landon stopped in his tracks and, in a matter of seconds, surveyed the scene. His patient was obviously in pain, and in a state of panic. He was lying catty-corner in the bed, on his injured side, his eyes screwed shut. Agent Hanna was stationed on the other side of the bed, trying to still his partner by holding him at his left hip and shoulder. Landon glanced up and was met by Sam's worried gaze, a look that was definitely pleading for help.

All at once, Callen's glassy blue eyes popped open. He reached with his left hand, grabbed the rail in front of him, and once again, began struggling to pull himself up.

Landon quickly moved to the bedside while motioning to the aide. "Ryan! Other side! We need to get him still!"

Ryan hurried around and took over the job of blocking the patient's hip, allowing Sam to move up and get a firm grasp of Callen's upper arm and shoulder.

Landon lowered the head of the bed and went to work on trying to pull Callen's hand off the rail.

Callen's panic escalated, and Ryan found himself having to press down harder on the patient's hip and thigh to keep him from moving. "Don't know if I can keep him still without hurting him, Landon. What are his injuries?"

"Pelvis, ribs, and wrist. All on the right." Landon tugged hard on the patient's hand that was still stubbornly gripping the rail. "Man," He grunted. "He's strong when that adrenalin kicks in. He's got a death-grip on this rail." With one more forceful yank, he was able to pry Callen's fingers loose. He pushed the now-freed arm back toward Sam, who took it wordlessly.

Keeping a hold on G's shoulder, Sam wrapped his long fingers around his partner's arm, and forced G's arm to straighten along his back.

The nurse quickly lowered the rail on his side. "Let's roll him over… On my count. One, two…"

"Wait!" Sam yelled. "His foot's caught!"

Landon jerked the covers down, letting them fall off the end of the bed, exposing the foot that was still wedged beneath the metal rail. "That's probably the only reason he hasn't make it over the side of the bed. Ryan, see if you can get his foot out! I'll hold his leg."

The aide leaned in, pressed the outer edge of the mattress down, widening the gap so that he could pull the patient's foot from beneath the rail. Before Ryan or Landon had time to react, the freed leg jerked forward, and then backward, forcefully kicking Ryan in the ribs. The aide doubled over and stumbled back a few steps.

Callen's leg recoiled. "No!" He cried out, as he kicked backward, the bottom of his foot crashing into the metal rail behind him.

Landon looked across to the nurses' aide, who was still trying to catch his breath. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah... Just got the wind… knocked out of me." Still breathing hard, Ryan moved back up to the side of the bed, and was able to grab the patient's foot before it could deliver another blow.

But Callen only used Ryan's hold on him as leverage, and began struggling even harder to push his body forward. "Let me go," He grunted out through gritted teeth.

Leaning awkwardly over the side rail, Sam was losing his hold on G. "Need this rail down!"

The nurse moved down and grabbed the patient's calf and thigh. "I'll hold him, Ryan. Drop the rail!"

The aide followed orders, quickly releasing the rail and lowering it.

"Let's try this again," Landon said as Ryan, once again, took over the job of holding Callen's left leg still. "There's no easy way to do this. I'm going to have to pull his injured extremities my way. Hold him down while I get the restraints tied. Ready?"

"Ready!" Ryan and Sam sounded at the same time.

Landon reached beneath the side the patient was lying on, grabbing Callen's upper arm with his left hand, and using his right hand to hook the inside of the patient's thigh. "One. Two. Three!"

Callen gasped for air as he was flipped onto his back in one painful movement. He stilled for several seconds, a stunned look on his face, his glassy eyes focusing on something straight in front of him that wasn't there.

The nurse waved his palm back-and-forth in front of the patient's face, eliciting no blinks or eye movements. "He's definitely not with us."

Then, as quickly as G had stopped fighting, he bent his left leg, pushed his heel into the mattress, and attempted to roll back over toward Landon.

"No, G!" Sam forcefully straightened his partner's left arm, pressing it down to the mattress.

The nurse maintained his hold of the injured extremities, while Ryan began the challenge of securing the left leg.

Callen only fought harder, bucking beneath their hold, panting for air.

Landon had to catch the right arm that had slipped from his grasp. "I need to get the restraints on. We've got to get him still!"

Without a word, Sam sat down on the bed next to Callen and leaned his mass onto his partner's torso, and pinned both forearms to the mattress in the surrender position. Sam could feel Callen's heart beating wildly through his own chest. His partner had no idea what was going on. Again, Sam felt the stab of guilt in his heart. This shouldn't have happened. Sam mourned.

Callen tried to move his head away from Sam's, blue eyes not registering anything but the need to get free.

Quickly, Sam swallowed away his feelings and pulled G's weak arm down so the nurse could tie it to the frame of the bed.

Disoriented, Callen jerked his left leg out of Ryan's grasp and attempted to squirm out from beneath Sam's chest.

Sam allowed a little more of his mass to weigh down on Callen. He rapidly schooled his breathing—a Navy Seal trick—so his own fear and concern wouldn't be as noticeable to Callen. "Calm down, G." Sam said, lowly, doing his best to sound soothing in the awkward position he was in.

G wheezed, straining to get air into his lungs. His unfocused gaze shifted to the huge form that was bearing down on his chest, and his eyes filled with fear.

Sam was fairly certain, by his partner's grimace, that the right leg was being secured. But when G stilled, his brow creased with panic, and he tried to look around Sam, to see what was going on below, the Ex-Seal was certain that the nurse and aide were securing the left leg to the bed.

The sudden restriction in movement caused the terror in Callen's eyes to grow. He weakly shook his head back-and-forth. Still fighting for air, G began to pant. "No, no, no," was his whispered mantra between breaths.

Sam remained steady, hoping that G would realize, at least subconsciously, that he didn't have to be afraid. He didn't have to fight.

By time Landon had moved up to restrain the left wrist, Callen had begun to lose strength beneath Sam's hold.

Sam eased up on the pressure. "It's okay, G," Sam encouraged softly. "You're safe."

The feeble struggling finally ceased. Still breathing hard and fast, heart still racing, Callen stared up at the familiar brown eyes looking down at him.

"Take deep breaths, G… That's it… You know me… I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You're okay."

Still looking up at his partner, all the tension seemed to drain from Callen's body as he let out a breath and closed his eyes.