Chapter 19: Vulnerable
Sam sank down in the chair next to the bed. He was utterly exhausted after witnessing his partner's full-blown panic attack. Seeing Callen in so much distress, and not being able to get through to him, had taken its toll. But what was even more disturbing to Sam, was having to take part in holding G down so that he could be tied to the bed. At least now he understood the necessity of the restraints. His friend was unstoppable when in survival mode. And at the rate G was going, there was a good chance he would have broken another bone, or something much worse.
Sam scrubbed his hand over his face. He had to stay focused and alert. Nurse Landon had asked him to keep a close eye on Callen. His ankles and wrists had been bound very close to the side rails, and tight. It was the best position to place him in so that he had little room to move. But there was some concern that his circulation might be compromised.
Sam waited about fifteen minutes before getting up from his chair to check the restraints. Not wanting to wake his partner, he carefully pulled back the covers and checked G's left arm, and then left ankle.
He was about to make his way around to the other side when Landon stuck his head through a gap in the door. "Agent Hanna, just wanted you to know we're at a shift change. Anna will be taking over for me in a few minutes."
The Ex-SEAL gave a nod of gratitude. "Thanks for your help."
Landon gave him a sympathetic smile before closing the door quietly.
Sam finished his inspection of Callen's hands and feet without waking the younger man, and returned to the chair between the bed and the window. He briefly thought about the Op that was underway and wondered if Kensi and Deeks were on their way to the hotel. Sam was thankful Hetty had agreed to allow him to stay at the hospital during the mission. G's injuries, the emotional trauma, and all the medications that had been introduced into his system had left him disoriented, groggy, slow to react – vulnerable.
Sam knew his place was here with his partner.
Less than ten minutes later, Nurse Anna came into Callen's room. Her freshly-showered, wet hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and she had changed into hot pink scrubs. "Good afternoon. I'm Anna. I believe we met briefly yesterday," She greeted quietly, placing IV supplies and a bag of solution on the table next to the bed.
Sam rose to his feet. "Sam Hanna."
"Landon tells me things got rough again. He's still pretty out of it, huh?"
Sam looked down at Callen and nodded. "He doesn't know which way's up. At one point I thought he was starting to come out of it. Then a car backfired."
The petite nurse slowly made her way to the bedside. "I heard that, too." She said softly. "I was asleep in the lounge. I sat straight up on my cot. It sounded like a gun shot." Anna looked down at her patient sympathetically. "No wonder it set him off."
"He just can't catch a break."
Anna glanced at the supplies she had brought with her, crinkled her nose, and then looked up at the tall agent standing across from her. "And I'm afraid I'm about to make things worse for him. Have to restart the IV." She carefully moved the covers away from Callen's right hand and examined his arm. "Don't think the right arm is an option this time. Let me check the other arm."
As Sam and Anna were changing sides of the bed, Callen's eyes fluttered open.
"G? You with me?" Sam asked cautiously.
Seemingly unaware of the nurse who was inspecting the veins in his left arm and hand, Callen slowly lifted his eyes and gazed blankly up at Sam.
"Guess that's a 'no.'"
Anna put on a pair of sterile gloves. "Agent Hanna, would you pass me that tubing and package?"
Callen's eyes followed the supplies as they were passed across him, and then locked on the face of the young nurse standing next to him.
Anna reached into the pocket of her scrub top and pulled out a rubber tourniquet. "I'm going to get your IV going. Then I'll leave you alone for a while."
Callen kept his eyes on Anna's face while she tied the band around his arm, tapped on the back of his hand, swiped his skin with an alcohol swab, and pulled a tiny syringe from her pocket.
"Just a tiny stick to numb the skin." She said softly, as she used the deadening medication made specifically for making IV placements less traumatic.
Callen flinched and quickly looked down at the needle that had been inserted just under the top-most layer of skin on the back of his hand. With his full attention now on what the nurse was doing, his eyes narrowed at the package she was opening.
"I'll try to be easy," Anna attempted to assure gently, fairly certain her words were not getting through. "Take deep breaths."
Callen jerked against the restraints, drawing in a quick breath, when the IV catheter penetrated his vein.
Sam reached down, placed the palm of his right hand Callen's jaw, and tried to guide his partner's face toward him. "G. Look at me."
But Callen refused to be distracted. Now holding his breath, he stubbornly pulled his head from his partner's hold and looked down at his hand with panicked eyes.
Sam placed his hand firmly on Callen's shoulder, keeping his voice calm. "Breathe, G. You're alright."
Callen attempted to yank his arm away, but was, again, met with the resistance of the restraint.
The nurse stood up straight, let out a breath, and touched the patient's forearm. "There. It's done. The bad part's over." Anna began slowly, and very lightly, running her fingers back-and-forth over the crook of Callen's elbow.
Within thirty seconds, Callen had begun to relax. And two minutes later, his breathing had returned to normal, and he closed his eyes.
Sam took a seat on the couch while Anna taped the short tube to G's hand, moved the IV machine to the other side of the bed, hooked up the longer tubing and solution, adjusted the settings on the machine, and checked the restraints. Watching the nurse perform her duties, a small smile appeared on his face. This young lady had single-handedly done more to calm his partner than any drug known to man. She is good… Really good.
Anna adjusted the blankets on Callen before giving Sam a wave and murmuring that she would check on them later. She was silent in exiting the room.
Almost an hour had passed when the quiet was interrupted by sudden movement from the bed. Callen's breath hitched, and he jerked on the restraints once again. He opened his eyes and looked at the empty chair to his left. Then he turned his head toward the couch, and looked at Sam with wide, glassy eyes. "Sam?" He said softly, but with alarm in his voice.
Sam was at his side in a split second. "Yeah, G. I'm here."
Callen swallowed dryly. "I can't move." Panic was still evident in his raspy voice. "Why am I tied to the bed?"
"You had a bad reaction to one of the medicines. You've been fighting to get out of the bed."
"Sam... Take them off."
Seeing the frightened look on his partner's face, Sam wished he could comply. "Sorry, G. I can't. Doctor's orders."
"Untie me, Sam."
"They're afraid you'll hurt yourself. You've already fallen once. They're not going to take them off until they're sure you're thinking clearly."
Callen stared up at Sam with pleading, watery eyes. "Sam. Please."
Sam shook his head slowly. "Sorry, G."
Apparently too tired to protest any further, Callen's body visibly relaxed, a look of defeat washing over his features. He lowered his eyes, and turned his face toward the window.
"It won't be long, buddy. I promise."
Sam quietly returned to the couch. His stomach was in knots. Everything in him wanted to release the restraints. His partner was oriented, at least to some degree. But Sam just couldn't be sure how long this would last. And he couldn't be certain something wouldn't spook Callen again, sending him into some sort of panicked state. Sam let out a breath. He really hoped he'd be able to keep his promise to G; that it wouldn't be long.
Just a little while later, Anna quietly entered the room and made her way to the other side of the hospital bed. She carefully pulled the covers off his left arm. "Oh. You're awake," she said, surprised when her patient's bright blue eyes opened wide.
Callen's breathing immediately became fast and choppy. He looked up at the nurse, and then turned his head to the right, searching for his partner.
Sam stood up and stepped up to the side of the bed. "G. You remember Anna, don't you?"
Callen's gaze drifted from Sam to the nurse.
Anna placed her fingers on the palmar side of the patient's wrist. "I took care of you yesterday. When Detective Deeks was here." She softly moved her hand up to the bend of his arm, and then back down to his wrist several times. "Do you remember?"
Callen's eyes became droopy. He let out a contented breath and nodded once.
"Good. I'm just here to check on you."
When the nurse began examining the IV placement, Callen turned and looked back up at Sam. "She's going to let me go?" He asked weakly.
Anna looked at Callen with a puzzled expression. "I'm sorry. What is it you need?"
Sam sat down on the front edge of the couch and breathed out through his nose. "He wants the restraints off."
"Oh. I see. Mr. Callen?" Anna waited until her patient had turned to look at her before continuing. "I'm afraid we can't let you go just yet." The nurse looked across at Sam when she received the same disgruntled look he had gotten just a few minutes earlier. "I know it's uncomfortable," She continued to reassure. "When Dr. Lee gets here in a little while, he'll determine if it's alright to remove the restraints. Until then, I'll try to make you as comfortable as possible."
Callen frowned down at the foot of the bed.
Anna adjusted the covers. "Are you thirsty? Can I get you something to drink?"
Before Callen had a chance to respond, there was a loud, deliberate knock on the door. A short, stocky man, wearing a black suit, and white open-collar dress shirt, pushed the door open and entered the room. He was followed by a tall, slender woman, in her fifties, wearing a navy pantsuit, and carrying a clipboard.
The woman was the first to speak. "I'm Laura Stone, Assistant Director of Nursing. This is Don Sanders, Head of our Security Department."
Callen lifted his head off the pillow. He peered up at the man and woman for a few seconds, and then looked over to Sam as if asking for confirmation that these people could be trusted. After receiving a nod from his partner, Callen lowered his head back down to the pillow, but kept a skeptical eye on the pair.
"Mr. Sanders is here to get a statement concerning the incident in Radiology this morning," the Assistant Director explained.
Just as Sam rose to his feet, the security guy stepped between the Ex-SEAL and the patient.
Anna looked at her superior with concern. "Mrs. Stone, no disrespect, but I don't think this is a good time."
Sanders stood up a little taller and responded to the young nurse's statement. "It's hospital policy to follow up on an incident within forty-eight hours. I get off at 5:30 and I am not due back until Tuesday morning." He slipped a small camcorder from the inside pocket of his jacket, held it directly in front of him, and pressed the record button.
Anna bit her bottom lip. "I just think this needs to be cleared with his doctor first."
Mrs. Stone gave Anna a look that could easily be interpreted as a warning glare. "Mrs. Harris. I am aware of your reputation to be a bit overprotective. But let's just let Mr. Sanders do his job. It won't take long."
Anna stood in silence, now biting her lip even harder. Sam picked up on her restrained disapproval and became even more on-alert.
Mr. Sanders took one more step closer to the bed, now directing his attention to the patient. "As I said earlier, hospital policy requires us to follow up any time there is a reported assault on one for our employees. Can you tell me what you recall about the incident?"
Callen squinted up at Sanders in confusion.
"Don't worry. The employee you assaulted is refusing to file charges. Just tell me what you remember."
Callen shook his head. "Assault?" he asked softly. G turned his head to the right and began searching for his partner. He finally spotted him when Sam pushed his way between the man and woman who had come to investigate. "Sam?"
Sanders tried, unsuccessfully, to side step in front of Sam before continuing with his questioning. "So you're trying to tell me that you don't remember assaulting the two young men down in Radiology this morning?"
Callen shook his head. He looked over at Sam in bewilderment. "Sam. They're saying I hurt someone?"
"It's okay G. The medicine was messing with your head. You didn't know what you were doing."
Callen's eyes began to frantically scan the room. His breathing was becoming more ragged by the second. "No," he whispered. "I would never…"
Sanders, still recording, reached over and took the clipboard from Mrs. Stone. "You're telling me you don't remember doing this?" He shoved the clipboard in front of Callen's face, showing him an 8 X 10 photo taken of the injured Radiology Tech. "I can assure you, you did this. You broke this kid's nose, and you tried to strangle another employee."
Confused, Callen briefly studied the picture of the young man's swollen nose and bloody face. G lowered his head back down on the pillow, staring straight ahead with wide, distressed eyes. His choppy breathing quickly escalated to gasping for air. Suddenly, his stomach heaved, and all the color seemed to run out of his face.
Anna grabbed the covers and yanked them off the bed. "We've got to get him on his side!"
Sam shoved Sanders out of the way and quickly went to work untying the restraint on Callen's right wrist.
By the time Sam and Mrs. Stone had untied Callen's right restraints from the bedframe, Anna had freed his left arm and leg, let down the rail on her side, and had lowered the head of the bed.
As if they had practiced it a thousand times, Sam and Anna used the draw sheet to move Callen toward his right and then quickly turned him onto his left side.
Anna took a towel from Mrs. Stone and tucked it under the side of her patient's face.
A series of dry heaves ensued. With each painful convulsion, Callen curled into himself even more.
Within a minute, the heaving had ceased, leaving Callen in a semi-fetal position, the long ties now streaming loosely from the restraints on his wrists and ankles. Perspiration had formed on his bruised back. He lay there on his side, eyes closed, panting for air.
Mrs. Stone returned from the bathroom and handed Anna two wet washcloths.
Anna draped one cloth across the back of her patient's neck, and used the other to gently dab the side of his face and forehead, careful to avoid the Steri-strips on his forehead. The young nurse's heart sank as she watched a tear trickle down over the bridge of her patient's nose, and then onto the bed.
When Callen's breathing finally returned to normal, Anna raised the bedrail and looked across to her superior, a dark warning look in her eyes.
Mrs. Stone lowered her eyes guiltily. "I think Mr. Sanders has everything he needs."
Sam turned to see the security guy still videoing Callen. "Give me that," He growled, grabbing the small recorder out of the man's hand.
"Hey," Sanders protested. "You can't do that."
"I just did." Sam looked down at the camera and pressed the 'stop' button.
"That's property of the hospital."
"Well, now it's property of the Federal Government. Get out of here."
Sanders huffed and followed Mrs. Stone out of the room.
Sam tossed the small camcorder onto the couch and stepped up to the bed. He placed both palms on top of the side rail, and just stood there, watching his partner.
Minutes later, Sam still felt like his blood was boiling. It had been all he could do to refrain from punching the man from Security. It was bad enough that his line of questioning caused Callen so much distress. But the guy had the nerve to video the whole thing. Sam didn't know which angered him most: the fact that a video on file might somehow compromise G's identity in the future, or that his partner was being recorded while in such a humiliating and vulnerable state. Sam didn't have to think about it long to realize it was the latter.
Sam took deep calming breaths. He was being confronted with emotions that he rarely had to deal with. G Callen was not ever supposed to be sick… Or injured… Or defenseless. And right now, he was all of those. It was going to take a lot of care – care from the whole team – to get him back.
