Chapter 26: Cleanup
Sam had been awkwardly reclined on the small vinyl couch for about half an hour, resting his tired body while keeping an eye on his sleeping partner, when he heard Callen moan. He quickly unfolded his tall frame and rose to his feet.
When he approached the bedside, G's unfocused eyes were gazing straight ahead, an expression that Sam deemed a combination of confusion and pain. The worried ex-SEAL didn't have to guess what was wrong when he saw that Callen's splinted hand was clutching his right side.
"G."… Sam placed his hand on his dazed friend's shoulder and gave it a quick, firm squeeze. "G," he said a bit more forcefully.
Callen blinked hard and turned his eyes toward the familiar voice.
"You with me?"
G instinctively pushed away the pained expression. With a hint of uncertainty remaining in his eyes, he gave his partner a single nod.
"Those broken ribs screamin' at you?"
Callen slid his hand away from his side and swiped his dry lips with his tongue. "I'm good."
"Sure you are," Sam mumbled while pouring a cup of water. "Here. Drink this."
Callen accepted the Styrofoam cup and had begun slowly sipping the contents when Nurse Anna knocked, and entered the room.
"Good morning, Agent Callen. How are you feeling?"
"His ribs are hurting," Sam piped up before the patient had time to give his usual response.
G shot his overprotective friend a displeased glance. "I'm Okay."
Anna looked up at the tall Agent standing beside her. "How bad?"
Sam crossed his arms, tilted his head to one side, and studied G for a brief moment. "Bad enough that it woke him up a few minutes ago."
This time, the displeased look Callen gave Sam was more than just a glance. "I'm fine… Really."
Sam shook his head slowly. "I can tell you're better… Back to your hard-headed, defiant, grumpy self. Anna Harris? Meet my partner, Special Agent G Callen."
Anna managed to keep her smile to a minimum as she placed the blood pressure cuff on her patient's arm.
Sam didn't even try to hide his grin at his stubborn partner's ability to maintain his signature 'I'm ignoring you' expression the whole time the nurse was checking his vital signs.
Anna finished recording the patient's pulse, blood pressure and temperature and then made her way to other side of the bed to examine the IV line. "I think we can take these off now," she said while lifting up the loose ties to the restraint cuff fastened around Callen's left wrist.
Sam stepped in closer to the bed, and he and the nurse worked simultaneously to remove the restraints.
A look of relief washed over G's face when the bindings were removed from his ankles.
After covering Callen's feet, Anna came around to where Sam was standing and picked up the cup of water from the portable table and held it out toward Callen. "Why don't you finish this, and then try to get some rest." When her patient did not respond, she handed the cup to Sam. "He has about an hour to rest before Miss Lange comes to help with his morning care."
For once, Sam was actually thankful that his partner was zoned out; G seemed to have totally missed the 'Hetty and morning care' reference.
Anna quickly scanned the room. "Agent Hanna, we've tried to cut down on the number of people coming in and out of here, so there's been a hold on having his room cleaned. But do you think he'd be alright with someone from housekeeping coming by this morning?"
Sam glanced down at the almost overflowing trashcan. "Not a problem."
"Good. I'll call the night supervisor and put in a one-time request." The nurse gathered up her clipboard and pen and exited the room.
With a little prodding, Callen finally finished his cup of water.
The room was quiet for the next little while. Callen was right on the edge of drifting off to sleep, but never closed his eyes. He glanced up at the young lady who had come by to clean his room, but didn't seem to be bothered by her presence.
As Sam sat on the couch waiting on the freshly mopped floor to dry, he noticed his partner was grimacing, and possibly even holding his breath. It wasn't long before Callen relaxed, resuming his vacant gaze through droopy eyes.
Hetty arrived, right on schedule, to find her Senior Agent awake but in what appeared to be a rather groggy state. She turned to where Sam was seated on the couch. "Good morning, Mr. Hanna," she greeted while placing her handbag and a couple of large totes on the empty cushion next to him. "Did either of you get any rest?"
Sam stood up and stretched his back. "He slept on and off." He glanced over to the entrance when Anna slipped into the room carrying an armful of folded towels and sheets. "G's been awake for a while now, but he's been still and quiet."
"Good… Pain?"
"Ribs and hip mostly."
Hetty lifted her chin, peered over at Callen a few seconds, and then approached the bed.
Callen turned his head to the right and looked up into his boss' eyes that were now closely studying him. "Hetty?" His voice was soft and innocent.
"Mr. Callen. How are you feeling?"
"When can I go home?" he asked with only slightly more volume in his voice.
"Not today. I'm afraid you're not quite well enough. Maybe in a few days."
Callen frowned down at his feet and then looked back up at Hetty with a questioning look. "What day is it?"
"It's Sunday." She glanced at her watch and added, "5:36 am."
G's eyebrows knitted together. "Sunday," he whispered, as he cut his eyes to the left.
Hetty gave him a moment to process the timeline. "I arrived early so that I could assist Miss Harris with your bathing and hygiene."
Suddenly, Hetty had Callen's full attention. He looked up at her with wide blue eyes.
Hetty smiled gently. "After all," she said while stroking the side of his face with her palm, "this is a bit scruffy, even by your standards."
Callen's eyes searched the room until he found his partner.
When Sam caught sight of the G's pleading look, he pressed his lips together and shook his head apologetically.
Hetty patted Callen's arm and then directed her attention to Sam. "You may go get some fresh air, Mr. Hanna. But keep your cellphone handy. Since Mr. Callen is unable to turn onto his right side, it will help us greatly if you assist us when it's time to change the bed linen."
Sam gave G one more sympathetic glance, and obediently left the room.
With his broad, muscular shoulders sagging, Sam Hanna slowly made his way to the waiting room at the end of the hall. He sat in one of the padded chairs, cringing one more time on his partner's behalf. He knew that Hetty would respect G's privacy as much as possible. But his friend was in a rather helpless state at the moment. And now that G was awake and more oriented, the idea of being tended to by others was not going to sit well at all.
Forty minutes later, Sam was absent-mindedly flipping through the pages of a fitness magazine when he got the call from Hetty that his assistance was needed.
After cautiously pushing open the door to Callen's hospital room, Sam immediately had to stifle a chuckle.
G, who looked even more exhausted than before, was lying there with no top sheet, dressed only in pale blue pajama pants, staring straight ahead, his jaw tightly clinched like a pouting child. His hair was wet, and Hetty had apparently unsuccessfully attempted to part his hair and comb it to the side. His only saving grace was that she had left the beard alone… at least for now.
While the nurse was busy emptying the water basin, and Hetty was occupied with returning the toothbrush and toothpaste to a baggie, Sam slipped past them and to his partner's side. He quickly ran his hand over the top of G's head, returning his short hair to its natural style.
"I saw that, Mr. Hanna," Hetty scolded.
Sam let out a breath through his nose, but didn't even bother to defend his actions. G would have done the same for him… that is, if he had hair for Hetty to style.
After placing the wet towels in a large plastic bag, Anna removed her gloves and tossed them into wastebasket. "Agent Hanna, would you join me on the other side of the bed."
Sam followed Anna and waited for her next instruction.
"On my count, if you'd lift him, we'll change out the bottom sheet."
On the count of three, Sam leaned down and scooped his partner up in his arms. He felt G's body tense, and heard him grunt, a sound similar to when someone gets the wind knocked out of them. "Hang on, buddy."
Sam held Callen about a foot from the mattress, while the women worked quickly to remove the sheets and towels from the bed, change out the pillowcase, and cover the mattress with a clean white sheet, and a folded draw sheet.
Sam was sure that G was even lighter than when he had carried him into the ER just three and a half days earlier. But at least now, G's skin was cool to the touch; his fever was gone.
After Callen had been carefully lowered to the bed, Nurse Anna ran the IV line through the sleeve of a fresh hospital gown, and Hetty took care of the other arm.
By the time the sheet and blanket were draped over him, Callen's breathing was labored and he was having difficulty keeping his eyes open.
Hetty laid a gentle hand on the center of his chest. "We're all done. Just close your eyes and rest," she said soothingly. "That's it."
Hetty had just raised the bedrail when she noticed Deeks was standing close behind her. "Mr. Deeks. I didn't even hear you come in. How long have you been here?"
The thought of actually succeeding in sneaking up on his little Ninja boss brought a small smile to the Detective's face. "I got here just as Sam picked Callen up."
The nurse checked the patients IV once again, and then addressed Hetty. "I checked on the status of the pharmacy delivery for the new medication. They are still guaranteeing delivery by 7:00."
"Good," Hetty replied, just as an alert sounded on her cellphone. "Excuse me."
While the Operations Manager read her email message, Anna finished bagging up the dirty linen and left the room.
"Oh, Bugger."
"Is something wrong?" Deeks asked with sincere concern.
"We have a case," Hetty responded while still scrolling through the information sent to her phone. "Caldwell Enterprises in Glendale."
"Hagen Caldwell?" Sam asked.
Deeks' eyes narrowed. "You know this guy, Sam?"
"Yeah. An old case Callen and I worked. A group, with ties to the Taliban, abducted Caldwell's wife and son. Tried to force him to release his research designs for an unmanned aircraft. We were able to locate and rescue his family, and arrest the terrorist suspects, before any damage was done. "
Hetty looked up from her phone. "Hagen Caldwell runs an electronics company that specializes in aviation software," she explained. "Eighteen months ago, he secured a government contract, designing military drones. He received a call last night that his security system had been breached."
Sam furrowed his brow. "What information did they take?"
"He can't be sure what, if anything, has been compromised until he gets to the research facility and does a full system scan. He and his family were out of the country vacationing when he got the call. He's currently in route, scheduled to arrive in Burbank at 1:42. According to the information I just received, he is extremely frightened. He's refusing to go to his lab unless either you or Mr. Callen accompanies him."
Sam's facial expression showed he was now in full mission-mode.
"I'll call Miss Blye and ask her to ride with you to the airport, and to assist you at the facility in Glendale. I'll have the flight information sent to your phones. In the meantime, why don't you go on to the office? You can clean up there, eat something, and get a little bit of sleep before you need to head to the airport."
Sam looked down at his partner and his features softened. He lightly gripped Callen's shoulder.
Callen's eyes opened and he looked tiredly up at the tall Agent standing over him.
"Have to go work a case, G. I'll see ya later."
"Be safe," Callen said hoarsely .
"I will. And don't give them too much grief while I'm gone."
A small smile appeared before Callen closed his eyes again.
Sam was almost to the door when he turned around and looked directly at the blonde Detective. "Deeks…"
"I know. I know," he whined. "Keep your partner hydrated, don't agitate him, and absolutely no coddling."
"Right. But what I was going to say was, don't let Hetty touch his hair after I leave."
"Wait. What?"
Hetty put on her best offended face. "And just what was wrong with the way I styled his hair? I think Mr. Callen would benefit greatly from a more polished look."
"Hetty." Sam held his palms up for emphasis. "You had his hair all slicked to the side like he was a second grader getting ready to take school pictures. I can't work undercover with a partner who looks like his mother still dresses him."
"Just go." Hetty lifted her arm, using her tiny hand to shew her 6'3", 225 pound Agent out the door.
