Chapter 37: Getting through the Night

Just as Hetty had reminded Sam, Nurse Landon showed up at 1:00 am with the dreaded, but necessary medication. "Mr. Callen?" he said cautiously, so as to not startle the sleeping patient. When he got no response, he spoke just a little more loudly. "Mr. Callen."

Seeing that his partner was still not responding, Sam stood up from where he had been seated, between the bed and the window. "G," he said while gently shaking Callen's shoulder.

Callen's eyes opened slightly and he squinted up at Sam.

"G. It's time to take your medicine."

Landon and Sam waited patiently while Callen swiped at his eyes with both fists, as if trying to clear the fog from his brain. After he repositioned himself in the bed, he peered up at Sam with a questioning look.

"Your medicine, sleepy head," Sam explained, while pointing across the bed to where the nurse was standing.

Callen's eyes opened wider when he turned his head to the right and saw the medicine cup Landon was holding. He looked up at the tall nurse, and then back to his left at Sam. "Don't want it," he said, with a soft, 'I just woke up' voice.

Sam crossed his arms over his chest, while simultaneously shifting his weight to one leg and letting out a big breath. "G, don't start this. You know you have to take these pills. So why go through this every time?"

Callen looked down, averting Sam's stern look. After a brief pause, Callen responded softly, "I just got warm."

The big SEAL's features softened. Gripping the bedrail with both hands, he leaned down a little closer. "I know… But the doc said you need this."

Callen sat stubbornly, making no effort to move.

Landon placed the medicine on the rolling table. "Mr. Callen. I'm sure you don't really care to hear about my personal life. But I'm telling you this anyway… About four years ago, my younger brother went to Houston to visit his best friend from college. They were on their way to a baseball game when an eighteen-wheeler hit them head on. The friend was banged up pretty bad, but nothing life threating. My brother, Caleb – not so lucky. He sustained a head injury."

Callen looked up at the nurse, compassion showing in his eyes.

"He was in rehab for months. They got him walking and talking again. But cognitively… well… he just isn't the same. Caleb will never live independently. His memory is poor, he's moody – sometimes to the point of becoming violent. A few times, he's even hit our mom when she's trying to help him with something."

Callen's eyes moistened.

After a brief pause to gather his own emotions, the nurse continued. "Caleb had a small brain bleed that they just couldn't get under control. The doctors tried several drugs, hoping to calm his nervous system while his brain healed. Unfortunately, he was allergic to them." Landon retrieved the medicine cup and held it up in front of Callen. "Florozine, was still being tested at that time. My parents chose not to take the risk with something experimental, especially after his adverse reactions to the other medications and knowing how uncomfortable the Florizine would make my brother; Caleb was always so cold natured growing up… Now? I think not a day goes by that they don't wonder if the outcome might have been different if they had allowed the doctors to give him the drug."

G looked down at his lap and swallowed hard.

"You probably don't remember everything that has happened over the past few days, but you responded very poorly to the standard medications. The FLorozine is a good option. It's not a magic cure, but it has a good success rate. I know the side effects are the pits, but it would be a shame for you to have regrets later… like my parents."

Still looking down, Callen took a moment to blink away his tears before any could escape. Then he looked up at the nurse and reached for the medicine and the water.

While Callen was washing down the capsules, Sam looked across and gave Landon a single, almost undetectable nod.

When the nurse had gone, Sam switched to the other side of the room and sat down on the vinyl couch, giving his partner some space. Callen was quiet and Sam was pretty sure he was still reflecting on what Landon had told him. Underneath G's 'tough guy' exterior, Sam knew his partner was about as sensitive as they come; especially when it came to suffering within a family. Sam often thought about G's deep-seated devotion to protect the innocent. It sure wasn't something he was taught by loving parents. More than likely, it was developed from his own life experiences. G Callen was determined that no one would go through the things he had – that is, if he could help it.

A little while had passed when Sam heard G softly clear his throat. He watched as Callen struggled to swallow. "Your throat dry, G?"

"Little bit."

"Juice or water?"

"Juice."

Sam stood and headed for the door. "I'll be right back."

He returned with three containers of apple juice and poured a couple of them into a cup.

Callen looked up at the white cup with unfocused eyes. And when he reached for the juice, it was like he had to search the air to find it. He finally pinpointed the cup, wrapped his fingers around it, and took a small drink, coming close to spilling it.

The corners of Sam's mouth lifted slightly. "You feel like you've had a few too many beers, partner?"

Callen frowned. "Worse."

Sam raised his left hand and held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Which hand?"

Sam chuckled. "That bad, huh?"

Callen took another sip of his juice. "More like 'fallin-down-drunk'," he said with a slight slur to his words.

It wasn't long before G began blinking slowly, and Sam decided it was a good idea to take the, almost empty, cup from him.

The drowsiness from the medicine won over, and Callen could no longer keep his heavy eyelids open.

The next time he opened his eyes, it was with a startle, followed by a slight shiver. Callen began searching the dark room for his partner.

"I'm over here, G. On this Barbie-size couch." Sam got up and flipped on the entrance light, sending a soft glow throughout the room.

Callen squinted up at the tall form approaching him. "I told you, you can go home and sleep on a real bed." G dug his elbows into the mattress and pushed himself up a little higher in the bed, grimacing and letting out a groan in the process. When he was settled, he peered out the window. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long."

Callen's body tensed briefly from a wave of cold. "What time is it?"

"It's…" Sam took a second to look at his watch, "2:43. Time normal people are still asleep."

G gritted his teeth and then awkwardly attempted to reposition his body in the bed. He rubbed his palm down his face, and let out a short breath of frustration. "I'm tired of being in this bed," he grumbled.

"I know you are," Sam responded with a less than sympathetic tone, then his face lit up with a smile. "You want me to go down to the kitchen and see if they'd loan you some small appliances to take apart and put back together? It might make the time pass faster."

Callen lifted an eyebrow at Sam. Then a hint of a smirk appeared. "No thanks."

"Okay, then. Just trying to get you through the night."

Sam spent the next hour, or so, hydrating his partner, and trying to get Callen's mind off of his 'cabin fever' by recalling some of the odd characters they had dealt with while working cases together. Sam would pause intermittently to listen to his partner's grumblings about the bed being too hard, the room being too cold, too many wrinkles in the sheets, and so on. Sam got it. G wants out of this place. Like NOW. During this back-and-forth interchange of Sam's recollection of old cases, and Callen's complaining, Sam thought he caught a glimpse of G trembling on several occasions, and he knew his friend was hurting more than he was letting on.

Sam took a short break while the nurse was in the room tending to Callen. And when he returned, there was no doubt G was cold; he was shivering to the point of clenching his teeth to prevent them from chattering.

Sam picked up the large thermos Hetty had brought, and gave it a back-and-forth shake. "I just texted Hetty and she reminded me that there's a little bit of tea left. You want it?"

Callen looked up at Sam with something akin to desperation in his eyes, and he nodded once. He didn't even bother protesting when his partner held the cup for him while he drank the warm tea.

With the cup now empty, Sam went to the foot of the bed, reached in under the covers and did a 'sock check'. Then his expression went serious - like a man on a mission. He walked around to Callen's left side, and then to his right, carefully studying the bed as he moved.

Callen's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing, Sam?"

"I'm trying to figure out how to get up in there with you."

Callen's eyes widened and his shivering began to intensify. "You're kidding, right?"

Without taking his eyes off the bed, Sam replied. "No, I'm not kidding. You know that sharing body heat is the best way to stay warm."

"They teach you that… in SEAL school?" Callen said with a shudder.

Sam didn't answer. He just crossed his arms and gave Callen an irritated stare.

"Look… big guy. I appreciate the th… thought. But I don't think… your king size body's gonna fit in this… twin size bed. Not… with me in it."

Sam let out a breath through his nose and his shoulders sagged a little. "You're right." Now resigned to the fact he was not going to fit in the bed, Sam did the next best thing: he tucked in the edges of the blankets, sealing G in an almost air-tight pod.

Callen smiled lazily up at Sam. "Th… thanks, partner."

The shaking finally lessened around 5:00 in the morning, and Callen was able to get a little rest before the cycle started all over.

He was in the process of waking up when Hetty arrived at 6:30, lugging a huge, overflowing tote bag.

Sam jumped up from the couch. "Hetty. Let me help you with that."

G turned his head toward the pair and smiled drowsily. "Hetty. That things bigger than you are. You movin' in?"

She brushed her hands together as Sam was placing the bag on the couch. "No. Mr. Callen. This is all for you."

Callen's smile faded. "I don't plan on being here that long," he pointed out, sounding like a petulant teenager.

Ignoring her grumpy agent for now, Hetty began digging around in the large tote. "Here it is." She pulled out a large thermos, similar to the one she had brought the day before. "I made you some black tea, infused with passion fruit. It is high in antioxidants and is affective in decreasing anxiety and irritability."

G furrowed his brow. "I'm not irritable."

Hetty stopped what she was doing so that she could peer at Callen over the top of her glasses. "Is that so? That's not would your partner texted me earlier this morning."

Callen looked up at his tall friend with wide eyes and slightly parted lips.

Sam suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Look, G. I didn't say you were irritable."

"Really. What exactly did you say?"

When it was clear Sam was struggling to come up with an acceptable response, Hetty 'helped' him out. "Let me see. I believe it went something like, 'He's up here complaining about everything… a real pain in the neck. I'm hoping I can get through the night without killing him.' Does that sound about right, Mr. Hanna?"

Sam huffed. "Hetty. Why would you wanna throw me under the bus, like that?"

The Operations Manager just went about her business of removing items from the tote and pulling towels and sheets out of the closet, and Callen did not release Sam from his stunned stare.

Sam let out a big sigh. "I'm going for a run."

Still facing away from the flustered SEAL, Hetty smiled. "Get some sleep before returning, Mr. Hanna."

Sam was out the door in a matter of seconds.

"What do you know," Hetty said with a satisfied look on her face. "I do believe that is the first time your partner willingly left this hospital room."

Callen's narrowed eyes were still fixed on the door Sam had just exited. "Can't believe he said I was a pain in the neck," he mumbled, as if talking to himself.

"Well, I may have taken some liberties when quoting your partner." She smiled sheepishly at Callen when his eyes met her gaze.

"So he didn't say I was a pain in the neck?"

"No... Let me see." Hetty pressed her lips together for a moment. "Not a pain in the 'neck.' I believe he referred to another part of the anatomy."

Callen shook his head in disbelief.

"But on the up side, you did make it through the night without being harmed by your partner."

One corner of Callen's mouth lifted. "At least there's that. I survived the night."