Chapter 39 Cleanup on Aisle Seven
With Callen now back in his chair, following his Physical Therapy session, Kensi wasted no time covering him with a blanket, while Deeks began pouring a cup of Hetty's tea.
"Thanks, guys," G said softly, slipping an arm out from beneath the blanket when he was handed the steaming cup of tea.
"No problem," the younger team members responded in unison.
A little while later, Nurse C. J. came by the room to check on his patient. He had just finished changing out Callen's IV solution when Sam returned.
Sam stepped inside the door when he stopped in his tracks. "What do we have going on here?" he asked with a cheerful tone.
C. J. slid the blanket off of the, already shivering, patient's shoulders, wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Callen's left upper arm, and then put the digital thermometer in his mouth.
Sam laid a take-out bag on the counter and began to smile as he approached G. "You're up in a chair… wearing real clothes… and this," he said, lightly stroking the side of Callen's beardless face with the back of his hand.
In an almost reflex-like response, G moved his head sideways, attempting to dodge the unwelcomed touch, while reaching up with his left hand and clumsily swatting at his partner's arm. As a result, the thermometer slid out of his mouth, and onto his lap.
With a grin on his face, the nurse grasped Callen's arm and gently guided it back down to his side. "Try to hold still so we can get an accurate read," he said, while resetting the blood pressure machine and then returning the fallen thermometer to Callen's mouth.
"Yeah, G," Sam mocked. "Hold still."
With his lips pressed together tightly against the thermometer, Callen glared up at his partner.
Sam shook his head, a puzzled expression on his face. "I can't believe you let Hetty shave you that close."
"He asked her to," C. J. interjected while unfastening the blood pressure cuff.
"It was itchy," G mumbled, while the thermometer was being removed from his mouth.
Sam huffed. "Well, at least there's time for some growth before you come back to work. I'm not going on an op with a partner who looks like a seven-year-old."
Looking and sounding like a grumpy child, Callen responded, "I don't look seven."
Deeks' eyebrows lifted. "Yeah, Callen. You sort-a do," he said, earning him a sideways glare from the Senior Agent.
"Boys?" Kensi warned. "Don't make me have to call 'mom' to come back up here."
"He started it," Deeks whined, pointing to Sam.
"Me? I'm not the one who let someone shave my beard and style my hair."
"Uh, Sam?" Marty began, a serious look on his face. "Need I remind you, that you don't have any hair to style?"
Sam's eyes narrowed. He ran his palm over the top of his head. "This is on purpose."
After suppressing a brief pained grimace, Callen looked up at his partner and managed a small smile. "Can you even grow a beard?"
"Yes I can grow a beard."
"Boys?" Kensi warned, once again.
With his gaze still locked on G's, Sam continued the teasing. "I bet Hetty even gave you a mani-pedi."
The nurse grabbed the rolling vital signs machine and was chuckling when he exited the room.
The bantering continued until lunch arrived a few minutes later.
C. J. followed right behind the Food Service worker who had delivered the tray, and pushed the table up in front of Callen. "Dr. Lee wanted us to emphasize how important it is for you to start eating more of your meals… especially now that therapy has you up walking."
Callen averted his gaze. "I'm not hungry."
"I know you're not. And, unfortunately, your medication only makes that worse. But this," he explained, pointing to the IV bag hanging to Callen's left, "is providing just some of what you need. In order to build your muscle strength, you really have to start eating more; at least fifty percent of your tray."
Callen just kept his eyes averted toward the window.
The nurse exchanged looks with Sam, and Sam gave him a nod that clearly signaled - I'll take care of it.
C. J. lingered for just a moment, giving his patient one more worried look before exiting the room.
Kensi uncovered all the food containers and unwrapped the napkin that held the utensils. "Wow, Callen. They actually sent some real food this time."
Whether from being cold, or from pain in his ribs, Callen wrapped his arms around his midsection, ignoring the fruit, green beans, cooked carrots, and mashed potatoes with gravy that sat in front of him.
Sam picked up the fork and held it up in G's field of vision. "You heard the nurse. Get to eating." When Callen reached up a shaky hand and accepted the utensil, Sam turned his attention to the bag he had brought in with him. "Kenz, Deeks, I picked up some sandwiches. They're all the same - Turkey and swiss on wheat." He laid the individually wrapped sandwiches on the counter. "I'll head down to the vending machines and get us some bottled water."
Sam glanced behind him and saw his partner was still just sitting there, holding a fork that he clearly had no intention of using. Sam stepped in front of where G was sitting and pointed to the food tray. "And when I get back, you better have eaten at least twenty-five percent of that. Or I'm going to hold you down and force-feed you."
G looked up, his lips slightly parted, studying Sam with wide eyes. When he didn't detect any hint that his partner might be bluffing, he swallowed hard.
As soon as the door closed behind the SEAL, Callen looked down and visually scanned the overwhelming amount of food he had been ordered to eat. With more than just a hint of alarm in his eyes, he looked up at Kensi, and then at Deeks. "Well, don't just stand there. Help me eat this stuff."
"Uhn Uhn," Deeks replied, shaking his head and holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm not that stupid. Sam will come back in here, smell food on my breath, and then I'll be dead."
Kensi smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Callen. You're on your own."
Once again, G scanned his tray, this time with a look of determination that his coworkers had seen many times when Callen was about to 'step into' one of his aliases. He took a breath and began the daunting task of consuming a quarter of the food, before his partner returned.
Deeks and Kensi stood helplessly for several minutes, as their Lead Agent attempted to feed himself. He was so engrossed in trying to eat, that it was as if he didn't know anyone else was in the room. His shivering became so intense at times, that he struggled to even get the food to his mouth. And each time he did manage a small bite, he made a face.
Deeks looked at his partner, who was practically wringing her hands. "Hey," he said softly to her, while touching her arm. "I'm going to go find us some napkins," he said, giving her a wink.
Deeks made a beeline to the end of the hall, and was surprised to find Sam sitting in a chair, elbows propped on his thighs, his head in his hands, and three bottled waters sitting there on the table beside him.
When the blonde Detective reached the vending machines, Sam lifted his head and then jumped to his feet. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah. Everything's okay. I was just wanting to ask if you'd give him a little more time before you come back in there."
Sat back down in the chair. His eyes filled with sympathy. "He's having trouble eating, isn't he?"
"Ahh." Deeks leaned his head back a little as the 'light bulb' came on. "That's why you're sitting down here. You're stalling." He took a seat in the chair across from Sam. "The answer to your question is 'yes.' … I believe he has dropped more food on his plate than he's gotten in his mouth."
Sam mashed his lips together and his eyes filled with worry.
"What do we do?" Deeks asked. "You know your partner. He's going to shut down if we try to feed him."
"I don't know. We'll give him a few more minutes and just go from there. If he even eats a little, it's better than what it's been."
Deeks felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out of his jeans' pocket. "It's Kenz. Ut oh! Cleanup on aisle seven. She said Callen just dropped his glass of ice water and he's going to need to change clothes."
Sam hoisted himself up from the chair. "Well great," he grumbled, as he grabbed the waters.
Deeks and Sam entered the room just as C. J. was pressing the button to shut off the beeping call light Kensi had activated. Callen was breathing fast, clutching the front of his shirt with both hands, trying his best to keep the wet fabric from touching his skin. Kensi was opening up the closet.
The nurse squatted down in front of the patient and removed the soaked blank. "Only his shirt and blanket are wet. Pants are fine."
"Okay," Kensi responded while digging through a bag of clothes Hetty had brought.
At that moment, the Physical Therapist came in through the open door.
Nurse C. J. looked up at the doorway. "Oh, good. H, can you go get me a couple of towels?"
"Sure thing." He leaned a cane against the wall and exited the room.
"There's a hoodie in here," Kensi reported.
"His night nurse said they were going to try that this morning. But it was going to be a little complicated with the IV… and needing to get to his arm to check his blood pressure. If he doesn't have another shirt, we'll just put a hospital gown on him."
Sam located the thermos Hetty had brought that morning and began pouring a cup for his partner.
Deeks rolled up the wet blanket and tossed it into the shower stall in the bathroom.
H returned with the towels. "What can I do?"
The nurse reached a hand out from where he was squatted down. "I'll use one of those to dry him off… if you'll just make sure the floor is dry."
"I'll take care of it," the therapist said, and began mopping water that had splashed out when the hard, plastic tumbler hit the floor.
Callen looked around, taking in all the commotion in the room. His gaze stopped on C. J.'s eyes. "I'm sorry," he said through trembling lips.
"It's all good," C. J. reassured. "We just need to get you out of these wet clothes."
"Found a shirt!" Kensi announced, pulling out a gray t-shirt.
C. J. stood up, removed the bag of solution from the IV machine. He and the physical therapist then began carefully pulling off Callen's wet shirt, working together to thread the IV line and bag through the armhole.
With his shirt now removed, Callen was hit with a forceful shudder. He sucked in a quick, shallow breath and his eyes squeezed shut.
The room became still and quiet, giving him a chance to get his breathing under control. In those few moments, all eyes were on Callen, where his scars from past injuries, and his more recent bruising, were especially vivid against his pale torso.
When he finally began breathing more evenly, he opened his eyes and signaled he was okay with a nod.
Kensi traded the nurse the wet shirt for the dry one, and then C. J. and the therapist reversed the process, putting the IV through the armhole and then finished slipping the t-shirt onto Callen.
Sam immediately presented G with the cup of passionfruit tea.
Callen instinctively reached up to take the cup, and then hesitated. "Sam. I… I don't think…"
"I got it," Sam assured, and then, holding the cup for him, gave his partner a sip of the soothing, warm liquid.
Callen closed his eyes. Only this time, a look of relief washed over his features.
