I'm sure many of you are feeling the fear and/or the isolation brought on by the current pandemic. So I decided to go ahead and post this little chapter that is not so "fluffed" or edited. As always, please feel free to PM me if you see anything that needs to be fixed. Thank you for reading!
Chapter 46 Exhausted SEAL
Sam turned off the main overhead light, pressed the control to lower the head of the hospital bed a little, and then stood silently near the bedside, watching his partner blink slower, and slower. G was already tired, so Sam knew it wouldn't be long before he succumbed to the effects of the 1:00 am medication.
Less than ten minutes later, Callen's eyes closed.
Sam chugged about half of a bottle of water, and then sat down on the couch with a weary groan. He folded his arms across his chest, lifted his left foot and crossed it over his opposite thigh, and leaned his head back against the wall.
Lack of sleep, limited food options, and inconsistent workouts had taken a toll on the SEAL. Between all that had been going on with G, and then the added stress of the Zamora case, Sam guessed the rest of the team had to be just as mentally and physically exhausted as he was.
He took in a big breath and let it out slowly, thinking how much he looked forward to his next full night's sleep, in a real bed. Sam closed his bloodshot eyes. He missed his wife and family; he missed home. But tonight, he was exactly where he needed to be.
An hour later, Sam opened his eyes and sat up straight when he was awakened by a small stream of light coming in from the hall.
Nurse Esther quietly stepped inside. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you. But if I don't go ahead and switch out his IV solution, that blasted machine's going to start beeping, and wake him up."
"No apologies needed," Sam said softly.
When the nurse had finished taking care of the IV, she stopped in front of Sam on her way out. "All done," she said, still keeping her voice quiet. "I'm hoping he will get a little more sleep before he gets too cold. He's already beginning to shiver a little bit."
Sam let out a breath. "I hope so, too."
"Let me know if you need anything."
"Thank you. I will."
Sam spent the next few minutes changing positions, finding it more difficult to get situated this time. The couch was too small and the room was too warm – too warm for everyone except his partner. Finally, he let out a breath and leaned his head back. If he just catnapped, he'd be able to listen for any sign that G was getting too cold and needed his assistance.
The next time Sam looked at his watch, it was 3:42 am; he couldn't believe he had been asleep for more than an hour and a half.
G!
Thanks to a small rush of adrenalin, the big guy was on his feet and to the bedside to check on Callen in no more than three seconds.
G had rolled partially onto his left side, making it impossible, from this side of the room, to see if he was awake or not. So, Sam quickly strode to the other side of the bed.
He was awake. And shivering. And hurting! His eyes were tightly closed. His breaths were quick and shallow.
Sam was still silently assessing the situation when, suddenly, every muscle in G's body seemed to tense. His eyes squeezed shut even tighter as he held his breath.
Sam stood helplessly, while his friend rode out the wave of pain.
Finally, G let out a breath, along with a small pained sound through clenched teeth, as his body relaxed some.
"G?" Sam said softly, his tone colored with concern.
Callen flinched, cracking open his right eye and giving the tall form standing over him a sideways look. He swallowed and took in a short, shaky breath. "How long v'you been… standin' there?" he asked between breaths, his words muffled by the pillow pressed against the side of his face.
"Long enough. How long you been hurting?"
"Sam. I just…" Callen stopped in mid-sentence when his eyes, once again, suddenly closed tight and his arms and legs drew a closer to his body.
Almost immediately, a loud, repetitive beeping began to sound from the IV machine. Sam reached across the bed and activated the nurses' call light and then rested his hand on Callen's shoulder.
"She's on her way," a female voice said through the small speaker.
"Thanks," Sam responded while tightening his grip on Callen's arm. "What's hurting, G?"
Still grimacing from the intense pain, Callen's only response was a barely noticeable head shake.
Nurse Esther came through the door. "I heard the beeping from…" Across the dimly lit room, she saw her patient practically curled up on his side. Her eyes widened."Oh. No." She turned on the main lights and then hurried around the foot of the bed. "Pain or nausea?"
Without breaking his hold on his friend's shoulder, Sam moved over just about a foot. "Pain. But I don't know where."
Esther pressed a button on the IV machine and the beeping ceased. "Mr. Callen." She took his splinted hand in hers and leaned in closer. "Mr. Callen. Can you tell me what's wrong?"
The pain seemed to dissipate slightly as Callen tried to get control of his breathing.
"Talk to us, G." A hint of impatience could be detected in Sam's voice.
Esther leaned even closer to her patient. "Is it your ribs?"
With his eyes still closed, Callen shook his head lightly.
"Your hip?... Are the muscles in your hip cramping?"
G pressed his lips together and gave a slight nod.
"Okay. Now we're getting somewhere." She gave his hand a gentle pat. "We can't give you a muscle relaxer while you're on the Florozine. But I read in your chart that the doctor prescribed… wait…"
The nurse headed back around to the other side of the bed and opened the drawer to the small table. "I remember seeing this earlier," she said, pulling out a tube of muscle cream that had been used on Callen a few days before.
Esther retrieved a pair of gloves from the wall-mounted box and applied them quickly. "Mr. Callen? I know you're already cold, but to get to your hip, I'm going to need to pull these covers down."
With his eyes still tightly closed, Callen nodded once.
Sam helped Esther peel the covers down to the footboard then returned his hold on G's shoulder.
The nurse rolled down and tucked in the elastic band of Callen's sweatpants, and squeezed a generous amount of the medicated cream into her palm.
Callen hissed and jerked away slightly when the cream touched his exposed skin.
"Oh, yeah." Esther glanced across at Sam with a guilty look. "This is going to be cold at first… Sorry for the late warning."
Sam looked down and chuckled, when he saw a slight smile break through his partner's grimace. The big SEAL squeezed Callen's arm a little bit harder. "It's okay, Ms. Esther. It'll toughen him up."
A couple of minutes later, Callen had begun to relax when he suddenly flinched.
"Sorry. Must have hit a really sore spot," the nurse apologized from where she stood, still massaging the medicated cream into his muscles. "There was a lot of trauma to your hip. And unfortunately, this is about all we can do for those muscle spasms right now."
Finally, the tension left G's body and, except for the slight shivering, he began to breath more normally.
Nurse Esther sighed in relief and removed her hand from her patient's skin. "Do you want to turn over on your back or stay on your side?"
"Rather not move." G's voice was soft and gravelly.
"That's fine. Can't say I blame you." Esther disposed of her gloves and returned the tube of cream to the drawer. "Okay, then," she said while walking around to the mobile IV pump. "Let me see if I can find out what was making this thing chirp earlier."
Sam released G's shoulder and stepped aside.
Esther glanced up at the top of the IV machine. "Plenty of fluid." She pressed the machine and immediately reactivated the annoying beeping sound. "Well?" She shut off the machine and used both hands to track the plastic tubing, beginning at the top and working her way down. Then she began carefully unthreaded the tubing from the bedrail, from around the patient's arm, and the out from under where Callen was lying on it.
Sam huffed. "It's a wonder you didn't strangle yourself with that, G."
With the plastic tube now hanging loosely, the nurse reset the machine. No beeping. "Yay. It was just a kink in the tubing." She touched Callen's hand, once again. "Anything you need right now?"
"I'm good," Callen said, and then shivered hard.
"Let me get you covered up before you freeze to death."
Esther skillfully stuffed a couple of pillows behind Callen's back and pulled the sheet and stack of blankets over her patient, making sure to tuck them around his neck and shoulders. "Try to get a little sleep." She turned and looked up at Sam. "Both of you."
"Yes, ma'am," Sam responded with a nod.
After the nurse had left, Sam poured a half cup of water and then placed the straw close enough so that Callen could take a drink.
Callen closed his eyes as he swallowed, the cool liquid seemingly soothing his dry throat.
"Want some more?"
G nodded and took another sip. "Thanks," he whispered.
"You're welcome." Sam placed the cup back on the window sill.
Callen's forehead crinkled as he attempted to look up at his partner from his side-lying position. "Sam. Why are you here?" he questioned softly.
"What do you mean 'why am I here'? Because your scrawny butt is up here in this hospital."
"No. I…" G paused a moment to let a shiver pass. "…I mean, why aren't you at home with your family? I don't need a sitter."
"Number one: my family is out-of-town. And number two: you do need a sitter."
"No, I don't. I've been taking..." another chill caused G to shiver. "I've been taking care of myself for most of my life."
"You really think Hetty's gonna allow you to be up here without a chaperone? You'd escape the first chance you got."
"No I wouldn't," G responded, his voice suddenly sounding more tired.
Sam huffed. "Yeah right…" he said while rounding the foot of the bed. "You heard the nurse, G. Close your eyes and go to sleep."
Sam strolled over to the door, flipped off the overhead light and then, rather ungracefully, plopped down on the crunchy plastic couch. "Night, G." He illuminated his watch. Kensi or Deeks would be there in a couple of hours to take over so he could go home to shower and eat some breakfast. A little shuteye before they showed up would be nice. And the early morning workout? A definite 'no'.
