For those still following this story, I know the time between posts must be frustrating. I apologize for the delays. And please don't give up on me.

I thought Sam might need a break from his long hours at the hospital, so this chapter is more Deeks oriented. (Pssst. Sam will be back later.)

Chapter 47: Drenched

Kensi and Deeks arrived about 6:20 that morning to find the hospital bed unoccupied and Sam standing on the far side of the room, gazing out the window at the street below.

"Here for Callen duty!" Deeks said, loud enough to receive a scowl from Sam. "So, where is he? Did you toss him out the window?"

"Not yet." Sam tilted his head toward the bathroom door. "Taking a shower."

"By himself?" Kensi asked as she and her partner approached the empty bed.

"Nope. His Nurse, Esther, is helping this morning. They said he could try to go solo tomorrow, if he does okay today." Sam looked at his watch. "He shouldn't be too much longer. The Nurse said she'd like to have him out and settled before her shift ends at seven. That's when he's due another dose of his medicine."

Kensi crinkled her nose. "Ooo. The stuff he loves so much… that turns him into a popsicle."

"Yeah. That stuff." Sam picked up an empty water bottle from the window sill and then walked around to where the Junior Agents were standing. "And now… I'm going to my house… eat some breakfast, shower, and go to bed for a while."

"No workout?" Kensi asked.

"Not today. Need some sleep."

Deeks grinned at Sam. "Your insomniac partner keep you awake all night?"

"Pretty much," Sam grumbled, and then his bloodshot eyes turned more serious. "If he asks about the case, we don't really know anything yet."

Kensi mirrored the serious look. "You don't want him to know about the Op this evening." It was more of a statement than a question.

"He won't rest if he gets all worked up about it."

Deeks' smile had faded at this point. "Is that why he didn't sleep last night?"

"I think that was part of it. He asked about Zamora's location a couple of times."

"Sam," Kensi said softly. "He's going to know something's up when we all leave to stake out the restaurant."

"Then… we'll tell him then." Sam peered across the room to the bathroom door, concern showing on his face. "He's just not mentally up to handling this right now."

Deeks squinted at Sam, looking puzzled. "I thought he was doing better. He even gave us that key piece of information, last night, when the 'wonder twins' couldn't locate Zamora."

"He is doing better. But he's weaker, and in more pain than he's letting on. And I'm worried about his random memory lapses; he'll remember something one minute, and it'll be gone the next."

Kensi's brow furrowed. "I had no idea it was still that bad."

"That's because he's good at improvising; he's spent his entire life mastering the art. You know G… he's the best at dodging questions, hiding feelings, figuring out how to get out of impossible situations."

Kensi nodded in understanding. "So, basically, the better he gets, the better he becomes at covering for what still isn't right… Wait…That made no sense."

"No, Kenz…" Deeks paused. "It made perfect sense. His brain is healing, he's not as drugged, so he's becoming more… Callen… Now I'm not making sense."

"You both get it." Sam crumpled the plastic bottle in his hand, and tossed it in the trashcan. "He really is getting there. But right now, he's not as strong, or as emotionally grounded as he wants you to believe. Just be careful with him."

"Sure," Kensi and Deeks chorused.

"I'll be back up here sometime after lunch," he said as he moved toward the door.

"Hold up. I'll walk down with you," Kensi said, quickly making her way to the closet and gathering up a couple of small bags of laundry. "Deeks is staying. I'm heading to the office." She closed the closet door. "Hetty asked if one of us would come in for a little while, just in case they need help getting things squared away for the Op."

Sam turned and raised an eyebrow at Deeks. "You better take good care of my partner," he grumbled. "Or you'll be the one being tossed out that window." Sam opened the door to leave. "And make sure he eats. And drinks."

"Will do." Deeks held up two fingers. "Scout's honor."

"You're not a Scout, Deeks," Kensi called back, just before Sam closed the door behind them.

Deeks could hear the water running in the shower, so he sat down in the chair positioned next to the hospital bed, and waited.

He had been flipping through the TV channels for about five minutes when he heard a loud 'clunk' from inside the bathroom, immediately followed by an "Oh!" from a female, presumably the nurse. He jumped to his feet, and had taken two quick steps toward the bathroom, when he heard the woman begin to laugh. Deeks halted his efforts to assist, and returned to the chair.

A while later, there was the intermittent sound of water running in the sink. He couldn't make out the words, but he could hear a soft female voice, and an occasional response from a voice he recognized as Callen's.

The door to the bathroom opened and the Nurse stepped out. She opened the closet door, looked through a tote bag, pulled out a few clothing items, and carefully draped them over her arm. It was when she was placing a pair of socks on the small counter that she noticed the tall blonde sitting next to the bed. "Oh. A new person," she said cheerfully, her eyes crinkling in the corners when she smiled at Deeks. "Hello. I'm Esther."

Deeks flipped off the television and stood. "Marty Deeks."

"Good to meet you, Marty. He'll just be few more minutes. I'll let him know he has a visitor waiting."

"No rush. I'm not really a visitor. We all work together. I'm staying with him until his partner gets back."

"I see." And with that, Nurse Esther ducked back into the restroom.

The next time the door opened, the nurse reappeared, escorting a barefoot, and very droopy Callen. Deeks noted that Callen's skin looked especially pale against his wet hair, and the black sweatpants and t-shirt he wore. He will definitely need some time in the sun when all this is over.

Esther's brown eyes quickly surveyed the room. "Good," she said when her gaze stopped on the bed. "Mindy already cleaned up in here and changed out the bed linens. So, you have a choice: chair or bed?"

Callen paused for a moment to catch his breath. "Chair," he answered weakly, before swaying slightly.

Deeks took a step closer, ready to catch him if needed.

Fortunately, G quickly steadied himself. With his shoulders slumped, and his head still slightly lowered, he looked up at Esther, and signaled her with a small nod, that he was alright. Then his tired eyes went to the Detective. "Deeks?" he said, not much louder than a whisper.

"Callen," Marty greeted, keeping his voice low. "You're stuck with me again, while Sam takes a break."

G took three more small steps before stopping again to rest. A few seconds later, he straightened some, took in a slightly fuller breath, and sent Deeks a look that mostly resembled tired annoyance. "Deeks… I keep telling all of you that I'm fine by myself. You ca…" he waited for a shiver to pass. "Can go home… to work… where ever. I really am alright."

"Umm," Deek's eyebrows lifted. "You'll have to take that up with our boss and the 'big guy'. Before he left, your partner made it painfully clear that, if I didn't take good care of you, he'd toss me out that window over there."

Too tired to protest further, Callen just let out a small breath, lightly shook his head, and proceeded toward the chair.

Esther helped G ease down into the high-back chair beside the bed, and had picked up the socks from the counter, when there was a light tap on the door.

Nurse C.J. entered. "Good morning." He visually and verbally acknowledged each one in the room. "Mr. Callen. Detective. Good to have you back, Esther." He did a double-take when he got to Esther. His eyes widened. "Esther! What happened to you?"

It was then that Deeks noticed that her salt and pepper hair was damp, and her pale blue scrub pants and top were mostly soaked.

After kneeling in front of her patient with a pair of white socks in her hand, she looked down at her wet uniform, and then smiled up at Callen.

G looked at her with an apologetic grimace.

"Well… I was standing to the side in the restroom, giving Mr. Callen some space during his shower," she began explaining, while putting socks on her patient's bare feet. "The shower wand, somehow, slipped out of his hand and hit the shower floor. Water shot straight up and over top of the shower curtain." She chucked. "I took a direct hit."

C.J. shook his head and feigned seriousness. "I hate when that happens."

Now finished applying Callen's socks, Esther rested a palm on his knee and smiled up at him, again. "He kept apologizing. I told him that, after spending the past two weeks in Texas with the grandkids, getting sprayed with water was nothing." She lightly patted Callen's knee and then stood. "C.J., I just need to restart his IV and clean up in the bathroom real quick, before I go."

"Don't worry about it, Esther. It's almost seven. I'll take it from here."

"Are you sure? There's a lot of water in there. I don't mind, at all."

"Positive. Andrea already briefed me on your patients. Get dried off and go home and get some sleep."

"Thanks so much, C.J." She nodded at Deeks. "It was nice to have met you, Marty." Nurse Esther picked up a blanket from the foot of the bed, unfolded it, and spread it out over Callen, who's shivering had slightly intensified. "I'll see you tonight around eleven, 'blue eyes.'"

Deeks watched Callen's eyes follow Nurse Esther as she left the room, and he was certain he saw a faint smile on Callen's face. He couldn't help his own smile that grew. "I like that lady," Deeks said, as if thinking aloud.

C.J. nodded in agreement. "Esther Helms is a gem. We tell her all the time that she can never retire." C.J. glanced up at the top of the IV machine that was still stationed on the other side of the bed. "I'm going to run down and get your seven o'clock meds, Mr. Callen."

Deeks felt a twinge of sympathy as he watched Callen's trace smile slip into a frown. Callen really hates the way that medicine makes him feel.

The Nurse stopped and peered into the bathroom on his way to the door.

"I'll take care of the bathroom cleanup," Deeks offered.

"You don't need to do that. I'll get to it in a little while."

"I don't mind. I'm not doing anything, anyway."

"Thanks," C.J. called back on his way out.

Deeks almost regretted his offer, the second he stepped into the bathroom. "Whoa, Callen!" he said rather loudly. "This really is a lot of water. Were you trying to drown the nice lady?" It took him a moment to figure out even where to start – the whole room was drenched. Callen's stuff first. He picked up a shirt and pair of sweatpants, from the floor – What Callen was wearing yesterday… wet… blue boxers… also wet. Then there was another set clothes at the edge of the sink – still folded… apparently what Esther had originally intended for him to put on after his shower… soaked.

He gathered up the wet clothes, and deposited them in an empty plastic bag he found in the closet. These need to go to laundry soon. Deeks returned to the bathroom, zipped up Callen's shaving kit, and placed it on a closet shelf. He found several towels and went to work wiping off the far wall, drying the area around the sink, and then sopping up most of the water that was in the floor.

By time Deeks came back out into the room, C.J. had returned and was rolling the IV machine around to where Callen was seated. Callen's eyes were half-closed. He looked even more exhausted than he did just a little while ago. "I didn't know what to do with the wet towels," Deeks said to the Nurse, "so I just put them in the shower."

"That will work," C.J. assured, without looking up from where he was squatted down, reconnecting the IV tubing to Callen's left arm. "I'll have someone come by and pick them up. Thank you, again, for doing that."

"Not a problem."

C.J. stood, turned on the IV pump, eyed it for a few seconds, and then looked at Callen. "All set. I'll check back with you in a little while. If you decide you want to go back to bed… call. That Florozine's going to make you drowsy in a little bit."

Callen was looking down at the floor, never acknowledging that the Nurse had spoken to him.

"Mr. Callen?"

G lifted his head and searched until he found C.J.'s eyes.

"Don't try to get up by yourself. Call us. Okay?"

Callen blinked slowly at the Nurse, seemingly taking a few moments to register what had been said. Finally, he replied with a single nod and then lowered his gaze back to the floor.

C.J. and Deeks exchanged looks, the nurse raising an eyebrow. "That was quick," C.J said under his breath. "Must have already been worn out."

Deeks scrunched his face. "Don't think he slept much last night."

C.J. was headed out the door, when he stopped and turned around. "Oh. Mr. Callen." This time, he waited for his groggy patient to look up at him. "They'll be bringing breakfast by in just a little while. Dr. Lee wrote orders for us to strongly encourage you to increase your calory intake. So, please try to eat something when your food comes."

Deeks did not miss the queasy look that appeared on Callen's face. Just thinking about food makes him feel sick. And Sam expects me to get him to eat? Deeks groaned inwardly. And the poor guy is already half asleep… Ugh… This ought to be loads of fun.