Thanks to those of you still reading and reviewing this story. I really do appreciate it. Just a warning, this is not a particularly happy chapter.

xxxxx

Callen awoke abruptly and struggled to sit up. He was pale and panting slightly, his face covered with a sheen of perspiration.

"What is it, G?" Sam asked. It was 3 a.m. and he was sitting by his partner's bedside, watching him with concern. The reclining chair wasn't that uncomfortable, but Sam had found himself unable to sleep, consumed with worry about his friend's condition. Callen had been sleeping restlessly, tossing and turning and murmuring, sometimes crying in his sleep.

"I…I think I'm going to be sick," Callen replied, his hands pressed against his abdomen.

Sam swiftly opened the drawer of Callen's nightstand and pulled out a basin then shoved it in front of his partner right before he started to heave. Nothing came up though and the only thing Callen accomplished was causing pain to shoot through his already injured ribs. Finally, the dry heaves stopped and Callen collapsed back down to the pillows, exhausted. "I don't think this antidote is helping," he murmured, his eyes dark and bleak.

"Don't think that way, buddy," Sam said softly. "It hasn't been that long yet. You need to give it a chance."

"I understand that I might not feel better that quickly, but I shouldn't be feeling worse," Callen stated. "Something's wrong, Sam…I can feel it."

Sam was about to contradict Callen, but he found himself unable to do it. In all honesty, he had hoped for the smallest bit of improvement by now, but as Callen said, he just seemed to be getting worse.

"Try to sleep, G," Sam said gently. "Sleep and hopefully you'll feel a lot better in the morning."

Callen gazed at his partner for a long moment and then nodded and closed his eyes. He really hoped that Sam was right, but there was something inside of him which was telling him just the opposite.

Sam watched as Callen tried to settle himself down. Gradually, the pattern of his breathing evolved into a soft, steady rhythm, letting Sam know his friend was asleep. He looked across the room where Deeks laid sleeping and he shared a sad look with Kensi who was performing the same bedside vigil that he was. All he wanted was for G and Deeks to recover so that they could go home then hopefully they could all start the long process of putting what had happened behind them.

xxxxx

At a little after 6:30, Dr. Carlisle walked into the room. "Good morning," he said quietly to Sam. "Has there been any improvement?"

Sam shook his head. "He claims he's feeling worse."

Upon hearing that, the concern in the doctor's eyes mirrored Sam's. "Mr. Callen? Can you wake up for me?"

Callen stirred and finally managed to look up at the doctor bleary-eyed.

"How are you feeling today?" Dr. Carlisle asked as he looked at his patient's chart.

"Honestly, not so great, doc," Callen replied. Usually he would 'I'm fine' the medical staff to death, but he knew he wasn't fine and honestly was getting increasingly anxious about the way he felt.

"How's the headache?"

Callen shrugged. "I don't know. I feel okay right now, but the morphine is probably masking it." He felt sluggish and light-headed. At this point, he had no idea where his real feelings ended and the various effects of the drugs that were in his system began.

Dr. Carlisle nodded. "We'll wean you off it and see how you do. Let me check your grip strength. I want you to squeeze my hand as hard as you can."

Callen did as the doctor asked and he could tell that the result was less than impressive as he weakly squeezed Dr. Carlisle's hand.

"Okay, anything else I should know about?"

When Callen didn't answer, Sam interjected. "He's been nauseous. Had dry heaves a few times during the night."

"How do you feel now?" the doctor asked him.

Callen shrugged. "Not good. I don't understand…shouldn't the antidote be helping by now?"

"Sometimes these things take time," Dr. Carlisle answered vaguely. "We don't have much knowledge of the poison that was given to you. Is it possible I could talk to the person who developed it?" he asked, his eyes on Sam.

Sam nodded. "I'm sure that he was taken into custody. I can see if he can be brought here today." He'd have to find out from Hetty where he was. He wasn't even sure of the guy's name. Albert Harvey or Garvey or something like that. He didn't remember.

"Okay, have me paged when that happens. I'd like to try to get a better idea of what we're dealing with." He turned to Callen. "I'll have the nurse bring you something to settle your stomach. Get some rest, Mr. Callen and try not to worry."

Callen nodded and watched as Dr. Carlisle left the room. He knew there were no guarantees with this and the doctor's words did nothing to make him feel better about any of it. He closed his eyes and allowed the effects of the morphine to pull him under once again. He wasn't really looking forward to being weaned off it, if it meant the return of the brutal headache pain he had been experiencing. At the moment, a drug-induced sleep was the only safe haven he had from what was ailing him.

xxxxx

Kensi and Deeks had tried their best not to invade Callen's privacy, but with the size of the room, it was pretty much impossible not to have heard every word. "How are you feeling?" Kensi asked Deeks. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

"I'm good, Kens…" Deeks replied. He glanced over at Callen who was curled up with his eyes closed once again. "Better than him…"

"He'll be okay," Kensi said, trying to reassure herself and not just Deeks.

"Good morning, guys," Sam greeted them softly as he came over to their side of the room. "I'm going to get some breakfast and coffee. Can I get you anything?"

"Sam, you look like crap," Deeks observed, looking at the other man closely.

"He's right," Kensi agreed. "Why don't you go home and get a few hours of sleep and take a shower? I bet it would make a world of difference."

Sam quickly shook his head. "No, coffee and breakfast is all that I need. You guys want something?"

"Coffee would be heavenly," Kensi said.

Deeks nodded his head in agreement. "For me too."

"That's all, just coffee?" Sam asked. "Aren't you guys hungry?"

Just then, a doctor entered the room. "I'm Dr. Bolton," he said as he walked over to Deeks' bedside. "I'm the surgeon assigned to your case." He looked over Deeks' chart and nodded as he read the notations. "Looking good, looking good," he said. "No coffee or food for you. Did you have anything to eat or drink after midnight?"

Deeks shook his head, looking slightly anxious. "Very good," Dr. Bolton said with a terse smile. "You're not running a fever and your vitals are good. I think now is as good a time as any to get that bullet out of your shoulder. I'll schedule a time for sometime this morning or early this afternoon. Someone will be in to let you know when you'll be taken to the surgical suite. Any questions?"

"Uh…no, I can't think of any," Deeks replied.

"Okay then, I'll see you again a little later. Now remember, nothing to eat or drink. Good day." He nodded and headed out of the room, walking at a clipped pace.

"He seems…efficient," Kensi said for lack of anything else to say. She turned to Sam. "I think I'll pass on the coffee, Sam."

"Please get the coffee, Kens," Deeks said as he leaned his head back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. "I don't really want it anyhow."

"I'm actually going to wait a little while before going down," Sam said as he glanced over at his sleeping partner. "I don't want to leave G."

"We're right here for him, Sam," Deeks said. "Seriously, guys, get the coffee. It's the last thing I want now anyway."

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Kensi said, giving him a heartfelt look. "I'm sure everything is going to be just fine."

"I'm not worried," Deeks said, not particularly convincingly.

"No one likes surgery, Deeks," Sam said, "but you'll be okay." He ran his hand over his face and shook his head. Already this day seemed interminable and it really hadn't even started yet. "I'll leave you two alone. Let me know if you need anything." He then walked back to the chair by Callen's bed and sat back down, the worries in his mind seeming to multiply by the second.

xxxxx

"Would you like to watch some television?" Kensi asked Deeks. The two had mostly been sitting in silence since the doctor left.

"You can if you want," Deeks said. He found that since the doctor's visit, his mind was going down dark paths. He'd known the bullet was going to have to be removed, but he had allowed himself to put that thought into the back of his mind. Now with the surgery looming, his nerves were frazzled.

"Deeks, why are you so worried?" Kensi asked gently. "You've had surgery before. You've never had problems."

"Who said I was worried?" He didn't meet her eyes as he fidgeted with his blanket.

"I know you. I can tell when you're worried and that expression on your face isn't a happy one."

"I'm just tired, Kens. Speaking of which, you must be too. You should go home and get some rest."

Kensi shook her head. "I'm not leaving you now. I'll be here when they take you down and I'll be here when you come out of surgery." She smiled gently as she cupped his cheek with her hand and gazed into his eyes. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"I would never want to get rid of you…I just…I don't know why you even want to stay with me…" His eyes were sad and mournful.

"The way you stayed with me after the helicopter crash? The way you stuck with me no matter how many times I tried to push you away? How can you even ask me that?" She was worried about him. She was pretty sure his thoughts were going places where she couldn't follow unless he let her in and he didn't seem very inclined to do that.

"I just…" He sighed as he stared down at his bed. "Never mind."

Kensi stared back at him, wishing she could find a way to help him. She knew that what he had been forced to do to her was eating at him, but her hope was he wouldn't ask to see whatever damage he had inflicted and her back would be well on its way to healing before that happened. It seemed like it was more than just that though. Not that she could blame him. With all that they had been through, it seemed like it would be easy to allow one's thoughts to go on a downward spiral.

"I think I'm going to try to rest before the surgery," Deeks said. He forced an unconvincing smile at her then turned away from her as he pretended to go to sleep. It seemed he was practicing this more and more in order to avoid any kind of meaningful conversation.

Kensi continued to watch him, her eyes filled with sadness. She wished there was some way she could make him feel better, but she really had no idea how to accomplish that.

xxxxx

Sooner than expected, the transport team came to bring Deeks to Surgery. Kensi accompanied him, wanting to stay with her fiancé for as long as she'd be allowed. Callen and Sam were left alone. "You should go home and get some rest." Callen tried once again to get his partner to leave the hospital.

"I will," Sam said, but Callen could tell he didn't mean what he was saying.

"You really should go." Callen shifted around uncomfortably on the bed. The headache symptoms were starting to return with a vengeance.

"G?" Sam asked, noting that his partner appeared to be in some distress. "What is it?"

"Headache's coming back," Callen said. His dose of morphine had been lowered and it was apparent that he was still suffering the effects of whatever poison was in his system. He was beginning to wonder if he was going to suffer a long, drawn out death. It would be just like Bart to make sure something like that happened to him. "I think Bart wanted to make sure I'd suffer," he said, staring at his partner through blue eyes filled with pain. "I think I got the antidote too late."

Sam considered Callen's words and became more and more anxious as a new thought entered his mind. Did they actually have a true antidote? He tried not to let his mind go in that direction, but he was starting to wonder.

"What is it?" Callen asked, noting the instant his partner's expression changed.

Sam shook his head quickly. "Nothing, G."

Callen was about to question his partner further when Dr. Carlisle entered the room, a grim expression on his face. Callen and Sam exchanged a long look and then braced themselves for what they knew was not going to be good news. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it," the doctor said, glancing at Sam but then focusing his gaze on Callen. "I had the lab analyze the contents of the supposed antidote and… it's not an antidote. The ingredients it contains are nothing that can help you. I'm very sorry."

Callen stared back at the doctor as he tried to process this newest bit of information. One part of him was shocked, but the other, larger part of him wasn't surprised at all. Bart had wanted him dead and now he was going to get his wish. "I guess that's it then," he finally said softly.

"No it's not," Sam spoke quickly, his voice louder than he realized in the small room. "You're not giving up that easily G. No one is giving up." He looked over at Dr. Carlisle. "Tell him," he demanded. "Tell him you're not giving up."

"Of course we're not giving up," The doctor said. "I just… I had to let you know…" He looked at Sam. "It's important to get in touch with that scientist if you can make it happen."

Sam nodded. He knew Hetty would be coming to the hospital, likely soon, but time was running out. "I'll call Hetty."

The doctor nodded, recognizing the lines of pain on Callen's face. "I'm going to have your morphine dose raised back up again. No reason for you to be suffering."

Callen just nodded. He wasn't a big fan of being drugged up, but in this case, he wasn't going to fight it. The pain was just too intense. Dr. Carlisle went to leave the room and then turned back to the two men who he had just devastated with his news. "The people in the lab are still working on trying to develop something to help you, so…there's always hope…"

Callen nodded silently and Sam's eyes brimmed with tears, not knowing what to do with the emotions that were suddenly overwhelming him. He put his hand on Callen's shoulder in a silent show of support and picked up his cell phone to call Hetty.