Thanks so much to those of you who are still reading and reviewing this story. Little by little, I'm feeling more myself and starting to get my confidence back again, at least with this story. I really appreciate all of you sticking with me :)
xxxxx
"G?" Sam sat up and stared at his partner, afraid to believe what his own eyes were seeing. "You're awake?"
"Yeah, I'm awake, Sam." Callen's voice was hoarse and he coughed then tried to clear his throat.
Sam grabbed for the call button and when the nurse came into the room, he yelled at her to get Dr. Carlisle in there right away. She gave Sam a startled look and scurried from the room.
"Sam...you need...to calm down," Callen said with a slight smirk. "You can't be scaring the life out of the medical staff."
"Sorry," Sam said, looking slightly abashed.
"It's okay. Can...can I have some water?"
Sam nodded, but then reconsidered, not wanting to do anything that could possibly hurt his partner. "The doctor should be here soon, G. I just want to make sure it's okay first."
"Okay…" Callen shifted his body under the covers, trying to find a comfortable position. "Can you raise the bed so I can sit up?"
"Sure, buddy," Sam said as he quickly moved to do what his partner had requested. "You good?"
"Yeah, thanks, Sam," Callen said, nodding. He then looked at his partner with a question in his eyes. "I feel better...did they finally get the antidote?"
Sam smiled on hearing Callen say that he felt better. Those were the best words he could have possibly imagined. "You were running out of time so the lab here came up with a trial antidote. Dr. Carlisle really didn't seem all that optimistic though, but we had to try something. You weren't doing well, G...I really thought…" He shook his head, not able to go on. "Anyhow...none of that matters now…" At least he hoped that was the truth. He was afraid to trust what he was seeing and hearing. He prayed this wasn't some sort of a tease, that Callen wasn't going to suddenly lose consciousness again or worse. He knew he ought to go out and tell the others what was going on, but he was hesitant to leave. He was afraid to come back into the room and find that this had all been a figment of his imagination.
"Sam?" Dr. Carlisle came rushing into the room and stopped short when he saw Callen awake and sitting up in bed. "Well, well...you're certainly full of surprises, Mr. Callen. How are you feeling?"
"Good," Callen answered quickly, but then reconsidered his answer. "I mean, I'm not up to running marathons or anything like that, but I'm definitely feeling better than I was."
Dr. Carlisle nodded. "Well, I have to say, you look much better than the last time I saw you." He looked over at the monitors and was encouraged to see Callen's vital signs much improved and his temperature had dropped. "Why don't I take a look at you and we'll see how you're doing."
"Should I leave?" Sam asked reluctantly.
"You can stay, Sam," Callen said. Sam's anxiety was very clear to Callen and he didn't want to cause his friend any more distress.
Dr. Carlisle carefully performed an exam on Callen and then made a few notations on Callen's chart. "You seem to be doing very well," he said. "We'll keep a close watch on you today and tonight and if things remain the same, we'll get you out of the ICU tomorrow. Sound good?"
Callen nodded, smiling. "Sounds very good. When do you think I can get out of the hospital?"
"One thing at a time," Dr. Carlisle said with a chuckle.
"He wanted some water," Sam said. "Is that okay?"
"That's fine," the doctor answered. "Whatever you think you can tolerate to eat and drink should be okay. Don't be surprised if you don't have much of an appetite though. Your body has gone through a lot. Don't push yourself. We can give you nutritional supplements if you don't feel up to eating."
"Okay, thanks, Doc." Callen said.
"No problem. I'm very glad to see you doing so well." He looked at Sam. "Why don't I go out and tell the others what's going on with him. I'll send a nurse in with a fresh pitcher of ice water as well"
Sam nodded. "Thanks...I'd appreciate that."
"I'm also going to order some blood work."
The doctor then left the room and Sam looked back at his partner, smiling broadly. "So, G...I guess you managed to beat Bart and his crazy game after all."
"Yeah, I guess so," Callen said. "Where is he anyway?"
"He's still here in the hospital, but he's cuffed to the bed and under guard. He won't be bothering you. In any case, I'll be staying here with you just to make sure you're safe."
Callen shook his head. "You don't need to stay here, Sam. I don't think I need to be worrying about Bart. Anyhow, I can take care of myself."
"Well, I'm not taking any chances, especially if he finds out you're doing better." Sam chose not to debate Callen's physical abilities at the moment, knowing he was still very much in a weakened state. He was pretty sure that Bart wouldn't take that news of his partner's improvement very well. He relished the idea of telling the man that G had beaten him, but not until he was ready to leave the hospital and able to fend for himself.
xxxxx
"Deeks...are you okay?" Kensi was sitting in the waiting room with Deeks and Hetty, but she couldn't help but notice that Deeks was pale and appeared to be in some pain.
"Yeah, I'm fine, baby," Deeks said, forcing a smile which didn't appear to be at all genuine.
The exchange caught Hetty's attention and she looked closely at the young detective. "You probably should be back in bed, Mr. Deeks," she said, before turning to Kensi. "Ms. Blye, why don't you get a wheelchair and escort Mr. Deeks back to his room. I'll keep you posted about Mr. Callen's condition."
Kensi looked at Deeks and back at Hetty, appearing distressed. "I...I don't think we should leave, Hetty. Not if…"
"You don't have to worry about me, Hetty," Deeks chimed in, sitting up straighter in his chair and trying to make himself more alert. He was mostly unsuccessful in his attempt though. There was no disguising his paleness and the dark hollows under his eyes.
Just then, Dr. Carlisle came into the waiting room. Callen's trio of friends looked anxiously at him, wondering if Callen had succumbed to the poison...but they appeared confused when Dr. Carlisle smiled brightly back at them.
"Has something changed?" Hetty asked, afraid to even hope that was the case.
"Mr. Callen is awake, alert and his vital signs are stabilizing dramatically," Dr. Carlisle replied. "He's made quite an amazing comeback."
"Really?" Kensi asked. When the doctor nodded, she threw her arms around Deeks and hugged him tightly. "I can't believe it. This is such good news."
"Can we see him?" Hetty asked, still keeping a tight rein on her emotions, afraid to believe any such good news until she had seen her boy for herself.
"Of course. You can go right in."
The three exchanged smiles and then headed into Callen's room to see for themselves how he was doing.
xxxxx
Hetty walked quietly into Callen's room, followed closely behind by Kensi and Deeks. She felt an intense surge of joy when Callen looked over at them and smiled. She approached his bed and hugged him gently. "You certainly threw a scare into us, Mr. Callen," she said, pulling away and smiling back at him.
"I'm sorry, Hetty. You know it wasn't intentional," Callen replied.
"I do know that," she said, squeezing his hand and stepping back so that Kensi and Deeks could approach him.
"Callen," Kensi leaned down and hugged him carefully. "I'm so happy to see those beautiful blue eyes of yours open again."
"Thanks, Kens," Callen said, smiling at her. "It's good to have them open."
"Hey man...I'm really glad you're doing better," Deeks said as he clasped Callen's hand then patted his shoulder. "You're looking much better."
"Thanks Deeks…" Callen was about to say that Deeks wasn't looking particularly great, but he decided to let the others deal with Deeks' medical condition.
At that moment, a nurse came into the room carrying a pitcher of water and a small stack of plastic cups. She put the pitcher on the tray and poured a cup of water for Callen then smiled at him. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No thanks," Callen said with a shake of his head.
"Okay, just press the call number if you need anything at all."
"Thank you," Callen said. The nurse smiled at him again and headed out of the room.
"You're going to have these nurses eating out of your hand," Deeks said, grinning at Callen.
Callen shrugged, a faint smile on his lips, but he didn't deny what Deeks had said.
"Speaking of nurses," Kensi began, looking back at Deeks. "I think it's time for you to get back to your room now, Deeks. I'm sure they need to check up on you. You've been gone for a while." She knew he needed his rest. She just hoped he wasn't ready to talk about her back quite yet. She didn't feel up to it herself and thought it would be better if they both rested before tackling that particular subject.
"I don't…" Deeks shook his head, but was interrupted by Hetty as soon as he started to speak.
"As Mr. Callen is doing better, I think Ms. Blye is right. Now you just need a wheelchair and you'll be good to go."
"I don't need a wheelchair," Deeks objected.
"I'll go get one," Sam said, ignoring Deeks. "Be right back."
"Am I invisible or something?" Deeks grumbled, but honestly, he knew his team was right. He just didn't like admitting it.
"You're definitely not invisible, baby," Kensi said as she brushed his hair away from his face lovingly. "We're just looking out for your best interests."
After only a few minutes, Sam came back into the room, pushing a wheelchair. "Your chariot awaits, Deeks."
Deeks rolled his eyes but didn't protest further as he sank into the wheelchair. "You'll let us know if anything changes?" Kensi asked, looking at Hetty.
"I will," Hetty assured her. "Now take Mr. Deeks back to his room and make sure he gets some sleep."
"I'll make sure he does just that." Kensi turned back to Callen one more time, then leaned down and kissed his cheek. "You take care of yourself. We'll be back to see you soon."
"I will," Callen said. "You guys take care too."
"See ya, Callen," Deeks said. "Take it easy."
Kensi then turned Deeks' wheelchair around and pushed it out of the room.
After Deeks and Kensi had left, Callen's attempts at fighting sleep became obvious to Hetty and Sam. "G...you should get some rest." Sam's eyes were serious as he looked at his partner. "I know you're feeling better, but you've still got a lot of recovering ahead of you. You don't want to relapse."
"I'm okay, Sam," Callen said, but his drooping eyelids belied his words.
"Come now, Mr. Callen," Hetty said, her tone gentle as she spoke. "Your partner is right. You need your rest. It's the only way you're going to get better and get out of the hospital. We'll be right here when you wake up."
"You don't have to stay," Callen protested. "Hetty, you should go home and get some rest yourself."
"Let me be the judge of that," Hetty said as she lightly patted his hand. "For now, you just get some sleep and don't worry about a thing."
"I'm not that tired," Callen murmured softly. His eyes closed, his breathing slowly evened out and it didn't take long for him to fall asleep. Sam and Hetty looked at each other and exchanged smiles. Finally things were starting to turn around.