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xxxxx
"I'm going to bring some food to Mr. Deeks and Ms. Blye," Hetty said to Sam. She spoke softly as to not awaken Callen.
"Would you like me to do it for you?" Sam asked.
"No, no, Mr. Hanna. I'd like to check up on them myself. Will you be okay here?"
"Of course," Sam said with a nod. He glanced at Callen's container of soup which he had barely touched. "I wish he would have eaten."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much at the moment. He was on death's doorstep just a few hours ago. I'm sure it may take time for him to get his appetite back. It's completely understandable. I don't think he'll respond well if we nag him, Sam. We'll just keep an eye on him and see how he does. You can't rush his recovery."
"Yeah...I guess you're right," Sam said. He really hoped his partner started to get back to his normal self soon though.
xxxxx
Just as Kensi was about to close the door to Deeks' room so they would have some privacy, an aide came into the room with Deeks' dinner tray. "Here you are, sweetie," she said.
"Thanks." Deeks smiled at her and shrugged at Kensi. "I don't have to eat it."
"Yes you do," Kensi said. "You need to eat." She watched as Deeks lifted the dome from the tray and looked underneath. When he made a face, she didn't have to ask if it was anything he liked. "What is it?"
"I think it's some kind of a meatloaf concoction," Deeks replied grinning. "It has some weird little white things inside the meat. Maybe some kind of insect larva?"
"Stop it," Kensi said, laughing. She looked at his dinner and it actually made her stomach turn. She rapidly put the cover back over the tray. "You have to eat dinner. I'll get us something. What do you want?"
"No need for that, Ms. Blye," Hetty said as she entered their room. "I have plenty of food right here. Some sandwiches, salad and soup. The soup may just need to be heated up in a microwave. I was informed that there is a little kitchenette for patient and family use right down the hall."
"Oh that's perfect, Hetty. Thank you." Kensi gave a grateful smile to the older woman. "Would you like to join us?"
"I already had my dinner with Mr. Hanna and Mr. Callen. Now please, eat. I'll visit with you for a few minutes and then be on my way."
Kensi pulled two salads out of the bag and passed one of them to Deeks. "How's Callen doing?"
"He's holding his own," Hetty replied. "He was asleep when I left."
"He probably needs his rest," Deeks said. "He went through a lot."
"I daresay you all went through quite a bit," Hetty stated softly. "It's going to take time for you to recover both physically and emotionally."
"Don't worry, Hetty," Deeks said. "We're a pretty strong team. We'll come through this A-okay."
"Well, there's no need to push yourselves too hard. None of you are coming back to work until your physicians and I deem that you are ready to do so," Hetty said. "Now I'm going to leave you two to your dinner and I'll visit with you tomorrow."
"Thanks again, Hetty," Deeks said.
"Yes, thank you." Kensi stood up and gave Hetty a hug. "We really appreciate it."
"Anything I can do for the two of you, all you need to do is ask," Hetty said. "Now eat well and get some rest. Good night."
"Goodnight, Hetty," Deeks and Kensi said in unison as she left the room.
xxxxx
Callen was sleeping restlessly and he awoke about a half hour after Hetty left the room. "Where'd Hetty go?" he asked Sam, looking distraught. "You didn't let her go see Bart, did you?"
"What?" Sam shook his head, giving Callen a concerned look. "No, she's not with Bart. She went to bring Kensi and Deeks some dinner. She'll be back soon."
"When? When will she be back? TELL ME!"
"What seems to be the problem?" Hetty asked as she walked back into the room.
Callen calmed down immediately when Hetty appeared. "I...I thought you were with Bart...I...I was worried."
"G, Bart is handcuffed and under guard," Sam explained patiently. "He can't hurt you...He can't hurt anyone."
"I'm not worried about myself," Callen snapped, glaring at Sam. "I'm not afraid of him. I was worried about Hetty."
"Did you have a nightmare?" Hetty asked, her tone comforting.
Callen nodded as he looked at her, his eyes filled with emotion.
The look on his face broke her heart. She didn't need to ask him about the dream, knowing that it had involved her being in danger or worse. "Well, I'm fine, and I have no plans to visit with Bart anytime soon. Now you need to try to relax. All this fretting isn't good for you."
"Okay," Callen said as he tried to settle himself down. "You promise you won't go see him without telling me?"
"Yes, yes," Hetty said, taking his hand. "I promise. Now please get some rest." She didn't take her eyes off him until he had fallen back to sleep. During moments like these, all she saw was how he had been as a boy when he'd been unwell and had let go of his usually carefully guarded emotions. She finally released his hand and turned to Sam.
"Did anything else happen to upset him besides the nightmare?"
Sam shook his head. "No, he was sleeping kind of restlessly and then he awoke suddenly worried that I had let you go see Bart."
Hetty sighed, her eyes on Callen once again. "That man," she said angrily. "Prison is too good for him after what he did to all of you."
"You're definitely right about that," Sam said nodding, totally in agreement with Hetty's words.
xxxxx
"Well that was a nice dinner," Kensi said after she had cleared away all their empty dinner containers and put them back in the bag.
"It was very good," Deeks said.
"So, where were we?" Kensi asked softly, looking at Deeks meaningfully.
Deeks met Kensi's gaze but he suddenly felt slightly panicked. "I…"
"Deeks, sweetheart, it's okay," Kensi said as she gently stroked the side of his face. "I think you're making this out to be much worse than the reality."
"Even me giving you a scratch is too much," Deeks whispered, hanging his head.
"You said you'd do whatever I want…" Kensi felt bad saying this to him. She felt like she was forcing him against his will, but the more she thought about it, the more she thought it was the right decision.
"Okay...I...I'll do it."
"Good." Kensi smiled gently at him and then went to close the door to his room. Then, just as an extra measure for privacy, she drew the privacy curtain totally around Deeks' bed. She then rummaged through her bag and pulled out her prescription cream. "It's very soothing…" she said to Deeks, knowing how anxious he was. "You don't need to worry about hurting me." She then sat on the edge of his bed with her back towards him, took off her shirt and waited breathlessly for his reaction.
Nothing happened. He didn't say a word and he didn't touch her. Finally, Kensi turned around and saw the flood of tears streaming down his face. "Deeks, baby…" She quickly put her shirt back on and put her arms around him, stroking his back as he sobbed.
"I...I'm so sorry, Kens…" he cried. "I...I'm so, so sorry."
"Shhh...It's okay. I promise you, everything's going to be okay…" She rocked him gently as he cried, thinking maybe this release of emotion was what he needed, maybe it was the best thing for him. "I love you. I love you so much."
"I love you too, babe...I'm so sorry I did this to you…"
xxxxx
Hetty had tried to make her case that she stay with Callen instead of Sam but he had finally persuaded her to go home. He believed his partner was safe from Bart but he still didn't feel able to leave him on his own. In any case, Callen had come very close to dying just hours ago and he still wasn't totally persuaded that everything was okay with his friend.
"Sam?"
Sam was brought out of his thoughts by his partner's voice. "Yeah, G. Are you okay?"
"Did Hetty go home?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, buddy. She's okay. I had her text me when she got there."
"Okay," Callen said as he sat up, still looking slightly uneasy. "Can...can I have some water?"
Sam poured a cup of water from the pitcher and noted that Callen was looking at him warily as he drink. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing...I'm just making sure you know I'm not drinking too fast."
Sam wasn't sure if G was being sarcastic or dead serious, but the look in his eyes made Sam think he wasn't joking around. "You're fine, G."
"But I'm not fine if I want more water, am I?" Callen asked angrily as he slammed the empty cup down on the bedside table. "Only one cup...that's all I'm allowed, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, mystified at his partner's state of mind. "I didn't say there was a limit to how much water you could have. I just didn't want you to gulp it down. I don't want you to get sick. Where is this coming from?"
"You're working for Bart! I know he wants you to limit my water. You think I won't notice, but I do!"
"Bart? Come on, man...I would never work for Bart. I would never do anything against you. I can promise you that. You're my best friend. Is that what you really think?"
"I don't know…" Callen shook his head and stared down at the bed, appearing bewildered. "I'm sorry...I don't even know what I'm saying."
"You want to talk?" Sam asked. At this point, he wasn't sure if Callen was half asleep, if this was from the poison, a side effect of the cure or what it was.
"No." Callen shook his head and laid back down, looking exhausted and troubled. "I'm just going to go to sleep."
"Okay...you sleep buddy. Hopefully, you'll feel better in the morning."
"Thanks. Goodnight, Sam." Callen gave his friend some semblance of a smile and closed his eyes.
"Goodnight, G. Sleep well."