Thanks for all the comments on the last chapter. I really appreciate those of you who support this and my other stories. It really means a lot to me :)
xxxxx
"So, what is it you're going to do to me, Mr. Callen,?" Hetty asked calmly. "Shoot me? Or perhaps stab me? Do you have a weapon?"
"What?" Callen stared back at Hetty, appearing confused.
"Or if you don't have a weapon, I don't suppose it would be very difficult to take me out as I'm a much older woman. However, I am very well trained and you are in a weakened condition. I don't know. It's an interesting question indeed. Should we fight it out and see what happens?"
"I don't want to fight you, Hetty," Callen stated, looking very unsure of himself and the situation he found himself in. He really hadn't expected things to go in this direction.
"And I would never intentionally harm you...I do hope you realize that," Hetty said evenly.
"In case you've forgotten, you did taze me once." Callen's blue eyes seemed to darken as his hostility quickly rose to the surface again.
Hetty sighed. She remembered that day very well and regretted it, but he'd gone against her orders. She'd been very concerned and angry with him and had gotten carried away with her emotions. "I did...and I'm very sorry that happened."
"I wouldn't hurt you," Callen stated. "Not unless you forced me into it."
"Well, that's very nice to hear and I hope you know that I would never work with Bart against you, nor would any of your teammates. They're your family, Mr. Callen. We are all your family."
Callen grabbed one of the water bottles from the top of the nightstand, opened it and took a few swallows of the cool liquid. When he had drank his fill, he laid down, his eyes still on Hetty. "I need to sleep...don't try anything."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Mr. Callen," Hetty said with a sad sigh, watching until he was asleep.
xxxxx
Against his better judgement, Sam decided to stop by his partner's room. The door was opened and he quietly stepped inside to see Hetty sitting by his sleeping friend's bedside. "How is he?" Sam asked, placing the pizzas he had bought on the bedside table.
"Mr. Hanna, you should not be here," Hetty scolded, her tone barely above a whisper. "You're going to get him all riled up again if he awakens and sees you here."'
"So I guess nothing has changed," Sam said, discouraged.
"Well, he's now suspicious of me as well, so in that aspect, things have changed," Hetty said. "You really need to leave, Sam."
"Are you alright? He didn't try to hurt you, did he?" Sam asked. As innocent as Callen looked in his sleep, Sam knew that could change in the blink of an eye.
"He's not going to hurt me, Sam," Hetty assured him. "He's more confused than anything right now. Hopefully, the drugs are beginning to leave his system. Now please go, before he wakes up. I don't want him to be unnecessarily upset."
"I brought an extra pizza in case the two of you might want it," Sam said, still reluctant to leave the room.
"Thank you, Sam. We'll take the pizza," Hetty said. She smiled, hoping to ease some of Sam's concerns.
"You better not tell G I brought it," Sam cautioned.
"I won't tell him." Hetty glanced at Callen as he moaned softly and moved about restlessly in his sleep. "Mr. Hanna, please…"
"Let me know if there's any change," Sam said as he picked up the pizzas, leaving Callen's favorite of pepperoni and sausage behind, and after looking back at his partner once more, he finally left the room.
xxxxx
"Hey look, it's Mr. Pizza Delivery Guy," Deeks quipped as Sam entered his room carrying the pizzas.
"You're a funny guy, Deeks," Sam said, grinning as he set the pizzas down. "I guess you must be feeling better."
"I'm not feeling too bad," Deeks said.
"That's good. Are you hungry?"
Deeks nodded. "Thanks for getting that for us."
"It's no problem." Sam handed one of the pizzas and some paper plates over to Kensi who put a slice on a plate and handed it to Deeks. "I can go get some soda at the vending machines," Sam offered.
Deeks shrugged. "No thanks. I'm good."
"I don't need anything either," Kensi replied. "We have water here which is fine with me."
"Okay," Sam said agreeably. The three team members quietly munched on the pizza before Sam spoke again. "I stopped by G's room before coming back here…'
"Really? Was that a good idea?" Kensi asked in surprise. "I thought we were going to keep away from Callen for the time being."
"He was asleep...He didn't see me," Sam said.
"Is he doing okay?" Kensi asked.
"Hetty said he's suspicious of her also now," Sam said.
"Maybe he should be placed in a locked ward until he's over all this paranoia," Deeks stated.
"Really Deeks?" Sam glared at the younger man as he put down his empty plate. "That's your solution? Just lock him up somewhere?"
"He may need psychiatric treatment," Deeks said. "Lots of people do. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You don't want him to hurt someone or to get himself hurt, do you?"
"Deeks, don't," Kensi shook her head at her fiance, easily recognizing that Sam was overtired and short-tempered.
"This stuff isn't his fault and it's a medical problem. He doesn't need to be locked up in the psych ward," Sam said, staunchly defending his partner. "You might not be doing so great either if you hadn't been able to eat or drink for days and then were poisoned on top of it."'
"Deeks isn't doing so great. He's still recovering also," Kensi snapped angrily. "And in case you don't remember, Deeks saved your ass back there when he shot Bart. If he hadn't, you'd be dead or lying in one of these hospital beds as well."
Sam stared at Kensi for a few long moments, letting her words sink in. He hadn't even thanked Deeks for saving him. "You're right, I'm sorry," Sam said, hanging his head. "I really appreciate what you did, Deeks. Thank you. You very likely saved my life."
"You're welcome," Deeks said, uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. "I'm sorry I talked about Callen that way. I really do want him to be okay."
"I know you do," Sam said. Silence surrounded them once again and Sam suddenly stood up. "I'm going to go take a walk. I'll be back in a little while."
Neither of the younger team members tried to stop him. They just watched as Sam left the room.
xxxxx
After sleeping for a short time, Callen began to stir and he could smell the familiar odor of pizza in the room. He opened his eyes and saw Hetty, still in her place beside his bed. "Where'd the pizza come from?" he asked.
"I thought you might be hungry," Hetty said, trying not to directly lie to him. "It was delivered here."
"Oh…" He really wasn't hungry. Food still didn't have any appeal to him. All he seemed to want was water. He reached for the water bottle beside his bed and took a few small sips from it. "Go ahead and eat. Don't let me stop you."
Hetty sighed, opened the box and pulled out a slice of the now cold pizza. She considered going to heat it up but then just took a bite instead, finding it to be quite satisfying. "Are you sure you don't want some?" she asked after she had swallowed it.
"I don't think so," he shook his head. For a few moments he considered the thought that she had poisoned the pizza, but then put the thought out of his head. He was being ridiculous. Hetty would never poison him. At least he didn't think she would.
"You really should start eating," Hetty chided him gently. "Is there anything I can get for you? Something lighter perhaps? Soup or toast?"
"Maybe later...thanks…"
Hetty nodded, slightly hopeful that he was finally coming out from under the drug-induced paranoia he had been experiencing. "You get some rest, Mr. Callen," she said softly. "That's the best thing for you right now."
"Okay…" Callen nestled a bit more under the covers and it didn't take long before he fell back into a sound sleep.
xxxxx
Sam resisted the temptation to stop by G's room again and instead headed out of the hospital. There he found a small courtyard with flowers and benches. It was a peaceful and beautiful place. He suddenly felt inexplicably lonely. He was worried about his friend but felt like he couldn't talk to anyone about his feelings. He missed Michelle every day but some days, like today, it was just so much worse. He looked at his watch and knew that both his kids were in classes. Not that he could have unburdened himself to them, but he could have at least heard their voices. He really wished he could call his wife. Then again, if she was still alive, he wouldn't have to call her. He knew she would have been right there by his side. "I miss you, baby," he said, looking up at the sky with tears in his eyes. "I miss you so very much."