AN: Forgot to attach this when I first posted it. I know it's been forever between updates and I apologize for that. In any case, there's an end in sight and I'm trying to finish this up soon now. I have another story I want to get to but I'm not allowing myself to start it until this one is finished. In any case, for anyone still reading, thank you so much. I appreciate it. :)

xxxxx

"Okay, G...I'll do what you want," Sam said. At the moment, he would have done pretty much anything in the world for his partner. Having to watch him be deprived of food and water, and having to hurt him on top of everything...these things weren't anything he was going to get over any time soon. As for getting back at Bart. He was definitely onboard with that and was sure Kensi and Deeks would be as well.

"Thank you, Sam," Callen said quietly. He then yawned and covered his mouth with his hand, suddenly very tired once again. "You should go home...get some food...get some rest."

Sam didn't answer, just watched as his friend fell into what he hoped would be a peaceful sleep. G didn't seem able to stay awake for very long at all, but he supposed that would get better as he improved. It didn't seem like it would be the quickest recovery, but what was important was that he was getting better. That was all he cared about. He decided to go and get himself something to eat in the cafeteria, but then he would return. He wasn't yet comfortable leaving his friend alone for the night.

xxxxx

The next morning, Deeks awoke bright and early. He was glad to see Kensi still asleep, curled up on the reclining chair under a blanket. He knew how worried she had been about him, but worry went both ways and he didn't want her to exhaust herself, being so concerned about him that she neglected her own wellbeing.

"Good morning," a young nurse said softly, being mindful of Kensi as she rolled her cart into the room to take Deek's latest set of vitals.

"Good morning." Deeks extended his arm so she could wrap the blood pressure cuff around it. She then proceeded to take his temperature, then checked his pulse and oxygen saturation.

When she was finished, the nurse smiled at Deeks. "Everything looks good. Someone will be in with your breakfast soon. Buzz if you need anything at all." She left the room and Deeks turned his head towards Kensi who was now awake.

"Good morning, sunshine."

"Good morning." Kensi got out of the chair and leaned over the bed to give Deeks a kiss. "How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly good. I'm thinking I may be able to get out of here today."

"Oh that's what you're thinking, is it?" Kensi asked with a smile. She was glad he was feeling well, but was also relatively sure he wasn't up to being released quite yet.

"It's good to hear my patient sounding so positive," Dr. Bolton said as he stepped into Deeks' room. "However, I can tell you, without a doubt, that you're not ready to leave here quite yet. You've gone through some extenuating circumstances and I'm afraid you are going to be with us just a little bit longer."

Deeks sighed heavily but didn't say anything. Instead, he endured yet another exam without complaint. "So...do you have any idea when I might be able to leave here?" he asked when the doctor had completed his chart notations.

"Well, if you remain fever-free, I may let you go tomorrow," Dr. Bolton said. "Try to do a bit of walking today and see how you feel. We'll see how you're doing tomorrow morning and I'll make my decision then."

"Thanks, Doc," Deeks said, grinning at Kensi as the doctor headed out. "You hear that, baby? Tomorrow."

"Hopefully," Kensi cautioned, but she was as happy as Deeks to hear such good news. It was another big step towards putting this whole nightmare behind them.

xxxxx

Callen slept relatively peacefully through the night, except for when nurses woke him for vital sign checks. He had to admit, seeing Sam there with him, gave him some measure of comfort. He knew his emotions weren't as in control as they usually were and he wasn't sure if that was because of the poison, the meds or just the whole situation in general. He liked to think it was the meds, not wanting to think Bart had any kind of affect on him.

"I can practically see the wheels spinning in your head," Sam said, his eyes immediately going to his partner when he woke up. "What's going on with you?"

"Did you even eat anything last night?" Callen asked, ignoring Sam's question.

"I did," Sam stated, looking at his friend curiously. "Are you okay, G?"

Callen nodded with a small sigh. "I'm fine, Sam. Just tired of being here and before you say anything, I know I have to be." At that moment, a dietary aide came into the room and placed a tray on Callen's bedside table. "Thanks," Callen said wearily. He wasn't particularly hungry, but knew his strength wasn't going to come back if he didn't start eating. He picked up the plastic dome and inspected the contents underneath, scrambled eggs, toast, apple sauce and a cup of mixed fruit. He slowly began to work on the eggs and eventually finished almost the entire breakfast.

"Impressive," Sam said, glad to see his partner eating once again.

"It was," Callen said, a faint smile on his lips.

"I know it's not easy for you to eat," Sam said understandingly. "You've got to start somewhere though. You did good, buddy."

"You should eat too," Callen said. He'd given up on trying to get Sam to leave, but at the very least, the big guy needed to eat and rest as well as he could.

"I'll go to the cafeteria soon." Sam was even considering going back to his boat for a shower and change of clothes, but he wasn't sure. In any case, he was going to wait until Hetty came before he even thought of doing that. He looked at his partner thoughtfully. Callen's restlessness was a good indicator that he was starting to improve, but he also knew that boredom would be the next foe they'd be up against.

Just then, Dr. Carlisle entered the room. Sam immediately got to his feet. "I'll give you some privacy," he said before exiting the room.

"So, how are you feeling today?" Dr. Carlisle asked as he scanned over the notes in Callen's chart.

"I'm fine," Callen replied.

The doctor nodded as he listened to Callen's heartbeat, then nodded approvingly. "I've gotten some good reports on your blood tests. Everything seems to be trending positively."

"Yeah?" Callen brightened upon hearing that. "So, maybe I can get out of here soon?"

"I need to make sure your condition continues to improve before we can talk about that."

"Can't you do that on an outpatient basis?" Callen asked.

Dr. Carlisle gave Callen an amused look. "Is it really that bad here?" he asked. "You have a private room. If it's the food, you can have whatever you'd like from outside. You can eat whatever you feel you can tolerate."

"It's not the food," Callen said. "I just think I'd recover better at home."

"We can discuss that when we're sure you've really stabilized. I wouldn't be any kind of a doctor at all if I let you leave right now. You need to remember how sick you've been and that you came very close to dying. Continue to eat and drink as well as you can and get plenty of rest. Those are the things that are going to get you out of here."

Callen nodded as the doctor smiled encouragingly and left the room. Sam couldn't help but notice Callen's glum expression when he came back and was immediately concerned. "Something wrong?"

"No…" Callen began and then went on. "I have no idea when I'm going to get out of this place."

Sam shook his head, a trace of a smile on his lips. "Come on now...do you even know how sick you were? You're lucky to be alive, buddy. I know it sucks but you can't rush this."

Callen sighed heavily, but didn't complain any further. He knew everyone was right. It just didn't mean he had to like it.

xxxxx

"Why don't we go see Callen and Sam?" Deeks suggested mid-morning. He was bored and wanted to test his walking ability.

"Okay, but we should bring the wheelchair. Callen's room isn't that close."

Deeks rolled his eyes. "Really?" I think I'm fine, Kens. Besides, didn't Callen make it here when he was practically out of his head?"

"This has nothing to do with Callen. We're bringing it just in case you get tired."

"Come on…" Deeks pleaded one more time. "I really don't need it."

Kensi shook her head. "If you're fine, you don't need to sit in it, but we are bringing it, Deeks. No argument. If you don't agree, we can stay here all day."

Deeks tried one more pleading look, but Kensi remained unmoved. "Fine," he said with a sigh.

"I thought you'd see it my way," Kensi said with a satisfied smile.

xxxxx

At a little after 11, Callen and Sam were in the middle of a card game when Deeks walked steadily into the room, followed by Kensi who was pushing the empty wheelchair. "Hey guys," Sam said. "Looking good, Deeks."

"Thanks." Deeks walked over to Callen. "You look like you're doing a lot better than the last time we saw you. How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing good," Callen said.

"I'll go get another chair," Sam said as he got up from the one he was sitting on.

"No need," Deeks said, grinning at Kensi. "I'll sit in the wheelchair."

Kensi sat in the other empty chair and Sam sat down again. "So, anything new?" Sam asked, hoping they would have something entertaining to say to distract his partner.

"I think I'm getting out of here tomorrow," Deeks replied.

Sam cast a quick glance at Callen who didn't appear outwardly bothered to hear that. He only hoped it wasn't bothering him too much on the inside. "That's great."

"Hopefully, all of us will be back home where we belong really soon," Kensi said with a sympathetic look at Callen. She could well imagine how he was feeling being cooped up in the hospital, especially now that he seemed to be doing so much better.

"I'm sure that will be the case," Sam said. "G's getting better every day."

"Well, isn't this nice, my little flock all gathered together and looking quite well," Hetty said, smiling as she walked into Callen's room. "How are you all doing today?"

"Just like you said, Hetty. We're doing well." Deeks said.

"Sit here, Hetty," Sam said, getting up and quickly going off in search of another chair.

Hetty took the offered seat and sat down by Callen. "And how are you feeling, Mr. Callen?"

"I'm good, Hetty. Definitely doing much better."

"That's very good to hear," Hetty said as she patted Callen's hand and smiled at him fondly. She then directed her gaze towards Deeks. "It's good to see you getting around, Mr. Deeks."

"I actually walked over here," Deeks said, realizing he was in the wheelchair. "Kensi just insisted we bring this thing along."

"That was very wise of you, Miss Blye," Hetty said, nodding in approval. "No need to take unnecessary risks that could result in a setback."

Kensi smiled at Hetty and Deeks rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything, knowing full well it would make no sense to try to go up against the two women. He wouldn't have a chance in hell.

"So, since we're all here together," Hetty paused to smile at Sam as he re-entered the room, carrying a chair. "I think a nice lunch is in order, don't you? Not pizza or burgers either. Lunch from a good restaurant. Any suggestions?"

No one said anything, as the team members exchanged looks. The whole topic of food was still an uncomfortable one for them. "G?" Sam finally asked, his eyes on his partner. "What do you feel like eating?"

Callen sighed softly, knowing he was on the forefront of everyone's thoughts. "I'm not sure what's close by to where we are…"

Hetty nodded. "Good point. Let me go out and ask at the front desk. They must have some suggestions."

"I'll go." Kensi said, quickly getting to her feet. "Be right back." She returned a few minutes later, holding a small stack of menus. "They get takeout here often." Kensi hesitated briefly then handed the menus to Callen.

Callen took the menus and started looking through them. One of restaurants, called Warren's Place, had a wide variety that he was pretty sure everyone would be happy with. "This one looks good." He decided what he wanted then handed the menu off to Hetty. A short time later, Sam phoned in the order then he and Kensi went to pick it up.

"So...here we are..." Hetty said. She hadn't been alone with Callen and Deeks since before all of this had happened.

"If you want to say something, just say it," Callen said, not even trying to hide his frustration.

"No reason to get testy, Mr. Callen. I'm just wondering how the two of you are really doing, now that your partners aren't here. There's no need to hide anything."

"I don't know about Deeks, but I'm not hiding anything," Callen stated. "I'm fine."

"Well, I'm certainly not either," Deeks said quickly. "What exactly are you getting at, Hetty?"

"Nothing in particular. It's just that you two were hurt the most in all of this and Bart played some nasty psychological games as well. I'm a good listener if you'd like to talk."

"Kensi and I have been working through things," Deeks said softly. "We're good."

"I'm glad to hear that," Hetty said.

"I know one thing I'd like to talk about," Callen said, a touch of anger in his eyes. "I'd like to find a way to get back at Bart for everything he put us through. Prison isn't good enough for him after what he did."

Hetty shook her head sadly. "Oh Mr. Callen, if you're suggesting what I think you are, the time for that is past. He's in custody now. Unless you want to end up in prison yourself…"

"I'm not saying we should kill him," Callen snapped. "I just…" He shook his head in frustration. "I just want to do something… there has to be some way we can give him a taste of his own medicine. As far as he's concerned, he's won. I don't even think he cares that he's going back to prison."

Hetty nodded understandingly. "That's something we can certainly think about, but for now, I just want you to focus on getting better, alright?"

Callen nodded. "Whatever you say, Hetty."

"Don't just pay me lip service, and don't even think about going near Bart. In any case, I've ordered all agents on guard duty not to let any of you into his room. Whatever plan we come up with, will involve all of us or none of us. No lone wolf crap and that means you, Mr. Callen."

"I wasn't even thinking of doing anything," Callen protested, a little put out that she was singling him out this way. In all honesty, he wasn't yet up to facing off against Bart on his own, even if he had a plan, which he didn't.

"Hey, we'll come up with something, Callen. Don't worry," Deeks said soothingly, recognizing Callen's aggravated state of mind. "We'll get back at that son of a bitch somehow."