Come on, come on, come on Michelle….pick up the phone and call me.
Sam sits in one of the hospital's weak wire chair next to the window in their hospital room. He runs his finger back and forth across his phone screen repeatedly as he keeps one eye on the window frame. He has no interest in what's going on outside; Sam's only focus is the faint reflection of Deeks' lying in the bed on the other side of the room. His other focus is on the hope that Michelle or even Callen and Kensi will finally call after leaving the night before.
"Aghhh….."Sam groans. He tosses the phone onto the pillow that's on the floor next to his foot. He turns his body to see Deeks rolling onto his side. It's the most he's moved in his bed since the others had left. Ever since, Deeks has spent the time sleeping or lying perfectly with his eyes closed in the bed to avoid talking with Sam.
Sam spots a painful expression form across Deeks' face once he settles on his side. The oral surgeon had placed an arch bar and multiple support wires in Deeks' mouth during surgery that Deeks hadn't been able to feel because of morphine. Since the morphine has worn off since the morning, his mouth is back to being a dull pain, increased greatly by laying on his side.
Sam pushes himself out of his chair and calls out, "Lay back, Deeks. The doctor wants you on your back at all time, remember?"
At first, Deeks does nothing but shoot a dark glare at the agent. With the area around his left eye slightly swollen, the glare looks more like a wince or a wink than anything else.
"Deeks, lay back."
"Mnnmmm." No budge.
He's testing me. Don't let him think that you're babying him. "Deeks, I will call Kensi if I have to. And if that doesn't work, I'm pretty sure Nurse Linda from downstairs will help you lay back. Didn't you tell me that she was a pro wrestler?"
Sam's threat works like a charm- Deeks slowly turns onto his back and attempts what Sam thinks is a pout. If Deeks didn't have wires in his mouth, he'd be whining about everything he can while using as many stupid jokes as possible. It's part of the innocence that makes Marty Deeks, an innocence that Sam wishes he hadn't spent half the time insulting.
Hell, it's an innocence he wish he had.
"Since you're awake," Sam starts to say, "And I know that you don't want to be anywhere near me and that makes perfect sense considering that I've been an ass. We all know that you'd rather be with Kensi or Callen. Anyway, since we're here alone and we can't go anywhere- I'm going to try something that I don't usually do with people. I run around with the assumption that being Mr. All Big Navy SEAL means you can't open up to the people about anything. So I'm going to open up and talk to you even though right now you can't talk back."
Deeks inhales heavily and hesitantly let his gaze fall onto Sam. Sam smiles in content as it's the first time he's gotten any form of acknowledgement from Deeks.
He sits down next to Deeks' bedside and cups his hands together. "Before we start, I do have a question that you can answer and it's starts with a simple question of whether you're in pain or not. Blink once for yes and twice for no."
Two blinks in response.
"Ok, so no. Do you want me to grab anything?"
Two more blinks in response.
"Good." Sam readies himself to start with the story that's been brewing in his head for the last hour. "Where can I begin? Ummm….oh, let's start with a story about why I hate clowns. It's simple- when I was seven, I had an older friend of mine take me to a haunted house that was filled with creepy ass clowns. We went in and the friend ended up ditching me in there for two hours in a dark haunted house. Haven't liked clowns since."
Deeks makes a noise that makes Sam look up from his hands. He doesn't know if it's a choking noise, sneeze, or a snigger. When he leans forward, he can tell that his mini story has put Deeks to sleep. Sam can also see that Deeks isn't faking like earlier- the detective's eyes flutter back and forth as his chest peacefully and slowly rises and falls.
"Night, buddy," Sam whispers before he walks back to his chair by the window. He takes his phone in hand again and surprisingly sees three text messages that all arrived within the past ten minutes. The first is from Kensi:
Just arrived. Had a few complications flying in, but we're here and that's all that matters. One of us will call within twelve hours. Be safe and tell Deeks that I'm here for him. –Kensi
Sam smirks at Kensi's choice not to say 'I love you'. It's the same moves that he made with Michelle many years ago. The memory of Michelle cornering him in a back alley to demand that he say that he loves her makes Sam break out into laughter. He reminds himself to share more about his marriage to Kensi and Deeks when this is all over.
The second text is from Callen:
Safe in Iran. More details on a secured line tomorrow.- Callen
Sam doesn't spend much time worrying about Callen's text. It's short and to the point. The third text, however, sends him into a worry. It's from Michelle and it's not the least bit comforting:
Sam, I love you. Don't forget that- Michelle
It's like she's saying goodbye. Sam groans and curses, "Damn it."