A/N: Okay, I updated the beta'd version :) Sorry to everyone who had to read the one without proof reading, hope it wasn't too terrible :D
Deeks was glad that Callen and Sam happened to step into the garden; hands full with bandages and wet towels, the moment Kensi opened her mouth to surely question him about the almost-cough.
"Hey, Deeks. Good to see you," Callen said sincerely and tried to hide his shock about the shape of the detective.
The first thing he had seen was the cuts on his back, then the colourful bruises that covered most of Deeks' chest.
Sam spared the courtesies, "I swear to you, if I get these bastards…" He took a deep breath and focused on pushing his anger to the side for now. It was more important to help Deeks, not to dwell on his revenge thoughts. "I'll try and clean the wounds on your back, okay? If it hurts too much, just tell me," Sam said to Deeks and started to wipe the blood off as carefully as he could. The cuts from the whip were countless, some of them several millimetres deep. "This could need some stitches," Sam stated, but started to tend to the wounds nevertheless.
In the meantime, Callen stepped next to Kensi who was still kneeing in front of Deeks.
"Are you able to get the jeans off?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the blood stain that Deeks hadn't even noticed yet.
Right, he remembered,they kicked my knee.
He cleared his throat, when the need to cough came back. His thorax was burning and he wasn't able to breathe properly because of his broken ribs, what made action quite painful. Deeks looked back up at Callen and got out of his pants with Kensi's help, revealing his newly bruised knee. Just like before, it was sutures that had bled; only this time some stitches were pulled completely.
"This could need some stitches, too," Callen sighed when he got rid of the brace and started to clean and redress the wound.
Kensi eyed Deeks suspiciously. She noticed that something wasn't right, that he hid some kind of injury. The fact that he didn't tell them about it, but instead suffered silently showed her how much he didn't want to go to the hospital and it broke her heart. Not paying attention to her colleagues who were just finishing the bandages, Kensi gave Deeks a once-over yet again when she saw him trying to suppress a cough. When she thought of it, his breathing seemed very shallow. Her eyes instantly wandered to parts of Deeks' chest that had been hit. The men surely hadn't been careful so that it was likely that some of his ribs were cracked, if not even broken.
"Are you getting enough air, Deeks?" she asked, a concerned frown forming on her face, and drew the attention of Callen and Sam who were finished with Deeks by now and just started packing the rest of the first aid kid back together.
Deeks looked at his partner and knew that she had seen through his act, but he still didn't want to admit it. "Sure. Why shouldn't I ge –"
This time, he wasn't able to suppress the cough that came and he convulsed in pain when his ribs protested against the movement. Deeks felt how strong hands steadied his shoulders as he desperately tried to suck in some air. His three colleagues, who were all standing close to him, exchanged a worried glance when Deeks' whole body shook from the cough.
"I'll go get a glass of water," Kensi offered and disappeared into her kitchen, while Callen took her place and kneeled in front of his injured friend.
"Try to take deep breaths," he said in a calming manner and felt his heart rate picking up when Deeks took his hand away from his mouth.
It was smeared with blood that had nothing to do with the abrasive burns on his knuckles. That was not good.
The coughing had stopped by now but Deeks still couldn't breathe properly and it felt like the amount of air he was able to get in his lungs was steadily becoming less. His chest burned every time Deeks took a breath and he looked at Callen, panicking, "I can't breathe."
Right now, he didn't care if he had to go back to the hospital; he just wanted to be able to breathe again. Deeks saw Callen and Sam exchange a quick glance before they changed positions.
Sam was, as a former SEAL, better trained in anything having to do with field medicine, although Callen had seen more than he ever wanted to, as well. He walked into the kitchen and gave Kensi a short version of what had happened, even as he was dialling 911. Meanwhile, Sam had his hands on his colleague's shoulders and talked to him soothingly. His first goal was to stabilize Deeks' breathing as well as possible and that meant that Deeks could not panic.
"Deeks? Listen to me. I know that breathing hurts right now, but I need you to breathe as deeply and as slowly as you can, alright?"
Deeks nodded and tried to take deeper breaths but that only had him coughing up more blood. Slowly but steadily, Deeks' body showed more and more signs that he was short of oxygen, which had Sam worrying even more. It seemed like one or several of the broken ribs had pierced the lung and had it collapsing in on itself bit by bit. The boxing hadn't been too good either, it was even possible that only through that movement, the bones had shifted and hurt the lung. Deeks was getting paler with every passing second and Sam wasn't able to tell whether it was the lack of oxygen, the blood loss or just the general stress of the last few days.
"Kensi?" he called in direction of the kitchen and tried to give Deeks a reassuring glance, trying not to show his concern, but his voice betrayed him.
Kensi immediately stepped in her garden and was at her partner's side at in instant, the glass of water standing long forgotten on the counter in the kitchen.
"Anything I can do?" she asked and Deeks couldn't help but notice the fear in her voice.
Kensi was never scared; at least she never showed it. He really had to look shitty for her to show it so openly.
"Yes, keep an eye on his heart rate," Sam answered and was well aware of the fact that the comment didn't help to soothe his colleagues at all.
Callen had made the 911 call by now and immediately turned to call Hetty, despite him knowing that she would be informed the second Deeks was in the hospital, as she was listed as his next of kin. She would probably take the news that one of her agents was practically on his way to the hospital better coming from him, than from some random nurse.
"Mr Callen. I take it that Mr Deeks isn't as well as he led us to believe?" Hetty answered the phone and Callen was easily able to hear worry in her normally controlled voice.
"He isn't well at all. The suture on his knee opened, he beat his knuckles bloody, his chest looks like a bear danced on it and his back is a mess of cuts from the whip we found. Sam thinks that his lungs might be injured because he isn't getting enough air. We initially didn't want him back in the hospital but let him stay with Kensi – you know, no surveillance 24/7 and no strict rules to follow, but he leaves us no choice. The ambulance is on its way," Callen filled Hetty in and then took a deep breath.
"Regarding that both of the cases have been closed and the reports have time until next week, I will meet you at the hospital, along with Mr Beale and Ms Jones," Hetty sighed and Callen could literally hear her gaining all the strength she had left.
"See you there."
Deeks sat in front of his colleagues, desperately trying to get some air, and Sam was able to see in his normally oh-so-blue eyes that the fact that his friends tried to calm him down, organize a transport to the hospital and medically help him as much as possible here, in Kensi's garden, was terrifying Deeks more than just a bit. They had been through so much together as a team and it wasn't easy to get them worked up, they even joked that Sam had no blood pressure, because he almost never lost his cool. Knowing this, the situation only seemed worse. It really wasn't easy to get Sam, or the rest of the team, this hectic.
Kensi grabbed Deeks' wrist and laid her index and middle finger on his vein, feeling the pulse beating beneath her finger tips, and then started to caress the back of his hand with her thumb, trying to soothe him. Sam glanced at her before taking a deep breath himself for the first time. He knew exactly that what he was about to do, would only increase Deeks' pain, but it was necessary. He gently took the chin of his friend so that he was forced to look him in the eyes.
"Deeks, listen to me, alright? I have to look and see if you broke any ribs, and if you did, I need to know which ones. To do that, I'm going to press on different places on your chest and as much as I'd like to tell you something different, I know it's going to hurt."
When Deeks heard that, he tried to steel himself for what was about to happen. It wasn't the first time he had broken some ribs so that he knew that one false movement hurt like hell. He definitely would love to not have to experience what it felt like when someone pressed fingers onto the broken bone.
"Let's get this over with," Deeks whispered and closed his eyes as Sam's thumb slowly wandered over his ribs.
It only took some seconds, before he found the first broken one. Deeks groaned and gritted his teeth while his hand clenched around Kensi's, who was still checking his pulse, which was, thanks to the pain Deeks was in, sped up. Callen stepped back into the garden, when his partner found the fourth broken rib and was greeted by a barely suppressed grunt of pain.
"The ambulance is on its way," he said and looked at his colleagues, concern clouding his eyes.
Deeks was sitting more or less slumped on the sun lounger – knee, hands and back covered in bandages, Kensi keeping an eye on his heart rate and Sam looking for cracked ribs.
"How does it look?" he asked in a hopefully soft voice, got behind Deeks and laid his hands on his shoulders, trying to give him strength.
"I count four broken ribs, two of them could have pierced the lung," Sam answered and glanced at Deeks' pale face.
His lips started to get blue and Sam wondered how long he could manage to stay conscious. The question was more or less answered by Kensi, who tightened her grip on Deeks' wrist.
"His pulse is getting faster."
The three agents knew that it only had been a question of time until Deeks would go into shock. Adding the pain and lack of oxygen, it was no wonder that his heart was beating faster and faster, but that really didn't help the situation.
Kensi's fear had been palpable and got even clearer when she pushed Deeks' hair from his forehead and murmured, "Stay awake, okay?"
As much as Deeks wanted to calm Kensi, he noticed how he grew steadily more dazed, how he could see the world around him less and less clear.
"I'm sorry, princess, but I think that won't work," he mumbled back, his eyelids starting to flutter.
"That is no option, Deeks. If you pass out on me, I'll kick your ass, okay?!" Kensi tried to threaten, but her voice lacked the strength.
What was going on with her? She normally wasn't easily distracted from her mission, and if it was only her plan to get the last donut. Marty Deeks had slowly wormed his way into her heart with his one liners and the surfer charm, and she didn't even realize it. He had to be sitting in front of her, dying, for her to acknowledge her feelings – how typical of her.
Deeks lost consciousness the second the EMTs rang the doorbell.
A/N:Well, what can I say - you gave me over 100 amazing reviews! Thank you so much!
P.S.: Only because I reached the 100l doesn't mean you have to stop typing them... :D
