A/N Thanks to all who have read and reviewed - it really is most appreciated. Please forgive me if I get any medical terminology or procedures wrong.
Chapter 3:
At the hospital Hetty found Sam waiting in the family area pacing up and down, a worried look on his face. "Any news, Mr Hanna?"
"No. He's not long gone into surgery. His stats dropped so they had to stabilise him again before they could take him to theatre. I should be used to this by now but it doesn't get any easier."
"No, Sam, it certainly doesn't. He shouldn't have gone back in, it was too dangerous."
"I wasn't happy about it, nor was he, but he felt we had no choice. We didn't know if his cover was blown and we needed to find out whether Dallas had gotten hold of the cobalt. I tried to talk him out of it, I had a bad feeling about it, but he still went in."
"Mmm, Owen Granger has a lot to answer for" Hetty muttered, almost to herself.
Surprisingly Sam answered, "I feel the same but look at it from his point of view. You were in DC and someone had to run the show. He was flexing his managerial muscles."
"Yes and look what happened! No, you're right Sam. I shouldn't blame Granger. He has a job to do. We all do and we must obey orders whatever the consequences. Come on, Sam, sit down & tell me what happened."
Sam did as he was told and went over what had happened at the Bank and at the warehouse as well as how Callen was being held. When he said that Charlie Connor was found dead at Callen's feet and it looked like he was killed because he tried to help Callen, Hetty sighed "Oh dear, Mr Callen won't like that."
"Yeah, but why would he care so much about a racist scumbag like Connor?" asked Sam.
"You would have to ask him that but I think you're being a little hard on Charlie Connor. Yes, he was part of a white supremacist group and had been in jail numerous times, but I think he was impressionable. I think Mr Callen saw something in him, maybe something that reminded him of himself when he was younger."
"But G isn't racist nor a criminal" countered Sam.
"No, indeed he's not. But if he made different choices, he might well have been on the other side of the law. I know you two are close but there is still a lot he hasn't told you about his past. Well the past that he knows about anyway" chuckled Hetty. She sighed again "It's not my place to tell you but it's complicated, Sam. You know he didn't have a conventional upbringing. He'll tell you when he's ready, I'm sure. He trusts you implicitly. You, me and the team are the few people he does trust."
"I know" said Sam.
"How did you take Dallas down? He wasn't alone surely" asked Hetty.
"No, he had three others with him. We breached the room and took them down but Dallas was quick and stepped behind Callen so I didn't have a shot. He grabbed his head & pulled it back & placed the knife against his throat." Hetty took a small intake of breath as she listened to Sam and noticed the concern in his face as he recounted the tale. "For all the beating he'd taken, and the pain he must have been in, G still managed to kick out at Dallas taking him by surprise so he slackened his grip and stumbled away enough for me to get a clear shot. You've got to hand it to him, Hetty. And he stayed in character too. He said to me 'I didn't tell, Sam, my cover's intact'" which Sam uttered with a choke in his voice.
"Yes, he's good, very good at undercover work. But I do worry about the psychological effect it has on him – on all of you, but Mr Callen especially."
"If he survives this, then I'm sure he'll be fine, Hetty."
They sat in silence for a while before a doctor came towards them. "Is there any news?" asked Hetty.
"Are you here for the Federal Agent?" When they nodded, he continued "Sorry, he's still in surgery. He has a lot of injuries that they're dealing with. As soon as there's any news, we'll come and tell you, I promise."
"I understand. Thank you Dr" said Hetty as Sam nodded his understanding.
They continued to talk while they waited for news. Three hours had passed when Hetty saw Dr Grant coming towards them. She stood up shakily.
"Hetty" he said in greeting holding out his arms to hug her and give her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hello, Michael. So good of you to do this for me."
"Not at all. I know what he means to you." Sam glanced at Hetty who seemed embarrassed by what the Dr had said.
Releasing Hetty, Dr Grant looked across at Sam. "You must be Mr Callen's partner. Pleased to meet you. Sorry it's under such circumstances."
"Likewise. How is he?" asked Sam.
Ushering them back to the chairs, Dr Grant sat down on the table opposite them. "Well, he's come through surgery and is in recovery. He'd lost a lot of blood before he got here. He had internal bleeding and was losing it as fast as we could replace it. He's also got so many serious injuries that it was hard to know which to see to first." Seeing the look on their faces, he continued "I'm not going to lie to you, he's not out of the woods yet but he's fit & strong & it won't …..."
Dr Grant was interrupted by the sound of alarms going off in a nearby room, a scurry of activity from the nursing staff and a colleague shouting "Dr Grant, his stats are falling, he's crashing!"
"Damn, I was afraid of this. Sorry I've got to go." Sam and Hetty stood and moved to a position where they could see the recovery room as Dr Grant rose. Holding Hetty's hand he said, "I'll do all I can to save him, I promise" and turned to run back to the recovery room.
As he went through the door, Hetty and Sam caught sight of a nurse performing CPR on Callen and another shouting 'Charging' & then 'Clear' as the defibrillator was applied to his chest. His body rose as the electric current surged through him. Then the door closed shutting off the noise of the organised chaos.
Hetty gasped and grabbed Sam's arm for support as her legs gave way. He led her back to the chairs and helped her sit down. "Are you OK? Do you want some water?"
"Thank you Sam, but no. I'm fine. It was .. such a shock, seeing that …" and her voice trailed off. "Bugger! This is no way for an Ops Manager to act. I should be the strong one, supporting all the others."
"Hetty, it's OK. I know how much G means to you, you don't have to hide it."
"Sam, I don't have favourites."
"Yes, you do but you don't play the favourites card, which is a different ball game. I know all your agents mean a lot to you but you have history with G, I know that and I understand. And I respect you for it. You're a true professional, Hetty."
Patting his hand, she said. "Bless you, Sam. Callen's lucky to have a friend like you. You're chalk and cheese but you complement each other so well."
Just then Dr Grant came back. "I'm sorry you both had to witness that. For all your background in the agency, it can't be easy seeing a friend or colleague like that."
"No Michael, it isn't. What happened? How is he?"
"A fragment of rib had pierced the pericardium and he was bleeding into it, which caused the cardiac arrest. We've fixed it. He's still critical but stable. We're just transferring him up to a private room in ICU and once he's settled I'll take you both there. I've got him on life support." Seeing their anxious faces, he quickly continued "No, no it's not like that. He has suffered traumatic injuries, you understand. By putting him on life support, in a medically induced coma, it allows his body to heal without the added pressure of undertaking the normal functions."
Looking relieved, Hetty asked, "Sam was with Mr Callen at the scene so has seen his injuries but I haven't. Can you please describe them?"
"I'm not going to hide anything from you or try to protect you in any way, Hetty. I know what a tough cookie you are. You have to be in your job."
Taking a deep breath, Dr Grant continued. "He's got a fractured skull, fractured cheek bone, fractured jaw, broken left collar bone, open fracture to the left arm; we've immobilised it but can't put it in plaster until the external wound has healed. All his ribs are either cracked or broken. Again there's little we can do but we've ensured there're all in line so we won't have any surprises later on. He's some cuts on his face & body, some are very long & deep enough to cause immense pain but not causing any damage to the internal organs; these have been stitched . He's got several stab wounds that did cause problems internally – perforated bowel and liver. He has a ruptured spleen, caused by the beating rather than the stabbing – again this has been sutured – but he's unlikely to lose it. On top of all that there are swellings and contusions."
"My God" breathed Hetty in disbelief.
"Indeed" countered Dr Grant. "It is amazing that he survived. What I'm worried about, however, is his fractured skull. We've done a scan and there are signs of a bleed. I had to drill into his skull to release some pressure and all looks OK at the moment. Obviously with head injuries there is always a danger of brain damage. I don't think it will be an issue but we really won't know till he wakes up. I will be keeping a very close eye on him and will be doing more scans."
"Thank you, Michael, for being so blunt. It's what we need to hear. And thank you for what you've done already. I can't thank you enough" said Hetty.
Sam shook Dr Grant's hand "Thank you Dr. I really appreciate it. If there is anything I can do for you, just ask."
"I hope I won't have need of your skills but it's nice to know. Come on, I'll take you to him. He should be settled by now." He led them to the private room in ICU where Callen was lying with on a ventilator and numerous tubes in his veins and monitors attached to his chest constantly checking his vitals.
"Here he is. Please stay as long as you like. I will make it clear to the ICU staff that visiting hours will not apply to you or his family and friends, but I must insist on only two of you being in the room at any one time. There may be times when you will be asked to leave if tests need to be run for instance but otherwise come and go as you please. Although he's in a medically induced coma, stimulate his mind by talking to him, reading, playing music - not too loud so the other patients aren't disturbed - holding his hand, whatever you can think of that he may respond to."
"Thank you. I'll let my team know. How long will you keep him under?" asked Hetty.
"It depends. A minimum of a fortnight I would think to give his injuries time to heal. I'll keep assessing his physical progress as to how well he's doing. If all goes well, I'll lessen the medication until he's off them completely and remove the life support equipment. Then it will be up to him."
"Michael, I can't thank you enough for what you've done already."
Dr Grant bent to hug and kiss Hetty as he prepared to leave them. "It's a pleasure to be able to repay you for all your kindness, Hetty. Get settled but call me if you have any other questions. I'll let the ICU staff know to offer you every curtesy too."
"Thanks Dr" said Sam as he shook his hand and Dr Grant turned away from them.
Turning to Hetty, Sam said "Shall we go in?"