A/N: Thanks to all who continue to support this story by reading and reviewing. Your comments and encouragement mean a lot to me.
Chapter 25
Hetty laid up the table for lunch with the help of Michael, leaving Gibbs and Callen to chat.
"I still can't believe you tricked me like that, Gibbs" said Callen grinning.
Gibbs tilted his head to one side and his mouth twisted into a lopsided smile. "Well I wouldn't have to if you weren't such a baby about it" answered Gibbs.
"I'm a baby now am I?" quipped Callen feigning disbelief and hurt at his friend's comment.
"Err, yeah you are" answered Gibbs.
"Really?" whined Callen.
"Yeah a real lightweight" said Gibbs "but only when it comes to needles!" he added laughing.
"If you two can stop teasing each other for a minute" said Hetty smiling, "lunch is ready." She was quietly pleased that Callen's mood had improved sufficiently that he felt able to joke with Gibbs. She had feared that the injury to his hand, setting back his recovery, would send him into a despondent mood.
Gibbs reached out offering his hand to Callen which he took with his good hand, allowing himself to be pulled gently to his feet and they joined Hetty and Michael at the table. Hetty always laid on a great spread and lunch was no exception, a little too healthy for Callen's liking but she still included elements that he enjoyed. He also knew Hetty was ensuring that he ate food that was nutritious and would aid his recovery. The quartet chatted amicably about various subjects and Hetty was gratified that Callen managed to eat a fair amount. He had lost a lot of weight and had slowly started to build up some muscle from swimming. She hoped that it would not be too long before he was able to begin to swim as it was good exercise, something he seemed to enjoy, and it was not as hard on his body as some of the other pursuits Callen would have preferred to be doing. She made a mental note to ask her godson when Callen might be allowed to swim again. After lunch and when everything had been cleared away, they all went into the lounge where Michael demonstrated some exercises for Callen to do.
"G, I'm going to give you some exercises which will strengthen your hand and help the tendons to heal correctly" said Michael. "I've asked Hetty and Gibbs to remain so that they can ensure you're actually doing them and doing them correctly."
Callen raised his eyes to the ceiling and sighed. "What makes you think that I won't?" he asked.
"Well, I've known you a long time and know how impatient you are, especially when it comes to looking after yourself and getting well after an incident" said Michael,
Callen looked at the faces of his three friends and thought about denying the statement but thought better of it. "Okay, well maybe you're right" he said.
"You know damn well what Michael says is correct" said Hetty, a little more sternly than she had meant but she always found herself worried and frustrated by Callen's disregard of his own wellbeing. "Whilst you're under my roof, it's my rules and you'd better remember it, Mr Callen."
Callen grinned at his diminutive mentor "Yes, m'am" he answered.
"Don't be cheeky" she replied grinning.
Michael spoke again. "The first exercise I want you to do are finger bends, which will strengthen your flexor tendons and increase the mobility of tendons across your fingers."
Michael demonstrated by placing his hand palm side up on the table and straightened his fingers. He then bent his fingers towards the middle of his palm and held the position for a few seconds. He returned his fingers to the starting position and held for a few seconds. Michael then moved his hand so that he was positioned on the edge of the table and bent his wrist and fingers backwards as far as he could and held the position for a few seconds before returning his hand to the starting position. Michael asked Callen to repeat the exercise so he could see that he was doing it correctly.
"As you know, tendons are tissues that connect muscles to bone. The hand contains two types of tendons: flexor and extensor tendons. Extensor tendons extend from your forearms to the back of your fingers and thumbs, enabling you to straighten your fingers and thumbs. Flexor tendons allow you to bend or flex your fingers and are located on the palm of your hands, extending from your wrists to the small bones of your fingers and thumbs. You damaged these tendons when you fell on the glass so this exercise will help to strengthen these tendons as well as restore and increase mobility in your hand and fingers" explained Michael. "You can also do the exercise on your good hand if you want as it's a good workout for an already strong hand."
"Another good exercise is to use a rubber band to strengthen the tendons in the hands post surgery or in your case post injury. To perform this exercise, place an elastic band around your thumb and fingers like this" said Michael demonstrating the technique. "Keep your elbow straight, stretch the elastic band by opening your fingers and thumb. Hold this position for three seconds. Slowly return your fingers and thumb to the starting position. You can perform this exercise until you're tired" said Michael.
Michael went to the room downstairs that Callen had occupied when he first came home from hospital and returned with a dumbbell. "Callen, it's important that you begin with a light weight. This one should be light enough. Please don't overexert yourself with this exercise as you can do more harm than good by tearing the tendons before they've had a chance to heal" warned Michael.
"Dumbbell wrist curls offer a rehabilitative workout to strengthen the flexor and extensor tendons. To perform this exercise, grab weighted dumbbells appropriate to your stage in recovery. In your case a light weight and I will tell you when you're ready to increase the weight. Do I make myself clear?" asked Michael.
Whilst Callen thought that he was over reacting, he saw in Michael's eyes that he was deadly serious. Callen thought about arguing but decided against it, when he noticed the expressions on the faces of Hetty and Gibbs. "Yeah" he answered a little despondently.
"Okay then" said Michael as he continued. "Kneel in front of a bench, or in this case a low coffee table, and bend your arms at the elbow. With your palms facing up, place your elbows and forearms across the bench, with your wrists and hands off the bench. Inhale and bend your hands from the wrist, lowering the dumbbells toward the floor. Hold this position briefly. Exhale and return the dumbbells to the starting position by rolling your wrists and contracting the flexor muscles in your forearms."
Michael handed Callen the dumbbell and watched as he prepared to repeat the exercise using the low coffee table as Michael had in lieu of a bench. Even before Callen tried to lower the dumbbell towards the floor, he made a sharp intake of breath and grimaced.
"Did that hurt?" asked Michael concerned.
Callen thought about lying but knew it would not do any good as they had all heard his gasp and seen the look of pain flicker across his face before he could control it. "Yeah, it did. The other exercises were fine. I didn't have any pain except a little discomfort because of the stiffness in the fingers" answered Callen truthfully.
"If it was painful then it's best that you don't do that exercise until the wound has healed sufficiently" said Michael.
"What if I use a lighter weight?" asked Callen hopefully as he really did want to do exercises that would strengthen his hand. Gibbs went to the room and came back with the lightest dumbbell he could find and handed it to his friend, who tried again with the same results.
"No, it's still too soon for that exercise" said Michael. You only damaged your hand yesterday. Now do you see why I warned you?"
"Yeah" answered Callen a little down hearted.
"Do you really, Mr Callen?" asked Hetty afraid that he was just saying what was expected of him.
"Yes, Hetty, I do" said Callen with a hint of anger. "If I do this exercise before Mike tells me I could end up damaging the hand and ending up in surgery." Seeing the look of hurt on Hetty's face, Callen added in a softer tone. "I'm sorry I snapped. I'm just frustrated that's all."
Hetty held out her hand and took Callen's good hand in her small one and squeezed reassuringly. "I know son but we're all here to help you. I know this is a setback you hadn't anticipated and it'll be hard for you but you will get through this and back on track" she said.
"Hetty's right" said Michael. "As long as you follow my instructions to the letter, the hand will heal as good as new and then you can concentrate on getting fit. I shouldn't have shown you that last exercise. I should've realised it was far too soon to do it. I'm sorry, G" added Michael.
"You've got nothing to be sorry for Mike. You've done a lot for me, not just now but at other times as well. I appreciate it" said Callen with a hint of emotion of his voice which he was trying to mask.
"We good?" asked Michael and Callen nodded. "Anyway I should get the results of the blood test tomorrow and I'll let you know what my conclusions are" Michael added. "I've taken up enough of your day. I'd best be going."
Michael rose and the others did the same. Callen hugged Michael warmly and thanked him again. Gibbs shook hands and Michael hugged and kissed Hetty.
"I'll see you out" said Hetty as she walked with her godson to the front door, leaving Gibbs and Callen alone in the lounge. Hetty walked outside with Michael to his car and said to him "I'm worried about him, Michael. He's taken this quite badly."
"I know and showing him the dumbbell exercise didn't help either" answered Michael. "I'm kicking myself. I should've known it was too soon."
"Don't berate yourself. You know he has a way of bending others to his will which in this case is to get better quickly. Gibbs and I will do our best to ensure he doesn't push himself too hard or do that particular exercise. Unfortunately we're not with him 24/7 and if we were it would push him away from us anyway. Hopefully if he does try and it hurts, he'll stop. He doesn't want to have surgery and won't want to run the risk of permanently damaging his hand and not getting back to active duty" said Hetty with a deep sigh. She thought for a moment before adding "When will he be able to swim again? If he could do that then I think it would help him mentally as well as physically."
"Not for a couple of days. I really want the external cut to heal before he does anything like that" answered Michael. He too thought for a moment before continuing. "I'll tell you what I can do, when I come back tomorrow with the blood tests, as long as they don't show anything untoward, I'll arrange to take Callen to get his hand scanned. Then I can make my decision as to whether allowing G to swim sooner rather than later would be more beneficial in the long run than focussing on healing the hand sufficiently."
Michael bent to hug Hetty. "Thank you Michael. I know you'll do what is best for him and if it's not what he wants to happen, we'll just have to manage the consequences as best we can. Oh why is he so stubborn?" she added.
It was a rhetorical question so Michael did not feel the need to answer. His smile was touched with sadness as he knew how much his godmother cared for Callen and how much pressure and blame she put on herself when he was hurt. Michael knew Hetty only wanted the best for Callen but when he defied her, his doctors and friends it only made matters worse. Maybe this time, G will be sensible and follow my advice thought Michael as he got into his car and drove away, waving to Hetty as he did so.