Chapter 22
Deeks opened his eyes or, at least, one eye. He looked at his surroundings, careful not to turn his head until he knew what was going on, and realized he was in a hospital room, the steady beeping of the machines irritating him. He remembered lying on a gurney in the hall but everything else was hazy. For some reason he thought he had been at the Mission but that couldn't be right given his current circumstances. He lifted his right hand and began to do an inventory check. Left eye, swollen shut, check. Didn't appear to be any stitches anywhere on his face, although many areas were sore to the touch. Moving down his chest, his hand encountered tightly wrapped bandages around his midsection. Well, that explained why he couldn't take a deep breath. He wondered idly if his ribs were broken, fractured or just bruised. He turned his head and immediately felt nauseous but it had been worth it. His Kensi was sitting by his bed, holding his other hand, her head on the bed, sound asleep. Little snort snores escaped her every so often. He smiled, knowing how vehemently she denied that she snored. One of these days he was going to tape her, just to prove it. He moved his right hand across his body and gently ran it across the top of her head, making sure he didn't wake her but needing to touch her.
"Welcome back, Mr. Deeks."
He jumped a little and noticed Hetty for the first time. She was sitting in a chair behind Kensi, lost in the shadows of the dimly lit room. He smiled at her. "Hi Hetty. How long have you been there?"
She gave her stock answer of "Long enough, Mr. Deeks, long enough."
He frowned, asking quietly "How long have I been here? How long was I out?"
"Roughly 14 hours. You passed out at the Mission last night and we brought you back to the hospital that you had skipped out on, before getting appropriate medical treatment for your injuries. You need to take better care of yourself Mr. Deeks!"
"I'm fine Hetty, really. What's the damage?"
"Concussion, three fractured ribs, multiple severe bruises and contusions. From what I hear from Lt. Bates, the carnage at the scene makes it seem like you got off lightly."
"Why was I out for so long? I've had concussions before, 14 hours is a long time." he looked at her suspiciously.
"Well, I might have recommended that the doctor give you a mild sedative so that you didn't try to walk out once again."
"Hetty!" he said, trying to lean forward but hissing at the pain in his ribs.
She smiled at him and he settled back in resignation. Closing his eyes, he tried to reconstruct the last 24 hours. He remembered Miguel insisting on him coming along on the raid on Castillo. He remembered the beating, the shootings. More bits and pieces started to come back. The rookie who'd taken a baton to his head. Waking up in the hospital, cuffed to the gurney. Getting the officer, Wolinksy?, to release him. Walking into the Mission. There was a gap between the hospital and the Mission that he still couldn't seem to fill. Feeling relief at seeing his family. Kensi, Sam, Eric, Nell. Nell? Wait! His eyes flew open and he locked eyes with Hetty.
"Nell! Nell told me she and Eric had uncovered something about Timmons. That everything I suspected was correct and something about there being even more." he spoke louder this time and Kensi started awake.
"Deeks! You're awake!" Kensi got up from her chair and leaned down to kiss him.
When her lips were just about to touch his, he breathed out "Hetty's here."
She paused and then breathed back at him "I don't care!" and her lips met his. He dug his hand into her hair and tried to pull her closer but she resisted him.
Coming up for air, he asked "What's wrong?" knowing she would understand what he was asking.
"You have three fractured ribs and bruises that cover most of your chest and abdomen. I don't want to hurt you!"
He put his hand on her cheek and said "It's worth the pain." She smiled back, raising her hand to put over his.
Hetty cleared her throat. "I'll let the doctor and the others know you're awake, Mr. Deeks." she said as she left the room, leaving the two of them alone.
"Don't you ever do that again!" Kensi said to him angrily.
"Do what, Fern?" although he was pretty sure that he knew why she was angry.
"Don't get hurt. If you do get hurt, don't leave the hospital without treatment. Don't wander into the Mission after three weeks without a word and then pass out on me!" her voice broke a little at the end.
"I'm sorry Sugar Bear. It won't happen again." behind her head, he crossed his fingers. "Now, I want to know what the wonder twins found out about Timmons!"
Once again, he wasn't destined to get those answers as the doctor entered his room, a nurse trailing him. "Ah Mr. Deeks, Ms. Lange informed me you had regained consciousness. Ma'am, you'll have to leave while we re-examine him."
Kensi opened her mouth to protest but Deeks shushed her. "The sooner you leave, the sooner they get done poking and prodding me, the sooner you can come back." She smiled at him and nodded reluctantly. Turning away, she glared at the doctor and nurse, blaming them for separating her from him. The doctor, used to this from patient's loved ones, smiled blandly at her.
She stalked out and headed to the waiting room. Hetty would already have told everyone he was awake but she wanted to be with her friends if she couldn't be with him. She walked in and stopped for a moment, taking in the group of people that had swelled since last night. Their team, Nell, Eric, Hetty and Granger had been in and out since they had redelivered him here. Last night, she had called Laura Shelton to let her know that the lessons for the next day were cancelled as Deeks was in the hospital, unconscious at that time. Laura had been worried about him but Kensi had reassured the woman that it didn't appear life threatening. The current group included everyone from last night as well as Meaghan and Laura, Cassie and Paula, Chris, Cindy and Little Chris, Michelle, Joelle and Kensi's mom, Julia. She smiled, wondering how he managed to collect such a diverse group of people who cared so much for him, knowing the group would be even larger if the word had been spread wider. She still wasn't sure how most of them had found out in the first place. They all turned and looked at her as she stepped all the way in.
"He's fine. He's awake and the doctor's in with him now, re-examining him. When he's done, I'm sure we'll be able to see him." she said to the group taking up most of the waiting room. Everyone smiled at her, her words reaffirming what Hetty had already told them.
Julia came up to her, gave her a hug and said "How are you doing Kensi?"
"I'm good, mom. He's awake and he's going to be fine, so I'm good." she reassured her mother. Looking around the room, she searched for Nell. Finding her, she made her way over, her hand still in Julia's. "Nell? He remembered what you told him about Timmons. He's going to want to know as soon as we can get you guys in there."
Nell nodded and said "I'm so sorry Kensi! I really thought I could get him to go back to the hospital by promising him something good if he did. I should have known better, Shaggy never does what you expect him to."
Kensi put her arm around the smaller woman and hugged her close. "It's okay Nell. Just be prepared when you see him." Nell leaned into her for a moment.
The door opened and all eyes turned to watch the doctor enter. He smiled at Kensi and said "He's fine. Nothing new has shown up since yesterday, we should be able to release him tomorrow although he will need to be on bed rest for a few more days after that. He can have visitors now." Everyone surged forward, causing the doctor to step back. He'd dealt with people injured in the line of duty before; he knew the level of anxiety and anger friends and family felt, knowing that the one they cared about was only there because of someone else. "Um, normally we only allow three visitors at a time, but, seeing as Mr. Deeks is in a private room, I will relax those rules and anyone who wants to, can go in." He had barely finished the sentence when he found himself in an empty room. He chuckled and went on to his next patient.
The door to Deeks's room burst open and 16 people and 1 infant tried to cram into the hospital room at the same time. There was much good natured shoving and pushing. Once everyone was squished in, Kensi resumed her place on his bed. Deeks looked at everyone in surprise. When Hetty had said she was going to tell everyone he was awake, he thought she meant Sam and/or Callen at most. He looked around the room, smiling as best he could at everyone, searching for Nell or Eric. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.
Laura Shelton took a good look at the man in the hospital bed. The scruffy detective had gone from an annoyance to something rapidly approaching little brother status and it was scaring her. She thought back to when she had told Marty about Perry, something she had never shared with anyone outside her immediate family. She'd lost Perry and this incident brought home to her how dangerous Marty's line of work really was. He could be taken away in an instant. Next time he might not be so lucky. Next time they could be standing by his graveside instead of his bedside. Did she want to risk this? She smiled, it was already too late. Marty had filled a void in her life that she hadn't even known was there. He and, by extension the rest of his team, had opened up her world to new things. Perry had been gentle and, dare she even think it, weak. He hadn't fought; he'd just gone quietly in the night, leaving devastation in his wake. The man in the bed before her wouldn't do that; he'd fight with every last breath in his body. He'd proven that when he'd picked up a gun at a very young age and done what he had to in order to save himself and his mother.
Before the NCIS team had been assigned to them several months ago, her life had been one long boring committee meeting after another. She had thought she was happy and fulfilled, then this team of disparate individuals who made up one whole, turned her life upside down. She never thought she would be taking self-defense lessons from a federal agent and LAPD cop and enjoying them. She doubted anyone in the room, other than Meaghan, knew she meet Henrietta Lange for tea once a month, each time trying a different tea room in the LA area. Her 'friends' on the various committees said she'd changed, and she was pretty sure they didn't mean it as a compliment.
Her reverie was broken when Meaghan slipped her hand into hers. Looking down at her daughter, she saw tears in her eyes. "What's the matter baby? You heard the doctor; he's going to be fine!"
"Mom. Do you think this is what Marty felt when he saw me that first time after the attack? When he flaked out on us?"
"Yes, Meaghan, I think it's exactly what he felt. It's not easy seeing someone you care about hurt."
"I was kind of mad at him when it happened. I thought he would tell me how proud he was of me, instead he just walked away."
"I don't think it's easy for him to show that kind of emotion. He didn't want you to see him break down."
"I get it now, mom. I don't want him to see me crying over him either, but it's hard, you know?"
Laura smiled at her daughter and hugged her to her side. "Yeah, I do know. Now put on a happy face and go tell him you're glad he's okay." Meaghan nodded and pushed her way to the bedside. She reached down and hugged him gently, telling him that this was no way to get out of the Saturday classes. Marty laughed and everyone joined in.
Eventually, the crowd started to leave in groups, everyone reassured he was really okay. Sam, Michelle, Callen and Joelle had promised Kamran that they'd take her to the zoo that afternoon. The get well card Kamran had made for Uncle Marty that morning was sitting front and center on the bedside table. They said their goodbyes.
Cassie had to go home to get ready for work and Paula left with her, making him promise to keep them up to date on how he was. They were still planning on him officiating at the wedding so let him know in no uncertain terms that he was not to get beaten up again. He needed to be presentable in the wedding pictures.
Through this all, Deeks tried to keep his impatience at bay. He knew that they couldn't discuss the situation with Timmons in front of anyone outside NCIS. He was also tiring, fighting to keep his eyes open. He was distracted for a bit when Cindy had placed LC on the bed with him. The little guy had snuggled into Deeks's chest and fallen right asleep, Deeks's arm protectively wrapped around him. Eventually, the little family left as well.
Hetty and Granger also headed out, Julia in tow. Finally it was just him, Eric, Nell and Kensi. However, Eric and Nell were nowhere to be seen at the moment, having slipped out to get something to eat. They knew they were going to be here for a lot longer as they filled Deeks in on everything they had found during the three weeks he was away. Kensi left to go look for them at his insistence. He was tired of waiting, he thought, so tired. His head slipped sideways and he fell asleep, the events of the past two day catching up with him. When Kensi returned with Nell and Eric, they watched him for a while, debating quietly amongst themselves if they should wake him up to give him the information he wanted, or just let him sleep. Sleep won out and the two analysts left, promising to return as soon as Kensi gave them the word.
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A/N – Argh, I wish they would tell him already! I want to know what the twins dug up on the judge!