A/N – this chapter was co-written with honus47. Many thanks!

A/N 2 – Sorry for the delay between updates but I had the unfortunate experience of having to go to Aruba for a week. Sunny days, white sand, turquoise water, no work, happy hours….it was a tough job but someone had to do it. Oh, and I went horseback riding for the first time in my life. I walked funny for a couple days after that!

~,~,~,~

Chapter 58

Moira entered the waiting room just after 8:30. She had come back on shift about a half hour ago and had checked in on Detective Deeks first thing. She was looking forward to giving his friends and family an update.

Sam looked up when she entered the room. Michelle had gone home to deal with Kamran. Both of their phones had blown up with texts all night, with constant questions about how Uncle Marty was doing. Michelle had finally headed home a little after midnight to get their daughter to go to bed. She had school today and was cranky when she didn't get a good night's sleep. Sam was pretty sure their little girl was also worried about her mom and dad. If Uncle Marty could get hurt and end up in the hospital, so could they. He smiled when he remembered the texts from Aiden. He had wanted to leave school and come to be with them but they had both said no. There was nothing he could do here that he couldn't at school. Deeks had managed to get under both his kids skins, not always an easy feat with Aiden. He stood when Moira approached.

Callen popped up as well, startled out of the cat nap he had been in the middle of. He had sent Joelle home at the same time as Michelle. She had offered to get a substitute for today but he'd told her there was no need, there was nothing any of them could do until he was off the ventilator and no longer sedated. He searched Moira's face and felt his heart lift when she smiled at him.

Kensi had been lying on the couch, her head in her mother's lap but had jackknifed upright when the door had opened. Like Callen, she felt better when she took in the look on the doctor's face. The big smile had to mean he was doing better.

It was Hetty who finally asked the question "How's our Mr. Deeks doing today, Dr. Shaughnessy?"

"He's doing well. His vitals are stable and his fever is down. It's still a little high but it would appear that the antibiotics are working. If his temperature continues to fall and he has a quiet day, I'm going to move him out of ICU and into a regular room. I want to keep him on the ventilator and under sedation for a few more days, he still has a lot of healing to do but, I think we can safely say he's no longer critical."

Kensi walked up and hugged Moira. "Thank you! Thank you so much for everything you've done for him Moira. He means everything to me, I don't know what I would have done if he'd slipped away."

Moira returned the hug. These were the updates she enjoyed, the ones that made her job so rewarding. The ability to tell people that their loved one was going to make it helped to offset the times when she had to deliver devastating news.

"I would recommend you all head home and get some rest. He still won't be allowed visitors until he's moved out of ICU and I'm sure he wouldn't want you all to run yourselves down sitting here doing nothing."

Hetty nodded in agreement and Moira left, promising that she would update them if anything changed and that someone would call them with Deeks's room number when he was moved. Hetty followed her out.

"Dr. Shaughnessy?" Moira turned and waited for the small woman to catch up to her.

"Yes, Ms. Lange?"

"Hetty, please." She handed Moira a business card. "That is my direct line. I ask that you contact me before moving Mr. Deeks to his room. I will also need to ask that you put him in a private one. The men who did that to him are still out there. He's safe in ICU but I want to be sure we have a guard on him at all times once he's moved. There's no real reason for me to think that he might still be in danger, but I will not take any chances with him."

Moira nodded and slipped the card into the breast pocket of her lab coat. "Of course, Ms. Lan…Hetty. I understand. Would a half hour before moving him be sufficient?"

"Yes. I have no doubt that the armed guard will be one of his team mates. I doubt that they'll want anyone else watching over him but, just in case, please ask the staff to request to see the badges of anyone who wants to see him. If they do not have a badge or is not with someone else who does, do not allow them in."

"I will. Do you really think these men will come after him?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that anyone who can do that to another person is psychologically damaged. I wouldn't put anything past them. Should anyone turn up without the proper credentials, be sure to warn your people to not confront them. Keep an eye on them and have someone tell his guard. Also call that number. We will need to know if anyone attempts to get to him."

"I'll do that." Moira paused. "I really hope you get the monster or monsters that did that to him. They deserve to rot in jail for a very long time!"

"I hope so too, my dear and I agree that they don't deserve to see the light of day for the rest of their lives." The tone in Hetty's voice caused Moira to frown a little, remembering her own sentiments from the night before. She wondered if she'd sounded the same. Her pager went off and she realized she had been here longer than she'd intended. She said her goodbyes and headed to her other patients.

Hetty watched her go, not really seeing her. She was already thinking about heading into the Mission to watch that video with Granger, who had left shortly after Michelle and Joelle. He had let her know that he'd update Director Vance while she stayed here to watch over her flock. She smiled a little when she realized that Owen Granger, the one person she would have placed bets on being immune to Marty Deeks, wasn't. She turned back to shoo her flock to their homes. She sighed, knowing that each one of them would demand to be the one guarding him. She would select Kensi, the others had a job to do and she doubted the young woman would be of much help, worrying about her partner. A job that included finding Sean McGonagle and Carl Robinson as soon as possible. She would have to remind them to at least try to take them alive. She needed one of them to give up who had ordered the abduction and torture of her detective.

As she had expected, each of them had protested against leaving. She had finally put her foot down and gotten them to agree to at least take a break. Kensi had been the most stubborn until Julia had joined forces with Hetty, finally convincing her to go back to Julia's for some good home cooking, a shower and a nap on a real bed instead of a couch. Julia smiled at Hetty on the way out and assured her that she'd make sure her daughter complied. They all walked out together then split up to go to their various cars, each feeling uneasy about leaving him in there alone. Their unease was warranted. Unbeknownst to them, their every move was being watched.

Sean McGonagle had found out from his source inside NCIS which hospital Deeks was at and had called to see if he was allowed visitors. He was told he was in ICU and for the next 24 - 48 hours he wasn't allowed any visitors. He thought this would be the perfect opportunity to finish the job he was asked to do, once he was sure that no one from NCIS or any other agency was still there. Watching the people who had just walked out, he knew everyone was accounted for. There would be no one but hospital personnel to protect the detective.

Around midnight he and Carl had snuck into the hospital and found the locker room. Going through the lockers, they discovered a janitor's uniform and a hospital ID for said janitor. Now that the coast was clear, he suited up. Looking over at Carl, he said "Keep a careful eye out for them. If one of them returns, call me immediately!" Carl nodded his understanding. He wished they had just run, coming back here seemed like a suicide mission but Sean had talked to the boss after their escape. Parks had warned him that, if they did run, they had better keep running as he would never stop tracking them down. If they finished off the detective, he would get them into Mexico and set them up with the Molina Cartel. Carl also knew that this had become personal to Sean. The detective hadn't broken and had, in fact, been instrumental in Sean getting caught. If it hadn't been for the LAPD officer on Parks's payroll, Sean would be sitting in jail right now.

Sean nonchalantly entered the hospital through the service entrance, using the stolen ID card. He located the supply closet and got a mop and bucket and went up to the ICU floor, using the employee's elevator. When he got off at ICU, he noticed only one nurse at the station. As he had expected, no one paid attention to the lowly janitor doing his job. As he pulled the bucket along, he approached the room his informant had said Deeks was in. When he saw the nurse standing outside the door, he ducked into another and looked curiously at the woman lying in the bed, hooked up to the machines that were keeping her alive. He pulled out a syringe filled with potassium chloride and injected it into the IV port. The lethal dose should only take a few minutes to stop the woman's heart and get the medical personnel into the room and their attention away from the detective. He would have more than enough time to exit the room before the alarms started to sound. He felt no remorse for the fact that he was killing an innocent woman. She was simply a means to an end.

Once the entire solution was injected, he slipped the empty syringe back into his pocket, next to the other item he had brought with him. The other item set his heart racing with anticipation. He was going to enjoy this, the detective had thwarted him at every turn and he was not one to forgive and forget. He walked back out of the room and made a show of mopping the floor. He didn't have long to wait before the heart monitor began to blare its alarm and all the medical personnel swarmed the room, not even noticing him.

He smiled and made his way to the detective's room, picking up a small towel off a rack he passed. He figured it was time to take care of Detective Deeks once and for all. Then he would be able to start his new life in Mexico. When he stood outside the room, he looked through the viewing window and was surprised at all the equipment he was hooked up to. "I'll leave all the equipment on him." he thought. "It won't save him from what I got for him. I'll be long gone before any of it alerts the hospital that there's an issue."

He looked back down towards the woman's room, everyone was still in there, trying to get her heart started, not knowing that there was no way they would succeed. Assured he was on his own, he entered the room and pulled out the case holding the very long, and very sharp stiletto knife he had picked out especially for this. He pulled the knife out and saw part of his face reflected in the blade and he smiled. Turning back, but before he started, he just had to admire his handiwork. He pulled the covers off Deeks and checked him over. "I did a fine job." he thought to himself. "But I'm not done yet."

He placed the stiletto over Deeks's thigh and whispered in his ear "I'll be long gone before you die Detective Deeks but I wanted you to know it was me. There's no one here to help you. I only wish I could stay long enough to watch you take your last breath." He caressed the detective's leg, looking for the correct spot. He knew a lot about anatomy, he'd been doing this a very long time. He knew just where to cut to cause the most pain but not kill his subject. He knew just where to insert the knife into the man's leg but not nick the femoral artery, causing him to slowly bleed out.

He slowly pushed the stiletto into Deeks's upper leg until it came out the bottom, surprised when the man didn't even move. Most unrewarding. He pulled the knife out and watched the blood bubble up for a few moments, mesmerized by the sight. Snapping out of it, he placed the towel over the wound and then pulled the blankets back over the unresponsive man. He tilted his head to the left, nope; no one would even be able to tell he was bleeding until it was too late. Time for him to leave. He walked out and grabbed the mop and bucket, slowly making his way back to the elevator. As he passed the woman's room he heard someone say "I'm calling it. Time of death 9:37." He smiled up at the camera, not caring that someone would be able to see his face later, when they watched the tape. He wanted the detective's friends and coworkers to know who was responsible.

The elevator doors opened and he waited for a male nurse to exit before pushing his mop and bucket in. The man said "Good Morning." but never really looked him in the eye. The doors closed and Sean McGonagle was home free.

Craig Trent was not due on duty for another twenty minutes but he had come in early to check on Deeks. He wasn't really sure why the man had been on his mind all night. Maybe it was how he'd been hurt. Maybe it was the sheer number of people who had shown up, worried sick about him. Maybe it was Talia. He really didn't know and figured it really didn't matter. Checking up on him wouldn't hurt anyone and would ease his mind. He entered the room and automatically checked the machines displaying his vitals. He frowned a little. The blood pressure seemed a little low. Even as he watched, the numbers dropped lower but were still not in the danger zone.

Something was bothering him, something seemed out of place but he couldn't put his finger on it. He stepped closer to the bed and did a thorough sweep of the detective's body. Everything was fine until he reached the legs. The left one looked lumpy. He gently pulled back the covers and saw the towel placed there. What in the world? He pulled the covers back further and saw the blood pool under the leg. He lifted back the towel to find it sodden with blood from the wound that was pumping it out with each beat of the man's heart. He quickly placed his right hand over it and applied pressure. With his other hand, he pressed the call button on the bed. He knew it would alert the nurse at the station that something was wrong. As heavily sedated as he was, there was no way he would be pushing that button himself.

Janice Hart looked up at the alarm sounding on her board. She had been filling in the information on Susan Wilkins who had just passed away unexpectedly. She had been in ICU for two days and had been steadily improving. No one was really sure why her heart had just suddenly stopped beating. Her eyebrows rose when she saw it was the detective's room. There was no way he was pushing that button. She got up and ran to the room, stunned to see Craig with his hand on the man's leg, blood seeping through his fingers. "What happened, Craig?"

"I don't know! I came in to see him and noticed his blood pressure seemed low. I pulled back the covers and found this. Get Dr. Shaughnessy, now! She's going to have to suture this up; she might even have to operate on it. Janice, now!"

Janice turned and ran back to her station. She pushed the button on the microphone and said into it "Dr. Moira Shaughnessy, ICU room 3, stat!"

Moira looked up from her paperwork when she heard her name over the loud speaker, recognizing the room as that of the detective. She ran to the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator. She skidded into ICU and ran to room 3, Janice right on her heels. She found Craig putting pressure onto the man's leg, blood covering his hand as he tried to staunch the flow of blood. "What the hell happened?"

Craig looked up and replied "We don't know. Obviously someone attacked him. Looks like whatever they used at least missed the artery but he's bleeding pretty badly. Is his condition, he could bleed out."

Moira looked over at Janice and said "Call down to surgery. Tell them to get a room ready for an emergency. We'll be right down with him." Janice nodded and ran out to the station to make that call. "Craig, keep applying pressure, I'm going to move him to the portable ventilator." Craig nodded in response. Moira made short work of switching machines and was just turning back when Janice returned to tell them OR was ready and waiting. The other ICU nurse, Krissy Appleton, entered the room right behind her. Krissy helped Moira push the bed out of the room to the elevator, Craig continuing to apply pressure to the wound. Janice paced by them. Moira reached into her breast pocket and pulled out the business card she had hoped to use to call with good news. She thrust it into Janice's hand and said "Call this number and ask for Hetty. Tell her someone attacked Marty Deeks in ICU and that we're taking him down to surgery right now." Janice took the card and nodded.

The elevator doors closed behind them and she turned back to the ICU Unit, wondering what the world was coming to. How had someone attacked one of their patients right under their noses without anyone noticing anything? She shivered, wondering if any of them had also been in danger. She paused, wondering if Mrs. Wilkins's death was related. She pulled over the paperwork she'd been filling out and made a note to check into it, then she reached for the phone and punched in the number on the card Moira had given her.

When a woman answered "Lange" she asked for Hetty.

"Speaking."

"My name is Janice Hart; I'm a nurse in the ICU Unit at Pacific Beach Medical. Dr. Moira Shaughnessy asked me to call you to let you know that someone attacked Marty Deeks in his room. They're on their way down to surgery as we speak. It looked like a knife wound to the leg that is bleeding very badly. On a positive note, it missed the artery or we wouldn't have been able to save him." She paused and thought about it. "He's very lucky. Another nurse, Craig Trent, came in to check on him and noticed something was wrong. If he hadn't, we might not have known anything was wrong before it was too late."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. "Ms. Lange? Are you still there?"

"Yes. Thank you Ms. Hart. I appreciate your letting me know. We'll be there shortly."

"You're welcome." Janice replied and hung up the phone.

Hetty closed her cell phone and looked at the people staring at her in concern. She, Eric, Nell and Granger had just begun to watch the video from Deeks's torture and now this. She wondered how much more their goofy detective was going to have to go through. She cleared her throat and relayed the news to them. Granger's face turned purple he was so angry. Nell and Eric just looked shocked, not sure how to react to this newest development.

"Eric, access the security feed at the hospital. See if you can find who attacked Mr. Deeks. I have a strong suspicion who you'll find. I'll call his team and let them know. Ms. Blye is going to be furious; she didn't want to leave him." Hetty sighed. She decided she would call Julia and let Kensi's mother break the news to her. She didn't want to give her that kind of news over the phone; it would be better coming from someone in person. Granger indicated he would call Callen and Sam.

Eric turned back to his computer and started trying to hack into the hospital feed. Nell reached over when she noticed that his hands were shaking. She covered his with her own and silently gave him her support. He smiled a little at her, thanking her without words and felt stronger. He turned back and made short work of accessing the feed. He started watching the tape about a half hour before the call that just came in. He watched the janitor come out of the elevator and then go into a room. He came back out and started mopping the floor. Moments later alarms blared and the nurses and a doctor rushed into the room. The janitor then moved down the hall and entered Deeks's room. He came back out a few minutes later and went to the elevator, looking up at the camera and smiling. Eric started shaking again, this time with anger. He froze the picture and sat staring at Sean McGonagle's face smiling back at him.

~,~,~,~

A/N3 - this chapter has been changed long after it was originally completed. A review just received clued me in to the fact that nicking the femoral artery would most likely have resulted in death long before Trent got there. My bad for not researching better. I modified the story to indicate it missed the artery.