Sheriff vs. Agent
Chapter 14 Revelations
CALL TO ROGER
"This is Henrietta Lange, Kensi Blye's boss."
"Kensi? What can I do for you, ma'am?"
"She has been injured at work. She recently changed her emergency contacts to include you."
"Me? What's wrong?"
"She has been taken into surgery; you may want to be there when she comes out. May I assist you in getting to the hospital?"
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Hetty sends an NCIS agent and a car to pick up Roger and Katie. Hetty only knows about the change in her agent's emergency contacts. She doesn't know the exact nature of the relationship between Kensi and Roger. There must be something, Kensi wouldn't have changed her contacts unless there was.
Roger and Katie are shown to a small surgery waiting room. Hetty greets them and introduces everyone. Things are tense, as no one knows who Roger is and what he means to their teammate.
Nell takes it upon herself to greet Katie. "Hi, I'm Nell. What is your name?" She kneels in front of the little girl who is on her dad's lap.
"Katie."
"Are you here to see Kensi? I work with her."
"Yes, I love Kessie!"
"And I'm sure she loves you."
Roger speaks, "Are you an agent too?"
"I'm mostly a data and intelligence analyst." Nell shakes Roger's hand.
He asks, "Can you tell me what happened to Kensi?"
Nell looks at Katie and shakes her head imperceptibly for her dad's benefit. He gets it.
"Katie, sweetie, would you like to go to the vending machine and see if there is a snack that you would like?" Nell asks.
Katie nods, yes.
Nell holds out he hand; Katie takes it and they walk off.
When they are out of hearing range, Hetty comes and sits by Roger.
"I can't tell you much, what we do is classified."
"Well, should I re-enlist and get back my security clearance?" Both of them can tell that this conversation will be far less than satisfactory for him.
Hetty is taken aback. "Re-enlist?"
"8 years an army ranger, gunny sergeant, 2 tours in country. Enough?"
"I'm sorry but-
Roger stomps out, looking for Katie.
Sam catches up with him before he reaches Katie. He stops him with a hand on his arm.
"Sam Hanna, Navy SEAL. Also 2 tours." He extends his hand, they shake.
"So? What happened to Kensi?"
"Roger, you know-
"What the hell. Was I called down here to shoot the bull? To scare Katie to death? Huh?"
"No."
"Ok, then tell me something, damn it!"
"I can't but-
"Will someone call me when she is out of surgery and tell me what her status is, please?"
"I will, I promise."
Roger gives Sam his number. He collects Katie from Nell's arms. They exit the hospital and take a cab home.
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Sam calls Roger: "Roger here, what's up Sam?"
"She is out of surgery, and in recovery. The surgeon said that she had several fractured ribs on the right. That collapsed her lung, which led to a cardiac arrest. They got her back and she is now stable. They stabilized her right clavicle also, and put in a chest tube to keep her lung inflated and healing. She will likely be in ICU for 3-4 days. I'll tell you this, Kens hates hospitals! She will need lots of support. You can see her tomorrow; I don't know your relationship. But I'm pretty sure she would like to see you and your beautiful little girl. If I can do anything to help you, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks, Sam. I really appreciate this call."
"No problem, I wish I could tell you more."
"I wish so too. Bye, bro!"
"Bye."
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RECOVERY ROOM
Kensi awakens and looks around. Her recovery nurse speaks to her softly. "Kensi, your surgery was successful. You have a chest tube in to keep your right lung inflated. Can you take a deep breath for me?"
Kensi does.
"Good, I will remind you to do that from time to time. Are you in much pain, on a scale of 1 to 10?"
"4 or 5."
"I will medicate you as long as your pain level is 3 or more. Is that Ok?"
Kensi nods, yes.
"Good, let me know if your pain increases, Ok?"
Kensi nods yes, then she asks "Roger?"
The nurse checks Kensi's chart and sees Roger as an emergency contact. "Yes, I see Roger is an emergency contact. He can't come back here, unfortunately. When you get to your ICU room, the nurses can find him."
"Thank you." Kensi relaxes, hoping to see him soon.
She doesn't see him that night; she is told that he and Katie went home.
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NCIS-OSP
Hetty's phone rings. "Henrietta Lange. Who is calling, please?"
"This is Alice Matthews, Roger Lonnstrom's administrative assistant. He is a friend of Ms. Kensi Blye."
"Yes, I am glad you called. I need to talk with him as soon as possible."
"Oh, about what?"
"I understand he had quite an unfortunate experience at the hospital last evening."
"To put it mildly." Alice's voice is frosty.
"I am going to work on restoring Roger's security clearance. So those kinds of problems do not occur again."
"Can you do that?" The frostiness is gone.
"I believe so, but you can help me. Can you get me a copy of his service record?"
Alice does just that.
Hetty calls Leon Vance. He starts the process. It will take 2-3 days.
Alice also gets the ICU visiting hours for her boss.
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PACIFIC BEACH MEDICAL, ICU
That evening.
Roger finds his way to the ICU waiting room, he has Katie by the hand. Hetty has told him that she will meet him there, and she does.
Hetty rises and greets father & daughter. "Roger, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Hetty, Kensi's boss. And this must be Katie!" Hetty gently extends a hand – the little girl brushes it in a soft low-five.
"Yes, ma'am. We are pleased to meet you. Alice informed me of what you are trying to accomplish. Thank you so much!"
"You are very welcome. I hope we can avoid a rerun of last evening's unpleasantness."
"Me too. What can you tell me about Kensi?"
"I haven't heard about her status, I just arrived. About your question of what happened, none of us can say. When your clearance is restored, I assure you that we will answer that. I hope you will be patient for a few days."
"Very well, I will take you at your word and wait. I hope I can trust your word!"
"You can. Now, if Katie will stay with me, I believe you can go in and see Kensi for a few minutes."
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A nurse was approaching, and showed Roger to Kensi's room.
Roger stands in the doorway, taking in the room and Kensi in the big hospital bed. She looks so fragile. This is not the Kensi he is used to.
She smiles weakly, and motions for him to come to her.
He notes the chest tube on her right side; he approaches her left side, pulling a chair up flush against the bed and sits down. He reaches for her left hand; their fingers lace together. They squeeze lightly.
Her voice is soft and scratchy, "I heard about your interesting visit last evening," she smirks.
He lowers his head, "I was pissed! It's a good thing you weren't there!" He raises his head and grins.
"If I'd been there, I would have kicked some one's ass!" Her smile grows.
"I believe it."
He brings their hands to his lips and kisses the back of hers.
He reaches into his messenger bag and pulls out a monkey sock doll. Kensi gasps and shakes her head.
Roger nods his head; "Katie insists that her Kessie have this. It will help you get well. Don't make me take this back out to my little girl, please." He cocks his head.
A tear streaks down Kensi's cheek. "Ok," she gives in, clutching it to her heart.
"I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you more."
"I know. But Kens, I was an army ranger for 8 years. I can connect the dots. I know how dangerous your job is."
"But your wife-
"Kens, you can't predict that. Nobody can. But . . . we do have some things to talk about . . . if we want to really give us a go. Right?"
Kensi nods.
Roger goes on, "Right now we need to get you healthy, that's #1! Then we'll have a quiet dinner, or two, and talk. Ok?"
"Ok." She brings their hands to her lips and kisses the back of his.
He leans over and kisses her forehead. "I need to go and collect one little girl. As soon as you are in a regular room, I won't be able to keep her away from you."
"Don't you dare try!" She grins.
"G-night Kens."
"G-night Roger."
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TBC