"Deeks? Deeks!" Kensi shouted, throwing herself across the room just in time to catch his shoulders before his head hit the hard floor. She cradled his head in her lap, gently rubbing his cheek with one hand while she held the other over his chest.
"Kensi, is he alright?" Sam asked, reminding her that there were other people in the room. She heard Callen talking with someone on the phone in short, terse words.
"His heartbeat is kind of thready, but he's breathing." Her voice sounded strange and distant to her own ears.
"What happened?"
"I don't know," she whispered. Distraught. "How long on the ambulance?"
"They'll be here in less than 10 minutes," Callen answered, standing above them. Ten minutes sounded like an eternity when they didn't know what was wrong with Deeks.
Sam squatted beside Kensi on the floor, pressing his palm to Deeks' forehead and then briefly checking the pulse in his wrist. "His pulse is steady enough."
"But he's so clammy." His skin was grayer than she'd ever seen it, even before his diagnosis when he'd been horribly sick.
"Hey Rountree, go wait outside for the ambulance," Sam said, and Rountree hurriedly followed his directions. Kensi was too consumed with Deeks to see the look of dismay he threw their way.
"It's ok, baby," Kensi murmured, leaning down to kiss Deeks' damp forehead.
Deeks opened his eyes slowly, head pounding, and totally disoriented. Something pressed over his mouth and nose; he swiped at it, slowly realizing it was a oxygen mask.
"Kensi?" He was surprised how bad his voice sounded, wincing as the low croak reverberated through his aching skull.
"Oh my god, Deeks," Kensi gasped, her hand grasping his before she came into his field of vision. "No, don't take that off." She gently nudged his hand away as he attempted to remove the mask again.
"What happened?" he asked. He tried to remember, but his mind felt like it was filled with thick sludge, slowing his thought processes.
"You passed out. You're at the hospital now," Kensi answered softly, a blurry figure above him. He blinked a couple times until he could see her more clearly.
"Oh good, now there's only one of you," he sighed without his usual energy. Kensi seemed to appreciate his attempt at humor though. She brushed his hair back from his temple with a soft laugh, a few tears coursing down her cheeks. "Hey, don't cry."
"I'm just so glad your awake. It was really terrifying."
"You said I passed out?"
"Yeah, in the bullpen. We were discussing the case, and then you stood up to go up to OSP, and you…crumpled to the floor. Do you remember what happened before that?"
He vaguely recalled being in the bullpen, but everything else from there was disjointed or nonexistent. Pressing a fist to his forehead, he made a noise of frustration.
"No. It's like somebody took my brain and filled it with concrete or something. I can't remember anything after early this morning." He had a sudden horrible thought. "Wait, it's still the same day, right?"
"Yes, it is," Kensi assured him gently. "Don't worry, baby. It's ok if you don't know. The doctor said you might be disoriented for a while. He's running some tests now and Dr. Nehme is on his way."
He'd realized, much slower than he normally would, that he was in a small hospital room. He nodded in response to Kensi, instantly regretting that decision when it sent a sharp spike of pain through the center of his head, followed by an intense wave of nausea. Acid filled his throat, he squeezed his eyes shut as he gagged, fighting the urge to throw up with everything he had.
Kensi's hands smoothed over his skin, cool on his suddenly overheated and sweaty skin. He concentrated on her touch and the sound of her voice, even if he couldn't discern the actual words at the moment. Inhaling deeply through his nose, Deeks willed himself not to throw up, knowing how much worse he'd feel if he did.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain dulled to a slightly less head-splitting throb.
"Oh god," he whispered, totally exhausted from the episode.
"Deeks, what hurts?" Kensi asked softly, hands dropping to his shoulders. He was grateful she instinctively knew to keep her voice lowered since every sound seemed amplified times ten.
"My head." He couldn't contain a small whimper. "Feels like it's going to explode."
"Ok, I'm going to find a doctor or nurse and see if they can get you some pain meds or something."
He didn't respond, not wanting to risk moving again. Instead, Deeks laid still with his eyes closed until he was pretty sure he wouldn't immediately be sick or pass out from the pain. He was just on the verge of sleep when the curtain around his bed slid open, startling him. Or at least as started as could be with zero energy.
Kensi had returned, with Dr. Nehme in tow.
"Hello Deeks. I found Kensi harassing the nursing staff." Nehme gave her a look that on anyone less serious, would be teasing. "I was hoping I wouldn't see you hear so soon."
"Yeah, I've been a troublemaker all my life," Deeks joked weakly. Nehme offered a half-smirk as he quickly reviewed the chart at the end of Deeks' bed, and scanned the monitors.
"I heard Kensi telling one of the nurses that you're experiencing a severe headache," he said, getting right to the point as usual. "What other symptoms are you experiencing?"
"Nausea, exhaustion, but that's not really new, and some confusion," Deeks admitted, sighing at the last one. "I can't really remember much leading up to when I collapsed."
"That's fairly common when you lose consciousness." Once again, Deeks appreciated Nehme's calming and straightforward demeanor. "I'm more concerned about the erratic heart rate you came in with upon admittance and your headache. Now, your heart rate, pulse, and oxygen have stabilized since then."
"So what caused this?" Kensi asked, moving to stand beside Kensi's bed. She wordlessly reached to clasp his left hand, which wasn't encumbered by a pulse monitor.
"I can't be certain until we get those blood tests back." He held up a hand before Kensi could inquire. "I'm expediting them. But, based on your symptoms and prior experience, I think you have hypokalemia, or extremely low potassium."
"I thought I had to worry about too much potassium," Deeks said.
"Usually it is. Hypokalemia is fairly uncommon with kidney disease and kidney failure, but it does occur," Nehme explained. "It's also extremely serious if left unchecked."
"So why wasn't this caught before this?" Deeks heard the growing anger in Kensi's voice, and squeezed her hand, catching her eye when she looked down. He shook his head minutely.
"I understand your concern, Kensi." Dr. Nehme spoke on the same calming tone. "Unfortunately, these kinds of issues can develop suddenly and without much warning. I am sorry that it wasn't caught though."
Kensi accepted his apology with a sigh, her grip on Deeks' hand tightening.
"I guess the next question is, what does this mean for me? Do I have to stop dialysis?"
"No, we're definitely continuing dialysis. If the test results come back as I anticipate, we'll continue with the same treatment plan, perhaps shorter dialysis sessions, and add in a low-potassium supplement. We'll test for potassium and other minerals to prevent something like this from happening again."
He hesitated ever so slightly, but Deeks, even in his less than stellar state didn't miss it. Kensi caught it too based on the way her fingers trembled in his.
"What else?" she whispered.
"We may be heading into territory where transplant is necessary in the very near future. Before it's too late."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Poor Deeks just can't catch a break. As always, I do tweak some of the medical information I use to fit my needs. I'm also not a medical expert.