G Callen had never believed in destiny. For all he knew, good things happened when you did them yourself, and bad things happened when others mixed and messed up your life.
What he had not known before was how the really bad things happened. Until now.
Without ever taking his eyes from the pale face of his colleague, he desperately tried to stop the blood streaming out of Deeks's chest. The bullet had hit him right underneath the heart and destroyed one lung, but Callen knew he could survive. If he could prevent him from bleeding out. If Deeks proved to be the daredevil he always claimed to be. If the Cubes Noirs didn't come back to check out if both Callen and Deeks were dead.
And if the damned ambulance got to them in time.
Two blocks afar, Sam and Kensi ran for their lives. They had been trapped in the middle of a gang district, cut from the rest of their team. Sam cursed himself for not having noticed anything as they hid behind a wall. He was not worried about himself; being a Navy Seal meant also being able to survive days of being haunted and on the run, but Kensi wasn't trained for this. As tough as she was when it came to fight – she was a bad runner. And, worse still, she knew.
Sam watched her closely as they tried to relax, looking for a sign of resignation in those big brown eyes. "We'll get out of here, Kensi. I promise you we will."
The young woman just closed her eyes, making it impossible for the agent to read her mind. "We're in the middle of nowhere, Sam."
"No, we're not, we're still in L.A.!"
Kensi smiled weakly. "I'm not gonna give up if you're afraid of that, but we are in the middle of nowhere." She opened her eyes and looked up into the clear, blue sky. "You know what my horoscope told me today? Be careful not to haste, whatever you will do. Calm down, place your steps carefully and peace will settle in your heart. I guess running away is a bit of hasting…"
"Well, you know what my horoscope told me?" Sam was not sure what to make of Kensi's esoteric side. Somehow it frightened him.
"Tell me." "Actually, I can't. I haven't read it cause I never read it and I certainly don't believe it. Okay, let's get on with it." He quickly stood up, looked around and hurried to the next ruin. He had to admit that Kensi was right. They were in the middle of nowhere, though in L.A. Precisely, they were in the southern suburbs, and because of the damage the Cubes Noirs had caused by cutting cables, the electricity had been turned off some months ago. And as their mobiles and weapons were taken by the gang, there was no help to be expected or given.
Sam would never say it aloud, but he had begun to think about life after death.
"Come on, Deeks, don't leave me here. Don't leave Kensi!" Callen's voice had become oddly gentle. Deeks managed a croaky laughter. "She really is in love with me, isn't she? Oh god, I knew it!" The next laughter drove a gush of blood from his mouth, and he started to cough. Callen closed his eyes. He had lost. If there was something like destiny, it had decided for Marty Deeks to die. Callen remembered the young man blurting around his horoscope earlier that day. Something important will change forever today. Do not be afraid, shoot for the moon.
He sighed. Something was about to change, but it had nothing to do with what Deeks had hoped for.
"Hey, Callen?" The voice became weaker every second. Callen forced himself to calm down and look into the dying man's eyes. "Yes, Deeks, she really is in love with you. She would never say it, but she is."
"Don't make her say it."
Callen was surprised by the determination in his colleague's voice. "What?"
"Don't…make her…say…say it." Deeks struggled for every word, but he was clearly not ready to go. "If she…doesn't…say it then maybe…she'll get…over…it sooner. She…needs not…to feel guilty."
Desperately Deeks tried to fill his lungs with enough air. "Help her, Callen", he pleaded. "Find her…another one…to love…promise…"
"I promise, Deeks" Callen vowed solemnly, his eyes fixed on his colleague's until they broke. G closed his eyes to stop a single tear from rolling down his cheek, but it was too late. As it was too late for Deeks to see the woman he loved and the man he always wanted to be respected of sneaking around the corner, looking for the exit of their personal hell.
Kensi collapsed at the wall. They had been on the run for five hours now, and she couldn't go further. Tears of exhaustion rolled down her face. "Just go on, Sam", she urged, "I'll catch up as soon as I can, but for hell's sake, go on!"
Sam didn't answer. Across the square, he saw his partner kneeling on the floor, covered in blood. "I'm back in a minute", he whispered, leaving Kensi half-unconscious on the stones.
Before Sam could really think about whose blood it was that colored G's shirt, the sound of a siren broke the silence. The ambulance was near. Behind him, he heard Kensi cry out in relief.
Forgetting all preventive measures, Sam cried out his partner's name as he stormed over the small plaza. There was a short volley to be heard, but then the siren became louder and the square became empty. Sam shot a quick glance over his shoulder, but Kensi seemed to be unharmed. The ambulance arrived, and three medics at once went over to her. Even from this distance, they recognized one of them from an old photo Kensi had shown them once. Jack.
Callen and Sam watched them silently.
After what seemed an eternity, Sam looked down to meet his partner's gaze. Their eyes locked, and it was right at this moment that Callen knew destiny existed. It did because Deeks had shot for the moon only to be among the stars now. It did because Kensi would be loved and would love again. It did because it was his destiny to survive, no matter what. It did because Sam was at his side, his best friend, his sworn brother, his partner, and this time Callen would not let him down. He took the big man's hand, holding it tight as the pain rushed through Sam.
The last salve had caught him three times in the back, but he was oddly calm. Calm down, place your steps carefully and peace will settle in your heart. He managed a weak smile to his partner.
"Do you believe in horoscopes, G? In destiny?"
Callen could not help but laugh as tears streamed freely down his face now. "Only when they tell me I should take a day off. Or move out of my apartment, but usually the stars want you to calm down, so…besides, I'm not sure on which zodiac sign to rely on. They all look quite strange."
The other one laughed, and the familiar sight of blood gushing out cut the last words Sam Hanna would ever utter in this world.
It took the medics a few minutes to notice the three men on the other side of the square. When two of them – for Jack stayed with Kensi - finally hurried over, it was too late.
All they could do was declaring that Martin Deeks and Samuel Hanna had died because of multiple gunshot wounds, and that G Callen had remained unwounded.
Slowly G followed the litters that carried the corpses, unsure what to tell Kensi.
Okay, he believed in destiny. It existed. It existed because he was alive while Sam and Deeks were dead. It existed because coincidence was not so cruel.
It existed because no matter how hard he tried, he ended up being alone.
That was his destiny, and it sucked.