Yeah…I admit I have a problem :) I just had to do it. Also, I'm using a lot of dramatic license with this one.

xxxxx

It happened quicker than Callen could have imagined. One minute, he and Sam were taking the cartel guys down and he'd thought everything was fine. But then, before Callen even had a chance to climb back onboard the boat, everything went to hell. Seemingly out of nowhere, the shark attacked. He felt a severe, crushing pressure in the upper left side of his abdomen and he could feel the sharp teeth sinking into him. "Sam, help!" he managed to scream, right before he was pulled underneath the water.

xxxxx

"G!" While Sam was distracted, the cartel boss went for his gun and Sam quickly shot him. He then rushed to the opposite side of the vessel and dove into the water, without hesitation, to go after his partner. Callen was beneath the surface, in the direct path of what looked to be another attack by the shark. Sam punched the shark as hard as he could in the gills, nose and eyes and it finally turned and swam off. Sam then reached for his partner and brought him up to the surface. He then managed to get him aboard the boat as Callen choked and spit up the water he had swallowed.

Sam quickly grabbed the sat phone he was carrying, which luckily was waterproof, and called into Ops. "Hey Eric, I need emergency medical at this location. Whatever way they can get here fastest. G's been bitten by a shark." He clicked off the phone and knelt down by his partner then carefully rolled his shirt up away from the wound. What he saw didn't look good. "Damn, G, that looks nasty," he said to himself as he began to put pressure on the wound which was bleeding copiously. He then spoke louder. "Hey, G? Are you with me? Can you open your eyes?"

Callen obediently forced his eyes open and looked up at his partner. His eyes were glazed and he was obviously in tremendous pain. "Remember…remember when I asked you if you'd rather be eaten alive by a shark or a giant squid?" Callen asked, trying to get over the sensation that everything was spinning. He felt like he was on some kind of crazy merry go round.

"Shh…don't try to talk, G."

"I'd definitely pick the squid. I think you can guess why." He was freezing and couldn't seem to stop shivering. "Hey Sam?"

"I told you not to talk, buddy. You need to save your strength."

"Are…are my legs still there?" Callen asked, looking anxiously up at his partner.

"What?" Sam asked in confusion. "Yeah G…your legs are still there…Why? Can't you feel them?"

Callen nodded. "Yeah, I can feel them, but I was just wondering. I'm really cold, Sam."

"I know you are. Help's going to be here really soon, okay?"

"Sharks can bite people in half…you'd tell me if that happened, wouldn't you?" Callen asked. "If it bit me in half and my legs were gone? I'd rather know now than be surprised later."

"Yeah, I'd tell you," G…" Sam said, worried about how out of it his partner seemed and the disjointed way he was speaking. "Don't worry about it. You've still got your legs. You're going to be okay."

"Thanks for saving me, Sam," Callen murmured, no longer able to keep his eyes open. "That…that thing would have eaten me for sure if you weren't here. I wouldn't have liked that very much…"

xxxxx

Sam sat in the waiting room of the Trauma Unit trying not to think about how many times he had sat in similar waiting rooms in the past. They always seemed to have the same type of uncomfortable chairs. He really hoped this wasn't the time G's luck would run out.

"Mr. Hanna?"

"Hey, Hetty," Sam said, giving her a disheartened smile.

"No word yet, I take it?" Hetty asked as she sat down beside him.

"No…" Sam said, shaking his head. "This never should have happened, Hetty. We were done with this. We had the situation under control. Then…then that damn shark just came out of nowhere. It just got hold of him and pulled him under the water…"

Hetty couldn't help but shudder at the description of what had happened to Callen which Sam noticed at once. "I'm sorry…" he said contritely. "You don't need to hear this."

"Its fine, Mr. Hanna," Hetty said, patting his hand affectionately. "I would need to know what happened sooner or later."

"But later is probably better…after we know he's going to be okay…" Sam said.

Just then, the doctor stepped into the waiting room and walked over to them. "How is he?" Sam asked anxiously.

"He's stable right now. Due to the blood loss he sustained, he needed a transfusion. Unfortunately, his spleen has ruptured. We're going to send him up to surgery. He also has a couple of fractured ribs, but the spleen is our primary focus at the moment."

"But, he's going to be okay?" Sam asked.

"Well, with any surgery there are risks, but as long as everything goes as anticipated, he should pull through."

Sam nodded. "Okay, thank you."

"We'll be sending him up to the third floor surgical suite shortly. It will probably be a couple hours before you'll hear anything. If you can, you might want to consider giving at the blood bank. We can always use it."

"I'll do that," Sam said.

"Thank you," the doctor said with a smile. "His surgeon will be Dr. Gilbert, one of our best. Your friend is in very good hands."

Sam watched as the doctor left the room and then turned back to Hetty. So…I guess I'll head over to the blood bank. Are you going to wait?"

Hetty nodded. "Of course. I will meet you in the surgical waiting room."

"I'll see you soon, Hetty," Sam said.

xxxxx

After Sam had given blood, he decided to take a quick trip up to visit Kensi and Deeks. The handful of times he and G had visited Kensi had not gone particularly well. She had been very distant with them, making it clear that she didn't particularly want them there. Even so, he thought they ought to know about Callen's situation.

"Hey guys," Sam said, as he walked into Kensi's room. He couldn't help but notice that neither of his two young team members looked particularly happy. "How are you today?" he asked Kensi.

"I'm fine, Sam," Kensi replied, looking anything but fine. Sam glanced at Deeks who just shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"How'd the rest of the case go?" Deeks asked.

"Well, we caught the cartel guys or rather we killed them actually," Sam answered, "but…then we ran into a bit of a snag…"

"Yeah? What happened?" Deeks could tell by Sam's demeanor that the news wasn't good.

Sam ran his hand over his face and looked back at Deeks with a sigh. "It's G…they had tossed him in the water to interrogate them with their little shark technique. I managed to get there in time to stop them, but then, right when we'd wrapped it up…a shark came out of nowhere and attacked him."

Deeks was staring at Sam incredulously. "How bad?" he asked as he turned his head to look at Kensi, but she appeared to have retreated back into her own little world and was no longer listening.

"He's downstairs in surgery," Sam answered. "His spleen ruptured and they need to remove it."

"Who's in surgery?" Sam's words had broken through Kensi's wall and she looked at him with concern in her eyes. "Sam?"

"Callen…Callen's in surgery," Sam answered patiently.

"How did he rupture his spleen?" Kensi asked.

"Shark."

"A shark?" she asked, appearing visibly upset. "Is…is he going to be alright?"

Sam nodded. "He should be…barring any complications. I just wanted to let you guys know."

"Of course," she said.

"Are you alone here?" Deeks asked. "We can wait for word with you."

Sam shook his head. "No…I just went and gave at the blood bank. G already needed a transfusion. He lost a lot of blood. Hetty's downstairs so I'll wait with her. But, like I said, I just thought the two of you should know."

Deeks nodded. "Thanks, Sam…you'll keep us posted?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, I'll let you know when he's out of surgery."

"Okay," said Deeks. "I'll make sure to donate at the blood bank as well."

Sam smiled. "Thanks, Deeks. I'll talk to you guys later."

xxxxx

"You okay, baby?" Deeks asked, giving Kensi a worried look. She had looked distraught ever since Sam had left the room.

"I think we should wait with Sam and Hetty," Kensi said after a long few moments of silence.

"You do?" Deeks asked, looking at her with surprise. "I didn't think…"

"I know," Kensi said, gazing back at him. "I know you wouldn't think I would want to, but I do, Deeks. I think we should. It's where we belong."

He nodded. "Okay. Let's go down there then." He lifted Kensi into the wheelchair and after finding out exactly where they needed to go, they headed downstairs where they found Sam and Hetty waiting.

"Ms. Blye," Hetty said, smiling fondly at the young woman. "It is very good to see you, my dear. You're looking well."

"Thank you, Hetty," Kensi said, returning Hetty's smile. "It's good to see you too."

Deeks went and took a seat next to Sam. "So… a shark… really?"

"Yep," Sam said, slowly shaking his head. "It was bad, Deeks…"

"I can't even imagine that…how did he get away from it?"

Sam couldn't help but smile. "I punched it."

"Seriously?" Deeks asked grinning. "Oh man…I would have liked to have seen that…I mean, obviously not the whole Callen getting attacked part, but you beating up on a shark? I definitely would have wanted to see that."

"Yeah well…I didn't have a choice," Sam said, serious again. "That thing would have killed him."

"Callen's lucky you were there…"

Sam nodded and the two went back to silently waiting as Kensi and Hetty chatted quietly in the background.

xxxxx

"Sam Hanna?" A man wearing scrubs called as he walked into the waiting room.

"I'm Sam Hanna," Sam said, giving the man a nervous look.

"I'm Dr. Gilbert," he said, offering Sam his hand. "Mr. Callen came through the surgery just fine. He's awake from the anesthesia and they'll be transferring him to a room very soon." He glanced down at the chart he was carrying. "Room 415. It's on the general surgical floor."

Sam gave a big smile of relief which was matched by Hetty, Kensi and Deeks. "That's good news, doctor. Thank you very much."

Dr. Gilbert nodded. "You're welcome. You folks have a good night."

"We will," replied Sam, very grateful that his partner had once again managed to pull through a harrowing situation.

xxxxx

I know Callen and Kensi wouldn't be in the same place, but I need them to be, so they are. This is going to be short, likely just a two-shot.