Author's Note: This will be a multi-chapter, 'what-if' story that explores a different ending to Season 4, Episode 20, 'Purity'. Anyone who has read my past stories already knows this will be a Callen and Sam-centric story with the rest of the team playing supportive roles. As always, I love reviews, the good and the constructive that allow me to continue to grow as a writer. Reviews really make my day! I hope this story helps get you through the summer rerun season. I know I am constantly scouring the boards for new material to read. Standard disclaimer: I don't own anything; just playing with the characters and will put them neatly on the shelf when I am finished.


Callen stood in the dank, semi-darkness of the maintenance tunnel, weapon drawn and aimed at the suspect. Sweat tickled down his back adding to his overall misery. Callen's voice rang out with a mixture of authority, warning and the slightest hint of pleading. "Is that what you want? You're smart. You're a good guy. And you're gonna make this world a better place, but not like this. Do the right thing Alex."

Sitting on the water pipes chewing on his lower lip, Alex Fryman glanced fretfully at the man speaking to him, considering the words before returning his focus to the task at hand. He flung his sweaty blond hair out of his eyes as he reached out and wrapped his trembling fingers around the lever that would release the cyanide into the city water system.

A skill that Special Agent in Charge G Callen's job required was the ability to make split second decisions and right now the timer was at zero and he had to make the call. Unbidden, a quote ran thru his mind; 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' or in this case the 'one' or maybe it was really the 'two'.

He had to make a choice and he did so sliding his finger onto the trigger of his gun committing to the act. Callen wasn't sure if he felt a tremor in his right hand as he pressed the firing mechanism but instinctively he knew the trajectories of the two bullets he shot in rapid sequence were going kill Alex, whether he meant them to or not.

The projectiles ripped thru flesh and the confused, young blond boy, made a victim by his idealistic father, slumped to the floor. An ever widening bloodstain grew on the front of the boy's shirt. The only consolation was the valve stayed shut and LA's water supply remained safe. The mental collateral damage of tonight's actions would be all on Callen's shoulders, but no other physical lives would be lost tonight.

Holstering his gun, Callen rapidly made his way over the maze of water pipes to where the boy lay on the cement. He made a futile attempt to staunch the death wounds even though he knew it was a useless gesture. A final small shudder ran thru Alex's body as his eyes glassed over and death embraced him. Callen felt a small part of his own soul die along with the boy.

Back in the beginning section of the tunnels, Agent Sam Hanna had administered the hydroxocobalamin, via a large syringe, to Alex's self-poisoned father before he resumed his search, deeper in the tunnels, for his partner. Gun drawn and moving quickly, the sound of two shots halted his progress for only a millisecond as he scanned the damp tunnels for danger. Starting forward again, the muscular man finally came upon his partner kneeling on the wet cement floor cradling the body of the dead boy in his arms. The front of Callen's tactical vest and the boy's shirt were bloodstained and from Sam's position in the gloom, he couldn't determine whose body was leaking the red liquid but logically it could only be one person. With trepidation in his voice Sam asked, "You Ok G?"

The man in question raised his bowed head at Sam's question. Even if the blood didn't belong to his partner, the look of guilt, regret and sorrow on Callen's face concerned Sam as much as a bullet wound would have; he'd never seen his partner appear so vulnerable.

Callen gave a slight nod of his head to Sam before he refocused his attention on the dead boy in his arms. When Callen showed no signs of moving, the tall man carefully made his way over the tangle of pipes to where the agent knelt on the ground. Sam was pretty sure he knew the answer to his next question and he hated to ask, but he had no choice. "Is he dead?"

Callen gave another nearly imperceptible nod without taking his eyes off the boy.

Sam swallowed hard as he looked away, giving his partner a few more minutes to get in control of his emotions. Standing there in twilight darkness, Sam tamped down his own disappointment in the way this had played out; had it not been for the father's warped ideals, Callen wouldn't have been forced to make a no win call and the boy would still be alive. Off in the distance, Sam heard the sound of approaching footsteps and he refocused on the task at hand. Callen didn't react at all to the sounds that indicated they were about to be joined by others, so Sam reached out and gently touched his partner's shoulder. "Come on G. It's over."

But it wasn't over for the grieving agent who kept seeing the last few minutes of his and Alex's confrontation flash through his mind in an endless, soul ripping loop. Callen kept trying to determine if his decision had really been to kill Alex or if his hand had shook as a result of his earlier cyanide poisoning and he had accidentally killed the boy.

Part of his mind argued that simply wounding the boy would have kept him from pulling the lever and releasing the deadly poison into the water supply. There was no need for Callen to have killed Alex; this young boy's needless death rested squarely on Callen's shoulders. Callen's mind tried to convince him if he hadn't been in the field in an incapacitated manner, the boy would have lived. If Callen had stayed behind in Ops, his mind argued, like everyone had told him, then someone else with a steady hand, not one shaking from cyanide poisoning, would have taken the shot and wounded not killed the boy.

Sam could see some sort of mental battle was going on within Callen and he hated to push the distraught man but he also didn't want whoever was coming down the tunnels to witness his partner's meltdown. "It's time to go G," Sam verbally prodded trying to get Callen to snap out of it.

Without warning, Callen lurched unsteadily to his feet and concerned he would fall, Sam reached out a hand to stabilize him. Even though the grief-stricken man was trembling, he brusquely fended off Sam's assistance. Struggling to keep his own equilibrium, Callen reached down with reverence, picked up the body of the broken boy and cradled him gently against his own chest. By the time Callen fully regained his footing, his breathing was ragged and he was hard pressed trying to remain upright while holding onto Alex.

"Let me," Sam said calmly reaching for the boy but Callen abruptly angled his anguished body away so Sam couldn't touch Alex.

"No," Callen spat tersely over his shoulder, speaking for the first time since Sam had arrived. With a Herculean effort, Callen secured his hold on Alex, then slowly made is way over the pipes and started shuffling back towards the entrance of the city's underground maintenance tunnels.

Along the route back, as he carried his precious bundle, Callen came upon Deeks and Kensi but gruffly brushed past them as if they didn't exist.

"Is he...," Detective Marty Deeks started to ask the senior agent as he passed them but Sam quickly cut him off.

"Yeah" Sam answered as he too walked by his junior team mates trailing his intensely focused partner.

While on the way back to the surface where the underground tunnels met the mean streets of LA, Callen stumbled twice to his knees with his burden but the rest of his team, under Sam's wise insistence, held back, offering no assistance and allowing the determined senior agent to struggle on his own each time to continue his lonesome trek with his precious cargo.

"How is he even doing that," Agent Kensi Blythe wondered aloud with disbelief. "Less than four hours ago Callen was barely able to move. You were carrying him, Sam."

"Misplaced guilt," Sam muttered darkly which earned him an odd look by his co-workers.

The above ground scene was filled with emergency vehicles and personnel. An ambulance, the one carrying the poisoned father, had already left by the time the agents reached the surface. However, a second red and white striped vehicle stood idling, waiting for any additional casualties.

The blinding flood lights that lit the area dazed Callen as he emerged from the semi-dark tunnel; he halted under their bright aurora with the bloody boy cradled to his chest. An EMT rushed over to retrieve Alex but he was greeted by stubborn resistance from Callen who clutched the boy tighter and growled at the medical worker to leave him alone. Sam materialized out of the tunnel, saw what was transpiring and waved off the EMT. "I'll handle this. There is nothing you can do." Reluctantly, the EMT slowly backed off and waited.

Kensi and Deeks emerged from the tunnels and stood on the fringes of the scene, watching Sam trying to convince their team leader to release his burden.

Sam moved next to his partner and murmured in a soothing voice. "You did it G. You got him here. Now it's time to put him down."

Callen continued to stand like a statue, blank blue eyes staring at the dead boy in his arms. His shirt and tactical vest were covered in the boy's blood making it a gruesome image; the tactical vest would require a major overhaul to make it wearable again.

Sam shifted his position, moving to stand directly in front of his partner. He reached out and lightly touched Callen's shoulder. "It's over."

With a body that radiated defeat, Callen lifted his vacant eyes in an acknowledgement of Sam's words but still made no move to release the boy.

Sam slowly reached forth both his muscular arms and placed his hands on Alex. "G, he is dead. You have to let him go."

Something Sam said must have finally got thru to the distressed agent because Callen dropped his gaze to the dead boy's face, then ignoring Sam's outstretched arms, crouched and gently lay his burden on the cold, black asphalt. His face and voice were raw with emotion when he spoke. "I killed him, Sam. " Callen reached over and carefully closed Alex's eyes.

Sam maneuvered his body to shield Callen from the onlookers as he dropped his empty arms back to his side. "You saved thousands of lives."

Callen raised his pain-filled eyes to meet Sam's. "I...killed...him," and with that the agent rose, turned his back on the dead boy and stumbled away from the scene into the surrounding darkness.

Sam motioned for the EMT to come over as he hurried after his despondent partner. Kensi made a move to follow her colleagues, but Deeks laid a gentle restraining hand on her arm. "It's a partner thing. If Sam can't reach him..."

Kensi halted and hesitantly finished his sentence, "...who can?"