Callen, Sam, Kensi and Deeks were all seated next to each other in the middle four seats of the Boeing 777-300. They had just taken off and already they were anxious for the landing which would be almost a full day away. Sam was sitting in one of the aisle seats while Deeks occupied the other, both claiming they needed the most leg room. Callen, who wanted to sit next to his partner, couldn't really deny that so he had accepted it without complaint and Kensi was fine with the seating arrangements as well.

"You good, G?" Sam asked, his eyes concerned as he glanced at his partner after they had settled into their seats for what was going to be a very long flight.

"Yeah, I'm good, Sam," Callen replied. "Just wish it wasn't going to take so long to get there." He was already fidgety and restless. He sighed heavily, trying to hold back his evolving feelings of frustration. He knew there was no place for that right now. Their main focus needed to be on rescuing Hetty.

"It's not your fault."

"What?" Callen turned his head quickly and his gaze met Sam's. "I know that…I don't think it's my fault. Obviously Hetty didn't want us to know what was going on, at least not right away. If she had, she would have told us." He couldn't help wishing that she had told them though. Sometimes he just didn't understand her. She had taken him in when he was a troubled teenager and he had lived under her roof, yet it still astounded him how many secrets she had. There was so much he still didn't know about her. He wondered if he ever would.

"You're right, G. She would have told us if she had wanted us to know. Obviously she had her reasons for not doing so. The important thing is we know now and we're going to rescue her and bring her home."

Callen nodded, as he came out of his reverie and forced himself to remain positive. "You're right. Bringing Hetty home, safe and sound, is the most important thing."

xxxxx

"How are you doing, Fern?" Deeks asked, turning his attention to Kensi. He knew she'd been having a hard time earlier and he had been giving her space, but he could no longer keep his concern at bay.

"I'm fine, Deeks," Kensi said as she rested her head on Deeks' shoulder with a small sigh. Now that they were on the plane and settled in, she was able to better contain her emotions and keep focused on the task at hand. "I wonder what kind of food they have on this plane?" She hadn't eaten all day and she was pretty sure none of her teammates had either.

"I don't know," Deeks replied. "I don't know when they'll actually serve it either. I do have some Pringles in my bag though."

Kensi's eyes lit up as she lifted her head from his shoulder. "Do you? Oh Deeks that is perfect. At least that will hold me over until we can get a meal."

"I'll get them for you," Deeks said, smiling at her reaction. Sometimes she was really easy to please. He unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up then dragged his bag down from the overhead bin. He put the bag on his seat and shuffled through the contents before coming up with the can of Pringles. "Here you go." He handed the can to Kensi, happy to see how grateful she was.

"Callen, Sam? Do you guys want some of these?" Kensi asked, passing the can to Callen.

"Sure, thanks," Callen said as he took a small stack of chips from the can.

"Sam?" Kensi offered.

"No thanks, Kens," Sam replied with a shake of his head.

xxxxx

"You guys want to play Dark Stories?" Deeks asked. Kensi immediately shook her head and leaned her head back against her seat, allowing her eyes to close. She really couldn't understand Deeks' fascination with this game.

"Is that the game we were playing a few weeks back?" Callen asked.

Deeks nodded. "Yes, but no cheating this time. It takes all the fun out of it."

"All right, I'll play," Callen said. He'd try anything to try to make the time pass by more quickly.

"I'll play too," Sam said.

"Great," Deeks said, delighted that Callen and Sam had agreed to play. "I'll read the first one. Roger sees the light and he becomes paralyzed. Soon after that he dies."

"Is Roger a person?" Sam asked.

"No."

"So he's an animal?" Callen asked.

"Yes."

"Is he a deer?" Callen asked.

"No."

"Is it relevant what kind of an animal he is?" Sam asked.

"No," Deeks replied.

"Did someone hurt Roger?" Callen asked.

"Uh…Yes," Deeks said.

"Deliberately?" Sam asked.

Deeks shook his head. "No."

"Did Roger get hit by a car?" Callen asked.

"Yes," Deeks said with a grin.

"So, deer in the headlights kind of thing?" Sam asked.

"Yes."

Roger was blinded by the headlights, froze and then got hit by the car." Callen said.

"You see, you guys don't have to cheat," Deeks said, smiling. "This time, we'll try a more difficult one."

They played a few more rounds of the game, with Callen and Sam taking turns as the narrator and then the three men tired of it. They hadn't killed nearly as much time as they had wanted to though. Thoughts of Hetty kept intermixing with their attempts to take their mind off her which only served to increase their anxiety.

xxxxx

"Maybe I should binge watch a show," Callen said musingly. He had considered practicing one of his languages, but then thought better of it, realizing that pronouncing foreign words and phrases out loud would likely just call attention to himself. "What's a good one to watch?"

Deeks shrugged. "Do you watch normal t.v. shows or just spy stuff?

"What's abnormal about spy stuff?" Callen asked.

"I didn't mean it like that exactly," Deeks said. "I just meant do you only watch serious shows? Maybe you should watch something funny to unwind a little bit."

Callen's first instinct was to take offense at what Deeks said, but then realized that the detective was only trying to be helpful and might even have a valid point. "I would try a comedy," Callen said. "What do you recommend?"

Deeks gave Callen a surprised look. "Really? Well, you can use my Netflix account if you want. There's a ton of stuff on there you can browse through to see what you might like."

"Yeah? Okay, thanks, Deeks," Callen said. Deeks then gave Callen the required username and password information and Callen contented himself with browsing through the numerous options.

"That was nice of you," Kensi whispered as she cuddled at Deeks' side. He had removed the armrest between the two of them and covered Kensi with a blanket so she was really quite comfortable.

"No big deal," Deeks said softly as he put his arm around her.

Kensi covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned and then let herself drift off again.

xxxxx

Sam twisted and turned in discomfort before finally unlatching his seatbelt and walking down the aisle. Flying was not his favorite thing, especially when it was such a long flight and it wasn't the most comfortable seating situation in the world.

"What's the matter, big guy?" Callen asked when Sam finally returned to his seat.

"What I wouldn't give to be in first class right now," Sam said with a heavy sigh as he looked longingly towards the front of the plane where the privileged few were seated.

"These seats aren't that bad, are they?" Callen asked, giving his partner a sympathetic look.

"They're bad enough," Sam stated grumpily.

"You should have told Mosley you wanted first class," Callen said, unable to hold back the smirk on his lips.

"You're hilarious, G," Sam said glumly.

"Why don't you find a movie?" Callen suggested. "That will help you kill some time."

Sleeping would kill more time…if I could sleep," Sam said.

"It's still early. You'll be able to sleep later on," Callen said. At least he hoped Sam would sleep. He didn't look forward to seeing what his partner would be like if he didn't manage to get any sleep. Not to mention, getting proper rest was important for what they might be facing. They had no idea what would be lying in wait for them when the plane landed.

"I hope so," Sam said.

"But seriously, Sam. Find something to watch. There's tons of stuff on the airlines entertainment system or you can use Deeks' Netflix account if you want. I'll watch something else."

"I have a Netflix account, G," Sam said with a smile. "You don't have two kids without having that. We've got Hulu too."

"Hulu?" Callen looked blankly at his partner. "Is that like Netflix?"

"You really need to learn to relax more, G," Sam said. "I doubt you'll get bored with Netflix, but if you do, let me know and you can give Hulu a try."

Callen nodded and went back to Netflix. He saw a show called Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which caught his interest and he decided to check it out.

xxxxx

"Hey Kens," Deeks whispered as he gently nudged his fiance's arm. "They're serving dinner soon. You have a choice between a chicken or fish entrée. Which do you want?"

"Mm…I'll try the chicken," Kensi said, without even opening her eyes.

"I envy her being able to sleep so easily," Sam said. He began twisting and turning in his seat once again, accidently elbowing Callen in the process.

"Ow," said Callen, turning his head to glare at his partner.

"Seriously, G?" Sam asked, shaking his head in amusement. "You've been tossed around and beaten up by all kinds of felons in the past. Are you really going to whine about that?"

Callen turned his attention back to his laptop. "Did you decide what you want for dinner?" he asked, choosing not to answer Sam's question.

"I don't know," Sam said as he thought about it. "I wonder which one is better."

Callen smirked. "Well, I doubt either choice is exactly a gourmet delight. You can always have some Pringles."

Sam made a face. "The way the three of you were eating those things, I'd be surprised if there are any left."

"I have another can of them," Deeks interjected into the conversation. "I was going to save them for tomorrow, but you're welcome to them, Sam."

"No thanks, Deeks. I didn't know you were such a fan of Pringles."

"I'm really not," Deeks admitted. "Kensi likes them though and they help keep her calm."

"Kind of like a dog with a bone?" Callen asked with a grin.

"I heard that, Callen," Kensi said. She opened her eyes to glare at the team leader. "Did you actually call me a dog?"

"No, never. I was joking, Kens...I would never call you a dog. You...you're the opposite of a dog."

"What's the opposite of a dog, Callen? A cat?" Kensi asked.

Callen stared back at her, uncustomarily flustered and also seemingly speechless as a faint blush colored his cheeks.

Satisfied with Callen's reaction, Kensi closed her eyes again, a trace of a smile on her lips. Still appearing a bit uncomfortable, Callen then went back to Kimmy Schmidt and Sam closed his eyes until their dinner trays arrived. Deeks, Callen and Kensi had all decided on chicken while Sam had chosen the fish. The meals also contained a mixed vegetable medley and rice pilaf, along with a vanilla pudding for dessert. "This isn't so bad," Callen said as he started eating. He was really hungry and anything would taste good to him at the moment. He also knew they needed to eat as well as they could on the plane as once they reached their destination, food and rest would likely be scarce.

Kensi agreed. "I've definitely had worse."

Deeks made a face, not exactly thrilled with the cuisine, but like the others, he was hungry and he couldn't afford to be picky.

Sam sighed as he forced himself to eat the fish. It wasn't awful. It wasn't great. It was just kind of blah. Then again, he wasn't eating as well these days as he had eaten before Michelle's death. He ate a lot more takeout now and the food choices he made weren't always the best. He missed his wife's cooking. He missed the whole aspect of going home to her after work, enjoying a good meal and discussing their days. He sighed to himself as he tried to put thoughts of Michelle into the back of his mind for now. This trip was about Hetty and he really needed to concentrate on her.

xxxxx

"Look how cute they are," Kensi whispered to Deeks, a smile on her face. Sam had finally managed to fall asleep and Callen was sleeping as well, his head resting on Sam's shoulder.

"I doubt they'd like you to be calling them cute," Deeks said, his lips also curved into a smile as he looked over at the two senior agents. Inwardly, he had to agree that they did look cute.

"I know," Kensi said as she snuggled against Deeks. "But they are."

"What about me? Aren't I cute too?" Deeks teased.

"Hmm…" Kensi pretended to ponder his question. "I have to admit, you are pretty adorable, Detective Deeks." She then turned serious though, as she pondered the following day which loomed ahead of them.

"Penny for your thoughts," Deeks said, his blue eyes somber as he watched her, noticing her demeanor and knowing her thoughts were entering a darker place. "Kens?"

"I'm alright, Deeks." Kensi tried to reassure him, not really wanting to discuss what was on her mind. At that moment, she just wanted to believe that their mission would be a success. Hetty was such an important part of all of their lives. She didn't even want to consider any possibility other than they would find her and rescue her from whatever trouble she was in. "I think we should try to get some sleep."

Deeks nodded as he held onto her just a little bit more tightly and before long, they too were fast asleep.

xxxxx

"Hetty? Hetty no." Callen's frantic murmurs in his sleep woke Sam and he immediately attempted to wake his partner.

"G? Shh…G, wake up. It's okay."

Callen opened his eyes and looked at Sam, his expression sad and vulnerable, but only for an instant. He quickly composed himself as he tried to put the nightmare out of his mind. He turned his head to glance over at Kensi and Deeks and breathed a relieved sigh when he saw they were still asleep. "I'm sorry I woke you, Sam," he whispered, turning back to his partner.

"It's fine, G." Sam spoke in a hushed tone as seemingly most of the passengers, at least in their general vicinity, appeared to be asleep. "You want to talk about it?"

Callen slowly shook his head, his mind recalling the dream in vivid detail of a rescue mission which had gone horribly wrong. Just the thought of that happening caused a huge knot to form in his stomach. "No…no thanks, Sam…I'm good…"

"You don't look good," Sam said, unconvinced.

"I will be," Callen said. He shivered slightly, realizing the plane was pretty cold. He then saw that his partner had a blanket over him. "Where'd you get the blanket?" he asked.

"Flight attendant brought them by earlier. Why? Did you want one?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Well, yeah." A quick look in Kensi's and Deeks' direction saw that they too were covered with blankets and he quickly became miffed. "How come I'm the only one who didn't get one?"

"Relax, G." Sam could see that his partner was in no mood for teasing. "Look, it's right there next to you."

Callen looked down and saw a folded blanket alongside his hip. He picked it up and unfolded it, then covered himself. "Sorry, Sam…I guess I'm just a little bit over anxious."

Sam nodded. "I think we're all pretty anxious, buddy. Why don't we try to get back to sleep? And remember, I'm right here if you feel like talking."

"I know…I'll keep that in mind…Goodnight, Sam."

"Goodnight, G."

With that, the two men settled back into sleep and fortunately were able to get a few hours of uninterrupted slumber this time.

xxxxx

The next day was basically a repeat of the previous one only anxiety levels were rising and there were definitely more tense silences than anything else. The team members attempted to keep themselves occupied as best they could, but they spent a lot of time clock watching.

"Still three more hours," Kensi said fretfully as she watched Deeks work on an online jigsaw puzzle. "Aren't you going to do the outside part first?"

Deeks nodded. "I am, but if I see any clear matches on the inside, I'm going to put those together too."

"That makes sense," Kensi said. She turned her attention to Callen, expecting to see some movie or television show, but upon further inspection of his laptop screen, she saw that he was reading up on Vietnam. "Did you find anything we should know?"

Callen shook his head slowly. "No…no, not really. I'm just familiarizing myself with the territory before we land."

Kensi nodded and decided to leave Callen to his research. She turned back to Deeks and his puzzle for a bit and then started to watch the inflight entertainment system. If she could become engrossed in a movie or tv program, the time would go by that much faster.

xxxxx

Finally, after what seemed an interminably long time, the plane touched ground and skidded to a stop on the runway. "Well, this is it, guys," Callen said as Sam handed him his bag from the overhead bin. He turned to look at each of his teammates in turn and they each gazed back at him appearing steadfast and entirely ready to take on their mission. "Now it begins."

xxxxxx

**Note that the question Deeks asked in the game was taken directly from the Dark Stories app.