Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.

G Callen always hated this time of year. It was only Christmas eve and he already wanted it to be over. He glanced around the bullpen as his friends talked in loud excited voices about what they were going to be doing come Christmas day.

"I have to go and see my family." Sam was saying, in a long suffering voice.

Callen knew however, that despite his grumbling, Sam was excited to be going home, as for the past month he was telling anybody who would listen that it would be nice to have some home cooking. Callen turned his attention back to the files in front of him. He frowned a little at the thought that he didn't have anywhere to go this Christmas. As if sensing his mood, Sam turned towards him and started to walk over.

"You know you can come with me, to my house." Sam said in a whisper so that only Callen could hear.

"Thanks Sam, but I see enough of you here. I don't think I could manage four continuous days of you." Callen joked lightly.

The truth was that he really did want someone to spend the Christmas holidays with, but he didn't want Sam to think he was needy.

He watched as his team gathered up their things from their desks, and their coats.

"See you later Callen." said Kensi as she walked to the door, linking arms with Dom, who gave a casual wave.

"Have a nice Christmas, Callen." said Nate with a smile as he pulled on his coat.

"Have a good one dude." shouted Eric as he all but ran out of the door.

"Still time to change your mind." said Sam seriously.

" Nah, I'm good. You go and have some of that home cooking, you've been on about for so long." said Callen with a smile.

Callen kept the smile on his face until Sam had shut the door behind him. He jumped when he heard a voice behind him.

"You know Mr Callen, I have an extra seat at my table if you wish to make use of it?" said Hetty.

"Thanks Hetty, but I'm alright." said Callen.

Hetty stared at him for a moment, as if she was judging whether he was telling the truth or not.

"Last one turns out the lights." she said as she walked away. " Oh and Mr Callen?" she called over her shoulder.

"Yes Hetty." Callen answered.

"Merry Christmas."

"You too, Hetty, you too." Said Callen quietly.

He looked around the now empty room. It was going to be a long four days.

Pulling on his coat he walked towards the door, and glancing around at the empty office he silently turned off the lights.

It was a pleasant walk home. The streets were quiet, people eager to get home for Christmas eve, and the few people that were out, kept their heads down as they rushed to finish their last minute shopping. His new apartment wasn't very big. It had only five tenants, including Callen, and a basement were they kept the washer/dryer. All the windows in his apartment block were dark, as everyone had gone home for Christmas. Callen put his key into the lock and pushed the door open. He stepped inside and shut the door, just as he went to turn the light on he felt movement by the side of him and something heavy hit him over the head.

"I should have gone with Sam." thought Callen as he fell to the floor, and the darkness rose up to claim him.

Awareness came to Callen slowly. His head was pounding in time to the beating of his heart. He opened his eyes only to realise that the room was pitch black. Shaking his head slightly he felt the rough fabric of a hood rubbing against his face. He tried to reach up and pull it off, but he found that his arms and legs were tied to a chair. He sighed quietly to himself.

"Ah, you are awake. That's good, I was starting to get bored with you." said a voice to Callen's side.

Callen jumped violently as he realised that the guy must have been sat there watching, as he tried to get himself free.

"Now then, lets get rid of this hood. I find its much nicer if we see each other, don't you?" asked the man, and before Callen could respond the hood was pulled ruthlessly off. The harsh glare of the light had Callen squinting. Callen glanced around him and saw a washing machine and dryers. He realised that he was in the basement of his apartment block.

"There much better. You may call me John." said John as he smiled at Callen, as though he had just given him a treat. " You probably don't remember me?" asked John.

Callen stayed silent, wondering were this was going.

"Answer me when I'm talking to you." roared John as he punched Callen across the face.

Callen's vision turned dark as his head snapped to the side. He could feel the blood dripping from his mouth, down his chin.

"No I don't remember you." said Callen as he spat a tooth on the floor.

"Thanks to you and your partner, I was sent to prison three years ago for life. I have since managed to secure my own release." said John with a slight smile.

"You escaped." said Callen looking up at him."Yes and it wasn't easy to find you. Your like a ghost. I have been watching you, but your hard to predict, you never stay in one place more than a few days. I couldn't believe my luck when you walked in here alone, without your partner. I felt for sure that you would go with him." said John with a curious look on his face. " Never mind, we are going to have some fun for the next four days." he said with an evil look on his face.

Callen watched as John turned around and walked out the door. Try as he might, he just couldn't place the man. He and Sam had busted so many bad guys in their three years together. Callen's thoughts were cut short when a loud ringing noise started to fill the room. It was high pitched and it sounded like the white noise treatment that they used against POWs, to get them to break. Callen sighed as he realised the torture had began.

Callen woke with a start when a bucket of icy cold water went over him. It had been the same every time he had fallen asleep. John would come in and throw water on him to wake him up, then he would leave him shivering in the cold basement. This time was different, John stayed and watched silently as Callen tried to remove the water from his eyes.

"Shall we have some fun?" Asked John holding up a carving knife.

Callen grunted with pain as the knife sliced across his leg. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was enough to draw blood. John laughed at his discomfort.

"They aren't coming for you." he said callously. "They are going to be happy that you are out of the way, poor little orphan boy that nobody wanted."

Callen refused to cry out when the knife sliced across his chest.

"You've been here for two days and no one is coming. They don't care." he shouted as he rammed the knife into his leg.

Callen cried out as the knife enter his skin. John smiled to himself, as if this was the reaction he had been waiting for. Pulling the knife out, John turned on his heel and left.

Callen watched miserably as John left the room. He couldn't help but think that maybe John was right. His team didn't really care about him, that they only put up with him because they felt sorry for him and didn't want to kick him while he was down by firing him.

"Sam where are you?" said Callen quietly as John entered with a battery and jumper cables.

Callen led on the floor some time later, his body still twitching from the battery that John had hooked him up to. Callen recalled that every time he had scream, it had only made John pushed the button harder until finally he had lost consciousness. Callen sighed sadly . He knew his team weren't coming for him. John had told him so. Every time he had argued, John had hit him or punched him or used his knife. He told him over and over again that his team were better off with out him. Callen glanced towards the door, not looking for a rescue, but hoping that when John came back that this time the torture might send him into a permanent state of unconsciousness.

Sam looked around the room and then glanced at his watch. Usually G was the first one in the office, sat at his desk drinking coffee and reading the funnies from the paper.

"Has anyone seen G?" asked Sam loudly.

Everyone went silent as they looked around the bullpen, as if they expected Callen to jump out from behind a desk shouting, 'boo'.

"No I haven't seen him since Christmas eve." said Kensi.

"I'm sure he's just late." said Dom.

"G is never late. His bedroll and bag aren't here either. Which means he hasn't been back for four days." said Sam slightly worried.

"Kensi, lets go to his apartment. Hopefully he just slept late. Dom fill Hetty in." called Sam over his shoulder as he and Kensi left.

On the way to G's apartment, Sam couldn't help but think of all the things that might have kept his best friend and partner away from work. With a worried frown, Sam sped up.

When he pulled up outside the apartment, Sam switched off the ignition and got out of the car. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door.

"Can I help you?" said a voice behind him.

Sam turned around and saw a little old lady behind him. " Yes I'm looking for my friend. He's a young man in his thirties, brown hair, short."

"Ah yes, he's not here." said the woman with a smile. " I got home yesterday and found a note in my apartment saying he'd gone to stayed with friends for Christmas. He usually helps me you see." the woman chatted away, as if finally glad that she had got someone to talk too.

"Can you let us in?" asked Sam politely.

"Sure." said the woman as she put her key in the lock, and pushed open the door. Sam walked up to room twelve closely followed by Kensi. He gently pushed the door and to his surprise it opened. Sharing an uneasy glance with Kensi, they got their guns out. They went slowly into the rooms, searching each one.

"Sam, I think you need to see this!" said Kensi from the door.

Sam walked back to were she was and looked where she was pointing. On the carpet near the door, was a big pool of dried in blood. Someone had tried to clean it up in an effort to hide it, they have even pulled a table over it to cover it up.

"There's more drops out here." said Kensi from the hallway. "They go towards the basement." she said coming back into the room.

"Let's follow it then." said Sam in a tight voice.

Callen stared up numbly as John pointed a gun at his face.

"Well its been real fun torturing you and all, but the neighbours are back and they would most likely hear the screams. And I can't afford to go back to prison." said John waving the gun around. Callen closed his eyes as he levelled the gun towards him.

"Drop the gun and put your hands on your head." said an enraged voice somewhere near the door, that sounded like Sam.

Callen didn't bother opening his eyes. This wouldn't have been the first time that his mind had played tricks on him. And if he was going to die, he felt some comfort in the fact that Sam was here to keep him company, even if it was in his mind.

"Why he's already dead." said the gleeful voice of John.

"Then why are you pointing a gun at him if he's dead?" said Sam.

"Ha, good old Sam." thought Callen. "He really knows how to annoy the bad guys."

"Move. Away. Now." said Sam's voice.

"Don't do it." shouted someone that sounded like Kensi.

Callen flinched as two shots rang out in the tiny room.

"Wow, my imagination is good." thought Callen, "but why is John taking so long to kill me?"

He felt two hands roughly grab him and check for a pulse. He heard someone breathe a sigh of relief.

"G. Can you hear me?" said Sam's voice. "Open your eyes." he pleaded.

Callen slowly opened his eyes, and to his astonishment he saw Sam looking back at him.

"Your alright now, he's dead." said Sam indicating his head behind him.

Callen turned and saw John lying lifeless on the floor.

"He said you wouldn't come for me." said Callen as he passed out.

Sam looked down at Callen as he passed out, his last words playing over in his mind. " He said you wouldn't come for me." Sam looked down at his best friend as he realised that G had believed what the guy had told him, that no one was coming for him. He checked Callen's other wounds. He had a few broken ribs, a concussion, lacerations on his chest and legs, a knife wound on his leg, and less Sam was mistaken, the guy had even hooked him up to a car battery. Sam looked behind him and was glad that he had killed him.

"Kensi, tell the ambulance to hurry up. He's in pretty bad shape." said Sam

"There on their way." said Kensi kneeling next to Sam. "How is he?" she asked.

"He electrocuted him." said Sam angrily as he held G tighter.

Kensi gasped softly and moved away with tears in her eyes, as she went to tell the ambulance crew where they were.

Sam looked down at G and made a promise to himself that he would always be there to have his back.

Callen inhaled deeply as he stood outside the door, that separated him from the bullpen. He had received a message from Sam to meet him at the office at nine. He pushed open the door and hobbled in on his crutches.

"Merry Christmas." shouted several voices at once, causing Callen to stop in his tracks. He looked up as Sam walked towards him holding a glass of eggnog.

He guided Callen into a chair and past him a present.

"Merry Christmas G." Sam said with a big grin.

Callen looked around the bullpen, which his friends had decorated with Christmas decorations. They were all there, even Hetty, wearing Christmas hats and singing out of tune, handing him presents and giving him hugs, and pats on the back, and Callen knew that even if trouble did follow him around, his family would always be there to get him out of it.

A.N- The next chapter will be on someone drugging him without him knowing. Thanks for reading. Please leave any comments you wish to leave.