A/N: Howdy! I'm really amazed at how well this story is doing so far. I've probably gotten at least 6 or 7 different people who've been following this story, which, by the way, would be nothing without its amazing readers… so a round of applause for you! :D

Chapter 3: The Only Exception

Eric silently cursed at the screen. When did it get so hard just to find someone? It crossed his mind, for a split second, that it might be sleep deprivation, but quickly dismissed the idea. He had barely slept since Callen and Deeks went missing. In fact, no one had really gotten sleep. Everyone was so engrossed in making sure their friends were alive that it took precedence over sleeping. Still, the computer screen laughed at Eric. He felt as if he was utterly useless. It was one of the worst feelings ever.

"You got anything yet, Nell?"

She smirked at his resignation, but inside she was pleading for help. She hadn't gotten anything either. Whoever these guys are, they were good at covering their tracks. Nell wasn't sure she had ever seen anyone that good at evading detection. In fact, they were so good at avoiding them that she and Eric were literally on the edge of giving up. The mere thought made her sick. Give up? Them? No. Not on their team. Not on their family. They would find a way to get Callen and Deeks home – and safe. Failure wasn't an option. Failure was never an option. The difference was that with this case, they risked so much more than they normally would.

"Not yet. Hey, Eric, we've been checking the security footage from around the time of the disappearance. What if they kept the boys at the park until after hours?"

"I hadn't thought of that… Let's try it."

They sifted through the footage. Every angle, every second, every face – it was all searched. The two techs stared at the footage like if they stopped the tapes wouldn't exist anymore. Neither allowed their eyes to leave the screen, not even for half of a second. So when what was left of the team came in, neither tech even noticed. Sam and Kensi let them work in silence because they wanted to hold off on the talk where Callen and Deeks are victims as long as possible.

No one wanted to talk, so no one did talk. Not until they saw Callen's face on the security footage. Next to him was Deeks. There were at least three guys escorting them. Callen and Deeks were dragged to the parking lot which, to the team's disdain, was the one place where there weren't any cameras. It made everyone's hearts stop. Their friends were gone. Kidnapped. All they knew was that they were outnumbered and out of their element. They were working with new partners, which meant that they were still working on the whole partner dynamic thing. Bottom line, the two missing agents weren't comfortable around each other. And that's a problem in itself.

The problems began piling up for the team. Problem number one: They didn't know where their missing agents were. Two: they didn't know how many total people were in on the kidnapping. Three: they had no clue if Deeks and Callen would be able to compensate for not having their normal partner by their side. Problem four: they had no means of tracking the two agents. Problem five: they have way too many problems that they can't even list them all. And what was the only thing they do? Wait. That was it – all they could do was wait and it was torture.

Kensi was about in tears. Her partner – her brother – was a victim. He was her best friend. What could she do? Nothing. She was helpless to save her friend… her teammate… her partner. His life was in danger and all she could do was sit and wait. They had a million and one resources, being a government agency, and none of them could do anything as of the moment. They couldn't do anything except hope. Hope that their family would be okay after this fiasco. Hope that in the end everything would be alright. Hope that the memories of this case wouldn't haunt them.

…

"Deeks, wake up."

Callen tried his best to go about waking Deeks up in a polite manner. It wasn't working. Not that it was a lack of effort on Callen's part, no; it was Deeks and that stubbornness of his. You can't escape it, not even while he's sleeping. In fact, Callen was beginning to grow impatient with the younger agent. So impatient that he kicked Deeks off the bed and leaned up against the wall to watch the scene unravel.

"What the heck was that for?"

Deeks even sounded tired. Not just tired, but full blown exhausted. Deeks had been freaking out more about being trapped than Callen was.

"It's time to wake up."

Deeks glared. He honestly didn't understand why he had to be awake. It's not like he and Callen have been talking or anything important like that. They just sit down all day and stare at each other. The truck moved every few hours, probably to avoid detection, and they were fed once a day. To make matters worse, it's always fast food. Deeks was worried about getting fat, because that's the least of his worries.

Deeks lifted up his t-shirt and revealed a red spot down along his side. As proven by the door, and now Marty's stomach, Callen kicks hard. Anyone who gets the man mad and ends up within kicking distance is likely to end up pretty damaged. Pretty damaged meaning bleeding on the floor. Deeks considered himself lucky.

"… You kick hard."

A small laugh escaped Callen's lips. The corners of his mouth remained tilted upward. Callen knew it was impossible not to smile around the blond. He made him question everything he knew. It was intriguing. It was also one of the many things Callen liked about the man. The number one thing he liked was probably the blonds smile, though.

Come to think of it, it was pretty amazing neither man's feelings had interfered with work yet.

Something inside Deeks always melted every time Callen laughed. He couldn't tell you why, he just knew that it always knocked something loose inside him. Life sometimes didn't make sense, and it's normally love that makes so little sense it drives people crazy.

Deeks' feelings confused him. He was smart; he understood a lot – even the things he told everyone he didn't. He really was smarter than he let people believe. He just didn't like 'showing off'. Or that's what he believed about himself, anyway. Everything that he'd felt lately was beginning to make Deeks feel awkward around the other agent.

Deeks didn't understand the feelings he had. All he knew was that he did, in fact, have them and they weren't going to go away easily. He would have to live with whatever it was he felt for Callen inside him. That loving feeling he always had for women. He couldn't help but wonder what made Callen different. Why he had just now begun having feelings for men. Technically, though, it wasn't men. It was just Callen. It made absolutely no sense.

Then again, what in this world does make sense?

Nothing, exactly.

Nothing makes sense, and it isn't worth it to try and figure out why.

You just need to live with it.

Live with it and hope it doesn't escalate.

Or hope that you haven't passed the point of no return.

A/N: I don't know about you, but I feel like this chapter was short and I feel bad about that, but you guys still love me, right? Anyway I'm still blown away by the amazing feedback, you guys have been awesome. I hope you're enjoying the story.

Oh, P.S. Sorry I couldn't get this up any earlier today. I didn't have access to an internet connection.