Just thought I'd toss out a little transitional chapter. As always, thanks so much for reading and your reviews. Much appreciated.
xxxxx
It was pretty easy for Deeks to find firewood. He kept the campsite in his sightline at all times and was making numerous short trips so that they would have a good supply. "You sure you don't want me to get some?" Sam asked as Deeks returned with yet another armful of wood.
Deeks shook his head. "No, Sam. You've done more than enough for one day." He liked doing this. It made him feel useful and it was a much easier task than having to tend to the medical needs of the team. He still felt squeamish when he thought of what Sam had needed to do to Callen.
While Deeks was gathering the wood, Sam had begun to sort through the survival kit. There was a decent supply of emergency rations and water packets. With the additional water bottles in the plane, at least they were in good shape as far as water went. There were also water purification tablets if those became necessary. Sam found bright orange foam pads they could use to sleep on. He would give one to G the next time he woke up. There were also waterproof matches, flashlights, a compass, an emergency whistle, signaling mirrors, rope and other assorted useful items. Sam felt a lot better just knowing they had all this at their disposal. It was just too bad that Callen and Kensi were hurt.
"You think this is enough for now?" Deeks asked as he dumped another load of wood onto the ground.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, definitely. You did good, Deeks. Thank you."
"My hero," Kensi said playfully smiling up at him.
"Aww…that just makes it all worth it," Deeks said as he bent down and kissed Kensi.
Sam smiled at the banter of the two agents. It helped lighten the mood at least a little bit. He set to work building the campfire and it wasn't long before a warm blaze was glowing. Deeks took two of the orange pads and placed them together for himself and Kensi. After he had gotten her situated, he tucked a blanket around her. "This is pretty cozy," Kensi said, smiling.
"It is indeed." Deeks sat down beside her and she cuddled into him as he put his arm around her. "This isn't bad at all."
"You guys hungry?" Sam asked. "There are some protein bars and stuff like that here if you want it."
The two younger agents nodded and Sam tossed them over a couple of the bars.
"Thanks Sam," Deeks took the two bars and passed one to Kensi.
Sam opened his bar and took a bite as he glanced over at Callen who remained asleep. Because he didn't appear to be in any distress, Sam decided not to wake him. It was probably better just to let him rest.
"Really wish we had some marshmallows," Deeks said.
"And some graham crackers and chocolate squares," Kensi chimed in.
"Yeah well unfortunately, I don't think that's in the cards for us this trip," Sam said as he tossed some more wood on the fire.
"We should do that sometime though, right?" Deeks said excitedly. "Have a team camping trip with steaks and s'mores, tents and sleeping bags. It would be fun, wouldn't it?"
"Ask me again after we get through this," Sam said, yawning. "I'm going to try to get some shuteye. See you guys in the morning. "
"Good night, Sam," Deeks said.
"Good night, Sam," Kensi echoed as she turned to Deeks and pulled him in for a kiss. "I think a camping trip sounds like a terrific idea."
xxxxx
Callen awoke to the sound of the campfire snapping and crackling. He stared up into the night sky as he tried to process what had happened over the past few hours. He knew they had crashed, but basically he had been out for the count once Andy had stabbed him. He still couldn't believe he'd done it. He sighed softly as he took a few deep breaths. He wasn't feeling well at all. His head was pounding, his ribs hurt and he was trying not to think about the pain in his abdomen. On top of everything, he felt nauseous. The more he tried not to think about how lousy he was feeling, the worse he felt. He carefully sat up and checked the position of his teammates. Kensi and Deeks were cuddled together under a blanket apparently sleeping. Sam was close by him also seemingly asleep. He was careful not to make a sound. He knew from experience it wouldn't take much to awaken any of them. He stared morosely into the fire and thought about their situation. He hated feeling like this. He didn't like having to depend on the others as much as he had been doing. Of course, he knew Sam was the obvious choice to lead them. As a Navy Seal, Sam had a lot more training in survivor skills than himself, Kensi or Deeks.
"G?" Sam spoke in a whisper as he sidled up beside Callen.
"Hey Sam," Callen glanced at his partner, his voice also low, not wanting to wake their junior teammates.
"How are you feeling?"
Callen considered the question, wondering if Sam was still insisting on the total honestly thing he had been going on about earlier. "Thanks for taking care of me, Sam," he said, deflecting the question entirely.
"G…"
"I feel like crap, Sam, okay?" his voice cracked as he spoke the words and uncharacteristically let his guard down.
Sam stared back at him for a long moment before putting his arm around his shoulders. "I know you do G…"
The friendly gesture was almost Callen's undoing. He closed his eyes momentarily as he tried to get himself together. Damn… this wasn't good at all. He couldn't allow himself to fall apart. "I'll be okay…" He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Sam or himself. In either case, he was far from okay.
"Here…drink this." Sam handed him a bottle of water which Callen took and dutifully drank a few sips from. "You want to talk about what happened?" Sam asked.
Callen shook his head. "I don't know…basically he just snapped, Sam…I was heading back to the passenger cabin and he grabbed me from behind and stuck me with the knife. I was totally caught off guard…still can't believe he did it..."
"Of course you were caught off guard. You never would have expected something like that to happen. Why would you have?"
"He said he had to do it…someone has his wife and two kids and if he didn't kill me, they would be killed."
"You have any idea who?"
Callen shook his head. "He said he didn't even know who it was. I haven't seen or talked to this guy in such a long time, Sam. Whoever did it, it must be from a really far back case. I have no idea who it is or what it's about."
"He should have asked for our help," Sam stated. "Now he's dead…why did he kill himself? What the hell did he accomplish?"
"He wasn't thinking clearly," Callen said. "None of this makes any sense at all…"
"Well, it doesn't help to worry about it now anyway, G. Getting rescued is our first priority. There's nothing we can do about any of this from out here."
"Getting rescued doesn't seem like it's going to be very easy," Callen said with a heavy sigh. He knew he should be helping to do something, even just to strategize, but it was all he could do just to stay awake.
"You sound like Kensi," Deeks said dropping to the ground beside the other two men.
"Sorry, Deeks, did we wake you?" Sam asked.
Deeks shook his head. "No, I've just been kind of dozing on and off. How are you doing?" he asked, directing his gaze toward Callen.
"I'm good," Callen replied shortly.
Deeks momentarily considered debating that point, but decided it wouldn't be a very good idea. He and Sam shared a glance, which Callen noticed and was irritated by, but none of them said anything.
"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Deeks asked, figuring a change of subject was in order.
"I'm going to see if I can get anywhere with the radio," Sam said. "If not, I'm going to do some scouting, try to find some kind of a clearing or body of water. We'll have a better chance to signal and maybe someone will spot us. Trees are too thick here. No one will see us."
Deeks nodded. "That's what Kensi said earlier."
"How's she doing?" Sam asked.
"I guess she's doing okay," Deeks replied. "I know she's in more pain than she's admitting to, but that's just how some people are wired…She wants me to think she's invincible…"
"If you've got something to say to me, Deeks, just say it," Callen snapped. "You don't have to hide behind stories about your girlfriend."
"Whoa," Deeks looked at Callen in genuine surprise. "I wasn't talking about you, Callen."
"Whatever." Callen pulled the blanket tighter around his body and practically flung himself on the ground. He regretted the action immediately as pain shot through his entire torso. He turned so that his back was facing Sam and Deeks and squeezed his eyes shut and breathed deeply to control the pain.
"Seriously, Callen…" Deeks began, but was stopped by Sam who put his hand on Deeks' shoulder and shook his head.
"I think we should all try to get some sleep," Sam suggested quietly.
Deeks nodded and headed back to Kensi while Sam laid back down. He cast a concerned look at his partner before he closed his eyes in an attempt to get some rest.
