A/N: Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. Please keep them coming as they encourage me to continue with not only this story but others.

Chapter 7

As Callen walked back into the Boatshed, Nate leapt up from his seat and looked anxiously behind the team leader looking for any sign of Sam.

"Don't worry Nate, Sam's gone" said Callen his voice a little nasal due to the injury to his nose and to the blood that refused to stop flowing.

Nate rushed forward and removed Callen's hand from his face. "Your nose is broken" said Nate.

"You think?" muttered Callen. Between Nate and Sam, his patience was wearing thin and therefore he was short tempered. When he saw the fleeting look of hurt cross Nate's face, he felt guilty. After all Nate was only trying to help. "Sorry" he muttered with as much grace as he could muster.

Nate shrugged and said "It's okay Callen. I deserved it. This is entirely my fault after all." He paused and then said "As I presume you have no intention of going to ER, at least let me to look at it." Callen nodded and Nate examined Callen's nose as gently as he could but still caused him to grunt in pain. "It's not too bad" he said which earned him a scowl from Callen. "I mean it's pretty much in alignment."

"Yeah, Sam did that before he left" said Callen. "Didn't even warn me he was gonna do it" chuckled Callen and Nate had to grin too, the first time he had smiled in days.

"Nice to know my pain gives you amusement" joked Callen and was pleased to see that Nate just rolled his eyes at the comment rather than show guilt.

"I'll get some ice" said Nate turning to go to the fridge and retrieving some ice from the icebox. He found a clean cloth and wrapped it around the ice and came back to Callen. "Here put this on the bridge of your nose. It'll help with the swelling and bring out the bruise" handing the ice to Callen.

"Thanks" said Callen.

"You're gonna have quite a shiner there" said Nate.

"Yeah between you and Sam, you've really done a job on my face" joked Callen. "Don't know what Hetty will say" he added.

"I guess I'm already in her bad books" said Nate stricken at the thought of being the focus of the wrath of his diminutive boss. "She'll skin me alive when she finds out I hit you."

"If you're lucky" said Callen with a straight face. "I'm thinking you'll disappear never to be seen again." Nate shot Callen a look which said he believed it could happen. Callen chuckled shaking his head. "Sorry Nate I couldn't resist it. Don't worry, it'll be fine. Yeah she might be a bit miffed but nothing'll happen to you I promise."

Nate relaxed a little. After all these years, he still could not tell when Callen was joking and he was still more than a little afraid of Hetty.

Back at the Mission, Sam walked in and made his way across the floor to Hetty's office. Just as Nell had done, he waited until Hetty acknowledged him.

"Mr Hanna what can I do for you?" she asked. She noticed that Sam was dejected and was clearly worried about something. "Sit down and tell me what's wrong."

Sam did as he was asked but did not say anything. He just sat looking down at his hands which were rested on his knees. Hetty waited patiently for him to speak. Finally he said "I've messed up."

"Please explain Mr Hanna" replied Hetty. "In what way have you messed up exactly?"

Sam paused and gathered his thoughts. "Callen left this morning without saying anything to me" he said.

"Yes, he was working under my instructions" confirmed Hetty. "I didn't want anyone else involved."

Sam coughed to hide his embarrassment. "Yeah, well I found that out when I tracked him down to the Boatshed" said Sam.

"Yes I'm well aware that you were at the Boatshed" said Hetty, scowling at him and Sam held his nerve the best he could under her gorgon stare and wondered how she had known that.

"Callen was waiting me before I even got out of the car" he stated.

"Indeed. I told him you were approaching" stated Hetty. Sam tilted his head to one side quizzically. "The external cameras were active and Nell was monitoring them."

Sam raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement to what he had just been told and mentally reprimanded himself for not noticing the fact. He continued. "Callen tried to get rid of me but I made him tell me what was going on. He knew I wouldn't leave otherwise." Hetty pursed her lips at him but remained silent. Sam squirmed under her gaze. "G's got a nasty cut and bruise on the side of his face." It was Hetty's turn to raise her eyebrows in surprise and Sam's tone changed as he added "Someone hit him hard and that someone was Nate!"

Hetty gasped and said "Surely not, you must be mistaken Mr Hanna."

"I'm not. Callen confirmed it" continued Sam in a voice that showed he was still angry at Nate.

"Well I'm sure Mr Callen handled the situation correctly" said Hetty dismissing Sam.

"I'm not finished yet Hetty. There's still something else I need to tell you" he said fidgeting with his hands. He was not proud of himself for losing his temper and what he did was as unforgivable as Nate's action and to boot he had injured his best friend. "I saw red and pushed past Callen and attacked Nate." Hetty gasped again and sat more upright in her chair. "Callen tried to stop me and when I tried to shrug him off, my elbow smashed into his face. I broke his nose." Hetty was angry with her agent but she could see that Sam was distressed about what he had done. "But don't worry I haven't spoilt his boyish good looks" he added trying to make light of the incident and to make himself feel better. He was failing miserably and as soon as he saw the look on Hetty's face, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say.

"This is not a joking matter Mr Hanna" said Hetty angrily.

"No it's not" said Sam in a tone that indicated he was as angry as Hetty. "Nor is what Nate did to Callen. Breaking Callen's nose was an accident, Nate hitting him wasn't but I shouldn't have lost my temper in the first place" Sam admitted.

"Hmm, no you shouldn't have" mused Hetty before adding "Mr Hanna I suggest that you go back to the bullpen and do some work. You need to think hard about what you've done. I'll deal with you and Nate later" said Hetty. Sam however did not move. Hetty sighed. "Is there anything else Mr Hanna?" she said in an icy tone.

"Yes. Callen told me to tell you that Nate trashed his apartment in a drunken rage but now he's sober he's started to open up. My actions may have derailed that for a while but Callen said he'll contact you when he can" said Sam.

"Very well Mr Hanna" said Hetty and as Sam got up to walk away she added "Thank you for being so candid about your shortcomings. I'll let you know what I decide to do regarding disciplinary action although I believe you're punishing yourself already." Sam nodded and walked back to the bullpen and slumped down in his chair ignoring the concerned looks of Kensi and Deeks.

Hetty leaned back in her chair and looked to the ceiling and sighed heavily before removing her glasses. She pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to ward off the dull throb that had started to assault her temples. A great deal had happened in the past day or two, much of which had made her question her judgement. Their line of work was often fraught with danger but she had chosen each one of the team for their specific talents and together they made a formidable team, considered the best that NCIS had.

Nate was originally employed as an operational psychologist whose role was to help the others deal with the mental and emotional stresses of their job especially if they had suffered a serious injury. They made his job harder because none of them particularly liked to talk about their feelings and perceived shortcomings and of late Nate had craved to be a field agent. Hetty had sent him on some solo missions abroad but they were mainly fact finding and analytical in nature. The mission Nate had just completed had been his first real undercover operation. Hetty was now troubled that her ability to judge whether her agent had been ready for it had been compromised by her desire to mentor a new field agent.

Hetty decided to make herself a pot of tea as it was far too early in the day for the whisky she really wanted. She hoped that the tea would have a calming effect, allowing her to continue to work effectively until her Senior Agent in Charge contacted her with more news. Until Callen rang her and told her what he had managed to discover from Nate, she could not make an informed decision as what to do regarding his actions and future. That decision would have to wait until she had spoken with Nate herself and it was not something she was particularly looking forward to either.