A/N: Today, we get to the answer you've all been waiting for since the prologue - WHO. Got. Shot? Hehe.
Thanks to DizzyDrea, terken, SP SVU B, and Rebel Magnus for reviewing, and thanks to tjn1 and cdfuller21 for adding this story to alerts.
Now...are you ready? You'd better be, 'cause ready or not, the bomb drops now.
Chapter 9: The Present
Sam knew the minute he heard the gunshot that one of them – either Callen or Kensi – had been hit. He kept it together, kept it cool, all through the entry and subsequent gunfight, putting bullets in several of Simmons' men. He told himself that he didn't know if anyone had taken the shot, that there was still hope that they were both uninjured – but he was lying to himself, and he knew it. As a SEAL, he'd developed an instinct, a sixth sense that alerted him whenever a member of his unit was in danger. That intuition had carried on into his career as an NCIS agent, and it was screaming at him now, telling him one of his friends was hurt.
And when he saw who it was bleeding on the floor, he just about had a heart attack. A cold feeling of vicious panic landed on him, like a twenty Newton punch to the gut.
No…not again…
"G!" he shouted, rushing to his partner's side. "No…come on, G, don't do this to me again!"
Behind him, Deeks yelled into the comm link for Eric to send an ambulance, while Nate and Renko went off to scout the back, just to make sure there wasn't anyone else lurking about. Sam barely paid any attention to them – all his focus was on trying to stop the bright red blood soaking through his best friend's shirt.
"G, come on!" he exclaimed. "Stay with me, buddy, you hear me? I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you."
It's doubtful if Callen heard him. The lead agent lay limp on the floor, drawing gasping breaths of air that racked his body with shudders.
It was bad. It was very bad. Sam clamped down hard on his fear, forcefully squashing it from him. He needed a clear head if he wanted to help Callen.
Sam tried to convince himself that this wasn't as bad as the Russian shooting the year before last. Callen had survived that – he would survive this. But somehow, the conviction wasn't coming.
Then Kensi dropped down beside him, her eyes wide and fearful. "G…" she whispered, reaching out to touch his head. For one excruciating moment, her panic swelled until it crashed over her, and threatened to overwhelm her completely – but she swallowed it down. "Oh, G…"
Callen's eyes fluttered. "Kenz…" he managed weakly.
"Don't, G, don't," she pleaded. "You're gonna be okay. You have to be okay. You promised, remember?"
"I remember…"
"Hey, G, stop talking," Sam commanded, pressing more firmly on Callen's wounds.
Callen gave a weak, half-hearted chuckle that wrung at Kensi's heart.
"Ambulance is on its way," Deeks announced as he knelt down to help Sam control the bleeding. His voice lowered. "He's gonna be okay, right?" he asked softly.
Sam hesitated several seconds before answering with the truth – the painful, uncertain truth.
"I don't know."
Callen, Kensi, Sam, and Deeks trudged back into OSP after a grueling interrogation at the boathouse with a stubborn suspect.
"Now, you see, if we'd gone good cop bad cop like I wanted, he'd have sung like a canary," Deeks was complaining. "Instead, we went with your 'You're going to jail anyway, so might as well 'fess up' tough guy track, and he completely clammed up."
"Deeks, do me a favor," said Sam. "Shut up."
"He does have a point, though," Kensi defended her former partner.
"Oh, you're taking his side now?"
Kensi held up her hands placatingly. "I'm just saying. Maybe you rubbed him the wrong way."
"No, Sam's approach was spot on," Callen disagreed. "But sometimes you come across the tough nuts, the ones who are really impossible to crack."
"Never happened to me," said Deeks. He clapped a hand on Sam's back. "So, partner, you wanna take another shot at the guy later?"
Sam harrumphed and elbowed his arm out of the way. "Stay away from me, Deeks. Okay?" He walked on ahead of the group.
"Aw, c'mon! You gonna be that way?" Deeks called. "Partner?"
Their not-so-friendly argument was interrupted by a shrill, familiar whistle that had been missing for too long. Eric, especially, delighted in his freedom to whistle again and blew for as long and loud as his breath would allow.
"We get it already, Eric," Sam said pointedly as they made their way up.
Eric smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," he apologized. "Just celebrating."
Hetty was waiting for them in Ops.
"Good afternoon, agents – and detective," she added, glancing at Deeks. "Since Agent Hunter rearranged your partnerships two weeks ago, I have been keeping a close watch on you to see how it would work, and I've come to a conclusion." She shook her head. "This new dynamic is not working. Therefore, I am putting you back in your original partnerships, effective immediately."
"All right!" Deeks rejoiced. "See, Kensi? I told you you couldn't get rid of me that easily."
The atmosphere was generally much improved after that re-switch. Hetty, of course, could not fail to notice the extra relief that both Callen and Kensi were trying to hide.
The hospital was a bustle of nurses, doctors, and equipment. Occasionally, down the long corridors that housed the wards, an urgent voice would announce a code and call for backup. The white lights overhead were too bright, the medicinal smell of antiseptic too strong.
For Kensi, it was hell.
She was the only one who had ridden in the ambulance with Callen – during the trip, he had flatlined twice – and she had followed him as far as she could, but she couldn't go into the OR, where the doctors and nurses were now working to save his life.
He's gonna be okay, he's gonna be okay, she kept chanting to herself, like a mantra, over and over.
She should have known something was up the minute Gordon asked them to ride with him to the factory. She should have sniffed the trap before they were too deep in it. She should have reacted faster, pulled Callen out of the way – hell, she should have stepped forward so she could take the bullet.
She was the one it was meant for, anyway.
Simmons had been aiming at her when he shot, and Kensi had frozen, sure she was going to die – but Callen, moving faster than she would have thought possible, had jumped forwards and pushed her down out of the way, taking the bullet that would have killed her.
Why, Callen, why? she moaned inwardly. Why not just let the bullet hit her? It would have been quick, over within a minute – unlike the agonizing waiting she was enduring now.
It was her fault…all her fault. Kensi buried her face in her hands and willed herself not to cry.
A gentle hand on her shoulder alerted her to someone's presence.
"Shh, dearie, it will be all right," Hetty's motherly voice comforted. Kensi looked up and saw that Sam, Deeks, Nate, Eric, Nell, and Renko were all gathered in the waiting room, having just arrived.
"Did they say anything?" Sam asked – and she knew he was talking about the doctors. She shook her head.
"No, nothing," she replied, wishing she could say otherwise. The doctors hadn't been able to tell her if Callen would live or die.
"He'll pull through, Kenz," Renko said reassuringly. "I've never seen anyone tougher than Callen – except maybe you."
Kensi stiffened at his use of Callen's nickname for her. Renko was probably trying to comfort her, but that name was off-limits to everyone except Callen.
Luckily for Renko, Deeks chose that moment to sling a kindly arm around Kensi, and Kensi – despite the fact that she would normally injure Deeks in some form, shape, or way for daring to touch her without permission – allowed herself to relax into his embrace, feeling him offer her the encouragement she desperately needed.
"He'll be okay, Kensi," Deeks said softly.
Callen sighed as he unlocked the door to his house and went in. Switching on the lights, he half-expected to see Kensi there, waiting for him – but she wasn't, and he was reminded why.
He wanted to be the man she deserved, really he did – but he couldn't change who he was. The last time he had opened up – really, truly entrusted himself to someone – it had ended in tragedy.
Back in the day, when he'd been FBI, he'd met an agent named Sharon Wilcox. And she'd been a hell of an agent, too. Smart, skilled, and stunningly beautiful, she'd been humorously known as Super Sharon because she somehow escaped everything her job threw at her – be it criminals, gunfights, bomb blasts, or paperwork – and she had a lot of those.
Sharon's piercing grey eyes and sharp insight had seen right through Callen's lone wolf façade, and for over a year she had slowly chipped her way through his protective wall and inserted herself into his life.
Their relationship was not exactly a secret; colleagues used to tease them about the slow pace they were going at and kept asking when they were going to make it official already.
Before they could even begin to take that step, however, Sharon was killed after she'd been compromised during an undercover up. One shot, and it was all over; Super Sharon had finally encountered something she couldn't escape – death.
Callen had never allowed anyone else to get close since.
And the sad part was, he'd never even told Sharon he loved her.
To Nate, it felt like the clock was ticking way too slowly. The eight of them had been sitting there waiting for the past three hours, but none of them even thought to get up to stretch their legs.
Callen was too important to all of them for them to consider leaving, even for a while.
Actually, on second thought, Callen was important to all of them, but he was only too important to one person. Nate swiveled his head to look at her.
Kensi.
While Nate was experiencing more concern than he'd ever thought possible, he was not blind to Kensi's pain. As the former operational psychologist, he'd gotten closer to the agents at OSP than they usually allowed – courtesy of his ability to get into their heads. So he knew how Kensi must be feeling.
Nate didn't know for sure how deep the relationship between Callen and Kensi actually went, but he was aware it had reached the point where they needed each other – even if they were too stubborn to admit it. He was also fairly certain that, if given the chance, their relationship would blossom into something magical; once they actually managed to get past their barriers, they would each find a complement to themselves in the other – they had a lot in common, after all.
Of course, that was provided that Callen lived.
"It's been too long," Sam said, the strain of worry evident in his tone. "Shouldn't we have heard something by now?"
Just then, right on cue, a doctor in a surgical lab coat came out of the OR.
"Family of Agent Callen?" he inquired, looking at them.
"Yes," Hetty answered.
"How is he, doc?" Sam asked anxiously.
The doctor sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair.
"I'm not going to lie to you," he stated bluntly. "Agent Callen's injuries were…severe. The first bullet nicked his aorta, and the second perforated his lung. He made it through surgery, and he's stable for the moment, but other than that there really isn't anything I can tell you about his condition." He gazed sympathetically around at the little group. "I'll tell you this much, though – he's a fighter. We lost him twice on the table, but he pulled through each time. If he can make it through 24 hours without any complications, his chances for recovery will be much greater."
Kensi inhaled deeply and leaned against the wall; Sam's mask slid into place, hiding his fear of the unknown; Nell unconsciously leaned against Eric for reassurance; Nate kept his raging worry hidden under a poker face learned from psychology training; Renko nodded slightly; and Hetty sighed.
"Can we see him?" Kensi queried hesitantly, as if she wasn't sure she should be asking that question.
"He's being moved up to the ICU now – once he's settled, you can visit him one at a time," the doctor replied.
"Thank you," Hetty said. He nodded before moving on.
Callen felt, rather than heard, Kensi's presence behind him. To be honest, he was a little surprised. Ever since Hetty had switched them back into their original partnerships, the two of them had carefully avoided all but the most necessary of contact. The fact that Kensi was hanging around at the office after hours told him she had something she wanted to discuss.
"Go ahead, Kensi," he said, giving her the opening she needed.
"Callen, look," she began. "I don't want things to stay this way. If we can't move forward, I'd like to go back to the way we were."
Callen sighed. "I do, too, Kensi – but unfortunately, I don't think it's possible."
She nodded. "I know. But maybe, if we agreed to forget about this…thing we had, and never mention it, we might regain a semblance of what we had before."
"We can try," Callen agreed cautiously, "but honestly, I'm not sure it'll work."
"I'm not sure, either," Kensi admitted. "But it's worth a shot."
"Yeah, it is."
She tentatively offered her hand; he grasped it and they shook on it.
Kensi breathed in and out deeply, trying to calm herself. Sam had offered her the first turn visiting Callen – even though he desperately wanted to go in first – but she had refused, saying she needed time to prepare herself. So Sam had gone in first, but after he came out, Kensi still couldn't bring herself to go in, and convinced Eric to take her place. And so on and so forth, until everyone except she, Hetty, and Renko had taken their turn in the ICU ward with their injured teammate.
Kensi badly wanted to go in and see how Callen was doing – but at the same time she was terrified of the prospect of seeing him so weak. She didn't know if she could handle seeing him like that. She probably would have delayed further, if Hetty hadn't insisted she go in after Nate came out.
"You need to see him, Miss Blye," the motherly Operations Manager said kindly, but firmly.
"I want to, Hetty, but…"
"Kensi, I do not need to remind you that there is a very real chance that we will lose him," Hetty informed her. "If you don't go in now, and Mr. Callen dies, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Believe me, you don't want that kind of heartache."
So Kensi, her heart pounding, stepped into the ward where Callen was.
Callen lay unconscious on the bed, the blanket pulled over him. His face was pale, his torso covered in bandages, and he was hooked up to various monitors and machines. Kensi's breath caught in her throat, and she had to will herself not to panic. This was even worse than Laura…
This isn't Laura, she told herself firmly. It's Callen, and he's gonna be okay.
Slowly, she made her way over to the visitor's chair and dropped into it.
"Hey," she said. "It's me."
Nothing answered her except the steady beeping of Callen's heart monitor. Kensi inhaled, sucking air into her lungs before leaning forward.
"I don't know if you can hear me," she continued, "but if you can, I want you to know that we're all waiting for you. Everyone." She chuckled weakly. "I don't think we're gonna move until you show some sign of improvement – unless Hetty kicks us all out."
It was eerie, talking to someone who didn't talk back – especially if that someone was usually alert and lively, and trading smart remarks with everyone. Kensi struggled to hold onto what remained of her slipping composure.
"You know you're gonna be disappointing a lot of people if you cross over to the other side, right?" she said, trying to keep her voice light – but sure that if he'd been awake, he would be able to hear the tears in her voice.
Kensi paused again. This was awkward.
"Look," she tried again, "I don't pretend to know what to do in a situation like this. Truth be told, I've never been in a situation like this before. But you know what? I do have one thing to tell you." She leaned close and whispered something into his ear. Then she straightened in her chair and smiled half-heartedly. "I'll see you when you wake up, G."
She refrained from adding the if in the sentence.
A/N: Aha - yes, it was Callen who got shot. I'll admit I was demurring between Callen and Kensi, but in the end I decided it would be Callen.
Today's chapter was just FILLED with episode allusions, a few going all the way back to Legend, Pt 2 (NCIS Season 6 Episode...20?) and Identity (back to NCIS: LA - Season 1 Episode 1). There were also mentions that referred to Keepin' It Real (Season 1 Episode 5), again for Natalie Giordano's comment; Cyber Threat (Season 3 Episode 2), Backstopped (Season 3 Episode 3), and Deadline (Season 3 Episode 4). I do believe that's the most episode tie-ins in a single chapter so far.
Don't go away, because tomorrow's chapter should see a very shocking surprise for everyone. It was a surprise to ME when I wrote it. I had no idea it was going to go there. Foreboding, much?