Sam walked into Callen's room the next morning. He'd seen him the night before, but his partner had been very groggy and not good company. Today, he still looked significantly weak, but he was more alert. "Hey, man."

"Please tell me you got them," Callen said weakly.

"Sorry, they got away. We will get them though. I promise you that," Sam said as he walked over and sat next to Callen. No matter what he had to do, he would find the bastard that shot his partner. Finding and ending Taylor had to take precedence for now, but Callen's shooter was next on the list.

"Any idea who it was?" Callen asked.

"No, not yet," Sam said.

"You look like hell," Callen said.

"So do you," Sam retorted.

"I got shot. I have the right. What's your excuse?" Callen asked.

"My partner got shot," Sam deadpanned.

Callen smiled weakly. "Where's Mace? I've seen everybody but her so far. Kensi was here for a second before the docs came in and I saw Eric and Nate through the window."

Sam thought for a second about avoiding answering, but Callen would see right through that, wounded or no. Besides, with everything else going on, this was nothing. "She's gone. She's been transferred.

"Great," Callen said sarcastically. He was even less of a fan of change than Sam, which was definitely saying something.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Vance is settling us with some woman named Hetty. Sounds like some weak old woman from the 1940s," Sam grumbled.

Callen was surprised by the news that Hetty was taking over the team and more than a bit amused by Sam's thoughts on her. "Don't let that the name fool you, Sam. She may be old, but she is anything but weak. Oh, and don't let her hear you call her an old woman. You just may lose the use of your tongue afterwards."

"Wait, you know this woman?" Sam asked surprised.

"Let's just say that we've crossed paths before. I can tell you that she is not someone you want on your bad side. You know the expression the bark is worse than the bite?" Callen asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, it doesn't apply here. Her bite is a hundred times worse than her bark. Watch yourself," Callen said.

"Very good advice, Mr. Callen."

Sam turned to see an old woman in the doorway who looked about three feet tall. He turned back to Callen and gave him an 'are you kidding me?' look. Nothing about this woman looked intimidating to him.

Callen shook his head at Sam and looked at Hetty. "Hetty, good to see you again."

"You as well, Mr. Callen, though this is certainly not the condition I was hoping for," Hetty said before turning to Sam. "And you must be Mr. Hanna."

Sam only nodded in response.

"Shall we get acquainted outside and allow Mr. Callen to rest?" Hetty asked.

Sam looked at the woman for a moment before standing up and leading the way towards the door.

"Watch yourself, Sam," Callen warned again.

Sam didn't reply. He just led the way out of the room. Once they were outside, he turned to Hetty.

"Well, Mr. Hanna, would I be correct in assuming that there is still no news on Mr. Callen's shooter?" Hetty asked.

"Not yet. There are bigger problems at the moment though," Sam said reluctantly. The last thing he wanted was to discuss his past with a stranger, but there was no choice. Taylor was out there and he was after him and Tim. He wasn't really concerned about himself, but he would not allow harm to come to Tim.

"Oh? And what would be more important than Mr. Callen's shooting?" Hetty asked.

Sam sighed. "There's a maniac out there gunning for me and a friend of mine, another NCIS agent. His name is Jason Taylor and he's a brutal son of a bitch. We put him away in '89 for kidnapping and torture. He got a life sentence, but he recently escaped."

"I see. And this other agent?" Hetty questioned.

"Special Agent Timothy McGee. He's currently at my house with his protection detail," Sam said. Tim probably would've wanted to come to the hospital with him, but the kid was asleep and Sam didn't want to wake him. He did make sure to let Ziva know he was leaving though so she'd be more alert.

"And the people this Taylor Fellow kidnapped and tortured?" Hetty asked.

Sam cringed. This was where the personal stuff was gonna come in. He wasn't looking forward to it. "Me and Tim. Tim was eleven at the time. Taylor and two of his buddies tried to take Tim and I intervened. They got the upper hand and took me as well."

"What happened to the other two men?" Hetty asked.

"They're dead," Sam said simply.

From the tone in Sam's voice, Hetty knew that he must have been the one to kill those men. Under the circumstances, she found it to be justified. "But Mr. Taylor managed to survive."

Sam shrugged. "What can I say? I had a broken arm. My aim was off."

"I've read every single one of your files, Mr. Hanna. None of this is in it," Hetty commented.

"Yeah, well, my former CO was also Tim's father and navy commander. He had the files sealed to keep anyone from finding out that his own men kidnapped and tortured his son. Since it was no longer easy to access information, I felt no reason to add it," Sam said.

"So these men were connected to Agent McGee's father. What is the commander's name?" Hetty asked. He would have to be spoken with to see if there was anything he could give them to aid in stopping Taylor.

"He's now an admiral. Admiral John McGee. Though how anyone can call that bastard admirable I'll never understand," Sam said.

"Do any of your other colleagues know about this?" Hetty asked.

"No, and I never planned for them to ever find out. And before you say it, I know they'll have to know now," Sam said.

"Alright, I suggest going to get your friend and meeting me back at the Operations Center. I shall see if I can't round up the members of the team that are not injured," Hetty said.

Sam nodded and walked away.