Thanks as always for reading and for reviewing. :) Can't wait for the premiere tonight! Hope everyone who can watch enjoys it :)

xxxxx

Callen dutifully sipped the broth, ate the gelatin, drank half of the ginger ale and then dropped off to sleep without really saying much. "He still has a long way to go," Sam said softly, as he watched the steady rise and fall of Callen's chest.

"At least he's starting his uphill climb now," Hetty stated. "I know his progress seems slow, but when you really think about all he's gone through, it's quite remarkable that he's here at all, Mr. Hanna. And you are probably the biggest reason why he is doing as well as he is."

Sam shook his head as he wearily leaned back in the reclining chair. "Not really, Hetty. I admit I was able to help him medically somewhat after the plane crash, but I haven't been able to do much for him since."

"I beg to differ," Hetty said. "You just being there for him, talking to him, listening to him…those may be the most important things you can do for him."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a throat being cleared. Sam and Hetty both looked towards the doorway where Granger had poked his head in. "Am I interrupting?" he asked.

Sam's first instinct was to say yes he was interrupting, but instead he made a move to get up and offer his seat to Granger. Hetty quickly reached for his arm to stop him. "I'll leave, Sam. It's getting rather late anyway. Tell him I'll be back to see him tomorrow. I think perhaps I may actually be able to eat and sleep tonight," she said. She was quite exhausted, but now was finally allowing herself to believe that her boy was going to survive. Just seeing him able to eat a tiny bit had made a world of difference to Hetty and gave her great peace of mind.

She patted Sam's arm and then started to walk out of the room, pausing at the doorway to speak to the assistant director. "Go easy on them, Owen, both of them," she said quietly. "Or you'll have me to deal with." She then left the room and headed down the hallway towards the elevator.

"She's like a ferocious little dog with a bone," Granger said as he took over the chair Hetty had just abandoned.

"I wouldn't let Hetty hear you call her that if I were you," Sam said.

"How's your partner?" Granger asked, glancing over in Callen's direction before looking back at Sam.

Sam shrugged. "He's been through hell and he's still in the ICU. He needs time to recover."

"Well…he's been through tough fights before," Granger commented. "I have a good feeling he'll get through this one also."

Sam nodded.

"You know, Hanna…I could sit with him tonight, if you'd like," Granger offered. "Might be good for you to go back to the hotel and get a good night's sleep."

Sam had to admit it was tempting, but all it took was one look at his partner and he just couldn't do it, not yet. "Thanks," he said, "but I'd rather not leave him."

Granger couldn't help but be a little bit exasperated. "He'll be fine. We won't let anything go wrong this time."

"It's not that...," Sam said. "I just want to be here, if he needs me…" He somehow didn't think that Granger would be very comforting if Callen experienced a nightmare and woke up in a panic. It's not like Callen and Granger were best buddies. Nor did he think Granger's gruff manner would make Callen feel better.

Granger shook his head. "Fine. It's your call. Let me know if you change your mind."

"Thank you," Sam said quietly. He knew he wouldn't change his mind, but it had still been nice of Granger to offer. He was tired and looked forward to Callen being released from the ICU. He was pretty sure Hetty would arrange it so that when that happened, Sam would have a bed to sleep in.

They were silent for a few moments before Granger spoke again. "So…Anderson has been arrested…"

Sam's tiredness immediately vanished and he went into high alert mode. "Really? Is he here in Seattle? Have you talked to him?" His voice had gone up and Callen began to stir. Sam froze as he watched Callen settle back into sleep. He then looked back at Granger.

"He's being flown into Seattle tomorrow," Granger said quietly. "He's being brought to a local precinct. I thought you might like to be there when I interrogate him."

Sam was even more tempted by this offer. "I guess I'll have to let you know tomorrow…" If it happened to be around the time Kensi and Deeks came to visit his partner, and if Callen was doing well, he would consider it. It wasn't a decision he could make right then, however.

"Come on, Sam," Granger said. "I know you want to be there. Babying your partner won't help him."

Sam quickly looked in Callen's direction and saw that thankfully he still appeared to be peacefully asleep. "Don't talk about him like that," he whispered fiercely. "He's gone through a stabbing, a plane crash, almost dying, then being abducted and left alone in that mine to die. Until you've been through the kind of hell he's been through, don't presume to think you know anything about it and don't you dare tell me how to treat him. "

Granger stared back at Sam and slowly nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry." He himself had been through plenty of his own hellish situations in the past, but he had to admit that Sam was right. He had no right to presume he knew what Callen was going through. He had just never had anyone have his back the way Sam had Callen's.

At that point, Callen stirred again, grimacing and placing his hand over the right side of his abdomen as he evidently moved the wrong way. His eyes opened and he groggily looked at Sam. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked him.

"Not too long," Sam replied. "Maybe about an hour give or take."

"Time sure drags in this place," Callen said with a sigh. His eyes turned toward the other chair, expecting to see Hetty, but he was surprised to see the assistant director in her place. "Oh…I thought you were Hetty."

Granger raised his eyebrows. "I've got to say, that's the first time anyone has ever mistaken me for Henrietta."

"Probably the last time too," Sam said with a slight chuckle before addressing his partner. "She went back to the hotel, G. She said to tell you she'd see you tomorrow."

Callen nodded before once again reaching for his side. "Your ribs bothering you?" Sam asked, looking at his friend with concern.

"Nothing I can't handle," Callen answered vaguely.

Sam shook his head. "You shouldn't have to handle it. You've got enough to deal with. They ought to be keeping you ahead of the pain."

"I can't spend my whole life being drugged out of my mind either," Callen said.

Sam gave his partner an amused look. "Really? That's what you're worrying about? You've only been conscious for a few hours. I don't think you need to be worrying about that just yet."

Callen shrugged. "It's fine, Sam."

"No…it's really not."

Callen closed his eyes and tried to get comfortable then found himself starting to shiver. Sam noticed his partner seemed off and his eyes went to the monitor which showed his temperature had risen to 101.2. "G?"

At that moment, Dr. Hathaway walked into the cubicle followed by a nurse. "Could you two gentlemen leave us alone for a few minutes?" he asked.

"We'll be right back," Sam said, giving his partner a reassuring smile although his eyes were concerned.

Callen nodded, watching as they left the cubicle and then turned his eyes toward the doctor.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Callen?" Dr. Hathaway asked as his gaze scanned over the various monitor readings and he made some notations on his chart. "Not so good, I take it?"

"Not great," Callen admitted.

"Well I've gotten some results back on your wound cultures which were taken before you were abducted from the hospital. The antibiotic I have you on covers some, but not all of the organisms so I'm going to change it. You're running a bit of a fever, but that's not uncommon later in the day. Now for some good news, there's no longer any evidence of blood in your urine and your kidney function tests have been normal so I think we dodged a bullet there. "

Callen just nodded silently.

"Are you following all of this?" Dr. Hathaway asked.

"Yes…that is good news."

"Okay…on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest, what would you currently grade your pain?" the doctor asked.

Callen sighed. "I don't know, maybe an 8."

"I'm going to up your pain medicine. I don't want you having to fight just to be comfortable." He scribbled some more on the chart. Now do you have any questions? Anything you need?"

"How long do you think I'll be in here?" Callen asked.

Dr. Hathaway smiled. "I'm assuming you must be asking about the ICU and not about the hospital. We'll see where you are tomorrow." He could see that his patient looked discouraged. "You've been through a lot, Mr. Callen. It's going to take some time to recover, even after you're out of the hospital. I know that's not what you want to hear, but with all you went through, you're actually doing very well."

"Okay," Callen said softly.

"How did you do with the clear liquids earlier? Have you experienced any nausea?"

"No," Callen said, shaking his head.

"Okay, I'm going to start you back on regular food tomorrow and we'll see how that goes. I'll have a menu sent in so you can make your choices for the day. That should help you start to get your strength back. Pick whatever you feel you're able to tolerate. I'm not giving you any restrictions. If you'd like to have people bring you in food from outside that's fine too. My main objective is to get you back eating again."

"What about the catheter?" Callen asked.

"I'm going to leave that in at least until tomorrow," the doctor said as Callen just nodded. "Anything else?"

"Could I have another blanket?"

"That's an easy one," Dr. Hathaway said with a smile. "Is that it?"

"Yes, I'm good," Callen said, nodding.

"Okay, hang in there, Mr. Callen. I believe things are going to look brighter to you tomorrow. Get some rest."

"Thanks," Callen said, allowing his eyes to close as the doctor and nurse left the room. He opened them again when he heard Sam and Granger return and then the nurse came back in, carrying a blanket which she gently covered him with.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" the nurse asked, smiling at him.

Callen shook his head. "No. Thanks for the blanket."

"You're welcome," she said, then left the room.

"You doing okay, G?" Sam placed his hand on his partner's shoulder, looking down at him worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Sam. The doctor's going to change my antibiotic. He said there's no more blood in my urine and I can start back on regular food tomorrow."

"Yeah? That's really good to hear," Sam smiled, relieved as he patted Callen's shoulder before he removed his hand and then sat back down on the reclining chair.

"You up for a few questions, Agent Callen?" Granger asked, his tone all business.

As much as he just wanted to go back to sleep, Callen nodded, knowing he had to do it sooner or later. He just didn't think he was going to be able to give Granger any useful information. "Yeah sure," he said quietly. He willed himself to relax and just take a deep breath before beginning. His goal was to keep to the facts and let his emotions in as little as possible.

Sam felt himself tensing with anticipation of the interaction. He knew how Granger could be sometimes and he was ready to stop things from getting out of hand if necessary.

"Why don't you start with the first thing you remember after you were taken from the hospital."

"I didn't wake up until I was already inside the mine. I guess they drugged me up pretty good," Callen began. "I was alone. There was total darkness and my hands and feet were tied…then they came…Page, his brother, Robert and his niece, Alyssa…"

"Go on," Granger encouraged gently.

"Page was acting pretty crazy. He told me the story of his other brother and his wife, how I had shot him. He blamed me for his brother's life being ruined and ultimately for his death. He used me for a punching bag and kicked me around to embellish his story. At one point, he walked away and I got a chance to talk to Alyssa, gave her Sam's number, tried to convince her to call him. I didn't really think it worked."

"But it did work," Sam grasped his partner's hand and squeezed it gently. "You did good, G."

Callen returned Sam's smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "He…he enjoyed taunting me…said how I would suffer alone in the dark…even took a picture of me to send to Sam…" He turned toward his partner and they shared a long look. "Then basically he blew up the entrance and here we are." He heaved a long sigh, happy to have gotten through the story without getting emotional.

"He never gave you any clue as to where they might be going?" Granger asked.

Callen shook his head. "No…no I'm sorry, he never said anything about that."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Granger said. "Not your fault he didn't say anything." It was obvious to him that Callen was exhausted so he decided it was best not to question him further. "Sam, I'm going to be leaving soon. Before I go, why don't you go get yourself something to eat?"

Sam shook his head. "That's okay."

"It really wasn't a request, Agent Hanna," Granger said. "You need to eat."

"He's right, Sam," Callen chimed in. "You must be hungry."

Sam looked at his partner and nodded. "Alright. I'll go get something. Be back in a few."

"Do you have any idea how much he cares about you?" Granger asked Callen after Sam had left the room.

Callen nodded slowly. "Yes…I think I do. I feel the same way about him."

"The two of you have quite a partnership," Granger said, looking a little bit wistful. "Never take that for granted…"

"I won't…"

"Get some sleep, Agent Callen," Granger said, noting how Callen could barely keep his eyes open. "Your partner will be back soon…" He watched as Callen finally succumbed to the sleep his body had been craving, then settled back in his chair to wait for Sam's return.

xxxxx

Another night spent in a cabin at a campsite. Alyssa was getting tired of it, tired of driving all day, just tired of all of it. She almost felt like turning herself over to the police just to be done with it. Almost…she wasn't quite there yet.

"Alyssa? My phone is dead and the charger is out in the car. Can I borrow yours for a minute?"

She froze. She had kept meaning to tell her uncle that she had lost her phone, but every time she had tried, the words had died on her lips. "I… well Uncle Jonathan… I actually lost it…"

"What?" He looked at Alyssa angrily. "When did you lose it? Why didn't you say anything about it?"

Alyssa shrugged. "I guess I didn't want to bother you with it. I figured you had enough to worry about."

"Where did you lose it?" he asked. He found his suspicions were rising, but he was trying hard not to give in to those thoughts. This was his beloved niece. She would never betray him.

"Uh…I'm not sure really."

"Well, when's the last time you used it?"

"Uh…I don't really know…" She stared down at the floor, not wanting to meet his eyes. It confirmed to him that something was up, although he had no idea what it could be.

He turned to his brother who was listening to the conversation silently as usual. "So…I'm thinking I want to start heading back to the mine tomorrow…"

Robert gave him an alarmed look. "Why would you do that?" he asked. "Shouldn't we stay away from there?"

"I just want to check things out…make sure Agent Callen is truly dead and then I will use my contacts to get us out of the country.

"Uncle Jonathan, why do we need to do that?" Alyssa asked, trying hard to hide her panic. "I don't want to see a dead body. I don't want to go back there."

"Dear, sweet Alyssa," Jonathan said stroking her face. "Why would you see his dead body? If the mine is still all sealed up, it's obvious that Agent Callen is dead, isn't it? I'm just making sure my plan was brought to fruition. Once I see that our friend is firmly encased in his tomb, we'll be off and we'll leave the country, most likely for good."

Alyssa felt her stomach begin to churn as she wondered about the consequences of her phone call to Agent Hanna. It was almost a certainty that he had gone in search of his partner and if that was the case, the mine was no longer sealed. It would be opened up and Agent Callen would be nowhere to be found. She didn't want to think about what her uncle's reaction would be if that was true.