Out in the woods:
"So tell me something." Cameron said.
"You need to ask a question to find out something." Phil snapped at her as he pulled her up from her seated position by the tree. Keeping a hold of her wrist he pulled his rucksack off his back. Putting the loop into his mouth he pulled on the zipper to open it. Cameron waited patiently with a raised eyebrow. As he went to put his hand inside he dropped it,
"Having trouble?" she asked him with a grin. He glared at her, "Want a hand?" she asked him mockingly. In answer he backhanded her across the mouth. "I'll take that as a no." she muttered sarcastically as she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. Frowning she looked at the blood that had streaked across the back of her hand and then back up to Phil.
"Prick." He turned around and glared at her,
"You know maybe you should try a different look on your face. If the wind changes…" she trailed off. She watched him rummage through the bag with a look of concentration on his face. "You can tell you've never done this before. I mean your horribly unprepared, you took your hostage, because let's face it that's what I am, without getting your necessary equipment ready. I mean what kind of dumb ass kidnapper are you?" she asked him. He stood up angrily and stared at her,
"Will you shut up!" he shouted at her. Cameron smirked at him,
"No. Not in this lifetime. I mean tell me what has Daddy done to deserve this level of devotion? Huh? In all the time I was there he never once, not once, mentioned you. Why do you think that is? Huh? Why do you think that is?" she asked him. Nate would be so proud of me she thought to herself. All she had to do was stall a little bit longer and hope like Hell they realised that something was up. His voice pulled her out of her musings,
"What about you? Huh? Are you that desperate for someone to love you that you just go with the first person that shows an interest? I mean come on! You have that little bastard at your beck and call practically and you do nothing with it! I mean come on! I didn't have to work that hard really. I thought it would have been harder, given the state that you were in, emotionally, mentally and physically. But you just made it soo easy. Dad will be proud." Cameron tilted her head to the side and put her face within inches of his,
"What makes you think I'm not playing you the way I played your father?" she asked him. He looked worried for a second before he smirked,
"You had no idea. That's why you fell out with that little person. He tried to warn you about me but you wouldn't listen. I bet you're regretting that decision now. Aren't ya?" he sneered.
"Oh I see you've progressed to sneering. Congratulations. So tell me something how did you get to be my doctor? Are you even a real doctor?" she asked in genuine curiosity.
"I am a real doctor. I was in the Navy. Kind of ironic don't you think? But my time was up and I didn't re-enlist after serving my time."
"You make it sound like a prison sentence."
"It was."
"Then you'll feel right at home when you go to the nearest maximum security prison with a mile long walk to the death."
"Anyways I was adopted when I was child and I decided to look up my birth parents. That's how I found him. So I made contact and the rest as they say is history." He grinned at her. Cameron didn't say anything and instead she listened for any noise that would indicate that they were coming for her.
"It's getting dark. We need to go." He bent down and pulled out the rope he had been looking for. Standing up he pulled the end and started to tie her hands in front of her. Then he started to pull her up and they started walking in silence. As they walked Cameron tried to remember which way they were going but after a while her mind started to wonder of how she was going to get out of the situation she thought she could handle. Apparently I was wrong she thought to herself. They were coming up on a ridge with a cabin on the top, which appeared to be surrounded by trees.
"Wow it appears you were telling the truth about the cabin. How very considerate of you." She uttered.
"I actually told you the truth mostly." Cameron let out a dry laugh,
"Yes you did. Other than your name, that you loved me and that your father is a total lunatic who murdered his first wife and probably the second and almost killed me a few times. Yes you really told me the truth."
"Well when you put it that way I guess I was lying the whole time." Cameron didn't bother answering him but rolled her eyes in exasperation. It didn't take them long to get to the cabin and as he pushed her through the door he hit her on the back of the head. Next thing she knew she was engulfed in darkness and the last coherent thought she had was this has got to stop!
Sam's car:
"Do you even know where we're going?"
"Not really. I have a general idea." Sam replied.
"Ok. So where's Kensi and Deeks?" Sam thought about the question for a minute, Callen eyed his partner, "What was so hard about that question?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know what? Whether the question was hard or where Kensi and Deeks are?" Callen challenged him. Sam rolled his eyes,
"Where Kensi and Deeks are. What's with the attitude?" he asked his partner.
"I don't have an attitude."
"Yes you do. You're acting very out of character G. In fact you have been acting weird since she showed up." Callen sighed in irritation,
"This? Really? Right now?" he asked.
"Yes. This. Really. So tell me what is it about this girl? The whole unit seems off kilter lately." Callen shook his head,
"So you're blaming all this on Cameron?"
"No. It just seems a little off. You've changed since she got here and I want to know why."
"Oh so it's not the team it's me?" Sam chuckled,
"When are you going to learn that you are the team?"
"No one person is more important than that of the whole." Callen muttered. He turned his head to look out of the window and thought about what his partner had said. He was different. He was sleeping, like actually sleeping; he wasn't as laid back as he used to be, if anything he was wound tighter instead of relaxing. This woman was going to be the death of him of this he was absolutely sure. But he loved her and he would probably run into Hell and back for her but he was going to put her through the ringer for not being more careful. She was a bigger bullet magnet than he was and that was saying something. Callen let out a little whistle through his teeth and Sam chuckled.
"I take it you've just admitted it to yourself. Feel better?" he asked his partner.
"Yeah I guess. But now all I have to do is tell her. Once we find her of course."
"Once we find her. I'm seeing a theme here. Are you?"
"Yeah you can tell she's new to this. You gonna train her?" he asked his partner.
"Oh yeah. Her and Deeks."
"Should be interesting." Callen muttered. He returned to looking out of the window and frowned,
"It's getting dark."
"Yeah that's what happens after every day G." Callen scowled at his partner.
"How many cabins are up here?" he asked.
"A couple of dozen."
"That'll take too long. We need to narrow this down."
"That is narrowed down G. She'll be fine. I promise." Callen nodded once and resumed his staring out of the window. A few minutes later they pulled up on a cabin, "Let's check this one and then crash for the night." He was met with silence that Sam took as acknowledgement.
The following day:
Callen was pacing the teak floor of the cabin that they had borrowed for the night. He had found a squeaky floorboard right next to Sam's head and he made a point of hitting it every time he was heading that way in his pacing.
"I get the hint G." Sam said as Callen hit the floorboard for the tenth time in as many minutes. Sam sat up bleary eyed and stretched until his back cracked. Callen looked at him,
"You ready to go?"
"I've got one word for you G." Callen raised an eyebrow,
"Which is?"
"Coffee." Callen walked over to the little breakfast bar and came back with a cup that he passed to Sam. Sam smiled and slowly stood up.
"Thanks G. I'll drink this and have a shower. Then I'll be good to go." Callen growled as his partner walked past him.
"You have ten minutes or I'm leaving without you!" he called to his retreating back.
Meanwhile:
Cameron stared at Phil sleepily.
"You have a very odd way of torturing people." She said. All through the night he had woken her up and told her that no one would come for her and that she was worthless.
"But it's very effective." Cameron scoffed at him,
"You think so?"
"I know so. I've been practising. You will crack. Now get some sleep." She looked at him in confusion but did as he said. Two hours later he woke her up and repeated his little torture routine, except this time he attacked her job and her lack of love life with Callen. After handing her a drink she drank half the bottle in one go, afterwards he said,
"Sleep." Cameron looked at the bottle and groaned before she fell asleep. Phil repeated this throughout the day and there was still no sign of Sam, Callen, Kensi or Deeks. After the tenth time of hearing this Cameron started to believe it. Through no will of her own, she didn't even know what time it was or if it was even light outside. He had taken her watch and blacked out all of the windows and she was starting to get weary of the constant sleeping and waking up routine that he was currently putting her through. After what could have been the twentieth time of this she finally snapped,
"Look this is getting irritating. Either kill me or let me go." She demanded. Phil chuckled at her,
"Someone is getting nervous. What's the matter? Is my odd way to torturing you beginning to work?" Cameron managed to pull her head up and said,
"You wish." She may have sounded confident but inside she was reeling. What if they don't come for me? What will I do? How will I get out of this mess? Will I live to see all the places I haven't seen yet? She wondered to herself. Phil chuckled at her,
"You just keep telling yourself that."
"God Damn it! Where the Hell is she?" Callen demanded. Sam eyed his partner wearily, he knew that tone and he knew what Callen was capable when he was pushed into a corner.
"Relax G. Look obviously they aren't in any of the cabins on this ridge. There's only a couple that I know of on the next ridge over. If she isn't there I promise we'll try and narrow it down even more." Sam said trying to calm his over wrought partner. Callen turned to glare at him and stomped over to the car before pulling the door open and slamming it closed once he was inside. Sam jogged over to the car and quickly climbed in before putting the car in drive and heading further up the ridge. They pulled up an hour later and the first cabin they saw looked a little odd.
"Do you see what I see?" Sam asked Callen.
"If you mean all the blacked out windows then yeah I see it. Think that could be it?"
"Yeah. But the question is what is he doing?" Sam muttered to the now empty car. Apparently Callen was done waiting. Sam quickly caught up and they approached the cabin in deathly silence. As they got closer they could hear maniacal laughing, Callen looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow,
"What is he doing to her?"
"Let's have a listen." Getting closer to the door they could hear Phil talking to Cameron but they couldn't quite make it out as the wood was garbling their voices.
"Why does she sound like she's been drugged?" Callen asked. Sam shrugged his big shoulders before he gripped the handle and nodded at Callen to get ready to enter the cabin. He nodded once and Sam booted the door but kept a hold of the handle in case Cameron was behind the door. As they entered he looked behind the door and seeing that she wasn't there promptly let go of the handle. Quickly clearing the rooms he headed upstairs while Callen went to the left. Sam quickly cleared upstairs and joined his partner who was about to breach the living room. Callen nodded once and they rushed into the living room. Phil spun around and glared at the new arrivals before turning back to Cameron,
"They're not here for you. They're here for me and only me." Callen heard Cameron groan in defeat and stared at Phil,
"Turn around and put your hands up. Slowly." Callen said in a low, dangerous voice. Phil smirked and rolled his eyes at Callen before turning back towards Cameron.
"What the Hell do you see in this guy?" he asked her. Cameron didn't say anything for a few minutes before she lifted her head up,
"What's not to like? He's funny, charming, got a body to die for and of course he's not trying to kill me every five minutes. There's just something about him, what can I say?" she replied with a smirk. Phil looked at her in abject horror at her answer; however what he didn't know was that Sam and Callen were sneaking up behind him while she talked to him. Sam's arm snaked around his neck and he held on until Phil collapsed against him. Callen walked around the pair and put his gun into the small of his back as he crouched in front Cameron.
"Hey hunny. How you doin?" he asked her softly. She looked at him with wide eyes and she suddenly launched herself at him, lifting her arms over his head and held onto him as if he was her lifeline. Not expecting the sudden movement Callen almost fell over but he managed to stop himself and then sit forward onto his knees. Cameron stuck her nose into his neck and started to sob as Callen whispered into her ear. Cameron suddenly leaned back slightly looking hopeful,
"Really?" she asked him afraid of the answer. Callen nodded and she smiled before she started to cry again and put her face against his neck.
"Are those sad tears or happy tears?" he asked her.
"Happy. Definitely happy." She muttered. He was smiling at her when she suddenly went white. Phil was standing behind Callen with his gun pointed at his head. Cameron looked over and saw Sam on the floor out cold. Phil tutted,
"That's just bad tradecraft Agent Callen. Leaving the suspect alone."
"You were unconscious." Callen growled as he took Cameron's hands away from his neck and stood up so that he was right in front of her.
"Obviously not for long." He waved the gun in Callen's face, out the corner of her eye Cameron saw Sam begin to stir, taking a deep breath she looked at Phil,
"You know I've known Sam strangle someone and they get back up within a few minutes. Usually they're out for at least three hours." Callen looked at her and she quickly darted her eyes towards the door and then back to Phil,
"She's got a point." Callen said. "How did you do it?" he asked in genuine interest.
"I faked it. Being out before I was." Phil replied with glee.
"Hm." Callen said non-committedly. Phil glared at Callen's lack of enthusiasm for his acting skills. Pointing the gun at Callen,
"Do you remember what I said about bullet holes Callen?" Cameron asked him from her place on the floor.
"Yeah. But there's nothing I can really do about that right now." Phil looked between the two,
"Aw what's this now?"
"Just a private joke." Callen said.
"Aw that's so sweet. Look at you two having a private joke." He took the safety off and put one in the chamber. "Now say goodbye to each other." He pulled the hammer back with his thumb and took aim. Cameron only had a split second to make her decision before the shot echoed around the room.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me while I battled with writers block. Also thank you for everyone who has favourited and followed this story.