"Hetty, I'm not arguing with you, just disagreeing."

"That you are Mr. Hanna."

"I don't like him going out there with this guy possibly knowing Callen told us what happened to him."

"And you suggest?"

"Scrub the assignment."

"Mr. Hanna I believe you want to scrub it because of the required enema. True?"

He sighed. Caught in a lie wasn't good when it came to Hetty.

"Well?"

"Yeah."

"You see Mr. Hanna, Mr. Callen did many assignments with that possibility being true and nothing happened to him. Well, except the usual getting shot at for being an agent."

"But they contacted him and abused him."

"I am giving Mr. Callen two weeks to prepare for his assignment."

"That should help with recovery time."

"Not what I had in mind, Mr. Hanna. Get him into that gym of his and get him back into shape."

"I hope he doesn't get triggered."

"When he does you will be there to pick up the pieces, right? And you have the expertise of Nate."

"Great, some assignment."

"Complaining Mr. Hanna?"

"I had hoped G would get more time to recover from what he just shared."

"He has this weekend."

Sam strode toward the door, muttering under his breath.

"Mr. Hanna, I did not excuse you."

He flipped on his heels and faced her.

"If you feel strongly about him needing more time I will give it. Let us see what transpires over the weekend."

"Thanks. When do you expect we will return to our Los Angeles operation?"

"No ETA, Mr. Hanna. That will be all."

He stomped up the stairs to the master bedroom suite. After sitting on the bed to remove his shoes and socks, Sam decided to lay down and pull the blanket over himself.

Callen moaned.

"It's me, G, go back to sleep." He watched Nate leave.

"I need to talk but without the intercom on," Callen said, whispering.

"I'll see if I can arrange it. Why didn't you talk to Nate?"

"You would have to ask me that."

"You knew I would."

"I wish I could punch you one but you're too strong."

"Why don't we rest for a while and I'll get Hetty to cut the intercom?"

"My tongue is wagging now."

"Be right back." Sam slipped out of bed, opened the door, and found Hetty standing there.

"It's done." She left.

Sam closed the door and sat in the chair. "That woman can read minds."

"Or else she has that intercom turned up to the max."

"I'll take the second option. What's on your mind?"

"More happened with that DEA supervisor."

"I figured as much but thought you could use a break." Sam sat at the foot of the bed. "I'm here for you, man."

Callen sat on the side of the bed for a moment before getting up. He stared out the window at the surrounding mountains and hills. "He used me as his—damn, why can't I just tell you? I hate this." He sighed. "I can't look at you or Nate or her."

"Her?"

"Hetty."

"I know what you're thinking. I know what they think."

"I'm not thinking anything about you, G."

"That's a lie. I let them do this to me and I didn't fight it."

"They programmed and drugged you. No one can fight that. If it were the same circumstances—"

"Bull shit! You're a Navy Seal. They prepare you for situations like this."

"Not like that. No one can prepare anyone for a scenario like that. Drugs and programming go past all defenses."

"I thought… maybe I was wrong."

"I'm not judging you, G, neither is anyone here." Sam came along side his partner. "Need to be held?"

He shook his head.

"How about we just cuddle on the bed?"

"Nice move, but I'm not gay."

"G, come on, man, stop fighting this." He placed his arm around his partner's shoulders.

Callen jumped and backed away.

"Easy, man, what's going on?" Sam saw Callen's tear stained face. "Looks like you could use a hug, nothing more, I promise."

He crossed his arms.

"Okay, maybe not." Sam strode back to the chair and sat. "When you're ready."

Callen slid past his partner and hurried toward the door.

Sam crossed the room in three huge strides, grabbing G by the waist. "Not happening, G, you're in here with me."

"I can't do this. I need… to get away."

"From me?"

"Yeah, let me go."

Sam pulled G tighter into his body.

"Damn it, I said release me."

"You're triggered by something, let's talk—"

"Screw you! Release me or I'll punch your lights out."

Sam flipped G around to face him, grabbed his arms and thrust them behind his partner's back.

"Bastard!"

"I'm not into getting my face hit by you. Settle down. Tell me what I said that triggered you."

"I'm not triggered."

"Bull shit, G, you're crying and shaking."

He glanced at the floor between them and then up into Sam's eyes. "I can't talk about this with you."

"And you can't talk about this with Nate. So who are you going to talk about this with? Certainly not Hetty. That leaves Eric, Deeks, or Kensi."

"Screw you!" Callen pushed his arms to the side, twisting his arms and body to escape Sam's hold. "Let me go."

"Promise you won't punch my lights out and I'll think about it."

Callen spit on his face.

"That's going to cost you, man." Sam wrestled his partner into a chokehold, slamming G's body backwards against his. "Is this what you want, G? Huh? You want to be manhandled?"

"Fuck you!"

"You're the one who's in the fucked up position, not I." Sam surrounded his partner torso and both arms with his left arm and squeezed him.

"What the fuck are trying to do to me?"

"Show you who's in control and it's not you."

"You bastard, I swear, I swear I'll kill you."

"Like this?"

Callen yelled at him.

"Go ahead, get it all out of you."

"Get what out of me?"

"All that anger."

"I'm not angry."

"Really, G, could've fooled me." He squeezed him harder and then released him, keeping him in a chokehold. "So he took you some place and manhandled you, right?"

Tears flowed down his face.

Sam felt wetness on his arm. "That's an affirmative. Did he use you? Did he make you his toy, his boy-toy? Did he pimp you out?"

"Shut up, just shut the hell up."

"Think I hit the sore spot." He tightened his chokehold.

"What are trying to do to me? Make me pass out?"

"Working on it. Pimp you out at a gay bar?"

"Bastard!"

"Thought so, considering the man's background. Had you fucked by anyone he desired, didn't he?"

He nodded.

"Why do you make me do this to you? Is it the only way you can remember what this sick fuck did to you? I don't want to hurt you, man, but you asked for this and you know I'll do it. That's why you went for the door, right?"

He nodded.

"What do you need from me now?"

"Don't know." Callen sighed and relaxed.

"That's better, G, easy." He started to release his chokehold.

"No, don't do that."

"Why?"

"Need you to hold me."

Sam released him and lifted him into his arms. "You mean like this?"

Callen relaxed in his partner's big arms.

"I guess that is an affirmative." He rocked him. "Any more you need to talk about?"

He buried his face in Sam's chest and whimpered.

"Easy, G."

"The bathroom thing. Don't say it."

"You'll have to take that up with Hetty. She's insisting on it."

"Can't you tell me why."

Sam took in a deep breath and let it go. "If I tell you about the assignment you might freak out."

"That's why Hetty's kept it from me?"

"Yeah."

"Put me down."

Sam sat on the bed.

Callen crawled off his lap, hesitated for a moment beside the bed, and made a run for the door. Half way to the door his partner slammed into him, knocking the breath from his lungs, and pinning him to the floor. "Bastard!"

"You're the bastard for playing me. I believed you were finished." He placed him in a scissors lock with his powerful legs, rolled him to the side, and put him in another chokehold. "Now, is this how you want to play this, G?"

Callen shivered, tears forming in his ultramarine blue eyes. "Please don't—"

"Stuff the complaining. You wanted me to tackle your sorry ass."

He nodded.

"What do you need triggered now?"

"Nothing. Just need it like this."

"You into abuse?"

"Maybe."

"Sounds like it to me."

"Need this closeness and holding me wasn't working."

"And this makes you feel?"

"Safe, protected, loved."

"Interesting, G." He released his scissors lock and chokehold, kneeled, and drew Callen up with him. Finally he stood and pulled his partner up to stand. Sam side-stepped him over to the bed. After laying on his side he drew Callen into his body and held him close. "Still want the chokehold?"

"No."

"So you're not into abuse."

"Guess not."

"You had me worried for a moment. Talk to me, G."

"I can't do that bathroom thing. I can't talk to Hetty about it."

"And you can't talk to me about it."

"Right."

"So who are you talking to, G? It's got to be Hetty, Nate, or me."

He sighed. "Tighter please."

Sam wrapped his legs around Callen's legs and tightened his grip around his partner's chest. "Good?"

"Yes. I need to know what I'm doing."

"From what I've seen so far, you couldn't handle it if I told you."

The bedroom door opened and Hetty walked in. "When I heard the first scuffle I switched the intercom on. I needed to make sure you were both okay. Mr. Callen, you are not ready to hear about your assignment."

"I'm not doing the bathroom thing."

"You will do it either by yourself or drugged with Mr. Hanna doing it. Your choice."

"None of the above."

"I see, Mr. Callen. I suggest we do a dry run on the enema."

"Don't say that damned word!" Callen screamed and twisted his body.

Sam tightened his hold on his partner.

"Bastard!"

"Mr. Callen this is precisely the reason I have not disclosed the details of your assignment."

"Bitch, you damned bitch. You're telling me or I won't do it. Understand me?"

Hetty closed the space between her agent and her, grasped his chin and scrutinized his face. Inches from it she said, "It is quite obvious to me, Mr. Callen, that you are triggered by the preparations for this assignment. We shall proceed with the preliminaries this weekend instead of waiting. Give him the enema, Mr. Hanna, whatever way it has to be done." Hetty left the bedroom.

"Nate, I need you," Sam said.

"No, you can't, please don't do this. Just tell me one thing. Is it a GPS? Is she making me swallow a GPS?"

Hetty flew through the door and got in her agent's face. "Did she make you swallow one? Did the little bitch make you do that? Is that how she tracked you?"

He trembled seeing her up close and angry. Her rage confirmed his suspicions, he shivered.

"Answer me, Mr. Callen."

"Yeah," he said his voice quavering.