Hi everyone, Jess and I want to thank all of you who are reading this story. We really appreciate your reviews and comments. Hope you enjoy our latest chapter :)
xxxxx
Hetty smiled as she looked at the photograph in the 8x10 silver frame sitting on her lap. It had been the first Christmas that Callen had spent with her as a boy. It had been like pulling teeth to get him to agree to a picture, never mind smile, but the endearing smirk in the photograph was definitely him. Usually, when he or the other team members were in a mess, she had only herself to blame. This time she didn't, but somehow, she still blamed herself nevertheless.
"I really hope you and your friends are safe," she said as she took a sip of herbal tea. "I wish you had just taken my yacht and were safely out of the path of this storm."
Watching the news had only made her feel worse when she saw the severity and extent of the sudden snowstorm. She knew they needed to institute a plan, but until the snow actually stopped, any rescue efforts would be fruitless. Not to mention, they did not yet have any idea where to even begin the search. Why she hadn't insisted Mr. Hanna give her a location before they left was beyond her. Even a simpleton would have insisted on that and she hadn't even thought of it.
"I am very sorry, Mr. Callen," she whispered as she carefully placed the photograph back on the side table. If they weren't found safely, this was most certainly on her.
xxxxx
The first thing Callen felt as he started to awaken was a persistent throbbing pain in his leg. He also felt very tired and was tempted to just fall back to sleep, but he finally forced his eyes open. Once he recognized the cabin, it all started to come back. Eric was the closest so he called out to him, his voice hoarse. "Eric? Can you get me some water?"
Looking startled at first, Eric nodded and quickly complied with Callen's request. He poured some water from a canteen into an easier to handle plastic cup. "Do you need help?" Eric asked.
Callen shook his head as he took a couple of sips of the cool liquid, allowing it to soothe his throat. "I'm good...Thanks."
"Let me know if you want more." Eric said. "You warm enough?"
Callen nodded, as he fidgeted a bit, trying to make himself more comfortable. "Is it still snowing?"
Eric nodded unhappily. "It's snowing a lot…"
Callen could see how worried the tech operator was but at the moment, he had no words of comfort. "Hopefully it will stop soon" was the best he could come up with. He wasn't feeling particularly optimistic about their chances at the moment. How this trip had turned into them being stranded in a cabin in the middle of a raging snowstorm was beyond him. Taking a team trip on Hetty's boat sounded a lot better to him at the moment. He wished they had taken her up on her offer. Then again, with the run of bad luck they were having, someone likely would have drowned or been attacked by a shark.
"Do you need anything for the pain?" Eric asked.
Callen shook his head. At the moment he just thought he'd suffer through. They probably didn't have anything that would be all that helpful anyway. He glanced over at Sam who was standing alone looking out the window. He knew they had a lot to talk and think about, not only what had happened, but primarily finding their way out of this huge mess they were in. But he was just so tired now, so he allowed his eyes to close; for the time being, he just needed to sleep.
xxxxx
Sam sighed as the windows rattled once again. He couldn't help but think if he hadn't gotten the cabin, they actually would have died as a result of this freak storm. It made him shudder just to think about it. Not that they were safe by any means. He had no idea how they were going to get out of this mess he had made. He had never meant for Deeks' trip to turn into something like this. Callen was still asleep so he walked over to check on his other teammate. Deeks still appeared to be peacefully asleep, so Sam just sat beside him, not wanting to disturb him.
"Kens?" Deeks murmured, as he twisted about fretfully under the covers. "Kens? Where are you?"
"Shh...it's okay," Sam said softly as he rubbed Deeks' shoulder comfortingly. "You're going to be okay."
Deeks opened his eyes and shifted, grimacing when a bolt a pain shot through his arm. "Hey, Sam...Callen okay?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, he should be okay. How are you feeling?"
"Good as gold," Deeks said with a forced smile. It would have been convincing except he couldn't quite hide the pain in his eyes.
"I have some stuff for pain in the first aid kit," Sam informed him.
"I…" Deeks considered that for a few short moments then shook his head. "No thanks, I'm good."
"There's plenty for both of you," Sam said, having a good idea where the detective's thoughts were going.
"Maybe later," Deeks said, allowing his eyes to close once again.
"Okay, later," Sam whispered. Making a point to remember to give some pain meds to both men during dinner, maybe even some of the antibiotics Hetty had included for good measure.
xxxxx
"You hungry?" Sam asked softly, walking over to Eric who was sitting at the small wooden table, playing with some game on his phone.
Eric put down the phone and looked at Sam then shrugged. "Not really, why? Are you?" He actually was a little bit hungry, but preferred to let Sam call the shots regarding meals, not sure of the amount of food they actually had.
Sam shook his head before pulling out a chair and sitting down at the table, across from Eric. "I don't know...I guess I'd rather wait until Deeks and G can eat with us. If they don't wake up soon, I'll make us some dinner."
Eric nodded. That made sense to him. "Maybe the snow will stop by morning…"
Sam sighed heavily then looked at Eric, his eyes serious. "And if it has stopped? Then what?"
The question took Eric by surprise and he gave Sam a slightly anxious look. "Then… I don't know, Sam. Does, does anyone know where we are? Like Hetty for example?" If someone knew where they were then help would likely be on the way at some point.
"Nope...no one knows, Eric. I thought this was going to be such a good plan, a great party for Deeks, by his friends, celebrating his marriage. His friends … With friends like us, who needs enemies?"
"That's not true, Sam," Eric said, shaking his head. "Deeks knows you wouldn't have wanted any of this to happen. He knows you meant for this to be a fun trip. He certainly knows you wouldn't have wanted him to be hurt or for Callen to end up shot."
Sam said nothing, but Eric could tell he was at least listening to him, which was encouraging. "What about whoever you rented the cabin from...they know you're here, right?"
Sam nodded, the question giving him a glimmer of hope. However, it had been a private rental by an elderly man who owned the cabin. He'd just happened to come across the advertisement online. "Yeah, that's true."
"And if anyone can track us down, you know Nell will be on it," Eric said, unable to hide his admiration for his girlfriend.
"Yeah...Nell is very good at her job," Sam said, not sounding all that convinced. His eyes were now on his partner who still appeared to be sleeping, although maybe he was playing possum, Sam didn't really know.
"She's the best at her job, Eric said more enthusiastically this time. "There's no one better."
"I know she is," Sam said with a touch of a smile on his lips at Eric's defense of the woman he loved so much, and he knew Eric's words were true. "I just wish…"
"What do you wish?" Eric prompted.
"I wish I had just gone along with what Hetty wanted. We should have just taken her boat out. But I had to be stubborn. Instead, I insisted on giving the three of you a great bonding experience in the wilderness. This is a really great experience, isn't it?" He stared at Eric until the younger man lowered his eyes, uncomfortable with the intensity of Sam's gaze.
"The storm isn't your fault, Sam."
"Sure it is," Sam said, interrupting the younger man and getting up from his chair, shoving it under the table with a bit more force than was necessary. "I'm Father Nature. All of this is my fault." He then went over to sit by his partner, desperately needing to talk to G as soon as he awoke again
"And it was a great experience." Eric completed to himself. "Still could be," his words not higher than a whisper. Then, feeling lonelier than ever before on this trip, he stood up and walked outside.
xxxxx
"You know, if you break a chair, you're the one who's going to be sitting on the floor," Callen's eyes were closed but the smirk on his lips was unmistakable. "And I'm not paying for it if whoever rented us this place finds out."
"I had a feeling you were awake," Sam said as he took in a deep sigh of relief and slowly let it out.
"Who could sleep with you throwing furniture around?" Callen asked, grinning at his partner as he opened his eyes.
"Can I get you anything?" Sam asked, his eyes anxious as he looked back at his friend. "Are you warm enough? Do you want some water?"
"Unless I'm mistaken, I did hear you mention something to Eric about dinner," Callen replied.
"You're hungry?" Sam asked, inwardly glad to hear it. That was definitely a good sign that his friend was feeling better. "Okay, I'll get right on that."
"No, Sam wait," Callen ordered.
"What? Do you need something for the pain?"
"No. Just sit, please," Callen requested, all serious now. "I want to talk to you."
"Okay… what is it, G?" Sam asked as he sat down on the chair by his partner.
"I just...I want to thank you for what you did out there…"
"Seriously, G?" Sam asked. "You're going to joke about this already?"
"Joke?" Callen asked, truly bewildered as he stared back at Sam. "Who's joking? Trust me, when that bear was chomping on Deeks' arm, there wasn't anything funny about it. How is Deeks anyway? Is he okay?"
"He should be okay as long as we can keep the wound from getting infected. I'm going to keep a close eye on him." 'On both of you,' he added mentally.
Callen nodded, temporarily having lost track of what he had been talking about. "So as I was saying, thank you, Sam. If you guys hadn't come along and scared off that mama bear, there's no telling what would have happened."
"I know what wouldn't have happened," Sam said glumly. "You wouldn't have been shot."
"This little pipsqueak wound?" Callen chuckled lightly. "It barely broke the skin."
Sam shook his head as he ran his hand over his face. "I dug it out of you, buddy. Trust me, it did more than break the skin."
"And you went running around the desert looking for Mosley's kid right after you were shot in the leg, Sam. I'm fine."
"Well, let's wait and have a doctor determine that."
"You don't listen to doctors," Callen muttered under his breath.
Sam raised an eyebrow at his partner's words, but decided not to debate him, just then. "You said you were hungry?" he asked instead.
Callen nodded. "I am."
"Okay...I'll get us something for dinner," Sam said as he placed a hand on Callen's shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay, buddy," he said solemnly. "I just want you to stay that way."
"I know you do, Sam," Callen replied. "But don't worry. I'm going to be fine. Now go get us something to eat."
Sam smiled then headed over to where the supplies were kept, determined to get Callen something he would really like for dinner.
xxxxx
"Is this seat taken?" Deeks asked, a faint smile on his face, as he pointed to the empty lounge chair on the cabin's back porch.
Eric shook his head and sighed, the pain lines on Deeks' face and the sight of his bandaged arm pressed closed again his body a clear reminder of his current predicament. "What are you doing here? You should be resting." Eric said eventually.
"I'm fine, man. This is just a scratch." Deeks said, trying to sound sincere. "I've had much worse."
"Yeah…" Eric wasn't sure what else to say, well knowing that Deeks' words were the sad truth and memories of convenience stores, dirty garages and Mexico making a dark shadow cross both of man's eyes. "I'm sorry." Eric added as an afterthought.
"For what?" Deeks wondered, head twisted sideways as he finally sat next to his teammate.
"For not being able to help more." Eric said honestly.
"Then or now?" Deeks asked knowingly, certain both men had thought back to the same events in the past.
"Both?" Eric shrugged and turned his eyes back to the falling snow.
"Well, just know that I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for you. None of us would." Deeks said honestly, patting Eric on the back as a sharp breeze blew some of the falling snow in their direction.
"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Deeks asked more to himself than to anyone in particular, his eyes glued to his open palm and the melting snow he had just catched.
"When it's not right to kill us, maybe." Eric admitted reluctantly. Wishing he was staring at said snow from the comfort of his home and in one of his video games.
"Nature is not conspiring against us. It's just bad luck." Deeks then stood up and walked towards the small wooden steps that ended in the now white grass.
"Sam would disagree." Eric muttered under his breath, his mood uncharacteristically sour.
"It won't be easy for him at first. But once he talks to Callen I'm sure he will feel better. And soon enough he will realize that he saved our lives. You both did." Deeks said smiling, his boots coming to stop in the last step. His face one of awed as he really took in the beauty of it all. Coming from a background like his, he had learnt to appreciate the little things in life, even when it had let you stranded in the middle of nowhere.
"I did nothing." Eric said darkly, feeling particularly useless when he couldn't use technology which was always his greatest asset. "And what are you doing here anyways, Sam said you should rest?" He added, trying to change the subject.
"I told you I'm okay. And dad and dad are talking. I felt they needed some space." Deeks said, walking back towards the top and pointing inside.
Good. Eric thought to himself. Hoping the partners finally sharing a conversation would alleviate the mood for all of them.
"Seems like they're done. Let's go see if Sam needs help with dinner." Deeks said after a few minutes of silence, having kept an eye on the cabin's window to know when it was safe to go back inside.
xxxxx
"Need some help?" Deeks asked as they walked back inside.
Sam was already in the kitchen, busying himself counting their remaining food packages as the food warmed itself on the stove. So he just shook his head and continued working. "And you should be resting."
"I'm okay." Deeks said for the third time, hoping someone would finally believe him. "I can still help."
"Me too." Eric echoed from beside him.
"What about setting up the table and bringing me the first aid kit?" Sam asked, having promised himself to be less harsh and better delegate duties so they all could keep their minds off the storm raging outside.
"Again?" Deeks asked nervously, not sure if the kit was meant for him or Callen.
"I just want to get the pain meds and antibiotics." Sam said with a smile, with Deeks and Callen's dislike of anything medically related the two could pass as brothers. Then again their shared similar pasts probably explained that similarity but Sam was still in the dark about what he imagined was Deeks' bright childhood.
Grabbing the offered kit from Eric, Sam took out the meds and decided to let his friends be for now. But he would need to clean up their wounds again before they go to bed for the night. "Deeks, come here." Sam directed, noticing how he awkwardly tried to set up dinner, fighting the natural urge to use both his arms.
"What can I do?" Deeks asked after he finished setting up some paper plates and disposable silverware.
"Nothing." Sam said as he rummaged inside the kit.
"Then..?"
"Hold your arm still and keep it close to your body." Sam directed, finally looking up to him. "I wish I had a real sling, but this would have to do."
"I said I'm okay, Sam." Deeks said through gritted teeth, tired of his words seemingly carrying no weight.
"I know, I just want to keep you that way." Sam admitted honestly, sending Deeks a pleading look.
Remembering that Sam always needed to feel in control and like he was doing something useful, Deeks nodded and stepped closer to him. Remaining silent as his friend completed the makeshift sling. "Thank you."
Sam smiled in appreciation, knowing that his teammates didn't like when he fussed over them, but also wanting to be proactive and prevent any more harm coming to any of them.
xxxxx
"Dinner's ready." Sam said after a few minutes. "Eric can you set the food on the table, while I help G stand up."
"I can stand up by myself." Callen refuted from the couch.
"Sure you can, buddy." Sam's characteristic smirk planted on his face, even as he quickly moved to his partner's side as soon as he put his injured leg down and stumbled.
"Thanks." Callen said reluctantly. "But don't lift me again, just a hand is enough."
Sam lifted his hands in a placating gesture before offering one to Callen and helping him limp to the chair. He would have preferred for his partner to eat in bed but he knew Callen wouldn't have appreciated the sentiment.
A few minutes later, the four men were gathered on the table as they enjoyed a simple dinner. Small talk plentiful but all conversation staying away from the topics of snow, guns and wild animals. When dinner was completed, Eric had cleared up the table, preferring to busy himself while Sam dealt with Callen and Deeks and the bottles of meds.
Predictably, Sam had won that particular argument and the injured teammates had no choice but to do as directed, with Eric smiling to himself at the domesticity of it all. Even if this trip had ended up with more hurt than any of them had wanted, Eric knew it had still helped the teammates grow closer as they had gained a newfound camaraderie.
"Do you guys want to watch another movie?" Eric asked, holding his tablet. It wasn't so late, and with dinner done and everything cleared out, there wasn't much to do, especially with the storm still going on.
"We could also play a board game?" Sam offered with a simple smile. "The owner of the cabin told me there's some in the room's closet."
"Oh, I like games." Eric shrieked excitedly, discarding his tablet and rushing to the room. He came back a couple minutes later with 3 boxes of games and a grocery bag.
All three teammates smiled at their friend's change of demeanor but it was Deeks who voiced everyone's thoughts as it used to happen more often than not. "Who knew all it took to get our familiar Beale back was some games?"
Eric shook his head, ignoring Deeks' comment, his hand moving to the bag and taking out a yellow and purple package.
"Elfin Mix?" Callen asked with raised eyebrows.
"Nell showed it to me during one of our movie nights." Eric explained, his smile never wavering.
"Why am I not surprised?" Sam chuckled.
"It's really good. Don't be fooled by the name." Eric argued, opening the bag and grabbing a caramel popcorn as if to emphasize his point.
Following his lead, Deeks dipped in, coming up with a pretzel and a cookie which he ate together. His lips instantly turning upward into a smile as he went for a second try, his mind going to Kensi and how much she would love it. He would have to get it for her once they were back in LA.
Eventually Callen and Sam joined in and to their surprise found out they really liked the sweet and salty combination of the snack. Making a point to control how much of it Eric had, both remembering how he got when he ate too many candy canes, and knowing the man wouldn't ever go to bed if he also went overboard with the sugar.
"So?" Eric asked eventually, holding out the game boxes for his friends to see. He was happy they enjoyed the Elfin Mix but he still wanted to play.
The team settled on some quick games of traditional Chinese Checkers before Eric convinced the others to play some Clue. The game being crazier than usual with the three field agents offering absurd ideas while promising that they had seen it happen in a case.
The rest of the night had gone well, with the four friends laughing more than in the last 24 hours. All of them finally able to forget what had happened and managing to ignore all the dangers that still lurked outside, at least for a few hours.
xxxxx
"I found them." Nell said proudly, fingers still quickly typing on her keyboard. "Well not quite found them, but I have their last known location before their phones lost signal."
"That's a good start." Kensi said, peering from behind and looking at the screen.
After their realization at the bar, the girls had taken some time to calm down Roberta before heading their separate ways and promising to get together the next day as they try to find more about the boys. That's how they found themselves now in ops, standing alone in front of the big screen as they tried to locate their teammates.
"But if they moved after that. I won't be able to know." Nell added, talking more to herself than to Kensi in particular. It always helped her to bounce ideas off Eric so she had gotten the habit to discuss her findings out loud before sharing them with the rest of the team.
"Part of me wants them to have moved so hopefully they escaped the worst of the storm, but…" Kensi trailed off, biting her bottom lip.
"But another part doesn't, because then we have no idea where they are." Nell completed knowingly.
"Yeah…" Kensi just wished she could contact Deeks to make sure he was okay and to learn if they even needed rescuing. Maybe too many years in law enforcement had made her paranoid and she was just jumping the gun. The thought was more calming than unsettling as she just wanted her friends and husband to come back home safely.
More typing then followed, before another map came up on the phone and a few websites opened up. "Ok, this is where they had dinner after they left LA, and this is the inn where they stayed, where Deeks made that call to you." Nell said pointing at the websites and then the corresponding spots on the map. "If need be we can call these places to find out more about the boys and maybe even find out if someone heard them talking about their destination."
"Thank you, Nell." Kensi hugged her friend, feeling better now that they had a lead in case there came a time for a rescue. "Hopefully we won't need any of this, but it pays to be prepared."
Nell nodded as she continued to type commands on her computer, her nerves much better now that she at least felt useful in some way.
"Should we call now? You know, just to be further prepared?" Kensi wondered impatiently, while she munched on a donut she had picked up on her way here.
"We promised to be patient." Nell said kindly. "So I will just finish emailing myself all this information and we will head out, go home and try to relax until we know more." She finished a little more forcibly, knowing that if it were up to Kensi she would have already commandeered an army to storm out the whole mountain range.
"Ok." Kensi agreed sheepishly, her heart clearly winning over her brain, so she was glad to have Nell to add some bit of control. But she hadn't rescued Deeks from Sidorov and carried him through a whole desert just to lose him to nature and a freak storm.