Thank you all so much for your comments on the previous chapter, and for joining me on this journey which has really pushed my writing to a new level. I hope you are happy with the final chapter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Barren.

Heat.

Dust.

Blood and sweat and thirst and hunger and exhaustion.

The only sounds were the ringing in his ears and his laboured breathing as they trudged through the desert; Callen and Kensi, Williams, and three Mexican guards, all of them following Kensi's lead.

Callen concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other, sweat running down his brow and his hands bound awkwardly together in front of him causing his arms to rub agonisingly on his burnt body with every step.

The vast desert seemed endless, but Kensi led them steadily north, and Callen painfully followed. His arm, ribs, the burns; they all merged into one overwhelming pain.

For a terrifying few minutes, Williams' plan had been to take Kensi alone, leaving Callen locked up in the room at the compound for General Vasquez's men to deal with later. Kensi bit on her lip, trying not to look anxiously at Callen. He kept his expression blank, but with the cell phone already hidden in his sock they needed to both get out of the compound together. Williams conferred with the guard who had taken the lead on most of Callen's interrogations, and although Callen didn't like the sound of what they were discussing would happen to the two of them once Kensi had safely led Williams to his son, they at least decided in the end to take Callen with them.

The going was so tough, and the heat on top of his hunger and dehydration so intense, that at times Callen almost wished they had left him behind. He caught Kensi's eyes as she turned to gesture to a new track, and they shared a fleeting smile, so brief it barely got past their eyes, but it was enough to renew his resolve. They were both out, and outside they had a vestige of hope.

At the front, closely guarded by one of the Mexicans, Kensi wished that she was able to talk with Callen. She realised she had become so used to Deeks distracting her in tense situations with his jokes and his light-hearted banter that she found the lack of conversation and laughter disturbing. Now, with so many miles to cover, the oppressive silence weighed heavily on her, and she found her thoughts wandering to Deeks. Would he speak to her again after she ran off so ashamedly? Would he joke with her, laugh with her, love her again?

She worried too about Callen. He was physically struggling, as much as he tried to hide it on her behalf. She didn't doubt he would do what needed to be done, but at what further cost? The more Kensi thought about it, the more she wondered if the price of this mission was too high, for all of them. And that seemed odd, after Deeks had tried so hard to sway her out of going in the parking lot. She had been so resolute that this mission, off the books though it was, was something they had to do. Had they both been right?

Williams' harsh voice interrupted her thoughts.

"How much further?" he demanded abruptly.

Kensi stopped and looked helplessly at Callen, and he glanced at Williams who nodded his approval for Callen to step past him to get to her. Kensi turned away from Williams as if afraid of him, which didn't altogether take much acting, and whispered in Spanish to Callen. He hid a smile; she was asking him how he was doing.

"A little more this way," Callen turned to Williams, half raising his bound hands to gesture wearily along a narrow dirt track. They were trying to travel as due north as possible to close the gap between them and the incoming chopper as quickly as they could.

"I hope that neither of you are messing with me," Williams threatened, his face dark. "Where are we going?"

"There's some rocks, a little further north… a shelter. She left your son waiting there for me and my driver. I suggest we keep moving if you don't want him to spend another night out here on his own." Callen kept his voice level, but the underlying threat to his son's safety was enough and Williams kicked furiously at the ground, signalling for Kensi to again take the lead, separating her from Callen once more. They settled into their previous formation with Kensi up front, two Mexican guards followed by Williams and then Callen with the senior guard at the rear, relishing in his task of bullying Callen along if he dropped pace. Callen felt the comforting awkwardness of the cell phone in his boot, tracking their progress for Ops to communicate to the helicopter team, and struggled on.

NCIS:LA

Up in the darkened Ops centre, Sam once again asked Nell if it was possible to get satellite images. He desperately wanted to lay eyes on Callen, to see for himself that his partner was okay after finding out he had been hurt further at the hands of Vasquez and Williams.

"The answer is still no," Nell replied, sighing. She understood Sam's frustration, but there simply wasn't any way to get live satellite cover of the area. The best they could do was track the progress of the cell phone, and just hope that it was still with Callen and Kensi.

"We'll have a visual from the helo once they get closer," Eric came to Nell's aid, flashing the ground camera from the helicopter onto the screen. It was flying was over the desert now, and the sight of the rough terrain bouncing along the screen caused Sam to clench his jaw tighter. He hoped the small team of two pilots, two soldiers and a medic would be enough to pull off the kamikaze mission. "I estimate thirty minutes, if they both keep their current speeds," Eric continued, aiming to reassure, but thirty minutes seemed an intolerably long time. He started to zoom in on the images on the big screen for Sam, indicating the chopper's progress and that of the stolen cell. The distance between the two points was steadily closing. Sam started to get up off the chair to take a closer look, when the big doors to Ops opened.

"What's going on?" Deeks stood framed in the doorway for a second, crossing the room in three quick strides to look at the images on the screen. "What have you got up there? Is that Kensi? Is there a rescue mission in progress?"

"Deeks!" Sam exclaimed. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

"Shouldn't you?" Deeks countered. "What are we looking at?"

Sighing, Eric started his explanation again, casting sideways glances at Deeks who couldn't or wouldn't stand still. He paced awkwardly, his hand occasionally going to his ribs and there was a slight reel to his gait which spoke of still unsteady legs.

"Take a seat," Sam gestured to the chair next to him, and running his hands through his hair, Deeks obeyed, not taking his eyes off the big screen that they all hoped would soon show the remaining two of their team being rescued.

NCIS:LA

The muted sound of the chopper throbbing low on the horizon signified that the moment had come for Callen and Kensi to act. Fuelled by desperation at this, their only chance of escape, their sudden and unexpected actions took their enemies by surprise, and Kensi was quickly able to subdue the two guards nearest her. Callen took out Williams with a vicious elbow to the temple, leaving the tall man stunned and reeling as his knees buckled, but he had a harder time grappling with the thickset Mexican guard and he was aware of Kensi looking on helplessly while the two of them rolled over and over on the ground. Kensi drew her knife and clasped it tightly in her hand ready to intervene but she couldn't get an opening between the two fighting men. Callen hadn't given the Mexican time to reach for a weapon but the blows landing on him behind heavy fists made her wince and she prayed that Callen could hold out. Ducking under the whirlwind of air caused by the helicopter closing in to hover almost directly above them, Kensi looked up to see the side door open and two soldiers leaning out, guns at the ready. Long seconds seemed like an eternity before one of them had a shot, and Callen felt the bullet whistle past his ear, downing the Mexican guard once and for all.

Relief was premature while Williams and the other two guards were only temporarily incapacitated. With his hands still awkwardly tied and moving with a speed he didn't know he still had in him Callen struggled up and ran to Kensi, ushering her closer to the chopper. The helicopter was already rising as the soldiers lowered harnesses for them. Kensi helped Callen to fumble the straps over his head and under his arms and he did the same for her, but they didn't have time to fasten them properly before they were whisked up into the air, each grasping tightly to the ropes. Below them Williams was on his feet and furiously ordering the dazed Mexican guards to fire at the escaping agents but they were by now too high for the wildly aimed bullets to reach them. Dangling precariously below the helicopter, Callen and Kensi shared incredulous looks, not fully believing even as they were winched up and strong arms were pulling them in to relative safety that their plan had come together so smoothly. They tumbled into the belly of the chopper, groaning and panting hard from the adrenaline, and only then did Callen finally pass out.

When he became aware again, he realised he was lying on a stretcher in the helicopter, and he had the light-headed almost dream-like feeling that could only mean he'd been given a shot of morphine. He looked around urgently for Kensi and she was sitting next to him, one hand on his while the cut on her other arm was cleaned and dressed. She still looked dazed, he noted, or maybe it was him that was dazed. He blinked a few times, and the medic finished with Kensi and turned to him.

"Agent Callen?" the man enquired, bending low to speak with him over the noise of the engine, and Callen did his best to focus with eyes that remained slightly bleary. "We'll get you to a hospital when we land. I've stitched and dressed the wound on your leg, but those burns need proper attention." Callen realised his dirty, blood-stained t-shirt was off again, and instead most of his torso was covered with emergency burn dressings. "Your left wrist is broken, did you know? I've splinted it but it'll need an xray and a cast." Callen looked down to where his left arm was now free from ropes but held immobile in a padded splint. "How's the pain?"

"What pain?" Callen asked tiredly, drifting on the morphine. The medic smiled.

"Get some rest. We've got a couple of hours to go."

NCIS:LA

Callen slept the drug-induced dreamless sleep of the dead for an hour, and when he woke again Kensi was sitting opposite him, leaning back against the side of the chopper. He shifted uncomfortably, pushing himself up so that he too was seated, and for a while they both looked at each other without speaking.

"Are you okay?" Callen eventually mouthed, and she smiled and nodded, but it didn't reach her eyes and Callen could feel the sadness emanating from her. He picked up his headset and gestured for her to do the same so they could talk. "Has anyone updated Ops?" he asked, and Kensi nodded again. The pilot had radioed through with the news of their safe extraction; cold, unemotional details which wouldn't be enough to put at rest the minds of the anxiously waiting team back home. "Ring them," Callen whispered. "Speak to him." Kensi choked on the lump in her throat, but she asked one of the soldiers to get Ops through on the comms and Callen tuned in and out as Kensi connected with first Eric and then Hetty, relief clear in both their voices to hear from her directly, and finally she asked to speak to Deeks.

"Hey baby!" Deeks couldn't hide the emotion in his voice.

"Hey," Kensi replied, and she didn't immediately trust her voice to say any more. After a moment of silence the words started to tumble out. "Deeks, I… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I left you. Are you okay? I didn't mean to run off…" Deeks interrupted her.

"Sshhh, baby, it's okay. I'm okay. You're okay too, right? They didn't hurt you…?"

"I'm good, Deeks," Kensi whispered, her wide eyes on Callen, unfocused, looking right through him to a different sort of hurt.

"Then it's all okay. You're coming home, and we'll talk when you get back, okay? We'll talk… but it doesn't matter, you're okay, that's all that matters. I just want you home. I love you."

Callen leant his dull and aching head back, welcoming the headset which reduced the noise of the engine to a manageable throb. Eyes half open, he watched Kensi talking with Deeks. They had a lot to repair, but they were talking… They'd be okay.

He'd catch up with Sam soon. After they landed, they could catch up. Sam would give him a hard time for getting beaten up again. Did this count as Sam saving his ass, or him saving Sam's? No doubt Sam, and Hetty too, would personally escort him to the nearest hospital as soon as they touched the ground. Sam would count that a save. Maybe he'd give it to the big guy, just to save the arguments. He was too tired. Sam would smile, and pretend all along that he'd known Callen's plan would work out just fine, no need to worry, as if none of them had stared death in the face and defeated it. They could all call that a win, but he'd let Sam have it. It would be good to see him smile again. To see all his team smiling again.

Kensi hung up, and Callen noticed a single tear stray down her cheek. She caught him looking at her and tried to surreptitiously wipe the tear away. He raised a tired lop-sided smile.

"It's over," he murmured into the headset to her. "All over. We're going home." And as if she hadn't fully believed it until Callen had spoken the words aloud, Kensi smiled back, the first true smile to have graced her face in days. They'd got out. They'd all got out, alive. All going home. No one left behind.

A/N - I realise this is a bit unpopular, but this was the ending!

I'm considering a short Epilogue - but with the new season imminent (so excited!) I am going to leave the actual show writers to fix what they broke, particularly with regards to Kensi and Deeks' relationship...

I do have a new Callen and Sam story in the pipeline, which I will start publishing once I have finished A Promise Made.

Thank you once again for reading, reviewing and hopefully enjoying my story :-)