Thanks to those of you who are reading and who have commented on the first couple of chapters of this one. I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow so this will be the last thing I post until I get back. Hope you like it :)

xxxxx

"Papa? Papa, it hurts. Please help me."

"Shh…it's okay, G," Sam said as he rubbed Callen's back in a soothing, circular motion. "Everything's going to be all right. I'm right here." He gently placed his hand on Callen's forehead and was grateful that it wasn't overly warm. It broke his heart that his partner was calling for Garrison in his dreams. He'd spent most of his life searching for the man and then, once he found him, Garrison was usually nowhere to be seen. He hadn't taken the interest in his son's life that Sam had expected he would. If G was his son, he would have bent over backwards to try to make up for what he had done to him. G certainly hadn't deserved the crappy childhood hand he had been dealt. Garrison didn't seem to think that way though and Sam knew there would always be that little boy inside of Callen that wondered why his father had abandoned him the way he had. Sometimes Sam wanted to say something to the man, berate him for the way he treated his friend, but he was afraid it could make things worse and not better. He didn't want to do anything that would further widen the gap between father and son.

Suddenly, Sam could feel Callen struggling to sit up and his partner then moved away from him. "Whoa, G, are you all right?" Sam asked.

"Sam?" Wh…where are we? Wh…what happened to me?" Callen asked, confused and disoriented by the total darkness he found himself in.

"Calm down, buddy, it's okay," Sam said, using his most reassuring tone of voice. "You were shot, remember? Fadhil locked us in this cell."

Callen shuddered as the memories slowly returned and he recalled the procedure that had been performed on him. "I remember," he said softly, a slight tremor in his voice, wishing he could forget.

"How are you doing?" Sam felt like it was a stupid question, knowing that his partner was not doing well at all, but he needed to ask.

"I…I'm fine." Callen squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to think about the pain in his belly, but it was constant and intense and he couldn't get it out of his head. He whimpered softly, before he realized it and then froze, hoping Sam hadn't heard him, but knowing that he had. He also couldn't get rid of the bone-chilling cold he was feeling. He wished he could wrap himself up in a warm blanket.

"G…come over here with me," Sam requested softly. "I know you're freezing. How long have we been friends for? It's nothing to be embarrassed about.

"I'm not," Callen denied.

Sam wasn't sure whether G was denying that he was cold or that he was embarrassed. "Well then, come here. Let me help you warm up a little. It's the least I can do for you." It was pretty much the only thing that he could do for his ailing friend.

Unable to stop shivering, Callen inched his way over to the direction of Sam's voice. He hated being perceived as weak and that was exactly how he felt right now. Finally, he reached his partner and Sam gently pulled his partner in closer, taking care not to hurt him any more than he was already hurt. "I've got you, G," Sam said. "Everything's going to be okay. Somehow, we're going to get out of this."

Sam drew Callen up against his chest as he had done earlier and wrapped his arms around him. Callen quickly forgot about any self-consciousness he had been feeling as he definitely felt warmer when he was nestled against his partner. "Wish someone would find us," Callen murmured. "I've got to admit, you do make a good pillow, Sam, though a little more padding would be nice."

Sam chuckled, glad to see his friend still had his sense of humor in spite of everything that had happened to him. He took it as a sign that he was still fighting. "Let me know if you get uncomfortable in this position. I'll help you change it up."

"Okay."

They were then quiet for a little while. Sam was unsure if his partner was asleep. "G…you awake?" he whispered.

"Yeah…can't sleep…" What he didn't say was that he was afraid to sleep, afraid that he wouldn't wake up.

"You should try…"

"Just talk to me, Sam," Callen requested softly.

"Okay," Sam said agreeably. "What would you like me to talk about?"

"Tell me something about your childhood," Callen decided after briefly pondering Sam's question. "Tell me a happy story."

Sam wasn't sure if that was a very good idea or not. He had no idea what Callen's current state of mind was and if telling him a story, which would likely be the direct opposite of anything in Callen's own childhood, was wise. However, he didn't want to deny him anything he asked for either.

"Okay…a happy story…let me think…Oh I've got one." He let his memories carry him back to a time when he was much younger and definitely much more innocent. "I was in the fourth grade and some people from the humane society came into our classroom to talk to us about the animals in the shelter."

"Uh oh," Callen said, smiling sleepily as he already had an idea where the story might be going.

"Yeah, uh oh is right," Sam said, chuckling slightly at the memory. "That night at dinner, the rescue dogs were all I could talk about it. I remember my dad wanted no part of it, but my mom was on my side. She said that every boy should have a dog. Finally, she talked him into it. My dad definitely had a soft spot when it came to my mom. So, long story short, that weekend we went to the animal shelter and I picked out my brand new puppy."

"What was his name?" Callen asked.

"Rocco," Sam recalled. "He was a bad ass little guy, just a mutt, but damn I loved that dog. He used to follow me around everywhere."

"That's really nice," Callen said. He'd never gotten the chance to have a dog. Some of the foster homes he'd been in had dogs, but he'd never really even attempted to become overly friendly with them, knowing he would only be there temporarily and that it would just bring on heartache when he left. "I never asked Hetty for a dog…I wonder if she would have let me have one…"

"She probably would have," Sam said, though admittedly unsure. Although he knew Callen had been taken in by Hetty, his partner never really talked about those years. There was still so much he didn't know about him.

"Maybe…I don't know…" The distraction from the story was starting to wear off as Callen squirmed in Sam's arms, trying to get comfortable.

"Do you need to move?" Sam asked, letting go of his partner.

Callen didn't answer Sam. Instead, he just clutched his abdomen with his hands and took a few deep breaths.

"G?"

"I…I'm all right, Sam," Callen said. Feeling nauseous and dizzy, he leaned back against his partner again. "Tell me about your mom."

"You know my mom, G," Sam said. "My mom loves you." It was true. The few times they had been at the same family functions, Sam's mother had been enchanted by his partner. "She thinks you're ever so handsome and sweet."

"Was she a cookie mom?" Callen asked drowsily as he allowed his eyes to close.

"A cookie mom?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, you know, did she bake you cookies?" Callen asked. "Did you lick the batter off the spoon? Do all that fun kid stuff?" He recalled one foster mom, Mrs. Elliot who had let him do things like that. She had actually taken a liking to him. He'd probably been seven or so and she'd read to him, cuddled with him and made him cookies and brownies. He hadn't been there for very long though. He had no idea why he had been taken out of that home. He would have stayed there forever if he could have. It had been one of the best homes he had ever been in. It had been the direct opposite of Mrs. Burnett. She had made him pay when he had licked the spoon while her back was turned. She had viciously slapped him, sending him straight to the floor and then she had kicked him around a bit before sending him to his room. He'd never tried to lick a spoon again after that had happened.

"Oh, yeah, she used to bake me cookies," Sam replied. "At least once a week I'd come home and the house would smell like a bakery. She always made them from scratch too, she didn't believe in cooking out of a box."

"That must have been nice…"

"It was…it was nice," Sam said, wondering if this was all too much for his partner.

"I wish I knew where my mom was," Callen blurted out suddenly.

"You mean where she's buried?" Sam asked, the comment taking him by surprise. It wasn't anything he had ever thought of before concerning his partner's mother. Callen had certainly never spoken of it. It scared Sam as he wondered just how badly off G was.

"Yes," Callen answered quietly. "I have no idea where she's buried…" He didn't know anything, the cemetery, what part of the country she had been buried in or even if she had been formally buried. She could have been cremated…she could be somewhere in an unmarked grave. The last thought haunted him at the times he allowed himself to dwell on it, which wasn't very often. It was too painful to let his mind go there.

Sam swore he could hear the sadness in G's voice. "I'm sure we could find out."

"No…I actually had Eric try to find out for me last year…after I, after we found Garrison," Callen said. "He couldn't find her."

"Tell you what…as soon as you've recovered enough to travel, you and I will go to Romania and try to find her, okay?" Sam asked.

Callen didn't respond to Sam, not really believing he was serious about what he had said. Sam thought maybe his partner had fallen asleep. "G? Are you sleeping?" he asked softly.

"No…"

"So, what do you think? How about you and I head to Romania when you're feeling better?"

Callen shook his head. "Why would you want to do that?" he asked.

Sam sighed loudly. "I'm going to pretend you didn't ask me that question, G," he said. "You're my best friend in the world. Why wouldn't I want to do that?"

"I don't know…it just seems like a whole lot of trouble when we might not even be able to find her…"

"What about Garrison?" Sam asked.

"What about him?" Callen asked, sounding guarded.

"Do you think that maybe he knows where she is?"

"I doubt it… Anyhow…I don't even know where he is half the time. He's not around much these days…" Callen wasn't even sure why his so-called father was in the United States, unless it was to spend time with his sister and nephew. It certainly wasn't because he wanted to spend time with him. He suddenly felt inexplicably sad and could feel his eyes beginning to fill. He didn't even bother to try to stop the tears from falling. It was one thing that the darkness was good for. Sam couldn't see his tears. He wondered if his father would even care if he died. He doubted that he would.

"G? Are you okay?" Sam asked quietly, even though he knew that he wasn't.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Sam."

"Why don't you try to sleep?"

"Not tired," Callen said, which wasn't true. At this point, he could barely keep his eyes open. He knew he was being stubborn and stupid. If he slept, at least he could temporarily escape the pain which seemed to be worsening.

"Whatever you say, G," Sam said softly as he started to stroke Callen's head soothingly.

"Cut it out, Sam" Callen said. "I'm not a little kid." He was trying to be annoyed with his friend, but his eyes were closing in spite of his attempts to fight against what Sam was doing. "I…I need to stay awake. You're not playing fair…"

"Try to relax, buddy," Sam said. "Just sleep, G…I'm going to be right here with you. I'll keep you safe."

"Don't need to sleep…I have…I have to try to stay awake…" Callen murmured, just before he drifted off.

"Good boy," Sam said affectionately, once he had recognized the familiar change in his partner's breathing which told him he truly was finally sleeping. He knew his partner would balk at the comment if he heard him. "I really thought things were going to get better for you when you found your dad. I know he's hurt you badly, but maybe there's still a chance that things will get better between the two of you." He hoped so. He really wanted his friend to regain even a little piece of the life he had lost. "As for your mom…The first thing we have to do is get out of this mess and get you better. Then, I'm going to help you find where she's buried, G. You've always asked for so little in your life…this is one thing I'm going to do for you. You and me…We'll go and find your mom together…"