Sorry I've been so slow about updating. Except for the post scene to Mountbanke that I wrote when I was away, I haven't been able to write much since I got back. I came home with a bad case of bronchitis, which I'm still trying to shake (stayed home from work today) Anyhow, I've been working on this a little at a time and finally got this chapter finished (such as it is). Thanks for reading and your comments, as always.

Also, special thanks to NCISLA FAN and the guest reviewers who I couldn't respond to personally. I really appreciate your comments.

xxxxx

Sam dozed off for a bit until Callen began to whimper and move about restlessly in his arms as he awoke. "G?" he asked softly.

"Yeah…I'm still here," Callen replied.

"Do you need to move?" Sam asked worriedly. He couldn't help but notice that his partner's voice was noticeably weakening.

"No…I'm good," Callen replied, trying to breathe through yet another attack of pain as it propelled through his abdomen. At the moment he was longing for a hospital bed, warm blanket and some really good drugs. Inadvertently, he started shivering again and felt Sam tighten his grasp on him. "This really sucks."

"I know it does. You just hang in there, okay? I've got a really good feeling that they're going to find us any minute now. I'm right here with you. Just hang in there, G…for me," Sam desperately pleaded. He couldn't let his partner give up. He couldn't bear the thought of the alternative.

Callen just nodded and closed his eyes again, too exhausted to even reply. He really was trying to do as Sam asked, not wanting to leave his partner alone the way he had been left when Brian had died all those years ago. Unfortunately, he just wasn't sure how much control he had over the situation at this point. He knew his condition was deteriorating and that he was beginning to fade. He also knew Sam was really worried and he made one more attempt to stay alert and engage his partner in some kind of conversation. However, he just couldn't do it and slowly lost his grip on consciousness.

"G?" His hand shaking, Sam felt for a pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he got one, albeit very fast and not at all what he knew to be normal for his partner. He found himself clutching G even more closely as if holding him this way would somehow keep him safe. Then, he found himself staring upward, even though he was only looking into blackness.

"Michelle?" Sam's voice broke as he said her name and he could already feel the tears starting to overflow and begin to trickle down his cheeks. "I don't know whether you're up there somewhere watching over me and the kids…I hope you are. Anyhow, if you can hear me somehow, well…you know how much we miss you. I love you, baby and I think about you every single day. The kids miss you too. Aiden and Kam are both doing well in their new schools, but…I know they think about you all the time. It's been hard without you, especially with the kids being away…If it wasn't for this guy here… I'm not really sure how I'd be getting through all this." He placed his hand on Callen's head and affectionately ruffled his hair. "I have no idea how things work in this universe, but if you have any input or influence wherever you may be…you know how much I need him. I'm not sure that I'll be able to take it if anything happens to him. If I lose him after losing you…it's just too much baby…so if you can help…I…I'd really appreciate it."

He then closed his eyes and began to pray for all he was worth that help would get to them soon and that G's life would be spared.

xxxxx

"How long do you think these tunnels go on for?" Kensi asked. She and Deeks were part of a team that had gone straight ahead at the bottom of the staircase. Eric and Nell had gone off with another team to the left and yet another team had headed to the right. At least all the bases were being covered. Hopefully, one of the teams would be successful.

"I don't know," Deeks said, shaking his head. "But hopefully they're still down here. If they take them out of here…"

"We don't know how badly Callen's hurt," Kensi said. "Won't he slow them down?"

"Maybe he wasn't hurt that badly," Deeks said, trying to be positive. He didn't want to think about what they might do to Callen if he was slowing them down and was considered to be a liability. They came upon a room and Deeks and Kensi entered with the other two men in their team following behind.

"What the hell…" Deeks said as his eyes fell on the metal table with the straps attached. He shivered slightly, not thinking of any good reason why such a table would be there.

"Deeks look." Kensi pointed underneath the table where a bloody scalpel lay. She put on a pair of gloves and picked it up, then placed it into an evidence bag. "This can't be good," she said.

"No…I don't think any of this is what we could term to be good," Deeks said.

"What do you think this…" Kensi trailed off, not finishing her question.

Deeks shook his head grimly. "I don't know, Kensi," he said. "I really don't know what to think about any of this." The images in his head were not good ones though. A table with straps and a bloody scalpel only caused his imagination to go into overdrive with thoughts of people being strapped down and tortured in countless horrific ways. He badly hoped the images in his mind were just that, images with no basis in reality. He prayed that Callen or Sam hadn't been forced to undergo any torture here. The bloody scalpel did give him cause for concern though and he shuddered as memories of his own torture came to the forefront. He felt Kensi take his hand as she looked at him intently and he squeezed her hand and managed a smile, not wanting to worry her. They then left the room to continue their search.

xxxxx

"I wonder what the purpose of all these tunnels was?" Nell asked as she and Eric trailed behind the other three men whose team they had been assigned to.

Eric shook his head. "I don't know…whatever it was, they've been here for a really long time…"

"How do you think Fadhil even found out about them?"

Eric shrugged. "How do any of these lowlifes find out some of the things they seem to know…" He hated when he felt like they were being bested. In this case, he felt very much behind the game and was unhappy that Callen had been wounded. He just hoped he wasn't hurt too badly.

"Eric?" Nell looked up at him with concern. "This wasn't our fault. We did the best we could with the information we were given. We couldn't have known Fadhil and his men were still here."

Eric shook his head. "I don't know, Nell…I can't help but feel like I missed something I should have been aware of. Then we would have had a lot more people on this…not just our team…it wasn't enough…they all could have been killed…"

"Let's just concentrate on finding Callen and Sam," Nell said as she looked up at him through sympathetic eyes. "Blaming ourselves isn't going to help anything."

Eric nodded. "You're right," he said solemnly. "Finding them is the most important thing right now."

xxxxx

"Kens…" Deeks pointed at the door with the padlock attached to it. "Anyone in here?" he shouted as he banged on the door with his fist.

"Deeks! Deeks! We're here!" Sam's voice answered.

"Hold tight, Sam," Deeks called back. "We'll be right in there." Even as he spoke, Kensi was already in the process of picking the lock which she succeeded in doing in just seconds. She then opened the door and they stepped into the cell, their flashlight beams shining on Sam and his unconscious partner. Immediately, one of the men on their team was already on his sat phone requesting the paramedics as Deeks squatted down beside them. "Are you alright, Sam?" he asked, but his eyes were on Callen and his expression was grim as he took in how pale Callen appeared and the bloody bandages that were covering his abdomen.

"I'm fine. G's the one I'm worried about."

"What did they do to him?" Kensi asked. She walked over to the opposite side from Deeks and knelt down on the floor. She then gently took Callen's hand. "You're going to be okay, Callen," she said softly. "We're here now. Everything is going to be fine. You're going to be fine."

"How long for the paramedics?" Sam asked tensely. "He can't wait. He needs help now."

"It shouldn't be too long," Deeks said, speaking soothingly to his obviously distraught teammate. "They'll hurry, but…do you think we're able to move him? It would be faster if we met them. Then they won't have to come so far into the tunnel."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Can you help me with him?" Deeks nodded and carefully lifted Callen away from his partner so Sam could get up off the floor.

"How do you want to do this?" Deeks asked.

"I'll just carry him," Sam said. "You guys don't have any blankets, do you?"

Deeks shook his head as did the others in the room. "I can help you with him," Deeks said.

Sam quickly shook his head. "Thanks, Deeks, but I can do it. I think it's easier for one person to do it anyhow without a gurney."

"Okay, well let me know if you need a break."

Sam nodded as he once again cautiously lifted Callen into his arms. "You just need to hang on for me a little bit longer buddy," he whispered. "Our team found us. You're going to get some help really soon." He spoke a little bit louder, addressing his comment to Deeks who was walking beside him. "I don't suppose you found any sign of Fadhil and his men?"

"Sorry Sam," Deeks said, shaking his head. "They've vanished…for now anyhow."

Sam nodded. It was about what he'd expected. Selfishly, the fact that he and G had been found was pretty much all he was thinking about at the moment…that, and getting G some much needed medical attention. Now that he was carrying his partner and they were bathed in the glow of the flashlights, he could see that he did not look very good at all. The amount of blood on the outside of the bandage was alarming and his partner was very, very pale.

"He'll be okay, Sam," Deeks said.

Sam gave a half smile to the younger man. "Are you a mind reader now, Deeks?" he asked.

"No, it's just pretty obvious where your thoughts are."

"Yeah…yeah, I guess it is," Sam admitted.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Sam, but really wasn't very long at all, they met up with the paramedics. Sam gently laid Callen down on the stretcher and watched as the paramedics gave him a perfunctory exam and set up an IV. He also gave them a summary of what had happened to his partner.

"Okay, we're going to transport him to UCLA Medical Center," one of the paramedics informed the team when Callen was ready to go.

"Wait, can I ride with him?" Sam asked, his eyes pleading as he asked the question.

"Yeah, sure," the paramedic answered with a nod. "Let's go."

"I'll see you guys later," Sam said to Kensi and Deeks.

Deeks nodded as he squeezed Sam's shoulder encouragingly and Kensi gave him a hurried hug. "Good luck," Deeks said. "We'll meet you over there."

"Thanks guys…for everything. I'll see you at the hospital," Sam said as he turned to follow the paramedics and his partner who were already moving rapidly towards the exit to the tunnel.

"What do you think?" Kensi asked Deeks as they followed behind.

Deeks shook his head. "I don't know… I was cringing when Sam told the paramedics what was done to Callen. Hopefully, they didn't do even more damage to him than what the bullet did."

"I know," Kensi said, nodding in agreement. She couldn't imagine how hard this was on Sam either. She knew it would have been torturous for him to have to helplessly watch what they had done to his best friend.

"I just hope we found them in time and Callen will pull through."

Kensi nodded as she looked ahead and could see that the paramedics were already moving Callen's stretcher up the stairs. "He just has to be okay," she whispered as they both automatically picked up their pace.