***WARNING*** If you don't like cliffhangers please DON'T read this chapter until I've posted the next one. Thanks to all of you who have been reading this one. I very much appreciate all the words of encouragement I've gotten.

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"Hey Deeks," Sam said as he knelt on the ground next to Deeks. "How are you doing? I'm going to try to do a little better job of taking care of your wound now that we've got some proper medical supplies." He gently began to unwrap the makeshift bandage from Deeks' shoulder, stopping when he got to the part directly covering the wound.

"What's the matter?" Kensi, who had been observantly watching Sam's every move, asked.

"The cloth is stuck to the wound," Sam explained. "If I try to tear it off, it's likely going to start bleeding again…and it's going to hurt."

"So don't do it then," Kensi said, not particularly wanting Deeks to go through any more pain than necessary.

"I don't care if it hurts, Sam," Deeks said. "Do whatever you think is best…I trust you."

Sam sighed as he weighed his options. He didn't really want to start up the bleeding again, but then again, G's shirt was far from sterile, although there was a very good chance the wound had already been contaminated. "Okay…get ready…" Deeks nodded and braced himself in anticipation of what Sam was about to do. As gently as he could, Sam began to pull the shirt away from the wound. Almost immediately, it started to bleed. Finally, Sam got the shirt free. Then he took a sterile gauze pad which he placed over the wound and applied pressure until the bleeding stopped once again. He then poured saline solution over the wound and bandaged it up. "You okay?" he asked Deeks when he had finished.

Deeks nodded. It actually hadn't been as bad as he had expected it would be. "Yeah…I'm good, Sam. Thanks."

"No problem," Sam stated. "I just wish we'd had these supplies when you first got shot."

"Then Callen could have saved his shirt," Deeks said with a chuckle.

"I don't care about my shirt, Deeks," Callen said. He knew that Deeks was only kidding around, but he felt compelled to say it anyway. He was exhausted and he found his mood had been going downhill ever since Deeks had been shot.

"I know you don't," Deeks said, seeing that Callen wasn't in the mood for jokes. He wasn't particularly either, but he was trying to do whatever he could to distract himself from the pain he was in. He found even the slightest bit of levity to be helpful.

Callen sighed and opened up the bag he was carrying and pulled out the protein bars. "You think we should eat these now or save them?" he asked, glancing over at Sam.

"I've got two also," Sam said. "We could probably use the energy." He opened up his bag and passed a bar to Deeks while Callen handed one off to Kensi.

Kensi immediately opened her bar and took a bite. "Mmm…" she said, savoring it. It really wasn't her ideal food of choice, but under the circumstances, it was sheer bliss. She glanced at Deeks who didn't seem particularly interested in his. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked, worriedly.

Although he'd been starving earlier in the day, Deeks actually wasn't all that hungry now, but he didn't want to worry Kensi so he forced a grin and tore off a piece of the wrapper. "I'm definitely hungry, Fern," he said. "Just don't want to eat it too quickly. After all, who knows when we're going to get something else to eat."

Callen took a bite of his own protein bar and pulled the walkie talkie out of the bag. He studied it for a few moments and then turned it on, receiving only the sound of light static. He put it on the ground and continued to eat. "So…what's our next move?" he asked, looking over at his partner. "Do you think we should get moving again? We've still got a couple of hours left of daylight."

"I don't know," Sam said, casting a dubious look in Deeks' direction. "Maybe we should stay here…At least we've got the guns now if we need to defend ourselves."

Deeks quickly caught on that he was the reason for Sam's reluctance to forge ahead. "Hey, don't be holding back on my account," he said quickly. "I can walk."

"Deeks…" Kensi looked at him, concern evident in her eyes. "You need to be careful. You can't overdo it."

"We can't just stay here either, waiting for Bart and his minions to show up and take us out," Deeks debated, turning his attention to Sam. "You know I'm right."

Callen picked up one of the rifles and checked to make sure it was loaded before placing it back on the ground.

Sam looked back at Callen, knowing his partner wanted to move on, but he wasn't sure it was a good idea. Then again, Deeks was willing and seemed able to go ahead right now so maybe it was the smart thing to do, in case his condition worsened. "Alright, G…let's try to move on for a little bit…we'll see how it goes." Sam checked his own gun and satisfied that it was loaded and in working order, he got up off the ground.

Deeks painstakingly got to his feet and was a bit wobbly but managed to steady himself as Kensi put her arm around him. "I'm okay, baby," he said. Kensi kept her arm where it was though and Deeks didn't object. The team then set off behind Sam who took the lead, but at a slower pace than previously. Callen took the rear so he could keep an eye on Deeks, to make sure he wasn't running into trouble.

xxxxx

They had been walking for about a half hour when the walkie talkie suddenly came to life. "This is Base Command," Bart's now familiar voice stated. "All teams please report with your status."

"Edwards and Browning, all quiet."

"Randall and Parsons, all quiet."

"Mason and Arnold, all quiet."

There was then silence for a short time before Bart's voice was heard once again.

"Chandler and Bates, please report your status."

Sam turned around and exchanged a look with Callen. "Don't think he's going to get an answer," Callen said with a humorless smirk. "Not unless he has a direct line to Hell."

"Keep your eyes open, everyone," Sam said. He directed his gaze towards Deeks. "You hanging in there?"

"I'm good, Sam," Deeks replied. He appeared a little pale, but Sam took him at his word and began walking once again.

xxxxx

After another half hour or so, Bart spoke, once again, through the walkie talkie. However, this time his comments were directed at them. "You think you're so smart, Callen and Company?" he asked. "Whatever little victory you think you may have gained, rest assured, it will be very short lived. To all members of my teams, Protocol 2B has been enabled. Repeat, Protocol 2B has been enabled. Switch to private channel for further instructions."

Just then, Deeks stumbled and almost fell. "Hold up, Sam," Callen called out as he went over to Deeks. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Deeks stated, a hint of aggravation in his eyes. "Let's keep going."

"Come on, Deeks," Callen said. "Let's just take a short break."

"I said I'm fine."

"Deeks," Kensi pleaded softly. "Listen to Callen…please."

Deeks looked at Kensi and after a long pause, he nodded and sank down to the ground. "I'll rest for a few minutes," he said as Kensi sat down next to him.

"You really don't have to try so hard," she said to him as she took his hand and drew it into her lap. "You don't need to impress us."

"I'm not trying to impress anyone, baby," Deeks said wearily. "It's just that I know, as well as anyone, what's at stake here."

"Even so," Kensi said, shaking her head. "You have to think about your health too. You don't want to get worse…"

"Kensi…baby, we've got to be realistic," Deeks said seriously as he gazed into her eyes. "We need to try to keep ahead of these guys…if we don't, well…I don't think any of us are going to have to worry about our health if we get our heads blown off…I'm well aware of my limitations and trust me, I haven't reached them yet."

"I'm sorry, but I can't help but be concerned about you, Deeks," Kensi said as she gently brushed some of his hair back from his face with her fingers. "You can't say you wouldn't feel the same way if our positions were reversed."

"You're right," said Deeks quietly, a loving smile on his lips. "I'll always worry about you."

Feeling as if he was intruding on what he felt should be a private moment, Callen directed his gaze away from the younger team members and turned towards his partner. "So, what are you thinking, Sam?" he asked.

"Actually, I'm thinking that I wish I had saved that protein bar for dinner," Sam said, with a faint grin.

Callen nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty hungry too," he admitted. He sighed softly as he noted the coolness in the air and shivered slightly. "The air is really changing. It was really hot earlier, but now the temperature is definitely dropping."

"Well at least we still have the blankets," Sam stated. "I'm thinking since those guys we took out didn't have sleeping bags or blankets with them, that they must have planned to meet up with the others at a main campsite by the end of the day."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Callen agreed. "I just wish we had some idea of how close they were to us…"

"No way of telling that," Sam said. "Although I have to admit I'm pretty curious about Protocol 2B."

"It's probably nothing, Sam," Callen said. "For all we know, Bart just said that to mess with us. Why wouldn't he just have said Plan B? I doubt he has a list of protocols on how to deal with us. I think he's just a crazy son of a bitch." He sighed as his stomach rumbled loudly. "I bet he and his men will be eating well tonight."

"Yeah…I could sure use a good meal," Sam said wistfully. "A big, juicy steak would taste really good right about now."

"With a baked potato with sour cream and a salad," Callen said. "Maybe some hot rolls with butter. That would really hit the spot."

"Come on guys," Kensi interrupted. "It's not going to do any of us any good to be thinking about the meals that we can't have." She was really hungry too, but hearing them talking about food only served to make her feel even hungrier. She looked at Deeks whose eyes were closed and spoke softly. "Are we going to stay here for the night?"

Callen looked at Deeks and then at Sam, leaving the decision in his hands.

"Yeah, we won't be able to make much more headway now anyhow," Sam said. "It'll be starting to get dark soon."

"I'm going to go refill my canteen before that happens," Callen said as he stood up. "Do you guys need water?" Kensi checked her and Deeks' canteens and found them to be over half full. "I think we're good until morning."

"I'll go with you, G," Sam said. He didn't want any of them going off on their own, even for short distances. They had been walking under the cover of trees, a little bit away from the rapids, figuring they were less exposed that way.

Callen handed his rifle off to Kensi. "Keep alert, Kens."

Kensi nodded as she took the rifle and Callen and Sam headed off in the direction of the water. "So, what do you think about Deeks?" Callen asked as they walked.

Sam shrugged. He's holding up well enough so far. We'll see how he does tonight. I don't like the fact that he has to go through all this with a bullet in him though. How about you?"

"What about me?" Callen asked.

"Come on, G. I know you've been hurting. You may be good at hiding things from other people, but I still see the signs."

"I'm okay, Sam," Callen said. "Honestly, it doesn't hurt as much as it did."

"Maybe you're just getting used to the pain."

Callen shook his head. "I'd tell you if it was bad."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Now I know you're playing me, G."

Callen decided further protests were useless. His partner was going to have his own thoughts on the matter no matter what he said to try to dissuade him. They reached the water and Callen climbed onto some rocks along the bank, then knelt down to fill his canteen.

"Be careful, G," Sam said, his eyes on his partner. He turned around to scan the area and suddenly saw a glimmer of sunlight on what appeared to be a rifle in the distance. "Sniper!" Sam yelled. He aimed his own rifle and shot in the direction of the gunman, just as the assailant began firing at them. Sam then checked on his partner's status, at the exact moment that Callen's stunned eyes met his. Sam saw blood on the side of Callen's head right before he dropped his canteen and toppled into the rushing river.

xxxxx

Yes, I know I'm mean.