So, I took on a new part-time job in addition to my full-time job and updates may not be happening as much as I'd like. I'll do my best though. (I also started another story which probably isn't smart, but sometimes I can't fight my muse). In any case, thanks for your support, as always.

xxxxx

"I don't want this on me," Deeks said, as he threw the top part of the sleeping bag off him and thrashed around in obvious discomfort.

"Oh Deeks," Kensi put her hand on his forehead. He really was burning up. "Sam? What should I do?"

Sam thought for a few moments and then got up and went over to the tent opening. "Hey!" he shouted at one of the men who was guarding them. "I need some water for my friend's fever."

"Your friend isn't allowed to have water," the man said, smirking at Sam. "I'm not as dumb as you think."

"Not that friend. The other guy. Ask Bart if you want. I think he'll be good with it."

"I'm not waking Bart."

One of the other guys came over with a bottle of water and handed it to Sam. "I'm going to watch and make sure none of this goes to your little buddy."

"What about a cloth or towel?" Sam asked. "Something we can use for a compress."

"Does this look like Wal-Mart to you?" the man asked. "I don't have anything, unless you want a pair of my dirty underwear."

Sam tried to hide his disgust at the man's comment. Thankfully, one of the other men tossed a half empty roll of paper towels to Sam. "Don't use too many of them or you'll be wiping up any spills with your tongue."

Sam walked back into the tent, followed by the guard. Callen was huddled in a corner in the midst of a coughing fit, holding his ribs. He cast a longing look at the bottle of water in Sam's hand, then turned away and laid back down so that he faced the wall of the tent. Sam sighed as more guilt ate away at him. Then he knelt down beside Deeks and soaked some paper towels in the water and then placed the compress on Deeks' forehead.

"Don't want this," Deeks murmured as he tried to fling the compress away.

"Deeks, Deeks you have to leave that there," Kensi said softly to him, taking his hand in her own. "Please Deeks, just try to rest."

"Don't want to be here," Deeks mumbled. "Want to go home, Fern."

"Shhh…I know you do," Kensi said, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "I want to go home too, Deeks. We will soon. I promise you."

"I'll just leave this with you," Sam said, handing the bottle of water to Kensi.

"Not happening," the guard said as he took the bottle out of Kensi's hand. "I'm not leaving the water in here. If you need more, you know where I am."

Kensi shared a sad look with Sam. "I'm sorry, Sam," she whispered. "I'm so sorry they won't let him have any water."

Sam nodded, but said nothing. He directed his gaze to his partner who was still facing away from them and then went to try to get some sleep and give Kensi and Deeks some privacy. "Let me know if you need me, Kens," he said.

Kensi nodded and turned her attention back to Deeks, hoping his fever would drop by morning.

xxxxx

The sound of Callen's coughing once again drew Sam out of his uneasy slumber. He could see through the opening of the tent that the sun was just beginning to rise. He looked over at Kensi and Deeks and was glad to see that they both appeared to be peacefully asleep. He moved closer to his partner and gently put his hand on his back. "Hey, you okay?" he whispered.

"I'm fine, Sam," Callen said, his voice sounding hoarse and rough.

Sam could only imagine how his partner was feeling. "You warm enough?" he asked, hating the sound of the lame question. He then risked Callen's wrath by placing his hand on his partner's forehead, relieved to find it relatively cool.

"I'm fine," Callen repeated. He knew it wasn't anyone's fault that he couldn't have water, but he was starting to feel the effects of it both mentally and physically. His throat was sore and his head ached and he was having to force himself not to begrudge his team being able to drink while he could not.

"Good morning, good morning!" Bart's cheerful voice permeated the otherwise silent morning as Callen and Sam exchanged a look of dismay and Kensi and Deeks began to awaken. "How did my happy little prisoners sleep?" He looked at Deeks with a look of false sadness. "I heard my poor little detective friend wasn't doing too well. I hope you're better this morning. We have some fun ahead of us."

"Go to hell," Deeks snarled.

"Deeks," Kensi put her arm around him. "Deeks, don't."

"Why not?" he asked angrily.

"Because, we don't need any more trouble this morning," Kensi looked at him pleadingly. "Please."

"Fine."

"Oh don't worry, Agent Blye, I won't hold the detective's grouchiness against him," Bart said. "I enjoy his feistiness…just as long as he doesn't get carried away with it." He turned towards Callen and Sam who were just watching in silence. "And how is my thirsty little friend this morning?"

Callen sighed and ignored the question as Sam clenched his fists, willing himself not to snap.

"It's a question that demands an answer, Agent Callen," Bart said. "I would answer it if I was you."

"I'm fine," Callen replied.

"Good, good, I'm very glad to hear it. Now then, I'd like the four of you to join me outside. Agent Blye, you're going to start off our festivities this morning. Come along. Don't dawdle."

"Do you need help, Deeks?" Kensi asked with concern as he started to get to his feet, looking a bit sluggish.

"No, I'm good," Deeks said. He stood up and took a step, looking slightly off-balance as he did so. Sam reached out to steady him and Deeks pulled away roughly. "I said I was good!" Sam quickly backed off and Deeks immediately looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, man…"

"No worries, Deeks," Sam said. "I get it."

Deeks nodded and Kensi gently put her arm around him for support as they headed outside where Bart was waiting for them. "Now, Agent Blye, as you can probably guess, it's breakfast time. I'm going to give you a chance to give Agent Callen some breakfast and some ice cold juice or water, whatever he would like."

Callen tried hard to look disinterested, but he couldn't disguise the look of hope in his eyes which Bart easily noticed. "I see that look, Agent Callen. You're positively salivating at the thought of a drink, aren't you?"

Callen ignored him and Kensi waited patiently to hear whatever this newest bit of Bart insanity would be. "So," Bart began. "We begin with a choice. Either breakfast for you, Agent Blye, Detective Deeks and Agent Hanna…or…you give permission for one of my men to shoot Detective Deeks in his other shoulder and Agent Callen can join you."

Callen gave Bart a look of pure hatred as Deeks spoke up. "Give him permission, Kensi."

"What?" Kensi turned to Deeks incredulously. "I'm not going to do that."

"Callen needs to drink something," Deeks said. "It's no big deal."

"You're not asking to be shot, Deeks," Callen said. "That's just craziness."

"I'm not crazy," Deeks said quietly.

"G's right," Sam said. As much as he was worried about his partner, he would certainly never endorse deliberately allowing Deeks to be shot. "Kensi, just refuse."

"I don't give permission," Kensi said. The whole choice had been absurd. She was sure Bart knew she would refuse him. It was just another way to mentally torture Callen.

"Sorry, Agent Callen," Bart said cheerily. "Bacon, eggs, sausage and hash browns, all fried up over an open fire with plenty of juice and water. It almost makes me sad that you can't have any."

Callen said nothing. He was inwardly forcing himself to remain calm and cool, wanting to ease the guilt he knew his team was feeling as much as possible.

The three team members went to the table and sat down, trying not to think about Callen's presence only a few feet away. "I hate this," Deeks mumbled as he tried to force down some eggs. This whole eating thing was just daily torture for him and he knew it was torture for Callen as well, but for totally different reasons.

"One of these days this bastard is going to get his," Sam mumbled. His eyes went to Callen, but his partner, although facing in their direction, seemed to be unfocused, almost like he was in a daze.

"What was that, Agent Hanna?" Bart asked.

"Nothing," Sam replied.

"That's what I thought," Bart said, smiling and nodding in satisfaction.

They finished breakfast without incident and then the team was ordered to join Callen once again. No one bothered to apologize, knowing it was just rubbing salt in his wound.

"So now, I know you must be feeling neglected, Agent Callen," Bart said. "And we can't have that, so I'll give you a turn. Let's see…what would be a good decision for you…hmm…oh I know, pick someone to hold their breath under water for two minutes, Agent Hanna or Agent Blye."

To his credit, Callen pretended to look distressed by the question as he looked at Sam and then Kensi, pretending that he was having a difficult time with his choice. "Uh…"

"Come now, Agent Callen. Don't take all day. The lady or your partner?"

"My partner," Callen said softly. "I'm sorry, Sam."

"It's okay, G," Sam said. He watched as one of Bart's men approached them, carrying a large bucket of water.

"Agent Hanna, are you ready?" Bart asked. Sam nodded and knelt down beside the bucket of water, then took a deep breath right before Bart's man shoved his head underneath the surface and held it there. Callen, Kensi and Deeks still had anxiety as they kept their eyes on Sam and mentally tracked the time which seemed to take a whole lot longer than two minutes. Finally, Sam's head was released and he raised his head, gasping for air.

"Are you all right?" Callen asked, the worry in his eyes now very real.

Sam nodded, seeing Callen's obvious distress. "I'm fine G, really I am."

"Nicely done, Agent Hanna," Bart said, clapping his hands in mock approval. And now, I will give you a 10 minute break until our next question. Agent Hanna, prepare yourself. Your turn is next.

xxxxx

"Did Bart tell you the people he is holding captive are federal agents?" Hetty asked Michael Shaughnessy, her expression stern and unyielding.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Shaughnessy replied stubbornly.

"I know it was you who made the maze of explosives," Eric said. Hetty had allowed him to accompany her into the interrogation and he was determined that she not end up regretting her decision.

Shaughnessy sneered at Eric. "And how would you know such a thing?"

"I recognized your trademark Flash signature," Eric said. He then forced himself to speak admiringly about the other man. "And your work…magnificent…I don't know many people who could have pulled that off…explosive craftsmanship at its finest…"

Shaughnessy couldn't help the proud smile that touched his lips or the faint blush of his cheeks. "That bitch though…that bitch saved him. Bart said he didn't care, but I did. I wanted that guy to blow up. I really wanted it to work."

"So, the guy who was trapped, Agent Callen, managed to get away?" Eric asked.

Shaughnessy nodded. "Yeah, he did. That little minx slipped in amongst the openings between the wires then managed to defuse the bomb. I had thought the openings were small enough, but they weren't…next time…next time I'll make sure there's not enough room for anyone to get through."

Eric nodded. "I'm sure the next time, it'll work. Even the greatest genius experiences a learning curve. I have no doubt that next time, you'll be a success."

Shaughnessy smiled at Eric. "Thanks. I think so too."

"If you gentlemen will excuse me," Hetty said, pushing her chair away from the table as she decided to give Eric some time alone with Shaughnessy. "The ladies room is calling me."

"Wow… what is up with her?" Shaughnessy asked as soon as Hetty had left the room. "She looks as crazy as a bat."

Eric laughed uncomfortably, hoping that Hetty wasn't already watching them on the monitor although he knew Nell would be. "So… back to you. I wish I could help you get this guy. When Bart sent us the picture of Callen all tied up like that…I was really hoping it had worked…"

"Yeah?" Shaughnessy looked at Eric skeptically. "Don't you work with him though? Why would I believe you'd want him dead."

Eric sighed. "I don't think someone as accomplished as you could even understand…"

"You'd be surprised," said Shaughnessy. "Try me."

"Well…he's an agent and a really smug one at that. Look at him and look at me…"

Shaughnessy shook his head. "I didn't think he was all that. I mean I guess he was good looking in that kind of obvious way, but he looked kind of scrawny if you ask me and all pathetic and pitiful being tied up the way he was. I mean, dude, he needed to have a woman come to his rescue!" Shaughnessy snickered and Eric joined in.

"And that woman was Kensi and he HATES her. That's the only good thing about her rescuing him. Out of anybody, he would not want her to have been the one to save him."

"Yeah?" Shaughnessy asked with interest.

"Oh yeah. Pretty sure he was jealous because she never gave him the time of day and it just kind of festered inside him."

Shaughnessy nodded. "She is pretty fine. I can understand why she wouldn't want anything to do with him though. Even tied up, I could see he looked kind of full of himself."

"You have no idea," Eric said. "He is constantly lording over the others on his team and me. He bosses me around 24/7. He has no qualms about calling me at 3 a.m. to ask me how to get his dvd player to work. No boundaries and no respect."

"Wow…that really sucks," Shaughnessy said sympathetically. "I can see why you'd want to put him in his place."

Eric nodded. "The only thing better than having him already blown up, would be if I could be there to watch it happen. I'd love to see the fear in his eyes, knowing he was going to die and that I'd be watching and would finally have the upper hand."

"If I could get out of here…I could make that happen for you," Shaughnessy said eagerly. "Only thing is…that creepy little woman isn't about to let me out of here."

"I think she would if you'd give her a location, just a fake one," Eric said. "She's not the brightest bulb either. She'll believe you."

"It would have to be a fake one," Shaughnessy said. "I don't know where he is, but I can get someone to pick us up and bring us out there if you really mean what you're saying."

"Oh I mean it," Eric said eagerly. "I would love nothing better than to see that smug look wiped off Callen's face once and for all."

xxxxx

Hetty looked at Nell who was smiling admiringly as she watched the exchange between Eric and Shaughnessy on the monitor. "Is there something I need to know about Mr. Callen and Mr. Beale's relationship?" she asked, looking a little bit worried.

Nell shook her head and laughed. "Everything's fine with them Hetty. Eric's just really good at coming up with stories."

"Yes, he certainly is," Hetty said, nodding, impressed with what he had been able to accomplish. "Well done, Mr. Beale…well done, indeed."

xxxxx

So, it's time for the next question. Agent Hanna, are you ready?" Bart asked, his irritating smile, once again present on his smug face.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Sam said resignedly.

"Okay then, this may be a little bit hard to do, but it really shouldn't be too difficult, especially if you do it quickly. Now, choose between Detective Deeks and Agent Callen, who will receive 20 lashes with a whip, delivered by you, onto his bare back?"