Thanks to those of you who are reading and supporting this story, as always. Now, a warning for this chapter. It is not pleasant reading at all and if you didn't like the last chapter, you definitely won't like this one. I don't like the idea of people being disturbed by this, so please don't read it if the story is making you upset. Things will get better but just not yet. Also, I'm leaving for a week-long cruise on Friday, so this won't be updated until at least next weekend. Thanks so much.

xxxxx

"Really?" Bart shot a somewhat disgusted look in Callen's direction and then stared at Deeks. "Interesting choice."

Deeks' eyes were full of rage as he stared back at Bart. "No, it's not interesting…its not interesting at all," he said.

"I'll let you cool off a bit before lunch," Bart said, a faint smile on his lips. "We won't have the festivities until later in the day.

"Festivities?" Deeks was seething as Bart walked away. "I'd like to show him some festivities."

"Thank you, Deeks," Kensi said as she put her arms around him. "I know how difficult that was for you."

"I don't know what you're thanking me for," Deeks said as he shook his head, his eyes full of emotion. He turned towards Callen and Sam and noticed that Callen was staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face. "What?"

"I just…I guess I don't understand."

"Really, Callen? Really?" Deeks asked angrily. "You don't understand why I didn't give you up to a psychopathic killing machine? What the hell is wrong with you anyway?"

"Deeks," Kensi rubbed his upper arm. "It's okay."

"It's not okay, Kensi…" Deeks replied. The way things were going, he really didn't know if it would ever be okay again.

xxxxx

"Are you all right, G?" Sam asked as he sat down near his partner who had just seated himself on the ground.

"I'm fine, Sam," Callen answered automatically. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Sam studied his partner with his eyes. "I don't know…maybe because I just whipped you not that long ago? Maybe because, for some reason that I don't understand, you think Deeks should have served you up to Burke on a silver platter."

Callen shook his head then directed his gaze to his partner. "A reason you don't understand? I don't like seeing my team hurt, especially not Kensi. Is that a good enough reason for you?"

"Come on, G," Sam said. "You can't really believe that Deeks made a wrong decision with this. He protected you."

"I didn't say he made a wrong decision, Sam," Callen replied. "I just…I don't like being the reason that anyone gets hurt."

"You're not the reason," Sam said softly. "Bart is the reason. He's… "

At that point, Callen just stopped listening to his partner. He was hurting and he desperately wanted to just go grab a bottle of water, the consequences be damned. However, he was sure that if he did that, Bart would find a way to take it out on someone else so there was no way he could even try.

Xxxxx

"Lunch time!" Bart called out, a short time later. "Come along, my little chickadees."

No one moved. Sam remained seated beside his partner and Kensi and Deeks didn't make a move to get up either. "What's this?" Bart asked.

"We're not eating unless G gets to eat to have lunch too," Sam replied defiantly.

"And whose decision was this?"

"It was a collective decision," Kensi answered. "We all agreed to it."

"Ah, a mutiny," Bart said, nodding. "Not the dumbest idea I've ever heard, but yet, not the smartest idea either."

"It is what it is," stated Sam.

Bart nodded and smiled as he glanced at Callen who appeared disinterested in the goings on and then his eyes went to Deeks who looked upset and distracted. He was pretty sure the reason wasn't Callen's inability to eat lunch. "That's just fine. You can all continue to have your little demonstration, but just remember, five hits with the bamboo cane can easily become 15 or 20. My punishments can be changed at my discretion. They can also be delivered by Burke instead of my detective friend. Does that sound like a pleasant idea, Agent Blye?"

Kensi paled but said nothing as Deeks stared at Bart. Deeks was about to say something, but Sam quickly spoke first. "You really are a coward," he stated. "You hone in on members of our team who have been physically compromised, but you rarely focus on me. Why is that, I wonder?"

"I don't know, Agent Hanna," Bart replied, seething. "I do know that it's a safe bet your partner will never have anything else to drink for the rest of his short and sorry life. He was an obnoxious brat when Henrietta took him in and he remains the same to this very day."

His words immediately caught Callen's attention and drew him out of his own thoughts. "What did I do to you?" he asked, honestly curious.

"You?" Bart looked at Callen as if he were an annoying insect to be swatted away. "You did nothing except rob me of a long-time friend."

Callen shook his head, appearing confused. "I don't understand how…"

"Shut up!" Bart shouted before looking over at Kensi, Deeks and Sam. "And you three had better come to lunch now or two of your team will pay the price and I assure you, it will not be something the two remaining team members will find very pleasant to witness."

Sam cast Callen an apologetic look with his eyes as he got up off the ground and Deeks and Kensi reluctantly followed suit. The trio then walked over to the table and sat down with Bart. There were assorted sandwiches, bags of chips and salad, along with plenty to drink as always. Sam was wracking his brain, trying to think of a way to get something to his partner, but a drink, which was what he knew G needed and wanted the most, seemed impossible. He glanced over at him and saw that Callen had pulled up his knees to his chest and buried his face. Luckily, Bart didn't seem focused on him.

Deeks had taken some food but it remained on his plate, untouched. He couldn't seem to get his mind off of what was coming later that day. To think of what he had to do to Kensi, to become, even temporarily, the same kind of monster that his father had been, that seemed incomprehensible to him.

"Deeks, you need to eat," Kensi, who was seated beside him, whispered. "Please."

Deeks, almost robotically did as Kensi requested. He picked up a sandwich and took a small bite, feeling as if he was eating sandpaper.

"So, Detective Deeks," Bart began as he looked over at the emotionally burdened man. "You haven't asked me what time the festivities will begin."

"Stop calling it that," Deeks growled quietly, his eyes dark and menacing as he focused them on Bart.

Bart gave a mock shudder. "Detective, you look positively scary." He then chuckled. "Call it whatever you like. What time do you think would be good?"

"Why don't you leave him alone?" Sam asked. "What kind of a sick human being spends all his time mentally and physically torturing people?"

"Oh, I don't know, the kind who has spent a long, long time in prison. People get bored, they come up with little ideas and projects…fun things to do."

"Didn't you ever hear of watercolor painting?" Sam asked.

"Shut up, Agent Hanna. Frankly, you're boring me," Bart stated. He turned his attention back to Deeks. "Detective, what time would you like to have our fest…um show?"

"How about the 12th of Never," Deeks answered, with another glare at Bart.

"No, no, I'm afraid that won't do at all. I suppose I'll have to surprise you. Now if I were you, I'd start eating with a bit more gusto or else I may have to double my pleasure, double my fun."

Deeks shot Bart a glowering look, but did as he was told, not able to bear the thought of having to hit Kensi more than the required five times.

While Deeks had Bart's attention, Sam had been slyly transferring cherry tomatoes, from the salad, into his pockets. He was pretty sure that no one had noticed as the guards were mostly just chatting among themselves at the moment. He'd wanted to get a clementine or two, but they would cause his pockets to bulge too much so he stuck with the cherry tomatoes.

Finally, the lunch came to its excruciating end. "I'm going to do you all a favor," Bart said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin then placed it down next to his plate. "I'm giving you a few hours of free time this afternoon before our little production, which will take place at 5 o'clock, right before dinner." Bart then got up and left the table.

As he stood up, Sam glanced over at Deeks to see how he was taking that news, but the younger man remained expressionless. Sam's gaze then met Kensi's who somberly said "I've got this."

Sam walked over to Callen who hadn't changed his position. "G?" he said softly as he squatted down next to him. "G…come into the tent with me."

"Why?" Callen asked. His tone sounded weary and very dejected.

"Never mind why. Can't you just do it?" Sam asked. Callen lifted up his head and looked at his partner. Sam couldn't help but notice how pronounced the circles were under his friend's eyes. He looked tired and drawn. "Come on, buddy. You can rest there."

"I can rest here too," Callen said.

Sam sighed, frustrated. "Will you just do this one damn thing for me, Callen?" he snapped.

Callen looked at his partner in surprise as did Kensi and Deeks who turned their eyes toward the other set of partners.

"I'm sorry, G," Sam said contritely. The last thing he meant to do was lose his patience with his friend. "Please?"

"Fine," Callen said as he slowly got to his feet and followed Sam over to the tent.

xxxxx

"Guess the pressure's getting to everyone," Kensi commented after Sam and Callen had disappeared into the tent.

"Yeah, I guess so," Deeks agreed, his eyes lowered as he looked down at the ground.

"Deeks, please talk to me," Kensi pleaded.

"I don't really want to talk about it, Kensi," he said. The whole thought of it made him feel sick and he'd already felt pretty sick on his own before this had happened.

"We can talk about something else then."

"I can't…I can't get this off my mind."

"You know this doesn't mean anything. You're nothing like your father."

Deeks said nothing at all to that. The kinds of thoughts milling around in his head were dark and horrid and nothing he could talk about, not even to the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.

"Deeks?" Kensi looked at him in the way he usually couldn't resist, but this time he did. He just shook his head .

"I'm sorry, Kens…I just can't," he whispered. "Please…Please just leave me alone…" His blue eyes were full of emotion and he appeared to be on the verge of breaking down at any moment. Kensi stared back at him for what seemed like forever, but was really only seconds, and finally did as he asked and left him alone.

xxxx

Callen walked into the tent and sat down then looked at his partner curiously. "Okay, Sam, you've got me here…what's up?"

Sam glanced outside to make sure no one was paying attention to them, then dug his hands into his pockets and pulled out the cherry tomatoes. "Here," he said, handing them to his partner. "I'll keep watch and make sure no one comes."

"How…" Callen stared at them, awestruck. "Thank you, Sam," he said as he put one into his mouth and slowly ate it, savoring the juicy goodness. Tomatoes weren't even his favorite thing, but at that moment eating one was pure bliss. "You shouldn't have risked it…but I'm glad you did…" He then began to eat another one, looking at his partner gratefully.

"I'm just sorry I couldn't get you a drink," Sam said, shaking his head. "There was just no way. Tomatoes are supposed to help with dehydration though. I know there aren't that many, but…hopefully they'll help a little anyway."

"These are definitely making me feel better," Callen said, as he continued to slowly munch on the tomatoes, savoring every bite, as the juice helped sooth his parched mouth and throat.

"Good. I'm glad," Sam said, smiling at his friend.

When he was down to the last four, Callen gave Sam a questioning look. "Do you think I should ration them?" he asked.

Sam considered the question for a few moments and then shook his head. "I wouldn't, G," he replied. "You never know if or when Bart could pull some kind of a search. I don't want you to get into trouble. In any case, if the opportunity comes up, I'll try to get you more or something else if I can."

"No, don't, Sam. This was good," Callen said as he put another tomato into his mouth. "I don't want Bart to have anything else to hold against us. I'll be okay."

Sam nodded, but as far as he was concerned the idea was still very much in play. If he could find a way to make things better for G, he was going to do everything in his power to make it happen.

xxxxx

After Callen had finished eating the tomatoes, he and Sam rejoined their teammates outside. Kensi and Deeks were apart so Callen joined Deeks and Sam went over to Kensi. "How are you holding up?" Callen asked.

"I'm fine," Deeks replied, making it very obvious that he was anything but fine. "What about you two? You didn't exactly seem too good yourselves a little while ago."

"We're good," Callen said. He then lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Sam managed to smuggle me some cherry tomatoes."

"Yeah?" Deeks actually smiled at the news. It was nice to hear something good for a change. "That's great, Callen."

Callen nodded. "Yeah…I've got to admit, they tasted pretty damn good to me."

"I bet…" Deeks' uplift in mood over Callen's good fortune only lasted for moments before he thought about what lay ahead for him and Kensi. It then swiftly plummeted again.

"Deeks…" Callen began slowly as he stared at the younger man who wasn't meeting his eyes. "I'm really sorry about all this…"

Deeks sighed heavily then finally looked back at Callen. "Why?" he asked. "Why are you sorry, Callen?"

"Why? I…" Callen hesitated as Deeks nodded.

"Exactly," Deeks said. "You don't have any more reason to be sorry than the rest of us. Just because some psycho decided to be jealous of you when you were a kid or whatever stupid reason he has for holding a grudge? It's not your fault, Callen. If you persist in thinking it is your fault, well then you're an even bigger glutton for punishment than I ever thought you were."

"Can I at least say I feel bad then?" Callen finally asked, his blue eyes sincere, after a few long moments of silence.

"Yeah," Deeks said, his own eyes filled with sadness as he looked back at Callen. "It's okay for you to say that."

xxxxx

While Callen was talking to Deeks, Sam made his way to Kensi and sat down next to her. "You doing okay, Kens?" he asked quietly.

Kensi started to nod, then shook her head. "No…not really."

Sam was astute enough to know that she wasn't worrying about her own welfare. "He's going to get through this…he'll be okay."

"You don't understand, Sam," Kensi said. "He…I'm just not sure that he will come through this…There are things…" Kensi stopped herself, not feeling comfortable talking about Deeks behind his back. "I just don't know."

"If there's anyone who can get him through this, Kensi…it's you," Sam stated gently. "He loves you more than anything. I truly believe he'll get through this as long as you're by his side."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Kensi said as she looked over where Deeks and Callen were talking. "So I really hope you're right."

xxxxx

The afternoon seemed to stretch on interminably for the team. Deeks felt like hell, but the emotional ramifications of what lay ahead prevented him from even attempting to rest. Kensi kept a close watch over him, but kept her distance. She was certain that Deeks knew she was there for him if he needed her. Callen found that the cumulative effect from his injuries was beginning to take its toll. Exhausted and in a fair amount of pain, he finally went into the tent where he slept restlessly. For Sam, his partner uncharacteristically sleeping in the middle of the day furthered his concern and he found himself obsessively watching Callen and inwardly fretting each time he uttered a whimper or groan in his sleep.

At a little before 5, Bart barged into the tent where Sam and Callen were. "Wake up your partner, Agent Hanna," he ordered, "or I'll have Burke do it for you and chances are you or he won't like that very much." He then left the tent and Sam glanced over at Callen, surprised that Bart's rather loud appearance hadn't awoken him.

"Hey, G?" he called softly as he gently shook Callen's shoulder. "Come on, you've got to wake up."

Callen, who was curled on his side, began to stir. Still half asleep, he rolled onto his back and hissed as the sudden pain jarred him awake and he quickly sat up. "Damn it!" he exclaimed as his eyes opened fully.

"Sorry, man," Sam said. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Callen said although he looked and sounded grouchy.

"Come on…Bart wants us outside."

Callen paled slightly at Sam's words and he stood up and followed his partner outside to where Deeks and Kensi were already standing with Bart.

"Agent Callen, you're awake!" Bart called out. "I thought I was going to have to send Burke in to wake you."

Callen shot Bart a dirty look, but didn't speak, not wanting to antagonize the man who could easily retaliate against his teammates.

Kensi managed to smile faintly at Sam and Callen, but Deeks appeared to be a mess over what was about to happen, looking grim and emotional. Kensi took his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Everything is going to be okay," she whispered.

"Carlos!" Bart called out. "If you please, bring the instrument."

"He's a real jackass," Sam whispered to Callen. "He's doing everything he can to make this torturous for Deeks."

Carlos walked over to the group, carrying a long bamboo cane which he held out to Deeks. Deeks' arms remained at his sides as he made no move to take it.

"I suggest you take the cane, Detective or I know someone who will be very glad to take your place," Bart said. He smiled as Deeks reached for the cane, his hand trembling slightly as he did so. "Very good. Now, Agent Blye, will you please kneel down in front of this tree and wrap your arms around it.

Kensi shared a long look with Deeks. "I love you, no matter what," Kensi said loudly. She then smiled at him as if they were the only two people in the world. She knelt in front of the tree as Bart directed and Carlos bound her wrists so she couldn't move away.

"Now, Detective…five hits with the cane and you had better make them count, because if you don't…well…your girlfriend will have a private disciplinary session with Burke." Burke, who was watching from a few feet away, leered at Kensi and licked his lips.

"You really are a bastard," Deeks said to Bart, the pure hatred he felt for the man very apparent from the expression on his face. "Someday you're going to get what's coming to you and I hope I'm the one to give it to you."

"We all have our unrequited dreams," Bart said, smiling unperturbed at Deeks' words. "Now if you please…I'd like to get this over with. I'm hungry and it's almost time for dinner."

Tears in his eyes, Deeks raised his hand and struck Kensi across the back.

"Again!" Bart screamed as Deeks hit her once more.

"Again! Harder!"

"Sam…we've got to stop this," Callen said, making a move towards Deeks. Sam quickly grabbed his friend and pulled him back.

"No, G! If you do anything, you're only going to make it worse," Sam hissed at his partner. "This has to be done."

Callen was pale and appeared upset, but he did as Sam said and made no further attempt to stop what was happening.

Two more hits and it was over. Deeks let the cane fall to the ground and doubled over, feeling as if he was going to be sick. He didn't think he had ever felt so horrible about himself. He was now officially a woman beater…a filthy animal, just like his father…