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xxxxx

Callen awoke shivering. Still half asleep, he huddled further under the blankets in an attempt to get warm. It didn't really work though and he opened his eyes only to find that he was alone in the tent. Pretty sure that he wouldn't have been left alone without good reason, he attempted to sit up, but found that he was much too weak to do so. "Damn," he murmured as he tried again but once more failed in the attempt. He wanted to go find his team and see what was going on with them, but that was impossible. He hated being like this, helpless and for the most part useless. "You can do this," he whispered to himself as he used all of his strength to make one last attempt. He was unsuccessful though and after raising his torso only a few inches from the ground, he slumped back down as inadvertent tears of frustration brimmed in his eyes.

xxxxx

The helicopter landed in a clearing, a short distance away from the camp. Sam, Deeks and Kensi approached the landing spot and took cover behind some trees as they waited to see who would emerge from the helicopter door. Their eyes widened in surprise when an unfamiliar mousy-appearing man came out first, followed by Eric. Neither of the men appeared to be armed. After a few moments, with no one else seemingly exiting from the chopper, Sam came out from behind the trees, followed by Kensi and Deeks. "Hey Eric," he said with a wide smile. "I can't begin to tell you how good it is to see you."

"Hey Sam." Eric smiled, but it was an obviously nervous smile and he cast an anxious look at the man who stood beside him.

"Where's Bart?" the other man barked, his eyes darting around searchingly.

"I guess you could say he's indisposed at the moment," Sam said, still smiling, but on high alert as he kept his rifle trained on the man. "Who the hell are you?"

"I…" The man stared at the gun for a long moment then looked down at the ground silently.

"His name is Shaughnessy," Eric replied. "Michael Shaughnessy."

"Shut up," Shaughnessy hissed, turning toward Eric. "Why did you tell him that? I thought you were on my side?"

Eric ignored Shaughnessy and turned his eyes back toward the team members. "I'm really glad to see you guys. Are you okay? Where's Callen?" he asked looking around.

"He's not doing so well." Sam couldn't help but notice the smirk that came across Shaughnessy's face at his words and he was overcome by a sudden burst of anger. "You think that's funny?" he asked, as he grabbed Shaughnessy's shirt collar, taking pleasure in the terrified look that came across the man's face. "Do you?" he asked again. "Do you think it's funny?"

"No, no! Leave me alone," Shaughnessy said as he tried to escape Sam's grasp, his voice coming across in a high-pitched squeal.

Disgusted, Sam shoved the man away harshly and Shaughnessy almost fell to the ground. "Eric, please tell me that Hetty knows where we are."

Eric nodded. "She should. She's tracking me."

"Well that's good news. Who's piloting the chopper?" Deeks asked, noting that only Eric and this Shaughnessy guy had come out of the helicopter.

Eric shrugged. "The pilot is still inside the cockpit. I think he was just planning to drop us off."

"What do you think, Sam?" Deeks asked. "Should we hitch a ride back with him?

Depends on how far out reinforcements are," Sam replied. "Let's go see if the pilot has a sat phone. If not, we'll use his radio to get some help sent out to us. Keep an eye on this guy," Sam said to Kensi and Deeks as he headed towards the helicopter.

"He's the one who tried to blow up Callen," Eric quietly informed them after Sam had walked off.

Kensi and Deeks exchanged a glance before Deeks addressed Shaughnessy. "So you're the one who almost got my fiancé killed?"

"That was her own doing," Shaughnessy said, giving Kensi an admiring look. "Bart showed me a video of you performing the rescue, baby, slithering in and out of those wires like a sexy snake. Hot stuff." He looked her up and down lewdly.

"Are you kidding me?" Deeks looked at Shaughnessy incredulously. "You'd better keep your eyes to yourself you little freak if you know what's good for you."

"Deeks," Kensi cautioned softly. "It's okay."

"No…" Deeks shook his head. "No, it's not okay." Now that Bart and his band of goons were restrained and under control, he found that he was quickly reaching his limits, both physically and mentally. "Sit on the ground," he ordered Shaughnessy who quickly obeyed him. Deeks then leaned back against a tree for support and continued to keep his attention on this weasel of a man as he wondered how Bart had managed to find so many bad apples to carry out his plans.

xxxxx

"Got the sat phone," Sam said, grinning, as he came back to where Deeks and Kensi were with Eric and Shaughnessy. "The pilot is okay. He's just someone Bart hired to make flights, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't knowledgeable about his plans. I'm going to let G call Hetty. Do you mind bringing Shaughnessy over with the others?"

Kensi and Deeks nodded. "Get up," Kensi ordered Shaughnessy who rapidly did as she said. Any bravado had quickly vanished from him. He was now as meek as a baby lamb.

Sam hastily made his way back to the tent and entered it. "Hey G? We've got everything and everybody under control, buddy. It's over now. It's really over." He squatted down beside Callen and immediately became concerned upon noticing the tears on his partner's cheeks. "G? What is it? What's wrong?"

Callen met Sam's gaze, too freaked out to even attempt any pretense that everything was fine. "I…I can't stand up, Sam," he replied. "I can't even sit up. I feel really weak."

Alarm bells went off internally, but Sam kept his expression carefully schooled and he spoke calmly to Callen. "Hey, it's okay, buddy. You shouldn't be walking around anyhow. Try not to worry about this. You've been through a lot. Something like this isn't unexpected."

Callen looked back at Sam dubiously. "I didn't expect it."

"Well, here…" Sam dialed Hetty's number and handed the phone to his friend. "Why don't you talk to Hetty. I'm sure that will make you both feel better."

xxxxx

Hetty looked at the unfamiliar number on her caller ID and pressed the receiver button on her cell phone then held it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey Hetty, it's me, Callen."

Hetty momentarily closed her eyes as she said a silent thank you to whoever it was who ran the universe. She then took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she made a concerted effort to keep her voice steady before speaking. "Why of course it's you, Mr. Callen. Do you think I've already managed to forget your voice? You haven't been gone for that long."

Callen chuckled on the other end of the line. "I know you haven't forgotten me, Hetty."

"How are you?" Hetty asked. "How is your team?"

"Uh…We're a little banged up, but, we'll be okay."

Hetty could tell he was holding back, but she wasn't going to question him now. She was just so glad to hear his voice and to know that they were all alive. There would be time for questions once they were home. "So, I trust you have seen Mr. Beale?"

Inside the tent, Callen looked confused. "Eric? I…" he looked at Sam in confusion. His partner smiled reassuringly and took the phone from Callen's hand.

"Eric's here, Hetty," Sam replied.

"Mr. Hanna. It's good to speak with you. Now tell me, what is it that you need. How can I be of help?"

"I'd like to get us out of here as quickly as possible. We have prisoners who need to be taken in as well. Is a team on the way?"

"Yes, a team is on its way, Mr. Hanna, but tell me is there a sense of medical urgency here?"

Sam glanced over at his partner and nodded instinctively although he knew Hetty couldn't see him. "Yes, I'd say so. We have a helicopter here. I'm guessing that would be the quickest way for transport so they can leave now. I'll send Deeks, Kensi and G on the chopper and I'll stay here with Eric to keep watch until your team arrives."

"Tell your pilot to make contact with USC University Hospital. They have a helipad there. I will speak to them on my end. That will be the best way to get your fellow team members expeditious medical help."

"Will do, Hetty," Sam said. "I'll see you soon."

"I'll see you soon, Mr. Hanna," Hetty replied. "Take care of each other and Godspeed."

Sam clicked off the sat phone and turned back to his partner who was watching him closely. "Okay, G. I guess you heard that. I'm going to go speak with the pilot and see about getting you guys to the hospital, the sooner, the better."

"You're not coming?" Callen asked, gazing back at his partner with an unreadable look in his eyes.

Sam hesitated for an instant, not particularly liking whatever was going on with G, either physically or emotionally. "No, but Hetty has a team on its way so I'll get there just as quickly as I can." He put his hand on Callen's shoulder and patted it encouragingly. "Everything will be okay."

Callen nodded, but Sam could tell that Callen didn't believe his words and if Sam was to be totally honest with himself, at that moment, he didn't believe them either.

xxxxx

"Did you guys talk to Hetty?" Kensi asked Sam as he came over to where she, Deeks and Eric were sitting by Bart and his men.

Sam nodded. "We did." His eyes went to Deeks who was sitting with his back against a tree, his eyes closed.

Kensi's eyes followed Sam's and she then gazed back at him. "He's not doing well," she stated unnecessarily.

"Neither is G," Sam replied. He squatted down beside Deeks and gently rubbed his uninjured shoulder. "Hey Deeks? Can you hear me?"

Deeks moaned softly but his eyes remained closed.

"Deeks," Sam tried again. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you, Sam-dog," Deeks replied, his eyes still closed.

"Come on man… Help me out here." Sam gently rubbed Deeks' shoulder again. "I need to get G to the helicopter."

Upon hearing those words, and always eager to help, Deeks managed to open his eyes. "What do you need me to do, Sam?"

"Nothing… I just wanted to know if you can get to the helicopter. Eric will help you." He sent an inquiring look to Eric who nodded. "I need to carry G."

"Sure, I can do that," Deeks replied, trying to open his eyes wider so that he appeared more alert than he actually was. Sam then helped Deeks get to his feet and Eric quickly moved over to help support him.

"I'm going to go get G," Sam said. "I'll meet you guys at the helicopter."

"Some of us are injured here too, Agent Hanna," Bart called out. He'd been carefully watching and listening to everything Sam said. "We deserve medical treatment as well and I know for a fact there is plenty of room on that helicopter to transport us."

Sam cursed under his breath. He hadn't even been thinking about Bart or his injured men. As much as he didn't want to send them on the flight, he realized he needed to. He didn't want to take any chances that his treatment of the prisoners would cause problems in prosecuting them down the road. He knew he would now be going along as well, not willing to transport Bart without being there to guard him. After making a quick phone call to Hetty to inform her that there would be more than just the three team members being transported, he helped move Bart and the other injured men along to the helicopter. He then made sure the men being left behind were secured so that Gary and Eric wouldn't have any problems with them.

"You sure you're going to be okay here, Eric?" Sam asked as he and the younger man made their way over to the tent where Callen was.

Eric nodded. "I'll be fine, Sam…so, how bad off is Callen anyway?"

Sam hesitated a few feet away from the tent opening then shrugged. "He's gone through a lot, Eric and then was poisoned on top of it. I thought maybe we got it out of his system, but now…I just don't know…"

Eric nodded seriously. "Callen's tough though. I have a strong feeling that he'll pull through."

"I hope you're right." Sam went into the tent with Eric following behind. "Hey G…you ready to get out of here?" Sam asked as he reached down and pulled his partner up into his arms. Callen's silent acceptance of this act did nothing to reassure Sam about his condition.

"Hey Eric…good to see you," Callen greeted solemnly.

"Good to see you too, Callen," Eric replied with a tense smile which did not reach his eyes.

"Eric? Can you grab a couple of sleeping bags and some blankets?" Sam asked. "Whatever you can carry."

"Sure Sam, no problem." Eric took two sleeping bags and an armful of blankets and followed Sam to the helicopter. Once they were inside, Sam proceeded to make his partner and Deeks as comfortable and warm as he could. He then walked to the door of the helicopter with Eric.

"Thank you for staying here, Eric," Sam said. "The team should be here before too long."

Eric nodded. "I'll be fine, Sam. You guys take care of yourselves. Have a safe flight." The two men shook hands and Sam watched Eric as he made his way off the helicopter and headed over in the direction of the camp. Sam then closed the door tightly and walked over to his partner then sat down beside him. A few minutes later, they heard the sound of the helicopter propeller, the engine roared to life and they began their ascent into the air.

Finally, they were on their way home.