Kensi woke up to the sound of commotion and found her view of the world to be sideways. She vaguely registered a soft lump under her head that smelled like Callen and figured that she was probably resting on his folded up jacket. Her head was still throbbing, but the pain had lessened a little bit compared to earlier. What hurt the most was her arm. It was stretched out in front of her and as she squinted her eyes open, she could see that Callen had ripped off her shirt sleeve and created a make-shift bandage. The blood had already soaked through, but it was a better alternative than leaving it open in the air where it would be prone to infections. But her arm was burning. The pain was nearly as bad as when the hot irons had first pressed into her skin and she repressed a shudder at the memory.

She curled her hand into a fist and gasped in pain, quickly remembering her broken finger. Tears welled up in her eyes as her entire limb complained with her movements, and she cursed under her breath. She had never dealt with pain like this before.

She heard the sound that woke her up again and focused her gaze further into the room to a shape lying on the floor. Callen was lying on his side, coughing up what sounded like blood onto the floor. Very carefully, Kensi managed to pull herself into an upright position, closing her eyes and swallowing the lump in her throat when her head complained. She sat there for a few seconds, taking shallow breaths as she tried to block out the waves of heat coming from her arm. It lay limply in her lap, and she looked down to see her hand looking mangled and pathetic. The sight made her angry, but she focused back on her teammate instead.

"G?" she rasped, opting for the shorter version of his name since it took less effort to say. He didn't respond but the coughing died down, replaced by harsh breathing. Kensi deliberated getting up, but she knew she wouldn't be able to stand without falling over. Instead she tucked her arm against her stomach and awkwardly began crawling over to him, wincing as her arm complained painfully. "Callen, what's wrong?" she asked as she reached him, pulling on his shoulder lightly to make him turn toward her. He complied, rolling onto his back and wiping a dribble of blood away from the corner of his mouth.

"Just give me a minute," he breathed, closing his eyes and covering his face with his hands. Alarm flashed through her when she noticed how pale he was and how he was drenched with water. His face had gained more bruises and cuts.

"What happened?" she murmured, hands hovering over her team leader uncertainly. He didn't respond to her but groaned instead, balling his hands into fists over his face. She could see him shaking.

"Help me sit up," he grumbled, frustrated at the fact that he had to ask for her help. She did so gingerly, watching him wince as he tried to get his muscles to move properly. She saw the faint outline of burns on his hand and felt her heart sink.

"They shocked you?" She already knew the answer but he nodded anyways. She recognized that his muscles were still trying to recover from the repeated exposure to electricity and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"We're gonna get out of here," Callen coughed, leaning away from her to spit out more blood onto the ground.

"I know," she agreed, hearing her halfhearted voice and knowing that it didn't sound very convinced. They sat in silence for what seemed like an hour and Kensi closed her eyes against the pain that was slowly increasing behind her forehead and her arm. She shivered involuntarily as the cold finally seeped into her bones and she hugged her arms close to herself, carefully avoiding her burns.

"You should go put on my jacket," he finally muttered, and she opened her eyes to see him with his head bowed, still trying to deal with the pain radiating through his muscles. She could see that he was trembling, but whether it was from the pain or the cold she didn't know. He kept as still as possible, recognizing that it hurt less if he kept from moving. His back ached from sitting up for so long, but he knew that there was a small chance he wouldn't be able to get back up if he laid down.

"You need it too," Kensi commented. He felt a flicker of amusement pass through him at the fact that the two most stubborn people ever were stuck with each other and neither of them refused to admit their weakness to each other.

"You're cold."

"So are you."

"I have more body mass, I can handle it." She narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips.

"Are you saying that I'm less likely to handle the cold because I'm a woman?" He distinctly recognized the playful tone in her voice and snorted, looking at her.

"Just put on the jacket Kens." Even with his request, she didn't move from beside him. He felt exhausted and dropped his head back down again, focusing on the pain in his neck for a brief moment.

"Come here," she suddenly said, slowly uncurling herself from her sitting position and getting up on shaky legs. He watched her progress out of the corner of his eyes and noted how she swayed back and forth before finding her balance. She planted her feet firmly on the cement floor, fighting through the headache and the pain before she bent down and placed two hands on his shoulder.

"Don't," he warned, feeling her grip tighten.

"We need to get you to the wall, you can't just sit here," she gritted out through her teeth, trying not to lean on him for balance. He acknowledged that her logic was sound and slowly started to move his limbs, hissing between clenched teeth as they all protested loudly. They managed to get into a standing position, Kensi clutching him around the waist with her good arm while he swung his arm around her shoulders. Together they hobbled over to the wall where Kensi had been resting before and sank slowly to the ground with more groans and complaints.

When she was sure he was safely against the wall, she collapsed a few feet away from him and clutched at her temples, trying to keep her vision from swimming.

"Thanks," he breathed, leaning his head back against the concrete wall and allowing his back muscles to relax. She didn't respond and he glanced over at her, seeing her pained face. "Is it bad?" he asked quietly. She nodded absentmindedly, too tired to argue with him. There was rustling next to her and suddenly a jacket was slung across her. She heard Callen's frustrated grumbles when it didn't reach her entirely and she could tell that it hurt him too much to try to fix it. Instead, she tugged it over herself and flashed him a tired smile.

"You can have it back later," she commented and she saw a spark of gratitude in his blue eyes. She couldn't help but envy the way he managed to hide everything on his face, even though he was shaking and in pain. She knew her exhaustion would be visible in her own eyes. The two of them settled into silence and Kensi felt the headache increase in pain between every passing minute.

"They'll try to use us against each other," Callen suddenly said softly, staring out into the room. She looked at him sharply, surprised that he had initiated such a conversation. But she knew it was necessary.

"I know how to deal with interrogation," she said flatly, almost a bit offended. He realized she had taken it the wrong way and scolded himself, turning to look at her.

"You let me know when it's too much, alright?" It was strictly an order. There were no emotions behind his statement and she knew that he expected her to fight until she couldn't. She absentmindedly broke eye contact to glance down at her arm. How much more could she really take? As much as it takes to make sure the rest of the team stays safe. The thought comforted her. "Kensi." The cold way he said her name almost caused her to flinch. She knew what he was doing.

"Yes. It won't come to that." She adopted a mask that she usually reserved for hiding her emotions, and she saw the expression reflected in his eyes. He was preparing her for the fact that things were going to get much worse before they got better. And he was letting her know that they weren't able to do this without removing themselves from the situation completely. "And if they kill one of us?" The question came out a lot harsher than she had intended.

"They won't."

"But if they do. If they threaten to, would-" she broke off her sentence, drawing in a quick breath. 'Would you give up Sam and Deeks to save me?' The question hung in the air, and she was sure he understood it. She was also sure she knew the answer; he was a trained special agent after all. National security versus the life of an agent, it seemed almost silly that she had to ask the question.

"I won't let them hurt you." Her breathe nearly hitched in her throat at the sound of the determination and protectiveness in his voice. That wasn't the answer she had been expecting. G Callen was a man who rarely showed affection, much less toward her. They had a mutual respect for each other, and she was proud to call him her friend, but she never expected anything more from him than just team friendship. But the way he was looking at her now, with his unreadable blue eyes and his mouth set into a thin line, she knew that he was worried for her. She knew that she was his primary concern in this entire situation and part of her felt admiration for the man increase by ten folds. He did care, of course he did. And she was glad that it was him with her in the room.

Of course the meaning of "hurt" was skewed in their current predicament, and she knew that he meant death. He wouldn't let it get that far. She had to look away from him. Nothing else was said on the subject and they lapsed into silence. Kensi tried to wrap the jacket more tightly around her, feeling the cold seep into her bones through her back and legs. She wasn't sure how long they sat in comfortable silence before she began shivering. She tried to control it, but when she attempted to take a calming breath, it merely ended in a stuttering tremble.

"Come here." Kensi squinted over toward Callen, her look dubious. It hadn't been an order like before. It was more of a question than a statement and she saw him watching her apprehensively.

"Why?" Part of her felt bad for questioning him, but her headache reminded her that she didn't want to move.

"You're going to get hypothermia if you don't warm up, so come here." That really didn't answer her question, but she began the slow and painful journey toward him, crossing the three feet in between them. He lifted his left arm, groaning in discomfort when his muscles complained. She paused, wondering if it was an invitation. When he grimaced, she hurried the rest of the way, head swimming as she settled down next to him with an inch between his side and her arm. He snaked his arm around her, tugging until she pressed up against him. She was immediately thankful for the warmth, letting out an involuntary sigh of relief. He chuckled, but she heard the pain behind it and the ragged breathing.

She tentatively grabbed the jacket and pulled it over onto him as well, partially covering both of them. She accidentally grazed his arm with hers and hissed in pain, pulling away momentarily as her arm started throbbing from the contact.

"Sorry," he apologized as though it had been his fault. She settled back next to him cautiously, stretching out her forearm under the jacket and gingerly positioning it so that it wouldn't get jarred. Within minutes she could feel her body relax as the warmth from Callen and the jacket enveloped her. She pressed closer against him, but uttered a quiet 'sorry' when he winced. "You're fine," he mumbled half-heartedly, lulled by the warmth as well. His exhaustion threatened to override the pain but he forced himself to focus on his aching muscles in order to stay awake. He estimated that it was around midnight, if his internal clock was right.

Every time she closed her eyes, it felt as though a giant weight was pressing against her eyelids in rhythm to her heartbeat and the pounding in her head. She vaguely tried to recall the different grades of concussions to categorize herself into one, but her brain complained and she stopped, settling for watching the light bulb in the ceiling flicker.

"What would Deeks say if he knew you were cuddled up to me all cozy?" Callen murmured, his mouth curling into a brief smile. She snorted, rolling her eyes.

"He wouldn't stop bothering you for weeks," she responded. "I think he'd take it better than Sam though." She could practically hear his smile widen and was rewarded with a soft laugh.

"I'm sure Sam could handle the heartbreak." They settled back into silence and Kensi felt her eyes drop down dangerously low.

"I'm gonna fall asleep," she warned, feeling him shift beside her. He deliberated for a moment, wondering whether he should try to keep her awake or let her sleep. He knew that she had a bad concussion, but he also knew that she wouldn't fair well if she didn't get some rest. Especially if Mark decided to have another go at her.

"Go to sleep," he ordered and she moved around a little bit, trying to get more comfortable. He clenched his jaw as she shifted toward him more, jarring his cut on his chest before settling down.

"Wake me up when you want to switch." She let out a long sigh, allowing her eyes to drop closed as she rested her head against the wall.

"Okay," he responded, fully intent on letting her sleep until she woke up. He also leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling. He could do this by himself. But having his youngest agent with him complicated things. He didn't like it when members of his team got hurt, and he marveled at how fragile she seemed asleep next to him. He had never seen her like this. He hoped he never had to again. A part of him wondered how much more she could take, but he quickly reminded himself that Kensi Blye was not a woman to be underestimated. Either way, as he forced himself out of his sleepy haze, he hoped that the rest of their team was close to finding them.

A/N: This chapter is extra long because I love you all. Let me know what you thought of it!