"How bad is it doctor?" Lori asked, preparing herself for the worst.

"It's not that bad. He won't be paralyzed forever." Lori breathed out relieved. "But there's damage to his vertebrae. We'll have to see with time how bad that is. He may be restricted to bed for a while and he will need physical therapy. But with time I think he should be fine with time. We'll know more once he wakes up."

"Thank you doctor. When will he wake up?"

"It's hard to say. We'll know more in the morning."

"Okay thank you."

The doctor examined Callen before leaving the room.

Lori stayed in the hospital until the visiting hours were over. She stood up and gave Callen a soft kiss on his head.

"I'll see you tomorrow honey. Hope you're doing better tomorrow. I love you."

Callen felt Lori's presence but he couldn't see her.

"Lori!" Callen called but she was nowhere to be seen. "Lori!" Callen called again.

Callen looked around. He was standing on the beach. He recognized the beach. It was the beach near his old apartment in Venice, where he was shot. The beach was crowded like it normally was. Callen wondered what was going on. Suddenly all the people disappeared. Callen stood on the beach and no one was around him anymore.

"G," Callen heard Lori's voice.

"Lori?" Callen called when he didn't see anyone.

"G." There was the voice again.

Callen looked around and he thought he saw her standing in the water. Callen tried to walk towards her but he couldn't move.

"Lori!" Callen yelled when he saw Lori disappearing.

"Come back to me G!" Lori called as she faded away.

"Come back to you? What are you talking about? I never left you."

"You did leave her," a voice called and he looked next to him. Suddenly a person had popped up there. She looked a lot like his sister.

"Amy? What are you doing here? Am I dead?"

"No not yet."

"What happened?"

"You were shot and you had to have surgery. You're unconscious right now."

"Am I gonna be okay? I feel like I can't move."

"You'll be okay with time baby brother."

"How come you're here?"

"I'm in your dream. I'm here to guide you, guide you back to Lori and the kids. You need to go back to them. They need you."

"How can I wake up?"

"You have to figure that out on your own."

"I thought I saw Lori a few minutes ago. I tried to get to her but I couldn't, then she disappeared."

"She probably left the hospital room. She'll come back again."

"She must be so scared."

"She is but she's strong. But you need to get back to her."

"There's nothing I want more. I don't want to leave her and our kids."

"Then try harder next time you see her. Believe that you can go back to her and imagine it. You really have four cute little kids baby brother. They need their daddy. Take good care of them," Amy spoke and she stood up.

Callen watched her walk away and she disappeared. Callen stared out into the ocean. He needed to go back to Lori and fast.

….

Before going home Lori went by Sam's room. It was still visiting hours but she couldn't stay that long in the ICU.

"Hey Sam," Lori greeted as she walked into the room. Michelle and Kamran were there.

"Hey Lori," Sam replied.

"Hey Aunt Lori," Kamran greeted as she gave Lori a hug.

"Hey sweetie."

"How's G doing?" Sam asked.

"He's doing okay, hasn't woken up yet but he's okay. The doctor just gave me the scan results of his spine."

"And?" Sam was eager to know how his partner was doing.

"There is some damage to his vertebrae but the doctor said he won't be permanently paralyzed."

"That's good news."

"Yeah, but there is some damage so he might have some trouble walking at first and he'll probably need physical therapy."

"How long will that take?"

"He couldn't say. They will know more once G wakes up. But the doctor said he should be okay with time."

"That's good."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. Don't worry about me Lori."

"Well I should go home. I'll see you later."

By the time Lori got home Myra and Julie were already in bed too.

"Hey Emily," Lori greeted her as she stepped into the house.

"Hey Lori, how's G? Did you get the scan results?"

"Yes I did. The good news is that he wouldn't be paralyzed forever. But it might be a long road to recovery."

"Well that's a least a bit of good news."

"Yeah. The doctor couldn't give me much more just yet. We'll know more once G wakes up."

"I'm sure that will be soon and I'm sure will do everything he can to get back on his feet so he can be there for you and the kids."

"Yeah, but I know how G gets when he's sidelined. He doesn't like it. He might push himself too hard."

"I'll keep an eye on him when I'm here."

"Thanks. Are the kids asleep?"

"Yes they all are. Charlie just woke up a while ago with a dirty diaper but he's back asleep again."

"Okay thank you."

"I'll see Monday," Emily spoke as Lori showed her out.

"Yeah see you Monday."

Lori stayed up for a while before going to bed.

The next morning she was woken up around 7am when Myra and Julie jumped into her bed.

"Mommy, mommy!"

"Hey sweeties," Lori replied half asleep.

"Mommy, wewe daddy?" Julie asked.

"Daddy is still at the hospital sweetie."

"We see daddy?" Myra asked.

"Not yet sweetie. Daddy is still really sick so he's still in the special part of the hospital. But don't worry, daddy will be just fine. Come on girls, let's get some more sleep. It's way too early."

"Can we sweep here?" Julie asked.

"Sure for just this once."

Myra and Julie crawled into the bed on Callen's side. Lori put some pillows on the floor of Callen's side in case the girls would fall out. The three of them lay in bed and fell asleep. An hour later Lori was woken up when Finn and Charlie decided to start crying. Lori got out and put some pillows on her side as well. She took the baby monitor with her and went to the boys' room.

"Hey sweeties."

Lori first picked Charlie up, changed his diaper and got him dressed. She placed Charlie back in his crib so she could dress Finn but Charlie wasn't having any of it. He started crying at the top of his longs.

"It's okay buddy. Mommy is right here. Mommy will pick you up soon again but mommy is just dressing your brother."

Lori changed Finn's diaper and got him dressed. She picked Charlie back up and walked downstairs with both babies via the stairs in the kitchen. She placed the babies in their bouncy chairs, which stood on the bar. As soon as she had put Charlie in the chair he started crying again. He was hungry. Lori quickly went back upstairs to close the safety gate at the top of the stairs so the girls wouldn't fall down before picking Charlie up. Finn lay peacefully in his bouncy chair sucking on his pacifier. Lori sat down on the kitchen chair and breastfed Charlie. Charlie immediately started sucking as soon as she nipple was in his reach.

"There's that better huh buddy."

Once Charlie had drunk enough Lori put him over her shoulder for burping. Just as he finished Finn started crying too, letting Lori know he was hungry too. Lori placed Charlie back in his bouncy chair and breastfed Finn.

Once she had finished feeding the boys Lori went to the living room. Ella was jumping up and down in her crate as soon as Lori walked into the living room.

"Hey Ella," Lori spoke as she opened the gate and Ella happily ran out.

Lori gave her some love before grabbing her leash. Lori took her out into the garden. Normally she didn't do that but no one was home to watch the kids so. Ella peed and Lori took her back inside. She grabbed some kibble for Ella and put it in her bowl. She also gave Ella some fresh water. While Ella was eating Lori went back outside and pored some water over the spot when Ella peed. She washed her hands inside before grabbing some breakfast herself too. She sat at the kitchen table and read the paper as she ate her breakfast. After she had finished breakfast she took the boys to the living room and put them in their playpens.

"Mommy!" Lori heard the girls yell at the top of the stairs just after 8.30am. Lori went up the stairs in the living room to find the girls all dressed standing in front of the safety gate. Lori opened the gate and the girls went downstairs. As soon as they were downstairs Ella came running up to them.

"Ella!" Myra and Julie squealed and gave Ella some love.

Lori fixed the girls some breakfast. The girls washed their hands before they ate their breakfast at the living room table. Ella was standing next to them, hoping something would fall off or that Myra and Julie would give her something.

"Ella, no begging," Lori said in a stern voice. Ella didn't stop so Lori pushed her away. After a few times Ella got the message and she lay down on her pillow. "That's a good girl Ella."

Once Myra and Julie had finished their breakfast they went back to play with Ella. They played fetch with her. Just after 9.30am Sylvie arrived.

"Hey aunt Sylvie," Myra and Julie called as they were still playing with Ella.

"Hey girls. How's G doing?" Sylvie asked Lori.

"He's doing okay. The scan results were quite positive. He still has a long road to go but the doctor said he should be just fine with time."

"That's great news."

"Yeah. Thanks for coming to help out."

"No problem. I love my nieces and nephews."

"Myra and Julie had their breakfast already, Ella has been walked and the boys have been fed."

"Okay, don't worry Lori, I've got this. Go visit G."

"I'll be back in about an hour."

"Alright."

Lori gave the kids a kiss goodbye before going to the hospital. She went up to the ICU and went to Callen's room.

"Hey honey," Lori spoke to him and gave him a soft kiss on his head.

Callen felt Lori's presence next to him and he saw her appear on the beach again.

"Go to her baby brother," he heard his sister's voice call.

Callen tried to move but he couldn't. Callen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He imagined himself walking towards Lori and grabbing her hand. When he grabbed her hand it felt so real. Like she was really holding his hand.

"G, come back to me honey."

"I will Lori, I will. I promise."

"Come with me G."

Callen imagined walking with her into the ocean. He felt himself slowly fading away. A moment later he opened his eyes and noticed he was in the hospital and he felt the tube down his throat.

"G, you're awake!" Lori replied happily. Lori saw he was uncomfortable with the tube in this throat. "Take it easy G, I will get the doctor." Lori pressed the call button and a little later the nurse stepped in.

"Yes can I help you?"

"He's awake and he wants the tube out."

"Okay I will get the doctor." The nurse went to page the doctor and stepped back into the room. "The doctor will be here soon sir, just hang on. I know it's uncomfortable right now. Just relax."

A minute later the doctor stepped into the room. He grabbed the necessary stuff to pull the tube out after checking Callen's vitals.

"Alright sir, blow out as I remove the tube." The doctor unhooked the tube from the ventilator. "Alright sir, now blow."

Callen blew as the doctor removed the tube. Callen coughed heavily once the tube was removed. The nurse had a cup of water and put the straw in front of Callen's mouth. Callen took the straw and drank a bit. The doctor listened to Callen's lungs but they were just fine.

Callen tried to move but he couldn't "What happened doctor? What's wrong?"

"You were shot and one of the bullets hit your vertebrae."

"Am I paralyzed?" Callen asked, fearing he may never walk away.

"Not permanently sir. But there is some damage to your vertebrae. I would like to do some tests on your to see how badly it is, but it's very likely that you will have some difficulty walking and you'll need physical therapy."

"How long will that take doctor?"

"I'm not sure yet, we'll see that when we start it. We're still determining the complete damage the bullet did to your vertebrae. Since you were out cold we couldn't complete all the tests. Will it be okay if we did the tests now?"

"Yeah sure."

"Alright."

The doctor pulled the blanket up over Callen's feet and pinched him with a needle in his right foot. "Do you feel this sir?"

"It's faint but yeah I feel it."

"That's good." The doctor did the same to Callen's left foot. "How about this?"

"It's the same."

"Alright. Can you wiggle your toes for me?" Callen tried to wiggle his toes. His toes moved a little bit. "That's good sir." The doctor grabbed both of Callen's hands. "Can you squeeze my hands sir?" Callen squeezed. "That's good sir." The doctor did some more tests on Callen. He was doing alright, considering everything. "Not bad at all sir. We'll take you for another scan later today to see the damage. For now you need to lay in the bed and try not to move too much. We can't have you sitting up just yet. I can move the head rest up a bit but not too much."

"Yeah, I want to look around me a bit."

"Alright." The doctor pushed the button to elevate the head rest. Slowly, very slowly the head rest went up a bit. "Does that hurt sir?"

"No, it's fine."

"Alright, if you need anything just press the button. I'll be back later to check on you." The doctor and the nurse left the room.

"Hey G," Lori spoke as she grabbed Callen's hand and gave him a kiss. "I was so worried about you."

"You don't need to be worried about me honey, I'll be fine. How are the kids?"

"They are good. The girls are wondering why they can't see you."

"What did you tell them?"

"That you are sick and that you're in a special part of the hospital so they can't come visit you. They really want to come see you but I didn't want to bring them here while you were out."

"How are the boys?"

"They are just fine but they feel something is up."

"And you, are you doing okay?"

"I'm just fine honey. Don't worry about me. Just focus on getting better honey."

"I'll be fine honey."

"What happened? Did they shoot you?"

….

"Alright, you know what to do," Antoli spoke when they arrived at the hotel.

Everyone went to do the task Antoli had given them. Callen, Sam and two other guys went into a room, it was like a conference room or something. They were dressed as maintenance workers. Callen and Sam went to work on disabling the cameras 'for maintenance'. Once they were done one of the other guys called for Antoli. Callen and Sam watched as Antoli came into the room with two more guys and he locked the door behind him. Callen looked behind him and saw that the two other guys had their guns on him and Sam.

"Что происходит?[What's going on?]" Callen asked.

"I thought I could trust you," Antoli spoke with his Russian accent.

"What are you talking about? You can trust us."

"No I can't. You're cops."

"What are you talking about? We're not cops! I swear!"

"My intel is solid. I don't like traitors!" Antoli motioned to his men and before Callen and Sam knew it, they were lying on the ground, shot.

….

"How did they made you?"

"I have no idea. Did the others catch the group?"

"Eric and Nell are looking into it, I don't know exactly how far they are with finding them. But they'll find them."

"If they made us they could know about our families too," Callen spoke worried about his kids.

"Don't worry about that G. Hetty took precautions. There's an agent watching our house and Sam's house too and there's an LAPD officer posted outside your room."

"Okay good." Callen relaxed.

Callen tried to move but he couldn't really move.

"You okay G?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to lay a bit different."

"You can't move G. You have to stay like this. You can't move with your spine just yet. I know it's hard but you just have to lay like this for now. If you want to move you have to ask the doctor. I don't know if you can lay different or how to move you."

Lori stayed for a little while longer until visiting hours were over.

"I'll be back in the afternoon. Take it easy okay G."

"I'll try."

Lori gave Callen a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Lori left the hospital and went back home.

"Hey, how's G?" Sylvie asked.

"He's doing good. He's awake."

"That's great. And the damage?"

"It's okay so far. He could move a bit so that's good, but he's got a long road ahead. How did the kids do?"

"Just fine. The girls played with Ella and the boys lay peacefully in their playpens."

Sylvie would stay for the entire day since Lori wanted to go to the hospital in the afternoon and in the evening as well. After lunch Sylvie took Ella for a walk with Myra and Julie as Lori stayed with the boys. Myra and Julie took their little stepping bikes as Sylvie held Ella's leash.

Just before Lori went to the hospital she put Finn and Charlie down for their nap. Sylvie was back with Ella and the girls before Lori had to leave.

When Lori walked into the hospital room Callen wasn't there.