Los Angeles, California

Nell stood in front of the TV with her hands trembling. She had to get in contact with the team ASAP- however, there was one problem. Callen had stated that he would call Nell within 24 hours, no earlier or later than that. Nell assumed that he had also destroyed his own burn phone just like she had, putting her chances for getting the team a warning call at zero.

Oh my God! Oh My God, Nell quietly panicked. She looked over to her couch where her yellow jacket and keys were sitting on one of the arms. Nell nervously pulled on her jacket, momentarily unsure of what to do next.

What about Eric? Nell paused, remembering her partner who was currently at the OPS center. If she could get him to somehow send a message to the other team members, maybe there was hope…

Nell grabbed her keys and sprinted over to her door. She opened the door to see none other than Owen Granger. Two dark haired agents stood behind him, both sporting their NCIS badges on their waists.

Nell calmly stepped to Granger and said in a mockingly cheerful voice, "Good morning, Assistant director Granger." The analyst's enunciation on the word assistant made Granger's face turn red, much to Nell's pleasure.

"You're under arrest," Granger snapped at her.

Nell crossed her arms and smirked at Granger. "Really? For what?"

"You are under arrest for aiding and abiding four individuals that are wanted for treason. I'm know that you just contacted your team."

"And what proof do you have of that?"

Granger was inches from her face. "Miss Jones, I know people who have technology that you haven't even heard of yet. Technology that can trace an old call between two burn phones whether they are active or not. I have a friend who's in the process of finding out where the hell your team is," the man snarled.

Nell pursed her lips together. "Hmmm, well first- you will never catch or find them. And two, get your friend a pretty pony for being so special."

An alert noise came from Granger's phone, causing him to look at the screen. A large grin appeared on his face, which made Nell's stomach drop.

"This friend of mine will definitely be getting a raise," Granger said, "Your team members aren't in Algiers. Actually, they're closer to Birkhadem, aren't they?"

Nell winced at his comment. Granger laughed, "No more witty comments?"

"You won't get away with this," Nell spat.

"I believe I just did." Granger turned to the two agents and said, "Get her out of here."

Birkhadem, Algeria

Deeks opened his eyes at the sound of a snore.

The last thing he remembered was hearing Callen making the call to someone in Los Angeles. He didn't know who it was or even how long ago the conversation had been. Deeks had been in the kitchen; now he was sitting in the hallway with Callen, Kensi, and Sam in a dark, humid house. The team had spent the first part of the night sitting in almost 75%humidity. Now, the A/C quietly ran from the living room allowing the four agents to rest in a little bit of comfort.

Deeks took a moment to observe the hallway. His backpack was sitting near the kitchen doorway and appeared to look full. Next to his backpack layed Kensi, who had her feet towards the bags and her head next to Deeks. She looked beautiful to Deeks for a minute before she let out a snore. Moving on to the other teammates, Deeks saw Callen lying across from them with his head on backpack. Deeks smiled weakly at the view of his sleeping superior. For a man so composed and strong, Callen slept on his back and with a mouth open. If it wasn't for the aching pains in his body, Deeks would have taken a picture for any future threats or hazing that could come from the older two agents.

If they ever made it home unscathed.

"Morning, sunshine."

Deeks looked over to Sam, who was smiling at him from his spot next to Callen. Deeks still felt so drowsy that he hadn't even noticed that Sam was awake.

"Hey….I pass out again?" Deeks asked.

"Actually, yes. I'm honestly surprised you even made it these far- cracked ribs, a sprained ankle, a not fully healed stab wound, a slightly swollen wrist- I'm actually impressed."

"That I'm alive?"

"No, that through all that joking and wise cracking, you're actually one hell of an agent."

"Really?" To Deeks, Sam's compliment gave the same feeling a child felt on Christmas. "I thought I was the bane in your existence?"

"You still are….but you're family. Plus, everyone needs a little pain in their ass to follow them around."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Deeks said. He looked over to see his sleeping partner and ran a hand through her hair. "What time is it?"

"Around two."

"Did I miss anything?"

"Not really. Callen and I restocked everything that we could while Kensi took care of you. There was a change of plans, though. We're going to leave two hours earlier than planned to head to Birkhadem. We won't go too far before Nell calls us. Leaving early will just be a precaution."

"Ok. Anything I can do to help?"

"Why don't you get so more rest?" Sam suggested.

Deeks looked between Callen and Kensi. "I should at least-"

"No Deeks. You out of all us need rest. Do you know how much work we had to put in to keep your pain in the ass alive?"

Deeks paused, not realizing that overall he felt better than he had in a few days. He could see a bandage around his wrist and ankle. "Thanks for that."

"Hmmm. Go to sleep, Shaggy."

Deeks closed his eyes and smiled. He started to drift back to sleep, slowly pulling himself into a dream of Kensi and him alone on a beach. The thought made him happy, especially since he was…..allowed to have such a dream.

Suddenly, the noise of something shattering echoed from the bottom floor. Kensi shot up and instantly put her hand on her gun just like Callen and Sam. Callen pulled his bag close to him and whispered, "Someone's in the house."

Deeks groaned and thought, Not again! Why is it that every time I fall asleep something bad happens?