Chapter 48

Callen tapped his earwig and yelled "Eric, get the paramedics in here, NOW!" Hearing the panic in Callen's voice, Eric knew they must have found Deeks and that it wasn't good. He contacted the waiting paramedic unit to tell them it was safe to enter and to hurry. When he hung up, he and Nell stared at each other, feeling helpless this far away. Nell's eyes filled and Eric pulled her into his arms, both gaining strength from the contact, neither remembering that Hetty was standing behind them.

Hetty had her hands tightly gripped in front of her, trying not to let her worry show. They had found him and he was alive. That was a good start. She was pretty sure his team would fracture if he didn't make it. She was sure her own heart would break. The man had an uncanny ability to get under everyone's skin and make himself at home. So much so, that the absence of him would make you feel like you were missing a limb. She sighed and said a prayer to whatever god or gods were listening, that Mr. Deeks make it out of this one as he had so many others. She feared he might be bucking the odds at this point.

Back at the plant, Kensi stood in the last room that had needed to be cleared. She'd heard Callen's frantic call for the paramedics, she knew what it meant. She stared at what they'd found in this room. A window overlooking the packing floor with a camera pointed downwards, sitting dead center. The feed was showing on a laptop set up on a desk next to the camera's tripod. She could see the platform where Deeks was hanging. She watched as Sam and Callen went up to him, her heart in her throat. She saw Sam reach out to take Deeks's pulse, seeming to move in slow motion. When Sam nodded that he had found one, she felt her knees give out and she sank to the floor in relief. Jim Franklin came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently to let her know they were there. He nodded to FBI Agent Leary and motioned her to the laptop.

Cheryl went over to it and gently closed the lid, hiding the goings on below from Kensi. NCIS would take it back to their technical team and get whatever they could off it. She moved to the window and looked down at the scene below. She hoped the man that inspired such concern would make it. She thought again that she would like to meet him, once he was conscious.

Sam and Callen were trying to take Deeks down off the hook, Pastor watching from his position of guarding Sean, itching to help but not trusting the man to stay put. Callen moved around behind Deeks to get a better grip and froze. His eyes widened. Sam had wrapped his arms around the bloody man's torso, preparing to lift him, hoping that they could get the ropes off the hook, both he and Callen slipping in the pool of blood that had gathered under their friend. The amount of blood was something neither wanted to think about.

"G! What are you waiting for? Help me lift him up!"

"Sam. His back. His thighs and calves. Someone whipped him bloody." Callen whispered. They both looked over at the man who was cuffed on the floor. Rage passed over Sam's face. He was about to let go and give the man a taste of what he had inflicted on Deeks when Callen snagged his attention. "Sam. Later. Right now we need to focus on Deeks." He looked at Sean again, and said menacingly "There will be a later, I promise you that." Sean paled.

Turning their attention back to their injured friend, Sam wrapped his arms around him again. He had just flexed his muscles to lift Deeks when one of the paramedics burst through the door and screamed "Don't! Don't move him yet!"

As one, they turned to look at the woman running towards them. Sam said "We can't just leave him hanging there!"

"You have to, at least for now. You have no idea what his internal injuries may be. You could hurt him worse, or even kill him, if you aren't careful. Let me do my job!" Paramedic Tara Langely reached the platform and looked up at the man she hoped she could help. He was only wearing boxers that were soaked and stiff with his blood. He was unconscious and she could hear how labored his breathing was.

Putting her stethoscope in her ears, she listened to his chest. "Decreased breath sounds on the right."

She gently palpitated his sides and heard the distinctive creaking of broken ribs. "Broken ribs. Most likely one of them punctured his lung."

She raised his head and saw his lips were turning blue. "We need oxygen, now!"

She turned to yell for her partner to hurry when Randy Queen pushed the gurney through the door, hurrying to her side. "Randy, get the backboard ready and I need O2 right now! He's not getting enough oxygen."

Turning back to her patient, she stopped and stared at him for a second, not fully understanding who she was seeing. When it finally dawned on her she asked tentatively, not wanting to believe this bloody, bruised and beaten man was someone she knew, "Marty?"

Sam and Callen looked at each other in surprise. Sam asked "You know Deeks?"

Overcoming her surprise and her very real fear for the man in front of her, Tara went back to work. She placed the oxygen mask her partner handed her on Deeks's face and Randy turned it on. They then both started to work on strapping him to the backboard. As they worked frantically, she absentmindedly answered Sam's question. "Yeah, I know Marty. We dated casually for a few months several years ago. We finally decided we made better friends than lovers. We've stayed in touch over the years."

Callen just shook his head and said "Leave it to Deeks."

Tara looked at him and forced a small smile. "You know how it is. Cops, firemen, paramedics, we run in the same circles. Marty's a great guy, we just weren't a great couple."

Kensi entered the room just in time to hear the tail end of their conversation. She eyed the pretty blonde paramedic and waited for the surge of jealousy that never came. Her Deeks was a bloody mess and she found she didn't care how many of his exes worked on him, as long as whoever it was saved his life. She took a closer look at him and gasped. She'd never before seen anyone beaten so badly. No one that was still alive, that is. Sam heard the sound and noticed her for the first time. He touched Callen's shoulder and pointed her way. The two men walked to her and Sam put his arms around her. For the second time in as many days, Kensi buried her face in the broad chest of her teammate.

"He's strong, Kens. You need to be too. He'll make it. He has a lot to live for." He whispered to her. She nodded into his chest. The three of them stood there as the paramedics finished strapping Deeks to the backboard and put a collar around his neck.

Tara stepped back and said "We could use your help now. It's about as safe as we can make it to take him down." Sam let go of Kensi and he and Callen went back up to the platform, Pastor still keeping his eyes on their prisoner. With the two paramedics help, they were finally able to get him off the hook, using the backboard for leverage and to keep his body straight and still. Sam pulled out his knife and cut the bindings, Deeks's arms falling limply to his sides. They carried him to the gurney and the paramedics strapped him in, redoing the backboard straps to lock his arms into his sides. Randy lifted up the oxygen canister and placed it beside him.

Tara looked at the way Deeks's shoulders sat, she reached out and manipulated them. "Both his shoulders are dislocated. We'll deal with that at the hospital." She took in how pale he was, the amount of blood on the floor and on his body. "He's lost a lot of blood and he's still having trouble breathing. We've got to go. Now!" They rushed him out the door, Kensi right on their heels.

Sam and Callen hesitated. Pastor said "I've got this scumbag. Go! Be with your friend." Not needing to be told twice, the two hurried after the gurney.

When they reached the outside, they found Michelle, John and the other NCIS agents waiting. Michelle looked at Sam who just shook his head and shrugged. As the gurney was rushed by them, each reached out and touched whatever part of him they could as he passed. Willing him to fight and come back to them. Talia watched him go by, his face bruised and swollen, so still and pale. She felt her heart clench and realized she'd done exactly what she had sworn she wouldn't do. She'd fallen in love with the wrong man once again. She sighed and turned away, not seeing Michelle look at Kensi and open her arms. Kensi went into them willingly, sniffling back tears, the adrenalin rush of breaching and clearing the building was starting to wear off and was leaving her feeling sick and dizzy. Her fear for Deeks eating at her. Michelle squeezed her tight while John patted her on the shoulder.

She finally stepped back and joined everyone as they all stood there and watched Tara and Randy load the gurney containing Deeks into the back of the ambulance. She moved away from the group and headed towards it, fully intending to ride with him to the hospital, no matter what they said. She wasn't letting him out of her sights again for a moment, terrified that, if something went wrong, she wouldn't get the chance to say goodbye and let him know how much she loved him.

Kensi looked at Tara as she made her way into the back of the rig with her, daring the paramedic to tell her she couldn't come with them. Instead, Tara smiled encouragingly at her and asked "You're Kensi, aren't you?"

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A/N - seems like I'm always saying this but, thanks to honus47 for reviewing and encouraging me!