AN: Sorry it took SO long to update, guys! I've got a lot on my plate lately. Thankfully, I have most of this story written already, so all I've been needing to do is fill in a few places and rearrange some parts, so it hasn't been taking as long as it could. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Another should be on the way shortly!

Chapter 5

Standing outside the iron fence of a well-manicured house on a dead-end street, Deeks secured his tac vest and checked his weapon for what Kensi thought was the tenth time. She was impatiently checking her watch, sending nervous glances toward the house their suspects were holed up in and hoping that everything from here on out went smoothly. Which almost never happened, the cynic in her said.

Still, a girl could dream.

"Ready?" She asked Deeks.

"Yeah. You?"

"As I can be," she replied.

He nodded, so she looked to the rest of the team and repeated the question. Another agent, a slightly older man with salt-and-pepper hair and bright green eyes nodded as well. She knew his surname was Sterling, but for the life of her she could not recall his first name. He was ruggedly handsome, in a lumberjack kind of way - with a well-kept beard and thick biceps, and though his graying hair and laugh lines around his eyes showed his age she had to admit that they fit him. He reminded her of everyone's favorite uncle, the one who snuck you out for ice cream in your pajamas and brought you flowers after a big school play.

"We'll go around back," he told her. "We breach on your count."

"Sounds good," she replied. "Click when you're in position."

He gestured to the other two men in the team and in his rich baritone said, "Burke, Shaw. With me."

The men followed him, ducking through a hedge at the edge of the fence and sneaking around the side of the house. Once they were out of sight, Deeks and Kensi started for the front door. Keeping low, they crept forward up the sidewalk, and Kensi's first thought was that she wished Callen was there with them. He always knew just what to do, and he could improvise at the drop of a hat. He was a natural born leader, and she was instantly at ease whenever he was there.

But he wasn't, she told herself, and the reasons why were inside this house, hiding like cockroaches.

Just as she reached the top stair of the porch, the radio in her ear clicked twice. She looked at Deeks and saw him nod, and then she tapped her radio twice in response. They went to either side of the door, Deeks on the left and she on the right, and she glanced in through the window to get a basic feel of what they were getting into.

"Hey," Deeks said in a low voice, and she looked at him.

"What?" Her tone was a slight bit snappy, her nerves jangling and just ready to get this over with. No matter how many times they did this she always felt the same way, and she wondered if that would ever change, if she would be as cool as Callen seemed during an op.

Deeks ignored the attitude and held up five fingers, and she nodded. Five suspects inside. Then he held up four fingers. Four of them were armed. That was fine. Perfect, actually. Sterling's team could get two when they came through the back, and she and Deeks could take out the other two from the front.

She reached out and tried the door handle, but it was locked.

Of course it was.

Deeks tipped his head a little, telling her to back away, and she complied. He tossed his hair out of his eyes and took a step sideways so that he was in front of the door, and Kensi counted aloud to three and then said, "Go! Go! Go!"

She could hear wood splintering in stereo as the three men breached the back door at the same time Deeks kicked open the front. Raising her gun, she slipped past the broken door and shouted, "Federal agents!"

Of course the armed man closest to the front door decided to get up from where he sat watching a football game and raise his gun to shoot at her. And of course, Deeks squeezed off three shots in rapid succession and hit him square in the chest, seemingly without blinking. As he fell to the floor, bleeding out almost instantly, Kensi caught sight of Sterling leading the way through the kitchen that was at the rear of the ranch-style house, and for some completely unknown reason his first name suddenly came to her - Ben. She only half-watched him duck behind a counter and trade shots with one of the gunman in the kitchen, as she was trying to sweep her own area for the other armed man. Sterling quickly gained the advantage and aimed a lethal shot at the man's heart, and as he sank to the floor Sterling cleared his weapon.

"Kensi, get down!" She heard Deeks shout then, and she instinctively ducked behind the couch just as shots echoed off the living room walls. A bullet pierced the plaster behind her, at roughly the same place her head had just been, and then before she could peer over the back of the couch two bodies crashed to the floor in front of it. She heard something clatter to the hardwood floor, and when she finally looked around the corner of the sofa she saw it was a gun. She grabbed it before anyone else could and then searched for her partner. He was a part of the tangled limbs on the floor, his hands currently struggling to pin the other man's down. The suspect managed to get in a swing and hit Deeks in the face, but as Deeks put his arm up at the last moment it was little more than a tap. It also gave Deeks the moment he needed to yank out a pair of handcuffs and snap them around the man's wrists.

"Deeks?" She asked, and he nodded at her with a small grin on his handsome face.

"I'm okay. Go."

As she stood up and tucked the extra gun into her back holster, she heard gunshots from further into the house and carefully edged her way toward the hall. She cleared the first two rooms fairly quickly, but when she got to the end of the corridor she stopped and put her back to the left wall. Just beyond the doorway lay one of Sterling's men - Burke, she thought - face-down on the carpet with a pool of blood spreading under him. From the location of the pool she guessed that he'd been shot in the neck, bleeding out almost immediately.

Suddenly, there was a voice from inside the room, and she carefully peered around the door-frame. Sterling was there on his knees over the prone, unconscious form of Shaw, his left hand still on the fallen man's throat. Standing behind him was one of the armed men, his weapon held against Sterling's temple. Kensi forced herself to stay calm, her breathing slow and steady. Lifting her gun, she slipped around the corner and stood behind the suspect.

"Put it down," she commanded. "Now."

He hesitated for a long moment, but then took his finger off the trigger and raised his hands, and she quickly disarmed him. Sterling got to his feet and helped her handcuff the man, then took the weapon she had taken from the suspect.

"Saved my bacon," he said with a faint smile. "Thanks."

She nodded in reply, but then her eyebrows furrowed. "Where's the fifth man?"

A crash sounded from one of the bedrooms, and she sprinted from the room and ran to where she thought it had come from. One of the doors that had previously been closed was now hanging open a crack. Using the muzzle of her gun to push the door open the rest of the way, she immediately saw the source of the sound. A window had been broken, the curtains around it fluttering in the breeze. A flash of red and black darted past the empty pane and into the street beyond, and she stifled a curse.

"Deeks!" Kensi shouted into the hallway.

Her partner skidded around the corner and when he saw the window he said, "On it."

Before she could even nod, he was gone. She moved back into the room Sterling had been in, but except for Burke's body it was empty.

"Sterling?" She called.

"In here," his voice said from the living room. When she reached the area between that and the hallway, she found Sterling and a still-dazed Shaw keeping watch over their two remaining suspects, who were sat on the floor.

"You okay?" Kensi asked Shaw, who nodded.

"Knocked me out, but I'm good."

Nodding, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Ops.

"Eric," she said when he answered, "one of the suspects escaped. Deeks is trying to catch him on foot."

"I'll look at traffic cams in the area," he told her. She could hear keys tapping, and a few moments later he said, "Got 'em. Heading down Griffith Ave toward East 22nd."

"I'm heading there now," she replied. Looking to Sterling, she asked, "You okay here?"

He grinned, showing perfectly white teeth that contrasted with his tanned skin. "Absolutely."

She ran out of the house and jumped into her car, then drove off toward the intersection Eric had mentioned. As she sped down a side street, she put her phone on speaker and set it in her cupholder.

"Where are they now, Eric?" She asked.

"They turned down E 22nd and are heading for S San Pedro."

Making a split-second decision, she cut over to another side street and came out onto San Pedro. Their suspect reached the intersection just as she pulled up to block the street, and he took a step backward to try and maneuver around the corner. Deeks was right behind him, however, and instantly tackled him to the ground. Kensi grimaced as she heard the air rush out of the man's lungs, and as Deeks bound his hands behind him she came forward to help him get the man to his feet.

"Nice tackle," she told him.

"Nice move, cutting him off," he replied between gasps. Wiping sweat off his forehead with his arm, he smiled at her. "At least I got my cardio in for today."

She chose not to comment, instead steering the suspect toward the back seat of her car. "Let's drop him off and then get some food. I'm starving."

He nodded, still breathing heavily. When he was finally able to speak without sounding asthmatic, he said, "Sounds good."

She wasn't sure what day it was.

Her best guess was Tuesday. The team had gone out on Friday night, and if she was counting correctly they'd been here for four days, eating nothing and drinking only minimal amounts of lukewarm water. She hadn't even really wanted the water, but Callen had ordered her to drink it. Not one to upset him especially in their current situation, she'd relented, though she pretended to drink more than she did by keeping the cup tipped up even after she'd swallowed, or by taking smaller sips.

The men had once again left the room, though who knew how long they would stay away. Sometimes they were gone for hours, sometimes less than ten minutes. Wiping her tear-streaked face on her arms, she chanced a look at her team leader. His head was down, and she couldn't tell if he was awake or not, if his eyes were even open.

"Callen," she called, but he remained as he was. Taking a breath, she struggled to sit up and tried again. "Callen, look at me."

Slowly, he dragged his eyes up to her face, and they looked so hollow she had to force down a gasp of shock. His voice, rough from both dehydration and screaming at their captors, rasped, "I'm sorry."

She shook her auburn head. "It's okay. We need to get out of here, before they all come back."

He pulled on his chains making them rattle loudly, and the absurd image of Jacob Marley's ghost popped into her head. 'How?" He asked.

She scooted a little to the left and reached for something that she'd been hiding underneath her. Holding it up in her zip-tied hands, she gave a triumphant smile and replied, "Someone dropped the keys."

His eyes widened a little. "When...?"

"When he reached for the broomstick. Must've fallen out of his pocket."

She inched - yes, just like a worm, and yes, it felt just as degrading as one could imagine - across the glass-littered floor until she reached his feet. Looking up, she said, "At least your arm's stopped bleeding. Not your leg, though."

"I'm fine," he lied. "Can you stand?"

"Maybe," she replied, eyeing his body so that he arched an eyebrow.

"Nell..."

"Shh," she said. Taking hold of one of his legs, she used it to keep herself balanced as she maneuvered her legs under her, then slowly climbed up his frame until she was up on her feet before him. It took a while, and even then her knees shook with the effort. Callen could tell she was in pain but trying to hide it, and though he wanted to apologize again he knew she would just tell him to be quiet, so he remained silent. Handing him the keys, she watched as he freed his wrists from the shackles, then shook his arms to relieve the pins and needles. His skin was rubbed raw from his repeated attempts to pull free of the metal clamps, the flesh at the base of his thumbs bruised dark purple, but he seemed not to notice, instead staring intently down at her.

"We need to find something to cut those ties off," he said, his eyes scanning the room for a suitable tool. Finally, he spotted a knife - the curved kind used for cutting carpeting but which more recently had been used to open wounds on Nell's body - and despite the nausea he felt just looking at it, he snatched it from the metal shelving unit it laid on.

They heard voices then, and Callen said, "Lay back down, quick."

"I can't...I can't do this again..." she argued, but he shook his head.

"I won't leave you. I promise. Get down..."

Callen and Nell both snapped to full consciousness at a clicking sound coming from nearby. As completely disoriented as they were, they simply froze and stared at the door as it slowly swung open, light from the hall growing brighter the wider the space grew. Strangely, the back half of a man came through the door first, followed by his front, and Callen finally let out his breath. Leaning over, he rested his hand on Nell's shoulder only briefly to let her know everything was okay, then stood up and tried to un-knot the muscles in his injured arm.

"Deeks," he greeted the backwards man, who promptly spun around so they could see his front. He was juggling a drink carrier in one hand, a large paper bag in the other, and clutched in his teeth was another, smaller paper bag.

Seeing their expressions, Deeks quickly moved to a table and set the drink carrier and bag down, then pulled the bag from between his teeth. Looking from them to the door and back again he said, "Sorry. Sorry, I didn't mean to...I totally freaked you guys out."

"What are you doing?" Callen asked.

"Oh. Well," the blond said, pulling open one of the bags and rooting around inside it. "I know how the food is here, and since Kensi is on her way here we figured we could all have a little breakfast."

Callen glanced at the TV, which had yet to be turned off, then eyed Deeks skeptically. "It's four a.m."

Deeks shrugged. "Yeah, well, I couldn't sleep. So I called Kensi, and she wasn't sleeping, either."

Nell frowned. "What if we were?"

He seemed to be realizing for the first time that was completely within the realm of possibility. But then he simply said, "I brought croissants."

She tipped her head and smiled, and Deeks returned it.

"Uh-huh. See? I knew that'd get you." He looked at Callen. "And for you, donuts. There's glazed, powdered, and vanilla cream filled."

Beyond hungry, Callen took a step forward, his eyes on the bag that doubtless held the donuts. And yet, his raw voice remained nonchalant. "I could eat."

"Coffee for you and Kensi," Deeks went on, taking each cup out of the holder and setting them on the table, "and tea for me and Nell. Now, all we're missing is..."

The door creaked open again, and Kensi slipped inside. She saw Callen standing between the bed and the table, and she rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh.

"Deeks! I told you not to disturb them!"

"Princess," he intoned, and she frowned. "I was trying not to..."

"It's not his fault," Nell put in quickly. "We're light sleepers."

"Brought you a latte," Deeks told her. "With a caramel drizzle."

After a few more moments of light-hearted banter between the two, Deeks ducked out to grab a spare chair while Kensi moved the table so Nell and Callen could sit on the bed as they ate.

"So," Kensi said around a bite of croissant smeared with strawberry jelly, "when are they letting you guys outta here?"

"Not soon enough," Callen grumbled.

Nell nodded her agreement, then added, "Jenni, the nurse, said it should be sometime this morning."

"You could come stay with me if you want," Kensi offered. "Both of you."

As she expected, both of her friends politely declined.

"Thanks," Callen said, "but I'd rather go home."

"Me, too," Nell put in.

"Are you sure?" Kensi asked. "It's no trouble, and besides, it might not be a good idea to be alone after..."

"I need my own bed. And my bath tub," Nell interrupted with a wrinkle of her nose. "I could soak for hours."

"Mmm..." Kensi suddenly remembered something and set down her croissant, then dug around in the bag at her feet. Swallowing the bite of food in her mouth, she gave a soft smile and then handed Nell a pile of clothes. "Speaking of home, I grabbed a few things of yours for when you're discharged."

Nell recognized her flowered leggings and black peasant top, and she set them aside and returned Kensi's smile. "Thank you, Kens."

"No problem." She dug into the bag again and came up with another set of clothes, then handed them to Callen. "I didn't forget you, Callen."

He checked his outfit over, nodded appreciatively and then likewise set them next to Nell's. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Sorry I had to rummage through your underwear drawer, but, you know... Deeks was convinced it was booby-trapped."

He managed a small smile. "You're forgiven."

"You sure you won't change your mind?" Deeks asked them, his expression showing his concern. "Even for just a night or two?"

"I'll be fine," they both replied at the same time.

"We get it," Kensi said. "You wanna prove everything's fine. But that's not..."

"No!" Callen cried, his eyes hard. Then, realizing how loud he'd been, he blew out a breath and said, "Just, please..."

Deeks and Kensi shared a look.

"Okay," she said. Glancing down at her watch, she tapped her partner. "Time to go."

"But..."

She scowled. "Now."

Shooting Nell and Callen an apologetic grin, he stood and collected his coffee from the table. "Sorry to eat and run, guys," he said, "but our life of crime-fighting beckons."

"You're working a case?" Callen asked, curiosity piqued. Nell gripped his wrist before he could hop off the bed.

"Let them go," she warned him. "We haven't been discharged yet, and anyway you need sleep."

"No, I don't," he argued, gently prying her fingers from around his arm and standing up. "But you do."

She rolled her eyes. "We both do," she insisted. "You'll never get better if you don't rest."

"Nell..."

She just shook her head and gave him a slight push toward his bed. "I will if you will."

He considered arguing with her some more, but from the way she crossed her arms over her chest he figured he would not get far. Reluctantly, he nodded and sat down on his mattress.

"We'll come visit again later," Kensi promised. "Unless they spring you guys first."

"I'll text you if they do," Nell told her.

Deeks, who had already moved to the door to avoid either the awkward conversation or flying furniture, if it came to that, now lifted his hand and waved to the pair.

"Later," he said, and both Callen and Nell nodded in reply.

"Bye," Nell said as Kensi nudged her partner out the door. She turned to face them right before she left and smiled encouragingly. Nell smiled back, and then she was gone.

Callen sank back against his pillow and sighed. After a moment, he glanced to the side and saw the remote sitting on his table. Snatching it up in his hand, he began to flip through channels until a program about cars caught his interest.

After another ten minutes, he heard Nell ask, "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"We agreed to get some rest."

He lifted his eyebrows at her. "No, you agreed. I didn't say anything."

"Really?"

"What?"

"We're gonna play this game?"

"I'm not playing games," he told her.

She climbed out of bed and came to stand beside his bed. "This isn't good for you, Callen..."

"Lots of things aren't good for me," he interrupted. "Coffee, bacon, chocolate cake..."

"That's not..."

"Being kidnapped and tortured, shot..." his voice grew louder with each word, "...Beaten, watching my friend be assaulted over and over again, poisoned, knocked unconscious...None of those things are good for me!" Chest heaving and out of breath, he added, "And certainly not you!"

"But we're not there now!" She shouted back. "We're here, together..."

"And what good have I been for you, Nell?" He asked. "If it wasn't for me they would never have taken you. They would never have..."

"Have what?" When he only shook his head, she said, "Say it, Callen. They wouldn't have what?"

He clenched his jaw and gave her a look of pure betrayal. Glowering darkly, he spat, "Raped you."

She felt her heart beat harder as he uttered the word, but she hid it with a shake of her head. "No. You heard him. He said it wasn't just you they wanted, that we were both just as involved. If it hadn't been you, it could have just as easily been Eric, or Sam. Or none of you." She shivered at that thought. What if she had been alone when they took her? Would she even be alive right now? She pushed those questions away, unable to think about the answers.

"I was glad I wasn't alone," she told him. "I don't want to think about what would've happened if you weren't there."

He opened his mouth to reply, but just then Sam came back into the room, carrying a cup of coffee he had clearly gotten from someplace other than the hospital cafeteria. He took one look at the scene before him and gave a heavy sigh, then set his coffee down and said, "I leave for five minutes..."

"It's not what you think," Callen began, but Sam just shook his head.

Ignoring him, the SEAL said, "Get some sleep, Nell. I'll deal with him."

She gave him a nod and turned to go back to her bed, but before she did she glanced down at Callen and said, "Stop fighting."

With that, she climbed back up onto her bed, pulled her blankets up to her chin and curled onto her side. She closed her eyes and within moments both men could tell she was fast asleep.

Sam dragged the chair Deeks had used over to Callen's bedside, then grabbed his coffee and sat down. His chocolate eyes stared at his partner, silently pondering how to say what was on his mind.

"I know what you're thinking," Callen muttered, and now Sam's eyebrows lifted significantly.

"You do?"

Callen nodded. "That she's right. That I need sleep."

"Most people do."

"But I can't."

"Why not?"

The look Callen gave him was one of raw fear. "Because I can't let anything happen to her, Sam."

Sam frowned. "You think that if you fall asleep, something bad will happen to Nell?"

"I know how it sounds," Callen snapped. "But I've tried, Sam. I fall asleep for a minute only to jerk wide awake, terrified, and I have to make sure she's still okay. Still here."

"So you haven't really slept since before you were taken?"

Callen shook his head.

"But you have to get some rest," Sam reasoned. "Your body needs to heal, and that can't happen if you don't sleep."

"I know that. Like I said, I tried. At this point I don't even know if I know how."

"It's not theoretical physics, G. I'm sure you can figure it out."

"Sam..."

Callen's partner shook his head. "Stop fighting it," he said, echoing what Nell had said. "Just stop thinking and blaming yourself and whatever it is that's going on in that brain of yours, and go to sleep."

They stared at each other, silently daring the other to relent, and surprisingly it was Callen who gave up and laid his head back on his pillow with a heavy sigh.

"Fine," he huffed. "But only because you're here."

Sam hid a smile. "Aren't I always?"

Callen didn't move to look at him. His eyes still staring at the ceiling, he said, "Yeah. You are."

TBC...