"Sam, I swear it's fine," Deeks sighed, reluctantly following Sam past the bullpen. He'd had Castor taken custody of Tom Nelson while he dragged Deeks back to the mission. "I'm already in enough hot water as it is, do you really want Kilbride to find out we delayed an interrogation?"

"I'll handle it if it comes to that," Sam promised him in a tone that didn't allow for disagreement. Still, Deeks slowed to a stop outside the locker rooms. "Besides, I texted Callen. He'll handle the interrogation.

"Sam…"

"C'mon, you really think he's gonna go up against me?" Raising an eyebrow, Sam waited for Deeks to come up with an argument.

Deeks spent a second amusing with the image of Sam and Kilbride battling it out in a boxing ring. The petty part of Deeks wouldn't mind watching that.

"Uh-huh. Get in there."

Deeks rolled his eyes, but didn't put up much of a fight as Sam grabbed him by the arm of his jacket and unceremoniously push him through the locker room door.

"You know, the last time I was in here, the company was a lot more desirable," Deeks commented while Sam gathered up first aid supplies.

"Funny. I'm not kissing or hugging you," Sam informed him, gesturing at his torso. "Take your shirt off."

"Not the first time I've heard that."

Sam just shook his head, waiting for Deeks to shrug off his jacket and pull his shirt up over his back and shoulders.

After a moment, Sam made a sound of dismay that didn't reassure Deeks. "This does not look good, man," he said.

"Just do what you can. I'll be fine," Deeks said, more annoyed than anything. Of course the stupid burns that had started all of this in the first place had to be problematic.

He really couldn't tell that much difference from earlier. His back still burned, the pain having steadily increased over the day.

Without warning, Sam dabbed at his back and Deeks inhaled sharply as a white-hot pain lanced across his skin.

"Hmm," he gasped, using every ounce of his control not to scream. Clenching his fist, he bent over the bench for a moment, and felt Sam hesitate behind him. "Just get it over with."

Following his instruction, Sam dabbed and bandaged the wounds. It was extremely painful, but Sam worked mercifully quick and it was probably only a few minutes before he patted Deeks' shoulder.

"All done."

Deeks nodded in thanks, feeling sweaty and vaguely sick.

"Deeks." Sam shook his shoulder suddenly, peering down at Deeks with a concerned expression that made him wonder if it wasn't the first time he'd said his name. "Those burns are infected. You need to get checked out before it gets worse."

"I will, as soon as we're done today," Deeks promised as he fixed his shirt and pulled his jacket back on.

"I'm gonna hold you to that. Even if I have to drag you down to the urgent care myself," Sam said and once again Deeks completely believed him.

"Good to know you have my back. Literally."

Sam snorted, shaking his head, upper lip twitching. "You're an idiot."

As they headed back out, they ran into a fuming Kilbride standing in the middle of the empty bullpen.

"What the hell are you two doing here and where is Callen?"

Sam put a staying hand on Deeks' shoulder, like Deeks was really going to mouth off right now. Still, he supposed Sam trying to protect him was nice.

"Deeks aggravated his burns from the other day while apprehending Tom Nelson. We came back so I could patch him up again," Sam explained simply. "I asked Callen to take over for us in the meantime."

"Good lord! The things you people will do to get out of work," Kilbride grumbled, hands on his hips.

"With all due respect, Admiral, I'm concerned that Deeks' wounds are inflected. I think he needs to seek medical attention."

Deeks flashed Sam a look for his betrayal, but he just calmly folded his hands across his chest.

Traitor.

"Agent Hanna, I have a grieving family wondering why their son is dead. I have no time for your group shenanigans while a killer is still on the loose," Kilbride ground out, gearing up for a full-blown tirade. "I'm sure Investigator Deeks will survive until the end of this case."

"Admiral—"

"It's ok, Sam. I've survived worse," Deeks interrupted, leveling Kilbride with a measured look. The age old need to show no weakness, mostly buried at this point in his life, sprang to life.

"Excellent." With a grim smile, Kilbride gestured towards the hallway. "Now I don't want to see either of you again until you have our killer in custody."

A/N: Yes, I'm taking Kilbride's curmudgeonly ways and unreasonableness to the extreme.