Final chapter. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. It's very much appreciated

xxxxx

Sam got up from the sofa and turned to Callen. 'You want some coffee?"

Callen shook his head. "Thanks. I'll just wait until we get into the office."

"Okay…I wasn't sure if..." Sam hesitated. So…you feel up to working today?"

Callen became defensive. "Do you think I shouldn't go in today, Sam? Why? Did Hetty say something?"

"Whoa, G…No one said you couldn't go in," Sam's tone was soothing as he tried to placate his quickly riled up partner. "Whatever you want to do is fine."

"I want to go in," Callen stated. "I need to stop by my house though. I don't have any clothes with me…unless I just shower and change when we get to work..."

"We can stop at your house, G. It's not a problem."

"Okay," Callen settled against the back of the sofa, relaxing. "I'm ready whenever you are."

xxxxx

Sam showered and dressed quickly and after kissing his wife and daughter goodbye, he was ready to go. He smiled as the two women in his life hugged his partner and then he and Callen headed out. They stopped at Callen's house briefly and then finally were on their way to work.

"You doing okay?" Sam gave Callen a brief glance as he drove.

"I'm fine, Sam," Callen replied, barely managing not to roll his eyes. He knew Sam had reason to be concerned about him, but the constant queries about his well-being were a little annoying, even if they were given with the best of intentions.

"Why don't we stop for donuts," Sam suggested.

Callen raised an eyebrow. "Really? You want to stop for donuts?"

"Sure, why not?"

"I don't know…maybe because you would rather have a smoothie, fruit or some other healthy breakfast…"

"I just feel like donuts today, G," Sam said with a shrug. "I mean if you have a problem with that…"

"I don't have a problem with it, Sam," Callen said, smirking. "Donuts are fine." He didn't want a replay of the whole In-N-Out drama from the previous night. It was just easier to eat a donut and get on with the day. After a stop at a nearby donut shop, the two men arrived at the Mission. After greeting their co-workers and distributing donuts, they began their work.

xxxxx

Callen was alone in the bullpen when it happened. He was immersed in reading the details of a casefile and wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. He never even knew Nate was there until he heard his voice. "Hey, Callen…"

He immediately began to panic even before he looked up to see Nate standing in front of his desk. He felt an intense wave of fear sweep over him as his heart began to pound and his breathing grew harsh and fast.

"You're not still afraid of me, are you?" Nate smirked. "I never realized I was so scary."

"Get the hell away from him!" The anger and emotions, which had been building in Sam since the previous day, finally reached a boiling point when he spotted Nate in front of Callen. He went at Nate like an enraged bull, tackling him to the floor and proceeding to get in several good punches.

Deeks entered the bullpen only moments after Sam and quickly took in the situation. "Sam, stop!" he yelled as he tried to get Sam off of Nate. Caught up in the momentum, Sam swung at Deeks and connected with his right eye. Deeks gasped in pain and yelled again. "Damn it, Sam stop! Callen needs you!"

Deeks' words broke through Sam's rage and his eyes went immediately to his partner who was in the midst of a full-blown panic attack. He ceased punching Nate and rushed to Callen's side. Sam spoke to him as reassuringly as he could. "G? G… come on buddy, concentrate on your breathing…slow, deep breaths. Everything's going to be okay." He momentarily glanced over at Deeks. "Can you get him out of here?" he whispered, indicating Nate who was lying flat on his back, on the floor, with blood gushing from his nose. He watched as Deeks roughly pulled Nate to his feet and escorted him from the bullpen.

Callen closed his eyes and focused on Sam's voice as he tried to regulate his breathing.

"That's it, G… you're doing great."

After a couple of minutes, Callen's breathing had slowed and he opened his eyes. He immediately felt dizzy and nauseous. He grabbed the edge of his desk, feeling as if he was going to fall.

"G? What is it?" Sam asked with concern as his partner's face blanched.

"Just dizzy," Callen replied.

"You want me to help you over to the sofa?" Sam questioned. "You might be more comfortable lying down."

Callen thought about that for a few moments and then nodded. "Okay."

Sam gently put his arms around his partner and helped him to his feet. "Easy does it," he murmured as they slowly made their way to the sofa and Sam helped Callen to lie down. "You doing okay?"

Callen nodded even though he was still feeling pretty shaky.

At that moment, Deeks came over and handed Sam a bottle of spring water. "I thought maybe he could use this," he said.

"Thanks, Deeks." Sam opened the bottle and brought it to Callen's lips. "Here, G. Drink some water."

Callen took a couple of small sips and then turned away. "That's enough."

"Okay." Sam put the cap back on the bottle and put it aside. He then noticed that Callen was shivering. "You cold?" he asked.

Callen nodded. "Yeah, kinda…"

Sam reached for the throw and covered his partner with it. "Try to get some rest, G. I'll be right here."

Feeling entirely worn out, Callen allowed his eyes to close, trusting that Sam would be there to keep him safe.

xxxxx

A short while after Callen had dropped off to sleep, Kensi arrived back at the bullpen carrying the bags of lunch which she had gone to pick up. Her eyes went immediately to Deeks' face, more specifically, the red, swollen eye on his face. "Oh my God, Deeks, what happened?" she exclaimed as she placed the lunch bags on her desk and went over to him.

"My eye got in the way of Sam's fist," Deeks replied dryly.

"Sam hit you?" she asked, reaching out and lightly touching the swelling beneath his eye.

"Ouch! What the heck are you doing?" Deeks asked, pulling away from her.

"Sorry," Kensi said as she dropped her hand. "You need to put some ice on that."

Deeks nodded wearily but made no move to get up from his chair.

Kensi sighed softly. "I'll go get you some."

"Thanks, Kens," Deeks gave her a grateful smile. A few minutes later, Kensi returned with an ice pack which she gently placed over his eye as he winced. "10 minutes on, 10 minutes off."

"Yeah, I know the drill," Deeks replied as he leaned his head back.

"So why did Sam hit you?" Kensi asked, taking a seat by her partner. She had noticed Sam sitting with Callen who was lying on the sofa. "You didn't do anything to Callen, did you?"

"Really?" Deeks looked at Kensi incredulously. "That's where you go? You think I did something to Callen?"

"I have no idea what happened," Kensi defended, shrugging. "I leave to go get our lunch and when I come back, you have a swollen eye, which you said Sam gave you, and Sam is sitting over there with Callen. I don't know what to think, Deeks."

"Nate."

"Nate was here?" Kensi asked, obviously surprised. "Why? What on earth was he doing here?"

Deeks shrugged. "I have no idea. I just came across Sam throttling him and Callen having a panic attack. I tried to get Sam off of Nate and he socked me."

"Ouch," Kensi gave him a sympathetic look.

"Ouch is right," Deeks nodded. "Sam packs a mean punch. I think he broke Nate's nose."

"That's good," Kensi remarked, thinking that was the least Nate deserved for what he had done to Callen.

The pair looked up as Sam approached them. "I'm sorry about that," Sam said, looking guilty as he saw the damage he had done to Deeks. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

"its okay, Sam," Deeks replied. "You owe me one though."

Sam nodded. "At least one, Deeks."

"Sam, why was Nate even here?" Kensi asked looking up at him.

Sam shook his head. "I don't know. He was over by G's desk and G was pretty freaked by it. I just blew up."

"How's Callen now?" Kensi asked, her eyes filled with sympathy for what their team leader had been going through.

"He's asleep. He's totally wiped out." Sam said, shaking his head. "I hate what this has been doing to him."

"Callen's tough, Sam," Deeks said. "He's going to be fine."

Their conversation was interrupted as Hetty entered the bullpen. "Well, well…I hear there's been quite the ruckus going on," she remarked, her eyes on Sam. "Care to explain, Mr. Hanna?"

"Maybe you can explain to me what Nate was doing here," Sam retorted angrily.

Hetty sighed. "He was here for a debriefing, Sam. He was not supposed to have any contact with Mr. Callen."

Sam scowled in disgust. "A debriefing? Shouldn't he be locked up somewhere, Hetty? What the hell!"

Hetty shook her head. "You know better than that, Sam. Mr. Getz was undercover. No matter how underhanded his tactics may have seemed…"

"May have seemed?" Sam interrupted. "His tactics were deplorable, Hetty. There was no reason for him to do what he did to Callen."

"Nate claims that what he did was necessary to maintain his cover," Hetty said.

"That's bullshit, Hetty."

Hetty continued. "There's really no way to disprove it, and unless Mr. Callen presses charges…"

"You know G isn't going to do that," Sam interrupted again.

"Unless Mr. Callen presses charges…" Hetty repeated, "Nate will serve a six week suspension and then go onto another assignment."

"Are you kidding me?" Sam was appalled by this latest development. "I won't work with him, Hetty. I don't trust him and you sure as hell can't expect Callen to trust him."

"I don't trust him either." Kensi broke into the conversation, wanting to support her teammates.

"Neither do I," Deeks said.

Hetty turned her attention to Deeks. "Mr. Deeks, are you alright?" she asked. "You really need to be quicker about ducking in these situations."

"I'm fine and I didn't have time to duck," Deeks replied, obviously annoyed.

"10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, Mr. Deeks," Hetty instructed.

"Yeah, I know." Deeks rolled his eyes as Kensi stifled a giggle.

"In any case," Hetty turned her attention back to Sam. "I understand why you would be unable to trust or work with Mr. Getz. His upcoming assignment will be long-term and will take him out of the country so you don't need to worry about him.

Sam nodded, at least somewhat appeased by this.

"Well, I'll leave you to…" Hetty's gaze swept from Callen zoned out on the sofa, to Deeks who appeared to be lightly dozing, "whatever you're able to accomplish. Mr. Hanna, I trust you will be keeping an eye on your partner?"

Sam nodded and watched as Hetty headed back to her office. "What do you say we have some lunch?" Sam said, glancing over at the bags sitting on Kensi's desk. Pounding on Nate had worked up his appetite.

xxxxx

Callen slept for two solid hours before he finally started to awaken. He groaned softly as he opened his eyes and began to remember what had happened. "Damn…" he said softly as slowly moved into a sitting position. Still feeling chilled, he kept the throw wrapped around him. He had a dull headache and generally felt like he had been run through the wringer.

Sam saw that his partner was finally awake and walked over to the sofa, pulling up a chair to sit beside him. "Hey G, how are you doing?" He passed him the water bottle from earlier and Callen took it and gratefully took a few sips.

"Thanks… I'm doing alright, I guess…" he stared down at his lap, not meeting Sam's eyes.

"What?" Sam asked, looking puzzled. "What's the matter?"

Callen shook his head. "I can't believe I freaked out like that because of Nate…man…you must really think I'm weak."

"I would never think that. You've been through a lot these past two days."

Callen gave a humorless laugh. "Really, Sam?" he asked with a touch of anger to his voice. "Look me in the eyes right now and tell me you can trust me to watch your back the next time we're in a dangerous situation."

Sam reached both arms out to Callen and grasped his shoulders, looking straight into his eyes. "I will always trust you to have my back, G. I trust you with my life."

Callen could tell that Sam meant what he was saying. "I just…I don't know how I let Nate get into my head that way…"

"It wasn't your fault, G. He drugged you. There was no way to fight that."

"Yeah, I guess," Callen admitted grudgingly.

"In any case, you seem like you're doing a lot better now," Sam observed.

Callen nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling better…more like myself."

"Good," Sam smiled, pleased that his partner was doing so well. "But G…what happened…It's not just going to disappear. I want you to know that you can talk to me about this. You can talk to me about anything."

Callen nibbled on his bottom lip, considering Sam's words. "You know it's not easy for me to open up about this kind of stuff…"

"I understand that, but it's not good to keep it all bottled up inside you. You ought to talk to someone. If not me, maybe Hetty?"

"Hetty?" Callen shook his head quickly. "I can't talk to Hetty about any of this, Sam…I just can't…"

"Well then, you should talk to me. You know I'm always here for you."

"I do know that, Sam."

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. Callen was still feeling tired and Sam was just happy to see his partner recovering.

"So what's up with Nate?" Callen finally asked after drinking some more water.

Sam sighed. Nate was one person he really did not want to talk about and he didn't want to upset Callen either.

"What?" Callen asked. "Are you in trouble for beating him up?"

Sam gave Callen a look of surprise. "You saw that?"

Callen smirked. "I know I freaked out, but I wasn't so out of it that I didn't notice that, Sam. I would have had to be deaf and blind not to have. "

Sam shook his head. "I'm not in trouble, G." At least he didn't think he was in trouble. Nate deserved a lot more than what Sam had given to him. "But…Hetty said he'll be suspended for six weeks and then return to active duty."

"Oh…" Callen considered that, but really wasn't all that surprised. "Did you think he was going to go to jail?"

Sam shrugged. "I wouldn't be opposed to that. If you pressed charges..."

Callen shook his head. "That's not happening."

"No. I didn't think you'd do that, but we'd all support you if that's what you want to do, G. Hell, Nate deserves to be punished for what he did to you."

"A lot of people deserve to be punished in this world, Sam. It just doesn't always work out like that."

"People like Pete, you mean?" Sam asked. "He damn well should have been punished."

"He was punished, Sam…" Callen stated quietly. "Not for what he did to me, but eventually he got what he deserved…"

"How do you know that? What happened to him? Why didn't you tell me?" Sam rapidly fired off the questions, one after the other.

Callen gave Sam a long look. "I looked him up. I didn't think you'd be so worked up over it or I would have told you."

"Why wouldn't I be bothered by this?" Sam asked. "Don't you think it hurts me to hear the kinds of things you've gone through, G?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Callen said with a sigh as he dropped his head and stared down at the floor. "That wasn't my intention though." He was starting to feel guilty that he had shared his story with Sam.

"Hey." Sam put his hand under Callen's chin and gently tipped his head upwards so that he was meeting his gaze again. "I told you. I want you to tell me this stuff, G. I want you to talk to me."

"If I'm going to talk to anyone, it will be you, Sam," Callen admitted softly. He sure as hell wasn't going to be talking to any so-called professionals any time soon. Nate had taken care of that.

"Good," Sam nodded in satisfaction. "Now tell me, what happened to Pete?"

"He's in prison for armed robbery and a bunch of other lesser charges. He'll be there for a long time."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that's where he would end up," Sam said. He couldn't help but be glad that Pete was paying for his past misdeeds.

Callen nodded. He was tired of thinking about Pete and the other people and memories which Nate had drudged up for him. He wanted to try to focus on the present and leave those people and places in the past where they belonged. He directed his attention to his partner. "Sam?"

"Yeah G?

"I just want to say thanks for sticking with me the way you have. I know it's been difficult…that I've been a pain in the ass to deal with. Anyhow, I appreciate it. You always look out for me…" He hesitated. "Just like family…"

"You are family," Sam met Callen's eyes. "You're my brother, G…in every way that counts. Don't ever forget it."

"That goes both ways, Sam," Callen said as he looked back at his partner gratefully, the one person he trusted in this world over all others. "Don't you forget it either..."