Breathing

Breathing is underrated, it really is. We wake up every morning and take that first breath of the day. And then we breathe all day long without ever thinking about it. Until you have to.

Lying there in pain, with so much pressure on his chest, watching Sam doze, trying to find enough breath to say, "Sam … I can't breathe" – that was the single most frightening moment of his life. No gun, knife, torture, mission, or unknown enemy can hold a candle to trying to breathe and discovering you can't.

Of course, passing out due to lack of oxygen also meant he was completely unconscious when Sam cut his side open with a not-very-sharp knife and stuck a not-at-all-sterilized plastic pen into his chest to relieve the pressure. So there's that.

And now he's got this ragged scar on his left side that Sam will point to constantly, reminding him that "that scar is where I saved your sorry life". And he'll have to acknowledge that yes, Sam saved his life. And Sam will say, "You mean, I saved your life AGAIN." Whatever.

But back to breathing … breathing needs to market itself better. Because it's a gift. Every single breath. It's something that …

"G!", Sam yelled. And, based on the way the team was looking at him, it was not the first yell of the sequence.

Startled, Callen let out the breath he wasn't aware he was holding. It made him a little light-headed.

"I'm good," he said.

And then he took a deep breath and got back to work.