A FanFic Relay in 10 chapters by five of your favorite fanfic writers in order of appearance: SweetLu, Jericho Steele, Kadiedid, imahistorian, and Phillydi.

Epilogue

by Sweet Lu

...

He was staring down at Callen as he slept when he felt Sam's presence behind him, letting out a ragged breath when the man's large hands settled firmly on his shoulders. They anchored him and he trembled slightly as he tried to find himself and banish some of the anger and frustration still coursing through him. Remnants of Jimmy Satterlee still clung to him, and he broke away from Sam and walked to the window to search for whatever he could find that would bring him some feeling of finality to the mission and some sense of his true self.

"You need to punch something or someone?" Sam asked, his voice deep with understanding.

"Myself maybe," he answered.

"It's over, Deeks," he said. "Let it go."

"I can't let it go Sam," He spit out angrily. "I had to watch. I had to leave Kensi tied to a chair. I had to watch that crazy sonofabitch beat Callen after he'd already tortured him...and..."

He couldn't say any more, choking on the frustration that still filled him. Sam wrapped an arm around his shoulder and guided him out of Callen's hospital room, forcing him to sit down in a chair in the eerily empty hallway.

"The doctor said he's gonna be fine, Deeks," Sam said. "I'm not sure he would have been if you hadn't been there."

"We got lucky, didn't we?" He finally said.

"Yeah, we did," Sam replied as he sat down next to him and blew out his breath. "It's not easy seeing your partner in harm's way. It's what they both went through when Sidorov took us. I thought G was going to trash his quarters when he was told you'd been beaten and dumped on the beach."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Deeks. Really," Sam said earnestly. "He was as frustrated as you are right now when the doctor told him you'd been beat all to hell. He couldn't even ask how you were. He couldn't show how concerned he was, Deeks. He had to maintain his cover, and it wasn't easy for him. Just like it wasn't easy for me to yell at you in that hospital bed or watch that maniac take him and Kensi or for you at the end of this op. It's what we do. We all did what needed to be done to stop a terrorist."

"I'd probably be dead if Kensi hadn't gotten there when she had," he said softly. "She was amazing."

"Then why are you still sitting here with me, man?" He laughed. "She should be done with her debrief by now, and I know she's worried about you."

"Are we really good?" He asked tentatively. "Granger will let us stay with the team and continue being partners?"

"Hell yeah. He's already trying to take credit for the success of the whole mission," Sam said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Seriously?"

"The man's a born politician," Sam said with irritation.

"Deeks?"

"Hey Kens," he answered, standing quickly as she walked into the hospital corridor. "You okay?"

"You two get out of here," Sam said with a spreading grin. "That's an order."

"Yessir Major, sir," Deeks said with a mock salute.

Sam returned his salute and walked back into Callen's room leaving them alone in the semi-dark hallway. They moved toward each other slowly, reaching out, each needing to hold the other, needing to know they were both okay. He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her, feeling the tension in her body, his hands gently holding her head close to his chest until he felt her muscles relax as she melted into him.

"I thought he'd killed you," she whispered through gathering tears. "I heard the shot and my mind went numb."

"He shot Pollard in the head," he said. "If you hadn't come, he would have shot me too."

"I was shaking, Deeks," she said as the tears spilled. "I was so shocked to see you alive and so angry that my hand started shaking. That's not like me, Deeks."

"Still, that was a pretty good shot to the kneecap," he said as he leaned back to look at her, reaching up to tenderly touch the darkening bruise on her cheekbone.

"He shot you, Deeks," she said, choking a little on her tears as she ran a hand lightly up to the bandaged wound on his arm. "This is going to be hard, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it will be, Kens, but we'll make it work. And the rewards will make it worthwhile," he said as he kissed her gently. "I'm good, Kens. The team is good and you...well, you Fern...are still amazing and still incredibly beautiful."

"I'm a mess," she responded shyly. "Granger wouldn't even let me change before the debrief."

"The insensitive lout," he declared slowly with a crooked grin. "Listen, Kens. I still have my hotel room for the night. The bathroom is decent and I could help you get out of your uniform before you shower."

"Before we shower," she whispered with a seductive smile, pulling him closer as her lips brushed his, lingering there with a hint of more.

"Together? Is that a proposition Agent Blye?"

"That's one of your rewards, partner."

"I'm liking this arrangement," he said with a smirk. "Does the same rule apply if I stub my toe?"

"What?"

"Do I get to shower with you every time I get hurt?"

"I hardly think a stubbed toe is in the same category as getting shot, Deeks," she said, starting to laugh a little.

"There are categories? What are these categories?" He asked as he stepped back with a quizzical look on his face. "Should we make a chart?"

"You're getting very organized all of a sudden," she said. "First you have a list of fantasies and now a rewards chart. This isn't like you."

"I just think making the chart might be fun," he reasoned. "We could try out various rewards to see which fits which category."

"What's my reward for putting up with my insane partner?"

"We can make two charts," he decided as he wrapped an arm around her waist as they headed down the hall. "One for you and one for me."

"You can really be an idiot sometimes," she said.

"What reward do you want for putting up with that fact?" He asked as he smiled goofily at her.

"A beer."

"That's it?"

"I might be able to think of something a little more intimate," she replied as her hand moved up under his tee shirt and caressed his back.

"That sounds promising, Fern. We can talk about the endless possibilities while we have a beer."

"After our shower."

"Of course."

...

...

The End

Thanks for reading!