Hanging in There

By Shaz1

Disclaimer- as usual none of the recognised characters belong to me, I will unfortunately return them as soon as I am finished with them.

This is set immediately after 'Legend Pt 2'- the title comes from Gibbs stating that Callen was critical, but hanging in there during NCIS ep Semper Fidelis.

Hanging in There

Sam stayed on his knees his partner unconscious in his arms. The last few moments had passed in slow motion. One second he was in his car watching his partner wander the short distance home, the next his ears were filled with the sounds of gun shots, and his partner's body was jerking like a ragdoll as bullets tore through his chest.

Fruit and vegetables from the stall behind him bounced through the air as the bullets went straight through the human body and out into them. Sam was out and running before his best friend even hit the ground. He moved quickly, dropping to his knees and cradling his friend's neck. Shocked pain filled blue eyes stared back at him, breath gurgling in his throat as awareness faded. He shouted out to his friend, begging him not to leave him- whilst calling an ambulance at the same time. Even as he whispered to his friend words that he forgot instantly- yet he knew it was a begging mantra, begging Callen, begging God, begging anyone with any power to stop his friend from bleeding out on a sidewalk of Venice beach. He knew the moment that his friend surrendered to the darkness; he felt the form in his arms go limp. He could see the blood spreading out on the pavement underneath his still partner, it soaked through his jeans as he knelt cradling him- but he didn't care. If by holding his friend he could impart even a small amount of his strength into the younger man to help him fight he would do anything.

After what felt like an eternity an ambulance crew appeared behind him, and still he didn't relinquish his grip on his friend.

"What have we got?" the first EMT asked softly, pulling on gloves and taking up the position beside the injured man.

"Drive by shooting, multiple hits. Lost consciousness about two minutes ago" Sam told them softly, his eyes never leaving his partner's pale face. The EMT nodded before taking out his scissors and cutting through the injured man clothing to reveal a mass of gunshot wounds scattered across his chest. He hissed at what he saw, he reached behind him to the bag and wiping a bit of the blood away cleared an area for the monitor leads, fixing them on silently, before clipping the O2 monitor onto a still finger. That was followed by a blood pressure cuff, which resulted in a very serious face of the medical professional. He nodded to his colleague and within thirty seconds Callen was safely on a gurney and loaded into the back of an ambulance. Sam was right there beside him, not missing the urgency surrounding his injured partner, bandages were applied- yet the blood soon soaked through.

"His pressure is dangerously low" the EMT stated as he looked once more at the monitors pushing another IV into the unconscious agent's hand. "Speed it up Brad" he called to his colleague as his concern for his patient grew even further. Sam's heart was pounding in his chest as he watched the medic frantically trying to control his partner's bleeding.

"Come on G- don't you dare leave me" he whispered, as he watched the pale face that looked like death itself.

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Upon arrival at the hospital Sam was caught up in the flurry of activity and his partner was literally whisked away from him. He stared at his hands stained red with his partner's blood; he bit back on the sob that threatened to escape him. He was fully aware of the danger of their job- but there was no way he was ready to lose his partner, the younger man had come to mean a lot to the former seal and it was breaking his heart to think of his best friend now struggling for survival. He looked through the doors that his friend had been wheeled behind, trying to catch a glimpse of anything that would tell him that his partner would be ok. The room he was looking at was a hive of activity as doctors and nurses struggled to save him. Sam sighed, suddenly drained and exhausted he headed to the rest room and scrubbed his hands until they almost bled. Looking at his reflection in the mirror he felt bile rising in his throat at the blood that marred his clothing. A chirping from his pocket distracting him from his thoughts, he took his phone in trembling hands and registering the number as Ops he answered.

"Hello" he greeted barely recognising his own voice.

"Am I to assume you are at the hospital Mr Hanna?" a familiar voice greeted him in return.

"Hetty?" Sam questioned, surprised to hear the other woman.

"Yes Mr Hanna, I have just arrived at Ops to some disturbing news- how is Mr Callen?" she asked, her voice heavy with concern.

"It's bad Hetty, really bad" Sam responded, his voice cracking.

"I am on my way Sam" the petite woman responded softly. Sam nodded, unable to form the words, before disconnecting the call. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves before heading back to wait for any word on his friend.

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Less than thirty minutes later and Hetty had arrived at the hospital with Kensi in tow. The young agent gasped as she caught sight of the blood stains all over the big man in front of her- with no regard for her own clothing she went directly to the other agent and took him in her arms-knowing how much the whole situation would be affecting him.

"Any word?" she asked softly.

"Nothing since they took him in there- he took at least three hits, maybe more" Sam responded quietly, shaking his head sadly.

"Come and sit down Mr Hanna" Hetty instructed, guiding the agent to a nearby row of chairs, and just as he did as he was told the doctor appeared behind them.

"Are you here for Agent Callen?" he asked softly.

"Yes, how is he?" Hetty asked anxiously.

"His condition is very serious I am afraid. He has sustained five bullet wounds, three of which are to the chest and torso. He has a collapsed lung and we are still trying to assess the full extent of the rest of the damage. At the moment he is being prepared for surgery- I'm sorry I can't offer you any better news, we are doing everything we can" the young doctor explained gently.

"Thank you doctor, will you keep us updated please?" Hetty asked softly.

"Of course" he nodded before he left them and returned to his patient.

"Callen's strong Sam, he'll fight this and pull through" Kensi stated squeezing her friend's arm as she sat beside him.

"Where's Macy?" Sam asked, his eyes meeting Hetty's.

"She has been redeployed with immediate effect- I will be taking over at OSP as Ops manager- Agent Callen was to be made senior Agent in charge" Hetty responded softly.

"He still will be" Sam stated emphatically- completely unwilling to even consider for a moment that his partner wouldn't be returning. No one had any response to the comment.

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Three hours had passed and the assembled team still had no word on their fallen friend, Sam was getting increasingly frantic as flashbacks of the shooting replayed themselves in his mind over and over. Finally a stressed and exhausted looking doctor stepped into the room.

"How is he?" Sam asked the words escaping him before he could help himself.

"He has made it through surgery- barely" the doctor told them with a sigh, as he sat down and urged the three agents to do likewise. "The damage was extensive and we lost him twice on the table- but your partner is stubborn Agent Hanna" he told them with a shake of the head. By rights the injured agent should have been lost to them- such was the severity of his injuries, yet somehow he had made it through and was still clinging on to life.

"That he is doc!" Sam exclaimed a hint of relief to his voice.

"He is still critical and the next few days will be vital. He is currently on full life support, and I suspect will remain as such for some time" the doctor finished.

"Can we see him?" Sam asked, desperate to see for himself that his friend was still with them.

"He is just being settled, a nurse will come and get you shortly" he told them as he got to his feet and left the agents to themselves. A mere ten minutes later a nurse appeared and Sam was on his feet within seconds, the sight of his partner nearly broke his heart. Callen laid on the bed, sheets still stained in places with his blood. Tubes snaking in and out of various parts of his body and a machine beside the bed breathing for him.

"Oh G" Sam whispered as he fully absorbed the picture before him- recognising how ill his partner was at that moment in time and praying to everyone he could think of that the infamous Callen luck would once more step in and help his friend survive this- for if he didn't Sam wasn't sure he could go on without his best friend beside him.

End Chapter One

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