Common Ground

Sequel to A Question of Character

...

The overgrown jungle tore at their clothes as they rushed along the edges of the narrow, muddy road that followed the river, now turbulent from three days of constant rain. They had been pushing themselves since dawn in order to make the rendezvous with Sabatino who was waiting at the airstrip with a helicopter. All of them were soaked and had been since the beginning of the joint mission to rescue a federal undercover agent from a Nicaraguan terrorist group run by a former cartel underling named Garza. Callen was in the lead, but was tiring and Sam finally raised his fist to halt their movement, sure that Callen's wound had reopened. The rescued agent, who had been tortured before they got her out, collapsed against Kensi, who lowered her down next to a tree. Deeks stayed in the rear to guard against a surprise attack. They all knew they were being trailed, but had not made contact since the early firefight during their escape.

"You bleeding again?" Sam asked, pulling Callen around to face him so he could get a look at him.

"No, but it's burning like hell," he replied, flexing his arm and wincing in pain.

"How much further?" Kensi asked. "Sonya's exhausted."

"A couple of klicks," Sam said and saw the doubt in Kensi's eyes.

"We better keep moving," Deeks said breathlessly as he came up quickly behind Kensi. "I think I heard a truck a few minutes ago."

Rain dripped off the bill of Deeks' ball cap, pulled down low over his badly bruised face. Sam could see he was shivering, having given his jacket to Sonya, and he reached out to grip his arm as he turned to cover the rear. Deeks looked down at his hand and Sam saw the warning in his eyes, so he released him.

"How's your head?" Sam asked.

Deeks didn't reply, just turned and hurried back the way he had come, his gun out and held close to his side, an assault rifle slung loosely across his back. The two men hadn't been on speaking terms since the plane ride into the country and had only spoken during the op when absolutely necessary. Sam had chastised Deeks for something that neither man would comment on and their barely repaired relationship seemed to have fractured under the stress of the mission. Callen and Kensi exchanged guarded looks as their respective partners parted ways, both unsure if the two men would ever find common ground.

"You look pissed," Callen said.

"He won't listen to a thing I say now," Sam mumbled sadly. "He doesn't trust me and he's convinced I don't trust him or respect him."

"Do you?" Callen asked.

"I'm the one who convinced him to stay with NCIS," Sam said as he looked back to see Deeks' figure disappear around a bend in the rain soaked road. "I owe him and I'm not sure how I'll ever repay him. Now, he's acting like he still needs to prove himself to me over and over and he doesn't. He already did that G. Why can't he see that?"

"He's still dealing with everything that happened to him Sam," Callen counseled. "Both of you are. He may act like he doesn't care what you think, but he still seems to want your approval or he wouldn't be trying to impress you with how tough he is all the time."

"He doesn't believe I've changed my opinion of him," Sam said with resignation. "And I don't know how to show him that I have."

"Maybe you're both trying too hard," Callen said.

Deeks suddenly came running, his lithe body barely visible through the downpour, frantically motioning for them to get off the road. Sam helped move Sonya down the slope toward the river, the massive undergrowth hiding them all instantly. They hid behind the huge trunk of a fallen tree just above the raging river, and prepped their weapons as Deeks slid down the muddy slope and scrambled in beside them.

"Two small trucks, multiple shooters," he whispered as the sound of the oncoming vehicles grew louder.

"Did they see you?" Callen asked.

"They would have opened fire if they had, don't you think?" he replied, flashing him a quick grin.

"Good point," Callen said, as two small Toyota pickups roared past on the road above, one equipped with a mounted machine gun.

"That's an M240. Navy issue," Sam said softly. "Wonder where they got those."

They stayed quiet until they could no longer hear the sound of the trucks. When Kensi turned to check on Sonya, she lost her footing on the steep slope and started sliding unchecked toward the river. Deeks dove for her, just able to grab her hand before she went into the roaring torrent. They both would have gone in if Sam hadn't managed to grab Deeks' pant leg. With Callen's help Sam was able to pull them both back from the crumbling edge of the river, where they all collapsed in amongst the ferns, trying to catch their breath.

"You okay, Kens?" Deeks finally managed to ask.

"I think I twisted my ankle," she said, sitting up and reaching to check.

Sam scooted over close to her to check it, while Deeks watched her face as he manipulated it. She winced several times and then yelped as Sam flexed her ankle gently in his big hands.

"Let's see if you can put weight on it," Sam said quietly, shooting a concerned look at Callen.

With her arm around Deeks' shoulder, she managed to make it back up to the road, but it was tough going and they could all see she was in pain.

"Try walking on it, Kens," Callen directed.

She limped a few feet and then turned and nodded at the three men carefully watching her.

"I'll be fine," she said bravely.

"Yeah maybe, if we stay on the road," Deeks said, shaking his head at his determined partner.

"I said I was fine, Deeks," she shot back sharply.

"Enough," Callen said wearily. "We need to keep moving. Sabatino said he can't keep the chopper under wraps for too long. Deeks cover the rear. Those might not be the only terrorists on the road."

"Done," Deeks said, shooting a last worried look at Kensi. "You can deal with miss grumpy face."

The team once again strung out along the road, but the going was slow, Sam being the only totally healthy one among them. They saw no other people and the rain slowly began to let up as they neared the modest village where Sabatino waited to extract them. Before entering the town, Sam did recon, spotting the two small pickups near a cantina on the outskirts. Luckily it was on the opposite side from the airstrip. When he got back to the group, Callen quickly called Sabatino and told them they needed to be picked up, since three of them were injured and they were all so muddy they would attract unwanted attention if they entered the town. Sam saw Callen's jaw clinch and knew the conversation was not going his way.

"Bastard," Callen spit out when he finished. "Apparently someone's been watching him at the airstrip. He wants us to make it to his house in town. He'll meet us there in half an hour."

"Is he scared?" Sam grinned.

"No, just incredibly self-protective," Callen answered.

"He's not that bad," Kensi said.

Callen and Sam both shot her disbelieving looks as they dropped back into the jungle at the edge of town. The rain had washed off some of the mud, but they all looked bedraggled at best. When Deeks joined them, they made their way around the periphery of the shoddy little town and entered one of the narrow back streets close to the jungle. Deeks remained in the rear, guarding the team's back as Sam kept Sonya moving and Callen helped Kensi. They received several suspicious looks from some of the townspeople they passed, but Callen just laughed, pulling Kensi close and calling out a comment in Spanish about girlfriends who can't hold their rum. They were left alone, especially after people noticed the firearms they were carrying, but Sam knew they needed to get out of sight before someone tipped off Garza's men. When they reached Sabatino's place, they saw the SUV waiting and all of them let out a sigh of relief that the op was almost over.

"You weren't kidding about being muddy," Sabatino smirked. "Not sure I should let you in my car."

He received glares in return, except from Kensi, who smiled at him as he helped her into the farthest back seat.

"What happened to your partner?" he asked with a smug smile. "He get lost in the jungle?"

"He's watching our backs," Sam said angrily. "Which is more than you've done on this mission."

"Is he always this touchy?" Sabatino smiled nonchalantly at Kensi.

"It's been a rough couple of days," Callen remarked as he shouldered the man aside to help Sonya into the seat next to Kensi.

"Hey Sonya," Sabatino said with an smooth smile. "Good to see you alive."

"Fuck you, Sabatino," Sonya croaked out, uttering her first words since they found her and surprising the others with her vehemence.

"Something we should know?" Callen asked.

Both shook their heads, but it was obvious the two had issues.

"We need to get going," Sabatino said, slipping behind the wheel while Callen jumped in the passenger side, leaving the middle seats for Sam and Deeks.

"I don't see Deeks," Sam said as he walked up the street and peered down the adjacent one.

An explosion of gunfire had them all ducking for cover as Deeks came running, turning to fire back at the men in the two pickups coming up on him fast. Sam quickly began covering him as he ran and Callen jumped out and took down the driver of the first truck, causing it to crash into a doorway. Deeks was still far down the street and had to duck for cover as the machine gun on the other truck opened fire. Sabatino was yelling for them to get in the car as the street around him blossomed with ricocheting bullets. The SUV was hit several times and Callen and Sam had to take cover when they came under fire from the mounted gun. Callen took a bullet in the leg, but still managed to continue to fire.

"Do you see Deeks, G?" Sam yelled over the noise.

"He's pinned down behind that old car on the left hand side of the street," Callen said, breathing hard.

"Deeks, get your ass over here. We're leaving," Sabatino yelled out from behind the SUV.

"Go. I'll cover you," Deeks shouted back. "They've got me pinned down anyway."

"We're not leaving you, Deeks," Kensi yelled out.

The old car Deeks was using for cover suddenly exploded and fiery debris rained down on the muddy street. They all watched as he was lifted by the explosion and slammed into the rough wall behind him, his body going limp as he collapsed face down in the mud and was still. Burning debris was scattered around him and Kensi began screaming his name until Sabatino forced her back inside the SUV and shouted for Sam and Callen to come as he laid down a covering fire. Instead, the two rushed forward, hoping to reach Deeks, but they were outnumbered and under fire, with Callen now limping badly. After finding cover inside a doorway, they looked long at each other, both fighting the idea that Deeks was dead. As probable as that was, neither man wanted to accept it. Looking quickly back at his still form, they saw one of Garza's men kick him, but he didn't move and the man shouted out "Muerto", shook his head and moved away. Sam closed his eyes as Callen leaned heavily back against the wall, both struggling with their emotions as they listened to Sabatino yelling for them to get back to the car.

"He's dead. Let's go," he yelled as he jumped behind the wheel.

Callen and Sam exchanged looks of resignation before reluctantly hurrying back, covering each other until they reached the car and climbed in. Kensi was crying and calling out Deeks' name, fighting Sonya who was trying to keep her in her seat. Sabatino gunned the engine and started toward the airstrip as Sam looked back one last time to see Garza's men surround Deeks' broken body. His eyes widened as he saw them dragging him toward another pickup that had just arrived and he knew then that he was still alive.

"Stop the car," Sam yelled.

"Are you crazy?" Sabatino shouted. "They'll be coming."

"Deeks is alive," Sam said, silencing them all. "Now, stop the car or I'll shoot you."

Sabatino's eyes widen as he looked back to see Sam pointing a gun at him. The look on Sam's face made him pull around a corner and stop. Sam jumped out and Callen handed him an assault rifle and a couple of clips of ammo. They all watched as he quietly prepared himself. Kensi handed him her knife and squeezed his hand as she fought back tears. Then she passed him the black bag that carried several incendiaries, a couple of small bricks of RDX plastic explosives and a handful of grenades, before looking down, trying hard to control her overpowering emotions.

"I want to go with you, but I'd just slow you down," she said honestly. "Bring him back, Sam. Please."

Sam nodded and then looked at his partner, who was now bleeding from two wounds.

"We'll be waiting for you," Callen said softly.

"He couldn't have survived that, man," Sabatino said. "And even if he did, they'll kill him before you can get to him."

"Shut up," Sam said angrily. "If you'd picked us up where we asked you to, we'd all be in the air by now."

"Call us when you know something," Callen said.

Sam nodded silently and then turned and walked away.

"He's gonna get himself killed," Sabatino said.

"He's repaying a debt," Callen said softly. "Now shut up and drive."

...

Sam worked his way through the back streets of the village, stopping only briefly to steal a shirt from a clothesline. He shrugged off his filthy, mud caked shirt and slipped quickly into the dry black one he hoped would help his cover as the sky began to darken. When he reached the burning car, the only people around were angry neighbors. He looked at the last place he'd seen Deeks and sucked in a deep breath as he looked down at the muddy puddle of water colored with his blood. He asked what had happened and one old woman told him several men had been killed, but that the men in the trucks had taken them away. He walked silently past them and on a back street, found a battered sedan, which he quickly hot-wired. He drove through the town, but the men and the pickups were gone, so he turned toward the road they had walked in on and started the long drive back to Garza's compound, unsure of what he would find, but determined to discover the truth. If Deeks was alive, he would do everything in his power to bring him home. He owed him that.

As he drove through the darkening rainforest, Deeks' screams as Siderov tortured him, echoed in his mind. He still had nightmares, most of them accompanied by those same heartrending screams. He hardly ever dreamed about his own torture and pain, just the cloudy view he'd had of Deeks through those glass doors as Siderov and his enforcer calmly went about their business as if what they were doing was a common thing to do to another human being. For those two, it probably was. Now, Deeks was in the hands of another sociopath who had laughed as he tortured Sonya, which was the only comment she'd made about what she had endured.

The drive took less time than he thought it would, but when he reached the outer perimeter of Garza's compound, it was dark and raining again. He drove the car deep under a canopy of vines draping off a tree and slipped out, moving swiftly through the dark toward the edge of the camp. Pulling his binoculars, he scanned the area, seeing the two pickups parked haphazardly in front of one of the metal buildings, which was surrounded by a covered porch. Several men came out and he saw Garza laugh as he led the way down the steps and down a rough path into the jungle behind. Sam moved his position, skirting around to the right until he could see a large raised cement platform covered by a tin roof. Bonfires burned in four barrels surrounding two central posts where they had Deeks tied, his clothes bloody and torn, his head hanging limply and his knees sagging, one leg jutting out at an odd angle with dark blood saturating the lower half of his pant leg. Sam shivered at the sight and swallowed hard as he tried to control the rage building deep in his gut.

Garza's laugh floated on the rising wind as he grabbed a handful of Deeks' hair and lifted his head. Blood and grime streaked his face and Sam had to look away when he saw how badly he was hurt, blood pooling on the floor beneath him. When he put the binoculars back up to his eyes, he went rigid as one of the men drove a fist into the base of Deeks' spine. The scream he heard unnerved him and he once again had to look away, but Garza's laugh had him observing once again. He couldn't hear the questions being asked, but he felt a tiny ray of hope when he saw Deeks shake his head and spit blood onto the front of Garza's shirt, choking down anger as the brutal man viciously backhanded him for it. Deeks went limp as the man stood before him and laughed. When Garza pulled a large knife and cut open Deeks' tee shirt, Sam grabbed the black bag with the explosives and grenades and moved swiftly back the way he had come before moving in toward the two pickup trucks. There was one guard, who he quickly dispatched with Kensi's knife, dragging him along side one of the trucks. He attached two incendiaries devices to the gas tanks of both trucks and tossed a couple of grenades in the back. Then he moved to the building, checking for more guards before entering and setting a couple of RDX explosive charges, tossing in the remaining incendiaries. Just as he finished, he heard Deeks scream again, sending chills throughout his body at how familiar they sounded. His rage heightened by the what they were doing to the man who had saved his life and his wife's life, he raced across the empty grounds and took up a prone position beneath a low growing tree with a clear view of the front of the building and waited, his weapon aimed and ready.

Within seconds, the jungle lit up as explosions ripped through the building, sending a mushroom shaped ball of fire straight up. The two trucks exploded one after the other as Garza and his men raced around to the front of the building, looking wildly around for whoever had attacked them. Garza stood out starkly against the brilliant backdrop of flames and his body arched as Sam's first bullet hit him low in the back, collapsing as the second tore through his chest. Sam didn't wait, but was up instantly, galloping through the thick vines on the edge of the jungle, making his way back to Deeks. He slowed as he approach him, his mouth dry with fear that he had come too late to save him. He wrapped his arm around his chest from behind, shuddering with relief at his heartbeat as he held him up, quickly slicing through the ropes that bound him. Deeks groaned when his arms dropped, but then he began to struggle.

"Deeks, it's me," Sam whispered in his ear. "I got you, man. I got you."

"Sam," he murmured. "I knew you'd come."

"My turn, Deeks," Sam said as he pulled his arm over his shoulder and dragged him back into the dark covering of the forest. "Stay with me, man. Can you do that?"

Sam kept talking to him as he struggled to help him through the tangled underbrush. He cried out only once, when his broken leg snagged on a thick vine, but Sam managed to cover his mouth quickly before realizing he had passed out. He finally found a small clearing and gently lowered him to the ground. Leaving him, Sam crawled to the edge of the jungle and rummaged through the black bag, pulling out the remaining grenades and lobbing them at the milling terrorists. The men had no idea where they were coming from and began retreated toward their barracks looking for cover, while others began firing in all directions and yelling at each other. He saw a couple of men arguing over Garza's body and then turn to race for the remaining trucks in the compound.

"Just like rats," he whispered.

He waited as more men scrambled after the departing trucks, throwing themselves into the back and firing indiscriminately. Soon there was no one left in the compound and he lowered his head to his chest and breathed deeply for the first time since he saw Deeks go down. He turned to look him over then, finally using his flashlight to assess his injuries, shaking his head at the weakness of his pulse and shallow breathing. He dug through the black bag and pulled out the first aid kit, finding the syringe of morphine and injecting him. Quickly ripping open packages of Combat Gauze, he bandaged the wounds that still seeped blood, including the one at the back of his head. His body was peppered with shrapnel wounds, which he sprinkled with QuikClot to stop the bleeding, and then poured the remainder of the package over the compound fracture of his leg. When he looked back up, Deeks blue eyes were open and clouded with confusion.

"Sam?"

Deeks suddenly tried to sit up, but hissed as a spasm of pain rippled through him. Sam grabbed his hand as he rode it out, and then pulled him into his arms as he slowly stopped panting, noticing the signs of shock as his body began shivering.

"Is Siderov coming back?" he asked as he gripped Sam's hand tightly.

"No, Deeks. You're safe now," Sam comforted him, but afraid that his confusion might mean his head injury was more serious than he thought.

Deeks raised his head and looked around, his eyes questioning as he looked back up at Sam.

"What happened?" he asked weakly. "Where are we?"

"Garza's men took you after the car you were hiding behind was hit by an RPG," Sam told him.

"Garza's the guy with the bad breath, right?" he mumbled. "Where are the others? Are they okay?"

"They're waiting for us at the airstrip," Sam answered.

"You came alone?"

"Yeah. That okay with you?"

"Why?" Deeks asked, his eyes wide.

"Wouldn't be a team without you, Deeks."

"So, you missed me?" He asked, a small smile flashing across his tired face.

"You're our comic relief," Sam laughed.

"Nice to know I'm good for something," he replied as he closed his eyes.

"You had our backs out there today, man," Sam said seriously. "We wouldn't have made it without you. You did good."

"Yeah, until I got blown up," he whispered slowly as the morphine began to work.

"Don't do that again, or we'll have words," Sam quietly cautioned.

"Sam?"

"What?"

"Thanks for coming, man."

"You're welcome, partner," Sam said as Deeks' body went slack.

Thankful he was unconscious, Sam cut a couple of thick vines and splinted his leg as best he could before wiping some of the blood and grime from his face. Then Sam lifted him in his arms and carried him easily back to the car. The drive back was made in silence, except for a few groans from Deeks whenever he hit a pothole. He kept glancing back at him, as he lay stretched out across the backseat, stunned that they both had survived again. As different as Deeks was from himself, he really couldn't imagine the team without him. He fit in an odd sort of way and he trusted him in the field and had finally come to respect his strengths and hoped that after this op that Deeks would feel the same about him. If he didn't, Sam was committed to finding a way to get closer to him, because he didn't want to lose him. They'd saved each other's lives and on the battlefield that made you brothers in arms. It was a new perspective for him, but it was true and it felt right.

When he reached the edge of the village, he pulled off the road and looked for any sign of Garza's remaining men. Seeing no one, he took a deep breath and called Callen.

"I've got him, G and he's alive."

"How close are you?"

"Ten minutes. Does Sabatino have a medic on board?"

"No. How bad is he?"

"He needs to be in a hospital, as soon as possible," Sam said sharply as he slowly drove the car back onto the road and started through town.

"I'll call Hetty again," he said. "She's been waiting to hear."

Sam didn't say another word, just threw the phone on the seat and hunched over the wheel, alert for any sign of attack. He fought the exhaustion that was threatening to shut down his body and was thankful when he saw the shabby buildings on the edge of the airstrip. He heard the rotors of the helicopter before he saw it and he couldn't stop a smile of relief as it came into view. Kensi was on guard, her assault rifle pointed ominously in his direction, making him quickly wave his hand so she wouldn't shoot him. Callen limped slowly toward the car, followed by Sabatino. Sam cut the engine and looked back to check on Deeks before getting out and coming around the car to greet them.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked when he got a look at Sabatino's obviously broken nose and black eyes.

"Kensi," he and Callen said in unison.

"Shut up," Kensi said as she brushed by all of them and yanked open the rear door, sucking in her breath at the sight of Deeks.

She sat down on the floor behind the passenger seat, afraid to touch him, but unable to stop herself or the tears that pooled in her eyes. Her hand shakily stroked his tangled hair and she smiled briefly when he moved slightly as she gently laid her hand on his chest.

"We need to get out of here," Sabatino said nervously. "Garza could show up any minute."

"No he won't," Sam said as he and Callen started to pull Deeks out of the back.

"You can't possibly know that," he said, his voice rising.

"Wrong. I shot and killed the bastard and blew up his compound. Now get the hell out of my way," Sam's roared as he lifted Deeks in his arms and walked purposefully toward the waiting chopper.

Callen smirked at Kensi as the shock of Sam's words registered on Sabatino's face.

"You coming?" Callen asked as he and Kensi limped past him.

"You never told me where we were going," Sabatino said sullenly.

"Hetty got permission for Deeks to be seen at the Naval Hospital at Guantanamo." Callen said as they all boarded.

"She has that kind of pull?" he asked, obviously surprised.

"It's always wise to stay on her good side," Callen replied with a warning look.

The dark helicopter lifted straight up and then banked toward the coast. All eyes except Sabatino's rested on Deeks' face as he lay wrapped in a warming blanket in Kensi's arms, each person lost in their own thoughts until he opened his eyes and looked wearily around the cabin.

"Gang's all here," he mumbled. "Except for the weird lookin' guy in the corner."

"You're lucky I held the flight," Sabatino snapped.

"He wouldn't have if Kensi hadn't punched him and Callen hadn't pointed a gun at him," Sonya said.

"Really, Kens? You punched him?"

"He was being uncooperative," she answered.

"Never mess with a tight knit team, buddy," Deeks said, sounding a little loopy from the morphine.

"I got the message, believe me," the man answered.

"Me too," Deeks said sleepily. "Me too."

...

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