I fear there's going to be a time jump between the end of the premiere and the beginning of episode two... So I thought I'd have a go at filling in some of the blanks. This chapter is from Sam's point of view... Callen's turn will come! I've already explored a little bit of Hetty's immediate thoughts in my one-shot 'Guilt', but hopefully we'll see some of Callen's recovery from her perspective too - let's see where those plot bunnies take this!

CHAPTER ONE

Mosely's words echoed over and over in Sam's mind. "Callen's got a long way to go." Shit, he hadn't realised his partner's injuries were so severe. True enough, it was unlike Callen to admit weakness, so when they had seen the shed and Callen had turned to him and said he couldn't go any further, he had felt the first twinge of real worry, but Callen was a survivor, dammit. He hadn't truly started to believe that this time there was no coming back, for either of them, until the boy had disappeared into the darkness and he had realised he simply couldn't follow him. They were sitting ducks. Helpless. Waiting to die together. Callen being Callen, he had tried to keep them both positive, but his pep talk had quickly gone bad, and when he said he could no longer talk Sam wanted to shout and scream and get up and punch something, but he couldn't. All he could do was lie there and watch his partner die in front of him, wondering which of them would go first, and if he could bear it if Callen died before he did.

Even then, the Callen luck had come through. The boy had returned with help, and Sam could have cried with relief when his rudimentary first aid had enabled his partner to open his eyes and draw breath. For a few scary seconds before that he had believed Callen was dead. Suffocated, just like Michelle. Sam hadn't been kidding when he said he couldn't lose Callen too. He couldn't.

The boy and his father had taken them to the hospital, and Sam had tentatively started once again to believe everything was going to be okay, especially when Arlo Turk turned up and left him with a weapon. He could defend them both now. He didn't know what strings Hetty had pulled to get them Medevac'd out so quickly, and he knew Mosely had somehow been involved in their rescue too, but it had cemented his faith that everything was going to be all right. Safe in the high-tech Balboa hospital, knowing they were all getting the medical care they needed, he felt secure in the knowledge it was all over. And then he'd overheard Mosely on the phone.

Shifting in his hospital bed, he looked morosely at the bag of blood still dripping in to him. He wanted to go and be with Callen. He wanted answers. How could Callen have hidden his other injuries so well? Internal bleeding, fractured vertebrae? He shook his head. He should have known. It was what Callen did.

He heard a knock on his door, and it quietly started to open. Instinctively, Sam's hand went to his gun, but he made himself take a deep breath. They were no longer in Mexico. They were in a secure Naval hospital. Still though he felt his adrenaline rising. He wouldn't feel truly safe until they were all fit and back home again. They had been lucky, but luck only went so far.

The door opened enough to reveal Hetty, and Sam swallowed. He felt certain she wouldn't have left Callen, unless…

"Hetty?" he choked.

"I wanted to pop round and see you all, while Mr Callen was still sleeping."

"Sleeping…" Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "Lazy bugger." He raised a smile, and Hetty crossed to the bed and patted his hand.

"How are you, Sam?" she asked.

"I'm okay," he replied. "Be good as new in a few days."

"I'm glad to hear it," Hetty said, indulging him. It would take more than a few days before he was back on his feet. But at least he was alive, at least they were all alive.

"Thank you, Hetty," Sam said sincerely, after a pause. "Thank you for doing whatever you did to get us out."

"I believe the Assistant Director came through for you all too," Hetty said carefully. Sam could see she wasn't quite sure how she yet felt about Mosely. Neither was he. But he couldn't think about that now.

"How are Kensi and Deeks?" he asked, postponing the moment to ask about Callen. He'd been vaguely aware of them on the chopper out of Mexico. Most of the medical attention seemed to have been centred on Deeks, while Kensi refused to leave his side. He hoped that was a good sign.

"They are both okay," Hetty told him reassuringly. "Mr Deeks is awake. He suffered a major concussion, but the doctors are hopeful that he will be okay." She looked sad as she relayed news of Deeks' condition, and Sam remembered it was Hetty's intervention that had caused him to be in Mexico in the first place.

"He never would have forgiven you if anything had happened to Kensi and he wasn't there," he said, and Hetty met his eyes and smiled.

"You are right, Mr Hanna."

"And…" Sam paused. "And G? Will he be okay?"

"I believe so. In time," Hetty said, her eyes once again sad. Sam reached out and took Hetty's hand, still resting on his bed, in his. He gave it a firm squeeze. Losing Callen would be impossible for them both to recover from.