A/N: A little post-ep for "Blye, K." Not going to lie guys, I really love this one. Hurt/sick Kensi and/or Deeks is my jam. Enjoy!

Deeks started out of a deep sleep with a snort. He exhaled slowly and rubbed a hand across his face, trying to get his bearings in the darkness. He could just make out Monty's shape at the foot of the bed, ears perked up, staring through the doorway into the living room.

Adrenaline began to seep into his veins. If his dog was up it meant whatever had interrupted his dreams was real. "What is it buddy? Did you hear something?" His voice was rough with sleep as he spoke to his pet.

The dog whined and jumped off the bed. Deeks reached for the light switch and that was when he heard it: a knock on the front door.

Monty barked as Deeks pulled on a t-shirt and reached for his duty weapon on the nightstand. "Monty, stay," he ordered as he stepped out of the room.

The dog whined but obediently took a seat. Deeks moved slowly toward the door, his gun at the ready. He put his hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath before pulling it open.

"You going to shoot me?" Kensi asked.

Deeks dropped the weapon to his side, his heart still racing. "God, Kensi, you scared me. It's 2:00 am," he ran a hand through his hair, his sleepy brain attempting to rationalize the situation. "I thought you were going to your mom's?"

"I was. I did, but then I…I just…" she shrugged.

Deeks turned on the porch light and that was when he saw how red and swollen her eyes were. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just um, I," she looked extremely uncertain. "Never mind. I shouldn't have….I'll just…"

She turned away and grimaced in pain, a hand going to her side.

Deeks immediately holstered his gun and reached for her. "Hey, okay, come inside."

"I'm fine," she protested.

Her pain lined face said otherwise. Deeks put a hand on her back and ushered her inside, leading her to the couch. "Let me see."

"Deeks—"

"Let me see," he insisted.

Kensi allowed him to pull up her shirt and he winced at the bruising on her ribs, which had spread and purpled in the hours since he'd last seen her. He put some gentle pressure on it and she cried out, practically crumpling in front of him. "Okay," he started to rise, " we're going to the hospital."

"No, no I'm okay," she gasped between breaths.

"No, you're not. You're in pain. You're crying," he used his thumb to brush a tear from her cheek. "I'm calling 911."

"No, please," she reached for his hand, gripping it tightly. "I'll be all right. I just need…I just need a minute."

He sank back down onto the couch, watching her tight, agonized breaths, wishing he could take on some of her pain. It was horrible, watching her struggle; this whole week had been horrible. She'd shut him out when all he wanted to do was fix things for her.

"At least let me get you some ice," he finally said.

She nodded, letting go of his hand. As Deeks stood Monty could no longer take the pressure of being separated from his favorite humans and came toward them. He laid his head on Kensi's knee, dark eyes full of worry.

Deeks left them together and walked to the kitchen. He wrapped a bag of frozen peas in a clean towel and then retrieved two ibuprofen from the cabinet. Opening the fridge he grabbed a bottle of Gatorade and then returned to the living room.

He nudged Monty out of the way and sat down next to his partner. "Take these," he dumped the pills into her hand and uncapped the Gatorade.

As she drank he lifted her shirt again and placed the make-shift ice pack against her side. She flinched and hissed in pain, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the bottle more tightly.

"Just breathe," he soothed. "Breathe."

Something had changed. Twelve hours earlier she'd practically told him to stay out of her business. Now she was literally on his doorstep, practically falling apart in front of him.

He took the Gatorade from her hand as she adjusted her position on the couch, wincing as she did so. "You want to talk about it?" he asked quietly.

He waited, watching her stare down at her own lap. He waited for her to speak, to tell him why she'd come to him in the middle of the night instead of staying with the mother she'd been estranged from for years.

"I went to my mom's," she said slowly. "I went. And we talked. We talked for…a really long time."

She looked up, fresh tears in her eyes. "I messed everything up Deeks. I wasted…all this time. I don't know what to do," she swallowed hard. "I don't know how to fix it."

"Kensi," Deeks' heart broke at the sight of tears falling down her cheeks.

"I didn't cry," she said. "I didn't cry the whole time." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "We talked, and it was good, and I didn't cry. And then I left and I was going home but then I was here…"

She met his gaze, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "I should go. I'm sorry."

She started to rise and then immediately let out a choked cry of pain. Deeks jumped to his feet to help her ease back down to the couch. "Easy, easy," he said.

"God," she gasped, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I'm a mess and everything hurts. It all just…hurts." The last word came out on a sob.

"Kens, Kensi breathe okay?" Deeks said worriedly.

"I can't do anything right," she choked out. "I left her. I just left her and I didn't give her a chance to explain."

"Kensi you were a kid," he said softly. "You didn't know."

"She could have been killed today Deeks. I almost got her killed."

"Kensi…"

"Don't tell me it's not my fault. It is all my fault Deeks. I was selfish. I was selfish and spoiled and I was only thinking about what made me happy."

"It's okay. It's all going to be okay." Without even thinking he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry against his chest.

Something inside of him slid into place as he held her there on his couch in the middle of the night. Something warm, something real, something he would look back on months from now and recognize as significant; a shift in their relationship. But in the quiet of the moment he just knew it was right. That he couldn't send her home like this. That for some reason, she had chosen him out of all people to help her bear this pain. And he wasn't going to fail her.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes. "This is not what you signed up for."

"It's okay," Deeks told her.

"I really should go."

"You're not leaving," Deeks said firmly. "You're hurt, you're upset, you're not leaving."

"Deeks—"

"I won't be able to sleep tonight if you go," he told her. "I'll be wondering if you bled out, or passed out, or crashed your car. I can't fix any of the stuff with your mom. But I can help with this."

"You don't have to—"

"Stop trying to do this alone," he looked at her seriously. "Stay, or hospital. Those are your choices."

She frowned at him. "Fine. I'll stay."

"Good." He stood and moved to the end of the couch where he began untying her shoes.

"What are you doing?" Kensi asked in alarm.

"You can't sleep with your shoes on," he told her. "I'd offer you the bed but number one: it's been slept in and number two: you seem a little glued to this couch."

"The couch is fine," she told him.

"Don't move," he ordered.

He went to the linen closet and pulled out an extra pillow and a few blankets before returning to the living room.

"Can you sit up?" he asked.

She sat forward with a wince as he shoved the pillow behind her.

"Comfy?"

She nodded.

He tucked a blanket around her.

"I'm not a burrito, Deeks," she finally said.

"Hey, my house, my rules."

"Your rules say that guests must be tucked in so tightly that there's no hope of ever escaping?"

"Yep. It's in our manifesto, right Monty?"

Kensi rolled her eyes, but he thought he saw a glimmer of smile.

"There she is," he said softly.

The smile widened even as she tried to hide it. "Goodnight Deeks," she told him.

"Night," he replied. "Come on Monty."

His dog followed him back toward the bedroom.

"Deeks?"

He turned back.

"Thanks."

He nodded. "Anytime Partner."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget, you can also follow me on tumblr as chicgeekgirl89. I do a lot of saying of words about Densi and NCiS LA in general.