Hey guys! I'm back with another NCIS: LA fic! This one was inspired by the little plot bunny that's making it's way around the fandom community because of that awesome deleted Densi scene from Spoils of War.
I hope you enjoy~
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS:LA, any of the characters (except for Keegan), nor the conversation in italics.
There is an unspoken rule in law enforcement. Never find yourself on the other side of the interrogation table.
There have been many who have broken the rule, herself included. But this time is different. This time, it's beyond personal. Not that the last time wasn't.
She doesn't know how she got here. Okay, that was a blatant lie. She does in fact know how she got here. What she doesn't know is why she's here.
So she asks. "Why am I here?"
Her face is stoic as the interrogator tries to gauge her reaction. She knows better than to show her emotions.
The interrogator sighs as he puts his pen down on his pad of paper and leans back. "You don't know why?"
"If I did, would you think I'd be asking you?" She replies sardonically as she crosses her arms.
"Ms. Blye -"
"Agent Blye," she corrects.
Amused, the smallest of smiles appear on his face and he corrects himself, "Agent Blye, you're here because after your team and a handful of detectives from the LAPD joined forces to take down Edwin McGregor, you disappeared for a month."
The interrogator, a fairly handsome man in his early 30s with dark brown hair and sharp haircut, looks at her once more to gauge her reaction.
"So? I took some time off. Is that a crime?"
"We believe that there's a mole in the team that was assigned to take down McGregor."
"And you think it's me?!" Obviously offended by his accusation, she immediately built up her walls. She guessed it was an instinct she's developed over the years.
"We're looking at everyone in the team. It just seems to happen that you have a five month gap in your service record." He flips through her file that's laid bare on the table.
"Excuse me, who are you again?"
"Lt. Jeremy Keegan, Internal Affairs." She desperately wants to wipe that smirk off his face through violent means.
"Internal Affairs? What's IA doing here? I'm NCIS, not LAPD."
"Because of the urgent matter of this issue, Director Vance gave me permission to oversee the matter." He stated as-a-matter-of-factly.
Lt. Keegan flipped through her file and stopped at the last page. "It says here, that it appears that you joined NCIS to solve your father's murder."
Kensi nodded. "Yes. My father was a Marine who served in a sniper training unit and died under mysterious circumstances. I wanted to find out what really happened."
"And did you?"
"Yes."
It didn't seem that she would elaborate any further so, he moved on. He had read the reports, it all seemed legit.
"Tell me what happened in the case." He leaned back casually and stared at her.
"Umm, there was a bombing in Culver City. A sailor was the only casualty, so it was assigned to us." She said as she racked her brain to recall what happened a month ago.
"Go on." He ordered.
Kensi gave a nod and continued, "We had thought it was a targeted attack because the sailor – Petty Officer 2nd class Emmett Saunders – was the only casualty, but it turned out that the bomb was a distraction and the death was completely uncalculated for. We were led to McGregor, an infamous drug and arms dealer. We brought in one of his associates who turned out to be an undercover LAPD agent. It turns out that LAPD had set up an op to infiltrate McGregor's operation a few months back. We agreed to work together in order to arrest McGregor. LAPD got the arms and got to arrest him for drug and arm trafficking while NCIS got him for the bombing and murder of Petty Officer Emmett Saunders and DEA got the drugs."
"DEA?"
"There's a DEA liaison on our team. She comes in to all drug related cases." She stated.
Lt. Keegan gave a nod while silently willing her to continue.
"Umm, so, well, we finally got the opportunity for a raid and when he went in to take down McGregor and his allies, we were ambushed."
"But you guys got him in the end."
"Yes," she nodded.
He wrote a few lines in his pad before returning to her file. He flipped a few pages back. "This five month gap here," he tapped at the file and then looked up, "What happened?"
"Why is that relevant?" She asked, clearly exasperated.
"Once again, we believe there is a mole. I'm just trying to connect all the dots."
"I was sent on a classified mission." She stated.
Another smirk appeared on Lt. Keegan's face. She really wanted to smack it off.
"Agent Blye, I was given the highest of clearance levels to solve this matter. I will find out what happened one way or another. I feel that it's better if I hear what happened from you directly."
{-}
Outside, the rest of team gathered around the TV to witness what was happening in the interrogation room.
"This isn't right. Why is she the only one being interrogated? Do they really think that she's the mole?" Deeks asked out loud as he gave a look to the other members.
Callen and Deeks stood at the end of the table with arms crossed while Talia and Sam sat opposite of each other towards the screen.
"It's all politics. Don't worry, she's tough. She'll get through this." Sam tried comforting him, but it didn't lessen his worries.
Deeks spoke once more. This time, he voiced his concern, "Does anyone else find it weird that we're getting to see this happening?"
It was definitely weird, but no one questioned it. Something was happening behind their backs and staying quiet would help them connect the dots and find out what was really going on.
Deeks shifted in his position, clearly uncomfortable with what was happening. Callen couldn't really blame him.
The team watched in silence as the interrogation progressed. To Kensi's knowledge, the team was still at the Mission. It was when Lt. Keegan asked about Afghanistan, that the silence was slightly broken by the sound of Deeks sucking in his breath.
None of the team members wanted to relive that moment. Especially, Deeks. The horrible things he had done and seen wasn't something he was willing to revisit and he was a-thousand-percent sure that Kensi didn't want to either.
The only person of the team who was oblivious to the weight that the current situation held was one DEA Agent Talia Del Compo.
She looked to the other members' stoic faces and wondered how bad the situation really was as the interrogation continued on.
"Agent Blye, I was given the highest of clearance levels to solve this matter. I will find out what happened one way or another. I feel that it's better if I heard what happened from you directly."
Deeks watched as his partner's walls were built three times over in a split second and her demeanor changed drastically. She uncomfortably scooted back against the chair and just sat there, beginning a staring match with Lt. Keegan.
{-}
She knew in his tone that he was blatantly ordering her to tell him what happened. She didn't have the nerve to revisit what happened so she stared at him. He stared back.
"Anytime you're ready, Agent Blye."
Kensi didn't say anything.
A thousand memories played through her mind. Jack. The Taliban. The torture. Deeks.
Everything.
Afghanistan had happened almost four months ago, but the memories still haunted her. She could still feel the stinging pain she felt throughout the beatings and torture.
To Lt. Keegan's surprise, Kensi shut her eyes. He was about to say something, but she finally spoke.
"I was sent on a classified mission to Afghanistan as a replacement sniper to take out the White Ghost."
"Replacement? What happened to your predecessor?"
"He was found decapitated." She stated bluntly. No trace of emotions could be found in her voice.
However, inside, Kensi was trying her best not to break down.
Lt. Keegan just nodded and Kensi continued. "I was assigned to take out الشبح الأبيض ; the White Ghost. That's what the locals called him. After five months of hard work we finally found him. I tracked him down and set up my shot, but missed purposely."
Confused, he asked, "Why?"
Kensi took a pause and replied, "I waited for my shot and it so happened to be the moment he removed the cloth that was covering his mouth. I knew who he was."
"So that's why you missed purposely?"
Kensi swallowed, her mouth was feeling dry. "His name was Jack Simon. He was a former Marine. And he was my ex-fiancé."
Shocked at the statement, Lt. Keegan stopped writing. He looked up at Kensi, who found the courage to keep talking.
"I was, umm. I was, the least to say, shocked. I knew that he couldn't be the White Ghost so I disappeared. I tracked him to a cave and I was captured by the Taliban."
"You went off grid to track him down after knowing that he was your target?"
"I knew Jack. I knew that he couldn't be who they said the White Ghost was."
"I still don't understand. He was your ex-fiancé, yes, but to go off-grid on a mission like that…"
Her mouth pressed in a hard line, she suppressed the urge to punch Lt. Keegan in the face. "If you must know, ten years ago, he proposed to me two months before being deployed to Iraq. We were going to get married when he came back. Seven months later, he comes back. He was honorably discharged from the military because he was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Christmas morning came and when I woke up, he was gone. I wanted an answer."
Lt. Keegan finally relented on the sore subject of her ex-fiancé and nodded in understanding. "So you were captured by the Taliban."
She gave a small nod. "We had thought Jack was the White Ghost, but when we were captured together, he told me that the White Ghost was a myth. The CIA created that as a cover for Jack to do their bidding after his wife and daughter were killed. He disagreed." Her voice cracked at the last bit.
"The Taliban thought that we were CIA so they," it took all the courage she could muster to say the next three words, "they tortured us."
Comforted by the silence that ensued, Kensi took the time to think about what got her through when she was at her worst. Deeks. Even with Jack by her side – the one that got away – she still thought of him. During that moment, she didn't care if he was thousands of miles away or an hour away from her, she was grateful that he was in her heart, saving her from falling under.
What he said to her after his own rescue, she now completely understood and responded in equal kind. The only difference was that he had a moment to cling onto. She had had a whole night and then some.
"And then your team rescued you." His statement pulled her out of her reverie.
She allowed herself to give him a small smile at that. "Yes."
"So, Detective Deeks, Agent Hanna, Agent Callen, and Agent Del Compo?"
"No. Agent Del Compo was a part of NCIS after I came back. A person that I'm not at liberty to disclose and Assistant Director Granger was also on the team. Eric Beale and Nell Jones were also pivotal to my rescue."
Lt. Keegan gave another silent nod and asked, "Am I correct when saying that Detective Deeks is your partner?"
Kensi gave a nod of her own in reply.
"Being partners with someone is a very powerful connection, no?"
"It is," she was afraid of the conversation that was going to follow, "You form a bond with someone that you can't form with anybody else."
"Because they have your back?"
"Yes, 24/7."
"Would you say that you trust Detective Deeks?"
Now that was a loaded question, but her response was immediate, "With my life." Little did she know, the person in question was right outside, thinking the exact same thing, and fighting to hide the ear-to-ear grin that was trying to make its way onto the surface.
"Are you questioning my loyalty?" Kensi asked, her voice, dangerous.
Deeks was mentally preparing himself to storm into the room to pull her off of Lt. Keegan.
"No, of course not," he backpedaled, "I'm asking because I asked around LAPD. They don't seem to share your faith in him."
"It's not faith, Lieutenant," she responded, "Its fact that he has my back and that I have his."
"My apologies. They don't seem to share your accolade."
She gives a shrug, "Their loss then."
Deeks was openly grinning now.
A smile appears on Lt. Keegan's face and she's confused.
"The line between professional and personal can blur," he states and Kensi knows exactly where this is going, but plays dumb.
"I don't understand."
"I'm sure you don't," he says with a knowing smile on his face, his hands now clasped together in front of him. "I've asked around. It seems that people are keen to think that your relationship with Detective Deeks has crossed that line."
Almost immediately, a past conversation echoes in her mind.
"What's wrong?"
"You know if we do this, this changes everything."
"So what do you want to do?"
"I don't want to have to choose."
"Then don't, then don't choose. We don't choose."
"No, that's not how it works. What do you think is gonna happen?"
"I don't know. I don't care."
"What are you doing to me, Deeks?"
"Falling in love with you."
It was that moment that got her through the greatest physical pain she's ever felt in her whole entire life.
And even nine months later, she can still remember the way he looked at her with those deep blue orbs of his that she can't help but get lost in.
She can still feel the tears that welled up in her eyes.
She can still hear the crack in her voice as she asked him what he was doing to her.
She can still remember the way her façade crumbled as he finally said what actually meant.
She can still feel the way the fabric of his button down shirt felt as she clasped it tightly in her hands.
She can still taste the salt water of the ocean and hazelnut coffee on his lips as she pulled him down towards her.
She can still feel his shaggy blonde curls underneath her fingers as she played with his mop of a hair.
She can still feel…
"Well, they're wrong." She finally responds.
"So, you're telling me that you're not seeing Detective Deeks?"
"Of course, I'm seeing him. Not right now, seeing he's not here, but I see him on a day-to-day basis," she wittily remarks. Deeks must've rubbed off too much on her because she's even smirking at Lt. Keegan the way he does to her.
Outside, Deeks can't help but smile at her response. 'She's gotten better at her humor,' he thinks.
Keegan gives an amused smile and corrects himself, "I mean, are you and Detective Deeks dating?"
"No," she responds.
"That's the answer you're sticking with?" He asks, not fully believing it.
Well, it is the truth. Sadly.
She nods. "I'm not dating my partner, Lieutenant." Though, we might have crossed that line you were talking about earlier.
He writes something in his pad and asks, "When I was talking with his fellow officers and detectives, I got the feeling he was an outsider. Do you-"
"Why are you asking me about Deeks? If you have questions for him, then go ask him yourself." She interjects.
He just takes a pause to smile and then starts speaking, "You said it yourself, partners form a bond that you can't find with anyone else. That implies you know him better than anyone else."
"Touché." She responds, the weight of the simple word holding much more meaning than Keegan could ever imagine.
"So, I ask you, do you think that the fact that he was an outsider within LAPD could've led to him working with someone that would accepted him?"
"Are you accusing my partner of being a mole?!" She asked, flabbergasted by his accusations. Her tone was warning and dangerous. Deeks felt equally astonished at the audacity of Keegan to accuse him of being the mole as his partner and so did the rest of the team.
"He is the only one in your team with true connections within LAPD. He would've known both operations within great detail."
When Kensi just stared daggers at him like he was her father's killer, he added, "People desperately wish to be accepted."
Kensi still wasn't responding, so he ordered, "Answer the question, Agent Blye."
Snapping out of her reverie, she replied, "Deeks may have been an outsider in LAPD, but he is a cop. And he's found a home here at NCIS."
"With you, no less." He responds.
"Are you implying something?" She knew exactly what he was implying.
He just shakes his head and changes the subject, "Then why isn't he an agent?"
She shrugs and immediately replies, "Because he's a cop."
To Keegan, Callen, Talia, and Sam, those words were confusing. Out of all of the things she could've have said, she'd chosen to speak those and they didn't fully understand what she was trying to convey, but to Deeks, it meant the world.
She knew him like no one else ever could and it felt amazing.
Finally, something in her head clicked. It was as if the light bulb that dangled above her head finally turned on. "You're not Internal Affairs are you?"
He shook his head and admitted, "CIA." She knew something was up when he had said Director Vance gave him clearance high enough to delve into her classified mission. She definitely knew something was up when he started asking about her personal life.
To prevent herself from slitting his jugular, she bit the inside of her cheek and said, "I'm not joining the CIA. Now, if you want to ask me more questions, I suggest you speak to my lawyer." She gets up out of the chair and removes her jacket from the back of the chair before putting it on.
"And who might that be?"
"Take a guess." She replies with a smirk and walks out the door.
And in that moment, Deeks knew that her trust in him was immeasurable as was his trust in her. No matter what happened after today, no matter how long it takes them to finally succumb to their desires of one another, he knew that she fully trusted him and that was a mind-blowing revelation for him. He hadn't let someone in for a very long time and neither had she. There was hope for them. Maybe two broken pieces could become a whole.
A/N: Reviews are much appreciated (especially critiques)! Except if you're going to just hate on my story. Just know, I will call you out on it if you do.
P.S: Cyber-fives all around to those you have gotten the season 5 DVD. I plan on ordering the box set for all five seasons sometime tomorrow and order for it to arrive on my birthday in four days. (I will publicly admit that I have only watched the last two episodes of season one. The watched the first couple of minutes of the pilot and I was like, nope. Which episode does Deeks first appear? My explanation for that only contains one word: Densi Also, I want to thank the people who made the NCIS: LA and H50 crossover happen because that's when NCISLA and Densi first got on my radar!)All I can say is that that will be the best bday present. Ever.