A/N: Well, this is going to be weird. But weird can be good…right? This idea came to me late at night, and I'm writing this at 2:56 am, so here goes. Oh, and I didn't know the name of the bar where Hetty offers Deeks a job. If you know, feel free to share. I don't own NCIS: LA.
Chapter One
" Man." Martin Deeks sat slumped on a barstool at Robbie's bar, staring at the glass in front of him. The amber liquid was somehow mesmerizing, and Deeks couldn't tear himself away from the dark, cozy atmosphere of the bar.
" What's on your mind, Marty?" Mike, the friendly bartender, was wiping down a glass. Always inquisitive, Mike moonlighted as a sort of therapist for many of his regular costumers.
" I think I'm going crazy." He replied. Mike looked unconcerned.
" Too much to drink?" He asked. Deeks shook his head.
" Nah. It's a girl…this girl I know-" He cut himself off midsentence. " Ha! Girl…I mean woman, she's a woman, Mike. She's beautiful and talented and smart and funny and…" Deeks gave his shot glass an experimental poke.
" Sounds like love to me." Mike diagnosed wisely. Deeks gave a hollow laugh.
" Wow…love. Yeah, maybe. I just…she's so perfect, Mike. It's like she does everything right, except when she doesn't. And then it's wrong in the most…right way."
Mike casually removed Deeks' shot glass from the counter. " Tell her how you feel, buddy."
Deeks rested his chin on his folded arms. " I wish I could, Mike."
Mike dabbed at a stubborn spot on one of the glasses. " Me and my wife…" He gazed fondly at a photograph of a smiling bride and groom behind the bar. " We met and two weeks later I knew she was the girl for me."
Deeks smiled. " Cute. But this girl…she's not like that."
Mike adjusted his glasses. " How's that, Marty?"
" She's tough, but she's been through hell. She's been hurt too many times, so she put up these walls. I know that even if I broke them down…" Deeks trailed off. He didn't know what else to say. The affect of the whisky clouded his mind.
" Love takes time, Marty. Just like everything, love takes time."
…
Halfway across town, Kensi Blye leaned against the soft fabric of her sofa. The week had been nerve-wracking to say the least: solving case surrounding a drug ring, she and Callen narrowly escaping being shot by the drug dealers. And then the call from Hetty…Kensi closed her eyes. She knocked back another shot of whisky, suddenly feeling her stomach clench with nerves. Hetty had called her into the tiny woman's cluttered office and handed her a thick manila envelope. Operation Falcon.
" An undercover mission in Russia." Hetty said, folding her hands. Kensi stared at the packet.
" I've never heard of Operation Falcon. What is it?"
" NCIS has been trying to bust a ring of arms dealers operating out of Russia for years. The case agent in charge of the operation was killed three weeks ago. We need someone else to take his place, and you fit the profile, Agent Blye." Hetty told her. Kensi offered her a weak smile.
" Of course I'll do it, Hetty. How long?"
Hetty adjusted her thick glasses. " Six months to a year, Agent Blye. I trust that will not be a problem."
Kensi shook her head. " Of course not." She hesitated before asking,
" When do I leave?"
Hetty titled her head, observing her agent for a moment before saying,
" Tomorrow."
Now, Kensi was starting to regret her words. Of course she minded leaving LA, heading off for a far-away land of ice and snow. Kensi's thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Rising slowly, she crossed the room and opened it. Standing on her doorstep was Callen.
" Callen!" She exclaimed, opening the door wider. "What are you doing here?"
Callen looked awkwardly around the room. " Um…I just came to talk."
Kensi slumped back onto the couch. " Well, sit down." Callen sat down at the other end of the couch.
" Hetty told me about the mission." He admitted. Kensi sighed. She had hoped to avoid this, the questions from her friends and the pity she knew they would express eventually. Kensi couldn't help but feel that the mission was a punishment. For what, she didn't know. But she didn't want everyone thinking so too.
" Yeah. Weird, right? It's a deep cover, Russia…" Kensi knew that her words were starting to slur. Callen's blue gaze locked onto Kensi's unfocused dark eyes.
" Kensi, I need to know that you're going to be okay." He said. Kensi felt her heart skip a beat. Why did Callen care? Why was he asking her this? Confronted with the awkward truth, she took a swig of whiskey.
" Kensi." His voice was soft but pressing. She sighed.
" Callen, I'm going to be fine. Why do you even care? You've never given a damn about me before." As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished that she could take them back. Shock and hurt flashed across Callen's face.
" Callen…" She breathed, guilty. She expected him to storm away, to say something cruel back. She held her breath, closing her eyes.
" Kensi, how can you think that? I've cared about you from the day we started working together. I care…more than I should." Callen said. Kensi blinked.
" I care about you too, Callen." She mumbled. " More than I probably should care."
Callen shifted close to her on the couch. " I just wanted to say that if you need a reason to come home from Russia…you know, a reason to stay safe over there…"
Kensi felt her heartbeat quicken involuntarily.
" You." She said. " Callen, I'll come home for you."
Before she knew what was happening, Kensi was kissing Callen, and he was kissing her back. Kensi wrapped her arms around Callen's neck and pushed him backwards against the couch.
" Care about me now?" She whispered. Callen smiled against her neck.
" I always cared about you, Kenz."
….
The sun had barely risen when Kensi opened her eyes. She was lying on the couch in her living room, next to someone. Their arm was around her waist, and Kensi realized with a shock that it was Callen. Then she remembered what had happened the previous night. She ran one hand over her face, wishing she had slept in something other than jeans and a plaid shirt.
" Callen." She whispered. He smiled at her, pushing a strand of hair off her forehead.
" Yeah?" He asked. Kensi fought to keep her voice from breaking as she muttered,
" I'm really going to miss you."
….
" Well, I guess this is it." Kensi stood on the tarmac of the airstrip at Camp Pendleton, waiting for the plane that would take her to Russia. Callen's hand found hers, and she fought to keep a straight face. He hugged her goodbye, and when Kensi slid her arms around his neck, she found herself not wanting to let go.
" Callen, I promise I'll come home." Kensi vowed. Callen nodded.
" I promise I'll wait for you." He replied softly. Their faces were only inches apart, and Kensi could feel the tension crackling like lightning between them.
Then Callen was gone, and she was waiting alone on the tarmac. Kensi shifted her weight from one foot to the other and sighed. She almost missed the familiar voice calling her name.
" Hey! Kensi!" A very familiar figure was jogging towards her, one hand raised in greeting. Deeks.
" You came all this way to say goodbye?" He asked, obviously not noticing her packed suitcase at her side. " I'm touched."
Kensi squinted. " Where is Hetty shipping you off to?" She inquired. Deeks set down his duffel bag with a thud.
" Russia, if you can believe it!" He replied, rocking forwards on his feet. "How about you?"
Kensi's stomach was sinking fast. " Operation Falcon?"
Deeks looked surprised. " Yeah. Hey, how did you find out about that? Hetty told me it was classified."
" Yeah…" Kensi stared at the transport plane idling on the tarmac. " Deeks, I'm on that assignment too."
Deeks looked thrilled. " No way! This is awesome." He scooped up his bag and offered to take Kensi's. She slapped his hand away.
" I've got it, Deeks." She snatched up her suitcase and marched onto the plane.
Kensi sat down on the net seat and crossed her legs. Deeks hauled his suitcase over and sat down next to her. Kensi shot him a stern look out of the corner of her eyes.
" Really? A whole plane, and you pick the one seat next to me?" She asked. Deeks gave her a crooked smile.
" You're the only other person on the plane I'd want to sit with." He replied. There were five Marines who were flying to a stopover in Kabul, but the plane was otherwise filled with crates of supplies headed for Marines in Afghanistan. The carrier plane began to taxi down the runway. Kensi felt her stomach clench and she wished that the plane had windows. It was unnerving to be moving so quickly and yet blindly. When the plane began to lift up from the ground, Kensi felt her heart give a familiar pang of fear and sadness. She wanted so badly to be back in LA with Callen.
They were out over the Pacific Ocean by the time Kensi opened her eyes. Deeks was looking at her. Kensi dug out her I-pod and pressed play. She would much rather listen to music than listen to Deeks. Kensi closed her eyes and leaned back with a loud sigh.
She didn't remember falling asleep, but she woke up a few hours later to find Deeks staring at her, again. Kensi coughed and Deeks looked away. He glanced at his watch and then back at her.
" Long flight, huh?"
Kensi nodded. " Yeah. Only ten more hours to go, right?" Deeks nodded and Kensi sighed. She couldn't wait to land in Kabul. Kensi had always hated planes; she had since she was a little girl. She always felt too confined, and the idea of hurtling along 30,000 miles high in a hunk of steel had never been much of a comfort.
" Never liked planes much." Kensi commented. Deeks nodded.
" Yeah, me neither." He shuddered. She felt glad that there was one thing they could agree on. There was a slightly awkward silence.
" Sixth months is a long time." Deeks said. Kensi didn't want to pull out the case file in the plane, but she already knew what it would say.
" Hetty said sixth months minimum." She reminded him. Kensi felt her heart sink a little as she thought of how long sixth months was. At least they would be in an interesting, albeit dangerous, place. Kensi had been to Moscow a few times, always on business, as well as St. Petersburg. Both cities were beautiful, especially in winter. She could remember stepping out of a train station and seeing the snow glistening everywhere. Russia in the winter was like an ice queen's garden.
" Long time." Deeks commented. Kensi nodded.
" You're telling me."
...
Five hours later, the carrier landed on a dusty airstrip just north of Kabul. The five Marines departed the plane, and Kensi and Deeks stepped outside into the glaring sunlight as the supplies were unloaded. The air was hot and dusty, and Kensi blinked in the bright light. She and Deeks walked a little ways up the airstrip. Jagged mountain peaks rose against the blue sky, and Kensi found herself reminded of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Great, fourteen hours and I'm already homesick, she thought.
" Agent Blye, Detective Deeks?" The pilot called, stepping outside the cockpit. " We're taking off in five minutes."
" Thanks." Deeks called back. He turned to Kensi, putting a hand on her arm.
" You ready? Only two hours to Moscow."
Kensi took a last look at the mountains, so strange and yet so familiar, then turned and followed Deeks into the belly of the plane. She closed her eyes during takeoff, unwilling to let her emotions take hold again. Kensi suddenly found herself wanting to get away, to return to LA and be safe in someone's arms. Callen's arms. Kensi was struck by the sudden thought that she could be flying towards her death. And Deeks' death. And she had never said half the things she wanted to. To the team, her friends, to Callen. Kensi felt tears fill her eyes, and quickly look away. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face Deeks.
" Kensi, are you sure you're okay?" He asked. She shot him an angry look, unsure of what else to do.
" Yeah." She answered, feeling less and less confident in this every moment that they spent headed for Russia. " Yeah, I'm fine." She faked a cough. " My eyes always water when I fly." Saved by another lie. Deeks didn't look satisfied, but she turned away and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep. And she found, eventually, that her faked slumber became real.
" Kensi." Deeks' voice was in her ear, whispering softly. " Kensi, we landed. We're on an airstrip outside of Moscow." Great. She nodded, stood up. Kensi's joints ached in protest as she gathered her suitcase and stepped outside. A freezing wind blasted her cheekbones pink and whipped her hair across her forehead. She buttoned her coat with freezing fingers. Deeks joined her, teeth chattering, next to a black SUV.
A man with cold blue eyes and a pale face stood beside the door, a black scarf wrapped around his neck.
" Welcome to Russia, Agent Blye."
A/N: Whew! Sorry that chapter was so long. I couldn't stop writing! If you've made it this far, I congratulate you. Happy New Year, and kudos to anyone who can catch the NCIS quote-it's slightly altered-in here! Don't forget to review! Thanks everyone.