"Deeks has been shot."

Hetty's words stunned me. My heart sank and I could tell by the looks on Callen and Sam's faces that they were just as shocked as I was. It took me a moment to form the words of the question I wanted to ask, but feared the answer to.

"How is he?"

"He's in surgery at Pacific Beach Medical." Hetty replied.

"When?" Sam inquired.

"This morning at Sandune Convenience store on Cobble Boulevard." Hetty stoically informed us.

"Let's take my car." Sam and Callen rose from their chairs to leave.

H"I said Mr. Deeks is in surgery." Hetty halted Sam and Callen in their tracks. She pointed at Sam. "I think your particular skills will be better served at the crime scene."

I could tell Sam wasn't pleased with hetty's wanting him and Callen to go to the scene of Deeks' shooting, instead of the hospital, but he didn't voice his protest aloud.

I was going to make my protest known. I wasn't going anywhere but the hospital, whether Hetty liked it or not.

"Hetty, uh, Deeks is my second partner to get shot. So I'd really like to be there." I could almost see the words forming in Hetty's mind to order me to accompany Callen and Sam to the crime scene, and I hurried to finish what I wanted to tell her. "Look, the last time I wasn't there for my partner, he was dead the next time I saw him. So please? Okay?"

I hated the almost pleading tone my voice had taken on, but it was really important that Hetty listened to me. I wasn't there for Dom when he needed me, but I was damn sure going to be there for Deeks, whether Hetty agreed or not.

After a moment, Hetty said, "I think your partner would want you there when he wakes up."

Relief flooded through met at her words.

"Keep us posted Kensi," Callen said as he and Sam left to go to the scene of Deek's shooting.

"Okay," I told Callen, without taking my eyes off Hetty, "Thank you."

Hetty nodded.

I hurried out of OPS to my car. My mind raced the entire drive over to Pacific Beach Medical. Deeks and I had only been partners for a few months, so we were still getting used to one another. There were times when Deeks pushed my patience to the limit, and I was tempted to throw him out of a speeding car. Other times, he got me laughing so hard with his constant chattering, witty comments, and absurd sexual innuendos, that I nearly peed my pants.

Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I liked Deeks. He was a good man, and an even better cop. There wasn't anyone else I trusted more to watch my back in the middle of a dangerous situation. I didn't want him to die. It scared me a little to realize that Deeks had not only gotten under my skin, but he had almost effortlessly wormed his way onto the short list of people I cared about most, and would protect at all costs.

I reached the hospital finally, and after finding a vacant parking spot near the entrance, I killed the engine, and hurried inside. I flashed my badge at the registration nurse, identified who I was, and that Deeks was my partner. The nurse explained to me that Deeks was still in surgery, and directed me to the row of elevators at the end of the hall, which would take me to the third floor where I could wait for word about Deeks.

As I waited in front of the elevators for one of them to arrive on my floor, I tried to keep my mind from conjuring up different shooting scenarios that occurred at close range, and the varied odds of someone recovering from them without being permanently damaged in the process. Whatever injuries Deeks had sustained, permanent or otherwise, we would face them as partners. Deeks recovering was the only thing that mattered.

A bell sounded, announcing the arrival of an elevator, and the doors swished open. I nearly trampled an elderly couple getting off, and hastily called out an apology as I stepped onto it, and willed the doors to close behind me.

Arriving on the third floor, I announced myself to a nurse at the station and informed them I wanted to be told the moment Deeks was out of surgery. She in turn, handed me two plastic bags. One contained the soiled remnants of the clothes Deeks' was wearing when he was shot, and the other contained his watch and L.A. P..D. Credentials.

I set the larger bag onto a nearby chair, opened the smaller one, and removed Deeks watch and credentials from it. As I held them in long while, I prayed that Deeks would be all right. I had barely opened my eyes, when the double doors at the end of the hallway opened. A team of medical personnel in surgical garb exited, pushing a bed between them, and with a jolt I realized it was Deeks.

"How's he doing?" I asked the doctor in charge. She was short with dark hair and a Middle East accent.

"Two shots. One was high in the chest, but luckily missed his lung. The second fractured a rib, but was deflected away from the heart." The doctor was quick to assure me, " It was a small caliber weapon. He's going to be okay. You can talk to him when the anesthetic wears off."

Her words made a rush of relief flood over me. Deeks was going to be okay. "Thank you."

I waited in the hallway while the medical team put Deeks in his recovery room, took his vitals, conferred with one another for a couple of moments, and then separated to carry on their other assignments, before I entered his room. I sat down in the chair beside his bed and settled in to wait for him to wake up.

I couldn't help observing Deeks as he slept. His shaggy hair was even more unruly than it normally was and was damp with perspiration. There were dark shadows under his eyes and he was quite pale under his tan. I didn't like seeing him so still, quiet, and pale. It was unnatural.

I don't know how long I was sitting there before my phone rang. I hurriedly answered it when I saw that it was Callen. I rose from my chair and stepped out into the hallway.

"Deeks is out of surgery." I told him. "The doctor said he's going to be okay."

"That's good news." I heard the relief in Callen's voice, a moment before he sobered. "Deeks didn't walk in on a robbery, he was ambushed. You're no longer just visiting, you're now on protection detail."

Callen hung up and I walked back into Deeks's room. Anger filled me at Callen's words. It was bad enough thinking that Deeks had just walked into a robbery gone wrong, but knowing that someone had actually been laying in wait to kill my partner, pissed me off, and put me into full protective mode.

I leaned over Deeks' bed and brushed the hair away from his face. "Don't you worry partner, I'm not going to let anyone hurt you again. If they try, it's going to be the last thing they'll ever do."