Kensi Blye was not happy that morning. Her alarm didn't go off and her rib was still healing. It didn't help when she arrived to work to see that Deeks was waiting for her, with that stupid smirk on his face.
"Well, aren't you a little ray of sunshine?" he said.
"Not now, Deeks."
"Oh, testy. Someone must have a little visitor."
"Shut up."
They walked in doors and were immediately greeted by Hetty. "Ms. Blye, you have a visitor."
"We were just taking about that," Deeks said.
Hetty looked at him, and then turned back to Kensi. "She's waiting for you at your desk."
"My desk?" Kensi wondered aloud. As she turned into the Ops center she stopped short. "Claire?"
A girl about the age of eighteen looked at Kensi. It took her awhile, but she smiled at her. "Hey, Kens."
"What are you doing here?"
Before Claire could answer, Deeks interrupted. "And who is this?"
"Uh, this is…uh, Claire."
Deeks pushed past Kensi and held out his hand. "Hi, Uh Claire. I'm Marty Deeks. LAPD. Kensi's partner."
Claire took his hand with a smile. "Hi."
"And how do you two know each other?"
"Deeks," Kensi snapped.
Claire looked at Kensi and said, "Oh, we go way back."
Deeks tilted his head quizzically, Kensi could practically see him foaming at the mouth for answers, but before he could say anything else, Kensi stepped in. "Deeks, why don't you go into the Ops room to see if they need help?"
"But I—"
"Now."
Mumbling, Deeks left and headed up the stairs. Kensi watched him as he made it up the stairs and looked over his shoulder one last time to see what they were up to. When he saw her put her hand on her hip, he sighed and headed into the Ops room.
Kensi turned back to Claire. "Sorry about that. He can be such a pain."
"I don't mind," Claire said. "He's cute."
Kensi coughed. "Um, so why are you here?"
"Can't a girl visit her ex-future-sister-in-law without having a reason?"
"Not if the girl wasn't supposed to know where the ex-future-sister-in-law worked. Talk."
Claire looked down for a moment, then back up to Kensi. "Jack's missing."
It took awhile for Kensi to breathe again. She took a seat. "Jack's always missing. And besides, I haven't talked to him in years. Why should this matter?"
"This is different," Claire said. "Usually, when Jack runs off, we get a drunken call two days later. This time, he didn't call. It's been two weeks."
"And you didn't call the police?"
"They stopped caring the first few times it happened. They always say he'll come back. And he always does, after a couple days. But I don't know, Kensi…I have a feeling that this time…."
"He won't come back," Kensi finished.
Claire nodded.
"And why should I help?"
Claire looked at her. "You're the only one I know—that I trust—to do this right. Kens, I know he was an ass when he left you—"
"On Christmas day."
"I know, I know," Claire said. "He's an idiot. And he knows it. He's been looking for that adrenaline rush every since he came back, I know. But, he's my brother. Ever since the car wreck with my parents, he's all I got left. He's all I have," Claire took in a breath. "Please, Kensi. I am begging you."
Kensi looked at Claire. Jack was an asshole. And he didn't deserve a sister like Claire, always looking out for him; it should be the other way around. "I'll look into it."
"The man we are looking for is Lt. Jack Howard," Kensi said as Jack's photo showed up on the screen. "He's thirty-one, 6'1", brown hair, blue eyes. He was last seen at his house with his sister two weeks ago. He went out to the store and he never came back."
"And the sister didn't think it was odd?" Callen asked.
"He has a history of... disappearing."
"Isn't this a job for the LAPD?" Sam inquired.
"The police aren't willing to look for him. Again."
"So, why are we?"
"The sister is genuinely worried this time. Usually, when Howard goes off, he calls within a day or two. This time, no such luck." Kensi said.
"What car was he driving?" Deeks said.
"A blue 2008 Ford Focus," Kensi answered, glad to change the subject.
"Do we know if he's in danger?"
"Not at the moment, no."
"Where do we start?" Deeks asked.
"At his house. The address is being sent to your phones."
Callen sighed. "Let's do this."
They all started to head out of the Ops room. Kensi was the last one when Hetty stopped her. "Don't let your emotions get you or your team into trouble, Ms. Blye."
"Trust me, Hetty. I won't."