NCIS LA:

I ran down the alley as fast as I could; I wasn't thinking, wasn't breathing properly. I felt as though my heart was on the verge of bursting. And yet, none of it mattered if I didn't get to him in time. "Deeks!" I shouted, nearing the site of the explosion. "Deeks!" I yelled. I stood less than ten feet away, and the only things that I could see were the pile of twisted metal that was once his car, the neon yellow flames of the fire, and clouds of black, billowing smoke. "Deeks!" I shrieked, moving around the sides of the car to scan the area for him. Nothing. No response except the sound of police and ambulance sirens in the background. "Oh god." I murmured. No. I refused to lose another partner; especially Deeks. Deeks was… Deeks. He was funny, and cute, and made me feel things that I should have recognized a long time ago. No; I refused to let him die, because it wasn't even an option.

I started to kick through the scraps and heaps of metal in front of me. "Deeks!" I yelled. "Kensi?" I heard a weak voice cough out. I looked around, and saw that the explosion had thrown him a few feet from the wreckage. He was lying under a large piece of metal from the used-to-be car. "Deeks!" I said, running to his side and sliding onto the ground, ripping holes into the knees of my jeans as I skidded to a stop. I heaved the heavy metal piece off of him, pulling the upper half of his body into my lap and helping him try to sit up. "I thought you were…" I couldn't finish my own sentence, the mere thought of it was too terrible, and I began to choke on the tears that threatened to ruin my makeup. He managed a slight smile in the midst of couching. "Yeah, for a while there so did I." He said. I felt the hot tears start to pour over my cheeks as they blurred my vision. "The rest of the team is on their way, along with a few ambulances." He stared up at me. "I'm not hurt that bad. I'm probably gonna need stitches in a few places though. And I think I might have fractured a rib." He said with a wince, shifting slightly in my arms. "I think your definition of not hurt too bad is some what confused." I said. He laughed with a pained expression. "Did they catch Miller?" He asked. I shook my head. "They think he's still in LA. They think he was the one that planted the bomb." I said.

Suddenly his eyes were wide, and his expression was shocked. "Kensi, look out!" He yelled, looking off somewhere behind my shoulder. He slid out of my lap, propping himself on his arms as I spun around, scrabbling backward and firing three rounds into Miller, who was holding a 19mm pistol in one hand. But he fell to the ground when I fired; blood seeped from his mouth, and his abdomen. It formed a red, coppery-smelling puddle beneath him. With a sigh of relief I glanced at Deeks, who looked back at me with a long, hard gaze. "Damn," I murmured, still breathing hard, as I glanced at the body in front of us. "Yeah; Karma's a bitch." Deeks said dryly. I couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth. Maybe things would be okay after all.

Ten minutes later, I was riding in the ambulance with Deeks to the hospital. When we arrived, and the doctor had run his tests, he said that in fact two of Deeks' ribs were fractured-one more so than the other. He need 12 stitches in his arm, and four above his left eye. I waited with him in the IC unit as he got the stitches. Afterward, the doctor explained that due to the cracks in his ribs, he would have to wear bandaging around his mid section for a while in order for his ribs to heal; he also prescribed some pain medication, and told him to skip out on physical exercise until he was completely healed.

I leaned against the wall and watched their conversation; for the most part, Deeks was quiet as he listened to the doctor's instructions. He visibly wanted to protest against the no physical activity rule-for people like us, it meant no field work. For Deeks it meant no field work, and no surfing. But he stayed silent, his expression somewhat resigned. After the doctor was finished, he left the room as a nurse came in. "I'm gonna need you to take off your shirt please." She said kindly. He obliged, unbuttoning his black and white plaid shirt. Even I, who was a professional at burying my emotions, couldn't help but admit the sight of Deeks minus his shirt made the rate in which my heart beat bounce higher than normal. He had an athletic build I assumed was from his constant training with Sam and Callen in the gym, as well as-once again- his love of surfing. His abdomen was solid and defined, his back sculpted and set with broad shoulders. Something about the sight of him sent a nearly physical shiver along the length of my spine.

But his defined muscles weren't the only thing I noticed; his side was marked by a large, black and purple bruise from where his ribs had been fractured due to the explosion. He seemed to be in a lot more pain than he was letting on as the nurse wrapped his side. Every now and then she would have to pull the gauze to tighten it around his midsection, and he would wince, making me cringe in turn. "So, I guess we can call this case closed?" He asked, glancing up at me. "Well, Callen and Sam took care of Miler's gooiness, and Miler's…" He understood my implication at Miler being dead. "Besides, there's no way in hell I'm letting you anywhere near headquarters. I'm driving you straight home, and calling Hetty when we get there. I'm sure she'll understand why you'll be out for a while." He laughed and winced at the same time. "Kinda cliché don't of you think? 'Hey Hetty, sorry but I'm gonna need a few sick days because I was in an explosion'." His charm was sincere as he attempted levity. I could feel myself smirking. "Sounds like something out of one of the die hard movies." I said. He sighed. "You're telling me."

After the nurse had finished wrapping him up, and the doctor gave him the pain medication, I drove him back home. In the car, he was quiet. His head was tipped back and his eyes were closed. 'Maybe he's asleep' I thought. "You know, you should really be watching the road." He murmured after a while. "How'd you know I was looking at you?" I asked confused, turning my eyes back to the road every now and again as we spoke. He opened his eyes and turned his head toward me. "I could feel your longing gaze boring a hole in my head." He said with a grin. "Longing gaze?" I asked skeptically. But in truth, it bothered me that he knew me that well. I hadn't even realized I'd been staring until he said something. "Yup. The kind that new married couples give each other. It's 'that look'." He said. I rolled my eyes, as we pulled into the driveway of his house.

I helped him out of the car before we headed up the steps to his house. On the porch, I waited as he unlocked and opened the door. "Welcome to mi casa." He said, stepping inside. I followed him in, recognizing his familiar home from the times we'd worked late nights; I could practically remember the smell of Chinese food. I shut the door as he walked over to the couch and plopped down, obviously exhausted. I sat next to him, silent for a moment. "How long do you think it'll be before you can get a new car?" I asked. He shrugged. "Not sure. I can't really focus too hard on it right now. I'm still waiting for the drugs from the stitches to wear off." He said. His eyes were closed again, and I moved a piece of hair off his face. "You can carpool with me when you get back; least till you get your own ride." I murmured. He looked over at me, his blue-gray eyes intense and surprisingly serious for a guy on medication. "I guess this is where I say thank you." He said. "If you hadn't been there… if you hadn't come looking for me, Miler would have killed me. Plus you know, I was almost blown to bits." He looked down for a moment. "But you were there for me." He said, meeting my eyes once more. I couldn't help but laugh at his incognizant state. "What?" He asked confused. I shook my head, looking at the ceiling for a moment. "Nothing." I said with a smile.

For some time it was silent. I turned my head to look at him, and found him watching me. Suddenly, he pressed his lips very gently against mine. I was unsure what to do as a flood of emotions raced down my spine. But I gave in before I had time to resist. I felt myself kissing him back. My lips separated under his, and it was sweet and gentle and way too enjoyable on my part-even now, I knew this. After a moment we both pulled back, just… looking at each other. I didn't know what to say, how to respond, or what to think. All I could do was sit there, watching him, and feeling the butterflies rise in my stomach the same way they had when I was thirteen and had my first kiss. But these butterflies came from something different. Different circumstances. This was Deeks; and I had known this moment was dancing just outside of reality's reach for a very long time. Until now. The question was, what exactly did it mean for us? Were anything to happen at work… god only knows how much trouble we'd be in. There'd be hell to pay. But looking into his beautiful blue eyes, I couldn't help but feel safe and secure next to him. Like I never wanted to give this moment up. And I didn't.

He was looking at me in silence, gently stroking the side of my face with his hand. He pushed away a piece of my hair, and leaned in again, giving me a small kiss. After a moment he pulled back. "Well…" He said softly, still playing with a piece of my hair. "Well…" I murmured, unable to remove my gaze from his. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to look at the text Sam had sent me. "Hetty told us about Deeks. She doesn't expect you to be in till tomorrow. Tell blondie we said get better; now we have no one to harass. Laughing to myself, I texted him back, saying 'Got it. Thanks.' I looked up at Deeks, who'd read the message over my shoulder. He was smiling to himself at Sam's witty banter."Looks like you get a break from Sam and Callen's constant torment." I said.