A/N: This little piece is prompted by the season finale my husband and I just watched...last night. (I'm too busy for the tele anymore. Lame, right? DVR and Media Center are my friends.) My favorite ship on that show is Kensi/Nate, but I just haven't been seeing much between them lately. So, I'm back to force the issue, heehee. I have this inkling that something might spark between Sam and Kensi, but I'm not feelin' it so I will heartily ignore the observation.

This story takes place after the Season Finale, under the assumption that Callen's drama has settled down a little, at least to a dull roar. At least enough that everyone can get out and have a little fun for a little while. Warnings: There's some language to watch out for and maybe some shoddy psychology. I'm a product of the interpersonal relationship degree, so I have a broad view of human relationships. I'm giving Nate some of the theories and ideas I've studied to move my story along. They might not be perfect theories, but they help my story. If it bugs you remember: it's fiction – suspend your disbelief for a while. Also, I don't own these characters.

).).).)

Kensi stomped into the building Monday morning, fire sparking from her eyes. Male techs and male agents scurried from her glance, wincing if she happened to catch them in her sights.

From down the hall, Sam watched her approach. "Hell hath no fury..." he whispered.

Callen followed his gaze and saw the junior agent coming toward them. "Crap," he muttered, hastily sliding back to his desk. "Don't stare at her!" he growled to his partner. "She's pissed! She'll rip our hearts out and eat them in front of us!"

"What did we do?" Sam asked.

"Nothing, probably," G answered. "Does it matter?"

Kensi stalked into the bull pen, anger rolling off of her in waves. Sam peeked up at her briefly but looked away before she caught him staring. "Probably not," he muttered to Callen.

"Something to say Sam?" Kensi snapped.

"Good morning Kensi?" he asked. He got a glare in return.

"Right," he murmured.

With no active cases and no one on an op, the team had some time to sit and be calm. It would have been nice but for Dragon Lady Kensi spewing venom and brimstone in their bullpen. By lunch, the entire building knew that the agent was on a man-eating rampage, and Sam and G had fled the bull-pen to hole up with Eric in his lair.

"I don't know who did what to her, but have some pity!" G complained to the group of men sitting around.

"Did anyone ask her what was wrong?" Nate asked from the doorway. Everyone turned to stare aghast at him.

Callen laughed. "Are you joking? She'll be mean."

"Wow, G, that was really manly. She'll be mean...get a grip." Sam teased. "Seriously though," he said to Nate, abruptly losing the mocking tone of his voice. "She'll kill us."

"Something's obviously upsetting her," Nate indicated. "And as her friends don't you think you should ask?"

"She'd come to us if she wanted to talk about it," Eric said. "Or she'll just beat up whoever pissed her off and be all better."

Nate sighed. "See, that's where you're wrong. You're thinking like men. And I know Kensi seems like one of the boys," Nate pointed out, "but she's not."

"We know that," Sam defended.

"Do you?" the psychologist asked. "Have any of you talked to her about what happened with Dom? Or Macy?" Everyone shook their heads, confused. "I know she refuses to talk to me about it because none of you will talk to me," he said with a soft reprimand. "And Hetty said she hasn't heard a peep from her since a few weeks before we found Dom."

"So?" Eric asked.

"So you're all thinking that she's been handling this like a man should. Stuffing her feelings down and ignoring her emotions...just like all of you."

"But maybe that's actually how she deals with things," G offered.

"Maybe," Nate conceded. "But I think you'd be surprised how stereotypical men and women can be. We generally fit into some pretty rigid molds when it comes to emotions and relationships."

"So what's your point?"

"Kensi might need to finally release all those pent-up, tamped-down feelings. And whatever happened to her this weekend might not actually have been that bad, but it's the catalyst that set her off. Lashing out at you guys might be the way she's actually begging someone to reach out to her."

Everyone looked uneasy. "Feelings – that's your department Nate," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah," G agreed. "I mean, we love Kensi – she's like a sister to us – but I just don't quite feel comfortable talking to her about...y'know..."

"Feelings?" Nate supplied him.

"Yeah, the f-word."

The psychologist rolled his eyes in disgust. "I can't believe you big babies."

).).).)