The team almost made it out of the mission on time. Not like a 9 to 5 job was what any of them signed up for, but man, it was going to be nice! Callen had plans to buy flowers on the way to Jo's house and surprise her. Sam was looking forward to riding bikes with Michelle and Kam before supper, and Kensi and Deeks were almost giddy with anticipation. It was 4:48 when they each heard the chime from their inbox. Hetty was in D.C. until later that evening, and had already congratulated them on finishing up their last case. What now? Everyone groaned when they noticed the incoming message, flagged with high importance. Deeks was closest to his computer, so he said, "Taking one for the team," as he clicked it, eliciting groans from his colleagues. No one knew how prophetic Deeks' statement was.
"Sorry, but it says important!" he winced. He cleared his throat and read aloud, "I know you all are ready to leave, but there is one form that was left out of this year's team evaluation packet that you filled out last week and it is imperative. Please take just a few minutes to fill it out and send it back to me. I expect to have everyone's finished form before 6:00—no exceptions. Hetty."
"Great! Thanks a lot, Deeks. We could have all pretended we didn't see that," grumbled Sam.
"Not me. I never leave unopened emails when I go," said Callen. "Hetty would have known we ignored it on purpose."
"Let's just do it quickly," suggested Kensi. "Hey look, it's just two questions. Weird, huh?" She read, "In the case that the team had a mission requiring one member to potentially sacrifice himself/herself, list the attributes you possess that make you the best candidate for the job." Then at the bottom of the form, followed by 4 blank lines, she read, "Now rank yourself and your team members according to their overall importance to the team, with 1 being the highest."
They all opened the email on their own computer, read the sentence again, and began typing. Sam shook his head, thinking that this was hardly different from the skills inventory form they had filled out as part of the packet already. He was tempted to copy and paste one of his previous answers. He had always been confident in his abilities, and knew his physical strength was a great asset to the team.
Callen was disturbed by the word "sacrifice," knowing that becoming a sacrifice was against human nature. He rather saw himself as an agent who could get out of a jam better than most. He knew he could be calculating, unemotional, and if the situation called for it, brutal.
Kensi saw every mission as a potential sacrifice, especially as her affection had grown for her partner. She was always much more nervous for him than for herself, and suspected he felt the same. However, she was competitive and an adrenaline junkie. She loved the challenge each new case brought, and she loved having a part in bringing down bad guys. The fact that both she and Deeks were kidnapped and tortured in past missions had tempered her enthusiasm for her job with more concern than she thought she would ever feel.
Deeks saw the question much differently than the others. He was part of the team, yet they would be a team without him, too, and had been before he joined them. He believed that as far as attributes went, his were not at the same level as theirs, and he was under no delusion that they felt otherwise. What could he say that would convince anyone to choose him for a dangerous mission—even hypothetically? He sat there as the others finished and left, leaving only Kensi to pace the bullpen as she waited for him. "Hey, Energizer Bunny, how about you go to the gym and punch something while I finish? I can't think."
"All right, Monkey man," she teased. "But I am going to get hot and sweaty," she finished, biting his ear. Being here without the others was a turn-on.
"Yeah, I am counting on that," he said with a grin. Kensi wondered why he was taking so long to answer the question, but he looked so cute as he frowned and wrinkled his nose in thought, that she didn't mind.
When they made it back to his place 45 minutes later, she couldn't keep her hands off of him. Was it his sexy, plain white t-shirt? The brightness of the shirt against his tanned skin drove her insane. Endorphins from her vigorous work out? Maybe. It sure seemed to turn Deeks on when she worked up a sweat. They barely made it inside before they started pulling each other's shirts over their heads, tasting each other's skin, and letting passion consume them. Then they showered together, Deeks washing her hair, Kensi basking in the sensuality of the act. He fulfilled her every need, and the realization that he was so enthralled with her made her melt. They made love again, this time taking it slower, savoring each other's bodies, and wanting to please the other unselfishly.
"I love you, my very special agent Kensi Marie Blye," Deeks whispered. Kensi's heart raced. No games. All in. He didn't beat around the bush or make her wait and wonder how he felt. White-hot.
"I very much love you, Detective Deeks," she breathed, taking in his scent, letting him fill her senses.
Waking up the next morning, he knew he never wanted to take it for granted. He knew what it was like to wake up with longing gnawing away at his soul, and with bitterness choking out any taste of happiness. He appreciated every glorious morning waking up next to the woman he had loved and protected and loved and worked alongside and loved and sparred with and loved for years.
He carefully extricated himself from her arms so he could go for a run, thinking she would appreciate sleeping in. He dressed, then left a note for Kensi on the bathroom mirror, and closed the apartment door quietly.
It was already heating up even thought the sun was low in the sky, and Marty was glad he had not waited any longer to go out. His mind wandered as he ran a familiar route, although one he had not used in a while. This one took him seaside, and as the ocean air invigorated him, he thought of ways to enjoy the day if no case came their way. He and Kensi had not gone out of town since Christmas, so a brief getaway excited him.
Passing some buildings on the shore side, he was glad to get a brief respite from the sunlight. He suddenly felt a sting on his bare chest, then one on his neck, and could not remember seeing any bees or wasps. He was just wondering what type of insect it was when he felt another sting on his arm. He was brushing off the unseen insects when unexpectedly it seemed hard to breathe. He stopped running, and put his hands on his knees, wheezing painfully. A couple that was jogging together stopped to help him.
"Hey, are you all right?" asked the man. Deeks looked at him with obvious panic in his widening eyes, as the lack of breath started making him dizzy. The man and woman each took one of his arms, and helped lower Deeks to the sandy sidewalk. He tried to get out the word "sting" but his tongue felt so thick that he wasn't sure he could be understood.
"Did he say 'sting'?" asked the woman. "Are you allergic to bees?" Deeks couldn't remember, but his body felt heavy and stiff, making him unable to shake or nod his head.
Just then, Kensi came running up. She had awakened when she heard the apartment door close, regardless of the care Deeks had taken to be quiet. When she saw the note he had left, she decided to pull on her running gear and try to catch up to him. Seeing the growing scene at the beach, she ran over to see if she could help, only realizing who was lying on the sidewalk when she was a few yards away. "Deeks? Oh no! What's wrong?" she asked as she grabbed his hand.
"I think something stung him several times. Is he allergic to bees or anything?" asked the male jogger. Kensi could see several welts beginning to form on his chest and arms, growing puffy and red.
"No" "answered Kensi. "Deeks, can you hear me?" His eyes seemed to be begging her to help him, but he was unable to speak. She could hear a thin wheezing noise, but she could tell he was hardly getting any air. "Someone call 911!" she gasped.
As if on cue, a helicopter with a Med-Evac logo set down on the wide beach area as the crowd made room. Three EMT's with equipment and a stretcher hopped out, running over to the group, which parted as they came near.
One of them talked to the joggers while the other two tended to Deeks, placing an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, then injecting something into his thigh. As he was lifted onto the stretcher, one said, "He still isn't getting any air—we need to get him on the chopper and intubate him immediately!" With the help of some of the gathering crowd, the EMT's carried the stretcher over to the helicopter, telling Kensi to meet them at Pacific Beach Medical.
Kensi could see them tilting Deeks' head back and sliding an instrument into his open mouth before the door of the chopper closed. Then they rose in the air, banking to the left. It flashed through Kensi's mind that this was odd, since the hospital was in the other direction, but she thought maybe the helicopter needed room to clear the area before turning toward the city.
On legs that felt like jell-o, Kensi made herself run back to Deeks' apartment as she wondered what could have happened. Deeks had never been allergic to anything, and the EMT's had not even asked her about that before injecting him with what she assumed was an epipen. He only had a few minutes' start on her, but the Med-Evac unit was there in no time. Someone must have been watching from the nearby buildings and phoned it in as soon as he was in distress.
However that happened, Kensi was grateful for the quick response. It was torture to hear his labored breathing and see the panic in his eyes. She ran into the apartment long enough to grab a jacket and her phone, then jumped in her car to head to the hospital. On the way, she called Hetty. "Good morning, Miss Blye! I trust you will actually relax today and not even think of coming in unless I call you."
"Hetty, listen. Deeks is being airlifted to Pacific Beach Medical. He was having some sort of allergic reaction after being stung while he was running this morning. Hetty, he couldn't breathe! They had to intubate him…I am on the way to the hospital now. It was awful!"
"I will alert the others, and we will meet you there, Miss Blye. Don't have a wreck on the way, my dear." Kensi wiped at her eyes while blowing through a red light. Thank goodness it was still early enough that rush hour traffic hadn't begun. She didn't like to panic, but Deeks was the one who usually diffused the situation and made her see the lighter side. Without him, she thought of all sorts of horrible scenarios.
As Kensi found a parking spot, she was sure she passed Hetty's car already there. It figured, since the mission was close to the hospital, and Hetty drove like a racecar driver. The doors to the ER opened, and she saw Hetty standing at the desk, apparently drilling an official from the hospital. As Kensi walked up, Hetty came forward and extended her hands to grab both of hers. The look on Hetty's face scared her. "What is it? Is he..?" Kensi stammered.
"My dear, it appears there was a mix-up. Mr. Deeks was not brought here to this hospital.