TITLE: "Comte"
AUTHOR: Tess
RATING: T (adult language)

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Just playing with them and promise to put everything back when I'm done.

SUMMARY "Never let anyone who has insulted you get away with it. Bide your time and strike back when you're in a position of strength—even if you no longer need to strike back." ― Stieg Larsson, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

Post season eight. Established Kensi-Deeks, Nell-Eric, everyone still works at OSP in their current positions with Sam back at work.


Chapter One: "Woman is a sacred; the woman one loves is holy."

Deeks was helping an old friend from the LAPD. Detective Brian Carr was the only man on Bates's squad who Deeks actually gave a damn about except for Bates and Matt Bernhart. Former military like Bates, sane unlike Bernhart, the old school and street smart Carr had little use for the politics of LAPD. He was there to do a job - just like his father did in Philly and his father's father did in Newark. Preferring competent detectives, Carr was an early ally when Deeks joined the undercover unit.

Carr was wrapping up his 25-year LAPD career. Turned down for a promotion he deserved in favor of a "college boy who was better dealing with crime stats than actual criminals," Carr was about to take his talents to corporate security but he had one last case to clear. He called Deeks to watch his back at Fedora, WeHo's latest hot spot. Deeks looked a lot more like a Fedora patron than a 55-year old former MP who was working an undercover sting.

Carr got his man, actually two men and three women, running a kickback scheme with the bar's manager. Working with four uniformed officers, the arrests made it an early night for the club but a late night for Deeks. As Deeks started to file his paperwork from an empty, borrowed desk in the Hollywood Station squad room, his phone rang.

"Deeks, it's Dan Evans," the voice on the line told him. "Sorry to call but we have a situation here. Where are you?"

Deeks knew it wasn't good - Dan Evans wouldn't call if it was. "Doing some paperwork in Hollywood. What's up, man?" Deeks asked, "And where is here?"

"I'm at your place with Agent Blye."

"My place?" Things were officially not good. Veering into bad. "What happened? Is Kensi hurt?"

"No, Agent Blye is not hurt. The two scumbags who broke into your house, however, are dead on the living room floor."

"Oh God, hold on. I'll be out of here in five minutes. You're sure she's not hurt." Deeks saved his work and started logging off the borrowed computer.

"She's fine. She told me you were working for us tonight and wanted me to promise not to call. I said I wouldn't make any promises but she had to give a statement. She's talking to Vince Reyes right now but nobody's looking at this as anything but self-defense. Deeks, who'd you guys piss off this time?"

"What do you mean?" Deeks was taking the backstairs at the precinct two at a time.

"Your dead intruders were dress in black, were wearing those 'V is for Vendetta' type masks. They both had knives - serious business knives. One had two syringes - marked male and female - and the other had plastic handcuffs and a black hood. Now it may be my years of police work talking but I think the two dead scumbags were up to no good."

"Can you put her on the phone?" Deeks was taking the steps two at a time to get to his car.

"Let her finish with Reyes. Deeks, she's doing fine ... really well when you consider what happened. Look, I'm sure NCIS is taking over the case..."

"I'm sure, too." Deeks was now running to his car.

"Well, let LAPD deal with what's here until her agency bigfoots their way into the case but as far as we can see, self-defense and honestly, she was taking out the trash."

"I'll be right home." Deeks disconnected his phone and it immediately rang again

"You got the call?" Callen asked as Deeks answered.

"Yeah, I'm on my way home, LAPD called about two minutes ago." Deeks opened his car door.

"Why would LAPD call?" Callen asked.

"The two dead guys," he answered

"What two dead guys? Look Deeks, she sold the Brentwood house last year, I need you to go to ..."

"Who sold what house?" Deeks really didn't have time for what Callen needed right now. And why wasn't Callen asking about Kensi?

"Hetty sold the Brentwood house for an apartment at the W. Who are you talking about?"

"Kensi and the two guys, now dead, who broke into our home," Deeks explained before adding "Hetty has an apartment at the W?"

"Among other real estate holdings. Hetty sent an Agent Needs Assistance Call about twenty minutes ago. You didn't get it?"

"No I didn't. I was helping an old friend on a case when I got a call from LAPD saying Kensi just shot and killed two guys who broke into our place. I'm on my way there right now."

"This isn't good. I'm contacting Eric to get a call around going to make sure everyone else is safe. Nothing happened to you tonight?"

"Just working back up for a friend and now I'm blowing off some paperwork so I can get to Kensi."

"You get Kensi. Once she's done with LAPD, the two of you should go to the W. If Hetty's not there, they have excellent security cameras in and around the place. Pull the last two weeks."

"Done. Where's Sam?"

"On his way to Hetty's place in Encino. Call me when you get to the W," Callen told him before disconnecting.

Deeks turned onto the 405 when Kensi called. "Evans said you were on your way over," she said with Monty barking in the background. "I told him not to call."

"I'm glad he did. I'm on my way. Are you OK?"

"Yeah," she sound like she was convincing herself as well as convincing him. "I tried to call before but I couldn't get a signal. I'm on the landline now."

"They didn't touch you, did they?"

"Didn't get past the living room. They tripped on the new hall rug you bought. They never got back up."

"Monty bought the hall rug after he ruined the other. He still exhibits great remorse over the end of your ratty, filthy college dorm rug." Monty may have had deep remorse, Deeks was almost thrilled it was gone. "Who's there right now?"

"LAPD is wrapping up their investigation. I gave a statement and they want me to drop by the precinct tomorrow, well, later today to review it."

"Who else is there?"

"Coroner's office just arrived to take the bodies away. Your friend Det. Evans has a pair of uniforms standing guard outside of the house and a patrol car on the street."

"Look, be careful, Kensi. Hetty sent Callen an Agent Needs Assistance Call. He and Sam are going to two of her houses. They want us to check her apartment at the W."

"Just Callen?" Kensi mused. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I. Callen's got a call around going. Do me a favor, check in with Nell and Amy. I know Eric is doing a call around but I'm playing a hunch."

"OK, what's the hunch?"

"No nonsense for me tonight despite being in a very public place where causing trouble wouldn't be all that hard. No problems at Callen's or Sam's and I haven't heard anything bad about Eric but..."

"Hetty and I are women."

"And Callen, Sam, Eric and I are not. Which is why I'm playing a hunch about people who have been in the field. Talk to Amy, then Nell."

"Call you back in five," she said before hanging up.

Following up on his hunch, Deeks took the Santa Monica exit to Nell's Rancho Park townhouse. Traveling north on Butler, he saw two men about a block away in dark clothing with something white on their heads. They were standing by an open car trunk outside Nell's. As he rolled down his window, Deeks pulled out his gun. Closing in on the silver car, one of the men slammed the trunk door closed while the other started walking to the passenger's side door. Deeks saw what was on their heads - Guy Fawkes masks.

Driving as if he planned on passing the vehicle, Deeks shot out the front tire before throwing his car into reverse. Backing up, he stopped the car and blocked the street. Both men drew their weapons. Using his car as cover, Deeks opened the door and identified himself. "LAPD, don't move."

"Open your trunk and give me the keys," ordered the man on the passenger's side of the car.

"Not going to happen," Deeks told them.

"I'll kill her," the man at the back of the car pointed this weapon at the trunk.

Deeks shot him center mass. "Since your partner made it clear there's a woman in the trunk that means I can pretty much shoot you too," Deeks said to the second man on the passenger's side of the car. "Toss your weapon to your left, lay flat on the ground."

The man did as he was told. Deeks pulled out the package of plastic cuffs he kept in his glove box and took out a pair as well as a pair of rubber gloves before made his way to his live prisoner. Picking up the man's weapon with one of the rubber gloves and putting it in his jacket, Deeks started patting the man down. Once the handcuffs were secure, Deeks asked, "You got keys to the car?"

"I want a lawyer."

"I'm sure you do." Deeks made his way to the man he shot. If he wasn't dead, he was damn close. Deeks secured the near dead man's weapon and found the car keys under his right hand and an empty hypodermic needle in his jacket pocket. "Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead," he wished as he opened the trunk

Nell. Alive and breathing and out cold, dressed in pajama bottoms and a Doctor Who tee-shirt. There were no visible signs of a struggle - the kidnappers hopefully never woke her.

Deeks apologized to the unconscious woman as he pulled the duct tape off her mouth. "Nell, can you hear me?" he asked, shaking her gently. When there was no reply, he asked the handcuffed man "What'd you give her?"

"Die in a fire."

"See the quality of people you miss working up in Ops so much," Deeks said to an unresponsive Nell. Pulling out his phone, he called in their location to police dispatch, needing two ambulances and a patrol car for his personable prisoner.

Deeks's next call was to Callen. "Is Kensi OK?"

"Didn't quite get there yet. Two guys were about to drive off with an unconscious Nell. And while she fits quite comfortably in their Town Car's trunk, I insisted they not leave. One's down and probably dead, the other is cuffed and sitting on the sidewalk."

There was a pause before Callen asked "Is Nell OK?"

"Yeah. They had duct tape on her mouth. The bad guy bleeding out had an empty hypodermic needle. I called LAPD for the guy in cuffs, ambulances for Nell and the probably dead kidnapper."

"Go to the hospital with Nell. I just left Hetty's Beverly Hills residence, she's not there and hasn't been in a few days. I'll go check the W myself."

"What about Kensi?" Deeks was fine staying with Nell but wanted Kensi someplace safe and without dead guys in the living room.

"Is LAPD with her?"

"They were when I spoke to her." Deeks heard the sirens in the background. "I can get someone to bring her to the hospital. Kensi may be a better person to talk to Nell than either you, me or Sam."

"Good idea."

"I can also get someone to get Eric."

"Eric?"

"He does sit with Nell for about the same number of hours a day you spend with Sam and I spend with Kensi."

"Good point. I'll call him. The Navy Yard is taking over the contacting of OSP staff. We're warning them to shelter in place but with what's happening, I'm not sure if that's the best idea."

"I think it is just the women on staff we need to worry about," Deeks said.

"You noticed that too."

"Hard to miss."

The ambulances pulled up with the patrol cars. "LAPD and EMS are here. Can you call Kensi and tell her to wait for my call? I'll call you when we get to the hospital," Deeks told Callen before disconnecting.

"What the hell is going on, man?" Dan Evans walked up to Deeks and shook his hand

Deeks pointed to the trunk. "Someone's decided to collect NCIS staffers."

Looking at the sleeping Nell in the trunk, Evans asked "What is she, twelve?"

"No. But if you add my IQ and your IQ maybe it equals hers."

"What happened with scumbag 2.0 number one?" Evans pointed to the now very dead kidnapper not far from them

"Threatened to fire into the trunk when I wouldn't surrender my car."

"Scumbag 2.0 number two?" Evans pointed to the now standing live kidnapper who was having real handcuffs put over his plastic cuffs.

"Needs to get lost in the system, I think. If this is another organized assault on NCIS, I don't need this guy walking down a hall and disappearing from custody."

"Like whoever stabbed your man Granger last winter?"

"I'd hardly consider Granger mine but yeah. It's been months and all I keep hearing is that investigation is ongoing."

"Drunk tank for the surviving kidnapper?" Evans suggested.

"Nah. Violent criminal with sex offender segregation," Deeks said with a smile as the EMT brought a stretcher to the Town Car's trunk

"She does look like an underage girl so your man is a pedophile until we can interview her," Evans said with a smile. "Who do I say found her? I'm figuring you want your name out of this too."

"Yeah, let's do that. My name and hers. I have a candidate."

Evans nodded and offered a name. "Bernhart?"

"Now there's your most likely policeman driving at three in the morning looking for damsels in distress who need a knight in a white, shining Ford 150 Thanks for everything tonight, man," Deeks said as he and the EMTs eased Nell onto the stretcher. "Is Kensi's name in the report about what happened in our place?"

"Two dead guys inside your residence. Yeah, your name and her name are in the report. Sorry, I can't bury that."

Deeks frowned. The EMTs secured Nell to the stretcher and started rolling her to the ambulance. Deeks handed Evans the kidnappers' weapons before he walking with the EMTs. "No problem. Thanks for your help, I owe you, man," Deeks told Evans. "Our underage victim will want to say thank you too when she's up to it."

"Take care of the teenage Jane Doe. And call Bernhart since he's now in on this," Evans said.

"Thanks man," Deeks waved to Evans. "Call me if you get anything from the surviving kidnapper.

Now jogging to the ambulance, Deeks announced, "I'm riding with her," as he flashed his badge. Watching Nell be put into the back of the ambulance, he climbed into the front passenger seat. It was a quick ride to UCLA Medical Center. Once there, Deeks gave the ER doctor as much information as he had. He also handed over the hypodermic needle as a clue to why Nell was out cold

While the doctors worked on Nell, Deeks found the probably the last bank of payphones in the City of Los Angeles and started working them. The first call was to Callen to confirm they were in the hospital. Callen told Deeks that Amy wasn't answering her phone from her extended stay apartment or her cell. Sam was swinging by.

His next call was to Kensi. "Please tell me Nell is fine," is how Kensi answered the phone. "Nobody is picking up their phones."

"Doctors are looking at her right now and I'm looking at the doctors."

"As soon as they get the other dead guy out of here, I'll come to the hospital."

"I'm going to send someone to pick you up."

"I can get there myself."

"Kensi, you just said Amy is not answering her phone, Nell's in the hospital and Hetty's missing. Humor me, humor Callen, humor Sam and everyone else who actually cares for you and let me get LAPD to bring you here."

"I'm worried about Amy," Kensi said. "We should check on her."

"Sam is going over there right now. Look, Kensi, please, wait. I'll have someone there in a few minutes," Deeks pleaded. "Please."

"Get them here fast. If they're not here in fifteen minutes, you're going to have to say please again."

"I'm working on it right now." Deeks's next call was to Matt Bernhart.

"Martin, if you're drunk and in need of a ride, they have these amazing things called taxi cabs and this remarkable service called Uber."

Deeks could hear Battlefield 5 in the background "Put the controller down. I have a situation."

"You OK?" Matt was suddenly all business.

"I'm fine. Someone's going after the NCIS female staffers."

"Kensi?"

"Two assholes made the mistake of trying to break into our place. It was their last mistake."

"I do like that woman. What do you need me to do?" The video game was suddenly silent in the background.

"I'm at the UCLA Medical Center ER with an NCIS intelligence analyst who was injured tonight. Can you get Kensi and another NCIS person for me and bring them here? The person I brought here works with the guy you need to pick up. He's in Pacific Palisades, Kensi is at home. Get her first. Eric, the other person you're picking up, probably needs Kensi as a reassuring presence."

Deeks heard Bernhart moving around his apartment. "Done and done. Wait, I'm not a reassuring presence? Martin, I'm hurt."

"You're a lunatic. And you like it."

"Yeah, I do," Matt said with some pride.

"You'll also get a bust out of this when it's over."

"I'm all for shining up the resume Send me that Eric dude's address. I know yours. I'll call Kensi in the car," Matt said before hanging up.

Deeks watched the doctors with Nell while he sent Matt Eric's info. Nell still wasn't responsive but the machines showed a strong heartbeat and her breathing looked fine. Putting it off long enough, Deeks called Eric.

"Did they hurt her?" Eric asked in agony.

"Eric, the doctors are with her now. She's out cold but her heart rate is fine. There wasn't a mark on her. I'm having someone pick you and Kensi up to bring you here. Eric, Nell's going to need you to be strong for her."

"Deeks, I..."

"Eric, she's going to be fine but she's going to need you. It took me a while to figure that out but having a friend around, even if they're just sitting and eating with you makes all the difference in the world when something bad happens."

"I can do that," Eric told him. "I can be what she needs."

"Knowing the way my friend Matthew drives, he should be there pretty quickly. Can you create an alias for Nell right now?"

"Sure, but why?"

"Hetty's missing, Kensi and Nell each had two guys try to grab them and nobody can find Amy."

"I thought she was going home tomorrow. Maybe she got an early start?"

"Her case didn't pan out. She had some paperwork to finish but that's not important. If someone is coming after the female agents in the office..."

"Nell's a sitting duck in the hospital."

"Not if she's here as Joan Nelson or something equally but not overly generic."

"Working on it right now. And Deeks, thanks."

"Let's get everyone safe and secure before I wow you with all my high level of awesomeness tonight," Deeks told him before saying goodbye. His cell phone rang, earning him a glare from and older woman at the nurse's station. He pulled out his phone and his badge. He flashed her the badge as he answered his cell. "Deeks."

"You got eyes on Nell?" Sam asked with sirens blaring behind him.

"Looking at her right now," Deeks told him truthfully. "She looks stable from here but I'm waiting to hear from the doctor. What's going on there?"

"They're putting out the fire in Amy's extended stay apartment."

"And Amy?"

"LAFD says there are human remains in the living room and things look out of place in a way they shouldn't be even in a fire."

Deeks closed his eyes and sighed. Too much death in their line of business. "Any word on Hetty?"

"G's on his way to the W. This is bad."

"What can I do?"

"Where's Kensi?"

"LAPD's picking her and Eric up and bringing them here."

"You're on security duty for Kensi and Nell until a team arrives at the hospital. I called in Admiral Chegwidden to take point on security for all female staffers. Under no circumstances is anyone to go to the office. It is offline until further notice. Do not contact anyone outside of LAPD and with LAPD, only the ones you trust. Everyone else, you tell them you're unavailable. We don't know how badly we've been breached."

"Sam, this is a coordinated..."

"No speculating until we're all in the same room. Don't trust the phones."

"How will I know the security team is legit?"

"You'll know," Sam told him as Deeks saw Kensi race into the ER with Eric half a step behind. "I gotta get off the phone. How do I contact you?"

"The security detail will have new phones for you and Kensi. Ty is loading both of your contacts and your phone will mirror your LAPD number. Surrender your current phone to the security detail."

"Done. Look, Kensi and Eric just got here, I'll fill them in."

"Watch your back and watch theirs," Sam said just before disconnecting.

Kensi made her way quickly down the hall. Poor Eric looked terrified. Matt was on his cellphone as he walked in just as Kensi got to Deeks. "You OK?" Deeks asked pulling Kensi into a hug, already knowing the answer.

"I'm fine," Kensi gave the answer he knew was coming and a strong hug back.

"Where's..." Before Eric could say Nell, Deeks positioned him in the hall so he could see the doctors with her but not interfere.

"They've been working on her since we got here," Deeks pointed to the monitors. "Her heart rate has been good. They haven't rushed any specialist in. I think she's been drugged - I gave a nurse the syringe the dead kidnapper had."

"You shot one of the kidnappers?" Eric asked, never taking his eyes off Nell.

"And the other's in custody. Sam's sending over a security team. She's safe," Deeks tried to reassure him.

"I just got off the phone with the head of security for the hospital," Matt said as he joined them.

"Please tell me you know him from your Mom's charity work and not because you had some incident here," Deeks said.

"Martin, I would never cause a scene at a hospital. And the head of security is retired LAPD. Dave Glennon."

"From the West LA precinct?"

"One and the same."

"He knew you as a teenager, didn't he?" Deeks asked.

"Maybe," Matt smiled. "My buddy Dave is calling into the nurse in charge. Your girl there is being moved to a secured area in the hospital. It's where they keep celebrities, politicians, VIPs. It is a small ward with shored up security."

"Thank you, Matthew," Deeks said his friend. Turning to Eric, he asked "Did you build an identity for Nell?"

Again, never taking his eyes off of Nell, he pulled some documents out of his hoodie. "Ginny Ryan, USC post-doc student in history. Works part-time for the LAPL's West Los Angeles branch. I'm her brother, Rick."

Kensi took the documents. "I'll get Nell/Ginny admitted."

"I'll go with you. Evans called and told me it's my bust. I probably should start waving my badge and look like I'm in charge," Matt said before walking away with Kensi.

"Callen told me Hetty's missing," Eric said.

"They're checking her different homes but she sent Callen an agent needs assistance alert but..."

"We all should have gotten that."

"I didn't. First call I got was from LAPD about Kensi."

"It doesn't work that way."

"Yes it does. LAPD knows to call me if anything happens to Kensi, you, Nell, everyone I work with at NCIS."

"No, not the LAPD calls. An agent needs assistance call goes to everyone. Even you."

Deeks frowned. "Thanks for that."

"You know what I mean. Everyone active in the field in Special Projects and everyone working in Ops should have gotten that call." Eric pulled his Surface out of his hoodie and sat inside one of the phone booths.

"What are you doing?" Deeks asked

"Every agent needs assistance call is logged for date, time and location. So nobody gets the call but Callen and Callen doesn't get a location."

"Someone wants him running around Los Angeles..."

"Running around Los Angeles while teams go after Nell, Hetty and Kensi."

"And Amy," Deeks added.

"What happened to Amy?"

"Her apartment was on fire when Sam got there. She's unaccounted for."

Eric's Surface beeped. "No agent needs assistance call has been logged. Callen's phone's..."

"Can you kill his phone from here?"

"Sure."

"Wait one second," Deeks told Eric as he pulled the tech out of the phone booth. He put a quarter in and called Callen.

"What have you got?" Callen asked.

"There's no agent needs assistance call logged from Hetty. You might be walking into a trap."

"Not quite. I'm at Hetty's place in the W. The desk attendant said she was here tonight and looking at her apartment, there was a struggle. Security just found a guy with a bullet wound in the service stairwell."

"No Hetty?"

"No, but there's video of..."

Deeks needed to stop Callen from sharing intel on the phone. "Callen, Eric thinks your phone was hacked to get that agent needs assistance call to you. You probably shouldn't be talking..."

Deeks heard the phone disconnect. He was guessing it was about to be smashed in a million pieces. "You can probably kill Callen's phone, though I'm guessing it's already dead now," Deeks told Eric.

As he stepped out of the phone booth, Deeks saw some medical staffers preparing to move Nell.

Matt was jogging down the hall as he told them, "They're transferring her to a private room. Kensi wants me to stick with our girl Ginny." Nell rolled out of the ER cubicle and started down the hall. Matt put his arm around Eric, "Come on Rick, brother of Ginny, you're with me."

Deeks made his way to the nurse's station where Kensi was finishing up Ginny Ryan's paperwork. "Matthew is with Eric and Nell. You want to tell me how you're really doing?"

"I'm fine."

"Of course you are. Want to try that again, this time telling the truth."

"I'm..." Kensi sighed. "They were in our house."

"And you took care of them."

"It's still our..."

"Refuge of refuse? Haven of haphazard? Sanctuary of strewn..."

"Stop that," she said, stifling a smile.

Mission accomplished he thought. "Amy is..."

"Sam called me on the ride over. Amy and I were going to breakfast tomorrow before she started back to San Diego. She wanted to talk to me about what she could do to get into Special Projects. She was working out of Pendleton because her father was ill."

"And he died six weeks ago. She talked to me last week. Hetty used her a couple of times in the past when they needed a female agent who wasn't you," Deeks said, not wanting to bring up Kensi's time in Afghanistan or her rehab stint. "She wanted to be more than Hetty's go to blonde girl when Anna was off with the ATF."

"Oh, look who's here," Kensi pointed to Agent Roger Carter walking in with Agent Kareem Nassir.

"Security detail," Nassir put out his hand and Deeks shook it "Glad you're safe," he said as he hugged Kensi. "You keep scaring everyone."

"I'm fine," Kensi told him. "I don't trust Carter," she whispered in Nassir's ear, "with Nell."

"Matthew will stay with Nell," Deeks said, overhearing the exchange.

"Detective," a woman in a lab coat approached Deeks.

"I'll deal with Nassir and Carter," Kensi told Deeks as she made her way down the hall.

"Kens, play nice. Don't go too far," Deeks warned.

"I can take care of myself."

"Maybe I want to take care of you," he told her before she walked away.

"What can I do for you, Doctor," Deeks saw the woman's name sewn on her coat "Miles?"

"Our lab ran some quick tests on both the hypodermic needle and a blood sample from your Jane Doe."

"Her name is Ginny Ryan. What was she given?"

"It is ketamine. Based on the blood sample, she was probably given enough to knock a man like you off your feet for a few hours. Her vitals are good, according to the attending with her, so she may be out for at least half a day."

"Thank you for rushing this. Do you think you can send your results to the LAPD crime lab?"

"They've already been sent though with Jane Doe as the patient."

"I'll take care of that. Thank you again, Dr. Miles."

"Did you arrested the guys who did this to her?" the doctor asked.

"Yes ma'am," Deeks told her.

"Good. A stronger dose and they could have killed her. People think they know what they're doing with these type of drugs. They don't."

The text alert on Deeks's phone chimed with "Room 314" as the message from Roger Carter. Deeks left the ER area and made his way to Room 314. Agent Carter was sitting in Room 314, which was a waiting room outside the children's ward. "She made you wait here, didn't she?"

"Your partner is not a forgiving person," Carter handed Deeks a new cell phone - a perfect clone to his current one Deeks gave Carter his cell, which the agent smashed on the floor, releasing some of his frustration with his situation.

"I believe she told me she had an idea about who killed her father and set her up and you wouldn't let her make a phone call," Deeks said as the two made their way to a stairwell three doors down from Room 314.

"Granger told me to hold her. I was worried you and her team members would try to help her escape."

Deeks gave a sympathetic nod. "But Kensi didn't need our help, now did she?"

"She broke my nose."

Deeks pushed the door opened to the fifth floor. "You should probably look at that more as a self-inflicted wound. Do you know what your mistake was?"

"Not handcuffing her to the chair," Carter replied.

"Being more afraid of Granger than Kensi." Deeks flashed his badge at the hospital security officer stationed at a desk to the Isolation Ward. He and Carter were waved through. "Is he one of ours or the hospitals?" Deeks asked of the uniformed guard.

"Ours. Aaron Griffin from tactical. We put him in a hospital uniform. You probably don't recognize him without his kevlar or helmet," Carter answered.

"Probably," Deeks said as they walked into room 510. Nassir and Matt were stationed on opposite sides of the room while Kensi was at the foot of Nell's bed. Eric was sitting bedside, holding Nell's hand.

"Sam called. We're meeting in thirty minutes in the auxiliary facility. Sam sent me the location on my new phone," Kensi held up her phone as she filled him in.

"I drove a car from the motor pool. Kensi has the keys," Nassir told Deeks.

"Thanks guys," Kensi told the agents in the room. "You staying, Matt?"

"Yep. This is my case. I want to see it through," Matt told her.

"We've got this," Carter told him.

"Agent Carter, based on my prior dealings with you, I believe you can use all the help you can get," Kensi said with a winning smile. "Detective Bernhart is staying. He brought Eric here, he'll bring him home."

"Besides, once I leave, I have to fill out paperwork and that's just not anything I'm interested in right now. Protecting people, yes; paperwork no."

Deeks and Kensi left the room. He recognized his janitor's uniform on Jimmy Russo, a former Marine turned NCIS tactical team member, as he lazily mopped the far end of the hall. Evan Boone was the biggest male nurse he ever saw. Made sense - former Navy medic could actual help in a medical emergency and with all the female staffers in hiding, Boone was the best choice, even if he was a computer specialist who worked with Nell every day up in Ops.

"Where's the auxiliary facility?" Deeks asked.

"Some place you'll remember," Kensi answered.

"Really, you're keeping it from me?"

"I'm driving, I don't need you whining."

"Fine, I'll hector you the entire ride about how you really are doing."

"Deeks, I'm fine," she reassured him as the got on the elevator.

"Kensi, two men broke into our home. Similar teams did this to Nell and probably Hetty and Amy. Nell's in the hospital, Hetty's missing and Amy is likely dead. You want to bullshit me on the fact that you're fine, you do that. But it is bullshit. And you know it. Especially after Ferris grabbed you last winter after his visit to our place in November."

Kensi looked down at her shoes before looking him right in the eyes. "Later. I'll talk to you about it once we have a handle on what's going on. I am fine but they were in our house and that's..."

"A violation?" Deeks was actually relieved she was talking about it in her own roundabout way. "I know some former crime scene guys who now do crime scene clean up. You want me to give them a call."

Kensi hit the alarm button on the key fob Nassir gave her. A black Highlander flashed its lights. "Good idea. Mrs. Kennedy is watching Monty. She misses him from last fall."

Deeks nodded. Sandra Kennedy couldn't do enough for him after she learned of Kensi's "car accident" last fall. Her backyard was Monty's home away from home. "Based on what's going on here, Monty may be there for a while."

"You got her that valet parking pass for the Hollywood Park Casino and the $250.00 gift card for their restaurant. She loves you almost as much as she loves Monty."

"Good. Now I can go back to worrying about you."

"Hey, I'm fine. Really. Don't worry about me," she told him as they walked across the parking lot.

"I'm your partner. In all things. I love you. I worry."

-30-

Annoying author's notes: I'll keep this short. Change in my schedule means while this will be updated once a week, the update day will be Wednesday not Sunday (all internet willing).

No crossover, no AU - just a regular mystery this summer.