The slight sound of the faded horns blew her right out of her own little bubble as she had rested her head on the window. Her mind wasn't set straight, still thinking about that certain message she had received the night before. She tried so hard to keep it aside, kept telling herself that it was just someone to mess with her. But, the voice, the slight tremble in his voice, it was like he had never left:

Hey, Kens... I don't have to mention anything for you to notice who this is. It's been too long and I'm still questioning myself if I made the right decision about calling you. But, I need your help. I-...

That was it... that was the message. Deep inside, she had always thought that she should just move on from everything and she felt like she was attempting at that but, when she heard his voice, it was like all the memories from her past came flooding back into her life, creating a small river of uncertainties and doubts about herself.

Walking towards the bullpen and not hearing any laughter or noise, Kensi was sure that her partner hadn't arrived yet. It was like her every morning wake up call, the slight annoyance that kept her going on every day, even though it DID annoy her... she wouldn't trade Deeks for anybody.

"Hey, morning Kens" Callen commented when he saw her approaching.

"Morning...where's Sam at?" she asked, as she glanced over to Sam's desk which was still empty. She clearly expected for Deeks to go in a bit late but not Sam.,

"He'll be here. He had to drop the kids to school first"

"Is Michelle all right?"

"Yeah, she's just a little sick. Doctor told her to stay in for the day"

"Oh…"

Callen looked up to her, noticing the strange look on her face. He had made it his business to know and understand his team's expressions, saying that it helps him to know more about them.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just stuff" Kensi managed to reply.

Realizing that she wasn't just gonna speak up, he turned around in his chair and leaned back...

"You wanna talk about it?"

"What... oh, no it's okay, I'm fine"

"Come on, Kensi... I'm like Hetty when it comes to this things"

Kensi chuckled and when she remembered the reason why she wasn't herself at that moment, the smile quickly disappeared from her face.

"I, uh... last night, I got a message, from Jack"

"Jack... isn't he-"

"Yeah, he is"

"What did he say?"

"Nothing much.. just something to help him with. I don't know"

"Well, did you try to call him back?"

"Of course, but... no response. Anyways, it's probably nothing"

Callen stared at her for just a few seconds before he heard Deeks coming in, holding a medium sized coffee in his right hand.

"Morning partners" Deeks announced as he walked in the bullpen.

"Someone looks happy" Kensi commented, trying to get her mind off of the 'message'.

"Oh, I am…"

"Okay, before you say anything, we certainly don't want to know about your night life" Kensi responded.

"Don't worry, sweetheart… you're still in my dreams"

Kensi shook her head, chuckling.

"What is it that you take every morning?" Callen asked, curiously.

"Oh, so now you do wanna know?" Deeks asked.

"Scratch that, now it's imprinted in our brains" Kensi replied with a frown.

"Yeah, make sure it stays there" Deeks whispered.

Deeks chuckled as he sat down to his chair. Seconds later, Sam walked up to them as well.

"Sorry I'm late"

"No problem, we're just talking about me" Deeks said.

"Good, so I didn't miss much"

Kensi chuckled before asking him…

"How's Michelle doing?"

"Good, it's just for the day. Hetty didn't say anything, right?"

"No, she hasn't come down yet. Speaking of which, did she even come in today?"

"Her car is parked out front, she must be here"

"Let's all just enjoy the moment of being Hetty free for just a few minutes before we see her walking here"

The team nodded as they all threw their eyes back down to their desks.

Hearing what they said, Hetty half- smiled, sighing deeply right afterwards. That was exactly what she loved about her team... they all stay together as a family. No matter how many ups and downs life may have brought them, it seemed like their bond was unbreakable. Glancing over at Kensi, Hetty took one more deep breath as she walked towards the bullpen. She didn't know how to break the news, let alone explaining what happened. To her, Kensi was like the daughter she never had and having to tell her such terrible news frightened her quite a bit.

"Hey, Hetty..."

"Morning gentlemen... Ms. Blye would you mind stepping into my office, please?" Hetty asked, politely and keeping calm as much as she could.

"Um, yeah... sure" Kensi managed to say, standing up and glancing at the other for a split second.

As Kensi slowly made her way upstairs, Hetty stayed at the bull pen for a few minutes...

"Hetty, what's going on?"

"Mr. Callen, for now... I advise you to stay put. In a matter of minutes, Mr. Beale will be gathering you upstairs as well" Hetty ordered, walking away right afterwards.

Callen, Sam and Deeks all glanced at each other, clearly not understanding anything.

"What the hell was that all about?" Deeks commented.

Callen stared at them without saying a word. The three of them watched as Hetty walked her way back to her office, a clear confused look on her face showing extensively to others. As soon as she stepped a foot inside her office, Kensi looked her, with her arms crossed against her chest.

"Hetty, what's wrong?" Kensi asked, desperately.

"Ms. Blye... I don't think I have the most appropriate news for you today but, I still have to let you know"

Kensi stared at her, with an obvious confused, mixed with scared look on her face. Her heart was beating intensively against her chest, feeling it pounding hard. Hetty walked over to her desk and opened the drawer on her left. Taking out a small envelope, she stared at it for a brief moment before she walked back towards Kensi.

"Hetty, if something's wrong, please... just tell me" Kensi begged.

Hetty took a deep breath before she began explaining...

"A body was found earlier this morning" as she handed her the envelope.

Kensi gulped as she took a hold of the envelope. Sighing, she opened it and as she could see the pictures clearly, Kensi immediately pulled her hand to her mouth, gasping as a tear stroked its way down to her cheek.

"IDing the body, the police contacted me and, I got my hands on the pictures beforehand. He was struck with three bullets to the heart, first one was fatal"

Her cries were muffled as she closed her eyes tightly. She felt her legs numb and when she saw that she was just about to fall; Hetty immediately guided her to a chair. Kensi placed a hand to her heart, trying to stop from crying. It had been too long since she had seen him last and she always wondered if she could even get the slightest glimpse at him. Hearing his voice the night before, it all came back to haunt her. But at the moment, hope was for no use. The picture printed onto the faded paper was stuck in her head.

"I understand this might be a difficult time for you at the moment. You have my permission if you would like to head back home" Hetty told her. She wasn't quite sure if she had advised the right thing as she knew what could happened if she left Kensi alone at that difficult moment.

Kensi nodded, still keeping her eyes closed and crying soundly. Hearing the faded whistle of Eric coming from a distance, Hetty head her way out as she also knew that she had to leave her agent alone at that difficult moment. She walked her way past Eric as he was still announcing his obvious reason of 'his call'.

As the team gathered in the OPS room, Deeks was the first one to point out...

"Hetty, where's Kensi?"

"Mr. Deeks, let's just focus on the case for a minute" Hetty replied, clearly hiding everything as much as she could. But it was for no use as they all knew what the expression on her face was for. "Mr. Beale, care to begin?"

Eric nodded, having the slightest first instinct on the case as Hetty had talked to him before about everything. He sighed before he could even begin, with Nell right beside him, knowing as well.

"Um, victim's name is Jack Winslow..." Eris said, taking a halt for everyone to establish the name a bit more. Callen's face was the first one to lit up as the name was heard. He glanced over to Hetty, waiting for more in-tell.

"As you may all wonder, the victim here was Agent Blye's fiancee' before he disappeared a few years ago" Hetty explained, obviously catching everyone's attention.

The three of them sighed deeply, Deeks looking the most shocked. He couldn't even picture how Kensi was feeling. He couldn't bring himself to even think her reaction.

"Mr. Beale, would you continue, please?"

Eric nodded as he turned back to the screen once again...

"He was an ex- Marine, received high recommendations for his good instincts and his attitude towards the higher ranking officers. He was found earlier this morning at the pier. Three gunshots to the heart, first one was fatal"

"Do we... do we have a lead?" Sam managed to ask, stammering just a bit.

"Yeah, did we get anything from the security cameras, Eric?" Callen asked as well.

"Cameras nearby showed a black Cadillac pulling up at about 1:30 this morning. No plates… he was dragged to the shore and, there goes the three bullets" Eric explained as he showed them the footage.

"Forensic found a trail of footprints that were quickly scrambled at the scene" Nell pointed out as she pulled up the pictures.

Staring blankly at the pictures and the footage, the team didn't know what else to say.

"So, where do we start?"

"Gentleman, I can understand that this might be a little too personal for you but, let's not allow our emotions blind us from doing our job. This is an ordinary case, doesn't have to be different from others" Hetty interrupted.

Deeks glanced at her, pretty much annoyed by Hetty's comment.

'Of course this is different... it's about Kensi' he thought to himself.

"He contacted Kensi last night" Callen pointed out, remembering his conversation with Kensi earlier that morning.

"What?" Deeks asked, turning around to Callen.

"Yes, she told me he left her a message, saying he needed her help with something"

"And, you couldn't bother to bring this up earlier?" Deeks said, pretty much yelling. Callen glanced at him, clearly wanting to say something but didn't as he understood how he was feeling. He knew that Kensi and Deeks' partnership had something different compared to his and Sam's.

"Mr. Deeks, I don't think Mr. Callen could've mention this earlier as we just night have understood everything at this point"

Deeks looked down and back up again, glancing with towards Callen once again. He nodded, signalling to Callen as an apology, which he accepted.

"Hetty, where's Kensi at?" Deeks asked, returning his glance towards his boss.

"She's in my office. I think we all agree that she might need some time alone at the moment"

The team looked down and nodded, sending a clear signal that they had approved of Hetty's order. Bringing the head up once again, there were still no words spoken, everyone still paralyzed by the 'discovery' of having one of their own in distress.

"I want in on this" a voice was heard from behind them.

As they all turned around, they saw Kensi standing tall at the door. As Deeks took a long glance at his partner, he saw that her eyes were burning red and he could still see the wet trail of tears still inked on her soft cheeks. She was still sniffling and still keeping the pictures tightly in her right hand. They all understood what was the reason that she wanted to join them but, they all knew it was a bad idea as she looked unstable.

"Ms. Blye, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be on this case"

"I don't care" Kensi snapped, closing her eyes for a second before facing Hetty.

"Kens, just-" Deeks began to say but was cut of immediately by Kensi.

"No, I'm still a part of this team and like you said, Hetty... it's just another case" Kensi said, angrily glancing towards her boss and turning around as soon as she was finished.

Deeks watched her walking away, leaving everyone shocked by her reaction towards Hetty, who, by then, was still staring blankly at the door. She turned around to face her team and looked up to Deeks. Without having to say another word, he nodded and made his way out of the OPS room.

"Mr. Deeks...

"So, what happens now?" Callen asked, trying not to point out the fact that someone had disagreed with his boss.

"Like I said before, Mr. Callen... it's our job to find the end of this case. And please notify Ms. Blye that I didn't mean any disrespect regarding my comment earlier" Hetty ordered, walking away when she was finished.

Meanwhile, Deeks was staring at Kensi as she shakily threw her stuff back into her back. The pictures she was holding earlier were on the edge of the desk, almost falling as she struggled with her bag.

"Kensi?" he whispered.

She pretended that she didn't hear him, knowing exactly what he was going to say.

"Kens?"

"What?" she snapped, turning around to face him. There were still tears forming in her eyes, sending shivers down his spine when he looked at her.

"You can't do this" he managed to say.

"And why not?"

"You know why"

Kensi stared at him for a couple more seconds then, she leaned against her desk, face down. Seconds later, Deeks could hear the slight cries. He looked up and sighed before he walked closer to her and took her in his arms. Without hesitation, Kensi threw her arms around him and he pulled her closer as her cries grew louder. When Sam and Callen walked down the stairs and saw them, Callen looked at his partner and sighed. They walked closer to them and Deeks glanced at them, confused. Understanding the tension, Callen mouthed...

"Take her home" to Deeks and he nodded.

Minutes later, there were only silent tears stroking down her cheeks as they were on their way to her apartment. The pictures were then secured tightly in her hands but still... she refused to look at them, knowing that if she did she would break down crying again. There was nothing but awkward silence and Deeks didn't want anything more than for her to even whispered any word that comes to mind.

All right... approximately 2,000 words. Should I continue this or just leave it as a one- shot? Reviews accepted :D