They fly through the night, and before he moves to the sleeping quarters Granger looks at Kensi, curled up in an arm chair and staring out the window.
"Try to get some rest, Miss Blye," he says gravely.
She meets his eyes head-on. "Yes, sir." She hasn't completely forgiven him for making her do this. Then again, it's Granger; there's a lot to be forgiven. She turns back to the window until the door clicks shut behind him. Standing up, Kensi stretches from head to toe, cracking the joints in her neck. She closes her eyes and finds her centre, taking several slow deep breaths and clearing her mind. Then she curls back up in the chair and picks up the plane phone.
For a moment, she holds the receiver in her hand; then, taking a calculated risk, she dials Deeks's extension in the bullpen.
It rings for what feels like forever, then a click and a husky, "Hey—hi—hello?"
"Hey, Deeks," she says softly, pressing the phone tight against her ear.
"Hey," he says on an exhale, the relief palpable in his voice. He clears his throat and says, "I must have fallen asleep. I don't even know what time it is."
Kensi laughs under her breath. "Can't help you there. They took my watch." She puts one hand up to the window, feeling the cold air through the thick plastic layers. "It's dark up here."
"Yeah? It's pretty dark in here too." His voice is sleep-edged and she hears a rustle, pictures him settling into his chair, leaning his head against the leather.
"I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye," she says, and there's a catch in her voice that she wants to erase from his memory. She coughs a little to hide it, clears her throat as quietly as she can.
"Yeah," he says, a soft sigh.
For a moment, Kensi holds the phone to her ear and tries to distinguish his breaths from the rest of the ambient noise coming through. Then she says, "Deeks?"
"Yeah, Kens?"
"I'm sorry I hit you in the face."
His laugh is surprised; he doesn't respond.
"I never hit you in the face before. It's eating me up."
"Aw, Kens."
She breathes into the phone for a minute, then says, "What if I gave you a black eye and people saw it and asked what happened? 'I walked into a door'? Jesus, Deeks. I'm so sorry."
"All right, Kens. I know you were pissed."
"Blame the sexual tension," she says, barely audible, and Deeks laughs out loud. "Don't let me off so easy, Deeks, I punched you in the fucking face."
"Yeah, and now you're going off on a top secret mission for God knows how long. Forgive me if I don't waste my energy on resentment right now."
"All right, all right. Just know that with all my heart I'm sorry."
"I hear ya, Kens."
She sighs and leans her head against the wall of the plane, still staring out at the pitch darkness.
"I won't ask any questions…" Deeks says.
"Yeah."
"So I won't ask when I might possibly hear from you again."
Kensi chews her lip and doesn't reply.
"Okay. Well, I'm here. Whenever… whatever… and even if… Well, you know I'm here."
"Okay." She rubs at her eyes, realizing they're dry and sore; realizing she might just be tired. "I'd better sleep. We're landing at dawn, and that could be anywhere from three to eight hours away."
After a moment, Deeks says, "I'll see ya when I see ya, okay?"
"Yeah," she says. "Thanks, Deeks."
He hangs up.
Leaning her head back on the headrest of her chair, she closes her eyes and tries to picture his face; tries to see a smile on it. She's just about got it when a dry "Miss Blye…" comes at her from behind and she jumps.
"Shit."
"Sleep, Miss Blye."
"Yes, sir."