"I can't believe I committed to do this," Kensi whines, sliding out of Deeks' truck. "I don't even like kids."
He sighs, opening his own door. "First of all, you committed to this because you couldn't go without seeing me for three weeks, and you don't hate kids."
"I never said I hated kids, I said I didn't like them," she hissed.
"Don't say that so loudly," he whispered, giving her a death glare. She stuck her tongue out at him, and slung his bag at him, up and out of the bed of his truck. "We gotta go check in."
When he told her he had the opportunity with his mentoring program to come be a camp counselor for a few weeks, she was really excited for him. She knew he loved kids and she knew this opportunity would be amazing for him.
How SHE got roped into it was a whole different story.
The reasons she was here were threefold. First of all, it is true. She didn't think she could go three weeks without hearing from him. She's sure she could do it, but she just really didn't want to. Second, she deserved time off of work. Hetty insisted that they both take a few weeks, and what would she have done for three weeks without him?
The most important reason was that the camp was understaffed, and had she not agreed to this, the five girls she had been assigned to wouldn't have gotten to come. And though she really didn't want to do this, she couldn't help but feel images of her own childhood creep in. Not that any of these girls have ever been through what she went through, but the idea was still there. The girls would obviously be somewhat troubled, but she didn't exactly know what that meant.
Overall, she knew it was a good cause and she knew it was the right thing to do, but that didn't make her comfortable doing it. She can barely keep Monty alive. She knew these girls were going to be old enough to take care of their own physical needs, but her job was to take care of their emotional needs, and she can't even take care of her OWN emotional needs most of the time. To say she was nervous might have been an understatement.
Suppressing her fears, she followed her boyfriend up the gravel pathway to the camp office, where they're given t-shirts and instructions and their rosters. They sit through a brief meeting, in which she glances slowly around at the other female counselors and decides this is really, really not where she belongs.
They all seem to be about her age, tough and strong, with their hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. By appearance, she'd fit in just fine.
But they all had a mother's intuition, a soft but 'won't take no for an answer' side she didn't have. Sure, she was very 'don't take no for an answer.' However, she'll never be a good mother. She just won't. She shouldn't have done this.
Their cabins were up on the hill. The girls cabins were generally near the front and the boys were stationed up on higher ground. However, it was a pretty full camp session, and being the last to commit to counseling, Kensi's campers would be on top of the hill smack dab in the middle of the boys. Luckily, she had the cabin right behind Deeks, so that would be nice.
As they walked, he leaned up and kissed her temple. "It's going to be alright, Kens. Its three weeks, and you're going to make a big difference for some of these kids. Try to remember that."
She coughed as she pushed open the door. The cabin was dusty and sticky and hot, and though she could handle a lot, the conditions were not ideal.
Three bunk beds lined the room, and a faded yellow door led into the bathroom. She lay her bags down on the dirty wooden floor, and began to make her bed on a bottom bunk. She heard a sharp tap on the door, and she snapped around, startled. Deeks smiled at her and she rolled her eyes.
"No boys in girls cabins," she demanded.
"I'm such a rule breaker," he laughed.
"You're such an asshole, that's what you are," she complained. He stepped through the doorway, pointing at her bunk.
"You didn't want a top bunk, Kensalina?"
"No, I'm not five Deeks."
He frowned. "What did I tell you, Kens?"
She broke eye contact with him. "You said it would be alright."
He pulled her into his side. "And it will be. Relax, Kens. Relax."
And she started to, as his lips firmly pressed against her. She stumbled back against the frame of her bunk bed. His kiss was so powerful that she felt penned against it, but secure and safe there. His hands found her waist and her fingers tangled in the curls at the nape of his neck.
She thought they'd have to stop before she passed out from lack of oxygen, when she heard a rather sassy and loud "Mmmhm."
She opened her eyes, as they'd been closed during their mini intimate encounter, to see two blonde teenage girls standing in the doorway.
"Um, hi." The taller one said.
This couldn't possibly get any worse. You're a trained undercover agent, Kensi Blye. Play it off, they're just kids.
"Are we in the wrong place, because…"
"No, you're not in the wrong place at all," she says, pulling Deeks by the shoulder out of the doorway.
"Then who is this?" the shorter blonde asked.
"This is detec…" Shit Kens, you're not actually on the job! "Deeks. This is Deeks. And he was just leaving."
She screws up again, giving his cheek a quick peck as she pushes him out the door.
She turns back around, looking at the girls who stood in the middle of the cabin. "Who was that?" one of them asks.
Change the subject. "Hi, um, my name's Kensi. I'm your counselor."
"She's avoiding the question," the shorter one whisper to the taller one.
Flustered, Kensi reached for her roster. Damn, she'd been less nervous on first dates than she was right now. "What are your names?"
"I'm Taylor," the taller girl said. "She's Kelsea."
"Oh, so guys are friends?"
"Yeah," Kelsea said. "You could say that."
They turned away from Kensi and began unloading their bags and making their beds.
She took a deep breath. They're just kids.
It wasn't long before a girl with dark complexion and thick brown hair and a girl with straight and bright red hair knocked sharply on the door. Pretending she was good at this, Kensi called "Come on in!"
Faking it sure helped in this case, as the girls Abigail and Kimmy didn't seem to notice her nerves. That left her with one more camper. One more responsibility.
The remaining girl would have to take the bunk atop Kensi's, and of course, that made her feel all special. Not.
When the girl finally arrived, she realized she might not be the most nervous one in the room after all.
Having been there almost an hour, she'd already found and killed three spiders, but the toad in the shower wasn't going to die just by stepping on it. She wasn't afraid to get her hands a little dirty (and also used the opportunity to show her campers that she wasn't a wuss) and scooped the creature into her palms and headed toward the door.
She bent down to let the hopping animal run free, and away it scurried. She turned to step back through the door, when the pale, white blonde haired girl came into sight. She looked mortified, standing back against the side of the cabin.
"Hi," Kensi said gently.
"Um, hi." She spoke softly, but Kensi took a few steps closer.
"What's your name?" The Special Agent in her was alive and well now. She'd talked to vulnerable suspects before, this was no different.
"Nell."
"Oh, that's a good name. I have a friend named Nell. I work with her, she's very kind," Kensi smiled. "Wanna come in?"
"Not really," Nell said. "I don't really want to be here."
"Kinda nervous?"
"Yeah. Girls can be mean."
High school girls CAN be mean. She knew that from experience. These girls didn't seem too bad… but what did she know? She wasn't about to make a statement she couldn't back.
"They can be mean. But hey Nell? I'm pretty nervous too. But we can face this together, okay?"
She looked unsure, but Kensi marched over toward the timid girl and grabbed her sleeping bag. "I got your back." She marched toward the door, hoping Nell would follow. The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass the girl.
Nell, Kimmy, Taylor, Abigail, and Kelsea.
Let's hope I don't screw this up, she thought.
The afternoon lead them to the mess hall, where they'd have dinner and a camper meeting. She saw Deeks across the room, but after her incident with her blonde duo Taylor and Kelsea, she didn't want to push it by sitting near him.
The girls had another idea, however.
"Hey Kensi, look who I see?" Kelsea taunted. Or was that Taylor? Shit. Those two were definitely going to cause her issues. It was a little early on to be ignoring her own campers, but she couldn't handle this right now.
She didn't learn anything in the camper meeting, but why would she? She's supposed to know these things. The camp director was rambling on and on.
"And so I'll just run over the rules here, and you'll be on your way."
Kensi was SO excited for that to be over.
Upon being dismissed, they were free to have rec time until curfew. Things got a little better, because her campers were actually pretty badass.
She knows not to be sexist, and she knows girls don't always sit around and gossip and plot against one another. She's a prime example of that. But based on incidents in the cabin earlier in the afternoon, she wasn't expecting this out of these girls. Nell hung back with Kensi, but she didn't mind. Her campers ditched their tennis shoes and dove right into the burning hot sand on the volleyball court. And they kicked ass.
Not bad.
She peeked her head around, and saw Deeks shooting baskets with some of his campers. He was smiling ear to ear, and it made her smile too.
"What are you smiling about, Kensi?" Nell asked. The shy girl was still very apprehensive, but she was quickly becoming comfortable around Kensi.
"It looks like they're having a lot of fun out there," Kensi replied, pointing at the girls on the court. "You sure you don't wanna play? They'll rotate you in."
At that moment, Taylor dove for a ball, sliding across the sand but slamming the ball over the net. A big girl on the other side slapped it back, the sound of rubber against skin sickening.
"Way too rough for me."
Kensi nudged her. "Come on, you got this. Let's go." Before she could protest, Kensi was dragging her out.
It'd been a while since Kensi had played volleyball, but that didn't stop her. Her serve was a little off, but quickly she was in it. Totally in it.
They kicked the girls they were playing in the ass, and she was the first to high five her campers in celebration. This wasn't bad.
Suddenly, she looked up to see Deeks watching her this time from the bleachers she sat on not too long ago. She signaled her campers to start the next game without her. She hooked her Converse over her pinkie and trailed off.
"Hey you."
"You look like you're having fun," he smiled.
"I might be having fun," she said sheepishly.
"What did I tell you? It's only been like 5 hours."
"Whatever," she said, accepting his little kiss to the corner of her mouth.
"Kensi! Tell your loverboy's campers come play us!" Kelsea shouted. She was sure it was Kelsea this time.
"I see that went over well."
She shrugged. "It'll only get worse."
"That's because you can't keep your hands off of me."
"Kensi!" Taylor shouted. Taylor?
"Hold on!" Kensi shouted. "Can your boys handle girls who kick ass?"
"I guess we'll find out," he laughed. He shouted, "Hey boys, come over here."
A few of them ran over, some straggled along. "What's going on Marty?" a tall blond one asked.
It was kinda weird to hear someone call him Marty. Although it was his name, after all.
"Go play volleyball." Deeks pointed toward her campers.
"Are those your girlfriend's campers?" a different kid asked.
Deeks frowned. "Yeah, go." A few of them shrugged, running and jumping at the opportunity. Deeks paused. "Hey wait, where's Mark?"
The tall blond one shrugged. "I haven't seen him since you quit playing."
Deeks narrowed his eyes, his face twisting.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"Yeah, um. I'm gonna go. Talk to you soon." With a kiss to her hairline, he was off, running down the bleachers and off.
That was pretty weird, but she assumed he had things under control. She glanced up toward the court in front of her, and the sight before her was a little disturbing.
Taylor and Kelsea were getting right into the face of a short brown haired boy, nothing but the net between them. What was going on, Kensi had little to no idea. But whatever it was appeared to solve itself, as the blondes high fived, and strutted away, throwing a little swing into their steps. Kensi couldn't decide if they were preppy or just best friends with sass. Either way, she thought she liked it.
Nell looked obviously uncomfortable, and as the game progressed, it got more violent. Yeah, those girls were tough alright. The sun started to sink, the night drawling in. Their not so friendly game had turned into round two or three before they had to call it quits to head to their cabins.
The march up the hill was exasperating, though Kensi wasn't walking with the blonde duo, she could sense something off in front of her. The look of disgust as they realized how close the boys' were to them was evident, and she also caught Kelsea (Damn! She had to figure out which one was Kelsea and which one was Taylor!) throw the finger out to the boy they'd been talking smack to earlier.
"Hey!" Kensi called out, "Knock it off!"
Maybe there was a little bit of trouble brewing.
All she knew was that it was early. Unearthly early.
Three days into this and wake-up call was already like death.
Sliding out of bed, called out. "Come on guys, it's time to get up." Groans filled the cabin. Why the hell did they have to get up so damn early?
The camp 'flow' was pretty simple, and that she'd figured out. Lots of recreation time, volleyball, swimming, hiking. There were a few 'motivational speakers' who talked about getting through tough times or how to earn scholarships and financial 'fun.' But she'd quickly discovered that 90% of her job was to keep her campers alive, out of trouble, and on camp premises. The other 10% was to figure out what their ailments were and what she could do to try to help them.
After all, the camp was designed for troubled kids.
But she couldn't FIND any problems. There was obviously something going on with Nell, she'd have to work on that. And Taylor and Kelsea sure had something going on. The other two? Absolutely clueless.
She wondered how Deeks was doing with his campers. She didn't see him as much in the past few days as she really wanted too, but it was better than nothing at all. And she knew he was easily better at this than her.
Stumbling into the dusty bathroom, she reached to turn the faucet on and brush her teeth. Except her toothbrush was… where?
She didn't really entertain the idea that one of the girls could have done something to it. However, she probably should have.
"Has anyone seen my toothbrush?" Kensi shouted out. A few of the girls were moving around, but there were a few pretending to pop up and be 'awake.'
"I wused wit ta kwil a pider," Kelsea called, her face smashing against her pillow, making her words mush together.
"What?" Kensi asked.
"She said she used it to kill a spider," Kimmy said.
"You used my toothbrush to kill a spider?"
"To be fair it was a small spider, and it was in the sink," Kelsea said, pulling her face up off of her pillow. "Why do we have to get up so early?"
She wanted to protest, "Why couldn't you have used a paper towel or a piece of toilet paper?" or "What the hell am I supposed to do without a toothbrush for two and a half weeks?" but she was so mad, she just turned back around and walked into the bathroom. She rinsed out her mouth, cupping water into her hand.
This was going to be a rough day.
Being on the hill meant that they'd be participating in 'Trust Exercises' on Wednesdays. According to Kimmy, the speakers were 'mediocre' but the activities were 'hella cool.' Apparently they'd all been here before, with exception to Nell.
Zip lining was about 'learning to trust the trees' and the rope and whatever. Kensi agreed that the motivational speakers weren't actually very motivating. She wouldn't trust any trees in LA, she was glad they were in a more northern part of California.
It was also nice that she and Deeks were on the same rotations. Seeing him was already making her bad day a little bit better. As her campers were being harnessed, she took a few steps back to talk to him.
"Hey," he said with a smile.
"You didn't happen to bring an extra toothbrush, did you?"
He frowned. "Um, actually I might have. Why?"
She lowered her voice. The short blonde one decided to kill a spider with mine."
Deeks gracefully looked around her, pursing his lips together and stifling a laugh.
"It's not funny, Deeks."
"No, totally not funny," he said, trying to act serious. "I'll check on that." Suddenly, he pointed in her direction. "Looks like its time to go get harnessed, Princess."
"Shut up, Deeks." She said, rolling her eyes.
"I won't take you out zip lining then, jeez," he called after her, loud enough for both his and her campers to hear.
Huffing, she stepped forward, and the man slipped her into her harness. As she was getting it tightened, Abigail spoke up.
"Kensi, you still haven't told us about him."
"Yeah, seriously, what's going on?" Kimmy asked.
"This is a conversation for another time," Kensi said, shooting a glance over to Kelsea and Taylor, who were smirking wildly.
"Like, tonight another time," Taylor said, "or I could just tell…"
"Taylor, we have the first bonfire tonight. And Thursdays are always on the lake." Apparently Kimmy really knew her way around this place.
"Fine. I can wait," Taylor shot Kensi a look that made her just a little sick.
Great.
They began walking up the path, climbing stairs to the first platform where they would zip line down to the next part of the trail. Deeks and his group weren't too far behind, but Kensi wouldn't admit to stalling so that he'd catch up.
As the girls gossiped (and maybe trash talked some boy? She was only half listening, but some of what she did hear was concerning…) she noticed the lack of a small voice. Nell.
She looked over, and the pale girl looked like she was about to throw up.
"You okay, Nell?
She didn't say anything. Her little legs took uneasy steps, big but shaky.
"Nell?"
"I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"No."
As they took the final steps to the top of the stairs, the girls were clipped in and sent off one at a time. Kensi waited until the others had reached the opposite side before pressing her most timid camper.
"Talk to me, Nell. What can I do to help you?"
"Nothing," the girl admitted, sounding close to tears. "I'm just terrified. Of everything." Her breaths got shallow and quick. Kensi got down on her knees.
She felt something instinctual come over her, to surround Nell and to breath, to have her breathe in rhythm with her. A panic attack wasn't okay.
And she realized one thing that troubled Nell; she had severe anxiety.
She knew that had to have something to do with it after their first day incidents, but well, it made sense.
Her breathing calmed, so Kensi spoke up. "It's going to be okay. You don't have to do this."
"Yes I do! If I don't go, everyone will laugh at me, make fun of me, know that I'm a fucking loser!"
Nell's breathing hitched and Kensi forced herself to breathe, breath alongside her.
"You're not a loser. You're nicer to me than any of them, and that's gotta count for something."
"Well, being nice hasn't gotten me anywhere. They're over there, and I'm over here."
Kensi smiled. "You know what's between you and getting over there?"
"A flimsy wire and a shit ton of trees."
Damn this girl was NOT what Kensi had thought.
"A strong wire, trees you'll never touch, and most importantly," Kensi said, tugging on Nell's Elsa-esque braid, "you. You stop yourself. If you want to do this, if you really think it'll make it worse for you to climb back down and go hang out by the lake or something, then you'll find it inside yourself. I believe you've got it in you. You wouldn't have said two cuss words to me three days ago, would you?"
"No," she admitted. "But I'm not afraid of you now."
But I'm not afraid of you now.
Kensi's heart was doing something weird. "Don't be afraid. Come on. Let's do this."
Nell was clipped in, feet firmly planted on the platform. Kensi held her harness with one hand, and her hand with another.
"You ready to be fearless, Nell?"
"No," the girl's eyes were squeezed shut.
"Yes, yes you are. Will you be ready if we count to three?"
"No, but do it anyway."
"Alright," she signaled to the worker who held her clip. "One, two, three."
Whoosh. She didn't even scream.
Kensi stepped back from the edge, watching Nell fly through the air. Her heart still felt weird.
"Kensi."
She turned, looking for who called her name. Deeks, who else?
"That was amazing."
Kensi felt herself smile. Maybe it was. His campers filed up and filled the platform as he kissed her cheek.
"She's on the other side, we can clip you in Miss," the zip line worker said.
"Oops, gotta fly," she called, skirting away from Deeks. As she took off, her weight shifted and she spun backwards, and sent a wink flying in her boyfriend's direction.
What she didn't hear was one of Deeks' campers say, "Damn, she's such a tease."
She also didn't hear Deeks respond, "You're telling me."
Ten after one, there was a light tap on the door of the cabin. Had she not been lying awake, mind spinning, she probably wouldn't have heard it.
She crept up, knowing that the sound was coming for either Deeks or a serial killer. Being a fed really did screw with any hope of a domestic life. She almost reached for the knife she'd hidden, considering it was against camp policies for her to have a weapon. However, she felt like if it were a serial killer, she could probably take him. It was just a serial killer, not like he was a terrorist or anything.
Pushing the door open slightly, she caught a glimpse of Deeks' tennis shoes and relaxed.
"Hey."
"Hey," he said. "Found that toothbrush."
"Oh I love you," she said instinctively, without thinking. "I'd kiss you but my mouth is so gross right n…"
It sank in there that she said "I love you." And that she'd never said that before.
She kind of hoped he'd play it off, but at the same time, she really really hoped he didn't. It was about damn time she got all vulnerable and admitted to having feelings again.
"I don't care if your mouth is gross or not," he said, kissing her lips quickly. "I miss you."
She tried not to let her relaxed feelings translate to disappointment. "Haven't had enough of me this week?"
"Never enough Kens," he said, placing the toothbrush in her palm. "Try not to let this one out of your sight."
"Oh believe me, I won't." She noticed he was taking a few steps back. "You leaving already?"
"Can't let those boys get too suspicious. I'll see you tomorrow. Another huge bonfire on Friday. I'm stealing you then."
"Sounds like a date," she smiled, feeling way too flirty.
He smiled wildly back at her. "It is. And hey Kens?"
"Yeah?" she called.
"I love you too."
She was glad all the girls were asleep, because she would have been really, really embarrassed had she been caught blushing so hard, falling against her hard mattress. She felt like she herself was a teenager.
Marty Deeks loved her.
She couldn't believe she'd survived practically a week here. She's sure she's not doing great at being a counselor, but all her campers are alive, and that has to count for something.
She was anxious for Friday. A little sneak away time with her best friend, partner, boyfriend… she needed it. She needed it badly.
Through the day she dragged. When they were finally filing into the wooded area, she saw Deeks across the way and grinned at him.
Technically, there were plenty of staff members around and they were allowed to skip out. Advised, no. The intent would be to go take a long shower, get a break from people, that sort of thing. Not sneaking down to the lake with your boyfriend.
She didn't care.
As they approached the dock of the lake, he was poking her sides and she was giggling, yes giggling, at his teasing gestures.
Quietly sitting, she ditched her shoes and dropped her feet into the water, and he joined alongside her.
Damn, she really was a teenager again. His arm draped around her and she leaned into his side. It was perfect and she was content in the beauty of the moment she was living in with him. Having her head tucked under his chin was like heaven, his touch electric.
But electricity and water don't mix.
His sweet words made her shiver and smile and laugh, even though she couldn't say anything back because her brain was goop.
As they giggled and laughed, his lips danced off her skin and all around.
"How's your week been going?" he asked. "Besides the toothbrush thing, how are your campers?"
"They're okay," she shrugged. "I don't know them all too well. I feel bad. I know Nell, I kind of know the blondes. I'm bad at this, Deeks. I am."
He shook his head. "Whatever."
"Deeks, I can't…"
"All I know is what I saw on the top of that zip line Wednesday was pure awesome. That's being an amazing woman, and amazing counselor, and an amazing friend. Someone who'd make an amazing mother, if she so chose to be one."
She felt herself blushing, her cheeks flushing and turning a rosy red. Change the subject. Get yourself together, Blye.
"What about yours?" she asked.
He smirked, knowing what she was doing. "They're okay. Most of them seem okay, that is. There's one, um, Mark. They warned me about him. With good reason."
"Pretty troubled?"
"Yeah," Deeks nodded. "You could say that again."
She traced her hand and long fingers around his bicep. "You'll get through to him."
He sounded defeated, sad. "I sure hope so."
"Do you get vibes that there's something weird going on between my blondes and your short brown haired one?" she asked.
"I do, actually," he said. "I wonder what that's about. His name is Patrick, by the way."
"Hm," she said.
"Anyway, back to what I was saying before someone decided to get embarrassed and change the subject… don't doubt yourself Kens. You're doing just fine."
Still feeling embarrassed, she cupped her hand and scooped up a handful of water and flung it at him. He squealed, and pushed at her. She clung on, but lost her grip in battle and fell into the cool lake.
When she came up he looked terrified with good reason, because his partner and girlfriend was pissed. He reached in to pull her up, but instead she pulled him down with her.
"What the hell are they going to think when we come back dripping wet?" she asked, expressing real concern.
"I don't know, I don't care," he said, slipping his arm around her. He pressed himself against her, and though it was difficult with the chilling water resisting, he met his entire mouth to hers.
"Alright, this merits some answers." Kelsea demanded as they walked back up to their cabin. A few others met her in agreement.
"I'll explain, okay? But let me dry off and change, I'm freezing my ass… butt off." Kensi winced. She spent as long as she could toweling herself dry, knowing she'd be questioned when she stepped out. Slowly, she slipped into her pajamas and walked out into the main part of the cabin.
The girls, even Nell, had formed a circle on the floor. Taylor patted the spot she'd selected for Kensi. Her hair was damp and the stringy strands slapped against her back as she joined them, sitting cross legged on the dirty floor.
"Okay, so Marty, or em, Deeks, he's my boyfriend."
"We know that. Details," Kimmy said.
"Details?"
"Yeah, you know, how you met, when your first kiss was, what your first time was like…" Abigail began, but she was smacked by Nell.
"No, that's not cool." Nell was too sweet and Kensi was kind of shocked.
"Well we need some juicy details," Abby said.
"Well, um, we work together. So we met like…" Kensi never really did this as a teenager, and well, it was a little weird.
"You're a cop?" Taylor asked.
"Where'd you get that from?"
"You said he was a detective on the first day, or at least you started to." Kelsea said.
"Um, yeah. We're law enforcement officers."
"You get to arrest people and stuff?" Kimmy asked.
"Yeah," Kensi laughed. "Sometimes."
"Besides, the point. More about your boyfriend. Who made the first move?" Taylor asked.
How the hell was she supposed to answer that question? Who did make the first move? What was the first move? Ugh.
"Its kind of complicated. We've been friends for a really long time, it just… it's a long story."
"We have all night…" Kelsea insisted. With Kensi's hesitation, they drilled more questions. "Well, what about first kiss?"
"Real or undercover?"
"Undercover?"
"We're cops, it happens sometimes." They didn't need to know that she wasn't a cop. Their conversations drifted, and they almost seemed more interested in her profession than they did in her love life.
"Not gonna lie, he's cute." Kimmy said.
Kensi felt herself blush. "I like to think so."
"He adores you. You guys notice how much he stares at her? Cause it's a lot." Taylor said. They all nodded, and Kensi turned Taylor Swift-red lipstick-red.
"He's good to me. He really is." She felt herself smile. "While we're on the topic of boys, what's up with that boy you all keep trash talking? Patrick, I think?"
Taylor and Kelsea high fived, and Kensi gave them a look. "I dated him," Taylor said.
Oh, makes sense, Kensi thought.
"And so did I. At the same time," Kelsea said.
"Oh," Kensi said.
"And this is the sole reason we're friends."
"Did you ever get payback?" Kensi asked.
"Not really," Kelsea said. "I mean, we kicked ass at volleyball, but that's about it. He's kind of terrified of us, which is nice."
"Oh, I think you ladies need some revenge," Kensi said. "And I need revenge on Deeks for staring at my ass all week. What do you say ladies, cabin wars?"
"What would we do?" Nell asked.
"I have an idea in mind. Come on guys, you in?"
Taylor and Kelsea threw their hands in the middle, and the others followed. Nell very timidly tossed her hand in.
"It's on, ladies."
Was it against the rules to do what they were about to do? No. Was it encouraged? Nope. Did the girls care? Not one bit.
It was late, but not quite past curfew. Kensi glanced around, looking through the darkness to locate all of her campers. Everyone was in position. It was time. She stepped up the porch area of Deeks' cabin and tapped sharply on his door.
"Deeks, come here! Hurry! Everybody, come on!"
"Kensi?" Deeks responded. He was wearing nothing but his shorts when he answered the door.
"Bring your campers, hurry! Come on, you've gotta see this!"
He and his campers popped out the door, and off of the porch. Deeks looked for Kensi, but she was nowhere to be seen. He called after her. The boys were all looking around, confused.
Damn they're dumb, Kensi thought.
On the sharp pitch of her shrilling whistle, the girls began their assault. Water balloons flew and busted all over them. Several loud screams and squeals escaped as they broke up and scattered.
The war didn't cease. In the darkness of the night and shadows of the trees, the girls were concealed. The boys couldn't escape them, nor run into their cabin. When the supply of water balloons began to dwindle, the ladies abandoned their posts.
High fives were transferred all around. They laughed and mocked.
"What the hell was that?" one of the boys asked, angrily.
"Payback," Kelsea said, doing a funky handshake with Taylor.
"Why did we need payback?" Deeks asked, sounding alienated.
"Well ya see, turns out your friend Patrick cheated on her with her," Kensi said slyly, pointing at Kelsea and Taylor. "And I take care of my own. Also, I have heard from credible sources that you've been staring at my ass all week."
Deeks' eyes went wide as he turned to Patrick. "Really, dude?" Suddenly, the rest of what his girlfriend said kicked in.
"Wait, I got soaked because I stared at your ass?"
"Um, yeah. This is a camp full of teenagers, there's plenty of sexual tension going on here already. We don't need it from a grown man too."
One of Deeks' soppy wet campers whispered to him, "Man she just told you."
Deeks frowned at him. He had two options, flattery or sarcasm. He couldn't tell if she was actually mad or not, but he didn't want to push her.
"You're just too beautiful, Princess. From your ass to your sexy ankles."
"What the hell?" Nell asked. If she wasn't so embarrassed, Kensi would have laughed at her less-shy camper. She'd really been coming out of her shell.
"No seriously dude, that was a terrible comeback," one of Deeks' campers whispered.
"No no guys, she got it." He stared into her dark eyes from across the way. It was dark, but she could still see the honesty in his eyes. "She's just perfect. Every part of her. Even the sides of her she doesn't want me to see."
This was such an intimate statement, a declaration he wouldn't dare make in front of their friends and colleagues. But somehow, he was bold enough to make it in front of 10 teenagers.
Kensi couldn't say anything at all. She felt like she might just pass out, maybe of embarrassment, but maybe of happiness. Had he said these things to her while all alone, she probably would have blushed and brushed them off. But strategically, he said it in a moment she couldn't ignore. However, she still wanted to smack him for embarrassing her like this.
But a hug would do. He opened up his arms, and took a step toward her, and she met him there. She collapsed into his embrace. In that immediate moment, she felt no doubt that she was in love, yes, Kensi Blye in love, with this man. It only took another few seconds for her to ricochet out of his embrace.
"You asshole, you're soaking wet!" She was a little angry, but she was laughing too hard for that to be noticed.
"It's your fault that I'm wet!"
She smirked. "That sounded vaguely dirty."
"Okay, maybe we should leave these two alone. See ya later asshole!" Taylor called throwing the middle finger at Patrick.
"Hey, we don't flip people off!" Kensi called. She took another glance at Deeks. "I gotta go."
She started to walk away, but he grabbed her arm. He turned to see that his campers had also retreated to their cabin, and then returned to her.
"I mean all of that. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, but its true. I love you." He pressed his lips to hers sweetly and tenderly. She felt something inside of her just explode. Yes, yes, YES.
"I love you, too. So much."
"So you still hate kids?"
"I never said I hate kids!" she shouted, throwing her bag in his trunk. Three weeks had gone by, and she'd made it.
"Whatever, just answer the question."
"They aren't so bad." She wouldn't admit it, but she's going to miss her campers.
"Really?" he asked hopefully.
"We're not having kids right now, Deeks."
"I know, we're not, no Kens. That's not what I'm asking."
"You're asking about someday."
"I guess."
"Did you really bring me out here just to warm me up to the idea of motherhood?"
"You volunteered to come out here."
"Right."
"You did."
"I know," she sighed.
"Talk to me, Kens."
"I did it to help, and I did it so I could see you. I know you're good at this, you're good with kids. I wanted, I wanted to see that."
"You're good at this too. You don't think you are, but you are. I can't say that enough. I can't say it so that you'll believe me." He slipped the key in the ignition, and started the car for their drive back to LA.
She didn't say anything for a while, silently worrying about the question in her mind. They hit a pothole in the road, and with that bump, it kind of fell out.
"Do you think I'd make a good mother?"
He wanted to stop the car and turn to her and grab her shoulders and shake her senseless. How many times had he told her this? How he believed it! But, he also knew her, and he knew she had to be ready to hear it before she would ever listen to him.
"No one's a perfect parent. Everyone makes mistakes. But Kensi, you would be an amazing mother. You're hard on the outside, but you love gently and sweetly, so absolutely yes."
She looked over at him. His eyes were on the road, but he could feel her gaze.
"Maybe someday."
"For now, we're just a boy and a girl, driving around in my truck. And that is wonderful if you ask me. Someday, or never, that's okay."
"Deeks?" she says quietly. "We've got all the time in the world."
a/n: So that happened. Be what it is.
I did want to announce here that this will be my last fic. I am going to finish Dollface, and then I will be done writing fanfiction. Thank you all so much for the ride, support while it lasted. I'll still be around Tumblr, and here for a little while while I finish Dollface.