Author's Note – just a quick one-shot post-ep for Spiral. No profit to be had here, just having a bit of fun with a show I love.
"Deeks, are you OK?"
Deeks looks up sharply at Kensi's worried voice. He'd spent the first ten minutes of the ride back to the mission in silence, staring absently out the window at the passing traffic. He's worried about Callen, of course, but he's also thinking about some of his close calls today. He didn't even notice that she'd pulled over and turned off the car. He blinks a few times before replying, "I'm fine."
She snorts, crosses her arms across her chest and lifts her eyebrow at him in disbelief. "Really?"
He has to smile a little at that. "Role reversal much, Fern?"
"I'm waiting, Shaggy. Because just like when I say it, I know 'fine' means 'hell no, I'm not fine.'" She gives him a hard look, but it's not unkind. Their newly cemented personal connection actually makes him completely sure that it's truly concern, Kensi-style.
Sighing, he scrubs his hand through his hair. "I'm just worried about Callen, Kens, and about Don. He was a good guy, and I hope he's OK." He hopes she buys that, because he's pretty sure she's going to kill him when she hears about him hanging out of the skyscraper window and then nearly getting caught (and ergo likely nearly getting killed) by the two terrorists. Die Hard indeed.
Her face softens. She knows deep down that there's more to it than that, but she decides not to push right now because he clearly doesn't want to talk about it. They're working on understanding each other's boundaries, and she feels like this is almost an unconscious, unintentional test of sorts. She reaches over the console of the SRX and takes his hand. "We all are worried about Callen, but Sam will look after him. He'll be OK, Deeks. And we can go to the hospital to check on Don. The EMTs were worried but not completely freaking out."
He nods, grateful that she let it go, because he can see in her eyes that she thinks he's not telling her everything. "Yeah, we should do that. He saved our asses, big time. We owe both him and Callen our lives today."
She leans over and brushes her lips against his stubbled cheek. "Then we will. Let's go write up our reports and then go see him." At his genuine, if brief, smile, she puts the car in gear and pulls back into traffic, continuing their journey back to the mission.
After a moment, a thought occurs to Deeks. He pulls out his cell phone and scrolls the contacts. Kensi clearly sees him, as she asks, "Who are you calling?"
"LAPD union rep. I want to see if he has contacts with the Detroit PD union. He's a retired cop – maybe they can make sure he's taken care of, given what he did today."
His call connects, and she half-listens as he talks to the union guy, giving Don's information, or at least everything they know about the security guard. When they stop at a light near the mission, she quietly observes him.
In the short weeks since they went, their words, "all in," not much has changed and yet everything has. They still act silly and flirt with each other, she still gives him a hard time and he still teases, but the undercurrent is different, maybe softer, for lack of a better term. They'd pretty much been spending every night together before, but the intimacy they share now has changed that dynamic. She takes a moment and smiles, thinking about the fact that he is a damned good kisser.
Her smile fades, though, as the traffic starts to move again. She doesn't like that there's something he isn't telling her, and she's worried because she can tell that he's a little freaked out about it. It was their first really dangerous situation since they finally really communicated, standing at the edge of the ice skating rink, a frozen lake of sorts. She pulls into the mission as he hangs up with his union rep, and she listens as he tells her what the guy is going to try to do on Don's behalf. She'll bug him about what's eating at him later, she thinks, as they head in to wrap up their reports.
Several hours later they walk out of the UCLA hospital in Westwood, where Don was taken for emergency surgery. As Callen had suspected, the security guard had some internal bleeding from the beating he took. While he's going to be in pain for a while, the man is expected to make a full recovery. When they were there, Deeks' LAPD union rep came by to talk to Don about rehab benefits they were going to help provide for any PT needs Don might have. Don couldn't stop thanking them when they left, but they'd just smiled and promised they'd be back with "real" food for him in a few days.
They go to his place to change, get Monty, and head for the beach. A lot of her clothes and such now reside at his apartment. Even though it's been less than a month, they practically live together. They haven't slept apart once since Christmas, and they usually end up at his place because of Monty and because it's closer to the beach. She'll also never admit to him that she prefers his place because, notwithstanding the state it was in right after Sidorov, it's generally always neat and clean. She actually likes things neat and tidy – she just isn't very good at making things that way.
They bring his board with them, but instead of charging into the surf per usual, he stands his board up in the sand and sits, staring at the water. With that, she can't hold back anymore, so she sits next to him as Monty curls up at their feet. "Deeks, what is going on in that shaggy blond head of yours?" She asks the question quietly, and she reaches out to take his hand.
He automatically entwines their fingers, and he sighs heavily. "Kens, it was just one of those days when you realize just how human we all are. We nearly died more than once today, and I don't know, I can't shake it off the way I used to. Maybe it's just that I have a lot more to lose than I used to," he squeezes her hand, "But when you're hanging out the window of a skyscraper to get a sat signal, your world can take on a slightly terrifying level of focus."
"OK, I hear you…wait, what?" She sits up straighter and stares at him. "When the hell did that happen?"
He chuckles, but his eyes are dead serious. "When I went to try to send the Wonder Twins the picture of the bomb. I couldn't get a signal no matter where I stood, so I shot out a window. I ended up outside, hanging on with one hand, leaning out with the phone in the other to get a signal."
"What the hell, Deeks!" She whacks him on the shoulder, but there is neither force nor malice behind it. She feels ill, knowing how dangerous that was. Then, another thought occurs to her. "And didn't the gunshots draw some of the terrorists?"
He swallows hard. "They did. I got the pic to Nell but had to hide under a desk. They had to bolt to back up the other guys before they found me."
Kensi shakes her head, trying to process how close they came to losing a fair portion of the team today. They still don't know if Callen will be OK, but news of an available antidote has given them hope on that front. "Did you include that in your report? Hetty is going to kill you, you know."
For the first time in a while, he gets his usual spark of humor in his eyes. "I may have even embellished it for her a bit. Wouldn't want the report to be too boring. Also hoping it will compensate for being an inch away from blowing us all up."
"You did fine, Deeks."
He grows serious again. "I almost didn't Kensi. I almost panicked."
"And you got it under control." She squeezes his hand.
"Because of you, Fern. You trusted me." He looks down at their joined hands. "I'm starting to wonder how I managed to stay focused before I had you next to me. I honestly don't know. I don't think I would survive losing you, Kens. I sure as hell wouldn't be able to be a cop anymore. You are my even keel."
She blinks at his words, and even though it's the same for her, she's stunned to hear him say it out loud. "I know." Her voice is a whisper. "I can't even picture my life without you in it anymore. You can't hang out of buildings anymore, Deeks." He begins to argue with her, but she grins, knowing it's time to lighten things up again. She leans over and kisses him, and when she pulls back, she's still grinning and there's a glint in her eyes. "Not without me. Sounds kind of fun."
He snorts. "Only you would think so, Kensalina. Only you."
"You nearly wet yourself, didn't you?" She laughs her crazy cackling laugh.
"I did not." He tries to look indignant but fails. Her slightly maniacal laugh gets him every time.
She releases his hand and pushes him away. "You surf. Monty and I will go get dinner and be back." She motions to the nearby food trucks.
They stand, and he leans down and kisses her before she can move away. "Thanks, Fern."
She looks puzzled for a moment. "For what?"
"For giving me space earlier. I had to wrap my head around today. Thanks for knowing me well enough to know that." He brushes her hair back from her face. "No one has known me that well in…" he pauses, "Honestly, in forever. No one has ever actually known me that well."
She smiles his favorite Kensi smile, the one that is soft and a little shy and innocent. "Anytime, Shaggy. Anytime."
With one last smile, she turns and heads for the food trucks. After admiring the view of her retreating rear for a moment, he calls after her, "At least one thing with vegetables, Kensi. Sugar is not a food group!"
She looks over her shoulder with a smirk. "No promises, Shaggy. Now surf, or I'll eat all of your food."
He shakes his head as she continues to walk, his dog trailing after her without a second glance back at his (former?) master. He mutters, "Wouldn't have it any other way, Fern," before grabbing his board and heading for the waves.