Many thanks for the amazing response to the first chapter. I've been blown away by all the fantastic alerts and reviews.
Hope you all enjoy this next bit too!
Practically hugging the walls as they worked their way through the irregular darkness, hoping both might provide even the slightest amount of cover when they needed it, Kensi and Deeks didn't have to wait long to discover that all the hoping in the world wouldn't make it more than woefully inadequate. Stepping out onto the path 50 yards ahead of them, weapons cocked and aimed, three tattooed gang members quickly formed a formidable barrier for the injured partners to pass. Then, before conscious recognition of the situation could be properly formed in either of their minds, bullets began to cut through the night air towards them once more. A metal storage bin just ahead of them was the best option for cover and as Deeks moved ahead letting off a continuous burst of gunfire from the rifle which emptied the clip, they ran.
One of the gang members fell to the floor, shot dead, but a severe sting to his right side followed by the light tickle of blood trickling down over the indents of his ribs told Deeks he'd also been hit again. Dropping the rifle at his feet as they crouched behind the storage bin, he awkwardly felt for his latest wound, relieved to find it was no more than a graze, before reaching for the comforting weight and feel of his Beretta. Awaiting an opportunity to return fire he looked to Kensi, but wasn't prepared for what he would see. A second bullet had torn into Kensi's body and blood clearly now seeped from the fresh wound in her shoulder, soaking her shirt and leaving her face contorted in pain. Kensi could feel beads of sweat travelling down her neck, chest and back as the pain radiating out from her hip and shoulder broke clean through the barrier of adrenaline that had been keeping her on her feet since she'd been shot the first time. Crouching was as close to agony as she wished to be, her body reacting to being folded in on itself by taking all control from her legs and forcing her to the floor as her partner watched on. Clenching his jaw in anger and determination Deeks turned back in the direction of the two remaining gang members, then without wavering raised his gun followed by himself and released a steady stream of perfectly aimed shots that Kensi would be proud to call her own. Behind him he could hear his partner at work, despite her injuries, and after turning from the three bodies in front of him he saw two more behind.
Checking all around them before kneeling down at Kensi's side, Deeks couldn't stop himself from reaching out to her, needing to feel the touch of her skin against his. Lowering his gun to the ground and cradling her face with his hand, Deeks found himself lost in Kensi's eyes, the uncertainty of her gaze mixed with raw determination drawing him in.
"If you dare tell me you're 'fine'," he started, but as Kensi's hand came to rest on his arm, her fingers staining his skin with the deep crimson of her own blood, his words caught in his throat and an ice cold shiver ran the length of his spine.
"Not this time," she murmured, and Deeks couldn't quite believe how much he hadn't wanted to hear those words coming from her.
Kensi stared into the piercing blue eyes of her partner and best friend, and despite the pain rolling through what felt like the whole of her body, despite the situation they were in, she still felt a measure of safety simply because he was there beside her. With his hand gently holding her face, his thumb moving softly over her cheekbone, Kensi could feel the combination of comfort and strength she not only needed, but knew would keep her going just a little while longer.
Admitting she wasn't fine, though, felt wrong, it felt counter-intuitive, it felt in contrary to everything she had trained herself to be. But she also knew that if there was one person she could admit that to, one person whom she could trust to catch her during those rare moments when she fell, then it was Marty Deeks. He had proven that to her time and time again over the last couple of years and she had little doubt that he would do it again now.
The look on his face, though, was truly telling, because in amongst the concern and fear, there lay almost every emotion she knew both of them had been keeping hidden for some time. Neither of them it seemed had little energy for anything other than open honesty and Kensi knew that she, herself had opened the floodgate with the last three words she had spoken.
Now, as her eyes remained locked to his, she could sense the words and sentiments brewing deep within the handsome, blonde man beside her and if she were truthful then she wasn't sure whether it was something she welcomed or feared.
"Don't, Deeks," she sighed, her following breaths coming in quick succession. "Don't look at me like that. Please."
"Sorry, Kens, but this is all I've got right now," he sighed back, lowering both his hand and his gaze from her face. "Why are you so scared I might say something?"
"Why are you so scared you might not?" she shot back.
"This is as bad as it's gotten for us and... I just..." he struggled for a moment, the right words unwilling to lend themselves to him, before letting the sentence silently slip away. Taking a moment to look around them, the night remaining still and quiet, his eyes focused in on Kensi's injuries once more, noting with relief that the bleeding had slowed.
"I guess I'm more scared of losing the chance," he murmured, his eyes rising to meet hers in a vivid contrast of colour.
"Well that's a pretty crappy reason to say it." Kensi announced to her partner's surprise, her voice sounding less ragged as she drew further strength from the conviction nestled within her words.
Deeks tilted his head a little to one side and Kensi couldn't help but notice how his look had become more calculating, the smallest of smiles playing at the corners of his mouth as he worked out an appropriate response.
"You think?"
Kensi knew she should stop this conversation, should halt it where it stood, but for some reason the sudden and rare honesty they were sharing was like an elixir, its simple presence settling between them, offering a tantalising potency to which she grasped with both hands.
"I think that telling someone how you feel about them during a life or death situation is cheating. I think it's an easy out; a last ditch attempt; a Hail Mary."
"See and I always thought it was a bold, romantic gesture," he replied, gently brushing his fingers across her forehead and tucking her hair back behind her ear. "Brave even."
"How can it be when you have nothing to lose? When you risk nothing of yourself by doing it?"
Considering her question carefully whilst his eyes swept the surrounding area, Deeks was grateful for the quiet that remained around them. Kensi was not in a fit state to move and he had little doubt of her awareness of the situation. Their options were unclear and uncertain, but they were still alive, still together and still talking.
"Okay, if my reason is crappy, give me a better one," he challenged and Kensi's hesitation in responding was brief.
"Say it because you want to; say it because you can; say it for no other reason than the strength of your feelings; say it to free your heart, but not because you're scared it might stop beating."
She paused, carefully choosing her next words, no longer caring about the weight they carried. Deeks had asked her the question and she was determined to give him the answer.
"Most of all say it because you mean it," she continued, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. "And when you do actually say it, know that it's the truest thing you've ever said to that person. Don't ever say it just because you think you won't get another chance. If you've left it til then, then you've left it too late, and maybe you..." Pause. "Maybe we, should have been braver."
Deeks frowned, then a light chuckle escaped him, so stunned was he by the sheer sincerity of her words. Never could he have imagined anything close to the sentiments which Kensi had just put voice to and they immediately began to repeat over in his mind.
But then cutting through the still and the quiet came the distinct sound of approaching footsteps, which tore him from his train of thought and any measure of a smile from his face. Each set of strides sounded purposeful and sharp, with a degree of urgency that gave emphasis to the echoes they produced.
Turning in place as he rose to his feet, Deeks straightened his uninjured arm, gun held firmly in hand as if merely an extension of it, and took aim in the direction of the oncoming group.
Kensi remained in place on the floor, the effects of the bullets embedded in her body increasingly profound, but as she raised her own weapon in the same direction as her partner her aim refused to waver.
Deeks could feel his spine become rigid, a sense of inevitability beginning to seep into his thoughts as the footsteps continued to near. They were both wounded, they were almost out of ammo, but like hell were they going to give in without a fight. Raising his head by just a fraction and gritting his jaw in defiance, Deeks took a deep breath and as the group of five rounded the corner before them, their own artillery of weapons drawn ready he found himself unprepared for what was to come next.
TBC...