Title: Closer
AN: THANK YOU to everyone who alerted and extra THANKS to those who took the time to leave a review, I love reading them. Please see the note at the bottom of the chapter.
Also…bad words are in this chapter as are the themes that got it the T rating.
Here I am, a rabbit hearted girl
Frozen in the headlights
It seems I've made the final sacrificeRabbit Heart, Florence + The Machine
We raise it up, this offering
We raise it up
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
CHAPTER TWO: Raise it Up
"Kens!" he yelled one more time as Callen appeared by his side.
"How'd he get to her?" The team lead asked, the anxiety clear in his voice. "She wouldn't go without a fight."
After looking both ways down the alleyway the side entrance spilled into, Deeks paused and stared at Callen, comprehension dawning on him. "She was drugged."
"He never got near her!" Callen exclaimed as Sam joined the pair.
Suddenly Deeks pinned Sam with a look. "The bartender…the one that gave us our beers, he was giving Kensi this…look. Eric…"
"Pulling the video now," Eric said.
"Get him." Callen commanded Sam before turning back to Deeks, clearly leaving the LAPD Detective in charge. "Which way?"
"Right. Left is Wilshire, too busy…right takes us to another alley that runs behind the clubs."
Quickly the two men took off, the alley they were in ended where the second intersected them at a T. They had two choices, one would get them to Kensi, and the other would be a dead end.
"Eric, get LAPD here, but tell them silent. We spook this guy he might just kill her now. Are there cameras in this alley?"
"LAPD has been notified and they are rolling silent, holding back one block. No, no cameras in that alley, but I am scanning the surroundings as best I can, Nell is doing more digging at the Mission. If they show up, we will find them."
"Shit…" Deeks hissed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. They were wasting precious seconds, but if they went the wrong way they would lose more. "Split up…" It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do.
Callen nodded and turned right while Deeks went left, moving carefully but quickly. This was surreal, had it been only 20 minutes ago that they had been on that dance floor?
How could they have let her go to the bathroom alone? And turn her mike off?
The first thing she was aware of was arms around her, carrying her swiftly, and a headache pounding through her skull. "Deeks?" she slurred but no answer came and suddenly she remembered what happened.
And she started struggling against Andrews, attempting to get him to loosen his grip, but it was a futile effort, he just held on tighter and her body quickly gave into the heavy, drugged feeling covering her.
"Let me go," she said halfheartedly, her mind fuzzy.
"Not yet, love…we are gonna have some fun first."
"No…"
A sudden vague awareness of the mike still in her ear gave Kensi hope; if she could turn it on they might be able to find her.
So she used all her focus to get her fingers to cooperate with the small on/off button on the outside of the device. One push, that's all she needed to manage and it would activate.
The second try was successful and she heard the distinct beep that alerted her it was transmitting.
"Deeks…" she called again.
"Deeks..." The sound of her voice floating through his ear was the sweetest sound Deeks had ever heard and he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Kensi…talk to me baby, where are you?"
"Don't know…" she mumbled, clearly struggling.
"Ok, ok…" he said calmly. "Can you open your eyes and look around, tell me what you see?"
"Mmmmm…" she hummed. Suddenly a grunting noise came through over her voice. "No…no! Stop…"
The fear in her voice was palpable; Kensi knew what was going to happen to her.
"Deeks…" she cried.
"Who's Deeks, baby?" Andrews voice carried clearly through her mike. "One of the many men you were dancing with? Why would you do that to me? To us? We were happy, we were in love!" As he spoke Andrews' voice became angry then the distinct sound of someone being slapped hard came through followed by decidedly female groan.
After several seconds of silence she spoke again, "Stopped..."
"Ok…hang in there…" Deeks spoke soothingly to her even as the sound of lips meeting flesh carried over the mike and he had to repress a shudder at the visual that came to him of what was happening to his partner. Sudden anger flooded through him at their inability to locate her and stop the attack that they were all forced to listen to. "Eric…come on man."
"I've got nothing; they don't appear on any camera I can access. Nell can hack into more at the office, but she isn't seeing them either."
She could hear the conversation going in her ear and struggled to focus on something, anything that would help them find her. But her ability to concentrate was mitigated by Andrews, who was grabbing and kissing her in places she didn't want him to. Every time his lips or hands found their way to her body she was distracted from her attempts at focusing on a landmark, street sign, anything.
"You're so beautiful, look at this body, the best of the bunch, by far," he murmured in her ear before untying and pulling her halter top down to her waist, exposing her bra to him. "Ohhh, yeah…"
Fear coursed through her and she again attempted to fight back, pressing her small hands onto his large chest, pushing hard, trying to get his body away from her. All the self defense moves she had practiced for so long were useless in her state; it was a struggle to get her limbs to cooperate this much. So instead she stopped fighting him and again tried to focus on a landmark, figuring her energy was better expended getting help to her.
"Starbucks…" she said.
Deeks, who had completely frozen overhearing Andrews, snapped back at her word.
"Good, Kensi, good, but there are like…five Starbucks within a mile of the club on Wilshire. Are you in an alley?"
That she could answer. "Yes."
"Ok…"
Suddenly she was aware of hands roughly moving over her back then breasts, before sliding down her sides to her jeans and unhooking then pulling her belt out.
"No!" she screamed.
Again Deeks froze as he now heard the distinct sound of a belt being pulled violently through loops and then the sickening sound of a zipper.
"No, please…don't…don't…" The pleading tone in her voice made him want to beat something in frustration. They were close, he knew it, but not close enough.
Running his hands through his hair again, Deeks tamped down the nausea that was threatening from the sounds still coming over the mike. Clothing rustling, skin meeting skin, grunting from their suspect, Kensi's shallow breathing. Without a location all he could do was talk to her, keep her calm and focused.
"Kensi…"
"Asshole…" Clearly it was directed at Anderson.
"Kensi, listen to me." He insisted, but got no response. "Can you hear me?"
"You're a dead man…" Her voice was getting slurry, and she had moved on from pleading to threats. Which Deeks did not consider a good sign, she was accepting her fate.
"Princess?"
That got her attention, bringing her focus back to him. "Deeks?"
"Yes, concentrate on me right now, ok? When this is all over I'm taking you for a fried Twinkie."
"Gross…" The response was considerably slurred and he knew pretty soon she wouldn't even be able to communicate with them.
"Ok, I'll buy you a year's supply of the whole Hostess line if you can stay focused on my voice. Can you do that?"
"Yessss…"
In another alley, Callen listened to the conversation as he continued to move south of the club, impressed with Deeks focus on his partner and his ability to get Kensi talking.
"Ok…Can you look around? Besides Starbucks, overpriced by the way, what do you see?"
"Can't..."
"You can. You're Kensi, you can hotwire a damn plane and track people in the middle of the desert, so I know you can do this."
Keeping her focus on Deeks words and not the hands roaming over her body and pulling at clothing, she made one last effort to look around. And found what she was looking for just as her vision started to blur at the edges.
"Troy…" She finally got out before her head slumped back against the brick behind her, everything going dark.
"Eric?" It was a question and a command all in one from Callen.
Instead Nell's voice cut through, excited. "Two blocks north of you Deeks…Troy Cleaners, their alleyway leads to the one you are in."
The Detective took off without responding back, he knew the place and was maybe a minute away.
"Right behind you…" Callen called and Deeks could hear the other man panting, trying to catch up, but the team lead was a solid five blocks behind Deeks. "Eric, get LAPD out there, still silent, and an ambulance."
"Already on it…" the tech responded.
It wasn't even a minute before Deeks skidded around the corner into the alley and saw their suspect, mostly obscured by a dumpster, his partner not visible.
Pulling his gun up, Deeks realized he wouldn't be able to get a shot off without the potential of ricocheting so instead he took off full speed toward the other man, only bothering to yell out "LAPD" as he closed the last ten feet between them and body checked the man without slowing. The stealth attack gave Deeks the advantage and he was straddling Anderson on the ground, gun pointed at his head before the other man realized what had happened.
"Move and I'll put a bullet in your head." Deeks voice gave no room for argument and he turned to check on Kensi, who had slumped to the ground, propped partly up against the dumpster, clearly unconscious.
Carefully Deeks rose - keeping his gun pointed steadily at Anderson – and moved over to her, placing a slightly shaking hand on her neck.
It was there. It was erratic and not as strong as he'd like, but it was there. Distantly, he heard sirens.
"She was going to be the last," the man on the ground suddenly said and Deeks pinned him with a glare even as the suspect licked his lips. "She is delicious, isn't she?"
"Shut the hell up."
"So soft and smooth…"
"If you don't close your fucking mouth I'll do it for you," Deeks hissed.
The other man laughed and put his hands up in defeat.
Just then a second set of footsteps echoed down the alley and Callen appeared from behind the dumpster, taking only a moment to decide to relive Deeks of guard duty so he could tend to his partner.
As Callen raised his gun and began handcuffing the suspect Deeks kneeled in front of Kensi, placing one hand on her cheek. "Kensi? Kens?"
No response came from the brunette and Deeks carefully pulled her shirt back up at least to cover her chest. "ETA on the ambulance?"
"Thirty seconds…"
Gently he stroked her hair, whispering her name and a plea to wake up. When no response came he turned toward Anderson.
"How much did your buddy the bartender give her?"
No answer.
Swiftly Deeks stood and brought one boot down on the man's hand, crushing his fingers into the asphalt. "One more time. How many?"
"Three….three, god dammit."
The Agent and Detective exchanged similar glances, both stunned that their partner was able to stay as conscious as she was with that much GHB running through her system.
Just as Deeks was about to ask about the ambulance, it appeared at the end of the alley on Wilshire, fifty yards from their current location. A wave of relief washed over him, this mess of an operation would be a just memory soon enough.
Sitting in the emergency waiting room at Cedars, Deeks wished he'd had just one more minute with Anderson, just enough time to met out some deserved retribution. A few well placed Lakers versus Celtics tickets for that weekend would probably get him some private time at County if he really wanted. Staring at Callen sitting across from him, Deeks figured the other man probably had some super-secret NCIS way of getting revenge and he probably shouldn't waste the tickets.
"Kensi Blye?"
The three men stood as one and approached the doctor who led them through double doors and back into the trauma ward.
"Miss Blye is lucky. We were able to pump her stomach and get the remains of close to two pills out before they were completely absorbed. Her respiration, pulse and blood pressure are back to normal and she's conscious now, though a little confused as one would expect. Her memories are pretty hit and miss right now, but that may improve with time." They stopped at the door to a small room. "I'd like to keep her for a couple more hours to make sure she doesn't worsen, and then she is free to go home, though it would be best if someone could stay with her."
"Not a problem," Callen responded, his gaze steady on the closed door.
"Then you are free to see her, but keep it short, she's pretty tired."
They all nodded and Callen opened the door. Immediately the lone female on the team turned her head toward them and smiled tiredly.
"Hey, guys."
"Hey…" Sam responded as they stood by the bed, Deeks on one side, Callen and Sam on the other.
"How are you feeling?" Deeks finally asked.
She turned to him. "Tired…fuzzy. It's all…dreamlike. I can remember bits and pieces…How did he dose me?"
"The bartender was in on it, he was the one drugging the girls," Sam explained. "Genius really, that way Anderson was never actually seen with the victims beforehand and no one suspected the guy serving the drinks. And it was part of the reason Anderson switched bars…the bartender was fired from the first place shortly after the first murder. They had been friends for years."
"Yeah, genius…" she repeated softly. "Can I get out of here?"
"Couple hours," Callen told her and watched her face fall.
Suddenly a nurse stuck her head in the door and gave them another 15 minutes before Kensi was scheduled for one last test.
The men looked at each other for several seconds, there was no way they were leaving her alone, but all three of them didn't need to stay either.
"I'll stay," Deeks said quickly, looking at the dozing form of his partner, she had drifted off during their silent conversation.
"K, call us when she is released and we'll come get you. You can fill Hetty in later."
Deeks just nodded and watched as Callen and Sam kissed her on the head before quietly saying their goodbyes and walking out the door.
Sitting on a rolling stool, Deeks slid as close to her head as he could and gently stroked her hair. "You scared the hell out of me today."
"You saved my ass again today," she mumbled and he pulled his hand back in surprise.
"Well, someone had to do it."
She snorted lightly, eyes closed. "I totally had him."
Deeks was relived she seemed to be taking the events in stride. That or she really didn't remember everything that happened and at this point, he was willing to go along with either scenario.
"Totally did."
Now she opened her eyes, they seemed clear. "You're a good partner, Deeks. I knew you would find me. You always do."
He wasn't quite sure what to say to that. "Look, I know I'm not always the easiest guy to get along with…"
"No, you aren't."
"Let me finish, would you?" She waved an apology and he continued, "But I think this partnership has potential."
They stared at each other a moment, both reliving their encounter on the dance floor and suddenly his words had a double meaning. Meaning neither was willing to voice just yet.
"Yeah," she agreed before adding, "To give me grey hair."
"Hey now…"
"Maybe I should get your colorists name…"
"Ok, that's just mean …this mane is au natural. And admit it, you're jealous."
"Terribly," she replied sarcastically before becoming serious again. It seemed they couldn't have a conversation without veering into light jabs along the way, but for them it worked. It was easier somehow. "You're staying?"
"Until you get sprung, yep. You're stuck with me."
She looked down at her hands. "I wouldn't say stuck."
He gave her a genuine smile and suddenly knew what to do with those Lakers tickets. "Saturday. You, me, Kobe and Kevin."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, and if you behave I'll take you."
She gave him her best evil grin. "Oh, I'll behave."
"Why do I suddenly feel like I don't want you to?"
All she did was smile.
END?
AN: Well lovely readers, I am thrilled by the response to this story and think I would like it to be become a series of connected one shots with our favorite duo that runs parallel to this season – though my posting might be sporadic. Here's the twist though, I am willing to take suggestions for some of the scenarios from you the reader. This is big for me, I never let the readers dictate the story, but I need to challenge myself and Im confident you guys can come up with challenging ideas! So PM or leave in a review a brief situation/scenario you would like to see Kensi/Deeks in or hell, a topic they would fight about and Ill do my best to oblige. Your suggestion needs to at least not contradict show canon (no random siblings appearing) or what has happened in previous chapters and needs to be able to be contained within one-ish chapter. And I flat out will not do pregnancy fic. Sorry if that's a lot of rules, but while I'm willing to take suggestions, I still have fic control issues. Heh. Credit will be given to the person who comes up with that chapters theme.
