Well here it is, the third and final chapter. Many thanks to everyone for all the alerts and reviews. The response and enthusiasm for this story has been really astonishing!

Most of all thank you to Mel, for the endless patience, kindness and support. And for just being a fab friend!


After the people themselves and the guns they carried, it was what they wore that was the most noticeable. Dark blue kevlar vests onto which three bright, white letters were stamped reading DEA.

"Agents Blye and Deeks?" asked a female agent, an unmistakably American accent passing over her lips.

Deeks nodded in confirmation, his lungs releasing a heavy sigh, then lowering his gun he raised his eyes towards the shining night sky and gave out a silent prayer of thanks.

Feeling her head drop back against the wall behind her with a small bump and her weapon fall from her grasp onto the ground beside her, Kensi swiped at a stray tear with the heel of her hand as the sheer weight of pain and emotion threatened to overwhelm her.

While one of the agents immediately busied themselves in providing Kensi with some much needed medical attention, the others confirmed the status of the fallen gang members before taking up defensive positions around the area. With a tired shake of his head and another deep sigh, Deeks holstered his weapon in the back of his dirt-covered jeans and moved over to his partner, sliding down the wall and sitting beside her. Watching as multiple squares of gauze were pressed firmly against her shoulder wound by a stocky, fair-haired agent who'd introduced himself as Marco, Deeks saw Kensi's face contort, her eyes shut tightly against the pain which burned down her arm and across her chest. Grasping hold of her hand, Deeks could feel the slight tremor that had settled over her body, but as he wrapped his fingers more firmly around hers, squeezing them gently in turn, he noticed it lessen.

"How did you guys find us?" Deeks asked to no-one in particular, his gaze not wondering away from Kensi.

The answer came from the slightly older agent amongst them. His hair, though mostly still brown, was starting to give way to touches of grey and from the weathered expression he wore on his face, it was clear he had been at this 'game' for many years.

"We've got a couple of agents undercover with the gang that's been chasing you," he explained, stepping closer towards them so they could hear the soft, low rumble of his voice. "They made a call when they realised they'd been sent out to hunt down a couple of US federal agents."

Deeks' head snapped around quickly at hearing the information, his gaze settling momentarily on the two dead gang members nearest them as realisation formed quickly in his mind, and a question he dreaded the answer to arrived keenly on his lips.

"Tell me we didn't..." he began uneasily, his eyes wide at the possibility.

"You didn't." Came the quick and definitive reply.

"They're okay?"

"As okay as they can be considering what they've just spent the last six months doing."

Deeks nodded solemnly, knowing it was simple understanding rather than actual words that mattered right then.

"We're good to go, JT." Marco informed the senior agent.

"Let's move," he replied in form of an order and the team of agents began to cautiously, but quickly, re-group.

"She's gonna need surgery, and soon." Marco added, a hint of urgency clear in his tone, which immediately captured Deeks' full attention. But before he could respond the DEA agent quickly and carefully lifted Kensi clean from the ground, her hand falling loose of her partner's as she was carried away.

Pulling himself to his feet, Deeks winced sharply, his injured arm becoming increasingly painful as he held it tight against his chest. As much as his thoughts were focused on Kensi and the wounds she had sustained, a trip to hospital involving copious amounts of painkillers sounded really quite appealing to him right then. Joining the group of agents as they moved away, he soon found himself enveloped by them, their presence and actions allowing him to feel safer than he should have considered possible at the time.

Feeling herself lifted from the ground, Kensi knew she should have been frustrated, even angry at the chauvinistic presumptuousness of the action, but in truth she just didn't have the energy to care. A steadily diminishing awareness of her surroundings was only further proof of the severity of her injuries and the continued blood loss seemed to be creating a slightly drunk affect on her brain. She felt as if a dense mist had descended around her and at that point she had no idea whether she was capable of standing unaided, let alone walking. Allowing her eyes to remain closed, the strength required to open them becoming increasingly hard to locate, Kensi concentrated on breathing, but something wasn't right. Something didn't smell right. Deeks had let go of her hand, but it was only now, as her senses were suddenly surrounded by an unfamiliar scent, that she realised he wasn't the one carrying her. The fact that it would be a considerable feat given his broken arm just hadn't occurred to her.

Unable to account for the sudden panic that rose up inside her at that moment, no doubt a culmination of all that had happened and was still going on, she forced from her lips a single word hoping it would bring her what she needed.

Hearing his name choked out through the thick veil of emotion that seemed to have settled over his partner, Deeks quickened his step to join her.

"I'm here, Kens. I'm right here," he assured her, reaching out and lightly resting his uninjured hand atop her head.

Feeling the gentle weight and pressure of her partner's touch Kensi relaxed a little, taking comfort from his presence and finding renewed trust in his words. Deeks was there. Her partner, her friend, and after that... who knew.

Striding alongside her through the hospital corridors, Deeks held Kensi's hand as she was wheeled urgently towards surgery, only letting go when he could travel no further. The touch of his lips to her fingers and the promise of his presence when she woke were the last things Kensi was vaguely aware of before the heady power of the anaesthetic severed the final tendrils tethering her to consciousness.

As Kensi woke to the first rays of morning sunshine pushing their way through the windows of the recovery ward, her partner was the first thing she looked for. With his left arm encased in a plaster cast and held across his body in a sling, Deeks very presence was reassuring, his easy smile a relief, and the feel of his fingers gently shifting between hers simply felt right.

"Just so I've got this straight," he began softly, a single crease of a frown drawing the smooth skin of his forehead together above his shining blue eyes. "You're telling me that despite the hundreds of books, tv shows and movies that have put this tactic to good use, it isn't actually romantic, bold or brave to admit to someone how you feel about them in the midst of facing down death together?"

Kensi couldn't help but laugh and roll her eyes in exasperation. Only Deeks would feel the need to continue this conversation the very minute she re-gained consciousness.

"No," she confirmed.

Deeks smiled and gently nodded his head.

"Good to know."


A month later...

It had been a long day and a tough day, but it had also been a good day. After four weeks spent resting, recovering and recuperating, Kensi had been beyond both ready and eager to get back to work.

Two days after her surgery both she and Deeks had been deemed fit to travel and were transferred from Rio back to Los Angeles. Kensi's frustration at being moved from one hospital straight into another was blatant, but the greeting she received from her team upon arrival was enough to quell her immediate annoyance. Their relief and happiness at both her and Deeks' safe return was palpable, and certainly helped in guiding her towards acceptance of the situation. However, her frustrations were not ones to remain indefinitely dormant. A few days later when they grew once more and the reality of all that had happened struck her suddenly and unexpectedly, Deeks was right beside her. His own emotions and realisations had been bubbling away under the surface and Kensi had been both surprised and relieved to discover that it wasn't just her who needed someone to hold on to. Her tears were not the only ones to fall, her heart not the only one to ache, and in that moment she knew that her fears were no more alone than she was. They had nearly lost each other, they had shared that experience together, now it seemed only right that they shared this too.

Once discharged from the hospital Kensi, under the watchful eye of her partner, proceeded to spend a week on her sofa watching movies, and taking slow strolls across the beach, while the detective attempted to get her to eat a few healthy meals. Easier said than done.

Deeks' return to work at the end of that week, though, came around far too quickly for Kensi's liking. Part of her was jealous that he got to go back whilst she was still unable, but the other part knew that she had become used to his presence in ways she had never expected.

But now the waiting was complete. Kensi was back at work alongside her partner and a part of their team once more. In celebration they had all made their way to a nearby bar where glasses were raised and gladness expressed at their family being whole again.

Standing at the bar as he waited on a fresh order of drinks, Deeks found that both his thoughts and his gaze refused to stray too far from his partner. From across the room he watched her smile and laugh, and as he thought back to the moments they shared in Rio, especially those just after she had been shot, he knew he'd rarely been so grateful of anything. They hadn't talked about it again. Never during Kensi's time in hospital, or the hours they had spent together when she returned home had it even been mentioned. The conversation and confessions that had said so much, without ever truly being spoken at all, remained paused at the point that they had left them. It didn't feel wrong. There was no uncomfortable atmosphere between them, no metaphorical elephant to be manoeuvred around. But it was there, waiting to be 'un-paused'. Maybe one day.

Lost in thought Deeks didn't see his partner approaching and the first indication of her presence was her arm snaking around his waist and the bump of her hip against his.

"Hey, Partner."

Deeks smiled as he tried not to focus solely on the feel her warm body pressing against his, or the gentle rub of her fingers through his shirt as they squeezed just above the waistline of his jeans.

"Need a hand?" she asked, indicating to the line of drinks before him and then tapping on the plaster cast still covering his arm. His strength and dexterity had vastly improved, but there were things he still struggled with. Carrying a large drinks order included.

"Thanks," he replied softly, then carefully began wrapping his fingers around a few of the bottles and glasses before making his way over to their table and back to their team.

Laughter was what could be heard most from the corner of the bar the team occupied over the next hour or so. It was the sound of happiness; it was the sound of relief; it was the sound of a family reunited. And when they each filtered away at the end of the evening, leaving Kensi and Deeks standing alone outside the bar, the quiet felt anything but empty.

"What?" Kensi questioned, noting the unmistakable look on her partner's face as he gazed unashamedly at her, the hint of a smile playing over his lips.

"I missed you," he admitted, an uneven shrug travelling across his shoulders. "These last couple of weeks, I've missed you. And I'm glad you're back." Pause. "But more than that... after everything that happened... I'm just glad you're here at all."

Unable to stop the gentle rise of colour across her face, Kensi was grateful that the dark blanket of night surrounded them.

"I'm glad we're both here," she responded softly, her expression a jumble of thoughts, each one earnest and sincere. "There were moments when I wasn't sure that was going to happen." Pause. "There were moments when I thought I might have lost the chance."

"The chance for what?"

"The chance to be brave."

With his gaze locked on the intensely dark eyes of his partner, Deeks couldn't be sure if he was even still breathing at that moment. The rapid beat of his heart sounded loudly in his ears, and stepping towards Kensi he could sense how his body now physically ached to be as close to her as possible. Reaching out with both hands and running them down the length of each of her arms until his fingers nestled firmly within the warm grasp of hers, Deeks gently tugged her against him.

"You haven't lost the chance, Kens. I'm here. We're both right here."

His voice was no more than a murmur, but Kensi could feel his breath warm on her cheek as the quiet conviction and encouragement in his tone stoked courage in her heart.

"I used to think that risking my heart was the scariest thing," Kensi continued, her voice barely above a whisper, though the emotions wrapped around each of her words were crystal clear. "And you were right, losing the chance to take that risk would be bad. But what would be worse is if taking that risk and saying those words were the last thing we ever did."

Deeks nodded his agreement and understanding before closing his eyes against the heady rush of emotions and images her words stirred.

"I don't want me telling you how I feel to be where our story ends," he told her, his voice little more than a husky whisper. "I don't want it to be a rush of ill thought out words and sentiments that I'm forced into saying during a bad situation, because I was never brave enough to say them to you properly on the good days." Pause. "I want to tell you how I feel and it start something. Something amazing."

Kensi nodded softly. "Well, today was a good day."

Deeks nodded once more before dropping his head forward to rest against Kensi's. The easy closeness they had established through the course of their partnership never feeling more expected or wanted than it did right then. Moving her head by the smallest of amounts, the tip of her nose traced the lightest of lines over his cheek until her lips hovered tantalisingly over his. Kensi had only one question.

"Do you feel like being brave with me?" she murmured.

No words came from Deeks. He had none to offer. Closing the final few millimetres of space left between them he pushed his lips firmly to Kensi's and poured every response he had into a kiss that felt like everything and nothing he had ever imagined.

Kensi responded with equal want and feeling, pulling herself into his embrace and wrapping him tightly in hers. This moment, this kiss, it felt like the past, the present and the future all rolled into one. It felt like coming up for air. It felt like setting her heart free.

Actual words would come later, filled with thought and with meaning. But for now there was them. And this kiss. And the truest moment they'd ever shared.

Today truly was a good day.

The End