Disclaimer: The characters of N.C.I.S. Los Angeles are property of CBS

Rachel's office: six thirty P.M.-

"When we talked last you said that you attempted to torture a man, but you also mentioned that you had an abusive father." Rachel said.

"Where do you want to start?" Deeks asked. "Both of those topics alone could fill a session unto itself."

"Which incident caused the most harm?" Rachel asked.

"They both cause harm in their own right: my father was an abusive man. The person I attempted to torture had a son that was an active member in the Taliban." Deeks said.

Rachel was silent for a time; she was contemplating Deeks sentence.

"What happened with your relationship with your father?" Rachel asked.

"How did I get out alive?" Deeks asked bluntly.

"Yes. What happened that ended the relationship between you and your father?" Rachel asked.

"Well I got out alive because I shot him." Deeks said.

Rachel looked at Deeks for a brief moment, and then mouth.

You shot him.

"Yes, I shot him. He was coming at me with a shotgun in his hands; hell bent on killing both my mother and I." Deeks said

"Is you father still alive, so the two of you can repair your relationship?" Rachel asked.

"I don't want to repair my relationship with that monster, and even if I wanted to I can't." Deeks spat.

"Okay we'll get that to that first part in a minute, but why can't you repair the relationship?" Rachel asked, a little lost by Deeks response.

"About two years after I shot him, he died in an automobile accident." Deeks said.

Rachel was at lost for words because Deeks has all this pent up anger at the mistreatment by his father, and he can't even get it out except, in this venue.

"Now I'm not saying that you are wrong for anger issues toward your father, but you have to realize something: because your father is dead you can never truly be freedom free of your past, technically speaking." Rachel said.

"Why not?" Deeks asked.

"How can you get freedom from this man if he is no longer among the living?" Rachel asked.

Deeks became introspective on this new thought. Deeks then became saddened by the fact that he is stuck with the disposition imparted to him by his father.

"You can still get freedom from this prison that you are in, but it will take time and forgiveness." Rachel said.

"Forgiveness?" Deeks asked incredulously.

"You need to forgive your father, and you have to forgive yourself. You have to make peace with your past." Rachel said.

Deeks became introspective again, but Rachel started her next query before Deeks could find his footing.

"How good are you with children?" Rachel asked.

Deeks pause and assessed the question. To say that he was dumbfounded by her question would have been the understatement of the day.

"Whenever my partner and I encountered a child in the past, it was my job to entertain them while my partner work with the parent." Deeks said.

"That's not what I asked; do you like children?" Rachel asked again.

Deeks hesitated; he thinks he knows where this might be heading, but isn't sure. Deeks is almost frightened by what her response could be.

"I love kids." Deeks said.

"But you're afraid to have children because of your past?" Rachel asked.

Deeks realized the point of this question.

"Acceptance and forgiveness." Deeks said.

"If I had to go out on a limb you seem like the type that you have to prove yourself." Rachel said.

"Yeah." Deeks said. "My team didn't think I was up for the job at first, and my partner thought she had to test me to see if I was capable of keeping up with her."

"If Hetty hired you, then you already proved yourself." Rachel said with a tear in her eye.

Deeks was silent for a time and then asked.

"You were hired by Hetty?"

Rachel smile, and nodded; then she wiped the tear from her eye.

Before Deeks could leave Rachel checked her watch.

"How about tomorrow we discuss your attempted torture?" She asked

Deeks nodded his head, and rose from his chair. Deeks turned and exited the office.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Following day after Granger's visit-

Deeks has been on egg shells all morning: either from Hetty or Kensi. The moment he walked in Ops Hetty called him into her office to see how he was doing. As soon as he left Hetty's office Kensi laid into him, and laid into him hard; grilling him six ways from Sunday. Sam and Callen were keeping their distance, and talking to Deeks only if necessary.

Sam caught a glimpse of Deeks that afternoon, and from his view it seemed that if Deeks had to listen to one more rant he was going to blow a fuse. Just then Eric approached him with a lead in the Isabella Smith case. When Sam turned and looked at Deeks, Kensi was giving him another earful, or continuing the one he was watching when Eric informed him of the lead, and Deeks head was on his desk.

"Deeks." Sam shouted.

Deeks head shot up and he looked at Sam. Sam motioned for him to follow, and Deeks jumped up from his chair and bolted for the garage. Kensi was shocked to see Deeks run out of the bull pen like his life depended on it. Hetty watched the display from her office, and made note of Deeks disposition as of late.

"I can't blame the guy." Callen said as he walked into the bull pen.

"I don't need this right now Callen." Kensi said exasperated.

"Why not?' Callen asked.

"I've been trying to talk to Deeks all day, but he's been ignoring me." Kensi said.

"Have you been trying to talk to him, or have you been hounding all day and blaming him for anything and everything. I've been watching the two of you all day; Deeks was one sentence shy of either strangling you, or jumping off the tallest building. When Sam called out to say they had a lead, Deeks couldn't get away from you fast enough." Callen said.

"Callen I'm worried about Deeks." Kensi said.

"Kensi everybody is worried about Deeks; even the support staff is worried for him. Deeks is being hounded by both you and Hetty since he first walked in this morning." Callen said.

"Have you talked to Hetty about your altercation with Deeks?" Kensi asked.

"No." Callen said.

"Why?" Kensi asked.

"Like I said, Deeks has both you and Hetty on his back. I'm worried about Deeks, but he can't get any work done." Callen said.

Kensi thought on Callen argument, but wasn't sure how to make it work.

"Kensi what do we really know?" Callen asked.

"Well Deeks problem happen since we came back from Afghanistan." Kensi said.

"Or before Afghanistan?" Callen asked

"I have no clue to be honest." Kensi said. "Do you think something happened while we were in Afghanistan?" Kensi asked

"Maybe; anything else?" Callen asked.

"This is Deeks we're talking about; he has as many secrets, if not more, than you." Kens said.

"Okay, so we have to dig into his past." Callen said.

"If you want to dig into his past you do that, but you do so without my help." Kensi said.

"Why?" Callen asked.

"Would you want somebody digging around in you past?" Kensi asked.

"My family history is already public knowledge." Callen said sarcastically.

"Something wrong?" Hetty said as she walked into the bull pen.

"We are trying to understand what has caused the change in Deeks behavior since coming back from Afghanistan, but were at odds on how to go about it." Kensi said.

"How exactly are you two attempting to accomplish this task?" Hetty asked.

"I said that we could look into Deeks past." Callen said.

"Which I vehemently protest." Kensi said.

"Tread carefully Mr. Callen. Some demons are more virulent, and potent than others. And exorcising these demons, like any other exorcism, can have fatal consequences." Hetty warned, and then walked away.

Kensi shot a warning glance at Callen, and then walked away.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

The drive to the location was quiet one; Sam could tell that Deeks wanted a moment without being harassed. The drive was half an hour long. After entering the parking lot and parking, Sam stated as they were exiting the challenger.

"I bet you were happy to hear we had a lead."

"Ecstatic!" Deeks exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, as the partners headed to the office building.

"Hetty and Kensi mean well, but they aren't doing anything except giving mean a migraine." Deeks said

"That bad?" Sam asked.

"That display with Kensi in the bull pen started last night; after I left Rachel's office." Deeks said.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"Kensi wanted to know what cause the problem that started this whole mess. To put it simply: not everything that occurred in Afghanistan went in the official record." Deeks said.

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"Let's just say that I left a piece of my soul over there." Deeks said.

"Agents Hanna; Detective Deeks." A voice said.

Sam and Deeks turned and looked at the person in question, and then shared a look between the two.

"That's us." Sam said.

Sam and Deeks pulled out there badges and to identified themselves.

"I thought you would be by later?" A familiar voice asked.

"I thought this place looked familiar." Deeks said.

Sam and Deeks turned and looked at the voice in question as they were entering the building. Sam saw a beautiful blonde looking at them. Sam turned and spoke quietly to Deeks.

"Wow."

"She's a therapist, and she works for Hetty." Deeks whispered back. "Hi Rachel."

Sam shot Deeks a shocked expression and then held his hand out to shake Rachel's hand.

"So what brings you in?" Rachel asked.

"Does this woman look familiar?" Sam asked, and then showed Rachel a picture of Isabella Smith.

"Yeah. I saw her about three months ago; why?" Rachel asked.

"Um." Sam said.

Sam looked at Deeks, and then both of his eyebrows shot up. Deeks nodded his head, and then formulated a plan that would help them get information from Rachel, without her breaking the law.

"Isabella is a witness in a case that we are currently working. Is there anything that you can share with us by law that would not cause you to break other laws?" Deeks asked.

"I didn't treat her. I treated her son." Rachel said.

"Is there any information that you can give us that doesn't pertain to her son?" Deeks asked.

Rachel walked over to a desk and dug through an open filing cabinet. Rachel pulled out a folder, and gave the information a once over. Rachel removed some paperwork, and then walked back to Deeks and Sam handing the folder over.

"Thank you for your discretion." Sam said.

"Seven o'clock, okay?" Deeks asked.

Sam looked between the doctor and her patient, and watched the transaction unfold.

"Seven sounds great. I'll see you then." Rachel said.

Rachel walked back into her office after closing the filing cabinet, and then Sam and Deeks exited the building. As they approaching the car Sam saw that Deeks was off in his head.

"Beautiful woman?" Sam asked.

"Aren't you married?" Deeks asked, with a questioning glance on his face.

"I was talking about you." Sam said.

"Maybe if I was Max Gentry." Deeks said.

"But not you?" Sam asked.

"What do you think?" Deeks asked.

At this time Deeks and Sam were approaching the challenger. The partner's got in, but Sam didn't start the car.

"Rachel is attractive, yes?" Sam asked.

"Rachel is attractive." Deeks said. "But she isn't my type. I want a certain brunette that is driving me up the wall as of late."

"Kensi. Are you sure that is a wise decision?" Sam asked.

"What's the alternative: dating somebody who isn't in our line of work?" Deeks asked.

Sam started the car, and drove back to the boat shed. Sam called Callen and said they were heading to the boat; after hanging up Sam pressed the issue.

"How is it wise to date somebody that you work with, as opposed to some in a different field?" Sam asked.

"How would you feel if you got a civilian involved, let alone them getting killed?" Deeks asked.

"But if you date somebody you work with how easy is it for you to get distracted because your personal life bleeds into the work?" Sam asked.

"If what you say is true, then I should not date anybody because my personal life would bleed into my professional life anyways. So if I have to date somebody I rather date somebody in my field. Not only that I don't have to lie to my lover about my work." Deeks said.

"What if you have kids?" Sam asked.

"What about it?" Deeks asked.

"How are you going to work and raise a family?" Sam asked.

"True. That's a problem you ran into with you relationship with Michelle, but the one thing that we have that you probably didn't have is one person." Deeks said, shooting Sam a knowing glance.

"Who?" Sam asked

"Julia Feldman." Deeks said.

Sam thought about Deeks statement, and then commented.

"Julia wouldn't hesitate to watch her grandchild/children." Sam said.

"Yeah; it's going to be hard to balance our two lives, but Hetty hasn't actually been condemning our relationship either." Deeks said.

"How do you know?" Sam asked.

"Hetty sent me a note about a conversation we had last year, and on top of that we're still partners. I like to point out for the court that we're talking about Hetty." Deeks said.

"Touché counselor." Sam said. "What caused this whole mess?"

"As I said earlier that I left a piece of my soul in Afghanistan." Deeks said, without looking at Sam.

The partners spent the rest of the trip back to the boat shed in silence.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

When Callen and Kensi showed up at the boat shed, Deeks and San were already digging through the data. Deeks watched as Callen sat down next to Sam; whereas, Kensi sat next to Deeks holding her breathe preparing for Deeks to move away, or to tell her to sit somewhere else. Deeks turned and looked at Kensi, while hiding his own guilt because of his involvement in the matter, patted her hand and smiled at her. Kensi smiled back and let her breathe out; while Sam and Callen shared a look. Callen wondered what going on between the junior agents, but Sam motioned that it was Deeks that was hiding something.

"Deeks." Callen said.

"Yeah." Deeks said, without looking up from his stack of paper work.

"Are you okay?" Callen asked.

"Why?" Deeks asked.

"You seem off." Callen said.

"And that surprises you because….."

Deeks trailed off while looking up from his stack.

"You seem to be Mr. Popular as of late." Callen stated pointedly.

Deeks shot a look between Kensi and Sam, and then looked back at Callen. Deeks thought about what he was going to say, and then responded.

"Mr. Popular would be bit of an understatement of the past two days don't you think?" Deeks asked.

"The question still stands: are you okay?" Callen asked.

"That's the reason for the doctor." Deeks said, not willing to tell the team leader what the subject of the sessions were.

"And she's a looker too." Sam said sarcastically.

Kensi stared at Deeks with outrage on her face, Callen shot Deeks a questioning glance, while Sam had smug look on his face. Deeks glared Sam for a bit, then he cracked his knuckles. After Deeks had finish cracking his knuckles, he got up from the table and then exited the boat shed. Both Callen and Kensi shot Sam the evil eye.

"What?" Sam said.

"Deeks gets touchy when you make a crack about him being interested in other women." Callen said.

Kensi got up from the table and went to check on Deeks, but when she exited the building Kensi was in for a surprise: Deeks was gone. Kensi pulled out her phone and called Eric.

"Hello." Eric said answering the phone in Ops.

"Eric, Deeks has disappeared from the boat shed. I need you to track him down." Kensi said.

"On it." Eric said, and then ended the call.

Kensi walked back into the boat shed; the senior agents had puzzled looks on their faces.

"He left." Kensi said.

"He left! How?!" Callen asked.

"Not sure, but when I went out there Deeks was nowhere to be seen." Kensi said.

"Did you call Eric?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Kensi said.

"Okay let's figure out what we have going on here." Callen said.

The three agents dug into the files on Isabella Smith.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Three hours later: Ops parking garage-

"You're back, and you're about three people shy, detective." A voice said.

Deeks just stood there and debated what to say. He knew this conversation was coming, and wasn't thrilled to have it either; Assistant Director Granger walked over to Deeks.

"To what do I owe the not so pleasurable honor of this meeting?" Deeks asked.

"Where's Callen, Blye, and Hanna?" Granger asked.

"Last time I check, although they could anywhere by now, they were at the boat shed." Deeks said.

"When was the last time you saw them?" Granger asked.

Deeks check his watch.

"Three hours ago." Deeks said.

"So what have you been doing for the past three hours?" Granger asked.

"Attempting to keep this location a secret." Deeks said.

Granger shot Deeks a questionable glance.

"I took a few buses, and the got off five blocks north of here; and stuck to the alleys as I made my way here." Deeks said.

"Owen, I found the paperwork- Oh. Mr. Deeks what are you doing here?" Hetty asked, surprised to see her liaison officer in the parking garage, and not at the boat shed with the rest of the group.

"Avoiding a trip to the hospital." Deeks said, and then turned and walked away.

"Detective." Granger called out.

Deeks turned and look back at Granger.

"Fire range; five minutes." Granger said.

Deeks nodded his head, and then disappeared in the mission.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Boat shed-

"So what do we know?" Callen asked

"Well from the paper work it looks like the Lance Corporal was on the run from her husband." Sam said.

"That's a loose theory." Kensi said.

"We'd have to talk to Isabella to find out the truth, but this paper work is vague at best." Callen said.

"This is what the doctor gave us." Sam said.

Kensi phone rang, and she saw that is was coming in from Ops.

"What do you have Eric?" Kensi asked.

"Found Deeks, but he's leaving as we speak." Eric said.

"Where is he?" Kensi asked.

"He's leaving Ops with Granger as we speak." Eric said.

"How long has he been at Ops?" Kensi asked, stupefied that Deeks made to Ops so quickly.

Sam and Callen also shared a look.

"Ten minutes maybe, why?" Eric asked.

"Did Granger say what he wanted Deeks for?" Kensi asked.

"This is Granger we're talking about." Eric said.

"Fair enough, we'll be heading back soon." Kensi said, and then hung up the phone.

"What's going on with Deeks?" Callen asked.

"Granger and Deeks were leaving Ops when Eric called." Kensi said.

"Did he say why?" Sam asked.

"It's Granger; it could be for dozens of reasons." Callen said.

The three agents pack up the files headed back to Ops.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Moments before Eric's call to Kensi: Firing range in Ops-

"So what's going on with you detective?" Granger asked as he enter the range.

"Is this a personal debrief sir?" Deeks asked, seeing the classified folder in the assistant director's hand.

"Yeah, and you get to tell me what's going on between you and Blye." Granger said.

"Let's take a ride, sir. Somewhere we won't be disturbed," Deeks said.

"Lead the way." Granger said.

Deeks and Granger left the range and headed to the parking garage. Just as Deeks and Granger were leaving, Eric stepped out of Ops and saw the two of them leaving. Deeks drove to the location, keeping mind that he had to meet Rachel later.

T.B.C.