Thanks so much to everyone that has showed their support for this fic, it means the world to me, and makes me want to continue trying to write the best possible story I could give you. As I mentioned before I already have the next chapters written so my plan is to continue updating regularly. I hope you all keep following this journey I'm putting our favorite team through.

Chapter 3: How a Man's Peace is Stolen Away

Morning came quicker than expected and the blonde man felt even more tired than the day before. He got out of bed and walked into the kitchen, preparing some coffee and eating a pastry he had gotten the night before when driving back from work.

Taking a shower normally helped when he was feeling this way, but today he felt as if the water was only drowning him and the fog from the heat was only blurring his thoughts even more. He got dressed still feeling unsettled and couldn't shake the bad feeling away. He decided to head to the car and wait until his other half was ready to leave, so they could make their way into work together.

Opening the door he frowned as he noticed an envelope sitting in the front steps. He picked it up and turned it around looking for any kind of postal information, but finding none; only the word Martin written on the back. At first he was confused by why the envelope had been left there and not in the mailbox as it usually was, but he quickly realized someone else, and clearly not the mailman, had put it there.

His feeling of uneasiness only increased and he was tempted to walk back to the house and barricade himself inside. If no one could reach him, they also couldn't hurt him, or so he thought.

Eventually deciding to get this over with, Deeks opened the envelope and took its contents out. His breath caught in his throat and he stumbled when the only thing that came out was a picture of his younger self. He appeared to be around 7 or 8, his blonde curls already long and partially obscuring his blue eyes, but not enough to cover the black eye present on his face. He was wearing a blue stripped shirt that evidently was meant for a smaller kid as it didn't go all the way down. His shorts were ripped on the sides and his flip flops had also seen better days.

A million questions invaded his mind and he didn't have the answer for any.

How had that picture gotten there?

Who had send it?

Why had (he, she they?) send it?

What was he supposed to do now?

He knew he should have been more careful when opening the envelope and should have use gloves to prevent his fingerprints from getting mixed with those of whoever put it there. But deep down he knew that if this was the same person who had managed to spy on him undetected by is team, no prints would be anywhere in the envelope or picture.

The rational part of his brain told him to put the picture back in the envelope and take it to the Wonder Twins to analyze and hopefully point him towards who was behind it. But the emotional and still insecure part of him, mostly governed by his heart, told him he wasn't yet ready to let his team into that part of his past.

Hearing the door open behind him, he quickly put the picture back where it came from and stuck it in his messenger bag.

"What are you doing standing there baby? I thought you were gonna start the car while I finished getting ready…" Kensi's tone of voice indicated that she hadn't seen what had just happened so he was safe for now.

"Sorry princess, I thought I had forgotten something and was walking back to get it, when I realized I had it in my bag all along." He gave her his best fake smile and prayed that she couldn't see the lie in his always expressive blue eyes.

The junior agent narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend, but having no real reason to doubt him, she eventually just smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him along with her towards the car and another day chasing bad guys.

-x-x-x-

After a full day of thinking about the envelope and trying to hide his uneasiness from his team, the following morning the detective woke up startled from a dream, finding his breathing coming out in small gasps. He turned around and was thankful that Kensi was still asleep at his side. Looking at the nightstand and his watch he found out it was still early to start getting ready for work and his body still needed the sleep. Unfortunately, his mind wouldn't agree and decided instead to go back to the previous morning.

A sudden thought occurred to him and nervously he got out of bed, careful not to wake up his girlfriend and, after putting on some shoes and disarming the alarm, walked towards the front door. He put his hand on the handle and took in a couple of deep breaths, gathering his courage and setting his racing heart back to normal. As soon as he finally opened the door, he noticed another white envelope sitting on the front steps. That small piece of paper seemed to have control over him and his heart, again, spiraled out of control.

Shaking slightly Deeks walked outside and grabbed the envelope, stepping back inside and closing the door behind him. He allowed his body to fall back against the door and he rested his head on its surface. He opened the envelope and as soon as he saw its content, he slid down the door and onto the floor, pulling his knees to him and letting his head rest there.

This time the picture was of his young mother. It had been taken one really bad night when the neighbors had called the police and they had then taken it as evidence of what everyone knew was happening at the house, but sadly no one could legally proof. Again a million questions came to his mind and he couldn't answer any. The most prominent being, how had this person, whoever it was, gotten their hands on that picture? And why had it been sent to him?

Lifting his head from his knees, he looked at the picture and was not surprise to feel the moisture of tears on his eyes. His mother was wearing a beautiful blue dress that accentuated her hair and eyes, but sadly his attention was drawn to the blood smeared across it, to the bruises on her face and the heartbreak in her stare.

Worried that Kensi could wake up and come looking for him, he stood up and again stuck the picture back into the envelope and into his messenger bag, along with the one he had received the previous day. Even though he was sure he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, he still went to bed and got inside beside the love of his life. For once, her presence not able to comfort him, as now he was sure, somehow, his past was resurfacing and one unknown monster from said past was coming for him.

-x-x-x-

The previous day went like any other, as the detective made his best effort to hide his true feelings and be the lovable and funny detective his team was used to working with. He was surprised none of them noticed that his heart wasn't really in it, but then again, maybe they did and were just giving him the time and space to clear his head on his own. If only he could do that again this time…

It took him one hour to fall asleep that night, and he was not surprised when he woke up 3 hours later from a terrible nightmare. This time, sure he had woken Kensi up, but turning around to find her contently sleeping, doing the snort-snores that, at any other time, would have put a smile on his face. He knew it was too early to go look for another envelope, because he was sure one would be waiting for him there. But still, the fear of Kensi waking up before him and finding it, prevented him from really finding rest.

At one point he eventually fell back into a nightmare-plagued sleep and woke up to find the side of the bed empty and Kensi nowhere in sight. He ran out of bed, looking for her in the bathroom but also not finding her there. He tried to slow his breathing but the fear that gripped his heart was too strong and he couldn't think clearly. He ran outside, stopping suddenly as he saw Kensi in the kitchen making coffee for both of them.

"Wow, what's up baby?" She had been startled when he had practically come running into the kitchen and she was surprised by the look on his face.

"Nothing princess, sorry to scare you…" He sounded uncertain, setting off warning bells inside her heart.

"Don't lie to me Shaggy, I know you better than that, what's wrong?" She moved to him and took hold of his hand, pulling it towards her lips and kissing their tangled fingers sweetly.

Deeks should have known he would never be able to fool her with such a simple response, and even though he felt guilty for using the past against her, he said the one lie she would always believe… "I had a bad dream and just had to make sure you were still okay…" He looked down and she mistook the gesture for embarrassment instead of the clear sign that he was trying to hide his eyes from her. Knowing that she would realize it was a lie if she looked at them.

"What was the nightmare about?" Kensi knew he hated to talk about these things, but even if it was hard, they both knew talking helped and she wanted to make sure he was alright.

He again felt guilty for lying to the most important person in his life, but he had no other choice. And he found a small comfort in the fact it wasn't a total lie, considering he did woke up from a nightmare, just lying on what it was about. "You know Kens, the usual… Something bad happened, and I lost you."

She was still not totally convinced that was really what had caused him to burst into the kitchen running, but she understood, and she also had experienced that nightmares sometimes, so she decided not to push him for now.

"I'm going to check the mail, be back in a second…" he moved fast towards the door, but she caught his wrist, stopping him before he was able to even leave the kitchen.

"Since when do you check the mail as soon as you wake up?" She asked with raised eyebrows, and with each passing second her suspicions increased.

"Just waiting for something Kensalina, nothing to worry about." The sweetness in his words and usual smile on his face prompted her to move backwards and allow him to go look for whatever it was he was waiting for. She almost went with him, or at least moved to the window to check that was really was he was doing, but they had been together for 3 years, and now hoped to get married soon, and that relationship had to be built on trust, so she went back to the kitchen and kept working on their breakfast, which consisted on heating up some pastries as her cooking ability wouldn't allow for much else.

-x-x-x-

Deeks wasn't sure how had he managed to save himself this morning, it had been too close and he feared Kensi was already suspecting something was wrong. Still his nerves for the possibility of another envelope, and even more for what would be inside, didn't allow him to really think rationally and he walked out, opened the door and closed it quickly behind him.

With the familiarity that came with repetition he leaned down and picked up the new envelope. Again white, with no postal information, just the word Martin written in the back. Scared that Kensi would come looking for him, he went to the mail to pick up the real letters and walked back into the house, hoping to go straight into their bedroom, but being stopped by Kensi as he passed the kitchen.

"Coffee's ready…" Her singsong voice almost made him smile, always happy of the simple domestic moments with his princess, those in which the world wasn't in danger and no one was trying to kill them. Sadly, today, as in the previous week, the uncertainty of whatever was happening to him, didn't allow him to fully enjoy the moment and he just resigned himself to the anguish he was feeling.

"I'll be back in a second, let me put this in the room."

"What is it, did you find what you were looking for?" The sweet concern in her voice, made his heart ache, and not for the first time, he felt terrible for hiding this from her. But until he was certain of who was behind the envelopes that was the only way to protect her… Or maybe he was just trying to protect himself.

"Yeah baby, thank you." He again tried to move into the bedroom, but she again stopped his progress.

"And..?" Her concern was turning into worry and it was evident in her tone. Girlfriend Kensi was retracting and Agent Blye was coming forward.

"I haven't opened it yet Kens."

"Then what're you waiting for, open it." Her tone was not leaving much room for refusal and Deeks wasn't sure how to proceed. Knowing Kensi wouldn't let this go, he took a chance an opened the envelope, peeking inside, and seeing another picture waiting for him.

Kensi saw his face blanch as soon as he saw what was inside and her worry quickly escalated. She moved towards him but he quickly closed the envelope and walked towards their room. She had wanted to run towards him, but knowing the oven was on, she reluctantly went to the kitchen to turn all appliances off before going to look for Deeks.

She found him sitting on the bed, and looking uncertain. The envelope was nowhere in sight and that only intensified the bad feeling that she couldn't ignore anymore. Moving towards him she noticed the faraway look in his eyes and wondered where his head was at.

"Deeks…" But no response was given. "Baby…" Still no response. "Marty…" That seem to draw him out of his head but not in a good way as his eyes took on a scared look and he looked wildly around, before really seeing her. "Deeks what's wrong? What was in that envelope?"

"Nothing baby, nothing worth worrying about…"

"Don't give me that, I know you, I saw your face as you opened it, and know it's not nothing…"

Finding himself between a rock and a hard place and knowing he had messed up this morning, allowing her to realize that something was not okay, he decided to surrender completely to his morals and lie all the way through. "It's just an old case for the LAPD I worked in before NCIS."

She look at him with that look that would scare anyone, the one to which one day he said she looked cute when homicidally angry. But today, he didn't dare make that joke again.

"Are you lying to me?" She knew if allowed Deeks would just joke his way out of a serious conversation and for once decided to be direct and ask the question that was most prominent on her mind.

He swallowed hard, something he would later realize was another mistake and a clear tale that he was in fact, not telling the whole truth. "No Kens, it's just a bad case. I did things I regretted when I was undercover in it, and now the man who I arrested is asking for parole and the envelope I just opened said that they're considering giving it to him."

Kensi took a moment to think about what he had just said before responding. It made sense but still, there was something that didn't felt right; but maybe, hopefully, she was just being paranoid. This was Deeks, her friend, her partner, her best friend, her boyfriend and her fiancé, and he had never lied to her. Quick memories came to her mind, and she realized he had in fact lied to her in the past, but always when there wasn't another option, and when he was trying to… protect her. That thought somehow worried her even more, and she was determined to really discover what was going on, but for now she needed to continue being his supportive partner, both at work and in life, and not an inquisitive agent.

"Can I help in any way?" She wasn't totally convinced, and she was certain he had avoided saying something, but she would accept that explanation for now.

"Not now baby, it's still in the talking stages, when I know more, I'll let you know… I promise." Every word he said hurt, and he wondered if he was doing the right thing. He was almost certain he wasn't but he had already started down this road and it was too late to back down now.

The couple eventually moved in to hug each other, both feeling unsure, but neither of them wanting to discuss it further this morning. They drank their now cold coffee and ate their pastries before taking a shower together and leaving for work hand-in-hand. Both silently wondering what the other was thinking and for how much longer they would be able to live in their current peace.

-x-x-x-

That day the man couldn't control his excitement. His minions had already delivered three of the envelopes, so surely his future victim had to be aware of his presence now. He wished he could have seen his face as he opened his gifts and looked at the pictures he had so carefully selected. The NCIS man couldn't yet know who he was, and surely that would only be adding to the torment he must be feeling. That uncertainty only added to his happiness and he couldn't wait until the day when he would fully reveal himself to the hateful detective that had destroyed his life. Two more envelopes would follow this week, completing the first phase of his plan and hopefully setting the stage for what came next…