Chapter 4 – Final Chapter (Read AN on the bottom)

Week 8

By week eight, she receives good news.

At the end of the day, Hetty sends them all home and Callen leaves for one of his meetings with Deeks.

She could go home because that's what Hetty told them to do. But Kensi is not in the mood to do so, for some reason. Lately, her house became a place where her head takes over and that's a bad thing. That means she starts thinking about things she doesn't want to think about and ends up getting sad and feeling lonely. Sure, she has Monty there with her but it's just not the same and there are things not even the sweet dog can fix.

And, after one hour of filling paperwork, she's glad she didn't go home. Callen comes back and easily recovers from the shock of finding her there at that late hour. The man who is like an older brother to her offers her a small smile and sits on the couch. "He's coming home."

Kensi frowns, waiting for him to give her some more details. So, Callen continues. "Deeks told me he has almost everything he needs. It's a matter of days before he comes back home. I don't want to give you false hopes because it can still take a while, but I figured you could use this information."

Kensi smiles, gets up from her chair, and sits next to him on the couch. "I never gave you an answer."

This time, Callen is the one who seems confused. "What are you talking about?"

She sighs and looks at him. "You asked me if I was in love with him. I never gave you an answer."

He grins. "You didn't need to. Your lack of answer was answer enough."

Kensi shakes her head. "No, that's the thing. I didn't give you an answer because I didn't know how I felt."

He nods, more serious now. "You said you didn't know how you felt. Does that mean that you do now?"

Kensi sighs before replying. "I miss him, more than what I thought I would. I miss everything about him. I feel alone without him by my side. At the end of the day, he's the one I want with me. I think I love him. I don't know. I just know that I miss him. I need him."

Callen nods and no more words are exchanged between them after her confession. Because that's Callen's way to show her he's there for her, to listen whenever she needs him to. And, that night, she prays for Deeks to come back as soon as possible and with no injuries.

Week 9

One week goes by and there's still no news from him. It doesn't surprise her because gathering enough information to arrest someone can be a long and difficult task, with many obstacles along the way. She's been on long undercover operations before. She knows the drill.

But that's the rational part of her. And, in the end, that's not the part that takes over her head by the end of the day.

She just wants him to come home. It's that simple and that complicated at the same time.

In her head, she pictures many different scenarios. There's one in which he comes back and things go back to the way they used to be. There's another one in which he comes back, claims that he missed her like hell, tells her he can't live without her and finally admits there's a thing.

Strangely enough, she can't decide which one is her favorite.

If he comes back and things go back to the way they were before, at least she knows they can work together, just like they've always had. However, that would surely hurt her now that she is ready to admit she's in love with him.

Then there's the second scenario. Many things could go wrong with that. For example, they might not even be a good couple. And then they wouldn't even be able to work together.

It's scary and messy and the only one who can calm her down is the one who's making said mess inside her head.

That's why she compromises. She goes to his house and sleeps there that night.

And the night after.

And the one after that.

Because, even though he's not there, his scent is and that is enough to soothe her.

Week 10

When week 10 comes by, she's on the verge of going crazy with anticipation. She needs him to finish the damn thing already and to come home to her. Well, he's not coming home to her but he's coming home and that's enough for her. She just needs him around and the thought makes her want to hit herself, repeatedly.

She's Kensi Marie Blye, the woman who can win a fight against a guy twice her size. She doesn't do feelings and this is borderline ridiculous.

She wasn't even this anxious when Jack was overseas. But, then again, she was a kid when she was with Jack. She's a woman now, a woman who knows what she wants and needs.

And, right now, she wants and needs her partner.

She sits on his couch and realizes she's lost count of how many times she's slept there during the past few weeks. And that's okay too because no one knows about it and no one has to.

However, when she falls asleep that night, she has no idea that, in just two short hours, the owner of the house will come back.

He will find her on the couch, smile brightly, and carry her to his bed without waking her up.

He will pull her as close to him as possible once on the bed because he missed her like hell and she will sleep better than what she's been sleeping ever since he left.

And she doesn't know that everything will change in the morning, once they wake up. She'll never have to miss him again because he's not going anywhere.

After all, he's officially an NCIS agent and will become her partner in every meaning of that word.

AN: Thank you so much for all your support during this story. I know it took me a ridiculous amount of time to complete a story with only four chapters but, as I've mentioned before, I started college this year and I spend the entire day in front of a computer, programming. The last thing I want to see when I get home is yet another computer. Besides, I've been spending most of my free-time with my family and my boyfriend who can only come home on weekends.

Anyway, enough with my problems and lame excuses. I'm starting a new story and I already have a few chapters ready to post. As soon as I have all of them written and ready to publish, I will post the first chapter. Just a heads-up, it's very AU but I've been meaning to write it for a while now and it seems like the right time to start such a project.

Starting tomorrow, my schedule will be a lot better so I will have more time to write and publish. And, as a way to reward my faithful readers who have stuck with my through this lack of updates, I will send a small preview of my next story through PM to everyone who asks me to.

Much love,
Sarah