A/N: Hey guys! Happy Spring Forward! I say that like it makes me happy but I do miss that extra hour of sleep :( Oh well! Here's a little something to help keep you awake today! Enjoy!

Deeks woke slowly, trying to figure out what had roused him from slumber in what was clearly the middle of the night. He heard a thump and realized it was coming from the kitchen. He rose, wincing as his back protested. These nights on Kensi's couch were starting to take their toll on his spine.

He squinted against the brightness of the kitchen lights. "Kens? It's 2:30. What are you doing?"

"Making brownies," Kensi told him matter-of-factly. "Well I was but then I realized I didn't have any brownie mix so I started making cookies."

"Okay, yeah," Deeks' sleepy brain tried to catch up. "I mean yay for brownies but-"

"Cookies. We don't have any brownie mix."

"Right, cookies…cookies are great but Kensi, it's 2:30. You should be in bed."

"I'm not tired," she told him. She added chocolate chips to the bowl and began to stir vigorously. "Should I put peanut butter chips in too?"

"Did you sleep at all?" Deeks asked.

"I'm not tired," she told him again. "Yeah I think we'd better go all the way with these. Peanut butter it is."

"Kens-"

"I'm not tired Deeks!" Kensi's tone cut like a knife. "Go back to bed if you are."

"Kensi," he put his hand over hers, pausing her restless stirring, "you have to sleep. I know the nightmares are bad but-"

"You don't know anything!" she cried, wrenching her arm away from him. "You have no idea Deeks, don't pretend like you do! You have no idea." The tears were falling fast now. "Please, just, please don't make me. I can't go to sleep."

"Kensi…"

"Please, Deeks, please," she whispered.

"Okay," Deeks said softly, unable to continue causing her pain. "Okay. How can I help?"

Kensi took a breath and handed him a spoon. "Stir."

This behavior continued for days. They would go to bed and within hours Kensi was up again cleaning, cooking, or finding other projects around her apartment. The dark circles grew under both of their eyes and Kensi began to look increasingly worse. The few hours of sleep they did get were often interrupted by her screams, which only renewed her insistence that she wasn't tired.

"She's not sleeping," Deeks said as they sat in the doctor's office on Thursday morning. Kensi had been scheduled for a follow up after her initial examination in Afghanistan and Deeks found himself relieved to finally have someone to talk with. He was doing his best but he wasn't a doctor.

"Is that true Kensi?" the doctor asked.

"I um, I'm not very tired," she told him.

The bags under her eyes said otherwise and didn't fool the physician. "I'm going to prescribe you a sleep aid. Have you given any thought to attending a group therapy session? I know NCIS is going to do a psych evaluation but many people find group therapy beneficial."

"I don't need therapy," Kensi said flatly.

The doctor pursed his lips and looked at her for a moment longer before writing something on the pad in front of him. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

He handed her a prescription. "Take this down the hall and they'll fill it for you."

Deeks followed Kensi out the door. "I'll be right there," he told her when they reached the hall. "Bathroom."

Kensi headed for the pharmacy but Deeks passed the bathroom by and instead ducked back into the doctor's office. "Doc?"

"Mr. Deeks," the doctor looked up in surprise. "Something else I can do for you?"

"She's having night terrors," Deeks told him worriedly. "Every night. It's bad. I don't know what to do. She won't talk to me."

The doctor set down the file he'd been looking at. "I've known Agent Blye for quite awhile now. And the one thing I know best about her is that she protects the people she cares about," he looked the man straight in the eye. "She went through something awful, something you and I can't even fathom. She's protecting you Mr. Deeks, by not telling you about it. She doesn't want to hurt you."

Deeks stood stunned. The thought had never occurred to him, but it made complete sense. She was trying to spare him the pain of knowing what she had been through. "What do I do?" he asked desperately.

"Just continue to support her. Show her you're strong enough to stay even when it gets hard. Kensi's strong. She'll come around."

"And…if she doesn't? I know a thing or two about depression Doc."

The doctor folded his hands across his chest. "She will."

His words echoed in Deeks' mind as he and Kensi got into the car and, in that moment, he made a decision.

"Where are we going?" Kensi asked as Deeks took a left out of the parking lot.

"It's a surprise," Deeks told her.

Kensi frowned. "A surprise?"

"Yep."

"Deeks-"

"You'll like it Kens," he glanced at her. "I promise."

They pulled up to a modestly sized home and Deeks cut the engine. "I'm uh, I'm not really ready for people," Kensi glanced down at her Minnie Mouse t-shirt and sweatpants.

"It's okay," Deeks assured her. "Just stay right here. I'll be back."

He exited the vehicle and walked to the front door. Kensi watched the door open and Deeks stepped inside. She settled back against the seat and fiddled with the cap on the pill bottle in her hands.

The next thing she knew her door was opening and a big, furry mass was launching itself at her face and covering her in wet, slobbery kisses. "What the-Monty!"

The dog whimpered and continued to lick her face.

"Monty, Monty stop!" Kensi tried to push the furry beast away but the dog would not let up.

"Monty, hey boy, let her breathe okay?" Deeks hauled the mutt off his partner and put him in the back seat. "I think somebody missed you. That was a nicer greeting than I got," Deeks told her as he climbed back into the car.

Monty shoved his head forward between the seats and barked happily, tail wagging.

"The surprise is your dog?" Kensi asked skeptically. "I thought you said I would like it."

"You love him and you know it," Deeks told her as they pulled into traffic.

"Well he's not coming in my house," Kensi grumbled even as she scratched the dog's ear.

Deeks kept his eyes on the road, but a grin twitched at the corner of his mouth. She might be broken, but his Kensi glimmered in the cracks.

A/N: Thoughts? Opinions? I'll take 'em all! Thanks again to those who have been so faithfully reading and reviewing. You're the best!