A/N: I don't own NCIS: LA, or the characters.
Sorry for it being so long between updates. May is not an easy month for me.
Deeks woke up to Derry playing with his hand. He looked down at Kensi, who was safe from the kitten's claws for the moment. She was laying on her back with one leg draped over his. He hated to disturb her, but he knew she would have a fit about him watching her while she slept. They had cleared the air somewhat, but he knew his princess was holding something back.
Kensi woke up to Deeks whispering in her ear. She didn't want to wake up, but when a little ball of fluff landed on her and started yowling, she figured it was time. She was surprised to find that she had slept all night with Deeks on the couch. She got up and fed Derry, which stopped the yowling. Then she hurried back into the living room, where Deeks was putting the pillows back on the couch. "Deeks, don't think last night changed anything. We are still just partners."
Deeks looked up from watching Derry scamper across the floor after her toy mouse and told Kensi "I know, it will take time for you." Hearing him be so self-assured made Kensi mad. "I wouldn't have you if you were the last man on earth!" Having delivered that verbal blow, Kensi went to her room to get ready for the day. She was irritated to hear Deeks laugh softly and say "I can wait."
After Kensi made sure Derry was set for the day she left to go to the mission. Deeks had left to go feed Monty and get ready for the day after she got in the shower. She hoped they would have a case today, so she didn't have to sit across from Deeks all day and pretend she wasn't looking at him. She couldn't stuff her feelings back into the tidy little parcel they were usually in, and didn't want to test her self-control while she was feeling raw. She knew Deeks wouldn't say anything about last night, but she still shuddered to think that Callen or Sam would ever find out that she and Deeks had slept together, even if it was platonically.
Deeks was whistling when he got to work, but one look at Hetty's face changed all that. She was standing in the bullpen with Eric and Nell looking at some papers. They glanced up when Deeks walked in, and Hetty cleared her throat. "Mr. Deeks, we have been waiting on you. There is a russian cell that is causing problems in LA and we need help shutting it down. Ms. Byle and Callen are going to pretend to be married in order to see if they can flush out the russian agents." Deeks didn't know what to say. He was not happy about Kensi pretending to be married to Callen. "Hetty, with all due respect, I should be the one with Kensi, not Callen. She trusts me more, and after all, we are partners." Deeks looked away after saying that, and missed the small smile on Hetty's face. "Mr. Deeks, I understand your concerns, but Callen is the one who knows russian. That is the main reason he was picked for this assignment. I will take your opinion under consideration, but I think Callen is the one for the job." With that, Hetty went back to her office.
Deeks thought about it a minute, and then brightened. He knew that Kensi wouldn't leave Derry alone for how ever long the assignment took, and Callen was allergic to cats. He strode towards Hetty's office to remind her that Kensi had the kitten now, and to try to convince her to let him have his rightful place beside his partner. Besides, if anyone was playing house with Kensi, it was going to be him.
Hetty smiled to herself when she got to her office. She'd talked Eric and Nell into going along with her plan, which was proceeding nicely. She wasn't blind to the sparks between the two partners, and she thought she'd come up with the perfect plan to move their relationship along. She would much rather them act on their feelings now than be distracted at a critical moment, or on a case. Hetty wasn't surprised when Deeks knocked and asked to come into her office. "Yes, Mr. Deeks, how may I help you?" Deeks sat down and asked "You know Kensi kept that kitten we rescued yesterday, right? She won't want to leave it unattended for long, since it's so young and only been with her for a day or so. And anyway, isn't Callen allergic to cats? I can't see him being near the kitty." Deeks sat back and took a breath, since he'd blurted all that out without breathing. It was scary to challenge Hetty after she'd made up her mind.
Hetty pretended to think about it for a few minutes. She knew all about Derry, since Kensi had sent her a picture of the kitten this morning after Deeks had left her apartment. She had to admit the kitten was cute, and couldn't blame Kensi for wanting to keep her. She thought it was sweet that Deeks was also worried about Derry being alone. "Mr. Deeks, I know about Derry. She's a cute kitten, and she wouldn't be alone. I have already planned to kitten-sit while they are undercover. I've already talked to Ms. Byle and she will be packing Derry up to come over to my house since Callen is allergic to cats." She chanced a peek at Deeks and saw the look that passed over his face. "However, I think that Callen has another assignment that he could be utilized on if you are determined to be Kensi's partner on this mission." Hetty didn't miss the look of relief that crossed Deeks' face.
"You have a day to get ready for this assignment. I assume you have a plan for Monty?" Hetty didn't waste time getting down to business after she let Deeks off the hook. This was a very important mission; one that she didn't intend to mess up. She still had to tell Kensi that her partner had changed. Hetty hadn't missed the look on Kensi's face either when she told her that Callen was going to be her partner. "Tell Ms. Byle that I need to see her when she gets back from her coffee run." With that she dismissed Deeks from her office and started making sure the last minute details were being taken care of.
"Hey Kens, did you bring enough coffee for everybody?" Callen saw Kensi when she walked into the bullpen. He knew about Hetty's plan, and he wasn't sure he agreed with all of it, but when Hetty made up her mind, you didn't change it. Callen wasn't surprised when he got a roll of the eyes from Kensi. Though it stung, he knew she would rather have Deeks as a partner, even if she wouldn't admit it. Speaking of Deeks, Callen saw him coming from the direction of Hetty's office. "Hey Kensi, Hetty wants to see you" Deeks saw Kensi and let her know that Hetty wanted her. Then he went towards the locker room. Callen watched Kensi head towards Hetty's office and hoped she knew what she was doing.
"Ms. Byle, come in" Hetty didn't look up from her computer when Kensi appeared in the doorway. "I regret to inform you that Callen's talents will be needed elsewhere while you are undercover, so I have taken the liberty to change your partner. Mr. Deeks is getting ready as we speak to accompany you on this assignment." Kensi hid her reaction better than Deeks did, but Hetty would bet any of her priceless collections that Kensi was just as relieved as Deeks had been. "Since Deeks will be your partner, do you still want me to watch Derry?' "No, Hetty, I would rather take her with me if possible" Kensi was relieved that Deeks was going to have her back, and that she could have Derry with her. She hadn't had Derry long but she was already attached to her. "I'll tell you like I did Mr. Deeks, you have today to get everything ready."