It was strange how comforting the sound of someone's voice could be. Kensi hung up the pay phone with a click and took a moment to center herself. She was well aware of the reason Callen had sent her to make the call, she was losing focus, the cover was beginning to slip, she needed just a moment of something familiar to reel her back in. Protocol would have been to call Hetty or the OPS center, but when she'd dialed the numbers it had been Deeks' cell phone. His voice had been slightly rough with sleep, and for a moment all she'd been able to say was his name. A million thoughts had raced around in her head, but now wasn't the time, so she'd kept it short and hung up before she could say any more.

Kensi checked her surroundings before slipping out of the phone booth again. It had been risky to sneak out but it would have been riskier still to stay out of contact. Staying out of contact meant you were either dead or being held captive, and then they sent out an extraction team which would blow the entire operation and most likely get them killed in the process. They'd moved into Hadlow's guest home the evening of the cocktail party at Amanda Hadlow's request. Hadlow had probably already done a thorough background check on her and Callen. He would find a clean record for Elena Montano that, with a little digging, would reveal a fair amount of covered up convictions and charges. Eric had planted a few false money trails that connected her to some very powerful people. Hadlow wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of power and he would be much less likely to suspect her if he was the one trying to persuade her to join him.

Kensi slipped inside the gates to the Hadlow estate and was almost back to the guest house when a voice stopped her.

"Are the phones in the guest house not sufficient?"

Hadlow stepped out of the shadows, a harmless smile on his face, but his eyes were cold and flat.

So she had been followed, and they were probably tracing the call to Deeks' cell phone right now. Fear pumped into her veins and she could only be grateful that it was registered to one of his cover identities.

Kensi crossed her arms casually and pretended to be studying Hadlow suspiciously even as her mind scrambled.

"Do you make a habit of spying on your guests?"

Hadlow stepped closer to her, measuring her.

"My job requires me to take out security measures, when one of my guests sneaks out at one in the morning to make a call on a pay phone when there are perfectly good phones in the guest house, it is cause for concern."

Even though her heart was pounding in her ears she kept her tone even. "I wasn't sure how secure the line was, I had an important call."

"Why, might I ask, would you need a secure line?" He was studying her intently now.

"That's none of your business, and maybe Thomas and I should leave, I don't appreciate being interrogated."

A hand clamped on her arm and Hadlow held her there, his eyes boring into hers. Kensi stared right back at him, her gaze fierce. Suddenly he released her and stepped back again.

"I apologize, but a man in my position must take certain precautions. Please, you are welcome to stay."

Kensi pretended to think it over. "I don't appreciate being followed, I have private matters of my own."

Hadlow nodded agreeably. "I will not order my men to follow you, but I must ask you to answer one more question."

At Kensi's nod he continued "The man you are with, Thomas, why do you stay with him?"

She had him right where she wanted him.

"What?" Her tone was angry, defensive.

"You clearly don't respect him, you hide things from him," Hadlow stepped closer, caressed her cheek, "You have no" his gaze dropped to her lips "chemistry" and back up to her eyes.

She pretended to be mesmerized by him.

"What is it to you?" Her voice trembled on a whisper.

"A woman as beautiful as you, as smart as you, should not be wasted on a man like him." He kissed her. She counted to three, threw in a sigh for good measure, and wrenched herself out of his grip.

"How dare you!" she exaggerated her breathing, but the stinging slap she left across his cheek was all real. She stalked away and didn't bother to hide the triumphant grin. If she'd given in to him right away he would bore of her before she got anywhere. Pushing him away, giving him a reason to chase her, that would fuel his ego and his interest, and he would play right into her trap.

Callen looked up as she strode into the guest house.

"Nice work."

Kensi grinned and flopped onto the couch. "besides the fact that he had his slimy mouth on mine, I will call tonight a success."

Callen chuckled, "you call in?"

"Yeah, I called Deeks' cover phone. They'll probably trace it, his guys followed me."

Callen frowned and stood, peering surreptitiously out the window.

"You think they made you?"

"I thought so, but Hadlow seemed a lot more interested in the fact that I was hiding the call from you than he was in who I was making the call to."

"You think he's taking the bait?"

Kensi shrugged her shoulders, "too early to tell."

Callen nodded and peeked out the window again.

"Turn off the lights," he said suddenly.

Kensi flipped the light switch and they were plunged into darkness.

"What?" Kensi whispered.

Callen gestured for her to come closer and then pointed out the window.

"Can you make out what they're saying?"

Kensi squinted at Hadlow and one of his guards talking. They were turned sideways, which made it a lot harder to read their lips but she was able to make out a few words.

"They said your name, 'Thomas', now he's saying something about 'the woman, connections, I want,' I think he's talking about me."

The men turned and started walking towards the house.

"I think he's going to try to get rid of me." Callen said.

"He views you as competition."

"I don't think he's going to send me off with a friendly goodbye either."

Their eyes met.

"So I tell him I keep you around because you're valuable."

Callen shook his head. "He's not going to believe that, we've got to stage the fight now."

Kensi nodded and nerves began to dance up her spine.

"You're going to be fine Kensi. You've got this." Callen stood in front of her and gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze.

"Remember you're not really alone, I'll be watching as best I can, and we have the drop spot."


It had been nearly two months since Kensi and Callen had left for San Diego, and almost a whole month since Kensi had been on her own. She was making good progress with Hadlow and at last check in she'd confirmed that she'd gotten access to his books. The files had already been transferred to OPS, but they still needed that ledger to tie everything up in a neat little bow and put Hadlow away for life.

Deeks clenched his jaw as they replayed the footage of Kensi walking into a club on Hadlow's arm. She wore a short tight dress, the kind that made her look like she had legs that went on for miles. Hadlow clutched her possessively, like she was some sort of trophy. Frustration gnawed at him. Being someone's partner meant having their back, and right now not being able to have Kensi's back was driving him crazy. One slip up and she was dead. There wasn't any way to soften it up. She had no backup, no partner, she was completely alone. Sure Callen was trying to keep as close an eye on her as he could, but even that wasn't enough if she got into any real trouble.

Deeks stared at the files on his computer screen until the letters and numbers became a blur. He was overtired, stressed. He wasn't sleeping much. They'd had to move on to other cases, people died, people broke the law, and agents needed to investigate those crimes. Callen and Kensi were on top of the Hadlow case and Sam and Deeks were shuttled off to the other cases. He spent his days doing his job, and his nights poring tirelessly over the Hadlow files. Night after night he did this, and night after night he came up with nothing.

He pulled up the picture of Kensi he'd stored on his computer one summer over a year ago, he'd been doing that a lot lately. He'd caught her mid laugh on a sunny beach in Romania, and he vaguely remembered making some joke about a swimsuit optional beach. They'd downloaded the surveillance pictures onto his laptop, the real reason for the impromptu photo shoot, and he'd kept this one. It made him smile whenever he looked at it, he never bothered to ask himself why.

"Kensi know you have that?" Sam's voice came from behind him.

Deeks jumped and closed his laptop, turning slowly to face Sam.

"No, and since we're partners, partners who trust each other, you won't be telling her am I right?"

Sam looked at Deeks for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"I never really felt like we reached that level, which is why I have no problem using this as leverage."

Deeks narrowed his eyes and stared at Sam.

"What kind of leverage?"

"I'm sure it will come to me," he waited a beat, "while you're filling out my paperwork."

Deeks let out a resigned sigh and held out his hand for the stack of files on Sam's desk.

Sam chuckled as he handed over the files and kicked his feet up onto his desk.

"This partnership is definitely starting to have its perks."

"Yeah, glad you're enjoying it buddy," Deeks muttered darkly as he flipped open the first folder.


Kensi swallowed hard as she watched Hadlow cross the room to her. She'd put off seducing him long enough. He was perfectly primed and despite how his touch on her skin revolted her she needed to close the deal. Tonight.

"Elena, how is it that every time I look at you, you become more beautiful." He reached out to grab her hand and bring it to his lips.

She smiled and allowed him to lead her outside.

"I closed the deal with Edwards, he's shipping our product tomorrow."

"No more business, not tonight." His breath was hot in her ear and she could smell the alcohol on him. "Tonight we celebrate." Hadlow said, and he grabbed another drink, tossing it back like water.

Kensi smiled, allowed him to drag her close. He was making it easy.

"It's a little noisy out here," she leaned close to whisper in his ear "why don't we go somewhere a little quieter, where we can celebrate in private."

She heard his quick intake of breath, tried not to grimace when he pressed a sloppy kiss to her mouth. Kensi eased away and headed for his bedroom, anticipation building with each step closer to the ledger that lay hidden in the safe. She turned around to smile at him over her shoulder and beckoned to him, leading him stumbling and weaving to his bedroom. Kensi checked surreptitiously for any of his men that may have followed them and was satisfied to see the hallway was clear. She pushed Hadlow into the room and stepped in behind him.

"Now, let's get down to business." Kensi said, and aimed a punch at his jaw. It had enough force behind it to knock him out, but he stumbled drunkenly and her fist grazed his ear. Somehow he gained his footing and his fist connected with the side of her head and sent her sprawling. Kensi grunted at the impact and rolled to the side as he lunged at her, springing up again to face him. His cheeks were flush with anger enhanced by the alcohol and he lunged at her again, sending them crashing into a side table. His hands closed around her throat and squeezed. Kensi put all her strength and focus into the thrust of her hand and she felt the crunch of bone as she connected with his nose. Warmth ran over her hand and he released her throat to stumble back as blood poured from his nose. In one quick move Kensi swung up and wrapped her arm around his throat, squeezing at his jugular. He twisted and jerked but she clung like a burr until he slumped to the floor.

Breathing heavily, Kensi dragged him to the foot of the bed where she used one of his expensive silk ties to bind his hands to the bed and another to gag him. Knowing she had to move quickly she scrambled around the room, searching desperately for the safe. There was no telling if anyone had heard the crashing and thumping upstairs and she had no idea how much time she had. There was a painting on the wall and she moved it aside roughly, letting out a relieved breath when she saw the safe hidden behind it. Her heart was beating hard in her chest and her breath was harsh from the exertion from the fight. She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing as she pressed an ear to the safe and turned the knob. She heard the first click and reversed the turn slowly, stopping again when she heard the second click. Kensi turned the knob right again and when she heard the last click she stepped back to pull open the door to the safe. There were stacks of money and a few expensive looking baubles but the leather bound book she was searching for wasn't there. She tossed the money and jewelry out in a desperate search and stared in horror at the empty safe. It wasn't there. Everything she'd done, all of it, for nothing.

She slammed her hand against the wall in frustration and blinked in surprise when a hidden panel on the side of the safe eased open. Carefully she slid a fingernail into the seam and opened the panel. Inside the small space a leather book was taped to the wall and she pulled it out, opening it to read the contents. A smile started to form as she read the names and descriptions tied to miscellaneous transfers of funds. They were written vaguely enough that an untrained eye wouldn't see anything other than a few business transactions, but when compared to Hadlow's financial records, things wouldn't add up. Payments made for items sold on the black market, contract killers, hit men, these were written down in the ledger and changed and concealed in his financials. Kensi took a moment to scrub the blood from her hand and then slipped out of Hadlow's room again, making sure to lock the door behind her.

She had to get out, and get out fast. Hadlow's men would notice he was missing soon enough and they would go check on him, and find him tied to his bed with blood dripping onto his shirt. She needed to be long gone before that. The ledger was too big to hide in her purse so she draped her coat over it and made a beeline for the front door. Kensi stopped short as she saw one of Hadlow's guards step standing in front of the door and shot him a charming stepped aside without acknowledging her and she breezed past him.

Just as she was congratulating herself on a job well done she heard the shout. They found Hadlow. She ducked behind a large sculpted topiary and tossed her coat and kicked off the heels. She slipped the gun from the lining of her purse and dropped the purse to the ground. Two men ran by her and she looked out slowly. They were gesturing to the guesthouse and if she ran now she had a clear shot to the high estate wall. Kensi huffed out a breath, hitched the skirt of the dress and sprinted over the grass. The walls lining Hadlow's estate were too high to climb but a fountain placed close enough to the wall allowed her to scramble up and get a good grip onto the top of the wall. She glanced back once to make sure she wasn't going to be spotted and stuffed the gun and ledger down the front of her dress before pulling herself up. She grunted with the effort and her muscles strained but she managed to heft herself up high enough to scoot her torso up onto the top of the wall. A shout had her head snapping up. One of Hadlow's men was running towards her.

Kensi shimmied over, wincing as her knees scraped brick and the dress tore at the hip. The drop wasn't small but she let go anyway, tucking into a roll as she hit the ground. She heard the pop of gunfire and scrambled up, grabbing the ledger that had fallen out of the dress and pulling out her gun. She ran away from the gates of the estate, looking desperately for a place to hide. Her only option now was to get as far away from Hadlow's men as possible. One semi-automatic pistol with 15 bullets in its magazine wouldn't stand up to an army of men who would be much better armed than she was. A car sped around the corner, tires screaming, and Kensi froze. She had nowhere to go but back, and she could already hear Hadlow's men closing in. She leveled her gun at the approaching car, and nearly sagged with relief when the door opened and she heard Callen's voice yelling for her to get in. Kensi darted out of the bushes and launched into Callen's car. He made a tight u-turn and the tires squealed as he sped off again.

She held up the ledger as they sped towards the highway and Callen grinned.

"We've got him." He said.

"We've got him," Kensi repeated and leaned back in the seat. "Now let's go home."


He sucked in morning air as he emerged from the wave. It was quiet this morning on the beach, the usual crowd of surfers were all crowded into the ocean at Malibu beach where the waves were rumored to be the best of the season. Usually he followed them, but today he'd wanted the solitude of sun and water. His thoughts floated to Kensi as they often had these past months and he dipped under another wave, shaking his head as he emerged. The sun was warm at his back and the water cool on his skin. Gentle waves lifted and then dropped him, a sensation as soothing as being rocked. The waterproof watch on his arm beeped, signaling it was time to paddle out and make his way to The Mission.

The ocean swelled then dipped, and with one strong kick he found himself right in the sweet spot, ready to ride one of the morning's best waves right to the shore. He felt the same rush as he always did, skimming the water's edge as the powerful wave surged behind him. He shifted his feet slightly and tipped the board over the edge of the wave, speeding through the center and diving under as the wave broke. He let out a whoop as he broke the surface of the water and when he looked towards the shore he saw her.

His heart did one slow roll in his chest and in that moment he knew he loved her. Kensi's face was unreadable as she watched him walk out of the water. He wanted to say something, anything, but the words stuck in his throat as emotions shimmered to the surface. The rising sun made her skin glow and little gold sparks lit in her hair. He reached for her and when she didn't protest he wrapped his arms around her. She was warm from the early morning sun and he gathered her to him, reveling in the feel of her. Though it pained him he stepped back, met her eyes.

"You're back."

"I am," she said.

They stared at each other for a long moment, him taking in the tired edges around her eyes, the strain on her face. Her eyes searched his, and he waited patiently for her to speak.

"I've never been undercover this long before."

Deeks nodded, understanding. He'd been there before, weeks, months of pretending to be someone else, usually not someone good. It got under your skin, made you do things you couldn't always forget.

"I kept thinking about how we left things, I..." She stopped, trailed off. "I just don't want things to change."

Though it made his stomach drop, he managed to form a smile.

"Then they don't have to."

"I missed you" she said, her eyes trained on his, her emotions so carefully hidden.

It felt like she had reached right into his chest and closed her fist around his heart but he exhaled and managed to hide it.

"I missed you too."

There was another long silence and she bit her lip, fiddling with the end of her shirt.

"Kens," his voice was thick with emotion and love swamped him so that he was helpless to hide it as his eyes met hers. "things have changed."

He saw recognition come into her eyes, watched as panic tightened her face.

"Why?"

"I'm in love with you."

"Are you sure?"

He snorted and shook his head.

"Yes, despite my questionable sanity, I am in love with you."

"I'm scared," her voice was tinged with panic

"Me too."

"What if it doesn't work out?"

"It'll work out."

Kensi let out a frustrated breath and kicked at the sand.

"You can't just say that." She said.

"I'm not."

"Deeks."

He reached out for her hand, threading her fingers with his.

"What's the point of trying to make the world a better place if we can't find happiness in the process?"
Kensi frowned at him.

"We have something special, you don't find this everyday and I will fight for the right to be with you every day until the day I die."
Kensi shifted uneasily and he knew his words were making her uncomfortable but he grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at him.

"I'm crazy about you, and I can't just keep pretending I don't want to be with you."

Kensi was silent, her brow knitted in thought. Though he was impatient he waited for her to speak again.

She stepped back and pulled something out of her pocket. He grinned as she handed it to him. It was a postcard of San Diego Harbor with the words "Wish you were here." Printed in bright yellow at the top.

"What, no naked picture?" He asked, well aware he was grinning like an idiot.

"I thought you'd like it better in person." Kensi said with a secret smile.

"You were so right." Deeks said as he lowered his lips to hers.

The sun shone bright on them as they embraced and for just a moment everything slipped away and they were just two people in love. The day would move on and they would strap on their guns and pin on their badges. They'd make arrests and shoot the bad guys but tonight they would go home together and he couldn't think of a better end to any day.

END