Deeks was wound so tight that every movement was jerky and uncoordinated as he drove back to his own place. He didn't think he would be able to escape her place without making love to his gorgeous partner, but he managed to escape before anything slipped out. She didn't need him to give her puppy eyes as he ravished her and loved every inch of her body. This agreement they had made was meant for her to get all the pleasure. He was more than happy to give her all the pleasure she wanted and needed, but watching her let loose and scream his name in the throws of passion was going to make him say and do stupid things that could very well ruin their partnership and friendship. A growl of frustration escaped him, causing Monty to retreat to his dog bed.

"Sorry, man," Deeks sighed. What he needed was to relieve some of the tension he was feeling in case she did call this weekend. He needed a nice long run. Crossing over to his bedroom he got changed into a pair of running shorts and a sleeveless shirt. At the last minute he grabbed his phone and tucked it into an arm band and plugged his headphones in and got music going. "I'll be back in a while and I'll see about bringing you back a hot dog."

Exiting his apartment he randomly picked a direction and ran with the goal of forgetting everything if only for a couple hours.

KDKDKDKDKDKDKDKDKDKDKDKD

Kensi was still in the shower under the now freezing water an hour after her partner left and the sobs were just dying down. Her brain was fuzzy with confusion and emotional turmoil, but one thing was clear; they couldn't continue to do what they were doing. She needed to end it and the sooner the better. Her cell phone rang from the next room and she quickly scrambled to turn the water off and grab a towel and then her phone.

"Blye," she answered quickly on the last ring.

"Hey, it's Eric," the tech's voice replied. "We're calling the team in for an emergency raid that is going down in twenty minutes."

"Okay," she sighed. "I'll be in soon."

Kensi quickly hung up and rushed to get ready. Only a couple minutes into getting ready her cell phone rings again and she quickly answered it while getting her last shoe on.

"Blye," she answered, the exhaustion clear in her voice.

"Hey," her partner's voice sounded slightly winded and also tired and she sat straight up, her laces forgotten at the moment. "Do you think I can get a ride?"

"Car not working?" Kensi asked, a bit of annoyance creeping into her voice.

"No, uh, I'm about four miles from my car and I don't think I'd make it back to OSP in the time frame they need us," his voice only sounded tired and unwilling to rise to her bait.

"Fine," Kensi sighed. "Where are you?"

"Corner of Hubbard and Collins," Deeks mumbled.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Kensi said and hung up the phone to finish getting ready and grab her keys.

When she pulled up to the designated street corner she noticed her partner immediately under the light of a street lamp. He quickly climbed into the passenger side and she wrinkled her nose at the sudden smell of sweaty man that filled her car.

"Gah! You didn't tell me that you were all sweaty and gross," Kensi pouted, plugging her nose with one hand while she drove with the other.

"Well if you hurry I can squeeze in a shower before the raid so the bad guys don't smell me coming," he tried for light hearted banter, but they both felt the tension in the car and it was difficult to even breathe past it. "I'm sorry I left earlier."

Kensi flinched at his words and continued to stare forward at the street. Deeks couldn't help but stare at the profile of her face and note the slightly reddened eyes and the overall exhaustion that radiated from every move she made.

"I don't think we should talk about this now before we have to go into a shoot out," Kensi pointed out flatly.

"If anything going into a shoot out means we should definitely talk about this," Deeks countered. "We have to have our heads clear and if we're both wondering about what happened earlier we'll be less likely to be able to have each other's' backs in there."

Kensi frowned at the road before giving a curt nod. "Fine. I don't want to do our arrangement any more."

Deeks' jaw dropped and all thoughts fled his mind. He really had royally screwed up somehow and he was trying to think of what he'd done so wrong for her to want to back out.

"Ummm, okay… but why?" He finally asked, his voice a little shaky.

Kensi shrugged but still wouldn't look at him when she answered. "It just makes things too complicated."

"Complicated how?" Deeks asked, because if he was going to resign himself to giving up this new part of their relationship he was going to make sure he knew exactly why she wanted it to end.

"It just is," Kensi huffed, unwilling to tell him about how sex with him, or even foreplay with him, was making her want a whole lot more.

"How can we fix this if we don't talk?" Deeks asked, probing just a little further.

"There's nothing to fix," Kensi said pointedly. "We just go back to how things were before."

"Before…" Deeks repeated to be sure and she nodded. He knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with her at the moment and they were just pulling into OSP anyway. "Fine."

They both rushed out of the vehicle and into the building where a few lingering staff were waiting with all the gear and to help them into it. Deeks stepped back for a minute and said he was gonna have to rinse off and dress in some appropriate clothing first.

"We'll see you upstairs then," Callen nodded grudgingly as they all piled their gear on and headed up the steps.

They were just starting to review the floor plans of the warehouse they were gonna raid when Deeks walked in still wet from his shower but looking more awake and smelling much better. He was just strapping on his gear as their team leader began going over the plan.

"Sam and I are going in this back door. Kensi and Deeks, the front over here," Callen was pointing around the digital print on the large center table. "There's another team meeting us there that will be taking this side entrance. From limited video feeds and traffic cameras it is estimated that there are four suspects in there and one hostage, Lt. Hemming."

"Where's the hostage?" Deeks asked, eyes skimming the plans to memorize it all.

"We're not sure, but we think he's closer to the back of the building," Callen said, circling a good third of the building.

They all nodded their understanding and with the final blessing from Hetty, they exited the room and building to pile into a nondescript van. Sam drove with Callen in the passenger seat, leaving Kensi and Deeks to the back.

"Would you stop staring at me?" Kensi hissed under her breath so only her partner would hear.

"Sorry," Deeks mumbled. "I just need to know that we're okay and we're both in the right mindset to do this."

Kensi's body released some of the tension at his words and she finally met his gaze.

"Yeah, Deeks. We're good," Kensi gave him a weak smile but it was an honest one. It said things may not all be sunshine and rainbows at the moment, but she was going to be at the top of her game for this raid and she would have his back.

"Good," Deeks gave her a matching smile and held up a hand in a high five gesture. Kensi rolled her eyes but met his hand with her own, but he twined their fingers together before she could pull back. "Partners."

"Partners," Kensi repeated, the familiar fluttering starting at the pit of her stomach. Their hands pulled apart just as the van came to a stop and Callen looked back at them.

"Everyone got their ear pieces in?" Their team leader asked. Everyone nodded and on a silent count they all exited quietly, exchanging nods with the other team that was exiting their van. "I'll let you know when we're ready on the other side."

Everyone crept into their positions and waited until Callen's voice came over the com.

"Back door is ready," he whispered. "On three. One. Two. Three."

They were all quick and silent as they broke past their respective doors and moved in the old and familiar methods that were ingrained into each team member. They were only thirty seconds into the raid when the shots began and the leader of the third team came over the ear pieces.

"We've got several shooters on the side," he started and could barely be heard over the gun fire. "Definitely more than four of them but less than ten."

"Deeks, Kensi – make your way over for backup," Callen said calmly and they were quick to obey, clearing each room as they passed with an efficiency that belied their previous state of tension.

When the gunfire grew fairly close they each froze behind a stack of crates across from each other and shared a loaded glance.

"I think it's my turn to go first," Deeks grinned, eager to save her one less trip in front of several shooters.

Kensi nodded and readied herself in case he needed cover or so they could alternate. She only had to wait a couple seconds before he was rising and aiming where she assumed the bad guys were. A few seconds later he was ducking down and then pointed where he'd seen the bad guys go. She nodded before rising herself and taking aim. Between the two of them they managed to take out two of the shooters before they heard Callen's voice over the com.

"The hostage is safe, Sam is taking him out and I'll be backing you guys up as soon as I can get there," Callen said with the sound of his progress in the background.

"We're pinned on the east side of the show and haven't heard anything from the other team in a while," Deeks responded before taking another turn at shooting but only able to get a few shots off before he was ducking again.

"Only a few seconds away," Callen said.

This time Kensi rose and fired off a few shots and that was when she saw Callen run across an open space. She tried to lay down appropriate cover for him but one of the shooters got in a lucky shot that took Callen in the chest and the force of the bullet pulled him to the floor hard. She quickly ducked as the fire returned in her direction and she looked over at her partner.

"Callen's down and out in the open," Kensi said just loud enough for him to hear. "Callen? Callen?"

She tried him over the com but there was no response.

"Crap!" Kensi muttered. "Cover me."

Before she could chicken out, she made a mad dash for Callen, ducking between crates and columns until she was just a few feet away and felt the sting of a graze along her arm, followed quickly by a sharp pain in the middle of her torso that knocked her unwillingly to the ground where darkness enveloped her.

Deeks watched his partner go down with silent horror before he was talking over the com. "SAM? Callen and Kensi are down, where the hell are you?"

"I'm on my way in now," Sam said. "Hold tight and cover them."

Deeks wanted to tell him 'duh', of course he was going to cover them, but instead he focused on the task at hand as each moment passed and felt his chest grow tighter and tighter, not knowing the status of his partner. The men took a few attempts at dragging Callen away and Deeks would open fire on them to ward them off, but then they got smarter and would lay cover of their own until Callen was out of sight and there only lay his partner on the concrete.

"Sam, hurry! They have Callen!" Deeks said over the com, trying to edge his way closer to his own partner and to possibly see where they were going with Callen. On one sprint across a gap he noticed a man standing over his partner with the gun pointed down at her head and he lost all rational thought as he stood stalk still and opened fire on the man, taking him in the head. He was still for a moment too long though because he felt a bullet graze his thigh before he could duck back down. The pain was negligible as he continued to work his way closer to his partner, until the gun fire slowed to a stop and he was by her side. "Kensi…"

He breathed her name and brushed the hair from her face, but she remained unresponsive. He went into action checking for a pulse and breathing of which he found both to his relief before he worked on taking her bullet proof vest off. The last flap stuck at the front until he forcefully tugged it free and took the bullet with it. He tugged her bloodied t-shirt up just high enough to see the wound in question and sighed with relief when it appeared to be shallow and mostly bruising.

"Kensi will be okay," Deeks said over the com. "Have you found Callen?"

"That's a negative," Sam said, clearly out of breath from searching the place as quickly as possible. "Eric, I need know what the cameras around here have and the satellite video of the area. They took Callen."

"Already on it guys," came Eric's voice over the coms. "Does Kensi need an ambulance?"

"No," Kensi choked out through a grimace as she became more aware of her surroundings. "Kensi's fine. Just needs a beer."

No one laughed at her joke and if anything Deeks' face grew more concerned.

"Where's Callen?" She asked, looking around to where she thought she had last seen him.

"They've taken him," Deeks frowned but then moved a hand to her shoulder before she could get up. "Not so fast, partner. Let's do this slowly so you don't make anything worse. You did take a bullet."

"Bullet, schmullet. We need to help find Callen," Kensi huffed, already fighting against him to sit up. When she managed sitting up a long hiss broke through her teeth at the pain radiating through her torso.

"See…" Deeks' voice was anything but smug when he helped her remain sitting up.

"Looks like I wasn't the only one shot," Kensi murmured, taking in the blood stains on her partner's left thigh.

"Just a graze," Deeks brushed off her concern.

"Sure," she replied, clearly not believing him for a second.

"Alright, how many ambulances am I sending out?" Eric asked, his voice filled with worry.

"We should look for the other team before saying anything," Kensi responded for them.

Deeks nodded grudgingly, knowing he wasn't going to be able to convince her to sit this one out if Callen's life was on the line. He helped her to her feet and cringed when her face contorted with pain before going back to neutral. When they started searching for their fallen comrades from the other unit, Deeks refused to leave her side even for a moment as they confirmed that they had two dead and one unconscious. It was becoming more and more apparent that this was a trap to capture their team leader.

The team spent the next twenty four hours chasing down leads on the vehicle, a facial recognition and the entire family associated with that person but it all just led to dead ends. Finally, Hetty ordered them all to go home and rest. Every one of them argued at once until Hetty agreed to let them sleep at OSP so that they could be on hand for any further developments.

"But I expect you to actually sleep and for more than a couple hours," Hetty warned and this time no one dared to argue.

Deeks tugged his partner by the arm to a more remote alcove where a single couch and coffee table were set up. It was dead silent and Deeks shut the area lights off before pulling her onto the sofa.

"Wha?" Kensi asked, her brain slowing down to the speed of frozen molasses from exhaustion.

"We're just gonna get a quick nap in," Deeks said, already stretching out along the back of the couch and pulling her down with him. "I promise I won't try anything, Fern."

Kensi snorted, but it was halfhearted. "You wish you could," she mumbled before yawning.

"You know I do," Deeks countered softly, kissing the top of her head as she snuggled into his warmth. He felt her relax just moments before her breathing deepened and she was asleep. Deeks fought the urge to squeeze her closer to him to reassure himself that she was alive and here with him. The last twenty four hours had only served to prove to him that he couldn't just be partners with his best friend. She was definitely the one and there was no denying it anymore. But how was he going to get her to see that?

A/N: I know… I couldn't help it. This chapter wrote itself again and I've neglected survival yet again, though I do at least have that one started. I will of course be tempted to write another chapter for this one, but I will do my best to focus on the other. So I get extra reviews for being so quick on the update? :D