Kensi sat in the same position she had been in for the past few hours, staring at the figure lying in the only bed occupying the room. It looked like Deeks but it wasn't, at least that's what her mind tried to tell her, but she knew it was Deeks and the fact that he was here was her fault.
She sighed and looked away from the bed and its occupant, letting her mind wonder to the case that had started the chain reaction that led to them being there:
Petty officer Liz-Ann Foster had been missing for two weeks before her case came to the team. She was not overly popular among her peers but she wasn't isolated either. Everyone who had ever had any communication with her thought she was pleasant but shy and 'jumpy' and as far as everyone knew, she had no family – no kids, no husband or boyfriend and no other living blood relation.
The team had visited her home and found blood throughout the entire ground floor and on the lower portion of the stairs. Along with the coagulated blood, they had also found a syringe with a needle attached to it. The working theories at first glance were that maybe she had returned and was ambushed by burglars before they could steal anything or maybe someone wanted inside information, saw her as vulnerable and thought she could give them it but didn't expect her to put up a fight.
Eric and Nell discovered that her real name wasn't Liz-Ann Foster but that it was Kristine Mark. Unlike her alias Liz-Ann, Kristine was a mother and a wife though the whereabouts of her family were at first unknown. The only commonality either 'woman' had was that they were both thirty-five.
After the puzzle that was Kirsten's life was pieced together by Eric and Nell, the resulting picture was rivetingly astounding yet common. Kristine had been in a relationship with her husband, Tony Mark for fifteen years and had been married for half of those years. Her mother or brother did not like Tony or the aggressive and possessive way Tony acted towards her and spoke to her about it, she thought they were jealous of her relationship. Because of this, Kristine who had had a close relationship with both of them had not spoken to them in years. They didn't know she was married to Tony or that she had had children.
She found out soon after stopping communication with her family that their instinctual distrust for Tony was sound as two years into their relationship Tony began abusing her. She never pressed any charges and stayed with him even though reports indicated that he also abused both of their kids, Benjamin and Kourtney, who were suspected to be results of the abuse she sustained. Their relationship only ended after he had left with the kids five years ago. After this she had changed her name and joined the Navy, maybe with the hope that being in the Navy would make her appear less weak than she was before.
After Kristine's life-story had been revealed, the Deeks and Kensi tag-team had been left reeling under the weight of their own memories which had resurfaced unannounced. Relocking those memories hadn't been easy and when she had finally succeeded and returned to reality she had been faced with the concern looks of Callen, Sam, Nell, Eric and even Hetty as they had looked between her and Deeks.
"We know we're irresistible, at least I am, but it doesn't mean you have to look at us like we're dessert," had been Deeks response when he had also notice their colleagues and boss' look.
That response had served to remind the others that they had been conducting a lookathon on the partners. Callen quickly recovered and began giving orders.
"See if you guys can track down the husband," he stated looking at both technical analysts.
Nell nodded while Eric verbally responded. "Already on it and I've sent the brother's address to your phone. I would've sent the mother's also but she lives with her son and his family which totally makes sense considering - "
"Thanks Eric," had been Sam's response as he interrupted Eric's ramblings.
Callen shook his head at Eric, shared a look with his partner and his boss before turning Kensi and Deeks. He gave them a quick searching look before addressing them.
"Kensi, you and Deeks take the brother's address. Sam and I'll take the Navy office, find out how they missed this."
The team began to disperse to do their tasks before Hetty's voice sounded. "Mr. Deeks, Ms. Blye, a word when you return."
"What did you do?" hissed Kensi.
"Me? I didn't do anything, I swear"
"That's what you said last time, look what happened then"
Deeks scoffed. "It was still way better than the time you got blood on your dress and totaled that poor car."
"That wasn't my fault and it was unavoidable"
"Really? So there was not other way to stop the guy than to cause an accident and smash his nose into a pole?"
"I used what was available, was I suppose to wait on you?"
"I wouldn't want you to have missed out on the fun and joy of apprehending a suspect on my account."
Kensi's response was to punch Deeks
"HEY!, that hurts, you know"
Kensi raised her brow in response to her pouting partner but also in response to voices of Callen and Sam.
"All I'm asking is do you think it's a good idea."
Callen sighed.
"You know I'm not saying they're not capable just that maybe they're to close."
"I know what you're saying, Sam, but we both know there was nothing else I could do. Besides, Kens and Deeks'll prevent each other from jeopardizing themselves or the case."
It was now Sam's turn to sigh. "Yeah, but they're not only assets anymore, they're also liabilities"
Kensi was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of the door opening and she was instantly alert even as she saw it was a nurse. She remained alert as the nurse checked over the figure in the bed, only allowing herself to relax when the nurse left again.
Looking at the limp form of her partner lying on the bed she realized that Sam had been right, they had become liabilities.
