Chapter 4.1: Paradiso Canto VIIII
It had been two weeks since Nell left the hospital. Her pain had subsided, her boot was gone, and all in all she felt much better. She still had nightmares but thankfully they were few and far between. The last one was a few nights ago but all Eric had to do was whisper in her ear that he was there and she was safe and she was able to sleep again. Nate had been coming by daily to talk to her. A few days he talked with them together. Eric for the most part would go to work but Hetty gave him a reduced schedule so he wasn't gone all day. He woke up one morning finding her curled up in a ball next to him. Slowly he freed his arm from under her, trying not to wake her. He put his clothes on and grabbed his phone. He shot a quick text.
"Hey, are you awake?"
A moment later his phone beeped.
"Yea, just got up. Everything ok?"
"Can you meet me at the boardwalk near Nell's place? I need to talk to you"
"Sure. Give me 20 min"
Eric grabbed the small note pad and wrote a quick note. Went to go run some errands. I'll be back soon. I love you. Eric. He placed it by the nightstand and left the apartment. He walked a few blocks to the beach and sat down in the sand. After a few minutes Deeks walked up and sat down next to him. "What's on your mind that is so important we are not hitting those swells, man?" Deeks said watching the waves. "Got too much going on right now. That is why I need to talk to you." Eric said. "Fire away." Deeks said. "When did you and Kensi decide to take your relationship to the next level? Decide to be more than just partners?" Eric asked, watching the waves crash into the shore. "I don't know, man. It just came to us. We had grown attracted to each other and then I finally decided to stop thinking and start doing. That is when I kissed her for the first time. Then we had the Non Taco Date and I again decided to stop thinking and start doing so I told her that I wanted to be at my apartment with her and then we left without ordering or anything. That is the key, stop thinking and start doing. Christmas we both decided to do it and that is why we went public. As Kens put it "We wanted to be bold, together". What has got you thinking?" Deeks asked. "A month ago I thought I was going to lose the most important person in my life. I look back over my life at the times when I was the happiest and all I see is her. The kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas two years ago when you guys were on the carrier, the trip to her parents last Christmas, all of it, every happy memory for the past 4 years since she came to LA have all involved her." Eric said. He reached into the pocket of the shirt he was wearing. "I made a call into Kelly at the 5-0 task force we worked with a few years ago. I had him find a unique ring made in Hawaii. He found one for me." Eric pulled out a small box and handed it to Deeks. It was the shape of a Lotus with a rotating top. He opened it and saw the ring. It was black with a ring of diamonds around it. Various flowers were etched into the sides of the ring. Deeks whistled. "How much did this set you back?" He said. "Don't ask." Eric said. "It's obvious you have been thinking about this for a long time. Now the question is this. Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?" Deeks said. "I guess myself" Eric said. "Buddy, stop thinking and just do it. It doesn't matter when, or where. Just do it when it feels right. You will know."Deeks said standing up and squeezing Eric's shoulder.
The next 3 parts are really just all one big chapter that I split up because of one scene was going to need to be rated differently. I referenced Kelly and the 5-0 Task force after watching the crossover as well as reading into the show since I decided I wanted to start watching it soon. I really wanted to play off Deeks and Eric being really close because of their shared interests. This bit was a trip down memory lane, references more then a few episodes. The chapter title is a reference to the Divine Comedy by Dante. Specifically the third part Paradiso (Paradise) Canto VIIII (Chapter 9). That chapter deals with the sphere of heaven related to lovers and is based on Venus