Author's Note:

Happy belated Valentine's Day everybody! I hope that you had an awesome celebration, whether it was going out on a date or having a sleepover with some friends, eating chocolate, and watching sappy romance movies *cough*me*cough*. Thanks so much for all the reviews, and here we go!

-C

"Sam and Callen know we're here," Kensi said, watching the flickering dot with unblinking eyes.

"Morse code?"

"Yep," she replied "I don't know how, but they figured out that we needed help."

"Great, so what now?"

Kensi stood up, facing the window and presumably in the direction where Callen and Sam were. She began moving her fingers in a seemingly random pattern, but Deeks recognized it as American Sign Language.

When she was finished, the dot reappeared on the chair and began flashing once more. It didn't last long this time before it stopped.

"What did that say?" Deeks inquired.

"They asked if we wanted LAPD."

"Not until Kyle gets out of here. If LAPD shows up, then Brass will know we had something to do with it."

"Agreed," Kensi confirmed, before relaying it to Sam and Callen.

Again the dot came back with the response.

"Basement. Sam just said that there's an exit into the back alley from the basement. If we can get Kyle out, they'll pick him up and then send LAPD to handle the hostage situation."

"We passed a door on the way in with the sign: employees only. You think that might be the basement entrance?"

"Maybe. It's a chance we have to take, but that also means opening up this door and risking exposure."

"Hey, we just said a few minutes ago we have to move. Now's our shot. If Sam and Callen figured out we're here then they might be using a thermal cam. Any chance they could back us up on this?"

"Give me a second."

A few more exchanges occurred between Kensi and the other team members before she nodded. "We're set to go. They'll flash the beam when the coast is clear, but we have to go quickly."

"Kyle, we're gonna get you out of here, alright? I want you to run down the stairs and into the basement as fast as you can. A friend will be there waiting for you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Marty," the child nodded, eyes wide.

They positioned themselves by the door, and not thirty seconds went by until the red dot signaled the go ahead. Kensi flung it open as Deeks ushered Kyle into the hall. The brunette watched as her boyfriend helped Kyle squeeze through the door and into the basement.

Deeks backed away as soon as the four-year-old disappeared, and they were both able to breathe a sigh of relief. Sam or Callen would pick him up and Kyle would be out of harm's way. Their main task was over, and now they could focus on helping to free the other hostages.

Kensi waved Deeks back into the room where they were previously being held before one of the malefactors caught them out in the hall.

"Okay, we have two options here. We handle this situation ourselves or we wait for Sam and Callen's back up to arrive," Deeks said.

"If we wait, then-"

Kensi broke off as the door flung open abruptly. Although they were caught off guard, their extensive training immediately broke into action. She didn't take note of who it exactly was when she shoved the first guy further into the room and then quickly got the second one into a choke-hold so tightly that he couldn't make a noise.

As Kensi struggled to keep her hold on the assailant, Deeks tackled the other and pinned him fast to the ground. They fought for control, but the blond detective eventually won out by banging his opponent's head against the floor. Meanwhile, Kensi was having issues of keeping her man under control.

He tried knocking his head back against hers several times. Each attempt resulted in Kensi tightening her arm around his throat, but it wasn't going to be enough. Her vision was spinning from the constant impact in the head; the assailant used this to his advantage. The bank robber elbowed her twice in the ribs and then kicked her in the knee, finally enough to make release her grip and buckle. While she was rushing to stand back up, he caught her at the side of the head and slammed it into the doorframe.

Deeks watched as Kensi collapsed. Safe to move away from the other guy because he was out cold, the detective charged at the second man, Calico. There was such a desperation and force behind his movement to keep him away that Calico was knocked into the opposite wall in the corridor.

Both of them had their hands around the other's throat, but it ended quickly. The noise from the struggle must have caught the attention of Calico's comrades, because the next thing Deeks knew, there was a searing pain in his leg and he was on the ground bleeding.

"How much longer?"

"Few minutes boss, and then we can get the hell out of here."

"What do you want us to do about the agents?"

"If they so much as twitch we shoot them- again."

Kensi blinked the disorientation out of her eyes, trying to get her bearings. The voices came before her vision did. When she was able to keep her eyes open completely, she found that her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles secured together with duct tape. Sitting up against a wall, she worked to see if there was any give in the tape.

"You might as well stop struggling, Agent Blye. We already had to shoot Detective Deeks."

Brass crouched down in front of her, forearms resting on his knees. Kensi tried to wipe her face clean of any emotion, even though her heart was beating rapidly. She looked wildly around the room, trying to find the familiar mop of blond hair.

"Where is he?" She asked, voice empty of concern.

"Bleeding. Quite heavily I might add," Brass mocked with an ominous tone.

"If he gets hurt-"

"I might warn you that you are in no position to make any threats. We have your boyfriend. And the kid."

Kensi's stomach churned uncomfortably. Not only was Deeks in serious trouble, but now Kyle was too. But something was nagging at the brunette agent. If they got their hands on the four-year-old, then they would have met Sam or Callen.

"You're lying," Kensi couldn't help but smirk. "You don't have the boy."

The confident smile on Brass's face vanished completely. He grabbed Kensi's chin with two fingers and forced her to look him dead in the eye. "Where is he?"

"Out of your reach," Kensi hissed.

Before the ringleader could reply, distant sirens pulled his attention away from the brunette and to Techie, who was typing away at the computer.

"How much longer?"

"Not soon enough, boss. We're moving over three billion dollars through high security measures. The police will get here before I can move it all. We planned for fifteen minutes, not thirty with the problems they caused," Techie accused.

Brass punched the wall irately. "Pack up, we're getting out of here."

"What about her and the other one?" Calico questioned, cocking his gun and pointing it at Kensi.

"Stop. She's no use to us dead."

"What are you thinking, boss?"

"We have her full name and her agency. You really think people in our world aren't going to be looking for her? Her and her friend cost us a large sum of money." Kensi swallowed with difficulty, realizing where this was headed. "Grab her and let's move."

Brass cut the duct tape at her feet and Calico hauled Kensi up. They were moving towards the back exit of the bank, surrounded by all six men. Kensi tried to peek into the other rooms, searching for Deeks.

"What are we doing with the other one?" Scruff inquired.

"Leave him. The bullet in his leg will only slow us down," Brass answered.

When Kensi faltered in her step, he shoved her forward. They reached the back end of the bank, and Techie threw open the door to the back alley. The men didn't get far, for a dozen police officers were waiting for them.

"Put your weapons on the ground and raise your hands slowly!" A voice ordered over a megaphone.

The bank robbers quickly did as they were told, dropping their various guns on the pavement and lifting up their hands.

"Let Agent Blye go, and lie facedown!"

Brass shoved Kensi forward, growling. She approached the ring of police officers and said, "Cut me free. Now. There's another agent inside, probably wounded."

Brass, Calico, Scruff, Techie, Red, and Sullivan were apprehended and arrested, much to Kensi's delight. They killed two people and Deeks was still nowhere to be found. As soon as one of the cops on scene cut her hands free, she raced back inside to find a certain detective.

"Deeks! Deeks!" She yelled, going from room to room.

"In here, Kens!" A voice called back.

She raced into a storage closet to find Deeks putting pressure on a wound in his leg. Kensi quickly went to his side and brushed his hands away to find minimal bleeding. Sighing with relief, she took note that it was only a graze and that Brass had lied to her about that as well.

"You good?" He asked when she ripped the duct tape around his hands to shreds.

"Fine. You?" Deeks threw her a skeptical look that made Kensi laugh despite the circumstances. "I mean it."

"Okay. Well I'm good if you're good."

"I've heard that before," she teased.

Before Deeks could answer, Sam and Callen entered the room, guns out but kept at a lowered position. Seeing that it was their two colleagues and not more criminals, they tucked them away.

"Are you guys hurt?" Sam asked, taking a look at Deeks's blood-stained jeans.

"Just a scratch," he answered.

"That's great, but you two are still going to the emergency room," Callen insisted.

"Not necessary, guys," Kensi argued.

"All the other hostages are. This includes you guys."

Kensi rolled her eyes and helped Deeks get to his feet. His face twisted in pain, but he managed to limp towards the door with Kensi's help.

"Wait, where's Kyle?" the surfer questioned.

"Don't worry, Deeks. He's safe and waiting in the car. His dad's gonna meet us at the hospital," Sam answered.

"Jason's supposed to be going undercover tonight. Has the operation been put on hold?"

"We don't know. What we do know is Hetty threatened us with her letter opener if Sam and I didn't get you guys to the hospital, so let's go."

Deeks grinned. Despite the pain in his leg and the fact that they were moments away from dying a few minutes ago, he was just glad that everybody was safe and he wasn't the only one getting threatened by Hetty's letter opener.

So, the bank situation is over, but what's next for these agents? Please let me know in the reviews or PM me what you want to see happen! I certainly try to incorporate everything!