CoastalReader and justareader07 were amazing in helping me with thoughts and checking this over for me. Thanks guys!

Kensi tied her running shoes and stood up, rolling her shoulders a little. She was still a little sore, the doctor having released her two days ago to return to work full duty, and she may have overdone it when she sparred with Sam. Kensi knew he had gone easy on her, but she couldn't sit back and not give 100%, no matter what. So when she went to flip him over, she felt the twinge and had ended up losing her grip on him, giving him the upper hand to spin her around and knock her feet out from under her, leaving her sprawled out on the ground.

Sam had immediately helped her up and gotten her an ice pack, leaving a grumbling Kensi sitting on the mat in the gym. Kensi had realized that even though she was back, she needed to take it easy when she could… at least for a little while longer.

But today, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful morning for a run. She opened the door and felt the warmth on her face, immediately filling her with energy. She took off down the street, heading for the beach four blocks away.

As her feet hit the cement, she pushed all thoughts from her mind, focusing on her breathing and letting the music flow through her. Before she knew it, the salt air was engulfing her senses and she saw the waves crash onto the shore. Several people were on their boards, taking advantage of the surf. She glanced back in front of her and watching the other souls who were on their morning runs.

One guy caught her eye, the sun glistening off tanned skin that was shiny with sweat. He was wearing red shorts and had forgone the shirt (which she was silently thankful for) and watched as muscles rippled while his arms made the swinging motion as he ran. She let her eyes drift down a little, noting muscular legs and, if she was honest with herself, a pretty nice ass to go with it. She slowed her gait a little, admiring the view a little longer. The guy could do with a haircut, though. Kensi didn't usually go for the shaggy type.

'Shaggy' brought to mind Deeks. She still hadn't gotten up the courage to call or text him. Not that she didn't want to, but it never seemed like the right time to do it. Kensi continued to stare at the man in front of her, lost in thought wondering if Deeks would look that good without a shirt on.

Deeks felt someone staring holes into him for the last mile or so, and he slowed down a little, noting that the pounding of feet behind him slowed a little too. Thinking that was a little strange, he nonchalantly snuck a glance behind him going around a corner and he almost tripped. Kensi was running behind him, and if he had seen correctly, staring at his ass.

His heart rate picked up, wondering if she knew it was him. Just as he thought that, he dismissed it. She had a faraway look on her face and there was a smile on her lips, but she hadn't looked at his face when he went around the corner, telling him she was lost in her own world right now. Figuring this was his chance, he slowed to a walk and turned, just in time for Kensi to slam into him.

"Whoa what the hell?" Kensi's voice was surprised and her hands instinctively went out in front of her to steady herself, only to be met with solid muscle. Her eyes flicked up and went wide and she realized just who she had been following, and now he was holding her steady.

When Kensi had run into him, Deeks had put his hands up to her arms and he hoped she didn't feel the thunder of his heart when her hands met his chest. Without thinking, he started rubbing his hands up and down her arms, feeling the goose bumps where his touch had been.

Kensi couldn't move much less breathe. Her hands were currently on a very solid, muscular, shirtless chest and Deeks was rubbing his hands up and down her arms. She stared into his eyes, willing herself to back up and run away quickly, but instead she was just opening and closing her mouth like a fish. It wasn't until she forced her eyes down to his mouth – which was extremely kissable – and noticed the smirk there that she was able to start getting control of her emotions. 'Damn him and his hot body.'

"You can let go now, Deeks." She was still staring at his mouth, and it took her a minute to look back at his eyes, which held an incredible blue sparkle to them.

"Hey Kensi?" He raised his eyebrows at her, amused and incredibly happy with her reaction to him and waited while she tried to sort things out in her brain.

"What?" Coherent thought was obviously an issue right now.

"I'm not touching you. You're the one who can't get your hands off of me." He winked at her and saw the blush rise quickly to her cheeks as she looked at her hands – which were still on his chest – and quickly yanked them back before taking a step back, putting space between them.

"Right. Sorry about that." He smiled at her, getting a good look at her. Her face was flushed, both from exercise and embarrassment, her hair was slightly disheveled and her skin had a sheen of sweat on it. Everything about this woman was sexy, and Deeks couldn't look away if his life depended on it.

Both of them taking a minute to gain their composure, Deeks finally brought his hand up to the back of his neck, rubbing it nervously.

"So, how's the chest?" He saw the still healing scar but it looked good. Once it was healed completely you wouldn't be able to see it unless you really looked.

"Better every day." She smiled, unconsciously rotating her shoulders again.

"Back at work, huh?" He watched her, able to see the apprehension flash before it was quickly replaced with relief.

"Yep. The doc cleared me for full duty a few days ago." Deeks put on an impressed look on his face while he nodded his head.

"Nice. So how does it feel to be back?" It's like he couldn't move on, and now the conversation seemed to be stalling out because he was too chicken shit to say anything else. Laura would be falling over with laughter if she saw this right now. It would give her years of ammo to tease him with, and right now he wouldn't blame her. His lady skills were seriously lacking with Kensi.

Kensi's face took on an amused look, like she knew this was out of character for him. "It feels good. Another week or so and I'll be able to take down Sam again."

"Something tells me you tried that already."

"He got lucky."

Deeks let out a laugh and knew she was telling the truth. He thought back to what Callen and Sam and told him about her and the way she could kick ass without batting an eyelash. He had already seen that side of her on the rooftop, now he was determined to see the woman side of her.

Before he could say anything else – like ask her on a date – she glanced at her watch and sighed.

"Well, I gotta get going if I'm going to make it to work on time."

"Right, yeah, work. Luckily I still have a few more hours before my shift." She gave him a small smile and went to turn and head back the way she came when he stopped her by taking her arm.

"Hey Kensi?"

She looked at her arm where his hand was, the heat searing her skin, before looking back into his eyes.

"Yeah Deeks?" He took his hand away, the physical connection lost for the second time in minutes and stared at her.

"Be careful out there. I don't want to have to patch you up again." He winked at her again, giving her a large grin and she just shook her head at him, unable to stop the smile.

"Yeah yeah. Take it easy Deeks." She let herself get lost in his eyes for a second longer before giving a nod and turning, jogging back.

Deeks stared at her retreating back, taking a page from her book and admiring the way her ass looked in the workout shorts and the graceful way she moved until he couldn't see her anymore. He hadn't asked her out, but their chance meetings were getting closer in between. It was only a matter of time.

Eric whistled from above, calling the troops up to his lair. Kensi jumped up, ready to get going and Sam and Callen both shook their heads at her, watching her bounce up the steps. They had noticed the good mood the younger agent was in and were both speculating on what could have caused it. Sam put his money on finding a new favorite donut, Callen put ten dollars on Kensi scheming on how to best Sam, and Eric put twenty on new shoes. Both Callen and Sam had just raised their eyebrows at him, but knew saying anything meant taking money out of their pocket.

"What do you have for us, Eric?" Callen walked in last, everyone taking their normal places around the room. Eric was punching away on his keyboard, bringing images up to the big screen. With the absence of Dom, everything seemed off. Everyone was in their respective places, but the open void next to Kensi was painfully obvious to everyone.

As Eric went on about the murdered Navy Chief Petty Officer, Kensi couldn't get her mind off the literal run-in with Deeks earlier. She had been so stunned that not only had she been unable to notice when he had let go of her, but she had been almost reluctant to take her hands off of him. Her reaction to him was unsettling at the least, and she didn't know how she felt about it yet. It was good that she had time to figure it out before she made an even bigger fool out of herself.

"Kens? You with us?" Sam raised an eyebrow at her, a sly smirk on his face.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You want to go with us to talk to the brother or sit here and daydream some more?"

Kensi narrowed her eyes at both of them before muttering something under her breath and walking out. Callen shook his head while Sam outright laughed. Before leaving, though, the boys couldn't help but tease her a little.

"Hey Sam? You think it was the baby blues that got her?"

"Nah. I bet it was the fluffy hair."

"You guys can kiss my ass." Kensi glared at them, using all of her training to keep her face serious and the blush off of her cheeks.

Callen crossed her arms. "Don't be mad at us. You're the one that's stuck-"

Sam piped up. "Smitten."

Callen shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. The sooner you stop denying it, the better it will be for everyone." He checked his gun and tucked it away, leaving a stuttering Kensi behind him.

The car ride to the brother's place was quiet, the guys deciding they had teased Kensi enough for right now. They hadn't known for sure where her mind was, but her reaction to their comments had sealed the deal.

"Kens, you take back, be watchful. Hopefully it won't come to that, but Eric said he likes to run." Kensi nodded at her team leader, getting into game mode now.

"Got it." She reached behind her and grabbed her gun, holding it down while she circled the small house. Before she made it to the back, she heard the back door slam shut.

"He's running! NCIS, stop!" Kensi took off, relaying to Callen and Sam the road they were turning onto. She was gaining ground, trying to anticipate his next move. She looked ahead and saw a park coming up. No way did they need to bring a possible killer into an area with children.

Kensi took a breath before using all her strength to speed up, before getting close enough to launch herself at him, tackling him to the ground. The both rolled, Kensi immediately grabbing her shoulder. She had landed at an angle and the force of the hit knocked the breath out of her. Before she could get up, the familiar screech of tires were there and Callen and Sam's voice yelling saved her from having to kick this guys ass for making her tackle him.

"Kens? You okay?" She nodded at Callen but the words wouldn't come out.

"Eric, call an ambulance. See if our favorite paramedic is on duty and free. I have a feeling he would want to see how his patient is doing now." He heard the 10-4 from Eric as he kneeled next to Kensi, seeing the pain in her eyes and knowing she would never acknowledge it out loud.

Before Kensi could say she was fine, Eric was chirping in their ears. "EMS is on their way, ETA 2 minutes with a certain paramedic on board." She could hear the laughter in his voice and gritted her teeth to keep the sharp retort from coming out.

Taking a deep breath, Kensi sat up, hand still rubbing her shoulder. She watched as Sam zip tied the suspect and sat him on the ground.

"Nice save there, Kens. I don't think we would have made it in time to keep him from going into the park." Callen placed his hand on her good shoulder before standing, the sirens of the ambulance making it's eerie wails through the streets.

"Seriously Callen, I'm good. No need to call the cavalry in for God's sake." She said the words but there wasn't any heat to them, the thought of seeing Deeks twice in one day, no matter what the circumstances were, too good to let go of.

"Well, figured you would be too stubborn to have it checked out at the hospital. At least this way a professional can look it over for you."

Kensi opened her mouth to tell him she was fine again, she didn't need anyone to look it over, but he stopped her. "This or the hospital. You're choice. Besides, I highly doubt you really mind."

The brunette closed her mouth and glared at the team leader as the ambulance pulled up. She gave a heavy sigh before standing up, hearing the vehicle doors open and close. She decided against turning his direction, not wanting to see his reaction.

Deeks hopped out, watching out of the corner of his eye as Kensi stood up, keeping her back to him. He could see the way she was holding her shoulder, rolling it gently every now and then. Just by sight he could see that she had probably just tweaked it, nothing major that wouldn't right itself in a day or two, but he wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by.

Laura nudged his shoulder as she walked next to him, winking at him as they walked up.

"Callen, Sam." He shook the two men's hands before walking around in front of his patient.

"Kensi." She rolled her eyes at him but couldn't help the small smile that was forming.

"Deeks."

"What did I tell you this morning?" He put his bag on the ground and Sam and Callen immediately looked at each other before looking back at Deeks.

"What exactly did you tell her this morning?" Suddenly everyone was very interested in his answer. Deeks chuckled before putting his hand on hers and moving it away from her shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure I told you to be careful because I didn't want to have to patch you up again." He kept his eyes on hers as he slowly worked her shoulder around, moving it in different directions and checking the wound site just below it. Her range of motion was good, and other than a little swelling around the area, which was to be expected, he knew she would be okay.

"And you didn't listen to that little piece of advice, I see. You know, there are easier ways to spend time with me. I've been told I'm one hell of a dinner companion." He wiggled his eyebrows and she stuck her tongue out at him, unable to think of anything more mature. Was he implying they should go on a date?

"Really? That's your response to a dinner invitation?" He put his hand over his heart, feigning hurt.

"That wasn't an invitation. That was a statement of something you've heard. You can't make an observation and then try and spin it to ask a question. It confuses everybody."

"Touche."

"Touche." Deeks looked at her confused.

"No Kens. You can't say touche back."

"I can… and I did." Wow, she was really liking the way he said her name. Usually it was just the guys who used the shortened name for her, but with Deeks it felt a lot more intimate.

"Okay, I'm not going to argue the right way to use that phrase right now. Come on, Urlacher, I've got something in the back of the wagon to help with the pain."

"Did you just compare me to a football player, Deeks? That's not exactly the way to win a woman over you know." She followed the laughter, admiring the way his blue uniform pants hugged his butt.

"If you don't stop staring at my ass you're going to run into me again." He took the last few steps to the ambulance, hearing her snort behind him and knowing he had called her out on her actions.

"Don't try to deny it, Princess." He hopped into the back, putting his hand out to her and helping her up.

"Princess?" She sat on the gurney while he rummaged around. She heard a faint 'ah-ha' and heard the crinkle of packaging she was entirely too familiar with.

"Deeks -"

"One Twinkie, coming up." He whipped around, the Twinkie in hand and watched as her eyes lit up like a christmas tree. He was now sending up a silent thanks for the purchase he had made in case of an event just like this.

"Deeks… you have a Twinkie stash?" She stuffed half of the cream filled delight in her mouth, moaning.

"Well, yeah." He watched in gross fascination as she ate the treat in two bites, enjoying the noises she was making while eating it.

"I didn't peg you as the Twinkie type, Deeks." She smiled at him, thinking they had something in common.

"I'm not." He let his comment hang there, tilting his head at her and watched as her smile faltered. Before she could say anything else, he pulled out an Icy Hot Patch and moved her shirt out of the way a little, doing his best to be professional and not stare down her shirt.

"Okay, this will help with the soreness later on. The earlier you get stuff like this going, the better it will be in a few hours. Keep alternating ice and heat tonight and try not to use it much for the next two days, and you will be right as rain."

He smiled at her before tearing off a piece of paper and writing something on it. He turned back and handed the paper to her.

"Here's my number. If it starts hurting more than normal or something just doesn't seem right, let me know." She glanced down, saw his number there and she shook her head, handing it back to him.

"I don't need this." She saw the pained look on his face and rushed forward without thinking. "I mean, I already have it." Instantly, his face broke out in a grin and he nodded while Kensi silently cursed herself for letting that slip.

"Good to know."

"Thanks, Deeks. Again." He just nodded at her and they sat there looking at each other, Deeks' hand going back to her injured shoulder and rubbing it gently. He had started to wonder if maybe he was pushing the envelope, but she closed her eyes and hummed in appreciation, leaning slightly towards him.

"Hey Deeks. Is she going to live?" Callen was leaning against the door, watching them both jump at his voice.

"Ha. Yeah, uh… yeah, shoulder will be okay in a day or two. She's going to smell like Bengay for a while, but as long as she doesn't make another linebacker move too soon she will be just fine."

Kensi was busy climbing out of the ambulance, missing his touch but thankful in a way that Callen had shown up when he did. She didn't need to let her guard down like that, but every time she was around Deeks he managed to slip past her armor like it wasn't even there.

Deeks had seen that invisible wall go back up and knew he couldn't let her leave like that. Just as she was about to walk away from him - again - he wanted to make sure she wouldn't forget him.

"Hey Kens? If you have it, you should use it." She turned and stared at him, seeing sincerity with a touch of longing and… was he daring her?

"We'll see."

"I know I've heard that before. You can talk the talk, but will you walk the walk?" He threw the challenge at her and was rewarded with a glare, making him laugh.

Kensi didn't say anything else, just shaking her head and turned, hating her weak resolve already and knowing she would end up using that number sooner rather than later.

AN - I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I loved writing it. Leave a review and let me know. They make my day!