Huge massive thank you to justareader07 and CoastalReader for their help and ideas.

Hope y'all enjoy!


Jose sat at the bar, slowly sipping his beer as he checked out the beautiful women around him. He had been out of prison for a week now, and he was relishing in his freedom. He had hated every second of the time he spent in his cell, vowing everyday that somehow, someway he would get his revenge.

He took another glance around the room, wondering which lucky lady would be selected tonight for some fun when he noticed a very familiar figure walk in the door. He watched out of the corner of his eye, making sure they couldn't see his face, as the woman and three men walked over to a booth on the other side of the bar. Another blonde haired man who had been sitting at the bar spotted them too and got up, taking his beer to join the table.

Well, well, well. It looked like his plans for revenge had just fallen into his lap. He gave a sinister smile before turning to his left a little, able to keep an eye on them without outright staring. He didn't want to get caught before the fun could get started. Oh yes, this would be interesting indeed. He had some time to figure out how to pull this off, but he knew there wouldn't be another opportunity like this so it had to work.


Kensi sat at her desk, pretending to work while her mind was a million miles away. It had been a few days since the double run in with Deeks, and she still hadn't contacted him. He had thrown out the dare at her, and she was too hard headed to do anything about it.

On one hand, there was a reason she was closed off. She had been through a lot in her thirty years, and heartache was the one lesson she had taken from everything. Everyone that meant something to her ended up leaving her, and her heart couldn't take that again. She had a select few people she let into her tightly constructed walls, but even then it was only so much, only allowing small tidbits of info.

On the other hand, she had always had the little girl dream of a happily ever after. And she had almost had it. But her prince charming had ran away from her instead of to her when there was trouble. Years later, she could look back and be grateful for that, showing her that Jack wasn't the one for her, but then again it had devastated her. And even after she swore off men after that, her heart still held onto the dream. And something was telling her that Deeks, this moppy haired confusing mess of a man, well he might be worth the risk.

"Just pick up the phone, Kens." Callen was sitting next to her, his eyes never leaving the paper while he wrote something down.

"What? I - I uh… no idea what you're talking about." She had started stuttering in the middle of it, unaware that she had been so transparent with her thoughts.

Callen never looked up. "Do it or I will." His eyes quickly flicked to hers before back down towards the paperwork he was filling out.

"Kiss my ass, Callen." Her companion chuckled, but saw her reaching for her phone. He was all for them taking their time, but this stubbornness was getting ridiculous. You could cut the tension with a knife when they were near each other, and it was about time one of them stepped up to the plate.

Kensi sat there, phone in hand, trying to figure out what to say. Who knew it was this hard to send a text?! She took a breath and sent the only thing that didn't sound stupid.

Hey.

"About time." Callen had a smirk on his face as he watched Kensi throw the phone back on her desk.

"Shut up." She didn't look at him, but she had a small smile on her face now that she had actually sent the message. A minute later, her phone vibrated.

Hey.

Before she could type back a reply (what the hell did she say next!?), another message popped up.

I see you CAN walk the walk. : )

Oh, now that she could definitely respond to. Just as she was about to fire back with something extremely witty, Eric blew the shrill whistle. With a heavy sigh, she stood up and put her phone in her back pocket, planning out her reply when she had a minute to do it.


It had been seven hours since Deeks had sent Kensi his reply. He had been shocked and very pleased when his phone had beeped, and his response had been meant to be playful and teasing, but he was quickly regretting it. He still hadn't heard back from her, and he hoped she hadn't taken offense.

He was way over-thinking this. She's a federal agent, something probably came up. Of course, that was it. She was busy. But too busy to send something back to him? Deeks gave a heavy sigh and put his head on the table.

It was a slower day today, and slower days meant a more nosy Laura.

"What's going on over there, huh? I see the wheels turning, and the worried look on your face tells me that you think you did something wrong." She waited patiently, knowing he would talk if she gave him the time to do it.

"How hard is it to send back a text message?" She could tell by the look on his face when he raised it he was serious, and she held back her laugh.

"Here we go," Laura muttered. He was about to let loose.

"I mean really, a simple message. 'I'm busy.' 'TTYL.' 'I think you're amazing and would love to continue this conversation but work beckons.' I'm an easy guy, I'd go for a simple 'bye' but no, I get nothing." He laid his head back on the table, knowing he acting like a child but unable to stop himself.

"Start from the beginning. I have a good idea what happened, but you know what they say about assuming."

"I don't want to talk about it." His words were muffled as he kept his head down. Laura went to the bathroom and wet a washcloth before returning and throwing it at him, hitting him in the head.

"Bingo!" She let out a whoop of laughter while Deeks sat up and grabbed the offending weapon and launched it at her. Laura could see that move coming from a mile away and dodged it easily, doing a victory dance around the table.

"I don't know how that saint of man lives with you." Deeks was smiling at her, appreciating her efforts to both get him to talk and make him laugh.

"Ha! You're a man, of course you take his side. And for your information that statement should be switched around." Deeks was laughing at her, knowing those two were made for each other.

"So… talk to me. From the beginning, not random mumbles."

"Kensi texted me this morning." Laura's eyes lit up at this piece of info. She had figured this was what he was talking about, but really when it came to Deeks, it could have been anything.

"So that's good news, right?"

"Yeah… I guess… I mean… I replied. And replied again with 'I see you can walk the walk' thinking it was funny. But she didn't respond."

"Ah. I see what's going on here. You've suddenly turned into a hormonal teenage girl who stares at their phone willing it to ring. Or in this case chirp."

"That annoying sister thing is coming back." Laura laughed at the glare she was getting but it didn't phase her.

"I'll be serious, just hear me out. She's working now, right?" She continued once Deeks nodded in response. "And when you are working and a call comes in, you put your time and focus on the problem at hand, using your training and knowledge to diagnose correctly and give the right initial treatment, correct?"

Deeks sighed, knowing she was right and hating her for it. "Yeah."

"So, it's safe to say that if she's at work, and they got a case, she needs to put her time and energy into the case, and make sure she stays safe out there. Cut the girl some slack. She texted you first. That's huge!" She gave an encouraging thumbs up at him, and he shook his head laughing.

"I hate it when you use your logic, woman."

"Better to use my logic than sit here wallowing in a sick form of self pity that has nothing to do with anything."

Deeks looked at her, confusion on his face. "I see what you're trying to say there, but sometimes the way you say things just doesn't make sense."

Before Laura could reply, Deeks' phone chirped. He reached for it so fast he fell out of his chair, making Laura laugh so hard she had to sit down before she fell, too.

Deeks laid on the floor, phone in hand and a smile on his face. It wasn't the one he was hoping for, but it was almost as good.


Callen opened to door to the bar, letting Kensi, Sam and Eric walk in first. It had been a long day for everyone, a case coming in that had taken everyone's complete time and attention. A Naval Commander's daughter had gone missing, but the team had done what they did best, and the girl had been found alive and well and the bad guys behind bars. It was always good to finish the day on a happy ending.

They were lucky it hadn't taken as long as it could have, and Callen had invited the team out for drinks on him for a job well done.

Kensi spied a large booth that was open and immediately went towards it, letting Callen go get the first round. Eric slid in to the middle, followed by Sam who had left enough room for Callen when he got back. Kensi was scooting into the booth too when she felt another body slide up to hers.

"Hey Princess." Kensi pursed her lips together at his voice, suddenly very aware of his closeness. She turned her head and looked at him, letting a smile form.

"Hey Deeks."

Callen walked up to the table then, beers in hand. As he placed them all on the table, he glanced at Deeks.

"Glad you could make it." Deeks smiled, shaking the man's hand.

"Got off my shift about an hour ago. Offer was too tempting to pass up." He glanced at Kensi before looking back at him. "So, what are we celebrating?"

Callen held his beer up as the others followed suit. "A job well done." Everyone said it after him, clinking their beers together and taking a swig.

"Long day?" Deeks was looking at Kensi, seeing for the first time the tiredness in her eyes.

"Yeah, it got really hectic right after you sent the text. Sorry for not responding back." Deeks just shrugged his shoulder at her, relief that Laura had been right but not wanting to let it show.

"No worries. I figured you got busy." Oh yeah, he could play it cool when he needed to and gave himself an internal high five.

The rest of the night went smoothly, everyone taking advantage of Callen's generosity. A few hours later, Eric made his exit stating he had a game waiting on him. Sam and Callen made their way out next, Sam getting home to his family and Callen doing whatever enigmatic thing Callen did after work.

"And then there were two." They had the entire booth to themselves now, but they were still sitting close together. Over the course of the night, the two had gravitated closer and closer until their legs touched.

Kensi had been enjoying the camaraderie between everyone and had been slightly thrown off when she felt heat next to her thigh. The space between them - or lack of space - had almost thrown her off but his proximity had actually been calming to her. Usually when someone got that close to her it put her on the edge, but with Deeks, it had the opposite effect.

"And then there were two." She repeated the words, taking another sip of her beer. She had been holding steady all night, wanting to make sure she would be able to drive home. She noticed Deeks had only had a few as well, and she was happy she wouldn't have to worry about him getting home okay.

"So… feel better now after the day you had?" Deeks watched her, unable to tear his eyes away from hers. He had enjoyed spending time with her and the team this evening, and he could tell that Kensi was comfortable with him being there.

"Actually, yes."

"You sound surprised." Kensi thought about it for a minute.

"Yeah, I guess I am. I'm uh… glad that Callen invited you tonight... and that you came." Deeks smiled, his grin wide.

"Me too." Silence followed before Kensi broke the eye contact, looking around.

"Everything okay?" Deeks tilted his head at her.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just need to find the bathroom."

Deeks scooted out and put his hand out to her, the electricity sparking when she took it. He helped her out and was reluctant to let go before turning a little.

"You go do your business, I'm going to close my tab." She nodded at him and walked off while Deeks went to the bar. While standing there waiting for the bartender, he noticed the guy on the barstool towards the end watching Kensi. Well, he couldn't blame the guy.

As he was pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, he smelled horrible perfume before an arm draped around his shoulders.

"Don't tell me you're leaving so soon." A well endowed redhead had sidled up next to him and was now draping herself on him. It took everything Deeks had not to start gagging at the overwhelming smell.

"Yeah, uh… " Before he could say anything else, Kensi walked up.

"Hey honey. You ready to get out of here?"

"Oh hey Fern. I was hoping you wouldn't take long." He gracefully got out from under the redhead and put his arm around Kensi, silently telling her thank you.

"You know me, I pee fast." She smiled at Deeks, wrapping her arms around his middle and looking at the other female.

"The line is gone if you needed to use the head."

"The what?" The other woman had been staring daggers at Kensi and was now thoroughly confused by her words.

"Bathroom." Deeks said it as he paid for the drinks and wrapped his arm back around Kensi.

'Well, it was nice chatting, but we have to get home. The dog will poop everywhere if we don't take him out soon, and I'm on cleanup duty tonight. You know how that goes. Keep the little lady happy, and she makes sure her man is happy." He winked at the shocked look on the redhead's before turning and walking out, loving the feeling of having Kensi in his arms, even if it was an act.

Once they got outside, the reluctantly let go of each other. The night had gotten cooler and Kensi suddenly missed his warmth. They silently walked to her car, Kensi stopping and leaning back against the driver's side door.

"I had fun tonight, Deeks. We should do this again."

Deeks smiled at her, figuring this was as good a time as any.

"Yeah, we should. How um… what I mean… wow this went so much better in my head. Do you think next time we could make it a date?" He raised his eyebrows a little, hoping he hadn't misread the looks and touches throughout the night.

Kensi was just about to open her mouth when a man stepped out of the shadows, hitting Deeks in the back of the head with a tire iron and quickly using Kensi's shocked state to punch her, knocking her to the ground. She went to roll and grab her gun, but another man was there and before she knew it, he had put a bag over her head and tied her hands up before doing the same to her feet.

She heard a vehicle pull up and a door slam before another opened, and then felt arms picking her up, throwing her in the back with Deeks and taking off. She started wiggling around, trying to loosen something up before she felt a kick to her ribs and another punch to her face. She tried to stay awake, but it became too much and she let herself drift off into the waiting blackness, hoping she and Deeks would be okay.


AN - leaving a review means the world you guys. Please let me know what you thought! Don't worry, good stuff coming up. :)