Chapter 7

Deeks walks around the house, the house he's so used to by now, desperately trying to find a shirt he could swear he had seen only two minutes ago. But, for some reason, he can't seem to find it anywhere. And he really wants that blue shirt, the one he likes because Kensi once said it made his eyes stand out.

"Kensi, have you seen my blue shirt?" That question seems oddly casual, like as if this is something he asks every day. Sometimes, he has to remind himself that they're only temporarily living together. This doesn't mean they are in a relationship. For God's sake, she doesn't even remember him.

Kensi's voice comes from the kitchen, where she is preparing what she calls a nice breakfast. Bacon is not what he would call a nice breakfast but he's grown used to her unhealthy eating habits by now. It's just one of those things he likes about her. So, every morning, she eats whatever she wants and he eats cereal or oatmeal because that's what an healthy breakfast should be like, in his opinion. Kensi has been eating healthier food ever since this whole thing started, he notices. Eventually, she'll come around. "It's in my bedroom, top of the nightstand."

He has no idea of how it got there but he figures it's not important either. They've been sleeping on the same bed every single night. Kensi says she feels better when he's around and he has no problem with that. His next question is kind of mumbled, as he picks up the shirt and puts it on. "How did it land there?"

Still, she hears him and answers him when he walks in the kitchen and starts preparing his own breakfast. "You said it was too hot to sleep with a shirt on."

Deeks shakes his head and pours some cereal in a bowl. "It was a rhetorical question…Anyway, I have plans for us today!"

Kensi gives him a suspicious look. She doesn't remember him but she still has a great sixth-sense. And her sixth-sense is telling her that he's up to no good. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Deeks seats across from her on the table and starts his meal, shrugging his shoulders as if this is no big deal. "We're going to the beach this afternoon."

Kensi shakes her head and starts washing her plate, done with breakfast. "It's windy. It's not the right day to even think about going to the beach. It's hot but there will be sand flying everywhere."

He sighs and she turns around to look at him. "Listen, I know you don't remember this but I'm a surfer. I've been away from the beach for three weeks now. That's it for me. I would like to bring you with me today."

Kensi seems unsure for a moment, sad even. And her voice is a whisper when she answers him. "I didn't mean to keep you away from something you love that much…"

He wants to tell her that he loves her a lot more than he loves the beach. He wants to tell her that he would always choose her first. But that's dangerous territory at the moment so he settles for ignoring her comment and carrying on like a s if she's said nothing at all. "Kensi, I know you can take care of yourself but I would feel better if you came with me. I know the beach isn't really your thing but humor me, yeah?"

She opens her mouth to say something but closes it again. The distress he sees in her eyes sets off an alarming bell inside his mind and he's standing in front of her, holding her face in his hands, before she even has the chance to blink. Her eyes meet his and the worry she sees in those ocean-blue orbs gives her the strength to speak. "It was Jack."

Deeks frowns, trying to figure out what she's talking about. "What are you talking about?"

Kensi stares into his eyes as she answers him, her voice still nothing but a whisper. "Jack did this to me…"

Deeks seems confused for a second but then his eyes widen as he makes sense of what she's saying. "You remember what happened that night?"

Kensi nods, something pretty close to fear in her eyes. He figures it has something to do with the memories of what really happened to her on the night she lost her memory. "Yes, I know exactly what happened that night."

Deeks doesn't waste time and grabs his car-keys, proceeding to guide her to the car. "We need to go talk to Callen and Sam. Come on, princess."

The ride to the OSP is quiet. Kensi is in silence and Deeks allows her to be like that. There's a lot on her mind and he can't even find the courage to ask her if she finally remembers him. As soon as they get there, Deeks guides her to the door and realizes that she doesn't remember this building. That means she still doesn't remember him.

Sam and Callen get up as soon as they enter and Deeks doesn't miss the worry on their eyes. Callen walks to her until he's standing two feet away from Kensi and scans her with his eyes, trying to see if there is something visibly wrong with her.

When he finds nothing, he questions her. "What are you two doing here? Is everything okay?"

Kensi nods and breaks her silence, her voice still so low that only the three of them can actually listen what she's saying. "It was Jack, Callen."

Callen can't form words, shocked with the hurt he sees on her eyes. But Sam steps forward, looking between Deeks pained expression and Kensi's haunted eyes. "You remember what happened?"

Kensi nods and starts explaining everything that happened. "I was at the bar I sometimes go to when he showed up. He said he wanted to talk to me but I kept telling him I didn't want to have anything to do with him. After a few minutes, I finished my drink and he showed up again. I told him he was an idiot if he thought he could make things better. That's when I got up. Everything turned blurry and I got dizzy. I felt myself fall but two arms grabbed me around the waist. When I recovered I was in that motel room, naked. He was on top of me, in his underwear. I couldn't fight him back because I was feeling too weak to even try. So I screamed. That's when he hit me with the lamp on the bedside table. I heard a knock on the door right before I lost consciousness. That's all I remember…"

Deeks can't stand it anymore and walks out of the bullpen. Sam follows him because he noticed how his fists started clenching halfway through her story.

Callen doesn't waste any time and gathers Kensi in his arms, her tears staring to fall at a rather alarming pace. He tries to comfort her, whispering soothing words in her ear, rubbing comforting circles on her back and kissing her head every now and then.

"It's over, Kensi. We'll make him pay."

Her next words come out slightly mumbled against his shoulder but he can still hear her loud and clear. "He tried to rape me, Callen."

He knows. That thought alone is enough to make him want to kill Jack with his bare-hands. But that's not what matters right now. His little sister is broken and it's his job to help her. "But he didn't because you were strong enough to push him away. You didn't use the usual means but you managed to scream for help. You saved yourself!"

Her sobs eventually dry out and she lifts her head from his shoulder. She looks around and sees that the blonde man that has been keeping her company for the past few weeks is nowhere to be seen. "Where's Deeks?"

Callen chooses to answer her question with another question. "You still can't remember him?"

She shakes her head, unable to hide how much that hurts her and how much she desperately wants to remember him. "I can't. Where is he?"

Callen lets go of her, figuring that she's calmer now. "He left."

The fear and hurt that crosses her eyes, makes him frown but her next words show him a vulnerability that doesn't match the Kensi he knows. "He thinks I'm weak…"

Callen grabs her arm gently and she meets his eyes. "Kensi, Deeks knows how strong you are. He left because he's pissed and probably feels like killing Jack right now because of what that son-of-a-bitch did to you."

And, just like that, she's back to her usual strong-self and all those emotions are transformed into worry. "We need to find Deeks. I don't want him to go to jail."

But Callen doesn't let go of her arm and guides her to the couch. "We're going to stay right here. Sam can handle this one."

Kensi doesn't put up much of a fight because the truth is that she doesn't even remember him. She should allow someone who knows him to handle this.

X

Sam finds Deeks outside, next to the cars and pacing around in front of his own car. He walks up to the furious man and stands in front of him. "Take a deep breath, Deeks."

Deeks is beyond angry and Sam's words do nothing to calm him down. In fact, he snaps. "Did you hear that? Did you hear what he did to her?"

Sam remains calm, understanding what's going on through his mind and knowing there's not much he can say to help him get through this one. "You need to calm down…"

Deeks doesn't even try to calm down. He keeps yelling, a way to release some of this fury without punching anyone. "He tried to rape her. He drugged her and took her to a motel room so he could rape her. And when she screamed he hit her on the head with a freaking lamp!"

Sam tries to be the voice of reason but he's not used to this. He's used to being Callen's conscience. Being Deeks conscience is usually Kensi's job. But she's not here and she can't remember him. He has to be the one to handle this, as much as he hates it. "I heard that too but we have him on custody."

Deeks calms down a bit but his fists are still clenched, his eyes still showing his fury. However, he stops yelling and Sam takes that as a good sign. Bit his next words make him change his mind. "I want to kill him!"

Sam knows it's a low-blow but it's the only thing he can think of that can make Deeks focus on what really matters at the moment. "Your partner needs you by her side, Deeks."

Deeks shakes his head but Sam can tell he's calming down. "My partner needs me to kill that bastard."

Sam tries one last time and sees how Deeks visibly calms down when he says his last sentence. "She just remembered something awful that happened to her. She needs you to take care of her like only you can. You're not a bad guy. Go back to her side and be there for Kensi. She needs you, Deeks."

And, just like that, Deeks takes a deep breath that calms him down and goes back inside, followed by a relieved Sam.

As soon as he gets inside, Callen looks at him. "Are you calmer?"

Deeks nods and walks to the couch, standing in front of Kensi. "I'm fine. How are you, Kensi?"

Kensi gets up and gives him a small smile, meant to show him that she's okay. "Can we go to the beach?"

He nods and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "If that's what you want, we can go."

She grabs his hand and nods. "I want to go to the beach with you…"

Deeks gives her hand a light squeeze and pulls her along with him as he starts walking. "Let's go, then."

Sam reassures them both before they leave the bullpen. "We'll take care of Jack."

Kensi nods, the soft smile still on her face to try to calm them all down and show them that she's okay, considering the situation. "I know you will."

Callen throws in one last sentence, directed towards Deeks. "Take care of her."

Deeks nods. "You know I will."

And, with that, they go to the beach together.

Just one more chapter to go and I actually feel sad with that. This story has been my baby lately and I'm kind of proud of how it's turning out. But that's life, I guess. This story is coming to an end but there are more new stories to come, sequels of stories I never thought about writing and a bunch of one-shots.

Reviews are, as always, highly appreciated. But, even if you don't want to go through all that trouble to let me know what you think, I can still see in the traffic stats of the story that many people are reading it. It means a lot to know that.

I will post the last chapter as soon as I can.

Love,
Sarah