A/N: So, the case is over, now what? I know this chapter is Densi central but I promise, Calleina are on their way! Behold the next part of Alone Together, enjoy!


With the case finally over, Reina felt like she could breathe again. She had handed in her resignation with the CIA and began her posting at UCLA as a research professor in Genetics. The decision to leave the federal life behind was difficult but she was looking forward to being a regular, boring civilian. The guest bedroom in Deeks' apartment, her temporary home, had finally been vacated and the team had helped her move into her new apartment.

Over the next few weeks, she became a part of their little family while adjusting to her new life. The team had spent many nights out to blow off steam after difficult cases. Reina was always invited and she had begun to grow closer to them, in particular, to both Deeks' and Sam's delight, Callen. The two had become fast friends and despite the obvious magnetism between them, Callen and Reina had limited their easy friendship to the team bonding nights. Her presence, and Hetty's forgiveness, had done wonders for Callen's morale. His gaunt, lifeless behavior was long gone, and was slowly being replaced with the witty, resilient man they all remembered. Kensi was still uncomfortable with Reina's close relationship with Deeks but was slowly becoming more and more accustomed to her constant presence.

"She's just a friend Fern, I promise,"

"I told you, I don't care Shaggy,"

But she did. And he knew. One Saturday morning, Kensi showed up at Deeks' apartment with breakfast. He had been forced to slip into Max Gentry for a case the previous day and was particularly upset when she had bid him goodnight at the end of the day. She had decided to bring him coffee and donuts the next morning hoping to cheer him up. The door opened to reveal a very sleepy looking Reina clad in one of Deeks' old LAPD shirts and a pair of boy shorts. Her hair was mussed, and she yawned, running a hand through the brown tangled mess.

"Morning Kens,"

But Kensi didn't respond. She was too busy gawking at Reina, who had turned towards the kitchen, evidently searching for coffee. Before she could think clearly, Kensi blurted out, "Are you sleeping with him?"

Reina whipped around, her mouth dropping open and her eyes instantly clearing of sleep. "What?! No."

"No what?" Deeks had chosen that unfortunate moment to walk into his living room, thankfully however, fully dressed. He was holding a cup of coffee and running a hand through the messy blond mop on his head.

Reina snorted, "Your girlfriend thinks I'm sleeping with you,"

Deeks promptly spit out the coffee he had just taken a sip of. "What-girlfriend-no I'm not-Kens wait-"

But Kensi had turned on her heel, storming out his front door. Hastily, Deeks dropped his cup on his coffee table and ran after her. He caught up to her just she reached her car. Jumping forward he placed his hand flat against the window, preventing her from opening the door.

"Please just listen to me Fern,"

"Why should I? Go enjoy your morning Deeks and leave me alone," Kensi replied coldly.

"Will you just stop for a second? I'm not sleeping with her," his voice taking a pleading tone. Being her stubborn self, Kensi attempted to pull her car door open. He was too strong, however, and he quickly repositioned himself, planting his other hand on the other side of her.

Kensi's breath caught in her throat when she realized she was now trapped between his arms with her back to the car. She flattened herself against the door, crossing her arm to put distance between them.

"I'm sorry she threw the word 'girlfriend' at you. She doesn't understand how complicated our-our thing is. But Kensalina, you have to understand, I'm not involved with her. I had a rough day; Max always takes a toll on me. She came over with dinner, noticed my shitty mood, and offered to let me rant. We spent the night talking and eating those stupid parmesan bites. It's kind of a tradition," he explained with a small smile.

"So-so you're not sleeping with her?" Kensi's arms slipped to rest at her side.

"No," he responded firmly.

"Oh…okay then. I mean not that I care,"

Deeks through his head back in exasperation. "Will you please, for once, acknowledge that you do care? And even if you don't, I do! There's only one person I want," his shyness and 'bad communication skills' as Kensi constantly insisted he had, flew out the door.

"You couldn't possibly want me," Kensi voice trembled and Deeks felt his heart break.

"But I do," He didn't give her time to respond but bent his arms, pressing her firmly between his body and the car. She gasped when his lips met hers. It was softer, gentler than she had imagined. One of his hands found her waist and the other cupped her face holding it determinedly to his. After a moment of shock, she kissed him back, standing on her toes to eliminate the height difference. Her hands fisted in the front of his shirt. Her mind was in overdrive; he smelled so damn good, like the ocean and clean laundry, and god was he warm.

From the doorway of Deeks' apartment Reina beamed as she witnessed the scene in the open lot. Finally, she thought, sipping Deeks' abandoned coffee. She turned around heading towards Deeks' guest bedroom to find her clothes, the grin resting easily on her face. Ten minutes later, Deeks returned to the apartment, closing the front door. Reina had finished dressing and was now walking around with his laundry hamper collecting strewn clothing.

He pouted as he passed by her in the kitchen. "You drank my coffee,"

"Didn't Kensi bring you one?" she replied smirking.

"Shut up,"


Later that week, after a particularly intense case, the team, Reina and Hetty had descended upon a local bar, alcohol and laughs were floating around the group. Deeks, Sam, Callen and Eric were playing a game of pool while Hetty and Nell sat at the bar, drinks in hand, deep in conversation. Their originally occupied booth now only contained Reina and Kensi. Deeks glanced over at the two smiling in relief as his best friend and his partner seemed to be talking somewhat jovially. He turned his attention back to the pool table to find that he had not been the only one looking in the direction of the two women. Callen's gaze was resting delicately on Reina's cheery features. Deeks' mouth curved into a grin when Reina glanced towards the pool table briefly, catching Callen's blue stare and blushing lightly. Secretly, he hoped Reina would finally stop fighting her attraction towards their team leader or that Callen would finally leave his stubbornness behind and make a move.

At the booth, Reina laughed at the story Kensi was telling her about an amusing cover that she and Deeks were forced to take earlier that day. Reina decided in that moment that she liked Kensi, she was good for Deeks. And despite Kensi's possessiveness and distrust towards her, Reina felt that perhaps it was good that her little brother had someone so strong to watch his back.

"Can I ask you something?" Kensi asked, suddenly somber.

"You want to know about my past with Deeks," Reina responded smirking. Kensi didn't respond, choosing to take sip of her drink and play with her fingers nervously.

"I'm sure he's already said this multiple times but, we're friends."

"I know that!" Kensi said suddenly exasperated. "I want to know if you were ever…more."

"Deeks and I have always been more than just friends, we're best friends. I consider him my brother. We've been through a lot together and he's-he's helped me through a lot."

"That's not what I meant," Kensi replied, her brow furrowed.

Reina chuckled, "I know that's not what you meant and I think you should be asking Deeks that question."

"Why won't you just tell me the truth?"

"Because you won't like it. But you have to trust me. Deeks and I are not romantically involved." There was a nonverbal anymore attached to Reina's sentence and Kensi picked up on it almost instantly.

"But you have been in the past?"

Reina's eyes suddenly looked pleading. "Ask Deeks, it's his story to tell. I don't want to get between you guys."

"You already are," Kensi snapped pulling herself off her chair, grabbing her drink and joining the boys at the pool table. Reina exhaled loudly in frustration, downing her drink and heading to the bar to get another one. The truth was, Reina didn't want her past to change things between Deeks and Kensi and for a moment she was annoyed at Kensi adamant behavior. There were things in her past and in Deeks', which just had to stay in the past. She knew that Deeks would never tell Kensi the full truth. He'd tell her about his struggles but he'd never betray Reina by spilling the deep, dark parts of her life. Somehow, she couldn't decide if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. Sighing again, she began on her third drink.

An hour later, Callen could see things heading downhill. Hetty and Sam had already taken off for the night. Eric and Nell were gathering their things and heading towards their respective cars. Kensi and Deeks were standing in the corner. She was glowering at him, and he looked rather irritated. Reina, on the other hand, was still sitting at the bar on her own, a drink in front of her. He analyzed her body language; her shoulders were sagging, her feet swinging aimlessly and a glassy, distant expression on her features. He suddenly realized that she was drunk. Turning to find Deeks, he caught a glimpse of Kensi stalking out of the establishment, her partner following close behind carrying his jacket and a set of car keys.

Callen turned back around and headed towards the bar, easing himself down onto the stool beside the petite scientist.

"Hey," he started softly.

"I think I've had too much to drink," she responded mirroring his soft tone, swaying slightly.

"Can I take you home?"

"I'd really appreciate that," she replied, turning to face him. Her long lashes splayed across her cheeks as she blinked furiously to dispel the dizziness. He slid off his seat and dropped to his feet, catching Reina as she stumbled in attempt to do the same. With one arm around her shoulders, and the other accepting the car keys Reina pushed at him, he led her outside. Her car was the only one left in the lot. Callen helped her climb into the passenger seat before closing the door and walking around the car and sliding into the driver's seat. He started the engine, glancing to his left to find her head resting back against the seat, mouth slightly open, eyes drooping. He smiled at the sight before pulling out of the lot and heading towards her apartment.


"Why are you so fucking insistent?" Deeks resisted the urge to let his voice rise any further than it had already gone. He stormed into his apartment, Kensi on his heels.

"Because I want to know!" Kensi yelled back. They both knew they shouldn't be having this argument right now. It was nearly 2 in the morning, they had both been drinking and they were both angry.

"I can't tell you everything okay? Some parts of our story are not for me to tell!"

"Our?! So you're admitting you were involved with Reina. Also, she wouldn't tell me because it was apparently your story to tell. Sound fucking familiar?"

"Maybe it's because both she and I recognize that some things just have to stay in the past!" Deeks shot back. There was a beat of silence between them before Deeks continued softly, "Fine. I'll tell you what I can. Sit."

Kensi lowered her self onto his couch, feeling his tired body do the same.

"When my dad was imprisoned, things were difficult for my mom. She passed away when I was 14 and I was put in the system," he started. Kensi withdrew in surprise at his beginning but remained silent. "Before you ask, no one but Reina knows I was in the system. And you I guess. It's not something I like talking about. Being in foster home after foster home was almost worse than having Gordon Brandel as a father. When I was 18, I was accepted by UCLA for their law program and I was finally a legal adult. I moved to an on-campus dorm and started school, hoping to forget everything about my past."

He leaned back, shutting his eyes and toed off his shoes, resting his feet on the table in front of them. Kensi remained rigged.

"But it was hard, I felt myself slipping into bad habits. I-I was turning into my father Kens. Rei was the only one who cared enough to cuff me over the back of my head, tell me I was being stupid and then helped me ditch the drugs. I haven't touched them since. But it wasn't all rainbows and daisies for her either. She was going through a tough time too. Family stuff. It's not my place to tell you," Deeks ended firmly.

"So we did what teenagers do, we sought after comfort and…found it in each other,"

"You dated her?"

Deeks chortled, "Not exactly. We've never had romantic feelings for each other but our friendship had…"

"Benefits," Kensi whispered quietly.

"Yeah," he responded lamely.

They were quiet for a while before Deeks found the right words to continue with. "It was just sex, and it didn't even last long. We both realized that our arrangement would never work. We cared about each other too much and couldn't let ourselves use each other like that. So we fell into a platonic, comfortable friendship."

"You have to understand Kens, Rei is my best friend. She's stuck by me, through thick and thin, and she's saved my life more times that I can count. She knows more about me than any other human being on this planet. If this thing between you and I is going to work, you can't expect me to choose between you guys. I can't push her out of my life, or stop being close to her, it won't work that way. But I can promise you that there is nothing romantic or sexual between us. You both mean completely different things to me, but I care about you both more than you know. I don't want to lose you either," Deeks voice was soft and almost distant, a war waging behind his eyes. And Kensi suddenly realized how selfish she was being, guilt and remorse for what Deeks had endured in his past because of his father and in the present because of her.

"I'm not asking you to choose between us. I promise I'll try harder to not be jealous. I just-it's hard for me to accept that fact that it was so easy for you to let her in and that it was the total opposite with me," Kensi admitted, reaching over to take his hand.

He squeezed gently. "That's not true. It was insanely hard to let Rei in, but at that time, my walls were still being built and Rei's a fucking bulldozer," he grinned and she couldn't help but doing the same. "When you came into my life, my walls were rock solid. But you're finding your way past them anyways. You've just-you've just got to be patient with me."

"I will," she promised, allowing him to draw her into his arms. They leaned back against the couch in silence, enjoying the feel of being in each other's arms. She could feel herself being lulled to sleep, his steady heartbeat under her ear. Just as she fell asleep, she felt him lean down slightly.

"Just so you know, I think jealous Kensi is pretty hot."

She snorted at his words before responding, "Night lover boy,"

"Night Fern,"


A/N: Reviews por fa? Tell me what ya'll think!