Come True

By: Michelle Rose Landau

Summary: A perfect apology B-Day cake sets off an argument, and as a result, wishes are made.

Pairing: Deeks/Kensi

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: Los Angeles, nor any of its characters. They are the sole creative property of CBS.

A/N: Glad to be posting this after so long. Been extremely busy. This chapter is longer than the others, but something tells me that those of you who've been waiting for so long won't mind! Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. They are very much appreciated, and I cannot thank you all enough! On a more somber note: with all of the things happening in our country right now, I'm sure that like me, most of you view writing for this site or any other as an escape, a much appreciated art, and still a very valid form of communicating different, and sometimes difficult ideas, through characters we've come to love and watch every week. This should not be a place to cut each other down, we get enough of that away from this place. Be fair, be just, be at peace, and write on. Thank you, bless you, and enjoy.

~ten~

"I'm sorry Agent Blye. Your access has been denied."

The frown on Kensi's face grows deeper. She keys in her code again, then she allows the machine to do the retinal scan. It ran her information, then it flashed red.

"I'm sorry Agent Blye. Your access has been denied."

Just before Kensi moves to punch the machine, Eric's face appears in the screen.

"Oh thank God," Kensi sighs. "Hey Eric."

"Hey Kens," Eric says warily. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, I think there's a glitch," Kensi frowns. "It's not clearing me."

"Oh, about that," Eric begins, looking guilty and a little terrified.

Nell appears on the screen next. "Yeah, sorry Kensi. Hetty knew that you'd show up at some point because you're famously stubborn..."

Kensi cuts her eyes at Nell, who then raises her hands up.

"Her words, not mine. She made me restrict your access."

"What?" Kensi asks angrily.

"Hetty doesn't want you back until you're cleared," Nell explains.

"You listen to me Nell," Kensi growls, pointing at the screen. "I-"

The screen switches to Hetty's face, and Kensi steps back, finding some semblance of calm.

"Hello Hetty," Kensi says with a tight smile.

"Ms. Blye," Hetty grins amiably. "You look well."

"I feel great," Kensi grins. "I'll be off the crutches soon."

"That's wonderful," Hetty smiles. "What brings you out today, dear?"

"I-I just wanted to come in and talk to you," Kensi explains. "I'll be off the crutches soon, a-and I'm starting physical therapy. I really want to come back to work. I'm fine, Hetty. I'm okay with riding a desk."

"Ms. Blye, you have plenty of unused leave time," Hetty says. "You need to relax."

"Hetty I don't want to relax," Kensi groans petulantly. "I don't need to relax. I need to be here...please? I'm going crazy at home."

"Ms. Blye, you are an extremely bright young woman," Hetty affirms. "I am confident that you are able to find some useful, and enjoyable employment while you are on leave. You are far too young to be this tightly wound, my dear. Take this time and rest. Why don't you call your partner?"

Kensi frowns. "I would, but he's not answering his phone right now. But that's okay because we're not exactly on speaking terms at the moment anyway."

"Hmm, I see," Hetty sighs. "Well, you and Mr. Deeks share a strong bond, one that is not as easily broken as you both have decided it is. You and Mr. Deeks have forged a partnership that is too precious to be so easily surrendered to this...rut, so to speak, that you two are in."

Kensi mulls over Hetty's use of the word "precious" to describe the partnership she has with Deeks. Is that what it is? Is that the impression that people get when they see her and Deeks together? Is that how Deeks would describe their partnership? Would she if asked?

"Ms. Blye, please, do yourself a favor," Hetty says. "Take this time and relax, reevaluate...even try to get out of town, get a change of scenery in."

"Hetty, I just feel so useless," Kensi sighs. "And crazy for talking to you through the scanner."

"Then, for the sake of your sanity," Hetty begins with a hearty chuckle. "I suggest that you head home, dear. Have a nice day."

With that, the screen goes back to the key pad, and Kensi sighs, then she goes over and sits down on the bench near the fountain, sullen and depressed. She has never faced so much rejection in her life, and it makes her feel incredibly lonely and sad, and she finds that she could really use a giant chocolate muffin and an frappuccino with a gob of whipped cream smothered in caramel right about now.

Just as she is about to get up, Callen comes out with a smirk.

"Hey Callen," Kensi greets him.

"Hey," he grins. "Hetty was right."

"About what?"

"About you still sitting out here," he chuckles. "She thought you might need some company."

"It's okay," she waves off. "I-I was getting ready to go home."

Callen looks around. "How the hell did you even get here? Your mom drive you?"

She shakes her head. "No...my mom went out for errands. I called a cab, had it stop about a block over from here."

"You crutched a block to get here?" He laughs. "You really can't sit on your ass for too long, can you?"

Kensi rolls her eyes and begins to get up. "I don't need you teasing me..."

"Hold on, Kens," he says. "C'mon...sit down."

Kensi sits back down, then she crosses her arms over her chest.

"I can't stand this," she huffs. "I need to be here."

"Kensi, the place is running just fine without you," he assures, and she frowns at him. He holds his hands up. "What do you want me to say? Yeah, Sam, Nell, Eric, and I miss you, but...things are fine. We functioned just fine before you were even hired, so..."

She looks at him. "Nice..."

"Kensi...you know that I love you like a sister, and that I'd do just about anything for you. I really do miss you, and, much as I hate to admit it, I kinda miss Deeks, too. Honestly, I really hope that the two of you get your shit together because even though things were good before you, and then him...it's better with you two now. I don't think things will be the same if you two can't figure out what the hell it is you want. The team won't be the same if you two can't get it together."

Kensi shakes her head. "It's not that simple, Callen."

"Just because the problem is complicated doesn't mean that the solution can't be simple," he counsels. "Listen, Kens: you don't have to do this alone."

She rolls her eyes.

"Says the man who would prefer to be a team of one," she spits.

Her comment doesn't faze him, and he sighs.

"I would prefer it," he admits. "But it's not what I need. We all need someone, Kensi."

"I-I just...I hate being so...dependent," she frowns. "And...I hate feeling like I've lost a part of myself."

"You're not invincible, Kensi," Callen smirks. "Besides, I was shot six times. I wish that all I'd had at the time was a broken leg and wrist."

Kensi can't help but chuckle.

"True," she laughs, then she sobers. "Gosh, I'm sorry, Callen. You're right...I feel like such an idiot for feeling sorry for myself."

"Look, I understand that it's tough being on leave," he sympathizes. "But...you don't ever want to come back sooner than you're ready. You can't protect yourself, let alone anyone else when you're down. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to your partner."

Kensi nods.

She knows that Callen is right.

"C'mon," he says, getting up. "You hungry?"

"I'm starving," she admits.

"I'll get you some lunch, then I'm going to drive you home," he says, helping her up.

Deeks finds it more than a little ironic that he came to Camp Lejeune for training to remove himself from his fallout with Kensi, and to take his mind off of her, only to find himself thinking (worrying) about her more times than he cares to count. He thought that keeping himself busy all day would at least help curb his mind from thoughts of her, but he finds that since he's been away, he's been devoting a disproportionate amount of time to thoughts about his partner, the woman he loves so desperately.

The worst part of it all is knowing how much he loves her and realizing how pathetic that must make him. Pining after Kensi day and night makes him feel pathetic and undignified, and in addition to thinking about her, he spends a good portion of time telling himself not to think about her, and it's damn hard. Either way, he thinks about her and dreams about her, and it makes him less irritated to think about her than to try not to.

It's fortunate that he is able to multitask pretty well, and he gets through the seminars with a clear recollection of the presentation, even with his frequent distraction of thoughts of Kensi.

In the evenings, he goes to the beach, does some surfing, but he misses the LA waves. To him, the Atlantic waves aren't as clean, crisp, and cool as the Pacific, but at least he is able to surf. When he surfs, he feels free, he feels at peace and one with himself, and with nature. He has respect for nature, especially the ocean. Being in the water puts things into perspective for him. He feels so small compared to the ocean, and knowing that gives him comfort. There is something bigger than himself.

Deeks admits that he is slowly getting over the hurt of all that transpired between himself and Kensi. The distance has been a soothing balm for his raw emotions, and he has been able to think things through a little more clearly.

He thinks about the text message that Kensi left, and he realizes that both of them have hurts from the past that have directly influenced their actions, thoughts, and words to each other. He cringes at how things so quickly escalated between them, and he hates that he left on the terms that he did, he can admit that now.

When he thinks about her, he always thinks about how vulnerable she looked, thinks about how she must be crawling the walls because she hates being sidelined, and he thinks about how he can repair the hurt that he's caused her. He thinks about how beautiful she is, how sweet her genuine smile is, how resilient she is. He thinks about the way he wants to apologize to her.

At night, he dreams about what can be with her, if she decides that she does want to be with him once he returns and has a real conversation with her. He dreams about holding her close, smelling her hair, he dreams about falling deeper in love with her, putting a ring on her finger...he dreams about how incredible making love with her would be, and how that love would bring their babies to life, and he tries damn hard to derail those thoughts because it's way too soon...and way too painful because if things don't turn out the way he is desperately hoping they will once he returns, he simply cannot bring himself to want all of that with any other woman. Any other woman would be living in a lie, and he determined a long time ago that the lies he told would be for professional purposes only. The people he really loves and cares for deserve his integrity and honesty, and he'd be lying to any other woman if he told her that he loved her wholly, with every fiber, muscle, capillary, vein, and artery in his heart, and that he would want what he wants with Kensi with her.

Deeks shakes his head of those thoughts, and gathers up his things as the class ends.

"Ugh, thank. God this round's over," the woman next to him drawls.

"Tell me about it," he sighs as he slings his bag across his chest.

The petite, Southern-Belle blonde woman holds out her hand to him.

"I'm Kelly Carson."

He shakes her hand. "Marty Deeks."

"Good to meet you," she smiles. "I'm a liaison for Europe."

"Nice to meet you."

She's got sweet green eyes, and she is dressed in a crisp pant suit. Her hair is draped over her shoulders, and she is smily. She is beautiful, but a little off-putting to him for some reason. It's not because of how he feels about Kensi, it's something else, but he can't quite pinpoint exactly what it is.

"I could use a drink," Kelly says. "You're invited, if you want to come with."

"Is there anyone else joining us?" He asks.

"A few people are going to the same place," she explains. "It's on the beach, so...it's turned into a little unwind before the real fun starts."

Deeks does need to get out, so he agrees.

"I'm in."

He makes a quick stop at the apartment to freshen up and change, then he heads to High Tide Lounge.

Deeks ends up meeting and chatting with a few guys from D.C. over beers and a game of pool, which he subsequently loses, badly, but it is taken in good nature. He then goes over and takes a seat at the bar and he orders a soda, thinking that he doesn't want to drink too much.

Kelly sidles up next to him, orders a beer, and she takes a seat next to him. She is now clad in a pink halter sundress, and white sandals.

"No one should drink alone," she drawls. "Even if its...Dr. Pepper?"

"Gross, no," he smirks. "Pepsi all the way, baby. Much like you my partner is, sadly, misguided in declaring her choice in dark, carbonated beverages."

Kelly laughs. "Well, I'll be sure to think twice next time."

Kelly can't help but give him a once over, thinking that the man looks damn good in black. He looks good in anything, really, because Marty is handsome, she'll even go so far as to say sexy because there's something about his scruff, his messy, golden blond hair, and his seemingly laid-back personality that sets him apart from the other, more straight-laced, men that she tends to encounter, especially working in New York.

He's the typical LA surfer guy who happens to carry a badge. He's different, and she likes that about him, but she can tell in his blue eyes that something deeply personal followed him here from LA. She saw the slight change in his demeanor at the mention of his partner.

"You look utterly miserable," Kelly observes.

"That's perfect because that's exactly how I feel," he half-jokes.

"Well," she sighs, looking around, then back at him. "We're in a bar, we've got alcohol in us, and we both work in law enforcement. Perfect conditions for talking about our personal problems."

He chuckles. "Yeah, I guess so."

She rests her head on her fist. "I'm a good listener."

Deeks looks at her, then at his glass.

"My partner, Kensi, and I we...we had a falling out before I came out here," he begins. "I thought that it would make things a little easier, but it just makes the hurt worse."

"Was the falling out over something professional, or personal?"

"Both," he explains. "We kind of opened a Pandora's box, if you will, between us, and things have been shitty ever since."

"How long have you two been partners?"

"Four years," he chuckles. "Four long, but good years. Well, until now."

"Mind if I asked what happened?"

Deeks shrugs. "Same old cliched thing that happens in a male/female partnership with too much chemistry and no idea how to define whatever it is between them."

Kelly nods. "Ah..."

"Yeah," he sighs. "I'm in love with her. I told Kensi that I'm in love with her."

"I take it that she didn't reciprocate?"

"No," he grins, then he sobers. "S-she thinks that me being in love with her is a sudden thing. You see, this all started on my birthday. She forgot my birthday, and it just brought up things between us that we've been trying to ignore. She brought me a cake that her mother baked, and I got angry at her, and we argued. Afterward, she left my place, and on the way home, she got in a car wreck."

"Oh my Gosh," Kelly marvels. "Is she alright?"

"Yeah," he says. "Now she is. When I got to the scene, Kensi was unconscious, and on the way to the hospital, she stopped breathing. I thought that I was going to lose her. I was sick over the possibility, literally sick. When she woke up, I was so relieved, but something inside me just broke, and I told her that I'm in love with her."

"That didn't go over well," Deeks continues. "We argued back and forth, we said things that we shouldn't have said...it all spiraled, and now I'm here."

Kelly nods. "Do you think that she might be in love with you too?"

His heart tells him yes, Kensi is in love with him, and that she's terrified of that, but his mind is telling him to consider that perhaps she isn't, and that she perceives their deepening partnership differently.

Deeks shakes his head. "I-I don't know...I mean, I want to believe that Kensi feels the same way because if I felt that she didn't, we wouldn't be going through this. What happened before all this wouldn't have been a big deal because I would have sensed that."

"Mm," Kelly hums, absorbing the information. "But you're not so sure now?"

"No," he says. "Maybe I've been looking at things the wrong way...but that's not going to change the fact that I love her..."

Deeks pauses to chuckle. "God...that woman...when I first met her, I was just...floored. I was working a case, and I blew her cover, and she was all flustered and tripping up. She was all sultry eyed, sexy, and charming, and...I couldn't get her out of my head. When I started working with her, I found out so many things about her that would irritate and put off anyone else, but...I'm not bothered in the slightest."

"Kensi's got this thing about her car. She's a slob with everything else, but her car is spotless, except for the candy and pastry wrappers, and she's anal about who she lets drive her car. This is our fourth year of partnership, and she has just become more comfortable with me driving. She doesn't understand the whole concept behind saying touche, her favorite movie is Titanic, and she cries like a baby every time, she bruises me physically and emotionally on an almost daily basis, she's famously stubborn, hardheaded, slightly insane, a Daddy's girl, and she eats like a four year old."

"And dammit, if I don't love that woman," he chuckles. "I love everything about her. She's amazing, and...so damn irritating and adorable at the same time. I fell in love with her a long time ago, and it wasn't that hard to do because more than that, she's caring, compassionate, strong, loyal, and the best friend I've ever had. She'll come through for you, she'll walk through fire for her friends and family, she's trustworthy and faithful...she's got this amazing spirit in her, she's got a good heart. I love her."

"Do you think that you could be happy with her?" Kelly asks. "Do you see yourself being really, truly happy with her?"

His heart aches at the thought of happiness, at how with each day that passes without a phone call back from Kensi, that his hope for happiness with her is slipping away. He wants to talk to her, he wants to hear her voice, he wants to apologize, he wants to tell her that he wants her however she'll let him have her: partner, friend...whatever she decides. As long as she still wants him around, in any capacity, he will be satisfied because the days without her are getting longer and longer.

There's a part of him that's still so angry at her, and there's a part of him that still feels betrayed, but he's already forgiven her because his love for her is much more powerful than the hurt. Still, they both need healing from the anger, the pain, the heartache, and the past.

The past.

Shadowy memories, people lost, and unbearable agony from years gone have impacted both of them, and until now, it's served as a shield, as armor of some sort; the past has been a protection up to this point because like Kensi, he swore to never go back, to never make the same mistakes again, to never give so much of himself. But all that changed when he met one Kensi Blye.

"Yeah, I could be happy with her," he says. "But if all I can have is a partnership with her after all of this, then I'll take that too. I'm happy just to be able to work with her."

"So, for you, moving forward is a matter of knowing how she feels," Kelly surmises. "If you knew for sure, then you could start to think about your next move, right?"

Deeks looks at her. "I suppose so...I-I'm sorry to just dump all that on you. I'm sure your life is going better than mine at the moment."

Kelly chuckles. "Well...you're right. My son just started kindergarten, and my daughter's busy being a typical two year old, so...my husband's kind of pullin' his hair out right about now. Bedtime is major drama. They're great, though."

"Sounds like you've got a nice family," he says.

"Yeah," Kelly sighs. "I love this job, but when I was younger, there was a point where I had to stop and think about where I'm going in this agency. There's a certain point where you have to think about your personal and professional future. I think you're at that point, Detective."

Deeks furrows his eyebrows. "Okay, this conversation just turned creepy."

"Hetty referred your file to me," Kelly explains. "Apparently, she thinks you're at that point too."

"I don't know what gave that little samurai the impression that I want her deciding my fate," he grouses. "So, did you two have some sort of secret spot that you meet and read tealeaves and...entrails to determine your employees' ultimate destiny?"

"She mentioned that you're a wiseass," Kelly drawls.

"Just give it to me straight, Kelly," Deeks says.

"Hetty thinks that you're ready to prepare for expanding your duties in this agency," Kelly explains. "With your new security clearance, I'm prepared to offer you an opportunity."

"What kind of opportunity?" Deeks asks.

"That's classified until you take it," she says.

He shakes his head. "No, I-I'm not just going to step out on faith with this one. I need to know what the hell I'm getting into."

She sighs. "Let's just say that if you're as good at what you do as you and Hetty say you are, and you perform well and accomplish the task that's set forth before you, the scope of your duties will expand. You see, Detective Deeks, Hetty is prepared to groom you for being more than just an NCIS agent. She sees a very bright future for you in this agency, and she thinks that now's the right time to start preparing you."

"Does what I think factor into this?"

"Of course," Kelly grins, then she looks at him. "But let me be clear: if you do take this opportunity, I need your head in the game. No distractions."

"You mean Kensi?"

"Yes," Kelly confirms. "You need to find some way to lay aside the issues you've got with her so that you're in a good head space going into this, if you decide to do it. You've got to find some closure for now; whatever she says to you, you've got to find it in yourself to be okay with it, that way you can get the job done. Face her, and what you want with her when you get back. That is, if you want this."

Kelly gets up and grabs her purse, then she slides a card next to him.

"Take the weekend to think over it," Kelly instructs. "Give me a call by twelve o'clock PM Monday with your decision."

With that, she heads out.

Deeks looks at her card.

It reads:

KELLY CARSON

Director, Department of Interagency Operations.

He sighs and he pockets the card.