A/N: Thanks for your patience folks! Life...it gets in the way of fan fiction and it is sooooo annoying! Nevertheless, the final chapter is here! Thank you for all your kind words and I hope you enjoy the last bit!

A belly full of Chinese food and a hot shower went a long toward improving Deeks' appearance. He stood in the master bedroom, hair still damp, a shirt in his hand as he tried to figure out how he was going to get it onto his body. He'd managed the sweatpants well enough with one arm, but the tee was proving to be more of a problem.

"Hey," Kensi's voice was tentative as it came from the doorway.

He turned, shirt still hanging limply from his fingers. "Hey."

She looked nervous. Like he might suddenly walk out of the room and leave her. Like if she said the wrong thing he might hop on the next plane for Afghanistan and never come back.

"Want some help with that?" she asked.

"Actually I was thinking I'd just go around topless from now on. All those guys on Top Model do it," he teased.

It was an attempt to bring some humor, some normalcy into the room, but it fell a little flatter than he would have liked. She didn't laugh like he wanted her to, only sending him a ghost of smile as she shook her head and stepped forward to help him.

The agony that followed was enough to make him wish he was gutsy enough to go around shirtless. He grunted as they attempted to pull his left arm through the sleeve and as soon as it was fully on he turned away, gripping the back of a nearby chair for support as he tried to get a handle on the fire burning his shoulder.

"What can I do?" Kensi asked, worry in her voice.

He took a deep breath. Pain was better than being dead. Pain was better than being stranded in the middle of the desert not knowing if he'd ever see her again. They had caught the bad guys. This pain had been worth it.

He relaxed his fingers and let go of the chair, shoulder throbbing only slightly less. "I'm good."

It wasn't a lie. He was here. They were together. It was all he cared about.

"We'll have to get you some more button downs. They'll be easier to get into," she told him.

"Yeah, good plan," he replied, his voice still somewhat strained as he turned back to face her. It was then he saw that her eyes had filled with tears. "Babe?"

She shook her head and tried to wipe them away quickly. "I—"

"Hey, hey, come here." His pain seemed to vanish as held her tightly and tried to overcome the lump in his throat. This feeling, having her this close, was all he'd dreamt about in their weeks apart. Nothing that had happened before mattered. "Shh…it's okay. I'm right here."

"I know I already said I was sorry but I w-wanted to tell you…" she took a deep breath but it did nothing to help, "I was scared Deeks, I was just so scared."

"I know, Kens. I know," he assured her, his good hand rubbing circles on her back. "You don't need to keep apologizing."

"I was scared and angry and everything I said…I'm sorry. I didn't mean it.

I didn't want you to go. I can't lose you Deeks. You're all I have. I love you and when I thought you were…I couldn't…" she was crying so hard she couldn't get the words out, all the words she'd wanted to say, all the fears she hadn't been able to voice until this moment, threatening to choke her as they rose to the surface.

"Kens, honey, breathe," he directed with growing concern. He guided her to the bed, sinking down next to her as she continued to cry. "Come on babe. It's okay."

"It's not okay," she told him. "I'm not okay. I'm not okay without you here. I'm not okay without you." The words poured out of her, raw and pained,. "I'm sorry I couldn't say it. I do believe in you. You're a good detective. You were the right person for that assignment. And I said all those things and you could have died…"

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. "I know, Kensi. I knew exactly what the problem was. I knew you were scared. But I had to go."

"I know," she sniffed. "I know you did." She met his gaze with watery eyes. "I'm so proud of you."

He brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Thank you. That means…that means a lot. You've never said it before."

Kensi smiled and entwined his uninjured hand with hers. "Deeks, you're my partner. I'm always proud of you," she told him.

"I love you," he told her. "So much."

"I love you too," she wiped at her eyes. "Are you uh, are you okay?"

"You mean other than the blinding pain in my shoulder?"

She didn't laugh. "You know what I mean. You guys were out there… for a long time. Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "Not tonight. Tonight, I just want to be here with you."

He would tell her about his days in the desert, about the chopper exploding above him, Sam's body crushing the air from his lungs as debris rained around them. About the fire burning in his bones as Sam told him to MOVE and they had run faster and farther than he'd ever run in his life.

He would tell her about hiding under piles of brush, half buried in the dirt as rebels searched only feet away. How many times he'd told Sam to go on without him; to save himself and get home to his wife and children. About how many times he'd tried to give Sam a message to take back to her and how the SEAL had refused every time. How he'd forced Deeks to his feet until they were both too weak to go on. About the dizzying thirst and exhaustion coupled with the pain and how he'd been only half conscious when the Germans finally dragged them out of a cave and put them on a chopper.

There would be a time to tell her that story. But tonight he just wanted to forget. Just be here with her and start to move on with their lives.

He squeezed her hand. "You ready for bed?"

She nodded.

They slid under the covers and Deeks groaned happily. "God, this is a good bed. I'm never leaving it again."

"I'm sure the bed appreciates the sentiment," Kensi told him.

He kissed her. "I'm never leaving you again either."

"Thank god, because Callen is the worst partner I have ever worked with. I don't know how we did it before you came along."

"Seriously?"

"He got himself shot."

Deeks nodded knowingly. "He didn't listen to your plan."

"Nope."

"Rookie mistake."

"One you would never make."

"Never."

He slid his good arm around her waist and sighed a sigh of relief and contentment. This was home.

A/N: Thanks again for coming on this journey! Leave your love in the reviews!