Aaaaaaaand we return to the humor in this chapter. Please review as always- I am going to respond to all the ones that I receive today! =)

-Hazel

The next day was back-to-work day, and Kensi had no clue what she was supposed to do, or how she was supposed to act. Particularly around Callen.

Technically speaking they hadn't stopped working when they went undercover- but it sure as hell hadn't felt like work. Kensi wished every day could be as good as those that she'd just experienced: getting paid generous amounts of money to stay in beautiful little house with her partner, who also happened to be her boyfriend. Sleeping in past 8:30 on a daily basis, going on jogs around the neighborhood, and cooking dinner for him at night.

There was one part of the undercover mission that had surpassed all others though. It was that with each passing day, Kensi fell more and more in love with her partner. It just couldn't be helped.

She laid awake for probably around an hour that morning, not bothering to disturb Deeks who was sleeping soundly next to her. He didn't seem to share her same fears when it came to the feelings of her team members, so it seemed rather daft to bother him with her own uncertainties.

But on the other hand, whether Deeks wanted to admit it or not, he was involved- and possibly more so than herself. The guys would never been annoyed at Kensi; that rarely ever occurred. They would always blame Deeks, or get annoyed at Deeks when it came to any faults in their relationship. As if it hadn't been obvious before: Callen was out for Deeks' blood yesterday- not Kensi's.

As the clock continued to tick by, Kensi could hardly even stand the silence anymore. After around another hour passed she'd had enough of laying there and worrying by herself. She rolled over towards Deeks, leaning her chest partially on his and resting her chin on her arms.

"Hey Deeks? Deeeeeeks," Kensi whispered, gently shaking his shoulder.

His eyes slowly fluttered awake and then widened quickly at the sight in front of him. "I'm awake, I'm awake… are you alright?"

His concern was adorable. Highly unnecessary, but still adorable.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kensi said, sounding rather amused by his frantic tone of voice. "I just think we need to talk to Callen- before work."

Deeks sleepily wiped his eyes and yawned, glancing around the room. "What time is it?"

"Doesn't matter," Kensi said, catching the clock's screen in her peripheral vision: it was only 6:00 AM, but he didn't need to know that.

"Babe- do you really think that seeing Callen before work is necessary?"

"Yes, I do. What's the other option? Allow him to strangle you in front of Hetty's desk?"

"I had something else in mind, like maybe, I don't know, talking to him after the sun has risen?"

"Deeks-"

"Kensi-"

They both stopped speaking. Kensi grinned and immediately shot Deeks a slightly pouty face.

"Please Deeks? I am trying to defend your honor here. I just don't want things to be insanely awkward at work. This is for your own good," she reminded him as she sat up in bed, pulling herself off of him and raising her knees up to meet her chin.

Deeks wasn't hearing her though- instead he was still trying very hard to change the subject. "You know Kensi, if my predictions are correct, I think Sam might kill us before we even have the chance to do anything today- like work."

Kensi crinkled her nose and giggled, cocking her head to one side. "Nah- not us. Just you babe."

"Ha-ha, very funny. You know what, I bet Callen already told him about us! Just my luck. Maybe he's already here!"

Deeks sat up in bed, craning his neck to peer into Kensi's living room. "Hey Sam! You here dude? Please don't kill me!"

Kensi simply glared in his direction. "Really Deeks? It's too early for this. And you're gonna wake up my neighbors."

"I think the sound of Sam killing me would do the trick."

She rolled her eyes and shot him another fairly annoyed expression.

"Ugh! I don't want to deal with a grumpy Callen. He is even easier to piss off than usual. Just let me call him Deeks! Please? " Kensi asked, sticking out her bottom lip. It worked in her favor, apparently.

Deeks shook his head and moaned. "Fine! You win- give G a call. I'm gonna kill him for making me get out of bed this early though."

"Yes! Thank youuuuu!" Kensi exclaimed, leaning forward and planting a quick kiss on his lips before rolling over to get out of bed. "I promise you won't regret this."

He chuckled. "Oh, I promise you that I will. By the way, tell that asshole he is buying me a latte. And a bagel."

Callen had taken Deeks' requests very literally. When Kensi and Deeks arrived at the coffee shop around twenty minutes later, they found Callen sitting at a table inside, three cups coffee and one bagel spread out in front of him.

He awkwardly nodded at them as they walked up to the table, solely acknowledging their presence and nothing more.

"Hey," Kensi said as she slipped into a seat and Deeks did the same beside her. And man, was it uncomfortable.

"Thanks for calling," Callen said as he stared at the coffee cup in front of him, failing to make eye contact with either one of his team members.

"Yeah… I just kind of thought that we should all talk before we go back to work."

He sighed and nodded in agreement. "I know- and I'm sorry that I flipped out yesterday."

"Yeah... you really flipped out."

Deeks chimed in. "But seriously though dude."

"Like I just lost my freaking marbles flipping out," Kensi said, completing his sentence.

Callen nodded and shifted in his chair, clearly uncomfortable with the situation at hand. "I know. And I'm sorry. I'm just… really defensive of Kensi- sometimes to a fault."

Deeks cleared his throat. "Sometimes?"

Kensi elbowed him in the side. "We get it. And we've talked about it. So… we're cool?"

"Yeah, but Deeks," Callen began, looking up to his face for the first time. "I said some things that weren't true- and I'm sorry. I was out of line."

Deeks smiled and shrugged, picking up his coffee cup. "You got me breakfast, I'll take it as a peace offering."

Kensi checked her watch before taking a sip of her coffee. "We should probably get to work."

Callen nodded in agreement, but he wasn't quite done talking quite yet. "So- do you guys want to tell Sam, or should I?"

Kensi and Deeks immediately whipped their heads around to face one another. On one hand it would be better to say it themselves, to Sam, in person. But at the same time- the other alternative was the way more convenient choice.

"You tell him," Kensi and Deeks both said in unison. Their hope was that if Callen told Sam, and he got mad, G might actually be able to calm him down. He would certainly be more affective than Deeks- and that was a fact.

Callen stood up from the table, taking his cup of coffee with him. "If that's the case, then I'm gonna get to work a little early, and talk to Sam. Maybe… stick around here for a little bit."

"Right- thank you."

Kensi said the last part thoughtfully- she meant it. He was saving them from what she was sure would have been a very, very uncomfortable situation.

Callen slipped out the side door, and suddenly it was just Kensi and Deeks, alone at last.

"That went well," Deeks said with a grin, taking a sip of his latte.

"Don't be sarcastic," Kensi replied, shooting her partner a death glare.

"I wasn't! Pinky promise!" Deeks actually stuck his finger out to shake hers, and though she rolled her eyes, Kensi still complied.

"It was still weird though…" Deeks added in a hushed tone as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Yeah- but that was expected. I'm just glad it's over."

"Hate to break the news to you- but it's not over yet."

"What are you talking about?"

"We still don't know how Sam is going to react. And what about Hetty? Or Eric? They don't know either"

She cringed slightly. "Ohhhh. Yeah. You're right."

Only very rarely did Deeks hear those words, and he nearly choked on his coffee. "I'm what now?"

"Shut it Deeks."

He chuckled and took one more sip, until his cup ran dry.

"Fine- meanie. I think I am going to eat my bagel now."

"This is gonna be weird, and you know it," Deeks whispered into Kensi's ear as they strolled into OSP together.

She just waved Deeks off as if he was some annoying fly that had been buzzing around her face all day. "It will be fine, just don't make it weird."

Deeks was baffled. "How would I-"

"Shhhh!"

They had made their way into the bullpen, and Callen was already there- without Sam. No sign of Hetty either.

"Hey- where's Sam?" Kensi asked wearily, quickly sensing that something wasn't quite right.

Callen leaned back in his chair, cowering faintly as he spoke. "We talked, and then he… um… went for a walk."

Kensi and Deeks could tell immediately by the tone of his voice that it wasn't looking good for them.

"Shit," Deeks cursed quietly under his breath, and ran one hand through his hair in an attempt to prevent himself from breaking something.

By that point, Kensi wasn't even nervous anymore like Deeks was- she was just plain angry. Neither Sam nor Callen had any right to be annoyed that she was with Deeks. It was her relationship- not theirs.

"How bad?" She asked simply, biting her tongue before she said something more.

Callen just tilted his head from shoulder to shoulder, entirely unsure of how to properly answer Kensi's question.

"That depends on how you'd define bad…"

Deeks' eyes grew wide, and Kensi would have sworn that she detected a hint of fear in his baby blues. Getting into a fight with Sam would not be fun.

As if on cue, a loud voice rang out through the office, causing both Kensi and Deeks to jump.

"Deeks!"

"This ought to be fun," Deeks muttered sarcastically under his breath, flinching as he heard the door slam shut behind Sam.

"We need to talk. Now."

He spoke staunchly and coldly, strolling into OSP with a sense of purpose.

Unlike the last time, Kensi was fully prepared for a standoff. So instead of just standing by and watching the awfulness unfold, she was quick to intervene before Deeks could even get a single word in.

"Nope. We need to talk," Kensi said, walking forward and grabbing Sam's arm before he came within even a mere five feet of Deeks.

"Let's go."

And there she was- badass Kensi Blye to the rescue. To say that Deeks was grateful would have been to underestimate the feeling dramatically.

Without another word she left the bullpen and led Sam back outside, stopping only once the door was completely shut.

Sam could already tell that he'd pissed her off, so he swiftly backtracked and tried to explain himself.

"Look, Kensi I just-"

She wasn't having any of it. "No! Let me talk first, then you can have your turn."

He didn't want to aggravate the situation anymore than he already had, so Sam just nodded and folded his arms, listening.

"Look- I am sick and tired of everyone treating me like I'm a child. I am a fully grown adult woman, and I can make my own decisions. Whether you think they are right or not isn't any of your concern whatsoever, it's mine. It's my life- not yours and not Callen's. I get to decide who is right for me; nobody else."

Sam opened his mouth to speak but Kensi put one finger up in the air, silencing him yet again.

"I am done with the way you and Callen try to babysit me on a daily basis. I'm not even remotely sure of what Callen told you, as I'm not entirely sure of anything at the moment, but yes- Deeks and I kissed. And we both admitted that we love each other. I am with him now, so learn to like it, and learn to like it quickly. I love him- and I'll say it to you, or anybody else for that matter. I love him more than I have ever loved anyone, and if that doesn't convince that I'm being serious right now, than I don't know what will. I love him, Sam. I really do."

Kensi took a breath and folded her arms, slightly embarrassed by the number of times that she'd just said I love him. She didn't let it show though, but instead evaluated Sam's expression- which actually seemed rather thoughtful.

"More than Jack?"

Kensi had never been asked that question before, but somehow she still knew the answer immediately.

"Yes. I love him more than I loved Jack," she replied, swallowing hard. "Jack was cold and distant… and he didn't try. When things got tough, he ran away. Deeks is so different, he- he doesn't run. He stays by my side, and he does it no matter how difficult the circumstances get. Callen was practically hurling insults at him yesterday, and even after I walked away, he still didn't leave. He defended himself to Callen, making it very clear to him how much he really does love me- and that is more than I could ever say for Jack."

Sam nodded, slightly dumbfounded. He had never seen Kensi talk about anyone the way that she talked about Deeks.

"I get it. And I'm sorry. He's a good guy… we're just protective of you. I've seen how much his womanizer attitude has hurt you over the years, and I just don't want to see you sad again."

"Sam!" She exclaimed the single word with a loud laugh, shaking her head. "Don't you get it? It hurt me because I was in love with him the whole time!"

"Right," Sam said with a chuckle, wondering how he'd never put the pieces together before. It had been rather obvious that they had feelings for one another; Sam and Callen just never thought it would go anywhere.

"Okay- I'll cut him some slack."

"Good. Just get to know the real him before you assume anything more, okay?"

"Yeah- you're right. I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Kensi looked satisfied, so she pointed behind herself towards the door. "We should probably get back to work before they send out a search party for us."

Sam nodded and gave her a stiff side hug, as he still wasn't positive that Kensi didn't want to punch him for overreacting about her and Deeks' new relationship.

As they walked back inside, Deeks was the first person that Kensi locked eyes with. He was pacing back and forth across the spacious room, anxiously awaiting their return.

When he saw Kensi, Deeks immediately began walking towards them, his blood obviously boiling judging by the sober look in his eyes. Kensi noted his expression and smiled, hoping Deeks would get the message before he said anything too incriminating.

He furrowed his brow and relaxed slightly, still apprehensive as he reached down and grabbed Kensi's hand.

"We're good- right Sam?" Kensi asked, eyebrows raised as she turned around to face him.

He smiled and nodded, looking straight at Deeks. "We're good."

Deeks loosened his grip slightly on Kensi's hand and exhaled, praying that it was safe to breathe normally.

Kensi patted Deeks on the shoulder and released his hand before anyone else could see their public display of affection, and walked away towards her desk. Sam lingered behind for a moment though, motioning for Deeks to lean in.

"Just know that if you hurt her, I will kill you and leave no forensic evidence. Got it?"

Deeks nodded, his smile only faltering for a second. Sam could be quite intimidating when he wanted to be.

"Got it."

That was really all Deeks could say. He knew that one day he would convince them that he really was what was best for Kensi. How far or near in the future that day was- he had no clue. But eventually, it would happen.

Eventually.