Slipped Away

...

"Hey Michelle, wasn't sure if you'd be home." Nick Sabatino smiled as she gave him a questioning look. "May I?"

"Sure Nick, come on in." Michelle stepped back allowing him to come into the kitchen before she closed the door behind him. "Do you want something to drink ... soda ... lemonade?"

"No thanks, I can't stay long." Sabatino stopped just beside the kitchen counter as Michelle walked around toward the refrigerator. "I just wanted to stop by on my way to the airport."

"The airport? Where are you headed next or can you even tell me?"

Sabatino chuckled softly. "No big secret this time ... I've been recalled to D.C. ... something about a transfer to a new duty station."

"Hey, maybe you'll get Hawaii ... you've always wanted to get stuck there."

"That would be great ... or maybe the Bahamas ... just somewhere tropical ... you know I can't stand cold weather." He leaned forward, resting his hands on the edge of the counter-top.

"Yeah, I remember how much you hated our little assignment in Turkey." Michelle opened the refrigerator and pulled out a glass pitcher of pink lemonade and poured herself a cup.

Sabatino shivered as he thought about that little trip. "I almost froze to death on that one."

"It only averaged twenty degrees!"

"It was still cold!"

"You always were a big baby." They laughed together, Michelle shaking her head as she sipped from her glass. She was about to ask him if he had any idea why he was being reassigned when there was a sudden crash from upstairs. There was some children's laughter accompanied by a dog's barking and Michelle rolled her eyes as she sat her glass on the counter. "Would you excuse me for a moment, I better go see what my little monsters are up to."

Sabatino nodded and sat down on one of the bar stools. "Sure thing ... and when did you get a dog?"

Michelle was already climbing the stairs when she glanced over her shoulder. "He belongs to a houseguest that is staying with us for a while."

He tried to ask about who the 'guest' was, but she had already reached the top and he didn't want to yell in her house. Looking down, he found today's newspaper and he turned it over to check the front page. As he read about the latest political scandals and movie star escapades, he reflected on how grateful he was that he had friends like Michelle. He wouldn't call them 'close' but at least if he needed a helping hand, he had someone to call. Early in their working relationship, he had almost ruined it by continually trying to get into her panties ... but she had eventually set him straight that she was 'off-limits' and warned that if he wanted to continue to have the ability to procreate ... he would keep his hands to himself. Meeting her former Navy SEAL husband had only reinforced her ultimatum and now he kept his distance.

Hearing Michelle upstairs fussing gently to her kids, Sabatino decided that he did indeed have time for a glass of lemonade. Hopping up, he hurried over and opened the refrigerator door. He grabbed the pitcher and spun around to place it next to Michelle's glass, then he suddenly realized he was no longer alone in the kitchen. We he looked over at the door that led out to the Hanna's garage and guest room, he came face-to-face with an equally shocked Marty Deeks.

"What the hell are you doing here?" When the detective spoke, his words were cold.

Sabatino remained cool as he poured himself a drink. "I could ask you the same thing, my friend."

Deeks felt his pulse rate increasing. "Friend ... really?"

"I guess not ... " The CIA agent placed his glass on the counter. " ... but now I know who Michelle's houseguest is. How's your recovery going?"

"Go fuck yourself."

"Classy detective, real classy." The angry heat coming from the detective told Sabatino that his little tryst with Kensi wasn't a secret anymore.

Deeks took a deep breath and tried to maintain control of the storm that was brewing inside of him. "That coming from you? How ironic."

"Look man ... I did you a favor."

That nearly sucked the air out of Deeks' lungs. "You have got to be freaking kidding me!"

"No really ... " Sabatino wasn't usually one to try to justify his actions, but for some reason, he felt compelled to this time. " ... at least now, you know what type of person your partner really is."

"You know nothing about my partner ... "

"I know what she sounds like when she comes ... do you?" That was low, even for him, but Sabatino would never receive any awards for congeniality.

"Shut. Up." Deeks was using every bit of self-control he had ... which at the moment, wasn't a lot.

"She uses people ... hell, it's part of her training and her job ... she gets close enough and takes what she wants. When she's done, she just moves on ... kind of like me."

Deeks leaned against the wall, his strength failing him. "I mean it Sabatino ... just leave."

"I will ... " He rolled his shoulders back and folded his arms across his chest. " ... but not until I have my say."

Without the strength to turn and walk away, or to call out to Michelle ... Deeks did his best to appear unaffected by whatever the idiot in front of him was going to say.

"She came on to me man ... " Sabatino shrugged his shoulders, as if trying to say he had no power to resist the woman's advances. " ... I mean, I always thought she was hot, but when she and I worked together and you were stuck with Snyder ... I realized just how smoking she really was."

Deeks tried to say something to make him stop ... but his mind was going numb and his body was slowly betraying him, getting weaker by the moment.

"I actually asked if there was something going on between you two, you know what she said?" He let the words sink in before he continued. "She told me that you guys were just partners ... wait, let me rephrase that ... what she actually said was that you two were 'barely even partners' ... "

Barely even partners ... she wouldn't say that, would she? No ... not Kensi ... wait ... she seemed awfully excited about working with him, she even did her little hair-flip-thing she does when she flirts with a guy ... and that silly laugh-snort ... oh God.

" ... so when I bumped into her at the hospital and she wanted a drink ... dude, what else was I supposed to do?"

Deeks felt a surge of power in his legs and he pushed himself off the wall, slowly walking further into the kitchen. "You took advantage of her while she was alone and hurting ... you're an ass and I've heard just about enough."

"You don't want to hear about how she kissed me first? How she basically molested me out on the dance floor?" Sabatino stepped around the edge of the counter, not afraid to stand up to the wounded man. "She wanted it man ... hell, she was practically begging me to do her in the cab on the way to my hotel room."

A fire of pure rage was burning across the detective as his hands clenched into tight fists until his knuckles were white. "You need to leave ... right now."

"And when we were in the room ... man, she was like the Energizer Bunny ... " At that moment, Sabatino finally caught the devastated look in the other man's eyes and even though he really didn't care all that much, a sliver of sympathy slipped into his mind. " Wait ... oh ... my ... God! You've fallen for her ... I'd even guess that you love her!"

Those last three words hit Deeks like a freight train, knocking the air right out of him.

"Wow ... that's just sad man ... you love her but she fucks me ... that's just got to suck the big one!" Sabatino sounded like he was almost snickering at the absurdity of the entire situation. If he had been smart, he would have just kept his mouth shut and walked away, but sometimes his mouth just didn't know when to stop.

"That partner of yours is one crazy, fucked-up bitch ... "

Before the last word fully passed his lips, CIA Vostanik Sabatino found himself being shoved off his feet toward the back wall of the Hanna's kitchen, a furious Detective Martin Deeks snarling just inches from his face.

"SHUT UP! No one talks about Kensi that way ... NO ONE!" Deeks was screaming so loud, Sabatino thought that his eardrums might burst. He tried to get his feet back under him or manuever his arm across the other man's chest and shove him back, but the detective was too quick for him. In an instant, the back of his head slammed into the wall and he found himself struggling to breathe as Deeks shoved his forearm up against his throat, lifting him off the floor and slowly choking off his air supply.

Sabatino knew how to defend himself but the lack of oxygen following to his brain was clouding his ability to put the moves into action. As his vision started to cloud over, he sensed movement off to his left and suddenly someone else was screaming close to his ear.

"MARTY! Stop it! You're choking him!" Michelle was frantically tugging on Deeks' arm that was shoved under Sabatino's jaw, and she was amazed at how much strength was in the wounded man. She looked at his face and saw nothing but pure, blind rage ... and it scared her.

"I'll kill you ... you bastard! No one takes advantage of Kensi" The blonde's voice was cold and full of malice, his eyes wild and intense. "What you did ... oh God!"

As she continued to struggle against him, Michelle felt Deeks' body begin to relax and lose some of its strength as his adrenaline wore off. Seeing her chance, she managed to get his forearm from Sabatino's windpipe and tug them away from each other. The CIA Agent slid partially down the wall, his legs almost numb ... Deeks, panting heavily, staggered back until he bumped into the kitchen counter.

"Oh God ... what have I done ... I didn't mean to lose it like that ... "

Michelle stepped directly in front of the detective as he tried not to collapse onto the floor. "Martin Andrew Deeks ... you need to calm down and tell me what the hell just happened."

Sabatino was rubbing his throat behind her and saw an opportunity to turn this in his favor. "He ... he just went ... crazy ... and attacked ... and attacked me ... I don't ... know why ... "

Knowing Deeks better than that, Michelle turned her head slightly so she could see Sabatino's face that was slowly getting its color back. "What did you do?" She new Nick could be an ass at times and that Deeks didn't particularly care for him, she just hoped he would have behaved himself around the injured man.

"Nothing ... " Seeing that she didn't really believe that, he tried to elaborate with a bit of the truth. " ... I just happened to mention Kensi ... and he flipped out!"

Thinking back to what had happened in the very same room only the day before, Michelle started to think that maybe Deeks was losing his fight with whatever demon was haunting him. Turning to face him fully, Michelle raised her hand to the detective's shoulder and it shocked her when he flinched away as if her touch burned him.

"No ... don't touch me!" Deeks had never spoke to her with such force and it took her a second to swallow the moment of pain it caused her. He slid sideways along the counter but that only trapped him between her and the corner near the refrigerator.

"Martin ... Martin ... " She swallowed her frustration at this new wrinkle in his recovery, hoping that she could calm him just through the softness of her voice. "Shhhh Marty ... it's okay ... "

"This guy's nuts!" Sabatino was angry now and he moved up behind Michelle, ready to throw a punch if the detective came at him again. "I can't believe they'd let him even be a cop ... "

Michelle sighed heavily. "Shut up Nick, you're not helping."

"What would help is to lock this nut up in a padded room ... "

"I told you to shut it!" Michelle's words were directed at the man behind her as she desperately tried to pull Deeks back from the darkness that threatened to overwhelm him. "He's been through a lot ... and you're only making it worse."

When she looked into Deeks' eyes, she saw the same scared little boy she had seen the day before and her heart broke a little bit more at the damage that had been inflicted upon him. When she reached out to touch him this time, he didn't pull away, he just trembled under her touch. As she stepped closer to him, she could hear him mumbling something so softly that she had to strain to hear it clearly.

"Why ... why Kens? Why did you do it? Why Kens?"

He strength left him in a rush and Michelle barely caught him as he legs collapsed under him, dropping him to the floor. Easing him down so he could lean against the cabinets, Michelle held his face up so she could keep her eyes locked with his. He just continued to mumble the same phrase over and over again. "Why Kensi ... why?"

Glancing over her shoulder, she spoke to Sabatino who was now drinking calmly from his glass of lemonade. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

"No ... " He lied. " ... like I said, he's crazy and should be locked up."

Feeling her anger begin to creep back into her, Michelle hoped that she could defuse everything before the bad situation got any worse. "He's not crazy ... something must have set him off ... what did you do? What did you say?" She had noticed that when Sabatino spoke, Deeks' body would tense slightly in her arms.

"Nothing ... " Seeing the look on her face that said she didn't really believe him, he lied again but added a little more truth to make it believable. "Okay ... I may have asked about how his partner was doing with him injured. Then he just screamed at me and attacked!"

Michelle remembered Deeks' reaction to hearing Kensi's name and the panic attack that it had caused, but something still didn't feel right to her. As the detective's mumbling got softer and softer, he relaxed more into her touch, his breathing returning to normal levels. "Well, he's calming down now, but I think it best if just go ahead and leave ... something about you has him on edge and I don't want to see him hurt himself or you anymore."

"Hurt me? Phhht ... I was about to kick his ass when you walked in."

She gave him a wide-eyed look. "When I came down the stairs, he was choking the life out of you. If I hadn't come down when I did, you'd be dead on the floor."

"Whatever ... nice to see you again Michelle, tell Sam I said 'Hi'." Sabatino placed his cup in the sink and headed toward the back door.

Michelle patted Deeks on the shoulder as he leaned forward to rest his head on the tops of his knees, his body going limp as he breathed deeply, the previous tension evaporating. She stood slowly so she could keep an eye on him but also look more directly toward Sabatino. "Take care of yourself Nick and try to stay out of trouble."

"I'll try, but I make no promises." His smile creeped her out a little, it always had, as he tugged the back door open. He was about to step out to the back porch when he turned and opened his stupid mouth once more. "And have fun taking care of Fruit Loop over there ... maybe some Zanax or Valium would help."

She caught the smirk on his lips and she wondered why she continued to be nice to the man, when all he ever did was act like an ass and creep her out. As she took a breath to tell him what he could do with his unsolicited advice, he suddenly let out a soft yelp and she saw two thickly muscled arms come through the open door and snatch him completely off his feet.

Michelle glanced down, seeing that Deeks was in no condition to run off, she hurried around the counter toward the door and heard the distinct sounds of a struggle just outside. When she came out the door, she found Nick Sabatino dangling in the air, held there by her enraged husband.

"Sam!" Hopping down the steps, Michelle was beginning to wonder what-in-the-world was wrong with all the men in her house that afternoon. "What are you doing?!"

Sam's usually peaceful face was contorted and fierce. "Nothing Honey ... I'm just about to take out the trash, be done in a minute."

"Lemme go! Lemme go!" Sabatino was struggling against Sam's vice-like grip but it was like caught in jaws of steel.

"Samuel Hanna! You put him down this instant!" The moment the words left her mouth, Michelle knew what was about to happen.

"Put him down? You got it babe." With that said, Sam leapt into the air at the same time he pulled his arms down and shoved Sabatino under him, toward the ground.

Landing flat on his back with a two-hundred and thirty pound man coming down on top of him, drove all the air right out of Sabatino's lungs. "Oooffffffff ... "

Michelle thought she heard something crack, the thump of the impact vibrating across the lawn to her feet. "Sam!"

He looked up at her, a huge grin on his round face. "What? You said 'Put him down' ... so, I put him down."

What the hell is wrong with these guys! Are they all losing it? Michelle hurried over and started tugging Sam off of Sabatino, but she found it was like trying to lift a car off the ground. "Get off of him! What's wrong with you?"

Not wanting to fight against his own wife, Sam relaxed and let her ease him to his feet as Sabatino struggled to catch his breath. "Nothing's wrong with me ... I'm good."

"Then why did you attack Nick?" Michelle pulled her husband back a little more before looking down at the man still rolling around on the grass.

Sam folded his arms across his wide chest. "Maybe you should talk to him."

Sabatino stopped moving and pulled himself into a sitting position, calculating exactly how he could get out of this without actually dying in the Hanna's yard. Twisting Deeks' words had been fairly easy for the slick CIA agent, but getting Michelle to question her own husband ... not going to happen in this life time. Finally he was able to stand on shaky legs but his ribs and back were killing him.

When he looked up, he saw that Michelle's stance now matched her husband's and he knew she had reached the limit of her patience. Her words were calm but firm as she glanced between the two men. "I want to know what's going on and I want to know ... right ... now."

Sam nodded toward Sabatino. "Ask him ... he knows."

Michelle turned her focus on the man still shaking off the body-slam he had just received and waited patiently until he looked at her. "Well, Nick ... are you going to tell me or does my husband have to pile-drive you into the ground again?"

Sabatino held up a hand, gesturing that course of action wasn't necessary or wanted. Taking a shaky breath, he tried to explain as best he could. "It was just sex ... no big deal ... and we're both adults, we could do whatever we want."

"Who's 'we'?" Michelle took a small step forward, her mind racing at the possibilities of his strange statement.

When the bruised man cocked his head back in defiance, silently refusing to speak, Sam answered for him. "Kensi ... he slept with Kensi."

If there was a shift in Michelle's stance, Sabatino didn't register it at all ... she just continued to stare at him, as all the pieces began to fall into place. All the times Deeks freaked when they said her name, that she hadn't come by to check on him ... all the little tidbits that made no sense ... until now. When she finally found the strength to speak, her voice remained calm and cool. "When?"

"When 'what'?" Sabatino answered with a sneer.

Michelle choked down her impulse to punch him in the face. "When did you two hook up? Was it the last time you were here ... when Snyder was killed?"

"No." He knew his short answer was not what she was looking for, but he couldn't stop himself from continuing to piss them off.

"Oh ... my ... God!" The realization had hit her like a bullet. "He was laid up in the hospital and you two went out and ... and ... " She couldn't get the words out.

"So? She wanted it! Hell, she even begged for it!" He still didn't see what the big deal was. "The two of them weren't 'together' ... she was fair game ... she's nothing but a little tramp anyway ... I was just ... "

Sam stepped around his wife who was standing stone still, her face blank and expressionless. She didn't even move when she saw her husband's hands shoot out and wrap around Sabatino's throat, cutting off his air. The man let out a quick grunt as his feet slowly came off the ground and his lungs began to burn. When he looked down through watery eyes, the look on Michelle's face told him he would receive no aid from her again that day.

The big SEAL brought his hands tighter around the annoying agent's windpipe, his anger currently overwhelming his normally soft nature. Just as Sabatino's eyes started to roll back into his head, a strong set of hands wrapped around Sam's thick wrists and tugged on them firmly.

"Sam ... let him go."

When he turned his head to his left, Sam found a serene Marty Deeks looking back at him with pleading eyes. The detective yanked sharply on his friend's arms in a vain effort to get them to release their death grip on the slightly struggling Sabatino. "Come on man ... he's not worth it ... ease up ... come on ... ease up."

The look sadness reflected back at him in the other man's eyes, caused Sam to regain the control he had always exemplified and cherished. Letting his muscles relax, he let Sabatino drop from his grasp, the man coughing and sputtering the moment his feet touched the ground. The NCIS agent let out his frustration in one long sigh and there was the sting of tears in the corners of his eyes at what he had almost done. He doubted he would have killed Sabatino, but he wouldn't have cried at his funeral either.

Deeks eyes locked with Sam's and once again, the two of them sharing the bond that been forged between them in the crucible of agony and pain. They had never been great at communicating with each other, but in that moment, they came to understand the other better than they ever had before.

The detective glanced at Sabatino, whose face was no longer blue, then with his shoulders slumped, he nodded to Sam before he turned back toward the house. Michelle snapped out of it just in time to reach out and slide her hand down Deeks' arm as he passed by, but he didn't seem to acknowledge her touch and she didn't see the frown on his face that was hidden by his long, blonde hair. When he had slipped through the kitchen door, the husband and wife turned to face their unwelcome guest.

"I think it's time for you to go." Sam nodded toward Sabatino's car that was sitting out by the curb.

The CIA agent didn't speak or even make eye contact, he just turned and slowly walked away. He had taken only two or three steps when Michelle called out to him.

"Sabatino? Just one more thing before you go ... "

He turned to see Michelle walking toward him, and when it registered in his mind what she was doing ... it was too late. His groin exploded in a white-hot pain that shot completely up to his sternum as she executed a near perfect place-kick into his nuts. The bile rose in his throat as he sank painfully to his knees as the white pain morphed into the dull ache that caused him to feel the need to empty his stomach on the ground. Just as he tasted his own vomit in the back of his mouth, Michelle's open hand slap across his face snapped him out of his stupor and his head snapped to the right with the force of the blow.

" ... and don't ever come near my family again or so help me God, I'll cut your balls off and feed them to Deeks' dog."

Sabatino slumped to his side, his hands pressing up between his legs in a vain effort to relieve some of the horrendous pressure that continued to burn there. His stomach was doing sideways cartwheels and he began wonder if she had done some permanent damage to his testicles. Michelle's threat rang in his ears and he didn't need to ask if the blonde detective was included with her 'family'. He nodded weakly before burying his face in the soft grass of the lawn, hoping that they would just let him lay there and die in peace.

Michelle turned to find her husband smiling warmly back at her, his eyes full of tender wonder. Stepping away from the groaning man behind her, she stopped directly in front of Sam, placing a warm swift kiss on his lips before stepping back. The funny look he gave her caused her to cock her head to the side.

"What?"

Sam reached out with one hand and hooked his fingers with hers. "Nothing ... sometimes I forget just how 'bad' you can be."

Glancing over her shoulder with a dismissive look, Michelle shrugged quickly. "He's had that coming for a long time."

"Amen to that." Tugging her gently, he pulled her next to him as they started toward the house. "Bet he remembers that kick for the rest of his life."

"I'll always be available if he needs a refresher ... what a jerk." She moved in front of him as they climbed the few steps to the house, and he gave her a quick slap on her backside. "Hey!"

They stumbled into the kitchen, laughing softly together to find their two kids looking out the window toward the yard. For a brief moment, the two of them feared that their children had witnessed the bloodless but violent confrontation between them and Sabatino. They held their breaths as Jarius and Makayla turned to look at them with questioning eyes.

Makayla spoke up first. "Why is that man laying in our yard?"

"Did he fall down?" Jarius asked innocently.

Sam and Michelle let out the breath they didn't know they were holding. "Yes ... he fell down but he's going to be alright."

"Did he hit his 'funny bone'?" Jarius had no idea what he had just asked or why mom and dad chuckled at his question.

Michelle bit her lower lip as Sam answered. "Yep ... he did ... sort of."

"Stop it." Michelle poked her husband and swallowed the laugh that threatened to bubble out off her. Turning back to her kids, she knew she needed to get them focused on something other than the man slowly pulling himself up from the ground just outside. "Why don't you two go find Uncle Marty and we'll make dinner together tonight."

Jarius disappeared quickly out the back door that led up to Deeks' little room and Makayla headed upstairs to check the rest of the house as Sam watched Sabatino manage to stagger out to his car. A few moments later, it roared to life and slipped away and he let out another long sigh. When Michelle turned to face him, she found a profoundly sad look on his face.

"Baby ... you okay?" She stopped pulling the dinner supplies out of the refrigerator and tapped him on the shoulder.

Sam let his eyes linger on hers for a moment, before dropping them to the floor. "I was going to kill him Chelle."

She shook her head firmly. "No you weren't."

"Yes, I was ... if Deeks hadn't stepped in when he did ... "

"Didn't matter ... you still wouldn't have done it."

After a pause to consider her words, he asked. "And why not?"

Michelle looked up at the man she loved more than life itself. "Because it's not in your nature ... you may have wanted to hurt him really badly ... you may have even choked him until he passed out ... but you could never have just killed him."

"I sure wanted to."

"So did Deeks ... he pretty much did the same thing right before you." She gave him a sweet smile. "And just like he did ... you would have stopped yourself before it went too far."

Reaching out to tug her to himself, he wrapped her completely in his thick arms. "What would I ... what would we ... do without you?"

"Starve for one thing."

He gave her an incredulous look. "I can cook."

"Putting everything you find in the fridge into one pot and calling it 'Mystery Stew' does not constitute cooking."

"I'll have you know, that particular dish was a big hit in the SEALS."

Michelle chuckled lightly at him. "And they eat bugs when they run out of MREs ... not a very discerning bunch."

Sam decided that he should give her that point, so he reached down and squeezed her rear gently before nodding toward the stove. "So what's for dinner?"

"What are you in the mood for?"

The silly look on his face let her know she was about to regret asking.

"As long as it's not spaghetti and meatballs ... "

It made her laugh as she shook her head at his little joke.

" ... or anything with nuts in it ... "

"Sam ... stop it."

When he looked like he was about to say something else, she covered his mouth with her hand and she felt him smile under her palm. She wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss him or punch him but before she could decide, the kids came running back into the kitchen.

"Hey you two ... no running in the house!" Michelle dropped her hand from Sam's mouth and gave the young girl and boy a semi-serious scowl.

"Sorry Mom ... but we can't find Uncle Marty."

Sam and Michelle spoke at the same time. 'What?!"

"I looked in his room and outside ... " Jarius shrugged his shoulders as he looked up as his dad's concerned face.

Makayla pointed toward the rest of the house. " ... and I looked everywhere inside ... Monty's still here but Uncle Marty isn't."

Sam was already turning toward the back door and Michelle headed in the direction of the livingroom. "You two check your rooms ... make sure he's not playing hide-n-seek with you ... check your closets and under your beds, you know those are his favorite places to hide."

After the explosion of emotions resulting from the confrontation with Sabatino ... they suddenly had serious concerns about the recovering man's mental state, a sudden sinking feeling began to overwhelm them. The Hanna clan split up, searching every possible place Deeks could wander off to in their house ... both inside and out. It didn't take long for Sam and Michelle to realize that the detective wasn't anywhere on their property.

Deeks was gone.

...