A/N Okay, I'm not a medical person so if some of that stuff is wrong I'm really sorry. Reviews make my day!

Deeks held Kensi's hand as long as he could when they arrived at the hospital. When they reached the doors to the emergency room, they made him stay in the waiting area. He hung his head and sat down in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the corner. He put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. 'Please, let her be okay!' he said silently over and over.

He had only been there a few minutes when he heard the automatic doors slide open but he didn't look up. He was startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up sharply. "Nell. Hey."

"How is she?"

"I don't know yet. They just took her back a few minutes ago. She's in really bad shape Nell."

She sat down next to him and was silent for a while. "Deeks, she's gonna be okay. If anyone can get through this, she can. She's the toughest chick I've ever met!" she said trying to lighten his mood.

"Yeah, she's definitely tough," he said smiling. Then his smile faded as the vision of all her injuries came rushing back. "That bastard even rolled her over so he could beat her back and legs. The only place she isn't bruised or cut is her hands!" he said softly as he dropped his head again.

Nell remembered the picture of Emily Taylor and shuddered slightly. "They took Stringer to the boatshed but they haven't called the FBI yet. They want to talk to him first."

"I can't be a part of that interrogation. I almost killed him. I wish I had."

"I heard you that you knocked the knife out of his hands and fought with him. In the process of defending yourself you punched him in the face, ribs and stomach several times before you were able to reacquire your weapon and shoot him in the leg. When he fell to the floor he hit the back of his head," she said smiling. "At least that is the official version of the events."

Deeks smiled briefly. "Is that Sam's and Callen's version?"

"Yes it is."

"But I didn't hit him in the stomach and he didn't hit the back of his head," he looked up frowning.

"Let's just say that Sam and Callen had a little 'chat' with Stringer also."

Deeks smiled again and leaned back in his seat just as Hetty came through the sliding doors.

"Mr. Deeks, any word yet?"

"Not yet Hetty."

"You need to go home and get some rest. Nell and I will stay here."

"Hetty, I'm not going anywhere right now. I need to be here for her. I need to know she's going to be okay," he said almost desperately.

"You can stay for now. But as soon as she is out of the emergency room, I want you to go home."

Deeks nodded but didn't say anything. He would stay here as long as Kensi needed him.

Stringer was in the boatshed in the interrogation room alone. They had given him medical attention and some baggy clothing. They didn't want to be accused of not treating their suspect well. They had given him pain killers but he continued to yell out to no one. "You can't keep me here! Call my director at the FBI! You people are all going to lose your jobs over this!"

Sam and Callen just watched him on the monitor.

"I don't want to go in there G. I'm afraid of what I might do to him."

"Same here but one of us has to."

"How long can we keep him here before we have to tell the FBI we've got him?"

"I'm not really sure. We probably need to finish up by the end of the day." Before they could decide who was going in, they were interrupted by Callen's cell phone.

"Yes Hetty."

"Mr. Callen. Have you spoken to Mr. Stringer yet?"

"No, we haven't. We're trying to figure out how to do this without strangling him."

"As soon as we hear from the Doctor about Ms. Blye's condition, I will be coming back to have a discussion with Mr. Stringer myself. Just let him stew until I get there."

"Will do Hetty. Thanks," Callen said as he hung up.

"We are off the hook… for now. Hetty is going to interrogate him."

"That should be worth watching. We'll have to make popcorn again," Sam said grinning.

The forensics team had finished up and sent pictures electronically to OSP. Eric was currently sorting through them and categorizing them. They wanted this case to be thoroughly organized before they turned Stringer over to the FBI. DNA samples had not been tested yet but they were fairly certain that Emily Taylor had been held in the shack also.

Eric had already downloaded Callen's pictures from the scene, including the one of Stringer in nothing but his underwear. He was dreading getting the ones he would be receiving shortly from the hospital. Callen had told him that Kensi was severely beaten. All he could picture was the poor body of Emily Taylor. He hoped Kensi's injuries weren't as bad as hers. He would be horrified when he received them and realized that Kensi's were worse.

They had been sitting in the waiting room for over two hours when a Doctor came out of the double doors to the ER.

"Hetty Lang! It's good to see you again. I got your message concerning Miss Blye and the proof of injuries needed."

Deeks stood up instantly and walked toward him with Nell right behind him.

"Hello Dr. Parker, how is she?" Hetty asked as she joined them and shook his hand.

"Well, I'm amazed she's still with us. She lost a lot of blood but we have replaced it and her color is better already. She has a concussion, three cracked ribs and four broken ribs. Her right cheekbone is also cracked. She has multiple deep bruises that will take quite some time to heal and she won't be walking on those feet for at least two weeks. She is in serious condition at the moment but I'm confident she will make a full recovery. It will take some time, however."

"Can we see her now, is she conscious?" Deeks asked hopefully.

"We are keeping her in a drug induced coma for a few hours. Now that she has been given blood, her injuries, while not life threatening, are extremely painful. We're letting her body try to heal naturally for a few hours before we start giving her pain killers."

"We are moving her to ICU until we gradually wake her up sometime tomorrow morning. Once we have her settled, she can have one visitor every hour for ten minutes. I'll send one of her nurses out to get you when she's ready."

"Hetty, I'm sorry that we only ever see one another under these dreadful circumstances."

"So am I, Richard. We need to do something about that one of these days," Hetty said smiling. "Thank you so much for taking care of her."

"It's my pleasure Hetty," he shook her hand and walked quickly back through the double doors.

"Mr. Deeks, Ms. Jones needs to assist Mr. Beale and I need to speak to that horrid animal we have locked up in the boatshed. Once they move Ms. Blye into ICU you may go see her when they say she is ready. Then I want you to go home, eat something and get some sleep. There is no need to come back here until tomorrow morning. Are we clear on that?"

He knew there was no sense arguing with her. He nodded agreement and said "Thank you Hetty."

Nell gave him back his keys to the Malibu and told him where she had parked it. She patted him on the arm and said, "I told you she was one tough chick."

He smiled and said, "Thanks Nell."

She followed Hetty out the doors to ride with her back to the Mission.

Deeks walked down the hallway to ICU and found another hard plastic chair to occupy. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. She was going to be okay. He felt relief wash over him as the tension began to leave his body. As the tension eased, the need to de-stress appeared. He sat up straight and tried to control his emotions. He couldn't de-stress here. If he let go now there is no telling what would happen. He might scream, hit the wall or just start sobbing loudly. Those were the things he did in private after a bad case. It didn't happen often but he felt it today. He had to wait until he got home. Kensi needed him not to be a head case. He needed not to be a head case.

After about half an hour he looked up as a short, blonde nurse walked up. "Are you here for Miss Blye?"

"Yes," he said as he stood.

"Follow me."

He took a deep breath and followed her into a darkened room. What he saw shocked him. He walked toward the hospital bed and looked down at Kensi. His breath caught sharply as he looked at her beautiful face. The swelling had increased since he last saw her and the bruises had turned purple and black. Her wrists were bandaged and she had on a hospital gown. All he could see was her face and her arms and it made him weak in the knees. If the rest of her body was this bad, and he knew it was, how on earth would she be able to stand the pain?

He took another deep breath and choked down his emotions. He reached out and took her left hand in his, careful not to move her arms.

"Hey Kens, it's me. I hope you can hear me."

He looked at her heart and breathing monitors and listened to the regular beeps.

"I just want you to know, I'm here if you need me and I'll be here when you wake up in the morning."

He lightly rubbed his thumb across her hand.

"I love you Princess and I can't wait to see your beautiful eyes." He bent over and kissed her hand lightly.

"He can't hurt you anymore Kens. We got him and he won't ever hurt anyone again."

He watched her face for any sign that she might have heard him but saw nothing. He patted her hand lightly and just watched her sleep.

The nurse stood at the door and watched as he talked to her. She didn't know who he was exactly but it was obvious he cared deeply for her. She hated to end this but his ten minutes were up.

"Sir, what is your name?" she asked politely.

He turned to her, "Marty Deeks."

"Mr. Deeks, I'm Kayla Randell. I'll be one of her nurses while she is in ICU. I really hate to say this but your time is up. You can come back in an hour if you'd like to visit her again."

He turned back to Kensi and kissed her hand again. "I have to leave now Princess but I'll be back. I love you."

He reluctantly let go of her hand and backed to the door. "Thank you Kayla. I'll be back in an hour."

A/N Hetty's interrogation tactics coming up!