SAFE HOUSE NEXT DAY
It had been a late night and they were exhausted.
They all sleep late, even Zach. As the sun approaches midmorning the safe house slowly comes to life. Kensi, like always is the last one to wake. She wakes to the low thumping of the punching bag. She buries her head under her pillow hoping that Matt is almost done with his morning workout. A few minutes later the punching sound stops. She smiles to herself and rolls over. She is almost asleep again when there is a light tap at her door.
"Kensi." She lets out a deep sigh and opens her eyes. She doesn't respond hoping that whoever is on the other side of the door will leave.
"Kens."
She moans and snaps, "What!"
"S-S-Sorry. Can I come in?"
"Yes, Zach. You can come in."
He walks in, sees her still in bed, and immediately turns around facing the door from which he came. "Sorry to wake you, Kens -"
"Zach, it's very gentlemanly of you, but you don't have to turn around."
"Oh, okay." He turns back around to face her in bed. "Sorry to wake you, but I want to let you know that Granger will be here within the hour."
Kensi pulls her bed sheet over her head and moans.
"Yeah, I know. He's a pain in the ass, but the sooner we have our operational debriefing the sooner this will all be over."
Kensi quickly brings down the bed sheet and looks at Zach, realization hitting her. "You're right. We can go home."
He nods and softly repeats, "We can go home."
"Thanks, Zach. I'll be up in 10." She inhales deeply and smiles, "I smell coffee."
He grins and leaves shutting the door behind him.
FORTY FIVE MINUTES LATER
The safe house is bustling with activity. Matt, Zach, and Kensi are clearing out their rooms and packing their belongings. As Kensi takes off her bed sheets she hears "Smokey Water," coming from Matt's ring tone somewhere in the house.
"Yeah?" There's silence as Matt listens. "We'll be here." He hangs up his cell and yells, "Granger in 30!"
Kensi looks around one final time to make sure she hasn't left anything. She hears Zach, in the makeshift ops room, clearing out all the computer equipment they used during the operation. She walks in, "Need any help?"
"Naaah, almost done."
"Okay," she turns to leave, "if you need me I'll be in the kitchen."
Under his breath, "Of course you will."
Kensi stops at the door, "What!"
"Nothing, nothing," Zach says with a chuckle. "I'll give a shout out if I need any help."
Kensi smiles and walks out.
Zach shakes his head and continues gathering up the tech equipment.
As she's about to sit down in the kitchen she hears noises coming from the cellar. It's not the thumping of the punching bag being hit. She goes to the door of the cellar. "Matt?"
"Yo!"
Kensi walks down the stairs. She sees Matt sitting at a bench, under a lamp that's casting a bright light in the far corner of the armory, cleaning a weapon. "Watcha doing?"
He looks up at her, "Taking a shower."
She smiles and sits next to him looking over all the weapons waiting to be cleaned. "Need any help?"
He looks at her and raises his eyebrows in surprise.
"With cleaning the guns."
He puts down the weapon he's cleaning and flexes both arms. "You mean these guns."
Kensi just shakes her head, "You know what I mean."
"Unfortunately, I do." Matt hands her a clean rag.
She shakes it out and looks at it.
"What are you doing?"
"Just making sure it's not someone's favorite shirt."
"It was a shirt at one time, but the sleeves have been cut off so it's now a rag."
Kensi does a double take at Matt and looks at him questioningly.
"What?"
She shakes her head, "Nothing, it's just my partner, back in the States, says the same thing." She picks up a gun part and begins to clean it, and smiles to herself. In a few more hours she'll be on her way home.
They spend several minutes working side by side lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly Matt's cell phone rings and then abruptly stops. Matt throws down his rag, "He's here." Within seconds there's a knock at the door. Kensi and Matt leave the workstation and head up to the main house. They get upstairs just as Zach is cautiously moving towards the door with his hand gun drawn.
Matt standing in the door way of the cellar, "Relax, Zach. It's Granger."
Zach shakes his head and whispers, "Can never be too careful, especially at the end of an operation. I've seen plenty of movies where the operatives let their guards down after an operation and end up dead. No sir, that's not happening on my watch." Zach moves quietly near the door to look through the peep hole.
Kensi, agreeing to Zach's rational, pulls out her gun to cover him.
Matt says, "Guys."
Kensi whispers, "Sh."
Zach pulls away from the peep hole. "It's Granger." He puts his gun away and opens the door.
The door is opened a few inches when Granger is roughly shoved into the house followed by Poya and another man. Before Zach can draw his weapon he is knocked to the floor by Poya's accomplice, then hit in the stomach with the butt of a semi automatic weapon followed by a hit to the head. Zach lies unconscious, in a heap, by the door. Poya, who has Granger by the collar yells at Kensi, "Put your gun down!"
Matt, who doesn't have a weapon, turns and immediately runs down the cellar stairs.
Poya looking at Kensi, "Put your gun down!"
Kensi glances down at Zach on the ground and back up at Poya. "Take it easy. No one has to get hurt."
Meanwhile, Matt hits the exposed overhead lightbulb and breaks it leaving the cellar in semi darkness.
Poya yelling, "I said, put your gun down!" He grabs Granger around the neck and puts his gun to his head. "Now."
Matt runs over to the work bench that he and Kensi had been working at just moments before and grabs several gun parts and ammo off of it.
"Okay, okay." Kensi sets her gun down gently on the ground and gestures over to Zach. "Can I see if my friend is alright?"
Matt looks in the direction of the stairs, he knows he doesn't have much time. He disables the standing lamp that's casting a bright light over the immediate area and moves to a darker section of the cellar.
Poya looks over at Zach, "No! Move!" and he makes a motion with his gun in the direction of the living room. "Hadi, go find the other one."
Hadi removes Zach's gun, tosses it aside, steps away from the unconscious Zach, and heads down the stairs to the cellar. Half way down the stairs Hadi slows. The cellar is dark, the only light coming from a small window across the room and the light from above at the top of the stairs. The dark shadows, cast by the light from the window, create an eerie glow throughout. He moves his gun from side to side aiming into the semi-darkness.
Kensi reluctantly and intentionally slowly moves into the living room.
"Move!" Yells an irritated Poya. He pushes Granger in Kensi's direction. They collide and fall onto the couch together.
Matt, from his position, can see his enemy clearly; the light from up the stairs backlighting him perfectly.
Kensi looks to Zach and sees him beginning to come around.
Granger also sees Zach moving and distracts Poya with a question. "What do you want? We have no money."
Matt looks down at the gun parts he took off the work bench and hopes he has all the parts and correct ammo. He quickly begins putting it all together.
Poyo shakes his head angrily. "What do you take me for? I'm not here for your money. You and your people," he glances at Kensi, "tried to kill me yesterday."
Zach, having been conscious for a few seconds is aware of his surroundings and hears Granger talking to someone. He opens his eyes and moves his head to look in the direction of the voices. He briefly makes eye contact with Kensi and Granger, neither one of them casting their eyes on him too long.
Granger innocently, "I don't know - -"
Poya clearly frustrated, "Shut up. You do know. You are American spies." He levels his gun at Granger's head.
Zach, ignoring the throbbing in his head and the ache in his abdomen, carefully gets up off the floor and quietly makes his way over to Poya.
Matt takes aim, knowing he may only have this one shot.
At Matt's shot, Zach leaps at the intruder, Kensi grabs the gun that Poya is holding and Granger moves out of the way.
The impact from Zach's tackle dislodges the gun and Kensi relieves Poya of it easily. Poya lays semiconscious on the floor near the couch. She gives the gun to Granger to watch over Poya. Then she and Zach go over to the front door, pick up their discarded weapons and creep over to the cellar door. They both proceed down into the dark cellar with Kensi in the lead.
Kensi, halfway down the stairs, stops. At the bottom of the stairs she sees a body. A lump forms in her throat. She swallows hard. "Matt?" A few seconds go by. "Matt?"
"Over here."
She looks out into the cellar and sees a figure move out from behind an old couch. "You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Sure?"
"Sure."
Kensi nods her head and moves down to the body at the foot of the stairs. She checks for a pulse, but doesn't find one.
"How's Zach and Granger?"
She takes the semi automatic from the dead man, "Good," and heads back up the stairs.
Matt follows.
LATER
Zach, Matt, and Kensi are sitting on the couch in the living room waiting to start their debrief with Granger. Zach holds an ice pack to his aching head, Matt is pulling out small shards of glass out of his hand from the light bulb in the cellar, and Kensi is eating one of the last ding dongs in the place.
They all sit and watch Granger do what he does best . . . give orders. He has moved into an administrator's role. He's called in those responsible for cleaning up bodies, arresting enemies of the State, and managing the safe house.
As he comes over to them they all sit up. "Well, not a great way to end a mission. But seeing how we all lived to see another day I can't say it was too bad."
Matt shakes his head, "I still can't figure out how Poya knew where we were."
"He must have followed one of us. Either you guys last night as you left the warehouse or me this morning from the warehouse."
Matt disappointment in his voice, "Regardless, it was careless."
Kensi, "Good thing, Zach, was being a bit paranoid. It could have turned out a lot worse."
Zach looks pass Matt and over at Kensi, "Paranoid?"
Kensi shrugs her shoulders and looks back, "Cautious."
Zach smiles, "Better."
Granger turns to head to the door. "We've got a plane waiting for us. Grab your go bags and let's get out of here."
Matt asks surprised. "Wait . . . what about our debrief?"
"We'll do the debrief on the plane."
Zach ecstatic, "Alright, Granger."
Granger stops and turns to the group, "I still want 'After Action Reports.'"
A collective groan.
Granger smiles, "I want them on my desk in LA within the week." Granger reaches for the door knob, "Oh, and Zach?"
Zach knowing what's coming, "Yes, sir?"
"You're not off the hook."
"I know."
TEN HOURS LATER
During the long flight they complete their debrief and someone brings out a few beverages to celebrate the completion of their mission. It has been a stressful mission and now each of them is anxious to get home, take some time off, and reconnect with those whom they had left behind.
The plane lands for refueling. Kensi stays on the plane, but Matt and Zach get on different ones.
None of them like good byes so they make them brief and quick.
LOS ANGELES
It's late. She doesn't know how late. It doesn't really matter how late it is. All she can think about is seeing Deeks, right now. She hasn't even called him to tell him she is coming in tonight. Unless Granger tells Hetty it will be a surprise to everyone that she's back. All she has is her go bag so when the plane lands she immediately goes to the taxi station and requests a taxi.
"It will be a few minutes."
"That's fine."
"You can wait outside by the taxi sign."
"Thank you." Kensi walks outside to the taxi sign. She day dreams about what this first meeting with Deeks will be like. Will he be happy to see her? Of course he will. She is smiling, hardly able to contain herself. They had left their 'thing' in a good place. They were planning to see each other that night. The night she was quickly whisked away by Granger and Hetty.
Suddenly, however, she becomes doubtful. Maybe the time away has given him a chance to think about their 'thing' and maybe, unlike her, he's thinking it won't work.
A few seconds later she does a 180. She becomes hopeful. She is willing to give it a try. She is crazy about him. She has never admitted it before, but ever since he opened the flood gates with their 'date' and their one night together she can think of no one else.
Now she's undecided, maybe she should go home and see him tomorrow, surprise them all at work. She begins pacing back and forth in front of the taxi sign. Where is this taxi, she thinks. She could have walked to Deeks' house by now.
The taxi finally arrives and she gives the man Deeks' address. She's so giddy she can hardly stay sitting, but half way to Deeks' place she once again becomes doubtful, "I'm sorry, sir, I've changed my mind. Please take me to 7735 Spring Street instead."
He looks at her in his rearview mirror. "Lady, are you okay?"
She shakes her head, "No, not really."
He arrives at Kensi's address ten minutes later. "We're here."
Kensi stays sitting in the cab looking out the window.
"Lady." No response. "Lady?"
Kensi slowly turns to look at the cab driver, "I'm really sorry. I'm just not sure."
The taxi driver becoming a little bit impatient. "Well, we're at the second address you asked for."
Kensi looks from the taxi driver to her house. Everything looks the same. Nothing has changed. She hasn't been gone that long why would she think things have changed.
Then she does something so out of the ordinary for her she can't believe she's doing it. She turns back to the driver and says, "You see, I just started a relationship with a man, a friend really, that I've know for several years when I was called out of town suddenly on a business trip."
The taxi driver holds his hands up and out as if to stop her, shakes his head, and lets out a hesitant breath, "Look lady, I'm not qualified to help you with this."
Kensi ignores him and continues, "I haven't spoken to him since I left and now I'm not so sure if he wants to see me again. As more than a friend, I mean."
Resigned to playing therapist the cab driver asks, "Is there any reason why you would think he doesn't want to see you?"
"Well, we're co-workers, and he may have changed his mind that it might not be a good idea."
"Have you changed your mind?"
Kensi looks at him in the rearview mirror and finally says, "No. More than anything I want this to work."
"Maybe he feels the same way."
"Maybe he doesn't."
"Have you spoken to him about this?"
"No."
"So, by coming here instead of going there you're making the decision for him?"
"Well, no, because I'll see him at work tomorrow we can talk then."
"At work?"
Kensi nods.
"You think work is where you should talk about this?"
Kensi shrugs and looks out the side window for several minutes.
The cab driver watches her and softly says. "It seems to me that work is where you can avoid talking about this."
Kensi still doesn't get out of the taxi.
He continues, "I can tell you that if you care for this man as much as you look like you care for this man then you should let him know. And the way you can let him know, right now, is to go to his place, right now, and tell him. Hell, you won't even have to tell him. You showing up at his house, at this hour of the night, after you've been gone, will more than show him that you care about him."
"But wonder if he tells me he doesn't want to take this relationship any further."
"Then at least you'll know."
Kensi slowly nods her head in understanding.
The taxi driver proceeds, "If you decide to stay here tonight and he finds out that you were home, but didn't go to his place you've shown him that YOU don't want to take this relationship any further. Is that what you want?"
Kensi shakes her head in answer. She slowly sits back in the seat and says to the taxi driver, "You're right, please take me to the other address."
The cab driver puts the car in park and turns around to face Kensi, "Lady, I've been married for 32 years to the same wonderful woman. The one thing I've learned during those years is to communicate clearly. Make sure you let this man know exactly how you feel."
Kensi smiles and says, "You know, for not being qualified to help me with my problem you sure are pretty good at it."
The taxi driver turns back around and puts the car in drive.
"And thank you."
A LITTLE WHILE LATER
Kensi has the door of the taxi open before he has come to a complete stop. She gives him more than enough to pay for the ride plus a generous tip.
"Good luck, lady."
She gives him a big smile, takes her go bag, and heads up the stairs to Deeks' dark apartment. Half way up the stairs she slows down and once again small threads of doubt invade her mind. She shakes them away and continues up to his place. She gets to his door, takes a deep breath, and knocks. Nothing. Her smile fades. She looks out onto the parking lot and sees his car. She turns back to the door and knocks again. She hears Monty begin to bark then hears Deeks talking to him. She knows Deeks is looking through the peep hole and she smiles and waves at it. A few seconds later the door flies open.
"Kensi!"
"Hey."
Without another word they rush into each other's arms and kiss. Fear, doubt, and longing wrapped up in one long passionate kiss. They pull a part, both smiling from ear to ear.
He takes her go bag and moves aside to let her into his apartment. "I'm calling OSP tomorrow and let them know I'm taking a personal day."
Smiling, Kensi leans into him, "Good idea, but maybe it should be two personal days." She steps into his apartment.
Deeks follows and closes the door.