A/N: Thank you ALL so much for the continued support, your reviews really push me to continue to write the story faster than I otherwise would!
To answer the question regarding Eric not being in trouble: I chose to compare to the TV-series, where he multiple times have hacked into various things (all illegally) with little to no repercussions, so that's what I chose here as well. Sorry if that disappoints you, but it just was not an avenue I wanted to pursue, perhaps at a later point.
Chapter 14: Approved
A few minutes later the man she had come to see walked towards her, … The look on his face was hard to decipher, but Kensi narrowed it down to something resembling doubt, hurt, and a tinge of anger.
"Hi," she said as she stood from her seat.
"Hey," he said barely above a whisper.
"What are you doing here?" He asked not exactly friendly but not overly hostile either, seeing as he was unsure of her reasons for being here and not willing to go back to the place where his daunting memories were reawakened.
"I just, uhm…" she started unsure of how to put her thoughts into words, "I wanted to make sure you really were safe," she finally confessed bashfully.
His expression softened as he heard her admission, he had not known exactly what to expect, but this certainly was not it. He was not really used to anyone looking out for him, even though he had Kip, but being a sensational athlete he had an extremely tight schedule and would often not be home enough to pick up on any struggles his friend would endure since Marty is not one to share his struggles.
"I appreciate that," he finally admitted and smiled shyly at the agent standing in front of her.
She visibly relaxed when he uttered those words of acceptance. She had not been sure how he would have reacted seeing her again, even though he had assured her in the parking lot before leaving, that he did not hold anything against her, and was still waiting for her phone call a few weeks down the line.
"So," he chuckled slightly and gestured for her to take a seat. "Does this place's safety get the Kensi Blye stamp of approval?" He asked, trying to bring some humor back to aid his vulnerable defenses, "And before you answer, know that Kip has made a request to get a few more security guys out here for the next few weeks."
She considered his question and the information regarding additional security detail on the property. Just as Marty was about to break the silence once more she spoke up, "I think this is secure enough, just remember to have someone covering the rear entrance."
He smiled at her, she had obviously thoroughly considered every possible vulnerability of the property from what she had seen.
"That's good…" he started, not really sure how to continue, wanting to ask if there had been any updates in the case, "Uhm, do you know when uhm…"
"The minute we're sure you're no longer in danger, I'll be calling you." She assured him, somehow able to understand what he was asking.
He looked at her and she braced herself as she could see some of the regular mischief returning to his eyes, "So would that mean I'm now expecting two calls from you?"
Not a lot could usually stupefy the agent, but when she once again found herself at a loss for words and fighting the rise of heat spreading to her collarbone and cheeks, she could not deny the effect that the shaggy blonde had on her.
When it became obvious that she was not planning a retort to the comment, he started chuckling slightly.
"What?" She asked loudly, but it had no bite.
Her small outburst only turned his chuckle into a proper laugh for the first time since before the attack.
"I just didn't think special agents would be the types to blush," the good-natured teasing continued.
She swiped at him playfully, "I do not blush!" She tried to defend, but the smile on her face made her fail miserably.
"Of course you don't," he humored her and looked at her, obviously already expecting a glare. He was not disappointed, but much like her previous outburst, the usual gorgon stare of Kensi Blye was much mellower than usual.
She was saved from further chastising the lawyer when the basketball star was no longer able to keep his curiosity at bay and entered the room once more.
"Yo Marty, I'm 'bout to order some food, you want some?" He asked as he entered the room.
Marty just looked at him, giving him an unimpressed look at his terrible excuse to check up on him, but thankful nonetheless for looking out for him. Before he had a chance to answer the question the female agent spoke up, driven partially by the lightened atmosphere after the teasing and partially because she was so surprised by the friendship of the lawyer and the athlete.
"So… you do you guys know each other?"
"Marty Mar and I go way back. We used to play a lot of one on one," Kip started.
"I actually got him into basketball, beat him all the time" he joked.
"Yeah right," he teased back brotherly, "You were taller than me back then."
"Excuses, excuses," the lawyer fired back.
Kensi shuffled further back on the couch, allowing herself to take in the conversation happening right in front of her. It was clear that the two very different men cared a great deal about each other. She wondered how two with such contrasting careers knew each other. Obviously, she was just told that they knew each other from childhood, and knowing that Marty had actually discharged his weapon at someone when he was also still a teenager if not younger, she could try and paint a picture of how and where they might have met. She chose to leave that train of thought in the back of her head, she would have to ask Marty at some later point, perhaps when he would take her out for dinner.
She was pulled from her thoughts when Marty asked her a question, "Would you like us to order you anything?"
"No thanks, I uhm… I should probably get going again," she answered, and pushed herself off the couch.
"Alright," Marty answered and stood up as well.
Marty followed Kensi to the door in silence, as they reached the door Marty broke the silence.
"Thank you for checking up on me, Kens. You really didn't have to do that." As he said the last part, he was unable to maintain eye contact.
Kensi's heart broke slightly for the man when his eyes drifted to the ground, as if he truly believed that no one would, or should, want to check up on him.
"Yes I did," she asserted, before softly adding, "It's the least I could do after…" She let the rest of the sentence hang in the air, knowing it could mean two things. After his attack at his house, or, even more likely, after what happened on her watch at the boatshed.
He sighed deeply before nodding, letting her do this for him to ease her mind, and honestly his as well.
As she was about to turn around and start walking down the long driveway, Marty spoke up.
"So uhm… since I'll still be waiting for that phone call, when should I turn my phone back on?" He asked in a slightly teasing tone, but also serious since it regarded his own safety.
She thought about it for a moment before answering, "How about I call Kip's estate when it's safe once more so you can turn on your phone?" Then her expression turned slightly flirtatious, "Then you'll know what the call on your phone will be about."
She did not leave him any time to come up with a retort, and to be honest, it would have taken awhile since the now flabbergasted lawyer was for once at a loss for words.
Kensi was aware that she was being watched as she walked back down the driveway but forced herself not to look back at the man whom she knew would be the one watching. Marty only managed to close the door once the brunette was completely out of sight.
When he turned around from the door he almost walked straight into his friend, "Woah, didn't see you there," he chuckled.
Kip was just staring at his friend, knowing that he would understand the question without the need for words.
Marty resisted the urge to sigh, "She just wanted to make sure that it was secure here,"
"And?" His friend prodded.
"And after I told her that you'd asked for more security, she gave her approval," he laughed a little at the ending, as if agent Kensi Blye would have the final verdict in his safety. Not entirely unsure that it was untrue.
"That's all?" He continued his questioning.
"What is this, twenty questions for Marty?" He tried to joke, but his friend knew him too well, and knew that the humor was an attempt to get out of answering the uncomfortable question.
"You know what I mean." Kip stated softly but seriously.
This time he did sigh deeply, "I guess she also felt bad for what happened in that boatshed, she actually seemed pretty pissed about the accusations as well."
Kip seemed to lighten up a bit after finding out that she had not been one of the agents bringing up the terrible event from Marty's past. Then he relaxed his shoulders and started smiling, an expression of mischief that let the lawyer know that his friend was up to no good.
"Anything else you wanna tell me?" He asked, the grin on his face never leaving.
Deciding that playing dumb would be for the best, he was not going to make this easy for his friend. "About what?"
"The agent," he stated as if it was not already obvious, before mischievously adding, "She was bad."
"Dude… come on she's-" he tried defending, before his friend, who was pretending not to hear him, interrupted him.
"And… you are a sucker for brunettes," he added with an over the top wink.
"I am so not going there right now," he tried to sound serious, but failed miserably, unable to laugh at his friend's pushy antics as he started walking away from the front door.
His friend, too, was laughing as he called after him in an over dramatic style, "You can run from it, but you cannot hide from it, Marty"
"Why are you always such an ass?" He countered jokingly.
Kip walked to his side and shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess you've rubbed off on me. Now… what do you want for dinner?"
Thanks for reading! My next week and a half will be very busy starting Wednesday, but I'll try and see if I can push out another chapter before that to not leave you in a drought! ;-)