AN: A reviewer of Chapter 20 kindly pointed out that the yellow isolation gown that Deeks wore (and through which I noted that Kensi could smell Deeks' scent) actually has a smell of its own. So let's just assume that "le parfum de Deeks" was stronger than the smell of the gown, especially when you consider that he didn't go home and shower before coming to visit his Kensalina (see proof below).
Spoilers: Up through season 7 and including spoilers for season 8. This is speculation on the storyline that will cover Daniela Ruah's maternity leave. Now that the premier has aired, this is officially AU.
Disclaimer: Not mine (not even the DVDs, which I borrowed from the library this summer), not making any money from this.
Deeks ambled into the mission a few hours later, tired but happy. He had finished up the first part of his undercover assignment sometime after midnight and headed straight into the precinct to write and file the required reports. When Deeks finished the paperwork, he made a beeline for the hospital, anxious to see Kensi. He figured he would find her sleeping at that hour and hoped to slip into bed beside her for a couple hours of shuteye. Not that he would complain about the change in plans, especially since it meant Kensi was feeling better. Deeks was hopeful that her blood counts would soon follow the trend.
"Hey, look who's here," came the call from Callen.
As Deeks walked into the bullpen, Sam stood up and offered his hand, "Welcome back, man. Everything work out okay?"
"Yeah, this was just the set up, and it went as smooth as it could have. There's already someone under who helped it along, so that was good."
Continuing on to Callen, Deeks reached for his hand as well. "How much did you guys miss me? The quiet must have been deafening."
"At times I thought I could hear the plants growing. It was magical," replied the team leader.
"If by magical you mean monotonous and uninspiring, I can see that being the case. Appreciate the compliment."
"And he's back," quipped Callen.
"A fact for which I'm confident we are all grateful, Mr. Deeks. Welcome back." Hetty's voice came from behind them, where Deeks was sure she hadn't been just moments before.
"Thank you, Hetty." Deeks mouthed Hetty missed me at Sam as he turned toward his desk.
"Please come see me before you sit, Mr. Deeks." With that she walked away.
"Sure thing, Hetty. Let me just put my things down and grab a cup of coffee."
Ooh, you're in trouble, Sam mouthed back.
"Am not," Deeks muttered as he walked past Sam's desk on his way to Hetty's office.
"Am I correct in my assumption that you have completed the necessary paperwork for Lieutenant Bates?" Hetty asked before taking a sip of tea.
"Well, I'm not sure that I would say any paperwork is actually necessary, but yes, I stayed up half the night doing it. I'm done with the LAPD end of things for now." Deeks settled himself into a chair opposite his operations manager's desk.
"Good. Have you seen Kensi yet this morning?"
"Yeah, I went to the hospital from the station, and then came here."
"I had quite a lovely dinner with Ms. Blye this week. We had a very interesting discussion. Did she happen to mention it to you?"
"No, uh..." Deeks scratched his head and the back of his neck. "We really didn't talk much…about work. I'm sure we'll catch up tonight, though. With the talking, that is. About work."
Hetty smiled, "I'm sure the two of you have a lot of time to make up for. In fact, you should probably go home and get some rest instead of being here today, then maybe head to the hospital a little earlier than usual. We don't need people who aren't in top form, and you haven't slept at all last night, am I right?"
"Yes, but I'm fine to work."
"Nonsense, Mr. Deeks. You have been undercover for the past week and have been awake for twenty-four hours. You are entitled to, and shall take, today off. But before you go, I would like to say something."
"Okay," Deeks drew out the work because he was a little confused. Hadn't she been saying something all along?
Hetty took another sip of tea and carefully returned the fragile cup to its saucer before looking directly looking at her liaison. "I am sorry, Mr. Deeks. For what I put you and Ms. Blye through when I sent her to Afghanistan. For letting you believe that it had anything to do with you. As you now know, I selected Kensi for that operation because of her connection to Jack, not to punish the two of you. But I knew that you believed it was because of Ms. Blye's and your actions, and I did nothing to convince you otherwise. I could have, and should have alleviated your concerns without giving away classified information. I chose not to, quite honestly, because it was easier for me at the time. And I regret that, terribly, because I know it damaged the trust you had in me. Please forgive me, Mr. Deeks."
Deeks was speechless. What had brought this up?
"You're no doubt wondering why I say this now?"
"Um, yeah. No, I mean…this is…"
"Unexpected, from your perspective. Long overdue from mine. And strongly recommended by Ms. Blye."
"Kensi?"
"As I you know, I had dinner with your partner a few nights ago. And the topic of Afghanistan came up, during which we cleared the air. She was gracious enough to accept my apology for how my actions affected her. But she was quite clear in stating that she could not forgive me for how I treated you until you did."
Deeks' heart warmed at the thought of Kensi standing up to Hetty on his behalf again. He'd heard from Sam about how Kensi had literally yelled at their boss to somehow fix things for him when he was in lock-up and in danger of being sent to county last year. He could understand that; county jail would have been a dangerous place for Deeks and Kensi had been desperate. But worry couldn't possibly have been Kensi's rationale for demanding that Hetty take responsibility for Afghanistan, not after all this time.
"Mr. Deeks? One more thing, if I may. Your conduct there was nothing short of heroic, in my opinion. You did what needed to be done, despite the cost to yourself. You ultimately saved not only Kensi and Jack's lives, but the lives of the team that had been tasked with retrieving them. The fact that this affected you as it did speaks volumes about the type of person you are. But I am sorry for putting you in that position. You are a good man, Mr. Deeks. Don't ever forget that."
"Hetty…wow, I don't…I don't know what to say." Deeks responded humbly.
"Which reminds me, you were right, last year, to share your secret about Detective Boyle with Ms. Blye, despite my suggestion that you keep it to yourself. You have earned that trust from her, just as she has earned yours, and I am glad that you could reap its benefits. I cannot say I am so fortunate in my life to have had that with another person; perhaps that is the consequence of a lifetime of deeds such as those for which I beg your pardon."
Deeks cleared his throat and ran his hand through his hair, trying to figure out what to say to the woman who's had as much impact on his life as his own mother. Certainly more in his adult life. "Thank you, Hetty. What you just said, everything, it means a lot." Now he smiled, "And I'll be sure to tell Kensi that she can feel free to forgive you too."
"That would be splendid, Mr. Deeks. Now go home and we will see you in the morning."
Kensi wasn't having a bad day, but she decided she wanted to watch the videos her friends had made for her in that event. She was now at Day +27, and feeling optimistic that all the worst days were behind her, at least in terms of her current treatment.
Today was Friday, which meant that tomorrow, Deeks would be here for most of the day unless she could convince him to spend some time enjoying himself elsewhere. But that was unlikely since he'd been away all last week.
Kensi had been overjoyed when Deeks appeared early Tuesday morning, and she was only too happy to demonstrate how much better she was feeling, not to mention how much she had missed him.
Of course, he'd spent all day with her Tuesday. After Hetty sent him home, Deeks took a run with Monty and spent about an hour on the beach with the mutt before heading home for a shower. Instead of going to bed, he came back to the hospital, only stopping along the way to purchase that box of condoms Kensi had suggested. Once Kensi's empty lunch tray had been removed and her afternoon vitals had been taken, Deeks closed the blinds again and showed Kensi how much he could do even with no sleep and how much he had missed her.
They napped for the rest of the afternoon and spent the evening catching up on the week they'd been apart. Kensi had been glad that Hetty had already taken the opportunity to apologize to Deeks. She could tell by the look on his face and the tone of his voice that it had lightened Deeks' heart to be in a good place with their operations manager again. Kensi had been a little surprised that Deeks would ask her why she would push Hetty to make amends.
They were both sitting on the recliner, Kensi across Deeks' lap, her arm along the top of the chair, hand playing with his hair. "So, I had a really interesting talk with Hetty this morning. Correction, I listened while Hetty said some remarkable things, and then I kind of stumbled around for words when she was done."
"Oh?"
"She apologized for letting me think that it was my fault she sent you to Afghanistan. And she said it was your idea."
"Well it's not like she came by and I said, 'Hey Hetty, good to see you, you know what would be great? If you'd finally take ownership of the crappy way you treated me and Deeks when you sent me halfway around the world to assassinate my ex-fiancé and let Deeks believe it was because we'd slept together.'"
"Yeah, it's probably a good thing it didn't come out like that."
"She actually brought it up after I thanked her for letting us prove we could work together in the field when we became a couple. I simply opened the door a little wider and reminded her that I was not the only person who suffered because of her actions."
"And you did that why?"
Kensi looked confused. How could he not know? But could see in Deeks' eyes that he needed to hear her say it. It saddened Kensi to realize that his childhood insecurity still reared its ugly head from time to time. "Because I love you with all my heart, Marty Deeks, and I know that part of you would always bear some responsibility for what happened unless Hetty finally took that burden from you. I hate how much it hurts you to think it was your fault I was there, and watch you beat yourself up for doing something any of the rest of us would have done without a second thought." She pressed a long kiss to the top of his head. "That's why."
Wednesday they'd gotten back into their usual routine of Deeks coming by after work and staying until Kensi kicked him out. And since he'd spent all of Tuesday with her, Kensi insisted Deeks take Thursday night off to reconnect with the team; he'd been away from them for a week as well.
Her attention back on the tablet, Kensi hoped people wouldn't mind that she didn't actually watch their messages when she was at her lowest, but the fact was it just never occurred to her then. All she had wanted on those days was to sleep. And sometimes, if she was honest, she had just wanted to wallow in it and feel bad for herself for a little while.
There were a few other patients in the sunroom, compelling Kensi to wear her headphones. She was so engrossed in Mindy's monologue recounting the night they'd first met in a bar after the same guy tried but failed to pick up each of them, that Kensi jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Kensi pulled off her headphones. "I'm sorry to startle you, Kensi."
"No problem, Dr. Popa. How are you?"
"I'm doing well, thanks. But I'm here to talk about how you are. The results of this morning's bloodwork are in." The physician stopped and looked around, noting that others were present and not far enough away to afford adequate privacy. "Why don't we go back to your room so I can explain some things to you?"
Kensi's heart dropped into her stomach.
Images of Lance Corporal Spencer Ellington on the streets of downtown LA filled the screen in the ops center.
"It doesn't make sense that Ellington would come out of hiding now unless there's a good reason," Deeks argued. The Marine had deserted his base at Kāne'ohe Bay, Hawaii two years ago mere hours before he was to be brought in on charges of espionage.
"Agreed," stated Callen. "So what would motivate a man who has successfully avoided prosecution for treason to show his face in one of the largest cities in the country?"
"Love, revenge, money, fear of something worse," Sam ticked off.
"He doesn't have any family in this area, and the girlfriend he had at the time of his desertion is still in Hawaii." Nell supplied.
"Could he be heading for the airport? Maybe LA is just a short stop on his way back to the islands?" asked Deeks.
Eric answered, "So far no. We've got a separate Kaleidoscope search running LAX only, so we should get a hit ASAP if he pops up there."
"Add smaller, private airfields as well," Callen said.
"Got it."
Deeks' phone buzzed. Pulling it from his pocket, he saw a text from Kensi. Pls call me when u can. The detective's face must have betrayed his concern, because suddenly he realized the room was silent and everyone was looking at him.
"Everything alright, Deeks?" Sam asked.
"Text from Kensi, which she doesn't usually do in the middle of the day. She wants me to call her. Do you mind if I take a minute?"
Callen responded immediately, "No, go ahead."
Deeks left through the sliding doors, dialing as he went. The team returned to the business at hand.
Several minutes later Deeks came back, with tears in his eyes.
Deeks arrived at the hospital that evening after work, anxious to see Kensi after their brief phone call earlier in the afternoon. He had to remind himself to slow down and be deliberate in following the protocol in the anteroom as he washed and disinfected his hands, and then donned the gloves, mask, and isolation gown that had become his second wardrobe in the month since Kensi had been in the hospital. He couldn't be careless and risk getting Kensi sick, especially now.
Kensi was waiting for him at the entrance to her room, and threw herself at Deeks as soon as he opened the door and crossed the threshold. Deeks, expecting it, had his arms ready and waiting to envelop her. They stood there for several long minutes, rocking back and forth, Kensi's toes barely touching the floor. Neither of them spoke, but the occasional sniffle suggested that both were crying.
Finally, Deeks walked Kensi over to her bed and sat her on it. He ran his hands down her arms and took one her hand in his as he perched himself next to her. Deeks' other hand went to Kensi's face to wipe away the tears. "Tell me, I want to hear everything Dr. Popa said."
Nodding, Kensi complied. "I was in the sunroom watching a video with my headphones on when she came in, and I didn't hear or see her, so she scared the crap out of me when she tapped me on the shoulder. But then when she said we should come back here to talk about my latest blood test results…"
"You thought the worst."
Kensi shrugged her shoulders and looked down. "So you can just imagine what it was like when she said," now Kensi looked up and locked eyes with Deeks, her beautiful smile gracing her face, "that my counts are all coming up."
Deeks knew this was the outcome, but he experienced the excitement all over again here with Kensi. When he had called Kensi back earlier, he could tell she was emotional, and he was instantly worried. But when she spoke those words to him, Deeks couldn't keep the tears of joy from falling. He'd managed to stop crying by the time he returned to ops, but the team could tell something was up. The waterworks started again, from more than just Deeks, when he shared the news with them.
"So what does this mean, exactly?"
"It means that engraftment has started, that Ben's bone marrow is actively making healthy blood cells." Kensi stood and walked across the room to where a white board hung on the wall. Typically, only her nurses' and PAs' names were on it. Today, however, there were a bunch of numbers and letters added below in a makeshift grid.
She pointed to some writing, "My ANC is a measure of neutrophils, one of the types of white blood cells. It's considered a sign of engraftment once that number is above five hundred for three consecutive days."
Coming to stand next to Kensi, Deeks could see that what he initially thought was a simple grid was actually a calendar, with acronyms and numbers scribbled in several of the boxes. He noted that the ANC had been consistently above five hundred starting early last week, and said as much to Kensi. "Does that mean engraftment started back then?"
"Such a good detective," she praised. "But not officially. See the 'PLT?' That stands for platelets, and those numbers have to be between twenty thousand and fifty thousand, along with the good ANC numbers, for them to consider that engraftment has started.
Kensi's were in the thirty thousand range now. "How close are these numbers to normal?" Deeks wondered.
"Not very, but just about to the same level they were before I was hospitalized. And at this point, there's no reason to believe they won't get to normal limits."
"And then you'll be cured."
"Once I maintain them for a few weeks, yes. Then I'll be considered cured."
"Wow," breathed Deeks, as he wound his arm around her waist.
"Yeah," Kensi agreed.
"So what happens now that Ben's bone marrow is officially doing its job?"
"Now they start weaning me off the antibiotics and colony stimulating factors. And we continue to watch these numbers rise, hopefully. Dr. Popa thinks if the current trend continues, I may be able to be released next week."
Deeks pulled her into another hug, "Kens, I'm so happy to hear that."
"Me too, baby." Kensi held on a few seconds longer and then detached herself from Deeks. "Before I forget, I want to send a picture of this to Ben and tell him the good news."
Kensi walked to her bedside table and came back with her phone in hand. She snapped a shot of the white board and added a few words of explanation and more thanks before sending it off to the cadet. "Emily will understand what it all means, so I'll send it to her too. Oh, and I almost forgot, starting next week, they'll be analyzing my blood periodically for signs of chimerism."
"Chimerism? As in being a chimera? The half man, half bear, half pig?"
"Okay, doofus, that's the ManBearPig, and that's from South Park."
"Ah, so you must be referring to the Chimera of Homer's Iliad, then, with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a snake." Kensi looked impressed and surprised. "What? I went to law school, you know; I can remember things."
"I know, it's just that's a little…esoteric, don't you think?"
"Not if you took a college elective on Greek mythology."
"Well, you forgot the fire-breathing part, by the way."
"I also didn't go into the debate about whether the tail was actually a snake or a dragon. I vote dragon, by the way, because how awesome would that be? Kensi Marie Blye, Dragon-Ass? Although, Princess Night-Toots, you kind of already –"
Kensi held out her hand, "Stop. Please stop now. We were just having such a nice moment."
"Right, you were telling me how you're going to turn into a mythological creature. I didn't realize this was a potential side effect from the chemo, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually from the radiation."
"Why do I even bother?" Kensi asked, head turned skyward.
"Okay, seriously then." Deeks took Kensi's hand and led them back to the bed, where they sat side by side. "What kind of chimerism are we talking about here?"
"A mix of my cells and Ben's. As his bone marrow makes more and more blood cells, there will be more of his cells in my blood than my own. Ultimately, my blood type will actually change. I'm B-positive now, but he's A-positive. In a few months, I should be A-positive as well."
"Not AB-positive, since that's a combination of the two types?"
Kensi smiled, "I asked Dr. Popa the same question. And no, AB is its own type, not a mixture of A blood with B blood. So eventually I'm going to have to change all my records at work to indicate a new blood type."
"Wait!"
"What?"
"Wait, wait, wait. I can't believe I haven't thought of this before! What kind of detective doesn't think of this?"
"Deeks, what?"
"Your blood won't be yours anymore."
"I beg to differ –"
"No, I mean, since your blood and even your blood type will now be based on Ben's bone marrow, does that mean your DNA will change too?"
"You are a smart detective." Kensi bumped shoulders with Deeks. "Dr. Popa thought you'd get a kick out of this when she mentioned it this morning. And the answer to your question is yes and no. The DNA in my blood will match Ben's, but the DNA everywhere else in my body will be what I was born with."
"So you'll have two different DNA profiles in your body."
"Yup."
"So if you commit a crime and leave blood evidence…"
"I'll want to make sure they take a buccal swab to compare it to, because the DNA in the cheek of my mouth will not match the DNA in my blood."
"Oh, that is so cool. Except of course for the part about you committing a crime, because obviously you wouldn't do that. And now that I think about it, I wonder how many times LAPD has had the right guy for a crime but we let him go because the DNA didn't match since he was a chimera. Hmm, something to think about. Maybe a question like, 'Have you ever had a bone marrow transplant?' should be part of the arrest procedure when there's blood evidence involved. Nah, there'd be legal ramifications there, because suspects can't be compelled to provide personal medical information without a warrant. I wonder if this has ever been argued in court? I need to talk to Bates about this, make sure he keeps it in mind...what?" Deeks asked when he realized Kensi was looking at him oddly.
"I don't think I've ever heard you talk both detective and lawyer at the same time."
"Oh? Well, I know how much of a turn on it is for you when I talk detective. Does the legalese enhance the detective-speak, my little chimera?"
"It certainly seems to."
"Really?" Deeks drew out the word. "Good. To. Know." He glanced around the room and thought out loud. "Let's see, we've christened the shower and the bed. Want to give the recliner a try?"
Kensi looked at the clock on the wall. "We've got a half-hour before shift change, which means probably an hour at least until the next nurse's visit."
"What about dinner?"
"Why don't you leave a note on the window when you close the blinds, just in case?"
"Sounds like a plan." Deeks planted a mask-covered kiss to the top of Kensi's head when he got up to do just that.
AN2: Heads-up: I am officially out of "buffer" chapters. Chapter 22 is started, but not even close to being finished. Add to that the fact that I will have to be doing a fair amount of prepping and cooking (though thankfully no cleaning) for Thanksgiving early next week, and it doesn't look like I'll be ready to update the story again until next Saturday. Sorry. But to those of you who will be celebrating, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.