Chapter 21
(In the boathouse two weeks later)
"You're not there, Deeks. You're here with us; come on back." Nate crouched in front of Deeks, his hands on the detective's shoulder. "You're safe here with Kensi and I, Deeks, so don't be scared." Nate smiled as Deeks's eyes began to come into focus once more.
Deeks blinked a couple times in confusion, his eyes finally coming to rest on Nate. "Damn it!" His eyebrows furrowed. "I didn't even notice it happening!"
"Deeks, it's going to take time." Nate reminded him calmly. "This is a defense mechanism that's been hard-wired into your brain. You just need to keep working on it until you've got it under control and you don't detach emotionally like that without expressly choosing to do so." Nate smiled at him. "You're doing really great; you reengaged within a couple minutes that time, and Kensi didn't even have to step in." Kensi nodded mutely, confirming his words.
Deeks sighed tiredly. "I don't like feeling this out of control." He rubbed his eyes roughly.
Kensi was on her knees in front of him, looking fervently up into his face when he reopened his eyes. "I know this is so hard for you, but I'm so grateful that you're working through it, that you're not letting it get the best of you. It means so much to me that you're fighting for your future." Her gaze dropped from his. "It's not really fair, that you went through so much and that you're the one who has to work so hard now to get his life back on track." Kensi's eyelashes were wet when Deeks lifted her chin so he could see her face. She met his eyes regretfully and spoke in a voice rough with emotion. "If I could do this for you, if I could fix this for you… I would."
Deeks held her head between his hands and gazed gratefully into her eyes. "I know you would." He gave her a quick peck on the lips and then dropped his hands from her face, raising his eyes to look at Nate, who was now leaning against the far wall. "Let's try it again." Deeks's mouth settled into a determined frown, his eyes narrowing in concentration.
Nate nodded and began walking back over to sit across from Deeks. "Okay, let's pick up from where we left off…"
(NCIS headquarters)
"Yes, that's right." Hetty pursed her lips, fighting the urge to hang up on Deeks's FBI handler. "SAC Deaver, I explained to you very clearly when Mr. Deeks was in the hospital that the other NCIS agents on the team, on his team, needed to be brought into the circle of trust on this. In fact, they should have been briefed on agent Deeks's status long before—" Hetty's eyes glinted angrily as Deaver interrupted her. She didn't allow him to speak for long. "No you listen: they've been briefed; it's done. Stop throwing a fit and sign the damn paperwork!" She hung up, slamming the phone down with a bit more force than was necessary.
"Woah!" A wide-eyed Nate exclaimed as he witnessed Hetty lose her temper for the first time since joining NCIS. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked before he could stop himself.
Hetty raised an eyebrow at him. "How have the sessions with Mr. Deeks been going, Mr. Getz?"
Nate smiled. "He's made a lot of progress and he's really opening up, even though that means he has to talk about some really dark, difficult stuff. You should be really proud of him, Hetty. Not many people could go through what he did and come out the other side and even fewer could take the necessary steps to work through it afterwards. He's been incredibly strong." Nate blinked in surprise as Hetty's glasses fogged up slightly, but was convinced he had only imagined it half a second later when all evidence of fogging had disappeared.
"That is very good news, Mr. Getz." Hetty said, her voice slightly hoarse with emotion. "I'll leave deciding when Mr. Deeks is fit to return to duty up to you, then." She stood then and turned her back, busying herself with making a very strong cup of tea.
(In the NCIS gym three weeks later)
"Come on Callen! That all you got?" Sam laughed as he dodged Callen's right hook and delivered a quick shot to the team leader's ribs.
Callen clutched at his side, huffing out an annoyed breath. "I'm calling it! You win! Geez!" He laid down on the practice mat, breathing hard. Sam laughed at him, taking a swig from his water bottle. "Ugh! Don't go getting a big head over this, Sam. I would kick your ass in a knife or gun fight." Callen pouted slightly as Sam raised an eyebrow at him in response.
"If you're that confident, Sam, how 'bout taking me on?" Sam and Callen looked up in surprise to see Deeks standing in the doorway to the gym smirking at them, his eyes focused on Sam.
"Deeks?" Callen asked in delighted surprise, jumping up from the mat. "Are you cleared, then?"
"Yup! I'm officially back to work tomorrow, but I thought I'd come in and get some training in." Deeks's eyes flickered back to Sam's. "I need to make sure I'm fighting fit for duty, after all."
Sam's eyes narrowed. "You don't want to rush it, Deeks. Maybe you should ease your way back into training and put off sparring until later. I'm not going to go easy so you're better off waiting until you're fully—"
"I'm ready now." Deeks said simply, still smirking as he walked over to the mat and stood in front of Sam. "And don't even think about holding back, Sam. It'll be over way too quickly if you do." He held his hands in front of his body, assuming a comfortable fighting stance.
"He's cleared for duty, Sam. If he says he's ready, he's ready." Callen stepped back from the mat, smiling slightly and gesturing for Sam to approach the detective.
Sam shrugged. "You asked for it." He took his place in front of Deeks confidently and crouched into a fighting stance of his own.
"Ready, set—" Callen was cut off abruptly by an exclamation sounding from the doorway to the gym.
"Wait! Wait! I don't wanna miss it!" Kensi shouted as she hurried over to stand next to Callen. She grinned at him conspiratorially. "I'm dying to see Sam get knocked on his ass." She whispered the last part laughingly before turning to wink at Deeks. He winked back playfully.
Callen began again. "Okay, it's on guys! Ready, set…" Callen paused for dramatic effect, his eyes flickering between Deeks and Sam. "Fight!"
END of Chapter 21