Kensi sat in her car and contemplated the reasons Hetty and Callen had to not tell her about Marty's accident and the various possibilities didn't sit right with her. She hoped that the reason was not to worry her in the middle of the night and let her get the rest she desperately needs but she knew in her heart that the reason is far more serious. It is definitely to keep off the impending meeting with her injured and missing partner. They aren't sure what his reaction would be. Only that would explain the presence of Nate, their Psychologist.

Dammit! How did I manage to screw up the best relationship I had in years? Kensi questioned herself and shook her head from her thoughts. The thoughts clouded her mind so deeply that she didn't notice the approaching NCIS Special Agent Amanda Johnston.

Amanda was just outside Ops when Kensi had an argument with Nell and Eric. She heard the emotion and the sadness that were underplayed by the self-incriminating anger. She knows Kensi only as a fellow co-worker, someone you greet on the way in and way out but never really spend time with. The only reason she is right now standing next to Kensi's SRX is because of Marty Deeks.

When she heard that Deeks joined Callen's Team as a LAPD Liaison, she lamented that he hadn't accepted to join her team as NCIS Special Agent when she offered him the job, a few months before he joined NCIS OSP. She was angry with Hetty when she learnt that Deeks had resigned from his position as LAPD Liaison with NCIS OSP. When confronted, Hetty comforted Amanda Johnston informing her that the younger man was on his way to Quantico for training as a Federal Agent and if he chooses to join NCIS OSP in LA, she would give him a choice to join her Team.

The reactions from Callen's Team members told Amanda that Deeks joining her Team is a distant dream. Sighing deeply, she knocked on the car window before bending down to peer through the glass.

"Agent Johnston?" Kensi was surprised that Amanda was at the Mission.

"Could you open the door? It's cold outside." Amanda requested. Nodding in the affirmative, Kensi opened the door and let the Amanda in.

"How can I help you, Agent Johnston?" Kensi asked formally but she really wished Amanda would leave so she can visit her friend in Long Beach Memorial.

"I was wondering if we could get some coffee. There's a 24 hour coffee shop, just a few blocks down the road." Amanda suggested.

"I don't think it's a good idea. I have to be somewhere." Kensi resisted.

Amanda looked at Kensi for a few seconds before replying, "I know and I also know that with Nate, Callen, and Hetty standing guard, no one can get to Deeks and he is probably in a sedative induced sleep and wouldn't wake up for a few hours."

"You know about Deeks?" Kensi was startled. The knowledge that Callen trusted Amanda from another Team and not her hurt her even more.

"My team is on rotation to manage the phones for the night and when Nell and Eric arrived, they briefed us as they needed help with sifting through hours of traffic cam footage." Amanda explained.

Sighing deeply and knowing that Amanda wouldn't just leave, Kensi drove towards the coffee shop. She was also hoping she could get more information about Deeks and the case with the time she can spend with Amanda Johnston. Both the Special Agents were silent on their way over to the coffee shop, both thinking about the conversation they would be sharing.

"So, Agent Johnston, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Kensi asked as they seated themselves at a table.

"Please call me Amanda. Everyone does." Amanda said and was contemplating how to breach the subject. Kensi nodded in reply and took a sip from her drink as she regarded Amanda Johnston.

"Kensi, I have brought you here to talk to you, woman to woman…" Amanda was stopped mid-sentence as Kensi glared at her. Kensi's glare may make lesser individuals wish to vaporize but not seasoned Agents and one ex-cop.

"I know we only greet each other in the hallways. But I need to talk to you about Deeks." Putting up her hand to stall Kensi's objections, Amanda continued.

"I know you have no idea but I knew Deeks long before he became NCIS-LAPD Liaison. I met him when Gregory was undercover to bring down a drug ring in Camp Pendleton. The suppliers were based in LA and Deeks was undercover to bring them down. This was before you, Sam, and Callen joined OSP. He helped Greg and I close the case and he got a reprimand on his file for helping us. Then almost a year later, and a year before you met him, he blew his cover to save Greg and me and ended up in a hospital for a week. I offered him a job and he rejected saying he wanted to remain a Cop." Amanda paused to take a sip from her coffee as she observed Kensi's reactions to the revelation.

Kensi's first reaction that Amanda knew Deeks before her Team did was that of shock. The knowledge that he collaborated on two different missions with Amanda's Team was news to her. She always thought she had Deeks pegged but the revelations over the past week or so told her she has no idea what her Partner truly is. She failed to follow one of the most important rules taught to her by her father – 'Never judge a book by its cover'. She now understood how well it applies to Deeks. Sighing deeply in regret for not trying to know her Partner, Kensi took a sip from her coffee and waited for Amanda to continue.

"I am not here to lecture about not trying to know your Partner better but to let you know that I know him as a person. I know that he wouldn't hold a grudge this long unless it's with himself. The only reason he hasn't contacted any of you is because he hasn't forgiven himself for failing to gain your trust." Amanda paused again to take another sip from her drink.

Kensi thought hard before asking the most important question, "How do we show that we trust him? I mean I know that if we say that we trust him, his reaction will be that we trust him because of this resignation and disappearance."

"Listen, I have no idea what happened within your team for Deeks to do something as drastic as this. Knowing him well enough, I know that he would never take any comments or jokes seriously unless it's about his job. If you people have ridiculed his methods and approach to the job, you've got a fight on your hands. If you people now try to show him respect and behave in any way other than how you have behaved in the past, he would take it in a negative way." Amanda explained.

"So, either way, we're screwed." Kensi muttered into her drink.

Amanda smirked in response and continued speaking. "The best course of action for you is to show him how much you care for him. He needs to know that you and by saying you, I don't mean the Team Kensi; I mean you care for him. At the same time keep the atmosphere around him lively with light-hearted comments and jokes like he always does. Remember, never ever try to insult him about the way he performs his job. He will do anything necessary to keep his Team, more importantly, his Partner safe even if it means leaving them. You want him on your Team; show him that you need him."

Kensi was pushed into deep thought by Amanda's suggestions. Can I really let him in? Kensi questioned herself.

Amanda stood up to leave followed by Kensi. The ride back to the mission was silent as Kensi kept thinking about her course of action and Amanda deciding that she shouldn't disturb the woman on a mission, a mission to keep her partner. Just before Amanda left the car, she gave the last bit of information Kensi needs, "He acts the idiot but he's very smart, smart enough to go to UCLA Law School on Academic Scholarship. I just thought you need to know."