Prompt from Ryan2009 - Kensi confronts Hetty about whether the reassignment was due her "thing" with Deeks.

"Miss Blye, so good to have you back."

"Thank you, Hetty. It's good to be home."

"I received a report from Assistant Director Granger on the exemplary work you did on your assignment."

"Oh... okay."

"Okay? Is there something bothering you?"

Kensi took a deep breath. "Well, yes. I couldn't help but wonder why you choose me. There were any number of agents who were just as, if not more, qualified than me. Some of them were already on location."

"Does it matter why?"

"Kind of. I just kept thinking that maybe it had something to do with me and Deeks. That maybe you sent me away because of..." Kensi struggled with her words. She wasn't sure how much Hetty knew about them.

"Your thing?"

"How did you..."

"Miss Blye, you want to know my motive for sending you on assignment and whether it had anything to do with your relationship with Mr. Deeks. Is that correct?"

"Well... yes."

"To answer your question: Yes. It did have something to do with my decision."

Kensi was floored. As much as she suspected this, she never thought Hetty would actually confirm it.

"Hetty... how could you? I mean, you couldn't have picked a worse possible time to send me away. Deeks and I were just starting to figure things out and you didn't even let me say good-bye to him. How could you punish me like that? How could you punish us like that when we didn't do anything wrong..."

Hetty held her hand up and Kensi stopped talking mid-sentence.

"Miss Blye... Kensi... Allow me to explain. I don't think you appreciate how difficult my job can be at times. I care about each and every person who I am responsible for. I need to make decisions that I believe are best for everyone and that will ensure the safety of everyone on this team. You say that you and Deeks were figuring things out? Well, that day, both of you had allowed your emotions to override your better judgement. First that morning when Mr. Deeks didn't take down a someone who was threatening you and then later in the day when you broke protocol and ran after your partner. Those two incidences led me to believe that you two were not figuring things out and it was putting the safety of this team at risk. I made the decision to send you on this mission because I felt you were qualified for the job and also because I felt you and Mr. Deeks needed time apart to gain perspective and to work out how to better control your emotions."

"So, does this mean that you don't want us to... be together?"

Hetty smiled. "No, not necessarily. I want you two to find a proper balance and to always have in mind the safety of the entire team. Believe it or not, I sincerely want you two to be happy. If being together makes you happy, then I fully support it. But you must always keep in mind the task at hand and the responsibilities of all those around you."

"Okay, I think I understand. I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. It was just... difficult... being away from him."

"I know. As it was for him. But I believe both of you made good use of your time apart and spent some much needed time in self-reflection."

"Hetty, do you think we can make it work?"

"Yes, I do. I must say that it won't be easy. But I have full confidence that you two will find a way."

A/N: Hetty's dialogue was inspired by a post on dominicvail's tumblr blog (post/69632460867). If you want to read it, just PM me for the link.