A/N:

Hiya! This is a much longer chapter than the last and doesn't begin to make up for my absence. Working two jobs doesn't allow much time for writing, let me tell you.

Thank you for everyone's lovely words or encouragement, you are truly amazing humans.

And I am a horrible human, as I think some of you are going to be rightfully peeved off at the end of this chapter... (Sorry in advance!)

Here it is, I'll be over in the corner, awaiting the tomatoes to be hurled in my direction...

For the first time in ages, waking up was something he really didn't want to do. Subconsciously, Deeks knew he had no urgency to wake, no reason to do anything important but flounder around in his sheets until the late morning. It was an amazing feeling; a weight off his shoulders. He ached and throbbed and was exhausted, even though he'd slept for more hours in a night that he had in many weeks, Deeks was in bliss.

Visions of the previous night filled his mind, bringing an achingly, large grin to his face. Kensi. He felt his lip tear open again, and found he didn't care.

He could feel her breathing against him and everywhere that her body met his. It sent tingles through his body knowing she was there, that she was waiting for him in his apartment. Deeks opened his eyes and found that beautiful head of brown hair, her cheek resting on his shoulder; and couldn't refrain from dropping a kiss on her head.

Kensi had draped her leg over his in the middle of the night, their joined hands had settled over his heart. Lily had her back pressed up against his other leg and Monty was snuggled up at his side, head sleeping on his bicep. He was surrounded and pinned with no hope of escaping, and he couldn't care. His smile grew infinitely wider, cracking open his split lip again because this was the aftermath of being missed by people - dogs included - who loved you. He hadn't felt it before, not like this, anyway. Sure there had been women in his life who had missed him, but more so his absence in their beds than in their hearts. He kissed her the crown of her head again, thanking whoever was listening that she hadn't shot him, that they'd made it this far, that he still had her. She didn't know it, but Kensi kept him tethered to this lifestyle. He might have left NCIS and gone back to lone wolf missions for the LAPD if it weren't for her. Even in the beginning of their partnership, there was something about her that kept him badgering and suffering through their 'anything you can do' routine. Having someone to rely on, who had your six, was something he'd never really had before. Having someone willing to go to bat for you and stand up for you, was a new experience for him.

Normally, Deeks would curl up with a bottle of some sort of liquor, Monty and a shit movie and try to remember who he was. This way was undoubtedly the healthier way of finding himself, although needier. He turned his head to look at the woman sleeping beside him, rubbing her nose gently against his shoulder in her sleep. to wake up next to her, he'd take the needy path.

He brushed his thumb against her hand, smoothing over already smooth skin, before bringing it up to his lips and gently placing their joined hands on his chest. Not really meaning to wake her up, his eyes hadn't left her as his watched those big brown eyes flutter open. He watched the smile form on her lips and felt her hand squirm tenderly between his and his chest.

Kensi finally looked up from his shoulder to meet his eyes, shocked to find him awake and staring at her. 'Hey,' she said shyly, smile not leaving her lips.

'Hi,' he smiled back.

Kensi blushed and rolled off him, and he instantly missed her from his body. 'Did I hurt you during the night?' She asked concerned.

'If you did, I didn't feel it,' he chuckled gently. 'Haven't slept that well for two months.'

Her fingers came up to his lip, stroking the skin underneath it. He froze. His heart almost stopped at the gentle worry.

'You've split your lip open again,' she said breathily. Was that a hint of heat, Deeks thought.

He sucked the broken flesh into his mouth and tasted blood, he didn't care. 'From smiling too much,' he replied, swearing he saw her blush darker.

Her fingers lingered there, longer than necessary,

'Go back to sleep.'

'Nah, awake now.'

'I'll fix us some breakfast, then' she said and left the bedroom without another word. Deeks stared after her for a moment before inching out of bed gingerly, careful of his midsection. As he shuffled to the bathroom he heard her fiddling with pots and pans in the kitchen. He had to laugh when he found his usually clean and Spartan vanity cluttered with makeup, her toothbrush and toothpaste in the cup where his normally were. He felt a pang in his gut, a different pain, of longing: he'd hate to see them go.

When he finished in the bathroom, he found her in the kitchen ending a conversation on her phone. Again, like so many mornings, he itched to wrap his arms around her, snuggling his chin into her neck. He may not be killed considering he was already injured and she missed him.

But he didn't. Simply stretched as painlessly as he could and got two plates for them.

'Please tell me that wasn't Hetty calling us in,' he half joked, half begged. He really did not want to work today, not when he needed to spend a lazy day with his partner sewing the pieces of himself back together.

'Mom. I told her I'd be a little late,' there was a soft smile on her lips that told him she was up to something.

'Didn't tell her I was home?'

'Nope,' she grinned broadly this time. 'Want to surprise her.'

'You're mean,' he accused, smile just as wide. Not mentioning he wanted the same thing last night.

'Don't be snide to the woman cooking your breakfast, you won't get any otherwise.'

'Yes, ma'am. What are we having?'

'French toast and bacon. I can cook some other eggs if you like, too.'

That made him frown a little. 'Since when can you cook French toast?'

Kensi turned back to the stove, a knowing smile on her face, which made him suspicious. 'A girl can't give all her secrets away.'

'Not that I'm not appreciative, but why are you doing this?'

'You're hurt, been on a mission for the last two months, and you've dropped weight meaning you haven't been eating properly. You haven't been to the beach, haven't spent any time with dogs, and to top it all off, you had to be someone you despise,' she hadn't turned around during that rant, but she did when she took a breath. 'I think that should allow me to take care of my partner and cook him a decent breakfast, don't you?'

He gulped at the intensity in her eyes. 'How'd you work all that out, Miss Holmes?'

'You're thinner, that's easy enough. You don't go to the beach for a week and I can still smell the ocean on you as thick as if I were there, so if you did, you didn't stay long; Monty and Lily didn't almost kill you smelling other animals on you last night, nor your belongings, just a normal 'You've been gone 41 days! Where have you been?' kind of smelling; and you were wrecked, you didn't want to talk about the operation, and you told me the guy was an asshole. You're not the only one who can detect. Now, please, sit, talk to your mutts and let me finish breakfast.'

He chuckled again. 'Right as always, Wikipedia.'

Kensi stared him down, bread sizzling in the pan, waiting for him to move. He did, but not in the direction she'd hoped. Deeks stopped in front of her, watching those gorgeous features turn confused and ever so gently, leant in and pressed his lips to her cheek. 'Thank you,' he whispered in her ear. And he left, before he did something like kiss her properly. Lily and Monty started to wag their tails madly as he walked to the couch, both of them jumping on either side of him as he sat down gingerly. He thanked whoever was watching over him again for sending Kensi to him.

*~-=.oOo.=-~*

'How do you want to do this?' Deeks asked her, all seriousness in his voice like they were about to walk into an OP. It felt good rolling the words off his tongue. Monday and normality didn't seem like such a nuisance anymore.

'I'd say knock on the door and wing it,' Kensi smiled back. 'We're late, and she'll probably be a little annoyed. I'm sure I'll be forgiven, though. I brought her a present after all.'

'I'm not sure how I feel about you talking about me like I'm some sort of object. I'm not a piece of meat, you know.'

She laughed at that, her musical laughter igniting the fire that had been dormant for two months and a wave of just how much he missed her came crashing over him again.

'Deal with it.'

Lily and Monty were well behaved as they sat at the door. They'd been here enough times to know that the wooden object that led them to Nirvana would be opened by one of their humans, they just had to be patient.

Kensi rang the doorbell, Deeks had ducked behind her, using his partner as a makeshift shield – the only time he would ever do it, he promised himself – and Deeks heard Julia's rant before the door even opened.

'Really, Kensi!' she scolded through the door, the annoyance dripping off her voice. 'You're late! We've been ready to go-' Julia opened the door roughly, and stopped as soon as her eyes fell him. The frowns that had been creased in her forehead disappeared and cracked into a smile.

'Marty,' she gasped and wrapped her arms tight around him. He winced as she touched his side and Julia let go in an instant. 'Oh, I'm so sorry!' she hadn't stopped smiling yet, and there were tears forming in her eyes. Julia held his face in her hands, 'I'm so happy you're back and safe. We all missed you.'

Deeks was taken aback by Julia's reaction. Sure, he'd thought they'd miss him, but not to this extent. The way she clung to him was like a mother welcoming home her child after too long an absence, happy, relieved, and a twinge of annoyance, but all loving.

'I missed you guys, too,' he managed.

'Ugh,' she swiped angrily at the tear that had broken free. 'Look at me. Come in,' Julia took his arm and tugged him along.

With the arrival of Lily and Monty, everyone knew Kensi had turned up. As Deeks was pulled along by her mother, he couldn't smell the cooking that had usually been started by this time, nor was the family busy in the house preparing. They were all waiting in the lounge room, sitting on the sofas, waiting. Kaylee with her fingers tapping madly on her iPhone, Mike absentmindedly rubbing Monty's ears as the dog sat in front of the older man, Joel had picked up the monstrous form that was Lily and had laid her across his lap, belly up, and Mitch had hold of her ears, playing with the long fluff and teasing her nose while his brother held her.

Deeks got choked up again at the sight. This was what it felt like coming home, to people who cared, and damn it, if it wasn't the best feeling.

'About time, Kensi,' Mike huffed. They'd clearly been waiting for her and for a while, too. Deeks didn't have enough time to process why they'd all been waiting when the family looked up in unison. Similar features of annoyance quickly vanished from their faces at the sight of the detective. Dogs got shifted in an instant and he was attacked. Kaylee was the first, and before she could almost kill him in one of her bone crushing hugs, he dropped down to one knee and hugged her gently. It hurt to bend, but it was the lesser of two evils.

'I'm hurt, Sweetpea,' he admitted quietly, as she slipped into his arms. 'None of those amazing hugs for a while, ok?'

Kaylee wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders, and hugged him dearly and much softer than her usual ones. 'We missed you.'

'I missed you, too,' Deeks said, getting back up and kissing her forehead gently.

Mike was next, pushing Deeks' hand out of the way as he extended it for a handshake. 'Family don't shake hands, son,' he said, embracing Deeks firmly. He was careful not to squeeze the detective too tight, but enough to get his point across.

Deeks was a stunned mullet for a second, completely caught off guard anew by the affection. Mitch came towards Deeks then, grinning and hugging the detective. And then it was Joel's turn.

'What, no kiss for me?' Joel snickered making Deeks forget and let out a hearty laugh. His ribcage felt like it exploded as pain radiated through his body. He held his breath, bit the inside of his lip and waited for it to pass. A gentle hand encircled his bicep, one he knew immediately to be Kensi's. When his eyes opened back up, half a dozen pairs of eyes were looking at him with concern.

'I'm good,' he assured them. 'Pain meds haven't quite kicked in yet, it seems.'

Deeks could tell they were all dying to ask what happened, but as usual, somehow they curbed their curiosity and didn't ask a thing.

'Why didn't you tell me this morning?' Julia asked Kensi.

'Surprise?' Kensi shrugged with a smug, guilty smile. 'Ok, guys, out the door.'

'Are you sure you're going to be up for it?' Julia asked him, worry in her eyes.

He frowned at her with confusion. 'Where are we going?'

'Beach,' his partner answered, her tone said no wiggle room. He was going and that was that. He didn't want to wiggle, though. For the second time in almost the same amount of hours he wanted to kiss her. He found her eyes, revelling in the mischievous sparkle they held. She got one over on him, too, and he loved it. 'There are board shorts in the car,' she smirked. 'Move it, Mister.'

'Oh, I'm definitely up for it,' he grinned. Kaylee held out her hand and he gladly took it, absorbing all the wonderful, happy, innocent energy from the girl. Yeah, this was exactly what he needed after the OP, and he was so very glad his partner knew it, too.

*~-=.oOo.=-~*

It was honestly the most perfect day he could have asked for. The beach was hardly what you would call busy, which was a miracle in itself. He loved the ocean no matter what, but it was always icing on the cake when there wasn't a fight for three inches of space and everyone flinched when a beach ball was thrown overhead.

As it turned out, Kensi had begged her mother for a beach day instead of their usual family brunch at home. Her mother hadn't put up much of a fight, packing up their salads and nibblies and made sandwiches for everyone that morning, basically doing anything to try and put a smile on her daughter's face while he'd been away. As it turned out, it was Kensi making smiles reappear on long faces.

Kensi had hoodwinked the lot of them, himself included, and there was no way he could ever thank her enough, though he'd spend the rest of his life trying. Yeah, it sucked that he couldn't surf, or chase Kaylee around, or play frisbee with everyone; but the mere presence of these wonderful people around him and his proximity to the waves started putting the pieces of his soul back into place. The shirt he wore stayed on, not wanting to alarm anyone or receive unwelcome stares from onlookers, and he never went any further than knee deep in the relatively small waves; and yet, regardless of all of what he couldn't do, just being with the Feldman's and Kensi and their dogs was amazing. There was a point there he'd forgotten the previous months, forgotten that he was trying to forget and got lost in everything around him. Of course, he would move too quickly and it all came crashing back.

Kensi had packed everything he would have needed, sunscreen, board shorts, flip-flops, towels, even his pain meds and a book. How she managed to smuggle everything out of his place without his knowledge, he'd never know – probably when he struggled in the shower.

They'd taken a walk with Kaylee along the shore line, the girl in between the two of them holding on to their hands as they walked. She only ever let go when she saw a pretty shell and ran screaming when something had wrapped around her leg - the seaweed was hardly life threatening.

He watched Kensi and Kaylee surf for a while, too. They were rusty and were dumped a number of times, but their smiles always stayed put, waving at him occasionally back on shore. He gently stroked Monty's ears as the dog placed his head in his master's lap.

'They're really good,' Mitch said sitting down beside him.

'Yeah. If they had kept it up while I was gone, they'd be better, though,' Deeks replied, not taking his eyes off the girls.

'You know they couldn't do that, man,' Mitch smiled sadly. 'They missed you too much.' He looked out to his sisters on the waves, Kensi getting thrown off her board again and resurfacing with a smile. 'Surfing is your thing. Saturday mornings belong to all three of you.'

'We have not seen her smile that much in the past two months,' Joel sat on the other side of him now; he was surrounded. He didn't doubt it, because he hadn't smiled - a true, meaningful smile - since he'd been away either. 'Kensi has, been, well-'

'Heartbroken,' Mitch finished for his brother. 'She loves you.'

'And we think she's come to terms with it.'

Deeks stayed silent, unable to process what they'd said. Before he'd left, Deeks could tell there had been a change in her and she was more open, not denying that she'd scared off a woman trying to hit on him, baking snickerdoodles from scratch, and he hoped it was her way of telling him she was ready. He wasn't going to do anything until he was sure - and until he was healed, because he wasn't to let her do all the work if they couldn't control themselves. The boys telling him this was more evidence to support his theory.

'Nothing to say?' Mitch asked.

Oh he had much to say. His insides were holding a celebration of joy with a troubling sensation of fear. His heart was pounding, his stomach was turning and all the while he felt at ease, a part of him knowing the timing was right and this was actually happening. He told the boys none of this though and kept silent.

'Do we need to get all brotherly and protect our sister's honour?' Joel pushed cheekily.

'It's a nice gesture,' Deeks chuckled, 'But, if I did anything to hurt her, you both know she'd kill me before you two got to me. And then you'd have to get in line behind your mom,' he added with a smirk.

'True.'

'Kensi would also kill us for saying all of this to you,' Mitch said.

'But, we've seen what your absence did to her life, and this is before you've started a relationship. Well, at least before you've started sleeping with her.'

'Joel!' Mitch squished his face up in a disgusted contort, he didn't need the image of his sister having sex with Deeks in his mind.

No way, was Deeks going to tell them about their usual sleeping arrangements.

'Guys, I appreciate what you're trying to do. But there's no need. I love her, the only way I'm leaving her is if she asks me to, or I die.'

There was a moment silence beside him, on both sides, taking in what he had admitted to them.

'Good. Let's just hope it's not the second option, for all our sakes,' Joel said, oddly serious. 'If anything, these past months has proven you're a part of this family, and how much we all love you and miss you.'

Deeks was touched, truly. He felt a faint burning sensation behind his eyes, willing himself to not cry. The whole day had been an emotional roller coaster. The Feldman's had accepted him, cared for him as much as he did for them. He was having a hard time looking Joel in the eyes, serious and caring Joel was a force to be reckoned with. And then, as if flipping a switch, his demeanour changed.

'Now, heal up and do something about it. I'm sick of watching you two mope around each other,' Joel ordered with no room for discussion. 'Go have sex already, and start popping out nieces and nephews.'

Mitch gave another sound of disgust and Deeks choked out a laugh. Again he forgot about his cracked rib and he clutched at his side as pain spread through his torso. He gasped for a few seconds, closing his eyes and trying to wait out the pain.

'What did you two do to him?' Kensi said, stopping in front of Deeks. She towered over them, water dripping off her body and surfboard under her arm. With an eyebrow cocked, and glaring at her brothers, she looked like a dangerous, incredibly sexy Bond girl that could hold her own.

'That's our cue,' Mitch said. With that, they disappeared. He didn't think any less of them, Deeks hadn't been on the receiving end of that look and it still scared him.

'Nothing, Fern, your brothers were trying to cheer me up.'

As much as he tried to keep it PG in his brain, the sight of her was another image he would add to the ever growing Kensi fantasy folder. With the way she gulped, he's pretty sure she could read his mind. Instead of shutting it down, Deeks allowed his mind to play out the scene, keeping eye contact with Kensi while he did. He didn't know why he was acting so bold, couldn't help himself like a lot of the time when it came to his partner. His smirk grew as he imagined how he could make her squirm salaciously. Something in his face must have given away his thoughts as Kensi blushed, but wouldn't look away from him. She bit her lip, a small smile beginning for form at her lips. It was his turn to gulp. What he wouldn't give to find out first hand how to-

'Mum said stop hogging Deeks,' Kaylee appeared beside Kensi, snapping them both out of … whatever they were doing. 'That, and food is out, come and eat.'

'Help me up, Sugar Bear?'

Kensi smiled, rolling her eyes slightly, before handing her board to Kaylee. The mention of food had Monty's ears perking up and racing back to the family. Kaylee giggled and followed the mutt, both of them flicking sand up as they went. Deeks laughed at them as he tried to get himself into a less painful position to be helped up before Kensi stopped him.

'There is no easy way to get up, every way is going to hurt.'

'Been a long time since I've had cracked ribs, usually I'm still running on adrenaline. I don't remember it hurting this much,' he replied with a humourless laugh.

'Get on your knees,' she said bluntly.

'Wow, never been on the receiving end of that one,' he said, unable to control his mouth. 'Remind me to play cops and robbers with you more often.'

She rolled her eyes with a huff, 'If you get on your knees, it's easier to push yourself up, and lean on me, rather than me pulling you up.'

'Yes, Special Agent Blye.' He did as she said, still hissing at the ache in his side. He grasped at her forearms while she held his elbows, half pulling him, half steadying as he stood.

'I don't know why I sat my ass down like that in the first place,' he admitted, panting from exertion.

'I'm sorry,' she said quietly as he came to a standing position. It was such a contrast to only a few minutes ago when he'd been ogling her, and Kensi had given back as much as she got.

Her hands let him go when he was standing tall, but he held her firm, keeping her right there in front of him.

'Don't be sorry,' he told her earnestly, 'Don't ever be sorry, Kens, you have helped me so much already, in so many way, and you don't even realise it.'

Kensi's eyes started to fill, and her bottom lip trembled once. His heart cracked with her tough exterior. 'I don't like seeing you hurt,' Kensi whispered. 'I should have been there to stop it.'

Deeks couldn't take it. His arms wrapped around her even though she protested; but he didn't care if it hurt, because seeing Kensi like this nearly killed him. He pulled her close feeling her wet body soak into his clothing. Her arms snaked around him, low on the small of his back and her face nestled into his neck, under his chin.

'Now you know how I felt when you got shot, or punched by king, or the other countless times you got hurt or put yourself in danger.'

'It's my job, Marty,' she said. Her hot breath fanning across his neck.

'Hypocrite,' he chuckled, holding on to her tighter. 'It's our job, princess, like it or not, we both get hurt. But I'll tell you what,' he pulled away a little and lifted her face up to look him in the eyes. Her big brown eyes were reddened with unshed tears. Oh, how he wanted to kiss her. He really did, desperately so. But he resisted. They were too wrecked emotionally, and he didn't want her to think he'd made a mistake and didn't mean it. And then a tear escaped and he brushed it away with his thumb. 'I'm always going to be alright if you're there to help me put myself back together.'

Another tear fell and she smiled at him, 'Me too.'

'Oh, I'll be by your bedside; annoyingly so.'

'I wouldn't have you any other way.'

It was his turn to beam at her, and right then, he knew for sure, their Thing was real. She felt it, he felt it. Now, they just had to do something about it.

'Come on,' she said wiping the last of her tears away, 'I can feel your stomach growling.' Kensi grabbed his hand and laced her fingers through his. That excitement started to bubble up to the surface again while they walked back to their family. And it was their family; both had been caught in a rip tide called the Feldman's and were being drowned by love and laughter.

*~-=.oOo.=-~*

It was late when they finally got back to his place. He'd spent a few hours dozing in the sun, conscious enough to register Kensi's fingertips toying with his hair every so often. He hadn't had any chance to challenge her when she found him swaying and pulled up down to her lap. 'I don't have anywhere else to be,' she'd told him when he would stop her from enjoying the rest of her day. Her fingers had raked through his shorter than normal hair, and he was a goner.

Mitch had sent Deeks a picture he'd managed to snap without his partner noticing. She was sitting up in her low beach chair, brunette curls over her shoulders and an open book in one hand across his chest. Her other was deep in his hair as his head rested on her thigh, sound asleep with a slight smile. Words failed to describe the emotion in that one picture. 'Perfect' was one of them.

Kensi had led the way up the stairs with the dogs following her, while Deeks took his time; getting up from the sand had taken a lot of out him. She'd left the door open for him and started busying herself with cleaning up his apartment. When he finally closed the door, Kensi was moving from room to room, carrying her belongings. It had never occurred to him that she'd leave when the day had finished. He'd gotten so used to the idea of her being there, it didn't seem right with her gone. So he watched as she removed little pieces of herself from his home, trying to figure out how he was actually going to manage without her.

'Are you OK?' Kensi asked, noticing he hadn't moved far from the doorway.

'Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?' Deeks tried to sound nonchalant, but it didn't sound convincing, even to his ears.

'What do you need?' Kensi asked concerned, walking over to him.

You, he wanted to reply, but held his tongue on that one.

'I don't know how to thank you for today, Kens,' he went with instead.

'You don't have to,' she smiled. 'You're my partner, I'd do anything for you.'

'Then don't go,' his mouth blurted out. 'Not tonight.' He could hear the panic and desperation in his tone and a little proud part of him was in ruin. He expected her to pack up quicker at his weakness for her, his neediness that could be seen as something much deeper (which is was), but he needed her to stay.

'Deeks,' she said softly and cupped his cheek. 'I wasn't planning to, not until Monday, or whenever you wanted me to leave.'

He closed his eyes in relief and sighed, a smile creeping onto his face, his anxiety rushing away 'What are you doing then?' he frowned at her.

She chucked softly. 'Cleaning away my clutter, putting clothes in the laundry, feeding the dogs; the usual stuff I do every night.'

'Oh,' he managed, embarrassment starting to sink in at his admittal.

'Believe me, Deeks, I'm not leaving you this weekend. So go and sit, and rest and I'll sort out dinner, OK?'

'What did I do to deserve you?'

He froze. The words had left his mouth. Too late to catch them and take them back. He had said them and Kensi had heard them. Panic set in.

'I ask myself the same about you, too.'

Her response was quiet, barely audible over his shuddering, thumping heart. Deeks did a double take, not quite sure he heard correctly. Kensi's shy grin as she slipped away from him and into the kitchen, told him he had.

He made a vow, right then and there, once he was healed, he'd show her what she meant to him.

But like all best laid plans, they often go awry.

A/N: Hello angry customers... the kiss will come soon, I promise. It's one of 2 chapters I wrote when I first started this story... it's almost here and I really hope you like it as much as I do.

Reviews give me a happy :) (Even if they are to scold me for that last part...)