When Callen and Sam returned to OSP, their faces were grim. They delivered the new evidence to Hetty, happy to be rid of it. Surprisingly, Callen had gotten several prints from Kensi's window frame, and he hoped it could bring them closer to Kensi's attackers. They had little else to go on, despite the mountain of evidence they had brought back. Sam had made sure to grab the team photo from her bedside, with the intention of replacing it.

"I chatted with Nate" Callen said, "He's heading over to Kensi's now. I hope he's able to help her, and Deeks. The scene was worse than you can see from the pics. They're both gonna need all the help they can get." He told Hetty with a sigh. She looked troubled, but said nothing, opting to instead sip her tea and nod.

Callen and Sam both trudged up to ops, hoping the wonder twins had good news and a a few new leads for them to follow up on. Unfortunately, they had nothing new. A dark cloud seemed to hang over the room as they stood in silence, each lost in thought. No one noticed Hetty step in until she spoke and suggested they all go home for the night and review things with fresh eyes in the morning.

Sam agreed, knowing his family would be waiting for him. He hoped talking to Michelle would help him shake the worst of the rage he was feeling.

Callen said he was sticking around to wait for Nate to return, in case he had more insight that could help. He was also looking forward to a few beers with the friend he rarely saw.

Eric and Nell exchanged a look, and neither moved from heir seats as they continued with their fruitless searches. A few moments later, Hetty returned.

"Do not make me order you to leave, Ms. Jones, Mr. Beale. I need you fresh and alert tomorrow. It would do well for you to go home and unwind. Now." She said sternly. Again, they exchanged a look but silently had to admit they were making no progress. Reluctantly they gathered their things and headed out to Eric's car. He finally broke the silence by asking

"Where to?"

When Kensi finally noticed the bag of food on the table in front of her, something in her calmed as the familiar scent wafted out. She leaned forward and opened the bag with a small smile.

"Thanks, Nate" she said quietly. "Sorry for telling Deeks to make you go away."

"Always knew the way to your heart was through your stomach, Fern." Deeks said with a grin. Nate looked a bit surprised at Deeks joking, but was pleased when Kensi actually smiled back and swatted Deeks' hand as he reached for the food.

"Damn right. And this is mine. " she told him. Nate hadn't realized just how right he'd been that Deeks would know what Kensi needed most.

After Kensi had selected her food, she gestured to the men to grab theirs. They both obliged, and there was a calm silence as they ate their food. As Kensi rapidly finished hers, there wasn't even a moment for her to glance at Deeks before he handed her the remainder of his food, without so much as a pause. Nate grinned inwardly.

Deeks began to tidy up while Kensi finished eating. While he was in the kitchen, Nate turned to Kensi and gave her a knowing look.

"You two seem to be doing a lot better than last time I saw you." He said.

"Yeah. We've sorted a few things out." She said, purposely being vague. She was unsure where she and Deeks stood, especially given recent events. "He's a good friend. And I know he's always got my back. And he knows I've got his." She glanced over as she saw Deeks retrieving a tub of ice cream from the freezer. He knew her better than she knew herself sometimes.

She silently accepted the spoon and tub that he handed her when he returned to the room. At this point, Nate couldn't be quiet anymore.

"I'm glad to see you two worked things out. But I should head out. Need to meet up with Callen and I should let the two of you get to bed. I mean, on your own. Or, um, whatever sleeping arrangement you want. Not that it's any of my business. Yeah, I should go." Nate was now wishing he had opted for silence. Kensi was clearly uncomfortable, and Deeks was mildly amused, but Nate could only see the ghost of a grin before Deeks' focus returned to Kensi.

"That sounds like a good plan." Deeks said. "Kensi needs the rest. And I bet Callen and the rest of the team are looking forward to seeing you. It's been too long since we saw you last, and you don't seem to hang around too long."

"That might be different this time" Nate spoke cautiously. "Hetty is thinking about reassigning me around here for a bit." Deeks nodded, but noticed that Kensi had gone silent. He turned to her to see if she was ok, but he was greeted by a familiar blank face.

"Kens? Kensi? You ok?" He came around to sit directly in her line of view, but she didn't acknowledge him in any way. "Kensi, it's Deeks. I'm right here. Are you ok?" He didn't notice as Nate came around beside him.

"Deeks, has this happened often?" He asked cautiously.

"A few times. At first I thought it was flashbacks, but her flashbacks are usually loud and violent. But she's done this a few times today, and yesterday." Deeks explained.

"What happens when she comes out of it?" Nate asked.

"Usually it's when I touch her, or something is really loud. She jumps, sometimes yells."

"And when it's a flashback?" Nate continued. Deeks blushed and gestured to his sling and his face

"I think that's pretty obvious... If I touch her, she lashes out. So usually I just talk to her calmly until she snaps out of it on her own." Deeks was starting to worry. "Nate, what's going on with her? Is she ok? Did I do something wrong?" The look on Deeks face was rapidly turning to panic and guilt.

"You didn't do anything wrong. But I think she's dissociating." Nate started, wanting to keep things easy for Deeks to understand. "It happens sometimes during or after trauma. It's one of the ways the brain tries to cope with something like this." He gently put his hand on Kensi's as Deeks watched. Kensi startled, as Deeks had predicted, and then leaned back.

"Sorry" she whispered. "I'm not sure what happened." Deeks and Nate exchanged a look, as Deeks sat beside Kensi and put his good arm around her. Then Nate spoke up.

"Kensi, I think what happened is what's called a dissociative episode. It happens sometimes when someone has experienced trauma. It can happen during, and after, a traumatic event. Your brain tends to go somewhere else, almost as if it separates from your body. But it isn't something to panic about. We can talk about it tomorrow." He told her. "Deeks seems to know what you need. He'll take care of you." He reassured them both. "You're going to be ok." He reminded her, as he stood up to leave. "Call me if you need anything. Any time, day or night. My phone's always on. Otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded to Deeks and then slipped out the door.