Here's another long chapter for you. I'm on a roll here. What can I say. My minions are being very helpful at the moment which is a nice change!

I don't own NCIS Los Angeles or any of the characters on the show. I only own my original characters which in this story include Ben Davis, Jonathan Kravitz and Emilio Kennedy.

My beta, nherbie, never ceases to amaze me. She's always got a suggestion that makes the chapter better.

To all of my loyal reviewers, you know who you are. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review. It means the world to me. To my Spanish reviewer, Muchas gracias por las palabras de las clases . Signifier mucho para mí qui todavía estás leyendo y disfrutando de la history. To all of my guest reviewers, thanks so much. I wish I could respond to you personally, but this will have to do.

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Enjoy.

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CHAPTER 24 - Visitors And a Plan

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What Kensi couldn't know was that Ivan Lee was already working on a plan to get to him again. Ivan had sent Jimmy back to the hospital in the morning in Harry's place to see if he could find out anything about Deeks. He had Harry searching for a new abandoned building to use once they had the detective back. Jimmy got lucky when he saw the orderlies transferring Deeks to his regular room. He was able to follow them at a distance to that room and realized the long-legged brunette he had noticed earlier was staying in the room with him. He decided to wait for a while to see if he could find out anything else before he went down to his car to call Lee. He saw a large black man arrive and the leggy brunette leave, but didn't notice any other guards or any increased security around the detective and decided he should check in. He called Lee. "Boss, Deeks has been moved to room 528. There was a chick with him earlier and now there's a big black dude with him. But I haven't seen any police guards or extra security around him. He's still in pretty bad shape from what I overheard. He looked bad when I saw them wheel him into his room, but I overheard the doctor telling his team that he would recover with plenty of rest and care. Sorry Boss."

Ivan groaned in disappointment before he remembered this would give him more chances to torture Deeks. "Damn, this might be even more fun than the first time I had him. I'll get to break him down all over again. And this time, he won't get away. I'll make sure of it. He'll be begging me to kill him before I'm through with him." Ivan had a thoughtful look on his face as he told Jimmy to take a break until Harry got back. "Go back to the motel and stay there until you hear from me or Harry."

"Sure thing boss." Jimmy drove the van out of the parking structure just before the police guard for Marty arrived so didn't see them. They had been dispatched by Lt. Bates to the hospital when LAPD and NCIS determined 'Leon' was in fact Ivan Lee. Jimmy proceeded to the motel after grabbing a bite to eat and then decided to take a nap.

A couple of hours later, Harry checked in with Lee by phone. "I found a place Boss. It's the old Hall of Justice on 210 W. Temple St. Its been abandoned since 1994 and it's big enough for what you want. It even has a basement that used to house the boiler room. No one would hear anything from inside that room. What do you think?"

"It sounds usable. I sent Jimmy to the motel. Pick him up and get back here to the Cedar street house. We'll take a look at the Temple St. building together. If I think it will work, I'll get things set up there while you two do a job for me. I want to grab Deeks from the hospital, maybe that chick too if she comes back to see him."

"Will do Boss. I'll get him and be there in about an hour." Harry started his car and drove to the motel he and Jimmy were staying at. Jimmy was already asleep when he arrived at their room. He looked around at the mess Jimmy had made with disgust. He then shook his shoulder to wake him up, but only got a groan out of the man. After trying unsuccessfully for several minutes, he leaned over and yelled into his ear. "Get up ya lazy bum! Now! The boss wants to see us. He has a job for us to do."

The shouting finally woke Jimmy up. He turned over and looked at Harry grumbling the entire time. "Okay, okay. Geez Harry, don't get your panties in a twist. I'm up. Let me get dressed and we'll go." Jimmy shambled out of bed, hurriedly dressed then followed Harry to his car, grumbling all the way.

Harry drove both of them to the Cedar street house where they met up with their boss. As soon as Jimmy saw Lee, he stood up a little straighter and tried to brush his hair back off his face. Anything to look a little better. The look on Lee's face didn't bode well for anyone who ran afoul of him.

"We're going to check out the building Harry found. It's at 210 W. Temple St. Harry, you're driving. Jimmy, grab those bags. I have some toys in there I'm going to be using on Deeks once we have him back."

"Sure Boss." came identical replies.

~,~,~

After checking the Temple St. building and declaring it perfect for his plans, Lee outlined what he wanted Harry and Jimmy to do.

"I want Deeks back and you two are going to help me get him. I'm not done playing with him yet. I can't believe he got away from me in the condition he was in, damn it all to hell! Jimmy what can you tell me about the nursing schedule around him? Are they always checking on him or is he mostly by himself?"

Jimmy replied carefully "I didn't see many visits by the nurses boss. The only times I saw them go into the room was when they were giving him his medication or taking him somewhere for more tests. It looked like they checked on him every four hours or so. That hot dark-haired chick or that black dude was in his room all the time though. She's was with him when I left and I overheard the nurses say she's staying the night in his room."

"She's nothing to worry about, she's just a girl. You two should be able to handle her. In fact, now that I think about it, grab them both. He might not want anything to happen to her, so if she's grabbed too, I can make him suffer even more. Beside, it will be fun to hurt her in front of him. And it will make her suffer as she watches me torture him." Ivan's face reflected the enjoyment he was looking forward to when he had both Kensi and Deeks captive.

"I want you to go in tonight when things are quiet and there aren't any visitors. Here's my plan." Ivan outlined his plan to the two men in front of him. It was a relatively simple plan. They were to sneak into the room, grab them both and then get them out of the hospital in a laundry cart.

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Marty's memory continued to improve throughout that afternoon as the last of the drugs left his his system. He remembered everyone and everything except for the events surrounding his torture by Lee. There were blank spots in his memories from just after his abduction until he was admitted to the hospital. He was still in a lot of pain from the broken ribs, and the beatings he had endured. His bruises were quite colorful, with the older ones becoming a sick-looking yellow while the newer ones were changing from the deep purple they had been to blue and green. Headaches from the concussion he sustained still plagued him, but they were improving as well. Overall, he knew things were looking up as far as his health was concerned.

Kensi refused to leave his side, even when he told her he would be fine with the police outside his door. "I'm not leaving you alone Marty. I'm here for the duration so you might as well give in to the inevitable. All in, remember? The team will be visiting later today, so I'll get something to eat then and Sam is going to relieve me in the morning so I can go home and change clothes. I just got you back and Ivan Lee is out there somewhere."

"What do you mean Ivan Lee is out there somewhere? He's in prison isn't he?

No Marty, he escaped; remember I told you that this morning."

After thinking about it for a moment or two, he remembered. "That's right, you did. I'm still fuzzy I guess. Damn it!"

"I'm not taking any chances that he might get to you again." She looked at him with fire in her eyes daring him to continue arguing.

"Okay…okay…I give up." He smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "How did I ever manage without my Bad Ass Blye to protect me?" He looked down at his lap and then glanced up at her through his bangs. "I'm so glad you're on my side and in my life. I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Have I told you lately how much you mean to me…how much I love you?"

Kensi's face as she looked at him was full of love. " Yes, you have Marty. I love you too."

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Marty finally convinced her that with the police outside his room and visits from the rest of the team scheduled throughout the afternoon, she could take the break she had mentioned earlier to get something to eat.

Kensi had been gone about 30 minutes when Nell and Eric arrived. Nell took one look at him, began crying and gathered him carefully into her arms for a long heartfelt hug. "I'm so glad to see you looking a little better. You listen to your doctors now. We need you back."

"I will Nellasaurus. Thanks for finding me." Marty hugged her back, wiped her tears and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he thanked her.

Eric stood back, then put his hand out for a shake. "You look like crap Deeks, but still better than when we last saw you. Is Kensi taking good care of you?" Looking around, he didn't see her "Where is she anyway? I didn't think wild horses would get her out of your room."

"Yes, she's taking good care of me and keeping me in line. I finally convinced her to go get something to eat. She didn't want to go, but my amazing powers of persuasion finally convinced her that with the police outside the door, and friends coming by to visit, I would be okay for a little while." He grinned at Eric and gave him a high-five.

The three of them spent time talking about what was going on in ops but staying away from mentioning what had happened to him. The quiet conversation along with a few jokes and quips made by each one of them was a pleasant break for the detective. He was getting tired but was enjoying their company and didn't want them to leave to kept quiet. He should have know Nell would see right through his efforts to remain alert. The yawn caught him by surprise and he couldn't hide it from her. She saw it, smirked at him and signaled Eric.

"We're going to take off man." Eric stated. "You look like you could use a nap."

"I am getting tired, but I don't want you to leave. I've been enjoying this."

Nell reassured him "We'll be by to visit again. You concentrate on getting better."

He couldn't resist getting one last quip in. "Yes Velma."

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Marty fell asleep a little while after the wonder-twins left. He didn't know how long he'd been sleeping when his cell rang. Nate was on the other end of the call and wanted to talk about what he'd gone through. They spent about thirty minutes together with Nate providing some very helpful ideas to help him come to terms with everything.

"How are you handling everything?"

"I'm doing okay."

"So, by okay you mean that you've been having nightmares and still trying to come to terms with being tortured by a madman for days on end." Nate wasn't going to let him get away with not facing what happened to him.

"Yes", he sighed. "I've been having one or more nightmares nearly every night. I sleep better when Kensi is here though. She's able to wake me up when one starts. We've actually been talking about what happened to me and how everyone, including me, felt during that time. I really am doing better Nate."

"That's good to hear but don't forget what I said. The more you talk about it out here, the less you're gonna have to work on it inside."

"I remember. What you told me helped a lot after Sidorov so I'm not going to make the same mistakes this time as I did then. I'm not going to pull away from everyone and hide. I may be slow, but I finally realized hiding from everyone and trying to fix things on my own doesn't work."

"That's good to hear but don't forget what I said. The more you talk about it out here, the less you're gonna have to work on it inside. Call me any time if you want to talk. You have my number. I'll call you again in a couple of days if I haven't heard from you to check in, okay?"

"Okay, Nate. I appreciate it man."

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When Sam arrived, he handed Deeks' his gun. "Here's your gun. Kensi said you wanted it."

Marty took the gun gratefully and began checking it over. "Yeah, I do. Thanks. I feel better having it. I know Lee is coming for me Sam, I know it. I have to be able to help protect myself."

"Just don't shoot yourself by mistake." Sam quipped. Deeks looked at him with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Really…really! I'm a good shot and you know it. But I am kind of impressed at the quip you just threw out there, big guy. I think that's the best one I've ever heard from you. I know it's at my expense of course but that's nothing new. I didn't know you had it in you. Did it hurt? Seriously, you didn't pull a muscle or anything did you?"

"Shut up Deeks."

"Shutting up Sam." Marty snarked.

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Kensi was back when Hetty and Granger arrived together. Deeks had expected Hetty, the Duchess of Deception, to visit him. After all, she was his next of kin for medical purposes, but Granger was a surprise. As usual he looked pissed about something and stood there with a frown on his face. Hetty looked her favorite detective over very carefully. "Mr. Deeks, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine Hetty."

She looked at him in silence with what he always thought of as her stare of death or as Granger called it, her 'gorgon stare'. As usual, her hands were crossed in front of her. The silence stretched until he began babbling. "Um. I'm more than fine. I'm good…in fact I'm great. I'm remembering more details now that the drugs are mostly out of my system. I'm not in as much pain. Kensi's helped a lot." He looked over at Kensi and smiled at her before turning his attention back to Hetty.

"Mr. Deeks, you may be 'fine' as you put it, but you're a long way from great. You still look like death warmed over which is actually an improvement from how you looked when you were first brought into the hospital. You were very close to death. You had us all rather worried."

"I was?" He looked at Kensi in shock. "I…I didn't think it was that bad…I…I didn't really think about it at all. I thought the drugs were the worst of it."

"You had been administered so many drugs, the levels in your blood were considered not only toxic, but life threatening. You'd been starved, and when you were found you were feverish and extremely dehydrated. You had a seizure in the ambulance. So yes, you were in very grave condition. I expect you to listen to your doctors. We need you back, alive and healthy."

It took a few minutes for Deeks to process what Hetty had told him. He really hadn't thought about how close he had come to death. The thought shook him when he realized that if he had died, his promise to Kensi would have been broken. As soon as he got past the revelation, he smirked at her. "I knew I was your favorite. Callen didn't believe me when I told him, but I knew." Deeks looked over at his partner and smiled. "See Kensi, I am her favorite."

"Shut up Deeks." she smiled at him taking the sting out of her words.

"Why does everyone keep telling me to shut up. Really…really?" Marty asked.

"Maybe it's because you're supposed to be resting, you think?" Kensi replied.

Hetty smiled to herself at the banter between the two partners. "I know you're getting better every day, but I mean it. Listen to your doctors. We need you back at the Mission on active duty and that won't happen until you're fully recovered." Hetty continued looking him over carefully. He was still extremely thin with colorful bruises over every part of his body that was visible; but his eyes had a little bit of a sparkle back in them which was encouraging.

Granger stood there continuing to stare at him in silence. It was beginning to freak him out when suddenly he extended his hand. "Get well, we need you at OSP. You're an integral part of the team. We're working with LAPD to catch the bastard who did this to you. Glad to see you doing better Deeks."

Marty was once again in shock. "Uh…thanks Director Granger."

"You're welcome." he growled. "Now shut up and take care of yourself." He gave Deeks a little grin as he told him to shut up.

"Again someone's telling me to shut up. Do you all think I talk too much?" He laughed when they all nodded their heads at him. Looking at Hetty he continued "I knew you guys would find me. I just had to hang on until you did."

"But we didn't find you Mr. Deeks. You rescued yourself. A very impressive showing, I might add. Has Nate got in contact with you yet?"

Deeks ran his hands through his hair before answering. "Yes, we talked for about 30 minutes earlier today. He's going to call again in a couple of days."

"Good. I expect you to cooperate fully with him. The entire team will be talking to Nate over the next several weeks."

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His dinner tray arrived a little after Hetty and Granger left. His diet still consisted of small portions along with a small glass of milk. He looked at his dinner then turned his mournful expression on the nurse. "Why can't I have some real food? Please?"

The nurse had to be one of the few women on the planet immune to the look he gave her. But then she had been in the profession long enough to have seen it all. "You're not going to get your way Mr. Deeks. The doctor has ordered small meals for you along with reduced fluid and that's what you're getting."

"But I'm hungry." he pouted. The nurse gave him a look that clearly indicated she was unmoved by his words. As she left the room, Kensi heard him mutter under his breath "Nurse Ratched, you're one mean woman."

Marty was startled when Kensi let out a bark of laughter jerking in reaction. When he did, he jarred his broken ribs causing a hiss to escape as he hugged himself to ride out the pain.

"Oh God, Deeks. I'm so so sorry! Are you okay? Should I call the doctor?" Kensi was beside herself and wanted nothing more than to take the pain away. She would have hugged him, but was afraid it would only make his ribs ache more so contented herself with grabbing his hand and rubbing her thumb over his palm.

"It's okay" Marty managed to huff. "Whew…give me a minute here. I moved wrong." He concentrated on taking slow breaths pulling as much air into his lungs as he could without causing any additional pain. "It's getting better now, seriously."

Once the pain was under control, Marty turned to Kensi and gave her his best pathetic look hoping she would take pity on him and give him some of her food. She had picked up a burger, fries and a shake from a fast food restaurant and the smell was enticing.

Kensi shrugged her shoulders and shook her head as she realized what he was trying to do. "The doctor has you on a restricted diet for a reason Marty."

"Kensalina…please," he begged. "I'm hungry. I'm a growing boy."

He looked at his dinner once again in disgust then turned to Kensi. "Can't I have a few french fries at least? Please? I won't tell anyone."

Kensi was having trouble not letting his wheedling get to her. She finally promised him she would talk to the doctor to see if he could graduate to more food per meal when he came in the next morning on rounds. "Try to think of something to take your mind off of food."

"I can think of a lot of things that will take my mind off my stomach Fern…a lot of things." His eyes were sparkling with mischief as he slowly looked her up and down before stopping at her face, looking at her with a leer. "A lot of very pleasant things. Things we can do together."

"You are such a perv. You have a one-track mind you know that?"

Marty smiled widely "What are you talking about? I didn't say anything…anything at all, Fern."

"Marty! You're in too much pain to be even thinking about what I know you're thinking about."

"You're not being any fun Sugarbear, no fun at all." Marty pouted. "If you would kiss me it would make everything better, you know."

"Oh really! I already kissed your owies earlier and now you want some more kisses? How old are you Deeks? Six?" Kensi kissed his forehead before continuing. "There, does that feel better?"

"Yes it does Kens." There was that husky tone of voice again and the twinkle in his eyes. "More please?" His face was full of mischief as he looked at her in anticipation.

"Maybe later Marty…maybe later. You'll have to get by with this for now" she whispered as she gave him one of the sweetest kisses he had ever received. It was a kiss full of promise; hope for the future; and happiness that he was getting better. Her kiss told him more than mere words could have and he felt more loved than he had in the 14 long days and nights without her. "I missed this. I can't believe a case from so many years ago has caused so much trouble. I almost lost everything. There were times while I was in that room that I remember. I remember I didn't think I could take any more. I wanted it all to stop…the pain…the taunts…everything. It was so bad…so bad, I wanted to die. How could I have wanted that? I'd have lost you if I died. It must have been the drugs. They really messed with my head."

They shared a look that promised eternity together. "Come lay beside me Sunshine, please."

"Are you sure I won't hurt you?" As he shook his head no and patted the bed beside himself, she climbed carefully into it and gathered him into her arms. He snuggled into her with one arm around her waist and put his head on her shoulder. He took a deep breath filling his nose with her unique scent which always made him want to hold her even closer. She looked over at him giving him a long gentle kiss. Before too long, both of them were sleeping.

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At midnight, the police guard on Deeks' room changed. Officer Green looked into the room intending to introduce Kensi to the new men, but she was asleep beside Deeks so she decided not to disturb her. Turning to the new men who would be on guard until noon the next day she told them to introduce themselves to Kensi when she woke up. "Don't forget, the password is "noodles". Be sure you tell her that or she'll hurt you."

"Come on, that slip of a girl?" came the disbelieving reply from Det. Gordon Tompkins. "I could take her easily with one hand tied behind my back."

"Yeah, right. It's your funeral Tompkins." Officer Brooks interjected. "I've seen that "slip of a girl" as you so quaintly put it, in action. You don't want her on your bad side, believe me. She's lethal when she's pissed."

As he and his partner turned to go, he heard a snort come from Tompkins and some mumbled words "That little chick can't hurt me. I'd like to see her try." Brooks wished he was going to be around to see what Kensi Blye did to Tompkins if he didn't provide the password. He was a jerk who didn't think women should be in law enforcement; he had always been a jerk and he would always be a jerk. It would be good for him to be taken down a peg or two.

Richard Riley and Gordon Tompkins took up their positions outside Deeks' door, getting comfortable for the long shift they were facing. The hospital was quiet with the lights turned low due to the late hour so the two men were conversing softly when Kensi woke up. She heard sounds outside, so slipped carefully out of Deeks' hospital bed, padding silently to the door and checking the surroundings. She didn't recognize the two men outside his door, so slipped out and confronted them at gunpoint. "Identify yourselves and what you're doing here."

"What do you think we're doing here girly? Why don't you put that popgun away and take that cute little ass of yours back into the room. We've got you covered." Tompkins snorted, being an asshole as usual. Before he realized what was happening, Kensi had hit him in the stomach doubling him over, grabbed his hand putting him in a very painful arm lock, then pushed him up against the wall with his arm still in a very painful position. "Let me go you bitch!" he snarled while he struggled to get out of the hold she had on him. Kensi calmly applied more pressure to his arm and he finally stopped struggling.

"Listen up you moron." she spat at him. "Unless I hear the correct password from you in the next two seconds, I'm going to break your arm for you. I'm then going to kick you so hard in your lunchbox, your balls will end up in Ventura. You'll be singing soprano for a very long time. That is if I don't just shoot you as a dangerous felon attempting to kidnap the man asleep in the room behind me. You got me? I also expect an apology for your language just now."

Det. Riley was quietly enjoying the scene happening in front of him laughing to himself. He couldn't wait to tell Green and Brooks what Kensi had said and done to Tompkins. He didn't want her to get in trouble though so he spoke up "The password is "noodles" Agent Blye. You'll have to forgive my partner here. He's not house trained. His mother's lessons on manners and how to treat ladies obviously didn't take with him."

Giving Tompkins' arm one more quick push, Kensi let him go, putting her gun away but keeping her finger pointed at his face then turned to Det. Riley. "I remember you Det. Riley. It's Richard, right? Call me Kensi. Nice to see you again. What did you do or who did you piss off to get stuck with this piece of work?" she said nodding her head toward Tompkins. He was still against the wall trying to figure out what had just happened.

"I didn't piss anyone off that I know of, but for this assignment, he's my partner. I usually work alone." Turning to Tompkins, he gave him a shit-eating grin, "Brooks warned you about her. You should have listened. You only have yourself to blame partner."

Tompkins scowled at both of them as he moved his arm around trying to relieve the pain he was feeling.

Kensi stood there staring at Tompkins until he remembered she was expecting an apology from him. He didn't think he had anything to apologize for, but figured he'd better say something. "I'm sorry Agent Blye," he ground out. Kensi could tell it was an obviously insincere apology but she let it go. He was furious that a woman had been able to incapacitate him, but he wasn't going to let her know that. "What a bitch! I bet she thinks she's better than me because she works for a federal agency. Well la-de-dah. What a load of crap. She's just a woman. She probably does paperwork for the real agents. That's all women are good for if you ask me. She'll get hers one of these days. I hope I'm there to see it. How dare she treat me like that; I'm an officer of the law."

"Your apology is accepted. You're lucky that's all I did to you. And if you think I'm bad, wait until you meet my team. Sam, a former Seal, would have wanted to gut you for the smack you were talking to me. He could do it too and not leave a clue. Of course, he probably would have stood back and let me kick your package up around your ears instead. I'm well known for doing that. Callen would have hunt you down and made you regret being born and you would never see it coming. I'm giving you fair warning right now. Are we clear?"

"Yeah, we're clear, we're clear."

"Good. Now do your job and back up your partner. That's what you're here for. You're supposed to be guarding the patient in this room. The man who abducted and tortured him is planning on coming back for him and we're not going to let that happen. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am. Understood."