A/N: This chapter picks up directly after the last. Sorry for the delay between them, hope you enjoy...
He moves so that he's sitting in a more comfortable position, his arm supporting their weight as he leans back slightly. The arm around her shoulder drops and he finds his hand resting against her hip bone. When she doesn't protest the placement he chances his luck a little more and his fingers find their way up under the hem of her top tracing a light pattern across the bare skin he finds there. Her breath hitches at his touch and he stills his hand, wondering if it's too much.
She feels so content lying there against him, laughing at Nell and Eric trying to dodge a soaking wet Monty who's chasing the pair around the beach like a demented thing. She shifts her position as he alters his to get comfy, hoping she isn't hurting him. She tries not to put too much of her weight on him. His arm, now snaked around her waist and his hand resting oh so comfortably on her hip feels so right. She desperately wants to look up at him and see his eyes and know what he's thinking. The movement of his fingers against her skin pulls her from her thoughts of those eyes and she can't help but stop breathing for just a second as she fights not to shiver as his hands caress her skin.
His fingers stop their gentle motion and she knows he's felt her reaction to him. She waits, hoping he'll continue and when he doesn't she chances a glance up at him catching his eyes. He smiles shyly at her. It's almost an apology and right there she spots something in his eyes. It's a look she's caught before but only for fractions of a second at a time and every time she's shaken it off and moved on without giving it too much thought. But seeing that look right there, right now, she knows she hadn't imagined it all those times before. It scares her a little the way he looks at her. Not because it's menacing, quite the opposite. It's the softness of his gaze, the emotions in his eyes and she just knows that he feels something is happening between them. He's just as confused as she is but she decides there and then that she needs to find out one way or another if she's reading him right or just getting all his signals muddled.
She tucks her head back down into him and it's just a whisper when she speaks, "I was enjoying that." She feels him shift ever so slightly and she guesses he's trying to get a look at her face.
He doesn't say anything though, but starts up the soothing motion once more, making her let out a soft moan.
Deeks continues to watch as Monty slowly loses steam and all be it a little too late, Eric and Nell begin to put a little more distance between them and the now not so wet dog. Wondering what the other pair of agents are up to he turns his head toward the deck to find two pairs of eyes watching not Nell and Eric but him. More accurately him and Kensi. He meets their eyes and is surprised when the pair doesn't show the slightest bit of emotion at the sight before them.
"Kens," he whispers at the top of her head. "Don't freak out but we have an audience." He feels her tense and then she looks toward Eric and Nell. He feels the moment it dawns on her who's watching, as her head turns into him a little more to hide her embarrassment. "Hey, it's okay," he reassures her. "You're just feeling a little tired, and I'm being an awesome partner and giving you someone to lean against." His voice sounds a little cocky but the fact that he's still tracing patterns on her hip causes her to look up at him again and she sees a question in his eyes. He's giving her a lie to tell the guys and asking if she's okay with it. Before she can answer he spots Nell and Eric heading back toward them, "Heads up, geeks at one o'clock."
"Deeks!" She swats at his chest and adjusts her position subtly so that they look a little less intimate as the pair approach.
"Hey you gotta stop hitting me. I'm not at full strength you know." He drops his hand from her hip and slides it around to her back where it's a little less obvious. He strokes her lower back just above the top of her shorts and it causes a shiver to run through her. He stops the action but offers her a quick cheeky smile to let her know he spotted her reaction.
The look on her face betrays the words that come out of her mouth next as she realises their friends are within earshot, "Easy Deeks, payback's a bitch."
The pair drop to the sand either side of them as Monty drops in a heap and rolls on his back in front of them. "Nice Monty, very nice," he notes as the dog becomes covered in a thick layer of sand. "You two done tormenting my dog?" he asks looking at Eric.
"I think he held his own." Eric pulls his wet t shirt away from his body with a look of discomfort. "How much water can one dog absorb? Is he part sponge?"
"Maybe not so much the sea variety but certainly the bathroom variety. See Monty I told you eating sponges would lead to side effects." Deeks chastises the sand covered mutt.
"Good boy Monty," Kensi praises and stretches out a leg to rub the dogs tummy with her foot.
"You two look pretty comfy," Nell comments trying to sound indifferent.
"Tired," Kensi replies from her position still leaning in against Deeks. "He doesn't have many uses but he seems to manage being a cushion quite well," she teases.
"Watch it Fern or I might just have to get handsy." Without warning his hand finds her side and tickles her. She wriggles out of his grasp coming up against Nell. Unable to escape she falls backwards and instantly regrets it, letting out a little yelp as all too late she remembers her injured ribs. "Shit Kens, I'm sorry." Deeks stops his attack and immediately leans over her. "Are you? Did you hurt yourself?"
She winces and shakes her head not wanting to try to speak as she fights the wave of pain. There's a hint of tears in the corner of her eyes and she blinks rapidly. Trying to gain control of herself she is grateful her injuries are to the front of her ribs since she'd fallen backwards. "Just let me catch my breath," she finally gets out.
"Kensi, did you bring your pain killers?" Nell asks.
"Yeah they're in my bag, but... I'll be... just give me a second."
"Kens, I don't know maybe you should..." She cuts him off with a shake of her head.
"Deeks I'm fine. Good," she corrects. "Eric, Nell can you give me a hand up here?" The look she gets from Deeks as he watches, feeling useless, makes her want to reach out and comfort him. Nell and Eric help her back to the seated area on the deck and by the time she sits down the pain has already subsided dramatically.
Deeks follows behind slowly. Eric had briefly paused to help him up but the crutches and the sand make for slow going. As he reaches the seating area Callen and Sam are huddled around Kensi wanting to know what happened. He sits in one of the armchairs out of the way, feeling guilty and annoyed at himself for not being more careful with her. He's also more than a little pissed at himself for ruining the good time they were having.
Fed up with all the fussing, Kensi glances at her watch. "Hey, were we not starting the food at half past?" It causes everyone else to look at their watches.
"Let's get this started," Sam pipes up heading for the barbecue.
"I'll get the meat," Callen calls to him heading indoors.
"I'm gonna make a start on the salad," Nell says standing up.
"I'll give you a hand," Kensi starts to stand too.
"No you don't. Sit there and relax. Eric you'll give me a hand won't you?" Nell says bossily, leaving no room for either of them to argue.
"Sure," Eric agrees happily while Kensi rolls her eyes at the self-assertive intelligence analyst.
As everyone clears out she looks around for Deeks and finds him watching her with a sorrowful look. "Whatcha doing over there?" she asks, wishing he were closer. He shrugs and she thinks he has the look of a child about to be scolded. "Deeks? Come on partner. I know you didn't do it on purpose." He nods in agreement as if he knows what she says is true but yet she doesn't believe he believes it. "Will you come sit with me?"
"I should really go give the others a hand." He hitches a thumb at the house.
"I think they can manage. Deeks come on, we were... well we were..."
"You know I'd never intentionally hurt you right?" he asks almost out of nowhere.
"Hey, just because I'm in a tiny bit of discomfort doesn't mean I can't come over there and kick your arse. You really are quite dense sometimes. You know, you don't have to ask stupid questions like that. Now I'd come to you but you seem to have chosen the smallest chair out here so get your butt here now." She doesn't leave him room to argue.
He makes his way over to her but sits a little distance away. "You know I like it when you get all masterful." There's a twinkle in his eye that tells her he's back to his usual playful self.
She looks at him and the gap between them, not hiding the fact she dislikes the distance. He doesn't take the hint so she swings her legs up onto the seat and wiggles her feet under his thigh making him laugh at her action. "That's better." She smiles at him. "Where did Monty get off to?"
He points to the corner of the deck where the dog is sprawled out enjoying the warm sun. "Just as well really or he'd be trailing sand everywhere. You know I think that's the most exercise he's had for weeks. He's probably gonna sleep for the next few hours, or at least until the food is ready," he amends.
Callen emerges from the house balancing two trays of meat. "Hope you two are hungry." He lifts the trays up to indicate all the meat they have.
"Just try not to grill everything to within an inch of its life," Deeks calls over to him. Callen leaves the two trays with Sam who gets to work while Callen vanishes back into the house.
"I'm feeling pretty bad sitting here while everyone else does all the hard work."
"Yeah, well it's not like you'd be much help." She points at the cast before looking up quickly realising she's probably just rubbed a raw nerve.
"It's okay, you don't have to tip toe around me Kens. It's fine, really. Besides you can make it up to me later," he says adding a cheeky eyebrow wiggle.
"Way to ruin a moment partner. You know, that eyebrow thing will get you in trouble one of these days. "
"Counting on it."
"Pig," she nudges him with her foot.
"Hey, pipe down kids," Callen chastises, dumping a cooler full of beers on the table.
"Sweet." Deeks sits up plucking out two beers and handing one to Kensi. "Hey you guys want me to do anything?" He ignores the look Kensi is giving him, he can feel her glare.
"Just stay here," he wiggles a finger at the pair of them and the couch. "We got this," Callen says heading over to Sam taking two more beers with him as he goes.
"Told you," Kensi sing songs swigging her beer and looking all smug.
"Hey, it would have been rude not to offer!"
"Well, you asked. Happy now?"
"Yup," he grins taking a pull of his own beer and leaning back in his seat. He sits with his head resting on the back of the seat with his face turned up toward the afternoon sun. The feel of it gently warming his skin with the waves of the ocean as a calming soundtrack relaxes him. He thinks Kensi might be watching him. His eyes are closed but he can feel her eyes on him. He doesn't know how he knows, it's just a sensation. He rolls his head toward her and lazily opens one eye taking a peek in her direction.
Sure enough, she is watching him. Her elbow rests on the back of the seat and her head is canted to one side resting in her upturned palm. He allows a smug smile to lazily grace his features, and he knows she sees him watching her but she doesn't break eye contact or say anything. He watches her take a sip from her bottle and then he rolls his head back skyward. He feels content right now. It's the most relaxed he's felt in days and honestly he could just drift off to sleep about now.
"Tired?" Kensi asks as if reading his mind.
"Mmm," he replies unable to muster the energy for more.
"I won't be offended if you want to take a nap. I'll wake you when the food's ready."
"S'ok," he slurs. "'I'm good."
She chuckles at his sleepy response. His breathing has slowed and his grip on the bottle of beer that rests by his side has relaxed. She takes the beer from him, placing it on the table before it spills. "Deeks, why don't you move onto one of the sun loungers? You're going to get a sore neck like that. Even if you're not sleeping."
"Kay… just gimme a sec."
She waits patiently for him to stir. A minute passes, then two. Still, no movement. "I could get Sam to come carry you like a baby," she whispers leaning toward him. He shakes his head lazily. "I will," she threatens.
He huffs like a sullen teen. "But I'm comfy here," he whines.
Kensi stands placing her beer down next to his. "Come on," she gently orders, tugging at his arm.
This time he doesn't protest but lets her help him up and guide him to the sun lounger closest to the seating area. She glances over at Callen and Sam and just catches a quick glimpse of movement as they turn away not wanting to be caught prying. She rolls her eyes at their behaviour as she keeps hold of Deeks' arm, lowering him down and settling him in the more comfortable reclined position that the lounger offers. She lets go of his hand and helps him position his damaged leg before standing back to look at her sleepy partner, all relaxed and already well on his way to the land of dreams. That thought strikes a chord and she finds herself glancing back over toward the senior partners. They're deep in some conversation oblivious to her and Deeks, but not so far away that if he starts to have a bad dream they won't notice. She looks away from him and spots another sun lounger a few feet away and moves to drag it closer to her partner.
"Kens," he says softly.
"Right here," she answers, lining up the sun lounger alongside his and settling back into it carefully so as not to aggravate her ribs. She closes her eyes and listens to the sound of her partners breathing as once again it slows into the soothing rhythm that she recognises. Knowing he's asleep she feels the need to watch over him. He'd hate for any of the guys to know about the nightmares, so he sleeps and she dozes. She listens to his breathing and the gentle crash of the waves in the distance. As she relaxes a little more she's faintly aware of voices and knows that it's Sam and Callen. She has no idea what they're talking about and honestly she doesn't care. Right now she's quite happy just letting the world pass her by.
She's not really sure how much time has passed but she's aware of new noises coming from somewhere on the deck. Cracking one eye open and turning to look over at Deeks then toward Sam and Callen, she spots Nell fussing around the large outdoor dining table. She watches as she vanishes back indoors and hears her call out to Eric about something or other. She opens her other eye and stretches slowly before looking at her watch and finding the best part of thirty minutes has passed. She's not sure if she feels better or worse for resting, but she's certainly happy and relaxed.
Nell appears with Eric trailing not far behind, both of them carrying an array of bowls and plates. Kensi sits up and watches her sleeping partner for a moment before calling out to the others, "How's it going?"
"Hey, sleepy head," Sam is the first to speak up.
"I was just resting my eyes. Deeks, however, is out for the count."
"The youth of today," Callen shakes his head. "Just can't keep up."
"Leave it alone guys," Nell chides. "Food won't be much longer," she adds.
"You should see all this," Eric says as he points at the spread on the table. "There's enough here for four times as many people."
"So you gonna wake sleeping beauty?" Sam asks.
"Does that make Kensi the Prince?" Callen pipes up and laughs at his own joke.
Kensi ignores them as Sam tells Callen the Prince's name is Phillip and Callen starts teasing his partner for his knowledge of Disney movies. Nell and Eric ignore the pair heading indoors once more.
"Deeks…" Kensi shakes his shoulder. Getting no response she leans in a little closer and repeats the action. "Deeks…"
His eyes pop open and he stares at her confused for a second by her closeness. "Hi," he says and then grins when she shows no sign of moving away. "Not that this isn't umm nice or anything, but umm..." He turns sideways to look at the duo by the barbecue briefly before looking back at her. "Hi," he repeats not knowing what to say.
She glances at their friends too and then surprises him even more when her hand comes up to his face and her thumb gently brushes his cheek. "You're face..." she pauses looking for the right words and he waits nervously for her to finish. "It's nearly all better." She turns his head to see the side where the largest gash was. "This will leave a mark though." She traces a finger gently over the wound.
"I thought girls loved men with scars?" he asks seriously.
"Not so much when you know how they came about," she replies, her tone soft and equally as serious.
She backs up giving him a little more space but keeping eye contact. "You know I'm gonna be just fine, you should stop worrying about me."
"I wouldn't be a very good partner if I did that, now would I?"
Deeks reaches for her hand and gives it a squeeze, "Thanks." He lets the moment be for a short while before sitting himself up and looking at what's going on around him. "Something smells good," he calls out to the partners standing by the grill, both with a set of tongs in their hands busy tending whatever they are cooking.
"Nice of you to join us Deeks," Sam calls back.
"Well I didn't want to interfere with the culinary genious that is Sam Hanna and G. Callen," he mocks.
Callen waves the tongs around. "What was that Deeks? You wanted your food burnt to a crisp?"
"Ha ha, very funny Callen," Deeks deadpans. Kensi stands and Deeks follows suit. She hands him his crutches and they make their way over to the table. "Wow!" Deeks exclaims.
"Glad you like it," Nell says coming up behind them. Eric carries a stack of plates and napkins and Nell points at a space on the table. "Just right there please." She moves around and places cutlery down next to Eric's plates.
"You got off lightly," Eric whispers to Deeks. "Nell's a slave driver."
"I heard that," she tells him sternly and Eric rolls his eyes.
Deeks pats Eric on the back, "Thanks man, we appreciate all your hard work. Yours too Nell."
"And what about us?" Callen asks stopping to take a drink from his beer.
"I'll let you know once we've sampled your efforts."
"Oh, you'll be astounded when you taste this." Sam nods toward the various burgers, steaks, ribs and sausages that are being removed from the barbecue and piled onto plates
"Astounded?" Kensi repeats.
Before Sam can reply the doorbell sounds from inside the house. "I'll get it," Nell calls out already heading in that direction.
"Who else did you invite?" Deeks asks.
"No one," Kensi replies. Then after a second she suddenly remembers. "Hetty, I invited Hetty. She said she had plans but would try to stop by."
"If she's busy then this is a hell of a drive just to pop in," Deeks comments.
"Who said anything about driving?" Hetty asks, appearing in the doorway with Nell at her back.
"I knew it, you can teleport," Deeks pipes up. "It explains so much." There's a moment of silence as the rest of the team look between Hetty and Deeks.
Deeks grins, proud of himself for the joke and Hetty is the first to break the silence with her dry laugh. "Very good Mr Deeks. As handy as that skill would be even I haven't mastered that one... yet," she chuckles. "No, I flew in. I have some personal business I need to attend to locally."
"Well thanks for coming." Kensi wonders how her partner gets away with these comments to Hetty. She wouldn't dare be so cheeky. But that's him all over.
"My pleasure. I wanted to see how my favourite LAPD liaison was fairing."
"Aww, Hetty, you say the nicest things."
"You're her only liaison," Callen whispers.
"Now, now Mr. Callen, no need to be jealous."
Deeks pokes his tongue out at Callen. Kensi swears she sees something flit across her partner's face and she wills him not to say anything else stupid. He catches her watching him and winks. It's Sam who stuns them with the next cheeky line. "Yeah G, everyone knows you're her favourite." Hetty's head whips round and she glares at him. "Too far?" Sam asks almost apologetically.
"Too far," Hetty repeats shaking her head.
"Okay…" Nell draws out the word. "How about we get on with enjoying all this food?" She steps past Hetty and says, "Wouldn't want all our hard work to go to waste now."
Everyone is in agreement and they busy themselves serving up the last of the food and then helping themselves to the buffet style spread now set out on the table. The beers Kensi and Deeks had abandoned on the table before their nap are now too warm so Kensi gets them and Hetty fresh ones. There isn't enough room on the comfy seating for all of them to sit without constantly elbowing each other so Kensi helps Deeks back to the sun lounger with his plate full of food before returning for her own then joining him which earns a sly grin from Nell.
They sit once more in silence as they all dive into their food. Deeks gives Sam and Callen the thumbs up after cutting into his steak. "So which one of you?" he eventually asks. A look of confusion graces the faces of the rest of the team. All except Kensi who, knowing her partner far too well, knows exactly what he's asking and looks on with an amused smile.
"Which one, what?" Callen asks for clarification.
"You two, which one of you?" He waves the steak laden fork around as by way of explanation. He sighs when he realises they aren't following. "Who got the gig as an undercover chef?"
"Him," they both answer simultaneously pointing at each other.
Deeks laughs, "Aren't they adorable Kens?"
"The cutest." Kensi joins in the teasing.
The two senior agents offer up their best attempt at synchronised glaring. "Oh, you're too scary, stop it please!" Deeks carries on with the teasing.
Kensi fights a snort of laughter at her partner's antics. It's so good to see him goofing off with their friends, just as it should be. She reflects on how they'd all found his behaviour annoying when he'd first started with them. Now a day without Deeks doing or saying something stupid was a dull day. He wasn't just their comic relief, he was their stress relief. He stopped anything getting too serious and allowed them to blow off steam without resorting to violence. Nobody but Hetty had figured he was just what they were missing and they'd given him such a hard time. Now, coming up on their third year as partners, she just couldn't imagine working with anyone else. Hell if it weren't for him she doubts she'd still be here. She shakes her head, distracting herself from where her thoughts are going and chiding herself for thinking negatively because it didn't achieve anything. She let her attention wander back to her partner as the others listened to Callen and Sam discuss the pros and cons of their undercover chef ops.
The food was good. So good, they opted for seconds and decided to delay dessert until later. Conversation turned to other ops where they'd had undercover jobs. Kensi revealed she'd once had to pretend to be a nun and Deeks cracked up at the thought of her in a habit. Kensi soon got her own laughs when Deeks announced he'd been a hairdresser once. That got him lots of teasing from the whole team. Nell and Eric were both grateful their undercover work wasn't so diverse. They made a good dent in the food and enjoyed more drinks, the cooler slowly emptying. Eric offered to refill it with ice and beer while they others started to clear away the dirty plates and leftover food. Kensi insisted since the others had all taken care of preparing the food she'd do all the washing up. This, in itself earned her a heap of teasing.
Leftovers all put away and the plates stacked up in the kitchen, Hetty announced that she had to be on her way but asked for a private word with Kensi before departing. The others stayed out on the deck giving them some privacy. Whatever they talked about didn't take long and they both soon came back outside.
All too late Deeks noticed the little smile his partner wore. "Mr Deeks," Hetty called getting his attention.
"Hetty?"
"Your partner tells me that you are getting a little restless being home all day."
"Umm, it's a little boring, yes." The others watch, wondering where the conversation is going. Only Kensi seems to be in on Hetty's plan, if there is one.
"She also tells me you're making good progress with your physical therapy and I know the doctor was happy with you at your check up."
"Yeah…" He draws out the word wondering where she's heading with this.
"So, if you think you can manage, how about returning to work?"
"What?" He's shocked. That so wasn't what he was expecting. This weekend just kept getting better. "Really?"
"It would of course, only be admin based duties until you're back at full strength and only a couple of mornings a week. We'll see how you do and up your hours accordingly."
Deeks doesn't care. Anything is better than daytime television. He's pretty sure he can be back at work full time in a couple of weeks anyway. He looks up to see Kensi watching him, a big smile gracing her features and lighting up those wonderful eyes. "Hetty, I could kiss you," Deeks confesses like an excited child. "That's great!"
"There is however, one small issue."
"I knew it, there's a catch, there's always a catch."
"Oh hush now," Hetty chides. "It's really a tiny little issue, one to which I already have the answer." Deeks raises an eyebrow in question. "You will need to drive yourself back and forth. I cannot have Miss Blye playing taxi driver while we are a man down as such. However, Miss Blye informs me you are currently unable to drive your own vehicle."
"I offered to swap," Kensi butts in. Deeks raises both eyebrows in shock. Kensi Blye offering to swap her precious car!
"There is no need," Hetty waves Kensi off. Deeks' head turns back to his petite boss. "Miss Jones?"
"Yes Hetty." It's like a game off ping pong as Deeks' gaze shifts again.
"If I am correct there are at least half a dozen cars at our disposal that should be suitable for Mr. Deeks' purpose."
"Possibly more. I'm sure I can find him something," she confirms. Deeks' mind races at the thought of all the fancy cars they have on their books.
"That's it settled. Mr. Deeks, I'll see you Monday morning."
"Easy as that?" Deeks asks, surprised she didn't have more terms and conditions for him.
"Easy as that," she repeats flashing him a smile. "Now, I need to be on my way. I have something to attend to before I head back to LA."
The team all go to the door to wave her off. They're a little surprised to find a driver and car waiting for her. Callen opens the door and she climbs in, bidding them farewell. As the car starts to pull away the window lowers and the car stops again. "Try to behave your selves." She flashes them another grin and disappears back behind the tinted glass.
As the car drives away the team all look at one another and burst out laughing.