Their one-year anniversary had come and gone, and he still hadn't grown the courage to ask Kensi to marry him. He had planned it all. He was going to take her out to dinner, which he did; he was going to take her on a walk along the beach, which he had; and then he was going to propose on the end of the pier where he had first implied to Kensi that he loved her; he didn't.
He had replayed their whole first date (without Zac and the punching), but something inside him stopped short of getting down on one knee and asking her to become his wife. And now, a week later, he wish he had just done it because it was eating away at him and it was all he could think about.
Ever since he had asked Sam about proposing all the guy did was give him less than subtle looks across the desks, as if to imply he should ask her in the middle of OSP. It had been happening for weeks, and to be honest, he was close to simply doing there. The pressure was quickly killing him.
With the thought of having to face another day of looks and nerves Deeks rolled out of bed and hopped in the shower. The alarm hadn't gone off, but he wasn't going to get any sleep. Not until he had a ring on her finger and the promise of forever.
Coming out of the bathroom 20 minutes later, he found Kensi still in bed, the alarm having come and gone. Yet, she was still sound asleep. Oh no she doesn't. If I have to get up, so does she!
He walked over to the side of the bed and was just about to wake her when he noticed the sweat. She looked like she had run a marathon (or like they had just gone a few rounds) but she was dead to the world. This wasn't a good sign.
Placing his hand on her forehead he could feel just how hot she was. He didn't need to be a doctor to know she was very sick.
Without a seconds thought he grabbed his phone and speed-dialed work.
"Hetty? It's Deeks."
"Yes Mr. Deeks. What can I do for you?" She sounded mildly amused. Of course she knew who was calling!
"Um, well Kensi is sick. She has a fever. I think I might have to take her to the hospital. I don't think I'm going to make it in today. Kensi wont be for sure." He looked back at Kensi, her face slightly flushed.
"Not a problem Mr. Deeks. Call me tomorrow and let me know if she has improved. If you need anything…"
"Thanks Hetty."
With that he hung up and went back to Kensi's side.
"Kensi, sweetie, hey, can you wake up for me?" He pushed her drenched hair back from her face as he spoke.
"What time is it?" She didn't open her eyes or attempt to get up.
"8.45-"
"We have to get to work." She made and effort to get out of bed, but paled after simply lifting her head.
"You're not going anywhere honey. I need to lay back down for me, okay?"
It wasn't really a question, and she didn't answer. She simply lay back down letting out a long sigh.
"I'm going to take you to the hospital."
Her eyes shot open at that. "No you're not." For someone who willingly went back to bed on a workday, she was all of a sudden very commanding.
"You have a fever."
"As have many other people in history. Most of them didn't need a hospital."
"But you're sick."
"I'll live. I just need to sleep it off."
"But what if you get worse?"
"Then I give you permission to take me to hospital. But until then I'm just going to go back to sleep."
That short argument had taken all her energy out of her, and within a couple of second she was back to sleep. Even when she was violently ill he couldn't win an argument. Coming to this realization he turned and left her to sleep for a while, making sure the house was stocked with medicine and soup for when she woke up.
She woke in a haze, her head throbbing, her throat dry, and she felt like she had just been for a swim. She could slowly feel reality breaking through her sleepy state, and when she opened her eyes she saw a blue pair staring right back at her. They were kind and gentle, but they looked worried.
"Hey." Her throat was scratchy, so with a cough she tried again. "Hey!" A little better!
"Hey." He handed her a glass of water, and boy did she love him right at that minute. She sat up to drink it as he continued with the questions. "How are you feeling?"
"A little better." He looked at her weirdly, trying to tell if she was lying. She wasn't. Compared to before she felt a lot better. "After I have a shower and don't feel so disgusting, I will feel great!" Now she was lying, and she could tell he knew that too. "Okay, not great, but I really do feel better Deeks."
"Okay. Well, the bath is running as we speak. I think you shouldn't be standing for too long, you're still pretty hot-"
"Aren't I always hot?" Even sick she couldn't let that one go.
He smiled at her. "You must be feeling better." He tapped the end of her nose with his index finger before continuing. "As I was saying, there is a bath running, so relax in there for a bit, and then I have some soup ready for lunch. I even set up a nice bed on the couch so we can relax and watch some movies if you feel up to it."
God, she really loved this man. She didn't know what she did to deserve him, but he was too kind and caring for his own good. She had no idea what she would do without him.
She went to move out of bed, but he stopped her.
"But before we do any of that, you have to take these."
He handed her some tablets and she groaned. She hated taking medication.
He squinted at her, and she knew there was no getting out of it. "If you want me," he placed his hand over his heart, "to watch some awful movie or TV show later, the least you can do it take two tablets. They wont kill you. Quite the opposite actually."
He smiled at her, and she knew she couldn't say no.
"Fine." She grabbed the pills and swallowed them, finishing the water. With that, she got out of bed, made her way to the bathroom, got undressed, and hopped into the bath without Deeks leaving her side once. He even helped her step into the bath to make sure she didn't fall.
"Call me when you're done, okay?"
All she could do was nod her head. The warm water and aromatic smells were making her very relaxed. She had her eyes closed, but she felt Deeks put a hand on the top of her head and give her a gentle kiss on her forehead. She smiled, letting out a soft "I love you."
"I love you too."
With that she heard him head out of the bathroom, leaving her to relax.
She had no idea how much time had passed but all of a sudden she felt him by her side again, slowly rubbing the back of her neck.
"Kensi, sweetie, the water is getting cold. It's time for you to hop out."
She opened her eyes and rolled her head to the side so she was looking right at him. He was crouched beside the tub, his head resting on his outstretched arm.
"Shouldn't you be at work?" It was the first time she had noticed that he hadn't gone to work. That he had been here all day.
"Do you really think I would leave you when you're sick?"
"But work is important. What happens if you miss something important? We both can't just not go in."
"Kens, nothing is more important than you. Work will still be there tomorrow. It's about time Sam and Callen did something anyway!" He smiled at her before repeating, "Kensi, you really need to get out of the bath."
He sweetness and caring side was making her delirious! "Okay. But I might need help standing…and walking."
He laughed. "I can do that."
He helped her dress and walk to the couch. He tucked her into the makeshift bed and was about to walk away.
"Don't leave me. Come sit." God she was desperate and whiny when she was sick.
"I'm just going to get some soup for you."
"Come sit. I'm not hungry."
"Kensi, you really have to eat. It will help you get better."
"I will later. Please come and sit with me. You make me feel better." And apparently she became an even greater sap when she wasn't feeling well.
He didn't say anything to that though. He simply came and sat behind her, his back against the armrest. She leant back between his legs, resting against his chest.
"Thank you for looking after me Deeks. I know I make it hard sometimes, but I seriously don't know what I would do without you."
It was silent for a minute. He was stroking her hair and playing with the ends, when out of nowhere he spoke.
"Marry me?"
"What?" She sat up with a start, getting a head rush at the same time. She turned to face him, stunned. She must have miss heard him.
"Marry me." Apparently not! He looked right in to her eyes. "Please?"
"Seriously?" She was shocked.
Something in his face clicked, as if he had just realized something. "Oh crap! I've done this all wrong. Wait, I have a ring." With that he jumped off the couch and ran into their bedroom. He came back with a box, which he turned incessantly in his hands.
She was still shocked.
He sat down next to her looking down at his hands. Slowly he pulled her close, moving her legs over his lap so there shoulders were touching.
"I would get down on one knee, but if you keep looking up and down I think your head might explode." She laughed as he opened the box.
"Kensi, I love you more than I thought I could ever love anybody. Watching you be sick today had physically hurt my heart. If I could make all the pain in the world go away I would; just for you. But I can't, so I guess I will have to just take care of you for the rest of my life. I know you are kick ass and major self sufficient, but you've let me in, and I never want to leave. I want to be there for the good, and the bad, and everything in between. I want to grow old with you and have babies with you, and I'm following the rules I promise. And I don't know if this is too soon, or too late, I just know I want you. Forever. So please, Kensi Marie Blye, will you marry me?"
She was shocked. Very shocked! And emotional. She could feel the tears streaking down her face. But she couldn't stop them. She didn't want to stop them. The guy of her dreams was asking her to marry him. Yet, for some reason, she couldn't talk. Words wouldn't come out of her mouth. Not that it mattered. Apparently Deeks was on a roll and couldn't stop.
"I know this is probably the worst time to ask. I mean, you're sick Kens, and I knew I shouldn't have listened to Sam. I should have got a sky-writer, or decorated the house with a million roses, or, I don't know, had doves. Do people propose with doves? But he said to do something that worked for us. And I don't know why, but for some reason, holding and protecting you while you opened up seemed like the right time. I'm wrong though, aren't I. I screwed this up."
He went to move, and that seemed to spur her into action. She grabbed his arm, stilling his movements, and looked into his eyes.
"Yes." That was all she could muster.
"Yes?"
She laughed as the tears continued to roll shown her face. "Yes."
"Yes I screwed this up, or yes you will marry me?" His eyes went wide with both fear and suspense.
She smiled the kindest smile she could, and brought her hand up to his cheek. "Yes I will marry you."
Ok, we end this chapter here. It was going to continue, because I have this whole big, sweet thing that's going to happen, but I realized that is a whole chapter in itself. So we now have one more chapter and then an epilogue of sorts.
I hope the proposal was as good as you were hoping for. Actually, I hoped you loved it. (My fingers are crossed).
Spread some love and please review!
