A month after I return to work, and it was as if nothing changed. All though Kensi asked if we could learn one of the many languages that was in my head to communicate with so we don't have to worry about people understanding what we're saying. I rattle off ten different languages, and about thirty different dialects before Kensi found one.
"Stop!" Kensi exclaimed.
"Which one?" I asked.
"The last one." She said.
"This one?" I said, in the dialect.
"Yeah." She said.
"It's Pinghua. It's a Chinese dialect." I said.
"I want to learn Pinghua." she said.
Half a month goes by, and Kensi is coming along nicely, though a few hiccups here and there. I remember one particular…risqué hiccup. Kensi and I were conversing all morning in Pinghua. And by all morning, I mean…all morning. We've been together since five in the morning. I'm pretty certain we got more than a few strange looks that morning. We were carrying on a conversation in Pinghua, but would order our meals in perfect English.
We got to OPS at seven thirty, and were filling out paper work, and running drills, but all the while we were still conversing Pinghua. At nine thirty, Sam and Callen came walking in, there was a crowd gathering outside the bull pen.
"What's going?" Callen asked.
"Deeks must have done something wrong." Sam said.
When they turn the corner, they heard Kensi say, or ask me a question, and I almost choked on the on my drink. Sam rushed over and help me clear the offending liquid.
"What are you drinking?" Callen asked.
"Coffee." I said.
"It seems you can't drink anything around Kensi." Sam said.
"Yes, I know. Instead of the Woody, it's coffee, but that's beside the point. You want to repeat that Kens." I said.
"That's not what I meant to say." Kensi said, in English.
"Uhuh." I said.
"What I was trying to say was—"
"That she missed you Mr. Deeks. Miss Blye missed you while you were gone for four months." Hetty said, entering the bull pen.
My eyes almost jumped out of their sockets when Hetty entered, and Kensi turned beet red. Hetty knew what Kensi said, but left as quickly as she came. "Another time." I said.
"Yes." Kensi said.
"What were you discussing?" Callen asked.
"Kensi wanted to broaden her horizons by learning a language that I learned a long time ago." I said.
"Except for just now, how's she doing?" Sam asked.
"Spectacular." Kensi said, in Pinghua.
"Spectacular. Her words not mine." I translated.
"That's not cool." Callen said.
"What's not cool?" Sam asked.
"Kensi's learning a new language, and what are we doing?" Callen asked.
"Ignore him." Sam said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm serious. They're becoming more versatile than us." Callen complained.
"If you want to lean Pinghua, you can always ask Hetty." I said.
"Ask me what?" Hetty asked, as she passed the bull pen.
"Nothing." Callen said.
"Do you know if we have a case?" Sam asked.
"Not that I'm aware of, but I charge for lessons. Move a long people. Nothing to see here." Hetty said, getting the staff back to work.
"I can't believe you suggested that." Callen whined, as Sam glared at me.
Kensi shrugged her shoulders, as I smiled. "Suckers." Kensi said in Pinghua.
"Kensi. Be nice to your superiors." I said, attempting to stifle a laugh.
"Whatever." Kensi said
N.C.I.S. L.A.
The following day, Sam walking into the bull pen to see Callen looking at tattoos. Sam was little taken back. Callen isn't the type to commit to something permanent, even relationships.
"Tracking someone by their ink?" Sam asked.
"Just looking." Callen said.
"Looking for who?" Sam asked, not sure what his partner was getting at.
"For me." Callen said, and then attempted to take a sip of his coffee.
"Ha, ha. You're gonna get a tat?" Sam asked.
"I didn't say I was gonna actually—" Callen said, placing his coffee back on his desk.
"Look don't take this the wrong way." Sam said, cutting him off. Sam was doing his best, but he couldn't hide the hilarity of the situation.
"I think I just did." Callen said.
"But there are tat people and there's, well, you." Sam said, as he head over to his desk.
"I'm not a tat person?" Callen asked.
"No." Sam said, as he took a seat.
"You and the ink council had a little vote on this?" Callen asked.
"I'm just trying to help you out, G. Tat's a permanent thing, it's not a temporary fashion trend." Sam said.
"You know Kensi and Deeks have tats, right?" Callen asked.
"Uh-huh." Sam said.
"You don't have a problem with that?" Callen asked.
"Nope." Sam said.
"Heh. Just curious." Callen said.
"Hmm?" Sam said.
"What makes somebody a, uh—A tat person?" Callen asked.
"Well, if you have to ask…" Sam said.
Callen chuckled at Sam's response, and then Kensi and I entered the bull pen to see them smiling.
"Why are we all smiling?" I asked, having no clue that Sam was trying to talk Callen out of getting a tattoo. Callen went back to his looking at his laptop.
"Callen's gonna get a tattoo." Sam said, not even bothering to hide the smile on his face.
Kensi and I turn and stare at Callen. "You…" "You're going to get a tattoo?" Was the sentence I was going to ask, but I was too stupefied by what I just heard.
"Really?" Kensi asked.
"Looking online. I didn't say I was gonna actually—" Callen began.
"Look don't take this the wrong way…" Kensi and I both said.
We didn't get to finish our statement, because Eric had cut us off with his trademark whistle. When we turned around we could see that Eric had a tattoo of Albert Einstein and the formula E=mc squared.
"Welcome to the gun show." I said. To Callen and Sam I said. "That, on the other hand, is awesome."
Kensi and I put our bags on our desks.
"No offense." Sam said, as he got up from his desk.
"Tat guy. I gotcha." Callen said, and then got up from his desk as well.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Tranquility Villa
Three hours later Kensi and I are at a rehabilitation center investigating the death of a Naval Intelligence officer. The only thing about the case that stood out was a particular conversation involving one of the patients, and then fact that Hetty wrote in my file that I had a sex addiction.
Me. A sex addiction. Maybe if Kensi's involved. I thought rolling my eyes when I found out about that little tid bit. But to the conversation. The sun was setting, and I saw the woman from earlier. It's a possibility she might know something. She was sitting on the bench, reading a book when I approached her.
"Hey." I said, as I approached her.
"Hey." she said.
"I saw your shirt, Fierce Yoga. I spend a lot of time down at the one on Olympic." I said, taking the cap off the bottle of water I had.
"My clothes were trashed when I got here. A counselor give me the shirt. I actually hate yoga." she said.
I laugh/cough because of the water I was drinking. "Wow, that's—Heh. That's hilarious. Well, if we're being honest, I don't really like it either. I just go down there to—I go down there to pick up women." I said, as I took a seat next to her on the bench.
"The sex addiction thing." she said.
"Yeah, the sex addiction thing." I said. I was really uncomfortable lying about something I don't have. On a side note: I haven't had sex in a few years anyways. I thought.
"What's that like?" she asked.
"Um…You know, everybody thinks it's a joke. And sadly it's not. Everybody thinks I'm off like partying with hot chicks, but really—It's me cruising the nasty parts of Hollywood late at night just looking for a fix. I mean, like, any fix." I said.
"Sorry, I didn't mean—" she began. She wasn't expecting to open that particular can of worms.
"No, no. That's why we're here, right?" I asked. "It's interesting too, because I didn't even think I had an addiction. One of my friends invited me to open an AA meeting. I'm sitting there listening to this girl share. And she's obviously—You know, she's talking about drugs, but our stories are the same. And she was headed here, and so, you know, here I am."
"Two addicts relating to another. And now you're in rehab together. No coincidences" she said.
"It's crazy to because I really wanted to talk to her. But I haven't seen her anyway where though." I said, and then looked away pretending to scan the grounds. I hate the fact that I'm taking advantage of this woman in a vulnerable moment. I have no intentions in sleeping with her, but I don't like lying to her.
"What's her name?" she asked.
"That's—That's a damn good question. I don't actually know her name. She just—She was blond with these purple—Purple streaks in her hair." I said.
"Heather." she said, knowing the woman I was talking about.
"Heather." I repeated.
"She went AWOL last night." she said.
"She went AWOL last night. You have any idea where she went?" I asked.
"No idea. But all she ever talked about was the Strip." she said.
"Strip. That's her scene, huh?" I asked.
"She liked partying it up with celebutantes on her trust-fund credit card." she said.
"Probably holed up at the St. James or the Standard with an eight ball." I sad.
"More like the Chateau." She corrected. I gave her a surprised look. "Said she was the queen of that place."
"Queen of the Chateau." I said. I paused from a moment, and broke character because she needed to know that I was proud of her getting help. "Listen, I don't, uh… I don't know you at all. I don't know what's going on with your life, but you seem like a pretty fantastic person and I'm glad you're getting help."
It was a serious conversation, with a smile in the middle, but when I said that I was glad that she was getting help, the woman gave me a genuine smile and said. "Thank you."
From the sound of her voice, she was fight back her emotions. I was probably the first person since she entered this place to tell her that, and she was beyond touched.
"Yeah." I said, and then stood up and left. I hate connecting with people like this, knowing that after we close this case I won't see her ever again. I hate it with a passion, but it comes with the job.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
OPS: bull pen-
We had cleared the case, and back at OPS shooting the breeze before going home for the night. Sam was the first one up from his desk. As he was doing so he said that an energy bar blew the woman's cover, but I corrected Sam by saying that it was Kensi who blew the cover.
"Thank you." Kensi said.
The look on Kensi's face, and the way she said thank you, almost reminded me of the woman from the rehab center. Except Kensi wasn't fight back her emotions.
"So, what's up? You wanna get a beer, talk tattoos?" Sam asked as he was approaching the exit.
"You know what? I'm over the tat thing." Callen said, as he was approaching Sam,
"Good." Sam said, with a genuine smile.
"Talk to me about body piercings." Callen said, and then walked away.
Sam gave us a help me look, and then followed his partner out. It's been a while since Kensi and I had a chat about our relationship, so I thought I take her out to a restaurant and we could talk about it. I feel like I'm about to talk to Kenzie again. I thought, but I asked. "Hey, uh, are you—? Are you hungry?"
"Oh, yeah. What do you feel like?" she asked.
I didn't have the proper answer ready for this question. I thought, and I didn't lie about it. "Uh, I don't know. Was thinking, you know like tacos maybe."
"Perfect." Kensi said.
"Perfect." I said.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
So we get to restaurant, get a seat, and Kensi is on edge. She's antsy, bored—sort of—, and the vibes I'm getting from her are a mix vexation, uncomfortable, and slight anger. Maybe she's upset that I didn't ask her properly. I thought.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Kensi sighed before she said. "This is not exactly something like tacos." Kensi cleared her throat.
"What are you talking about? This is Nouveau southwestern cuisine with a little French flair. You know, it may not be tacos exactly, but it has its origins in tacos. Like a Croque-Monsieur has its origins in ham." I said.
"You know what I'm talking about. This is nice. Really nice." she said.
"I know I was thinking about stealing the plates." I said.
"Deeks." she said, cutting me off before I got started.
"Okay. And that's a problem because…?"
"Because once again you're trying to say something without actually saying it. And it's driving me nuts." she said
"I still don't see how that's a problem." I said.
"Damn, it Deeks. You asked me out on a date without actually asking me out on a date." she said.
"I still don't see that problem." I said.
"How could you not?" she asked, stupefied.
"Because if you knew the truth of why you couldn't look me in the eyes five months ago, you couldn't handle it." I said. Kensi flinched at my response. I forget how passionate I can be sometimes.
"Try me." she said.
"Not happening. If I told you, Hetty would have to split us up because you wouldn't be able to handle the pressure. But if this is going to turn into a blame game, about who's worse than the other because you have your own problems, I'm going to pass. If you want the truth, fine—I don't want to be here with you right now." I said.
Kensi hesitated a moment. I heard her take a deliberate breath, and then asked. "Where do you want to be then?" she asked.
"I wanna be at my place right now. With you." I said.
There was a moment of silence, while Kensi let my unspoken words sink in. I don't care about this fancy restaurant. As long as I have you, that's all that matters.
Kensi turned her head slightly to the wall, whilst I turn my head to the door as if to say, "We haven't ordered anything, and this place isn't really our scene."
Kensi took a deliberate breath, looked down at the table, and then looked me in the eyes. Kensi took another deep breath, and the look in her eyes was one of, "About time," as she got up from the table.
I let about a breath as I said. "Whew." I'm taking a big risk, and I'm breaking my own rule. But as they say, rules are meant to be broken. I get up from my chair and follow my beautiful partner out.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
My apartment-
The moment we stepped into my apartment, our lips met. The wave of emotions and feelings that had been building since last year had turned into a tidal wave, and we didn't even fight it. We let ourselves get swept away by it. We kiss all the way to my bedroom. We stop long enough so we don't damage our teeth when we lay down on the bed. Kensi was giving off vibes that needed to be addressed.
"What?" I asked.
"You know, if we do this, this changes everything." Kensi said.
"So, what do you wanna do?" I asked.
"I don't wanna have to choose." she said.
"Then don't. Then don't choose." I said.
"You know, that's not how it works. What do you think's gonna happen?" she asked.
"I know what's going to happen after we smooth everything out. So, it doesn't really matter. And in all honesty, I don't really care. As Long as you're here with me, that's all I really care about." I said.
Kensi was in a territory she thought she'd never expect to find herself in, and it was scaring the every loving crap out of her. She was on the verge of tears as she asked. "What are you doing to me Deeks?"
Kensi leaned to kiss me, as I said. "I'm falling in love with you."
Kensi started to cry. It was the first time in her life she had heard someone say that they were falling in love with her, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I meant it. Before the tears could begin in earnest, I kissed them away. This was the first time I had been in bed with a woman since…well since… since Bella, and I knew that this night would end without us having sex. Heck, we didn't even take our clothes off. But I don't care. I didn't care. I have the woman who resembles my dead wife, and she wants a relationship with me. That's all I really care about, and I could not ask for more.
Come morning, Kensi wasn't in my bed. I felt genuine hurt that Kensi would tip out in the middle of the night, as if she was embarrassed by what happened last night. I missed a folded sheet of paper on the pillow, as if it would make up for her absence. I read the contents of the note, and it was as I expected. That Kensi got a phone call, and had to tip out earlier. Kensi did state that if it wasn't for the phone call she would still be there with me, watching my nose twitch. I turn as the door opens, and my beautiful partner was standing there.
"Couldn't leave without saying goodbye?" I asked.
"I wanted to leave, but something about this wouldn't feel right if I did." she said.
"We'll figure it out. We always do." I said.
Kensi gave me a smile, and then walked over, places her hands on my knees, and gave me a timid kiss. She gave me a stronger, more purposeful kiss, and then left. I get a shower, a fresh change of clothes, and head into OPS.
