Prompt: Can you write a fic about the team being in a dangerous shoot out and Deeks didn't know he was shot through his vest till he finds that Kensi is safe and he collapses between her hand after the adrenaline fades?
A/N: Just a heads up if you haven't heard about it already, you now have to opt-in to receive emails from . If you haven't, you can do so through the settings tab on your account. You'll need to check back every few months as the system automatically defaults back to opt-out every so often.
"Callen, Sam, where are you?" Deeks hissed into his comm as he and Kensi ran behind an industrial sized printer to dodge a volley of gunfire. There was a brief pause and he peeked over the printer, spotting three men with automatic weapons shielding behind several crates.
"We're on our way," Sam replied. "Three minutes."
"I don't think we have three minutes," Kensi said in an equally hushed tone.
"Well, hold him off for as long as you can, and we'll take a shortcut."
"You ready?" Deeks asked, glancing at Kensi who gave a short nod. "Damn, didn't plan on a shootout today, wish I'd worn looser jeans," he added.
"Pay attention," she chastised him, even as he saw her lip draw up the tiniest bit.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"On my count. 1, 2, 3!"
Deeks sprang up, taking out two of the guys while Kensi darted in between makeshift covers, and then down the hall across the room. As soon as she was clear, he focused on the remaining gunman, who seemed to be better at evading the bullets than his colleagues.
He dropped down again, counting to five in his head, then sprang up on the other side, making a direct hit to the chest. Tossing his rifle over his back, Deeks grabbed his gun, and quickly checked that all three men were dead before heading after Kensi.
The sound of rapid gunfire reverberated through the warehouse as he reached the hallway, and he broke into a jog. As he passed doorway, several shots ricocheted off the wall, one biting into the material of his vest near his lower abdomen. Deeks winced, pulling back to shield against the outer wall.
He blew a few strands of hair out of his eyes, heart racing slightly at the unexpected attack. He just barely stuck his head around the corner when more bullets sprayed across the space, leaving chunks of concrete raining down.
Damn it!
They went back and forth several times like that until Deeks grabbed his knife and flung it at the gunman instead of shooting. He let out a gurgle of surprise as the blade sunk into his throat and he fell, futilely clawing at his neck.
Deeks made it the rest of the way without any more interruptions, and he walked into a second, smaller room to find Kensi surrounded, one man aiming directly for her. She didn't see, back turned, and was too busy fighting off the others.
Without thinking, Deeks launched himself in the air, tackling the guy to the ground. His gun skittered across the floor when he landed. He managed to turn onto his side and got in a good punch to Deeks' unprotected side, hard enough to make him growl in pain. Anger filling him, Deeks grabbed the man's head and unceremoniously slammed it into the concrete three times in quick succession. He stopped moving after that.
Breathing hard, Deeks pushed himself up in time to see Kensi take out the final gunman.
"Are you ok?" he asked, jogging over to her and visually inspecting her for signs of injury. There was a small cut over her left eyebrow and a shallow scrape on her cheek that he imagined was the result of exploding wood pallets.
"Yeah, I'm good," she confirmed, swiping her hand over her forehead.
"You?"
"I'll be a little bruised tomorrow, but otherwise," Deeks shrugged and Kensi sighed in relief, settling a hand on his back and stomach as she leaned her forehead against his neck.
"Thank god."
He wrapped his arms around her, holding Kensi tightly to his chest. With the movement, something twinged sharply in his lower stomach, making him wince. A few seconds later, something warm trickled against his skin. He eased back from Kensi and looked down with a frown, not quite registering why his jeans were turning a darker color.
"Babe?" He didn't respond to Kensi worried town, head suddenly swimming and the earth lurched around him. "Deeks!" Kensi shouted, moving straight on to panicked as his knees buckled.
Kensi caught him as he fell, lowering him to the ground. With shaking hands, she ripped open the closures on his vest, carefully peeling it back. He saw her eyes widen with fear at whatever she saw before she pressed down with enough force to make him scream in pain.
For a few seconds, the world was painfully and overwhelmingly clear. Deeks looked at Kensi, a weak smile lifting the corner of him mouth. Then his vision swam again, the world closing in around him as he distantly heard Kensi begging for help.
A/N: Technically, I know the vests don't cover all that much, so a bullet could quite easily hit Deeks. However, we'll pretend they provide more coverage.
Title taken from an episode of M*A*S*H.