Kensi walked into the mission a lot earlier than usual, with coffee and donuts for everyone in tow. She made sure to bring one of Deeks' favorite orders as well, as sort of a peace offering. They'd gone to a coffee shop together once and the barista had recognized him, asking if he wanted some complicated sweet drink he always ordered. Kensi had made fun of him for ordering something so froofy and he'd laughed it off, but now that she thought about it in a different context, she could see his feelings had been hurt. Deeks had ordered black coffee only from that day forward.

This time, she got him that fancy drink, but had them put it in a normal coffee cup. She wouldn't tell the others or tease him, she would just use it as a little olive branch and maybe get their partnership to a place where they'd both be happy. No one else had to know about it, but Deeks would know that she was putting in the effort, instead of confronting him about his feelings and offering nothing in return.

Her last attempt the day before had been disastrous. Kensi could admit that she'd gotten used to people doing what she wanted, as long as it wasn't something too outlandish. She was stubborn enough that people gave in to what she wanted, just to avoid the ensuing fight. But Deeks wasn't the same as most people she knew. Sure, he let her have her way with a lot of things, like driving and music and lunch spots, but those were so inconsequential. On the other hand, he had the fortitude to resist her when it was truly something he felt strongly about. He gave off the impression of someone who was friendly and unassuming, but he was so calculated about the things he let slip. How much did she actually know about Deeks?

"Well, you don't see this everyday," Callen commented, striding up to his desk with Sam.

"You got that right, G. What do you think is up?" Sam asked, standing back and looking Kensi over.

"Nothing's going on," Kensi scoffed, holding out a drink for Sam. "This donut shop always runs out of the custard creams super early, so I wanted to make sure I got there on time. I just barely got here myself."

"Sure," Callen replied dubiously, grabbing Deeks' drink from the carton.

"That's for Deeks!" Kensi snapped, snatching the drink back and moving over to put it on his desk.

"Does it matter? Isn't it just black coffee like you get me?" Callen asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"Yeah, but it has his name on it. Do you want to drink from a cup that says Deeks all day?" Kensi shot back.

"She's got a point, G. That's just begging for ridicule. Imagine Deeks comes in and sees you drinking from his cup," Sam laughed.

"So, does this mean you've heard from him? Is he coming back today?" Callen asked, finally accepting his proper drink.

"No, but his stuff with LAPD usually doesn't last too long, right? I'm sure he'll be in soon," Kensi replied, moving back over to her desk. Deeks would be in soon and take a sip of his drink, knowing that Kensi was trying to build a friendship and they would go on from there. It was just a first, small step, but that was all they'd need.


Deeks woke up gagging, turning his head to the side as his stomach cramped painfully. There was nothing in his stomach to come out, but that didn't stop his body from trying to rebel against the drugs that had been forced down his throat. He felt sick, like he had the worst hangover of his life. But it wasn't. He would never choose to do something like this to himself. Even the idea of taking a tylenol in the future for a headache made his stomach flip.

As soon as he finally gained control of his body again, Deeks closed his eyes in complete despair. He'd really thought that last drugging would be the end of him. Was he disappointed that it wasn't? Was he really giving up so quickly? He'd been on cases where they'd found people who had been trafficked and held against their will for much longer than he was. What did it say about him that he was already resigned to death? Had his father been right every time he called Deeks a disappointment? Where was that strength he'd always thought he had?

Carly wasn't in the room and Deeks was glad for the reprieve. He'd tried pretending to like her and that didn't work. He tried resisting and that didn't work either. Deeks was at an extreme disadvantage and he didn't know what to do next. Carly was too volatile and he was too weak.

Deeks shifted on the bed as much as he could, his body feeling so uncomfortable after being in this position for so long. If only he could get one limb free, it would make so much of a difference. He'd have a chance.

Deeks looked down, realizing something felt different. His pants had been in between his skin and the handcuffs, giving his ankles some relief that his wrists weren't afforded. But now he could feel the cold metal touching him directly. Deeks shook his body from side to side, trying to slide the blanket that was pulled up to his chest. Had the blanket always been this scratchy? Why hadn't he noticed it before?

The blanket finally dipped below his waist and his breath caught in his throat. Those were not the jeans he'd been wearing when he came to this nightmare house. Someone had changed them while he was asleep. Someone had taken his clothes off while he was unconscious and unable to stop them.

Deeks started pulling on his wrists in earnest now, consequences be damned. His vision blurred as he struggled, feeling the nausea creep back up. What had happened to him while he was not awake to stop it? What had Carly done to him? He started breathing heavily as all the possibilities flashed through his mind. He'd been beaten, cut, shot at, and almost blown up, but he'd never dealt with anything like this before. Deeks had never felt so victimized.

"Martin, you're awake!" Carly exclaimed as she rushed back into the room. "What's wrong?" Deeks didn't care that she was in the room to see him trying to escape. The pain of his efforts was the only thing distracting him from what might've happened.

"What did you do?" Deeks hissed, not even wincing when he felt a little more skin on his wrist split open.

"Stop it, you're hurting yourself!" Carly cried, covering her mouth in distress.

"Tell me what you did!" Deeks demanded, snorting out an angry breath. "What happened to my clothes?"

"Ohh!" Carly sighed, sagging in relief. Deeks shook his head in bewilderment, stilled for a moment by her flip flopping emotions. Was this really a normal thing for her? Had she done this to someone else before? "You just got a little dirty earlier and I had to clean you up. No big deal."

"No big deal?" Deeks huffed, grinding his teeth in frustration. How had he gotten dirty from just laying here for a day?

"Well, you've been here for a while now and you didn't want to use the potty bowl before, but accidents happen," Carly said casually, and Deeks felt his cheeks immediately heat up. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. So I just cleaned you up and put you in a pair of Russ' old pants. I hope you don't mind. They are a little short on you, but they'll be fine for now." Deeks turned his head away from her in embarrassment, feeling his eyes burn with tears he wouldn't dare let fall. He'd been so worried about her stripping off his clothes, he didn't even realize he'd been stripped of his dignity.

"Please, leave me alone," Deeks whispered, closing his eyes to try to block out this moment. He wanted to be anywhere but here. Even if he never found a place he belonged, it would still be better than where he was now. Deeks' soul was slowly being chipped away and he didn't know if he'd be able to recover from this.


"I think I know what the problem is. Why you got so upset earlier." Deeks sluggishly blinked his eyes open, not realizing he'd even fallen asleep. His earlier grasp on how much time had passed was completely gone now. "Being like this must really go against your natural masculinity, but I think I have a way to make it better."

"What?" Deeks mumbled, rolling his head to face the person who was talking to him. Carly was sitting in the chair next to the bed, wringing the belt of her robe between her hands.

"It's not very fair that I got to see you in a state of undress," Carly said, standing up and hovering at the side of the bed. "I figured I should return the favor." She untied her robe and let it drop to the floor, revealing the bra and panties she was wearing underneath. Deeks closed his eyes and looked away, praying she would take the hint and leave. He wasn't so lucky this time.

Carly crawled onto the bed with him, rubbing one of his arms. Deeks' breath hitched and he bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood. This wasn't happening. His fears of what had possibly happened to him while he was asleep were now being brought to reality and he could do nothing to stop it.

"Just relax. I'll do everything," Carly murmured, running her hand across his chest. Deeks clenched his eyes closed even harder, trying to pretend he was back at the club while he was a dancer. Sometimes the customers would get a little more handsy than he'd like, but he'd never felt like he was in danger. It was something he knew to expect and they had protocols in place to make sure things didn't go too far. Deeks had none of those now.

"Stop," Deeks whimpered, and he knew how pathetic he sounded. He was not the type to beg, but he'd do so now if it got him out of this. A person with a gun pointed to his head would get defiance until the end, but right now he would plead to whoever would listen to stop what was happening.

"It's okay. It'll feel good, I promise," Carly said, slipping her hand under his shirt. Deeks shuddered, but Carly must've taken it as a positive reaction because she purred in response. "See, you've just gotta relax."

"I don't want this," Deeks choked out, shaking his head in denial. This kind of thing didn't happen to people like him. He was strong and trained and a fighter. He wasn't supposed to be a victim.

"Yes, you do," Carly insisted, letting her fingers trail along the waistband of his borrowed pants. As her fingers breached that last barrier, Deeks' last bit of control broke. There was no stopping the tears that were falling down his cheeks. His lungs burned as he tried to hold back the sobs, but after the first gasp came out, the sobs followed uncontrollably. Maybe the drugs in his system were still messing with him, but Deeks didn't think he'd cried so hard in his life. Things hurt and it was so hopeless and he just wanted it to be over.

"What's wrong?" Carly asked, bringing the offending hand up and wiping at his face. "Are you crying?" Deeks sniffled, jerking his face away from her touch. She didn't get to try to comfort him while causing him harm.

"No more," Deeks pleaded.

"Oh my God," Carly mumbled, rolling off of the bed. Deeks carefully peered over at her, waiting for the catch. "You don't want this?"

"Not like this. Please," Deeks whispered, looking straight into her eyes. There was something different there this time. Perhaps guilt or confusion. Maybe even a little bit of understanding.

"I never wanted to hurt you. I love you," Carly wept, grabbing her robe and wrapping it back around herself.

"Then let me go." Carly looked like she was at war within herself for a moment, trying to decide if this was the right thing to do. Deeks blinked a few more tears out, hoping that would sway her into making the right move. He was so close, he could feel it. Carly was going to unlock him and then he'd leave. He wouldn't try to do anything to apprehend her, he would just get somewhere safe and figure it out from there.

"Okay," Carly sobbed, walking over to the bedside table and opening the drawer. She pulled out a set of handcuff keys and Deeks wanted to scream knowing that salvation had been so close, but so unobtainable. That didn't matter now, since he was seconds away from freedom. Carly unlocked his left wrist and Deeks quickly, but carefully, pulled it to his chest. He wouldn't give her the opportunity to change her mind and latch it back. It was bleeding a little, but nothing he couldn't handle. She moved onto that ankle, folding the blanket down to uncover the lock. He was so close.

"What the hell are you doing?!"