Author's Note: I am not a doctor, so forgive any mistakes I may have made. This is a product of me and Dr. Google. Also, since the show didn't take HIPAA very seriously, neither am I. Thanks again for all the support!


Kensi paced the surgical waiting room, too amped up to sit down. They'd been waiting there for an hour with no updates and it was driving her insane. The drive in had been nerve wracking, with Deeks not stirring once. Kensi had kept her fingers pressed against Deeks' neck, letting the thumping of his pulse reassure her that he was still there and would be alright. He'd gotten himself to the mission, so he couldn't be that bad off.

Callen had pulled up in front of the emergency room doors and darted inside, returning with staff a few seconds later. Letting Deeks go with them was harder than she thought it would be, especially when they took him to the back and the doors shut in her face. She needed to be back there with him, to make sure he was okay. Kensi knew how to stay out of the way, but no one was willing to budge on the rules. A nurse had come out a few minutes later to let them know that Deeks was being prepped for surgery and pointed them in the direction of where to wait, which is where they were now.

"Kensi, he's going to be fine," Callen sighed, watching her circuit around the room from his seat next to Sam. No one had been able to get ahold of Hetty yet and Nell and Eric were still at the mission, holding down the fort until there was news.

"You don't know that," Kensi snapped, not receptive to meaningless platitudes right now. She'd believe Deeks was fine when he could tell her himself.

"You need to have a little faith in your partner. He's a fighter," Sam said. Kensi rolled her eyes. There was only so much being a fighter could get you. Her dad was the toughest, strongest man she'd ever known and that still hadn't prevented him from leaving her. She was not ready to be left again.

"It's funny hearing you say that, since you don't even like him," Kensi scoffed, sending a scathing glare in his direction.

"Kensi," Callen said in warning, but he couldn't stop herself.

"You've never treated him like he belongs on the team, so don't start acting like you care now!"

"Enough!" Callen hissed, standing up to block her path. She made a move to walk around him, but he stopped her with a look. Kensi knew she'd gone too far. "I know you're worried, but I'm not going to let you take out your frustrations on the team."

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true," Kensi grumbled, stubborn to the very end.

"Don't take your guilt about how you've treated Deeks out on Sam," Callen said, holding up his hand before she could interrupt. "None of us have given him a fair shake, and I should've done something about it as team lead, but don't pretend like you have treated him any better. We can't do anything about that now, but I'm not going to stand by and let the rest of this team fall apart as well. Now is the time we need to stick together, and when Deeks is better, we'll figure things out from there." Kensi sighed, knowing Callen was right. Everything she spat at Sam could easily be said about her.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Kensi said as she walked over and sat beside her fellow agent.

"You weren't wrong about what you said," Sam admitted. "I haven't acted like I care about him, but of course I want him to be okay."

"I know, I just- why didn't he call us when he needed help? Doesn't he know that we'd come help him, no matter what? We were there for him during his last LAPD op that went bad and we could've been there for this one too," Kensi mumbled, biting at her thumb.

"I believe I have the answer to that question, Ms. Blye."

"Hetty!" Kensi exclaimed, shooting up to meet the woman where she was standing in the doorway. "Where have you been?"

"I had an early morning meeting, but when I found out about what happened to Mr. Deeks, I made a phone call," Hetty explained, frowning seriously. "Once Ms. Jones filled me in on what transpired at the mission today, I knew I couldn't let this go on any longer. So I called Mr. Deeks' commanding officer in LAPD, Lieutenant Bates."

"Did he tell you what kind of op Deeks was on?" Sam asked.

"And why he didn't have any backup?" Callen added.

"As a matter of fact, he didn't."

"What? They better not be trying to pull some confidentiality bullshit on us! We need to know what happened to Deeks," Kensi exploded, feeling her blood pressure spike through the roof. If Hetty didn't get answers, she'd march down to the police station herself and raise hell until she got what she wanted.

"Let me finish," Hetty requested with a raised hand. "Lieutenant Bates couldn't tell me anything about the operation Mr. Deeks was on because he wasn't on one for LAPD."

"What? What are you talking about? Nell got a text from him saying that's where he was going," Kensi huffed in confusion.

"Lieutenant Bates was under the assumption Mr. Deeks was with us this whole time. He hadn't had any contact with him since the night before you started on the Combs case," Hetty replied.

"And do you believe him? Do you think he might be covering something up?" Callen asked.

"He seemed genuinely surprised to hear about the state Mr. Deeks was found in. In fact, he is on his way here now," Hetty said.

"Where the hell was he this whole time? And why would he text us he was doing something for LAPD?" Kensi murmured, closing her eyes in frustration.

"That may be something we'll have to ask Mr. Deeks."

They sat around for another hour before a doctor finally came out with an update on Deeks' condition. During the wait, Callen had contacted Eric and Nell and told them to try to find anything they could on where Deeks could've been for the past day and a half. None of them wanted to wait until he woke up to tell them and if he was still in danger, they needed to know.

"Family of Mr. Deeks?" the doctor said, glancing down at his clipboard. They all rushed over, letting Hetty take the lead.

"How is he?" she asked. Only the people who really knew her could hear the slight tremor in her voice.

"Mr. Deeks is currently in serious, but stable condition. He was taken into emergency surgery to repair a perforation in his small intestine. The tear was minor, but unfortunately there was significant internal bleeding and bacterial spillage from the wound. We were able to clear all that out and repair the intestine without an ileostomy, but infection is almost guaranteed in this situation, so we have him on antibiotics," the doctor explained.

"Oh my gosh," Kensi murmured, covering her mouth in shock. How far did Deeks have to go in that condition to get back to the mission? What if they hadn't gotten there so early that morning?

"There were also signs of him being held in restraints on his wrists and ankles, along with a cut on his left palm, which we stitched up. There may be a bit of scarring. Another point of concern is a head wound we found on the back of his scalp. Initial CT scans have shown no fractures or brain bleeds, but we'll be taking him for an MRI to get a clearer look when he is more stable."

"But is he going to be okay?" Kensi asked, needing to hear the confirmation from the doctor. She didn't think she could listen to more things that were wrong with Deeks without hearing if he would make it out of this.

"I can't say for certain, but if there aren't any complications, I'd say his prognosis is good," the doctor replied. Kensi let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Deeks would pull through, she was sure of it.

"Can we see him?" Kensi asked, hopefully.

"I'm afraid that's not possible for the moment. Mr. Deeks is still in post-op and then will be transferred to the ICU. He can have brief visits then, but only one at a time."

"I would like to formally request one of my agents to be with Mr. Deeks at all times. We have reason to believe Mr. Deeks' life could be in danger, due to the fact that the assailants responsible for this have not yet been apprehended," Hetty said firmly. The doctor hesitated, tapping his finger on the edge of his clipboard.

"Let me see what I can do. I'll have someone get back to you with an answer shortly," the doctor said, tipping his head before walking back through the doors.

"Could've been worse," Callen sighed, running a hand down his face. Kensi didn't even want to think about if it had been. It was already bad enough in her opinion. Just then, Callen's phone rang in his pocket and he pulled it out, putting it on speaker. "What do you have?"

"We tracked down Deeks' car to a neighborhood not far from the mission. I'm sending the address to your phones now," Eric replied, followed by the simultaneous dings of the incoming messages.

"What's there?" Sam asked, eyeing the information on his phone.

"It's a residential area. We're still trying to find a link to Deeks, but so far we have nothing." Nell said.

"We'll head there now. Maybe we'll find something in his car," Callen declared, looking around at each of them. "Let us know if you find anything else." Callen hung up the call, putting his phone back in his pocket.

"Maybe I should stay? Just in case someone really does come for Deeks," Kensi said, biting her lip in contemplation. She was torn between wanting to be here for her partner and needing to know what happened to him. And if they came across the people who'd hurt him, she wanted to be there to bring them down.

"I will stay with Mr. Deeks," Hetty proclaimed, patting her on the arm. "Go find out what happened to your partner." Kensi nodded, feeling the determination settle deep into her bones. She knew Deeks would be in good hands with Hetty around, so she could focus all her energy into finding out what happened to him. And when she did, she'd rain down hell on whoever was responsible.