"We should start a fire." Alex sat cross-legged on the knitted rug in front of the empty fireplace.

Deeks glanced at his sister with a furrowed brow. "It's 80 degrees outside."

"Yeah, but come on." Alex jumped up from the floor and skipped over to Deeks as he rummaged through the kitchen pantry. She hopped up onto the counter and swung her legs playfully. "Cozy cabin in the forest? Lighting a fire just seems right."

Deeks sent her an amused smile as he pulled a few non-perishable cans from the cupboard and placed them next to her on the counter.

"Beans? Tuna?" Alex questioned as she shifted through the cans. "Canned bread?! I didn't even know that was a thing."

"Well it is, and it's what we're having for dinner." Deeks rested his palms against the counter, waiting for the inevitable outburst from the teenager.

She looked at him in astonishment. "You're lying."

Deeks sent her a glance before returning his gaze to the canned goods.

"Didn't you say it's been over 20 years since you were last here? There's no way we can still eat this!" Alex picked up a can and began turning it over in search of an expiration date.

"It's been restocked, Al." He rolled his eyes. "It's all perfectly safe to eat."

"Can't we hunt something?" She groaned.

He glared at her with slight amusement. "Have you ever known me to hunt an animal before?"

"You can hunt down suspects! It can't be that different," She mumbled. Alex jumped down from the counter with another irritated groan before turning back to her brother with a mischievous smile. "Callen seems like resourceful guy, maybe he can teach you?"

"Teach him what?" Callen called out as he entered the small cabin, pulling the hem of his shirt over his gun holster. He walked over to the two siblings in the kitchen before turning to Deeks. "I checked out the area, we weren't followed. Everything looks clear."

"Perfect," Deeks responded. He had wanted to accompany Callen to scope out the surrounding woods when they first reached the cabin, especially since darkness was quickly approaching. It was his fault Callen was here to begin with, the least he could do was make sure his teammate wasn't doing the dirty work alone. Callen had refused his company though, claiming that Alex needed him more. He would have protested if it weren't for the dazzling smile Alex sent his way at the words. Even though he knew he was doing the practical thing by staying with Alex, Deeks still felt his stomach drop as he watched the night engulf Callen in the distance. He had been on edge up until the door opened and his teammate walked back in, safe and sound.

One less thing to worry about.

"Marty wants you to teach him to hunt." Alex grinned at Callen, responding to his previous question.

Callen sent Deeks a confused glance that was met with an eye roll. "Your brother doesn't really strike me as the hunting type," Callen responded with a chuckle.

"C'mon, please?" Alex clasped her hands together and shook them vigorously, earning amused smiles from both men. "It's either that or canned bread!"

"I didn't know canned bread was a thing," Callen responded as he examined the can on the counter.

"Exactly!" Alex exclaimed. "We can't eat that. It's inedible. There have to be squirrels around here or something."

Callen cringed. "I think I'd rather have canned bread than squirrel."

With that, he left the kitchen and took a seat on the couch in the living room. Alex groaned, flopping down onto the wooden floor, flat on her back.

As Deeks rummaged through the kitchen cupboards, pulling out pots and pans, he couldn't help but be a bit happy that Callen had tagged along. Even though it would have been simpler to do this alone, he felt safer with Callen here. He didn't have to worry about Callen. And he could trust him to protect Alex at all costs, the same way he trusted himself. Not to mention that Callen and Alex seemed to get along. She clearly trusted him to some degree or she wouldn't have called him to begin with.

Alex didn't trust just anyone. He had made sure of that. She never let her guard down. She was too clever. But she trusted her brother, and now she trusted Callen. As Deeks glanced at her, sprawled across the floor and scrolling through her phone, he couldn't help but be proud. If she had to pick someone other than himself to trust, Callen was a pretty good choice. And Deeks needed her to trust someone. This mission wasn't going to end well for him, but he'd be damned if he didn't make sure she was safe. If he didn't make it out in one piece, Alex would need someone to trust. He only hoped that Callen wouldn't let her down.

"I can't get a current trace on either of their phones," Eric said as he typed away at his computer in OPS.

He could feel the irritation and nervous energy radiating from Sam, Kensi, and Hetty as they stood over him. When Sam audibly growled at his words, he glanced at Nell who sent him a sympathetic look.

This was not good. This was as not good as not good could get. It was down right horrible. When Sam and Kensi couldn't get ahold of their partners, they asked Nell and Eric to pull up the security cameras at the boatshed where they had left the two. When Deeks and Alex left, Kensi and Sam weren't surprised. After such a rough day, of course he'd want to take her home. What was surprising was Callen rushing out only moments later, hopping into his car and speeding in the same direction Deeks had gone. Something wasn't right. And now their cellphones were off and there was no trace of them.

"Miss Jones, pull of 1894 Parkson Avenue. Traffic cam at the west end of the street," Hetty commanded, stepping back to watch the big screen.

Within seconds, view from the camera appeared on the screen and all directed their eyes to the apartment building it focused on.

"That's Deeks' place," Kensi commented.

"And that's Callen's car in the parking lot." Sam shook his head in frustration as the scene came together.

"But where's Deeks?" Eric asked, scanning the screen for his friend's vehicle.

"He ran," Sam shook his head, not quite believing what this all looked like.

"No. No, Deeks wouldn't do that," Kensi protested. She knew what this looked like, and even though she clearly didn't know him as well as she thought, she still knew him well enough. Deeks wouldn't run. Deeks wasn't a runner. He fought his battles, he didn't run from them.

"His sister was accused of murder, Kens..." Nell reasoned softly.

"Barely!" Kensi retorted. "We had no evidence against her."

Kensi shook her head. This wasn't right. Even if Deeks was afraid of the case's outcome, it's not like there was any concrete evidence. The only thing incriminating his sister was petty high school drama. That was hardly enough to convict someone of murder. The team would have had to release her in no time.

"Why would he run then?" Sam questioned, almost to himself. "This only makes Alex look guilty."

"Something happened. Deeks wouldn't do this. He wouldn't leave like this." Kensi had to believe that. She had to. Deeks wouldn't run. She may not have known his secrets, but she knew him. She knew him to his core, to the heart of his being. And Deeks wasn't a runner. Something was wrong. If Deeks - her Deeks - was running...it was because he was running to something, not away from it. That was her Deeks.

"And why would Callen go with him?" Sam wondered out loud.

Suddenly, it hit her. Deeks didn't run away from his problems. He faced them. Desks left because he was facing a problem. He left to face his problem, to deal with it head-on. But Deeks was also private. If today had taught her anything, it was that Deeks didn't share as easily as they thought. He liked to handle things alone. When he faced Scarli and the human trafficking case, when he was recovering from Siderov, when he was shot and still hobbled through the hospital to save Kensi from an ambush in the parking lot... Deeks never asked for help. So what kind of problem could be serious enough that he'd accept Callen's?

Kensi looked at Sam, who seemed to be lost in his own reasoning. Trying to deduce the caliber of an issue that would cause Callen to risk his job, his life. Callen had character, he had morals. He had gone rogue his fair share of times, but he didn't encourage it in others. He was always there to pull Sam back from the deep end, so why wouldn't he do the same for Deeks? Why would he encourage him instead of bringing him back home? It had to be serious. It had to be important. They were protecting someone... Who would Callen bother to protect?

Sam looked up, locking eyes with Kensi as they said the word in unison.

"Alex."

The four teammates barely noticed Hetty's silent departure. As soon as she saw Callen's car haphazardly parked in the lot of Deeks' apartment building, she understood. Hetty could read people. She was three steps ahead of everyone. She could predict anything...but somehow she hadn't predicted this.

As she reached her desk, she quickly pulled her cellphone from the drawer beneath it. Callen and Deeks' phones were both turned off, but there was one more person she could try. One person who she was almost certain never turned off her cellphone.

"Eric, pull up the interview with Alex after Kensi and I left the boatshed," Sam looked at the screen expectantly.

A hush fell over the room as they watched. They listened to the story intently. Picking up every glance, every twitch, every movement. They heard Alex recall going to the pizza place the night before. Running into her classmates. The argument. The fight. The bruise.

"She was one of the last people to see them alive," Kensi realized.

"She may have even seen the murderer," Nell added. "9:15? Their time of death was only minutes after that."

Eric shook his head. "But you heard what she told Callen. She didn't notice anyone acting strangely."

"Doesn't mean she didn't see him," Nell shrugged.

"What if the murder wasn't about Laurel and Jackson?" Sam asked as the case came together. Kensi nodded as he continued. "What if the real target was Alex?"

"But then why wouldn't the murderer go after Alex?" Eric reasoned from his chair. "Why waste time killing two innocent kids? Especially when Alex was right there."

"To scare Deeks." Nell realized. "The murder was about scaring Deeks."

Kensi nodded as she followed Nell's train of thought. "Whoever did this wanted Deeks to know that he could've killed Alex."

"All while Deeks sat right outside the restaurant." Sam shook his head in disbelief. They should've noticed this earlier. Deeks should've told them earlier. He shouldn't be dealing with this alone. But he wasn't alone, was he? He had Callen. And he had Alex.

"Alex isn't a suspect, she's a victim." Kensi locked eyes with Sam. "Deeks knows who the murderer is."

"Callen must've come to the same conclusion when he followed Deeks home." Sam added.

Kensi nodded her agreement.

"Deeks isn't running away from a murder charge, he's looking for the murderer."

"And we need to find him before they do."

I know it's been a while...a long while. I'm already working on the next chapter, and I hope to have it up soon. Thanks for sticking with this story all this time. I really appreciate it.

Your reviews give me life.