A/N: I was really impressed with this week's episode, "Better Angels". Eric and Daniela as well as guest star Eyas Younis were fantastic. Specifically, I was struck by the moment Deeks' runs out of ammo and the expression that flashes on his face before he drew the knife. It was a powerful moment and one Eric deserves kudos. Anyone else feel that way?

Out of Time

Crouched in a hollow, surrounded on all sides, Deeks loaded his last ammo clip. He was surprised that his measly Smith and Wesson was holding multiple hostiles, toting automatic weapons, at bay.

He fired up.

He fired left.

He fired right.

Click.

Click.

Where was Turk? Gone after Naser, of course. Vendettas were dangerous demons.

More importantly, where was Kensi? He knew exactly where she was, where he told her she needed to be. She was giving a dying man solace. A sudden burst of emotion hit him. His love was comforting another man at the very moment he needed her, to see her one more time, to her here her love voice. He hung his head, suppressing even a single tear. He was not dead yet, as hopeless as it seemed. He pulled his knife. As long as he had breath, he would fight, with what weapon available, to get back to her.

Right Place, Right Time

Kensi Bly was not made for this. She was not a caregiver, a nursemaid, or a comforter, really. Kensi Bly kicked down doors, stopped the bad guys, and protected her team. When she had asked Marty is she could do this, he sure she could. He had known she had it in her to comfort a dying man.

David Sarraf had risked his life, given his life, to bring crucial evidence of crimes against humanity to the public. Today, he was a member or her team, someone who needed a special brand of protection.

When the call came from his wife came through, Kensi sighed in relief, not for herself, but for David; for an added layer of peace for his soul. She was still troubled, teetering on brink of her owner emotional breakdown. She wondered, as David spoke to his wife for the last time, if Deeks was okay. He was hunting Naser; and if he found him there was bound to be resistance. She gazed out over the rooftops and said a silent prayer for his safety.

Pillow Talk

As they lay among the tangled sheets, sweat coating their respective skin, Kensi and Deeks sighed the soul cleansing breaths they had been holding since David Sarraf had been escorted to morgue via ambulance. So much pent up emotion, chaos and compassion, doing equal duty in keying them up and breaking them down.

"I don't ever want to do that again, Deeks," Kensi said, stoically. She rolled over on her side. He slid into a spooning position and began stroking her hair.

"I know, Baby," he soothed. "I know."

There was no flippancy in his tone, just understanding and a willingness to listen.

"I mean," she quickly added. "I don't know. It was so outside who I think I should be. And, yet there was something deeply rewarding about it, too."

"I knew you could do it, Kens," Deeks replied, knowingly. "I think it was something you needed to do. I never doubted you. You love hard. But, you aren't as hard as you think you are. I know how you feel about the job and what it entails, but I would not want to be the Vulture circling your baby chicks."

"Baby chicks?" Kensi answered, turning her head to meet his eyes, skeptically.

"Just an expression, Babe," Deeks defended. "I'm just talking about how fiercely you defend those you care about. That can definitely encompass a man you just met that needed a hand to hold."

"He called me his 'Angel'," she whispered. "Who am I to be called anyone's Angel?"

He propped himself up on an elbow and pulled her back in his direction. "Now, you're just fishing?" he jibed.

"No, Deeks," she rebutted. "For real. What about how I hurt you the night before Mexico?"

Deeks' face settled from the silly ribbing he was intending to a straight faced solemnity. "Babe, I think you need to let this go. Mexico, before and after, is behind us. We are getting married. We own a bar. You are the most bad ass angel I have ever the pleasure of knowing, much less bedding. What you did was amazing and I hope you can accept that."

She smiled weakly at this joke and stared in deep blue of his eyes. "What about you, Deeks? This isn't just about me holding the hand of a dying man. Callen told me they got to you just in time."

"Just in time is fine by me," Deeks deflected. "I'm still here. With you."

"But, it was so close."

"You are so damn sexy when you worry about me," he said, smiling boyishly. "But we've been through closer scrapes than that."

"That was before I loved you," she said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Before Sidorov."

"Was it?" he asked, cheekily. "Was it, really? I propose you loved me before that."

She slapped his chest playfully, but wasn't ready to go full banter. "Talk to me, Deeks."

"I already told you most of it, Babe," he said, dryly. "But this was the hardest thing: For a moment, a mere drop in the buck of time, I despaired. It was a place I had been before and knew I never wanted to be again. I thought about you holding consoling another man while was fighting for my life. I thought about never seeing you again, never laughing with you, again. I thought, for a moment, of you being left alone. It was a horrible moment, but one I would not let take over. I knew that whatever it took, I would see you again. Oh, and I cursed Turk a few hundred times, too."

"I love you, Deeks," Kensi said, pulling him into a kiss.

"You too, baby," he mumbled through the kiss, pulling the sheets over their heads.