Chapter 17

When she got home, Kensi changed into Deeks' sweats and tee shirt. I don't think you'll get these back, Detective.

After getting comfortable on the couch, she opened her laptop. For several days, she'd been thinking about this. A few keystrokes pulled up "L.A. Luv," the dating website where she had a profile.

She only went on two boring first dates from the site and that was "B.D." Before Deeks. The first guy yammered on endlessly about his exotic cars and the second guy was more interested in the fact that she carried a firearm. He even wanted to hold her SIG-Sauer. No way in hell would that have ever happened. She shuddered just remembering those losers. They were cute, but losers nonetheless.

It's time. She located the "delete profile" button and hit it. Instantly, a box popped up asking, "Are you sure you want to delete your profile?"

"One-hundred percent sure," she said aloud.

It was amazing to think that two months ago she didn't even know Deeks existed, much less that he lived so close. But she wasn't exactly sure how to define their relationship beyond the obvious title of "work partners."

You're starting to think of him as something more. However, getting cozy with a co-worker could be risky and ultimately heartbreaking. Do I want to go there?

She looked down at what she was wearing. Seems I'm already pretty cozy.

Confusion and fatigue threatened to overwhelm her. She yawned and closed the laptop. She was loath to sleep alone in her bed so she curled up on the couch instead.

Deeks' Apartment

After Kensi left, Monty wandered aimlessly from room to room. Finally, he stopped in front of Deeks, who was sitting on the couch with his laptop on the coffee table. He stared at Deeks and whined.

"Do you have to go out again? You went out 5 minutes ago." Monty whined once more, but did not move.

"You miss Kensi, don't you? I miss her, too. But I can't push her too hard. Don't worry, she likes us so she'll be back."

Monty appeared to be satisfied with that explanation and crawled into his bed. Deeks sat there and puzzled over something. Kensi said she needed a "decent guy who can cook." Somehow that sounded familiar. Where have I heard that?

A memory hit him like a thunderbolt. No. Could it be? Deeks had a deep-dark secret that he could never reveal to anybody: he was on a dating website. Sure, usually women were throwing themselves at him. But after a crazy ex-girlfriend started stalking him and he took out a restraining order, he was feeling pissed off at women in general. One night, he thought why the hell not?

He signed up on "L. A. Luv" and flagged one profile that sounded interesting. He couldn't remember everything about it, but the woman said she was in public safety, liked yoga, swimming, working out, pizza and chocolate.

Doesn't every woman like chocolate?

She concluded by stating she couldn't cook, but was looking for a "decent guy who can." Public safety could cover a myriad of jobs. He hoped it wasn't someone from LAPD. How embarrassing would that have been?

Then he basically forgot about it. He got a new undercover assignment with LAPD and encountered Kensi in that MMA gym. When he learned she was one of the good guys, his brain screamed game over!

The facts fit perfectly with Kensi so it must be a good omen. What was that profile name? Oh yeah, "KayBee." Really, Kensi? Not very original. I'm surprised you didn't call yourself "PistolPackingMama" or something kick-ass like that.

His fingers typed frantically trying to find her profile, but it wasn't there anymore. He thought about that for a few minutes. Why? Is it because she's found that decent guy who can cook? He smiled to himself.

"Monty, you won't believe what I've discovered."

No comment was forthcoming from the corner because Monty was asleep. Finally, Deeks logged off and got up to go to bed. He rubbed the left side of his back. Probably sat there hunched over too long.

4:45 a.m.

Kensi was jarred awake by her phone. She picked it up and saw the picture of Deeks. She'd surreptitiously snapped it last week while he was reading a file at his desk.

"Deeks, what is it?"

"I think . . . I think I have a kidney stone." There was a pause as she heard him suck in a deep breath. "Dammit."

"Kidney stone? For real?"

"For real. I had one a couple years ago and, ugh, I'm having the same kind of pain. It's like I'm about to give birth to one of those Easter Island boulders."

Kensi grimaced. "I didn't need to hear that."

"Can . . . can you drive me to the E. R.?"

"E.R. Right. I'm leaving now." She rammed her feet into sneakers and grabbed a hoodie.

The E. R.

Kensi drove as fast as she could without breaking any laws. However, when one red light held an obscenely long time, she slid on through the intersection. When she reached Deeks' apartment, he was standing outside holding a small basin.

"You're not going to be sick, are you?" she asked.

"I hope not, but better to be prepared." He leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes.

"Okay, everything will be fine," she said and patted his thigh. Then she snatched her hand back as if she'd been scalded. Why did I do that?

As luck would have it, one of Deeks' favorite nurses, Carla, was on duty and it was relatively quiet at this early hour.

"Marty, you poor boy," exclaimed Carla as she fussed over him. "You need to change into his gown and then you're off to radiology for an abdominal x-ray to see if we can locate the stone."

"I'll step out here," said Kensi as she pulled the curtain aside.

"You're lucky to have a good partner like Kensi," whispered Carla. "You better treat her right."

"I . . . I know," gasped Deeks as another spasm of pain washed over him.

When he was ready, a transporter came to take him to radiology. "Kensi, you can go with him, if you like," said Carla.

"I can?"

Carla gave her a warm smile. "I'm positive Marty would feel better if you went."

If the situation had been reserved, Kensi knew, without question, she would have called Deeks for help rather than one of her girlfriends. As much as she loved her friends, they weren't especially good in emergencies.

Take the time Lauren was house sitting for her brother. She called 911 in the middle of the night because she thought someone was breaking in. It turned out to be a chubby raccoon trying to squeeze through the cat door.

I'm sure the cops had a good laugh about that. There might even be a video of it on the internet.

Radiology Department

"Hi, Mr. Deeks. I'm Todd. I'm going to do your x-ray," said a cheerful young man in tan scrubs.

Deeks got out of the wheelchair and Kensi noted two things: he wore black boxer briefs and had a scar on the left side of his back. Why do men not care if they flash the whole world?

Todd positioned Deeks and said, "Mrs. Deeks, you can step back here with me."

Kensi was so shocked her jaw dropped. "Uh, okay. But, uh, I'm just a friend."

Todd shrugged. "Sure."

Kensi felt like banging her head against the wall. Of course, it doesn't matter to Todd who I am. I wonder if Deeks heard that or is he in too much pain?

"Hey Todd, you'll see some bullet fragments in there. I'm a cop," called Deeks from the room.

The digital image popped up on the monitor. "Yep, I see them," said Todd.

"What about the stone?" asked Kensi anxiously.

"Oh, that's for the radiologist to determine. Come on, let's get you back to Carla."