Chapter 20

Rocco clapped Deeks on the back. "You better not step out of line with Kensi. She answered the door with her gun drawn."

Deeks couldn't help but grin. "That's my girl."

"Basketball next week?"

"I'll be there."

"Why don't you bring Kensi?"

Deeks shook his head. "So you Neanderthals can drool over her? Good try, but no."

Rocco laughed and climbed in his SUV and drove away.

When Deeks returned to his apartment, Kensi was flipping through the TV channels with the remote in one hand and eating a chocolate chip cookie with the other.

"Any left for me?"

She looked up. "I got a dozen and this is only my first one."

"Well, if that's only your first, I better claim my share now."

"A wise move."

They munched in companionable silence for a few minutes. Then Deeks stretched his arms over his head and yawned. "You're probably anxious to get back to your place by now."

Kensi gave him a look. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Oh no, not at all. I just thought you'd be tired after the last 24 hours we've had. Not our usual kind of day. No shooting or take-downs or scrambling over backyard fences."

"True, but what if you have another attack tonight?"

They both knew only one stone was identified on the x-ray and it was long gone. "I could call Rocco or my landlady. Did you know she drove an ambulance in World War II? Of course, she's eighty-seven now."

She snorted. "I have to say, you know some interesting people. But I'm better prepared to take care of my partner than either of them now that I know how these things work."

"Kensi, if you want to stay, you're more than welcome."

Kensi regarded him with narrowed eyes. "I still think you're trying to push me out, so just for that, I'm staying."

Deeks nodded soberly, but his brain was screaming, Yes! Another night with Kensi. He pointed to the tote bag she'd brought with her. "What's in that flowery, girly bag over there?"

She shrugged. "Flowery, girly stuff."

"Makes sense. Do I get to see it?"

Kensi's phone rang at that moment. She looked at it. "Lauren. I've missed two calls from her already."

"Sure. I'm going to go change." He got up and shuffled toward the bedroom.

"Kensi, where have you been? Is everything okay?" asked Lauren.

"Long story."

"Does it involve Marty? Wait, are you with him now?"

Kensi sighed. "Yes on both counts." She proceeded to give Lauren a condensed version of the last twenty-four hours.

"Wow, I'm glad you were there to help him," said Lauren.

"Yeah, but it was a little scary at first," admitted Kensi. "I'm no good at being a nurse."

"You can tell us all about it tomorrow night. We're meeting at Big Daddy's Taco Palace."

"Sounds good. Okay, I gotta go," said Kensi. Deeks had come back in and flopped down on the couch. He wore a tee shirt and his pajama pants.

Kensi grabbed her tote bag. "Don't eat all those while I'm gone."

"They're safe. Already brushed my teeth," laughed Deeks. "Hey, if you need a toothbrush, there's an extra one in the medicine cabinet."

"Thanks, but I have mine."

"You little minx. You knew all along you were going to stay."

Kensi stood glaring at him. "Your point?"

"My point is, I like a woman who knows her own mind. It's sexy."

Kensi nodded. "I'll remember that." She turned and headed for the bathroom.

When she returned a few minutes later, she was wearing a tank top and loose pajama pants. "I like this light blue ensemble," said Deeks.

"It's not light blue."

He looked confused. "It's not?"

"No, it's cornflower blue. It's my favorite color."

"My bad." He pointed to her pajama pants. "Let me guess, those aren't any old blue flowers. They must be cornflowers."

Kensi clapped her hands. "Give the man a prize."

"I'm looking at my prize." He got up and stepped close, invading her personal space, and put his hands at her waist. "Cornflower is a good color," he said.

The small space between them crackled with energy and promise. This is it. He's going to kiss me! I'm so ready for it, thought Kensi.

Then Deeks' cell buzzed. "Really?" he said in a disgusted tone. Why are we always interrupted?

"Don't answer it," said Kensi.

Voice mail kicked in and a woman began leaving a message. "Marty, this is Carla from the hospital. I'm following up to see how you're doing."

"Okay, answer it," said Kensi with a sigh.

Deeks snatched up the phone. "Hey Carla, I'm here."

Kensi took the opportunity to slip away to the bedroom. She got on "her" side of the bed and pulled the covers up. Monty trotted in a moment later and curled up in his bed.

"Yeah, everything's fine and Kensi came by to check on me. Wanted to be sure I was drinking enough water."

"Glad to hear that. If anything comes up, well, you know where to find us," laughed Carla.

"Hope that won't be necessary," said Deeks as he ended the call. Tonight, he made sure to take his phone to the bedroom. He noted with satisfaction that Kensi was already looking comfy and relaxed. It seemed entirely appropriate that she should be here. However, their moment was once again ruined. He raked a hand through his hair and sighed.

We need to go somewhere away from cell phones, Ops and Los Angeles.

Kensi may have looked relaxed, but she was still trying to calm her heart rate after another near miss. Probably just as well. Would we be able to stop after one kiss?

The mattress dipped as Deeks laid down. "You asleep, Kens?"

"Not yet."

He folded his hands behind his head. He had no idea how she would react to what he was about to suggest. He might get pummeled and kicked out of his own bed. "What would you think about us driving down to San Diego one weekend. We could check out the zoo and hang out at the beach. Maybe try some new cuisine."

Kensi raised up on one elbow to look at him. "You mean, visit your relatives at the world-famous zoo?" Then she snort-laughed.

"Hah. Good one."

"Would this be like, uh, a field trip, or whatever?" she asked.

"It could be just partners relaxing and unwinding after the stress of a dangerous job. Or it could be, well, anything you want it to be. Your choice."

"My choice? Nothing like putting it out there," she said.

"You don't have to decide tonight. You can mull it over and get back to me."

"Should I text you or send a carrier pigeon after I've mulled it over?"

Deeks laughed. "Again, your choice. Although the smog might kill a carrier pigeon."

Kensi flopped back down on her back. "Got it." She took a deep breath. "Goodnight, Deeks."

"Goodnight, Kensi."

Ten seconds later, Kensi sat up. The suspense was killing her. "Deeks."

"Yeah?"

"This is from a woman who knows her own mind." She leaned over and kissed him briefly.

"Now we got that out of our systems," she said as if that settled it once and for all.

For crying out loud, I work with him every day. What if this is a mistake? I would really hate that.

Deeks was stunned and could barely form a coherent thought. "Did . . . did we? I'm not so sure. From my perspective, this requires further exploration."

Kensi laughed softly. "Go to sleep."

"Copy that." Deeks grinned to himself. His last thought before sleep claimed him was: No stone, no pain, Kensi beside me and my faithful canine in the corner. What more does a guy need? Well, a lot more exploration into our thing, of course!

From his bed a few steps away, Monty thought: At last! My humans have gone radio-silent.

Sometime during the night, Deeks awoke from a very pleasant dream about being at the beach with Kensi. He noticed she had migrated from "her" side to the middle of the bed. He was tempted to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer.

No. Not yet. She's warming up to our thing, but it needs a little more time.

He smiled and went back to sleep. Maybe he could catch the perfect wave in the second part of his dream.

The Next Morning

It was 8:55 a.m. and Eric's watch alarm beeped. Five minutes and she'll be here. His palms were sweaty and he wiped them down the side of his cargo shorts. He hadn't slept well last night because he kept wondering about this Nell Jones. What's she like? Will she fit in here? Will she try to take over Ops?

Finally, he laid his tablet and headphones aside and began to creep down the stairs. He stopped halfway when he realized she was sitting in front of Hetty's desk, chatting and having a cup of tea. His first impulse was to retreat up to Ops, but Hetty looked up and saw him.

"Ah, Mr. Beale. Come join us."

She and Nell got up as Eric approached. "Nell Jones, this is Eric Beale, tech operator."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Nell and thrust out her hand.

"Nice . . . to meet you, too," stammered Eric. His brain rapidly catalogued pertinent facts: petite, cute, firm handshake, short hair, intelligent eyes, flowered dress and black blazer.

"I look forward to working with you," said Nell.

"Now if you two will excuse me, I have a conference call with Washington in two minutes," said Hetty.

"Right," said Eric. "Should we go up to Ops? I can show you our set-up."

"Lead on," said Nell.

Nice smile, thought Eric.

End of the Work Day

Kensi was reaching for her purse when something hit her in the back of the head. She turned and saw Deeks preparing to lob another paper ball at her.

"What was that for?" she asked with a scowl.

"To hurry you up. I missed lunch today and I'm famished. Unless you consider that pack of cheese crackers in your glove box lunch, which I don't, by the way."

"Hello, I was right there with you. I missed lunch, too."

"But I shared my crackers with you," said Deeks.

"My car, my crackers," said Kensi.

"Not really. I stashed them there last week for an emergency situation and today certainly qualified as that." They'd run all over town interviewing witnesses, pursuing leads and yes, climbing over one backyard fence to nab a teenage hacker.

Kensi was getting irritated. "Stop it."

"Come on. There's a new retro diner that opened a couple miles from here. It's called Galaxy 55. We could check it out."

"New retro. You realize that's an oxymoron," said Kensi.

"What I realize is that you'll feel much better after eating. You'll forget that you ripped a knee in your new jeans today."

Kensi looked down with dismay at her right knee. "Not likely." She could still see some dried blood there.

Deeks steered her toward the door and the rest of their conversation faded away. Hetty was doing some fact-checking in an old file cabinet in the corner. She had overheard the whole exchange between Kensi and Deeks. She closed and locked the file cabinet and returned to her desk.

Yes, this is going to be a good partnership. Mr. Deeks is just cheeky enough to keep Ms. Blye on her toes. She took a sip of her jasmine tea and considered various possibilities.

Who knows where it may lead?

THE END