AN: Another chapter! This one was suggested by justareader07!
Deeks is undercover as Max when Kensi gets back. She observes in OPS. Meanwhile, 'Max' keeps getting hit on, even after the op is over.
As always, read and review!
Deeks's POV
You're good at this, Deeks told himself as he sat in the VIP section of some bar/strip club or other. You used to do this all the time. It's not real, it's a job. You. Can. Do. This.
Even a year ago, spending a night undercover with nameless women wasn't all that hard.
Things are different now, he remembered, nodding his head as he half-listened to his mark—a cartel leader in human trafficking—ramble on about things that made Deeks's blood boil. Kens, I hope you'll forgive me for this. He forced a smile for the blonde girl currently sitting on his lap and placed his had on the small of her back, but his heart wasn't in it.
"You alright, Deeks?" Callen's voice came over the slight static in his coms. Deeks covertly glanced over at Callen, who was sitting alone at the bar, pretending to drink. He knew Sam was at the entrance, posing as a bouncer. He gave Callen a discrete nod and turned back to the conversation at hand.
Shake it off, he commanded himself. Max isn't sentimental. Doesn't matter how much you miss her. Gotta finish this op.
"So," Enrique said, wrapping up some spiel Deeks hadn't really been paying attention to, "I suppose it's about time to talk business."
Deeks flashed his best rouge grin, channeling Max with a deadly focus.
"Suppose so," he said, feeling Max take over. "Here?"
Enrique's mouth twitched. "This is my palace," he said, gesturing around at the high-class club. "No safer place."
Deeks nodded, suppressing the urge to make a cheeky comeback about the ex-CIA agent/federal agent at the bar, the ex-Navy SEAL/federal agent at the door, and the fact that he himself was an LAPD detective/NCIS liaison.
Suddenly, he felt the blonde's lips on his neck. She hit a spot that was usually sensitive, but he felt nothing.
Thank God Kens isn't here to see this, he thought. While he absolutely hated being apart from Kensi, he knew—for the moment, at least—it was for the best. His partner was known for her rather violent jealous streak.
He hated it, but at the moment, he was the best hope for those girls, children, babies. He narrowed his eyes and prepared himself to talk about unspeakable business.
Kensi's POV
It had been a long three months—an excruciatingly long three months. But finally, after what felt like an eternity, she was home. Or, at least, she was part way there.
It was after ten o'clock, but Granger had told her that her team had a case and would most likely be up in OPS. She couldn't wait to see them all, but there was one person she longed for above all the others.
The doors to OPS opened as she walked in, and she took in the scene before her. Nell stood at the table, back toward her, staring up at something on the screen. Eric sat at a computer, nodding to himself and checking blue prints.
"I'm working on it, Hetty," Eric said when he heard the doors slide open, "But I can't materialize a backdoor out of thin air if it simply isn't there. I mean, I'm good, but I'm not—"
"KENSI!" Nell exclaimed, finally noticing her. The small woman stepped over toward her and enveloped her in a hug. She pulled back and smiled up at Kensi. "When'd you get back?"
Kensi smiled, but she couldn't help looking around OPS disappointedly.
"About an hour ago," she said distractedly. "Where's De—where're the guys?"
Nell's smile fell slightly, but Eric continued to type on, oblivious.
"Hey Kensi!" he called over his shoulder, still working furiously.
"Hey Eric." Kensi managed a smile, but it lacked much excitement. "Where're the guys?" she repeated.
"They're running an op," Nell said, gesturing to the screen. "Eric, put up the footage." Kensi's attention went to the big screen immediately. Eric looked hesitant, but he put the footage up so they could all see.
An image of Deeks appeared on the screen. He had a blonde woman on his lap, and she was currently kissing her way up and down his neck as Deeks spoke with a hispanic man.
Kensi felt white-hot rage cloud her vision momentarily.
What the hell is he thinking?
Then she noticed his eyes. He wasn't Deeks.
"Max," she whispered to herself. Neither Nell or Eric heard her. There was no trace of longing in her voice—this wasn't her Max, after all—and she pushed her jealousy aside for the moment.
Deeks hates Max, Kensi reasoned. So this must be important. It has to be.
"Read me in," Kensi gritted out. "Now."
"Enrique Cortez is the head of the Cortez Cartel," Nell said, looking slightly hesitant. "They're major players in human trafficking. Particularly of children."
And there it was. Kensi closed her eyes and pounded her fist lightly on the table. Human trafficking; something that none of them could stand.
It's not fair, Kensi thought to herself. These cases are so hard for him, and I'm not there to have his back… be in his ear… be the one on his lap…
While she knew exactly who to blame for that—a tiny, frightening woman who was suspiciously absent from OPS—she pushed that aside for the moment and turned her attention to the screen in front of her.
"I'll need to verify the… quality of the merchandise," Deeks said. Kensi could tell from the tone in his voice that Max was entirely in control. She nodded, knowing that that was good. It would get him through this op and out alive.
Enrique nodded and stood. Deeks stood to follow him. To Kensi's immense relief, he peeled the blonde off him.
"Max!" she protested, reaching for him. For a second, Kensi saw Deeks's genuine repulsion, but he did a good job of covering it up.
"I'm sorry Tiffany," he started, but she cut him off.
"It's Lisa! Not Tiffany!"
"Right, Lisa," he said with a smirk, like it was unimportant either way. Kensi felt a small smirk cross her face as well. "I've got business to do. You wait here, and maybe I'll see you later." He gave her a suggestive wink that left Lisa-not-Tiffany giggling and Kensi scowling murderously, plotting the unfortunate blonde's slow, painful death. Deeks followed Enrique down some stairs.
Eric switched cameras, and about fifteen seconds later, Deeks and Enrique appeared in a basement. Kensi watched as the whole thing played out in front of her. Deeks confirmed the location of all the girls, babies, and young children currently in the possession of the Cortez Cartel, gained knowledge of Enrique's associates, and finally gave the signal word. Sam and Callen burst in through the upper stairwell, followed by a large number of LAPD SWAT.
All-in-all, about thirty cartel members were arrested and booked. Kensi let out a sigh of relief, but continued to follow her partner on the security cameras and listen to his audio. It didn't matter if everything seemed fine. She was still his partner, and she'd always be watching his back.
Besides, she thought with a smile, he does look really nice in Hetty's suit. Very nice…
Deeks's POV
As the last man was arrested, Deeks couldn't help his sigh of relief from escaping. It had been a tough one, that was for sure. Human trafficking of children, being Max… and to top it off, he couldn't go home to beer, ice cream, and bad reality TV with Kensi. The pounding music of the club wasn't helping his pounding headache any, either.
All he wanted right now was to go home, eat a burger, and stare at his SAT phone, willing it to ring—and not necessarily in that order. He was halfway across the floor, past the bar, and almost out the door when he was stopped by octopus-like arms.
"Hey Max," Lisa not Tiffany spoke softly in his ear. He turned around, trying to extract himself gently from her arms, but she wouldn't let go. "Wanna get out of here?"
That was the final straw. Deeks took her arms firmly and removed them from his body. Unfortunately, this meant that he had to hold her hands firmly in his. She didn't look as offended as Deeks thought she should.
"Listen Lisa," he said. Now that Max Gentry was gone, Deeks couldn't bring himself to be cruel. "I'm not Max, and I'm not leaving here with you."
Deeks released her hands and moved to turn away, but she reached out again, pulling him back toward her.
Kensi's POV
Kensi's blatant admiration of her partner/boyfriend lasted all of ten seconds before her partner was assaulted by the same blonde bimbo from earlier. She heard Deeks tell this Lisa woman that he wasn't leaving with her, but it hardly registered in Kensi's exhausted, enraged mind.
She will die, Kensi decided, glaring at the woman. Slowly… painfully… awfully…
"C'mon, Maxy, or whoever you are…" she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I'm the best you'll ever have."
At that, Kensi felt another wave of anger. She opened her mouth to demand that Eric and Nell tell her where the hell the bar was. Her partner was clearly in need of her specific kind of backup. The kind that could only be provided by a girlfriend.
For just a moment, a tendril of doubt crept into Kensi's mind.
But are we still together? she couldn't help but wonder. He never actually said he'd wait for me, and I did just leave, and it's not like I could honestly expect him to wait for me… I mean, for all he knows I was running away from our thing… oh my god, what if that's what he thinks? And he probably found another girl, or he'll take this Lisa idiot home, and we won't be able to be partners, and he'll leave, and, and, and…
"Okay, no." Deeks's voice cut into Kensi's scrambled thoughts. "Look, I already have someone in my life—my own personal Wonder Woman. She's amazing. She can hot wire a car and take down a man twice her size. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know." He looked Lisa directly in the eyes. "I love her."
At Deeks's words, Kensi felt the world spin around her. She gripped onto the table to keep herself upright. In the back of her mind, she heard Nell's sigh and Eric's gasp, but mostly she just kept hearing his words over and over and over.
"I love her."
He loves me, she realized in awe. A smile spread across her face. I never should have doubted him.
She waited for the icy fear to grip her heart. She waited for the urge to run away. It never came. In its place, she felt the desire to run to wherever he was and tell him she loved him too. It was surprisingly unsurprising, like the truth had been there all along. The difference, now, was that it was safe to acknowledge it.
She watched her partner stride quickly away from Lisa—who didn't follow him—and exit the club. While she hated the lack of him on the screen, she couldn't get the smile off her face. She listened to the steady sound of his soft breathing as his words replayed over and over in her mind.
"I love her."
Besides, it meant that he was coming back.
To me, she thought with a smile. He's coming back to me.
Deeks's POV
Deeks strode out the door, grateful to leave the clingy, desperate woman behind him. He hated that he'd had to lead her on, even for a good cause, but he would not betray Kensi.
"I love her."
He hadn't meant for those to slip out, but at least they'd been to a stranger. If Kensi found out, she'd probably run for the hills. Deeks rubbed his jaw as he crossed the street. He could almost feel the punch she'd given him the last time he'd let his emotions get out of hand. He walked up to Sam and Callen, shaking his head. It wouldn't do him any good to dwell on those memories.
"Everything all wrapped up out here?" he asked the senior partners. They were both looking at him strangely. "What?" he asked, confused at their looks. Both men were silent for a long minute.
"You do realize that you still have your coms unit on, right Deeks?" Sam asked, finally breaking the tense silence. His words confused Deeks even more.
"Yeah," he said, tilting his head to the side. "Why…?" he trailed off as realization dawned, and he felt his face redden. They must have heard the whole Lisa conversation… "Oh."
Both Callen and Sam chuckled.
"Yeah," Sam said. "Oh."
Oh crap, what if they tell Kensi?!
"Look, guys, I was just—I mean, I meant what I said, but can we just… keep this to ourselves?" Both men looked confused at his suggestion, so Deeks continued, "I mean, now's not really the time for me to tell… her… what I said, and she'll probably punch me again. Or run. And I'm really trying to avoid both of those scenarios, okay?"
As he ended his long-winded rant, Deeks finally looked up at the two older men. Callen had on his usual, unreadable expression, but Sam was nodding in understanding.
"We won't say anything, Deeks," Sam said. "Now c'mon. Let's get out of here."
Deeks sighed in relief, happy to climb into the cramped back seat of the Challenger alone.
I'll tell her someday, he told himself. But I promised to be patient—that we could walk across the ice together. I suppose, telling her now would be considered running. I'm not going to risk losing her. When she gets back, we'll have all the time in the world.
Kensi's POV
She'd lost visual of her partner, but she could still see his button cam, and she could still hear his voice. She avoided Nell's and Eric's probing looks.
"Everything all wrapped up out here?" Deeks's voice filled the OPS center. Sam and Callen appeared on the screen, both giving her partner knowing looks. Kensi felt her face flush as she realized that the senior partners had also heard Deeks's words. "What?" he asked after a long silence.
"You do realize that you still have your coms unit on, right Deeks?" Sam asked.
"Yeah," Deeks said, sounding confused. "Why…?" he trailed off and Kensi could tell that he understood. She waited for him to start denying it, but that never came."Oh," he said simply. That one syllable conveyed so much significance.
Both Callen and Sam chuckled.
"Yeah," Sam said. "Oh."
"Look, guys, I was just—I mean, I meant what I said, but can we just… keep this to ourselves? I mean, now's not really the time for me to tell… her… what I said, and she'll probably punch me again. Or run. And I'm really trying to avoid both of those scenarios, okay?"
Kensi's heart broke as her partner rambled in front of the team.
That's really what he thinks, she realized.
"We won't say anything, Deeks," Sam said, nodding his head in understanding. "Now c'mon. Let's get out of here."
After that, no further words were spoken from the three team members. They loaded up into Sam's Challenger and left the crime scene.
"Kensi…?" Nell's voice cut through the strange trance she'd sort of fallen into. "They'll be back in about five minutes…"
"Tell Deeks to go to wardrobe," Kensi said, working out a plan in her mind. "Send him there ASAP. Tell him Hetty demanded it, whatever, just… make sure he goes alone."
"Of course," Nell said, nodding.
Kensi smiled gratefully at her, then spun on her heel and headed down to wardrobe. It was late, dark, and completely empty.
Perfect, Kensi thought as slipped into the shadows to wait for her partner. This is the perfect spot to tell him...
This one will have part two, I promise, it was just getting sooooo long, and I needed to post it! Hope you like it :) Please Review!