Deeks paced, silently counting the steps from one side of his room to other. By now, he had the exact number memorized, and the monotonous activity no longer kept his mind distracted enough to keep out his worries.
As far as hospital rooms went, it wasn't terrible; it was larger than usual, and had suspiciously comfy chairs. The walls comprised mostly of glass and large hazard sign that covered the door, destroyed any question of why he was here. Although blinds were drawn at the moment, Deeks knew that could change if his status deteriorated.
Fortunately, the hospital staff let him keep his street clothes, for now, which helped with the illusion of normalcy just the tiniest bit. The port in the back of his hand for quick access to blood and administration of medication, not so much.
Every minute felt like a horrific countdown to an inevitably unpleasant end.
The door slid open behind him with a whoosh and he turned around, expecting another doctor or nurse to check his blood pressure, temperature. Instead, he found Kensi hesitating in the doorway.
They'd only been apart for a couple hours while she updated the rest of the team, but his relief at seeing her was instantaneous. "Kensi. Are you sure you should be in here?" As happy as he was to see her, he couldn't increase her exposure.
"Yes, baby, it's ok," Kensi assured him, coming into the room so the door slid closed again with a definitive click, closing them on together. "The same precautions as before."
"I guess that's good. What's going on with Fadel?" he asked, more for something to say than because he was actually curious.
"Sam and Callen took his statement; he confessed to everything. Now he's receiving treatment under armed guard." She paused, and Deeks wondered if she was thinking about the likelihood that Fadel Ali would actually make it. "Everyone sends their thoughts by the way."
Kensi smiled softly. "Nell said you better get back fast because Velma needs her Shaggy."
Deeks managed a grim smile.
"For sure."
"And Sam threatened to kick your ass if you even think of getting sick."
He actually chuckled at that, nodding at the predictability of Sam using threats as encouragement.
"Now that is, uh, truly terrifying."
Kensi nodded, her lower lip trembling. It broke his heart to watch her struggle and not be able to do anything about it. Pulling in a breath, she regained some control, though any signs of forced humor were gone.
"How are you doing? I mean, really?" she asked softly.
"So far I'm ok. They have me on this experimental antibody treatment," he explained, shrugging. "Apparently it's still in the testing phases, but the military has access and I signed off on using it. So I guess that's awesome." He looked downward, not really seeing. "Otherwise, it's just an agonizing wait until something happens."
"Deeks," Kensi whispered unevenly.
"I wish I could touch you so bad," he admitted, lifting his head. The three yards between them might have been an endless gulf.
"Maybe there's a way." Kensi walked across the room, and grabbed a couple sets of latex gloves. She pulled a pair on, handing the other to Deeks. "One of the doctors said this was alright until—for now."
Deeks stayed still, a glove dangling from his hand.
"I know it's not the same, but I guess it's the next best thing," Kensi said, soundly oddly shy. Slowly, she lifted her hand, taking what felt lie, an eternity to cup his cheek. When she made contact, he closed his eyes.
No, it wasn't anything like actually feeling Kensi's skin on his, but it was better than nothing. Sighing deeply, he leaned into her touch. He tugged on a glove, struggling in his eagerness to get it on, and reached out until he found her cheek.
"Thank you," he murmured. They stayed that way for a few minutes without speaking, just basing on each other's presence.
"Deeks," Kensi said suddenly, her voice rising on his name with enough alarm that he opened his eyes. "You feel really warm."
A/N: I know that there's all kind of reasons why Kensi wouldn't be allowed to hang out with Deeks without more PPE and they wouldn't be allowed to touch, but we're ignoring that, ok?
As far as the medication I mentioned, it's an actual treatment for Ebola, but was not approved until 2020. I figure it wouldn't be totally outlandish to think the military would have access.