Finally! It took a long time, but here's chapter 9!
The first thirty minutes or so after leaving the cabin, Kensi was able to maintain a somewhat steady pace and straight heading. Driven on by a heavy dose of adrenaline, she was able to ignore her pain and fatigue enough to remember what she had learned from her father and keep a cool head.
Then the pain and exhaustion set it and she began to lose all control of the situation. Determination and level-headedness gave way to fear and panic, and while it did give her a much-needed boost of heavy adrenaline, it also made every snapped twig into a heavy footstep, every rustled leaf a body brushing through the foliage to follow her and every flitting movement Nikolai's hands reaching… reaching… Blind terror took over, driving her to make mistakes she never would have- running rather than hiding, moving through easily-marked mud instead of solid rock, to use up more energy than she could afford to lose. It also pushed her in the wrong direction, Kensi was lost, alone, badly hurt, terrified and time was running out.
As the sun began to sink below the trees, Kensi thought she heard multiple footsteps. At first she shied away from the sound, fearing that Nikolai had finally caught up with her, but then a wonderfully familiar voice echoed through the trees.
"LAPD! Put your hands on your head and come out slowly where I can see you!"
Deeks.
It could have been a trick, even a figment of her delirious imagination, but at that moment something from deep within broke. She just didn't care about safety anymore- she was exhausted, her whole body was in agony, likely near death and in such need of a friend, a companion, someone who wouldn't hurt her that she allowed her normal caution to fall away. She half-ran, half-stumbled forward and saw Deeks clearly for the first time in days. His face looked haggard, his beard untrimmed, dark shadows under feverous eyes and several cuts and bruises were visible on his hands. His M4 carbine was up, its muzzle pointed directly at her. Confusion slowed her already sluggish progress- why would he threaten her?
"Deeks?" Her voice was hoarse, rough. She took another hesitant step, missed her footing and fell down the incline separating the two of them, landing at her partner's feet and directly on her broken leg. It was just too damn much. A fresh wave of pain shot through her entire system and Kensi faded away, only vaguely away of Deeks' frantic shouts.
Her memory and senses cut in and out like a television during a storm, made worse by the fact that she was never able to get a whole picture, just flashes of sensations. Deeks, his face close and yet out of focus, shouting something incomprehensible. Trying to respond, to say she couldn't understand him, but her stupid tongue lay thick and unresponsive in her mouth. A rhythmic thudding, fantastically loud. Her body jostled, but no pain, just numbness. More voices, the thudding growing unbearably loud in her ears. Unfamiliar faces, made even more strange by their fuzzy features, hanging in a blurred void. The sensation of rapid movement, a pinprick in her arm.
Then, nothing.
…..
Marty paced a very precise track the Los Angeles County General's ER waiting room- thirty steps, turn, thirty steps, turn- his mind in complete turmoil. At the desk, the young triage nurse watched him warily, but he was too engrossed in his recollections to notice.
The complete shock of seeing Kensi, his Kensi, lying prone on the ground in front of him had stunned him into forgetting all tactical training and sinking to his knees next to her, his world shrinking to just him and his partner. Then he had noticed the blood leaking from over a dozen wounds and he was roughly jerked back into action. Shouting for Callen and Sam, he assessed what damage he found without removing what remaining clothing was left on Kensi's battered body- not that there was much to begin with. Sam and Callen were at his side within thirty seconds, Callen barking into his walkie for LAPD to bring in a helicopter while Sam took over medical care. Nikolai was all but forgotten as the three men did what they could to stabilized their partner, secure the area and ready her for transport. The helicopter was present within five minutes, and forty minutes later she was at the Los Angeles County General.
And now Marty was forced to wait.
Footsteps heading towards him made his head snap up to see Callen and Sam walking his way. As soon as they were in speaking distance, Marty wasted no time in answering their unasked question.
"She's still in surgery. That's all I know." Both nodded, their faces grim. Sam was the first to speak. Placing a hand on Marty's shoulder, he murmured "We're here for you. Both of you." Marty nodded dumbly, not trusting himself to speak.
Callen and Sam took seats while Marty resumed his pacing. Thirty steps, turn, thirty steps, turn. No one spoke. What was there to say? They had all seen the injuries, the pain, the absolute defeat Kensi had displayed. They were all well aware of what Nikolai was capable of and what he had likely done. No one wanted to think about what may have happened, let alone say it out loud.
Thirty steps, turn, thirty-
"Detective Deeks?"
Marty was so caught up in his thoughts that he visibly flinched at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. It took him several seconds to get his heart back under control, but once he did, he managed to re-arrange his features into a more neutral expression. Sam and Callen were already turned to the speaker- a middle-aged doctor wearing a white lab coat and a hijab. The woman looked equally startled at Marty's reaction but quickly brought herself back under control.
"We have you listed as Ms. Blye's next of kin. Is this correct?" When Marty croaked out a raspy "yes", the doctor continued, "I need to speak to you about Ms. Blye, Detective. If you'll follow me please."
Sam and Callen stood up together along with Marty, causing the doctor the pause, clearly preparing to reject them, but Marty spoke first.
"Excuse me Dr…" He tried to read the doctor's nametag, but couldn't quite make it out with his fogged mind.
"Samara."
"Dr. Samara. I authorize them both to be present. We're… what family she has." Not entirely true, of course, but Marty knew Kensi and her mother hadn't quite reconciled as of yet.
Dr. Samara sighed but nodded. "Alright, but you will need to sign a release form. It's hospital policy."
Marty wasted little time in procuring and signing the required form and soon all three co-workers were headed down a hallway and into a small conference room. They are all took seats, turned down offers of beverages, and finally, finally the doctor began.
"The good news is that Ms. Blye is stable and out of danger for now. We had to anesthetize her in order to perform surgery on her injuries and she is still out from that. However…" Here Dr. Samara paused, and Marty's hands instinctively formed tight fists in his lap as the doctor continued.
"Ms. Blye, suffered extensive trauma, both physically and likely mentally from her… ordeal." The doctor paused once again, scanned the grim-faced men before her and then continued. "Ms. Blye's injuries were, as I mentioned, extensive and quite severe. Her right knee was badly broken, and will likely need to be replaced. Her ribs are also broken, three molars on her upper jaw are broken and one was completely knocked loose from her gums. She has a severe laceration on her left arm that resulted in re-damaged muscle tissue as well as numerous other laceration on her body. She also has multiple burns, likely from cigarettes, on her breasts."
Instantly the tension in the room rose almost twofold. A strange ringing began in Marty's ears while both fists clenched further until the knuckles went bone-white. He had to take several deep breaths in order to concentrate on the doctor's next words as he had an overwhelming urge to lash out at something, anything.
"Everything will likely heal, although Ms. Blye will almost certainly bear scars and require physical therapy and will probably require replacement surgery on her knee. However, her mental state is what concerns me the most. She has suffered more physical, mental and emotional trauma over the course of a few days than most people will ever experience in a lifetime, and she will likely suffer emotionally as a result. I cannot say anything for certain as I am not a psychologist, but be prepared for the repercussions.
Silence reigned once more in the confined room, stretching out as each man tried to digest the news. Callen stared at the door, his hands flexing and relaxing rhythmically. Sam ran his hands slowly over his bald head. Marty just stared. He was too numb to do anything else. Hearing the injuries described, the abuses his partner had suffered, had finally hurled the detective into harsh reality. It was if he had woken from a nightmare only to find it had come true. Dr. Samara began again, but he barely heard the words, as if they were far away.
"Are you ready to go see her Detective, or do you still need some time to process this? Either is fine."
Still in shock, Mary got up with a muttered "Let's go," before following the doctor down a few more hallways and into Kensi's room.
From the doctor's words Marty half-expected to find Kensi hooked up to so many tubes and wires that she would practically be invisible under all the equipment. Or perhaps she would be wild-eyed with fear and pain, fighting well-meaning nurses as she was restrained and sedated once more. The scene in the hospital room was nothing like that. Kensi's right leg was encased in a gigantic cast and suspended by several wires. She was hooked up to an IV, a nasal cannula, heart monitor and something that Marty strongly suspected was a catheter. Kensi's face was relaxed, even peaceful in sleep and the heart monitor blipped on with a steady, encouraging beat.
Marty sank into a nearby chair and tentatively ran a finger through a few wayward strands of Kensi's hair. Evidence of the abuse she had suffered, missed in the initial shock of seeing her alive, now became readily apparent. Scratches and bruises marked her face, neck, shoulders and arms (and these were the places he could see), the right side of her jaw was swollen and her left arm was once more swathed in bandages. He was infinitely relieved that her torso was covered up. He didn't, couldn't, even begin to think about what kind of mental torture Kensi had been subjected to during her kidnapping.
A soft groan made him look up to see Sam and Callen walk into Kensi's room. The groan had come from Sam, who was running a hand over his face while Callen simply stood still, his jaw visibly tightening. Marty looked away. It was difficult enough to deal with his own reactions, let alone those of his friends. Sam was the first to stand at Kensi's side. He reached forward with a hand, snatched it back as if he'd been burned, then let it drift over Kensi's curls. Callen picked at her sheet for a moment, then spoke in a tight, low voice His someone's-going-to-die-for-this voice.
"You have protection detail tonight Marty." It wasn't a question. "We'll fill Hetty in on the latest and then we're going to find Nikolai." At the mere mention of Kensi's captor, the atmosphere in the room became so charged that a nurse who had come in to check on her muttered a quick "Maybe later" and rushed out. All three men knew how it had to end. Come hell or high water, Nikolai would not survive for what he had done. Marty said nothing, merely nodded. He'd have gone after the sonofabitch himself, but right now Kensi was his top priority. As Callen and Sam left, Marty leaned over to brush a kiss over Kensi's lips.
"Don't worry. I've got your back."
…..
Later, much later, Marty was jolted out of a fitful sleep by an abrupt howl and the sound of the terminal's alarm. Kensi had come awake fighting, swinging her fists and screaming wordlessly, her eyes wet and unfocused. It was such a violent and startling wakening that Marty could only stare in shock while his partner battled an invisible enemy.
The sound of approaching voices spurred Marty into motion, and without really thinking about his actions, he leaned forward to catch one of Kensi's flailing left wrist. It was the worst possible thing he could have done. Still clearly in fight-or-flight mode, Kensi shrieked. Her free hand formed a claw and with astonishing speed, she raked it across Marty's face, leaving bloody furrows. He reared back, instantly releasing her wrist, and covered his face with one hand. He forced himself to take deep, calming breaths and start to think rationally. Kensi had been kidnapped for God's sake.
"Kensi, it's me, Deeks!"
Kensi didn't immediately stop, she didn't even pause, but Marty did see her eyes land on him and for the briefest instant, a hint of recognition flashed through them. Holding his hands up to where she could easily see them, ignoring the dripping blood, Marty began to speak in as calm and soft of a voice as he could manage.
"Kens, Kens, it's me, it's Deeks. It's Marty, your idiot partner. You're safe now, okay? You're in a hospital, I'm here, no one will hurt you." He kept talking, sprouting whatever might help, no matter how small, how seemingly insignificant, hoping that something, anything might calm Kensi down.
To his immense relief, it worked. The terror-stricken look slowly faded away, her shrieks died down, and Kensi began to look around, really look around her room. She didn't say anything, nor did she make any sign that she recognized Marty, but he was relieved to see that she was taking stock of her surroundings rather than simply panicking. The two nurses Marty had been holding back entered the room cautiously. One slowly approached Kensi, speaking softly while the other came up to Marty and started to clean the scratches across his face. He tolerated the cleaning and patching, but he was impatient to spend time alone with Kensi now that she was conscious. Thankfully, the nurses seemed to understand what he wanted and completed their jobs quickly and left the room.
Once they were gone, Marty resumed his post b Kensi's bed, although he kept his distance. Her eyes roamed again around the room, looking everywhere but where he was.
"Kensi, are in pain? Do you need me…"
"I'm fine." Her voice, so hoarse and soft, made him jump. It carried a strange note in it, one that suggested something more was amiss. "Which… which hospital?"
It took him a few seconds to register what she was asking.
"Wha? Oh. Um, Los Angeles County General." Kensi nodded and fell silent.
"Kensi." She didn't look at him. "Look, I need to get this off my chest. I know you've been through nothing short of hell and I know that I will never be able to relate to what you've had to deal with. But I do know that I will not give up on you, no matter what. I thought I was going to lose you." A sob worked its way up his throat and he angrily forced it down. "I thought I lost you, and I don't ever want to feel like that again. So no matter what happens, I'm here for you. If you need someone to lean on, I'm here. If you need your space, I'll wait. But please, please don't try to take this on by yourself. Don't shut me out. I can't bear…" The sob forced its way out, forcing him to stop. "…I can't… Kensi, I love you."
It was out.
Kensi remained quiet, and Marty, thinking that he had gone too far, stood up and turned to leave. Suddenly a hand grasped his lower arm.
"Wait." Kensi's voice took on a stronger tone, making him turn around. This time, her eyes locked directly on his. "Don't…leave. Please. It's just a lot to think about." Her voice had an edge to it that made him believe she was close to tears.
Marty sank down next to her and grasped her hand in both of his. Looking her directly in the eyes, he whispered, "I'm sorry Kens. I didn't mean to overwhelm you. I just don't want you to have to go through this on your own. I'm here for you, okay?" Kensi slowly wrapped her fingers around his and smiled, although her lids began to drift shut. It was clear that the past minutes had taken their toll. Within seconds her eyes were shut, but just when Marty thought she had fallen asleep, she murmured something so soft he had to lean close to hear her.
"Love you to…Marty."
:D
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