This is it! Thanks for staying with me!
Kensi knew the very instant she regained consciousness who was with her. Every fiber of her being screamed Nikolai! the very second she awoke. In the recesses of her mind she had always known one thing for fact- either Nikolai would be incarcerated or killed, or he would finish what he had started with her. While Kensi had of course hoped desperately for the former, she knew the latter was the most likely.
Now it had come true.
Panic rushed over her body like a storm-driven wave. She was going to die. The thought filled her mind, driving out any chance of rationalizing or assessing. Nikolai was not the kind of man to let her escape go unpunished, and would most likely skip torture and just kill her to finally satiate his desire for revenge.
I don't want to die! It was such a seemingly simple wish, and yet it seemed completely impossible to grant. Her life up until that point began to play in her brain- her earliest memories of her mom and dad, her father teaching her to survive just about anywhere, school, her dad's death, fights with her mother, running away, finding her way through the cruelty of the world, joining NCIS, her teammates, Dom's death, Marty…
Marty, with his shaggy locks, large blue eyes, scruffy looks and goofy attitude that hid a core of rock. Marty, who infuriated her, amused her, made her feel things she had never felt before, not even with Jack. Marty, her partner, her friend, her…
Her love.
The realization hit her like a bolt of energy, dispersing the fear and replacing it with a fiery rage. She was not going to die. This kidnapping bastard had no right to take her life from her, no goddamn right. She was Kensi Blye, daughter of a Marine, NCIS agent and she would decide when it was her time to go. She wasn't going to get anywhere, however, if she acted rashly.
Kensi cracked an eye open to the smallest slit possible, and then opened both eyes fully, just managing to suppress a groan. From what she was able to see and feel, her body was covered head-to-toe in a heavy tarp, with only a few minute holes, likely intended to keep her alive long enough for Nikolai's revenge, that allowed weak sunlight to filter in. A few experimental tugs revealed that her wrists were bound together with what felt to be zip ties. Duct tape had been stuck over her mouth to muffle any sounds she might make. To top everything off, a rope was tied around her entire upper body, restricting her movement to a few weak wiggles.
Kensi closed her eyes, fighting back a growing wave of despair that was quickly destroying her earlier anger. Not only was she trussed up in a moving vehicle, but the drug that Nikolai had given her was still coursing through her system, making cohesive thought highly difficult and the lure of sleep stronger with each passing second. There was nothing more she could do while she was trapped like this, so Kensi allowed herself to relax, succumbing to a shallow and uneasy sleep.
…..
It was the rough bumping over increasingly uneven ground that forced Kensi back into a painful wakefulness. She was still wrapped in the tarp, and by the lingering fuzziness in her head, she could tell that the drug hadn't completely left her as of yet. However, her thinking had become clearer and it was easier to fight off the drowsiness that plagued her body. Kensi had no real way of telling just how much time had passed- the sunlight through her breathing holes was just as weak as before, but some deep instinct warned her that it wouldn't be long before they stopped, and from the sound and feel of things, wherever they did stop would likely be far from civilization, where a man could dump a body without it or him being discovered.
As if reading her mind, the vehicle lurched to a sudden and violent halt, sending Kensi's body flying forward into the seats in front of her and then onto the floor, knocking the wind out of her and sending shooting pains up her still-broken leg. She bit her lip until she drew blood to stop herself from screaming and somewhere in front of her she heard a very familiar and grating chuckle.
"Should have given you a seatbelt, hm? Not that it matters." She heard the sound of a door opening, then closing, muffled footsteps, the door by her feet opening and then she was grabbed by her ankles and yanked out of the car, screaming into her gag at the pain that clawed its way up her damaged leg. Nikoali responded with a steady stream of laughter as he pulled her several feet, and then stopped. He yanked the tarp off of her, sending her into temporary blindness as the dying sunlight (it was apparently near sunset), struck her eyes. A shadow momentarily darkened her vision, and Kensi jumped when Nikolai's sneering face materialized mere inches from her adjusting eyes, his fetid breath clouding the air between them. He reached out to pat her cheek and she flinched ways at the contact, wishing desperately that he'd remove the tape enclosing her mouth so that she could use a few choice words on him. Instead, Nikolai's hand traveled up her head until it reached a hank of hair and gripped it, yanking her upwards, quickly bringing an unwilling Kensi to her feet. He then cut the rope with a hidden knife, hauled off, and stuck her in the gut, making her double over, gasping for air. Another blow to the solar plexus dropped her back to the earth. As Nikolai brought his foot back for a kick, Kensi finally reacted, bringing her own now-untied leg up to strike a direct hit to her tormentor's groin. As the man doubled over, emitting a low moan, Kensi rolled under the car, an idea forming in her head. The car, a rather ordinary-looking tan sedan that would easily get lost amongst the thousands of cars that headed down the freeway. One look under the car had shown her that it had been some time since it had last been it had been fixed.
Looking up, she saw what she was looking for. Well aware of the fact that Nikolai was quickly recovering, she flipped herself over so that she could bring her hands up onto the jagged piece of metal jutting from the undercarriage, sawing at the zip ties, throwing her weight against the bonds, panting as she heard the footsteps of her tormentor closing in on her position. As he came closer and closer, knowing that she was down to mere seconds, Kensi intensified her struggles, crying out against her gag in frustration. Just as Nikolai's hand was reaching under, the zip ties broke with an audible snap and Kensi scraped up a handful of dirt. As soon as Nikolai's sneering face came into view, she hurled the soil with all of her strength into his eyes, even allowing herself a small smirk as he reared back in pain. A final roll and a hard push off of the ground got her out from under the car and into a low crouch from which she hobbled into the forest surrounding them. Just as with her last flight, adrenaline fueled Kensi's body and dulled the pain enough that she could at least a considerable distance between her and her pursuer, but it couldn't erase the fact that Kensi had a broken bone. Within minutes, her abused limb gave out, sending her tumbling into the foliage. Biting back a scream, Kensi crawled into a thick patch of underbrush and forced herself to think.
She obviously had no hope of outrunning or outmaneuvering Nikolai, and trying to continue on in the fading light was suicidal. She knew the "path" she had taken was highly obvious-a broken leg dragged through a muddy, wooded area left plenty of clues for even the poorest of trackers. Worse, she knew her kidnapper was highly skilled at tracking and wouldn't have a difficult time finding her no matter what she did to throw him off. She couldn't go forward, couldn't backtrack, so there was really only one option left.
Ambush.
The thought terrified Kensi. She was alone, with no backup, no real weapons and no way to call for help. She was nearly incapacitated with her leg and other still-healing injuries, trying to take on a healthy man with training that rivaled her own. But what other choice did she have? Continue on and get hunted down like prey? Allow Nikolai to finally win?
Gritting her teeth and forcing her fears away, Kensi pulled herself further into the underbrush, doing what she could to cover her tracks before dragging herself back parallel to the trail she had just taken for a few yards. She didn't want Nikolai to see the abrupt end and get suspicious. Once she deemed she was far enough from where she had gone down, Kensi set about splinting her bad leg so that it would at least didn't collapse while she was moving around. She then gripped a rock, sharp and flinty, feeling the edges bite into her palm. By then she could hear the slow, measured steps of her pursuer.
He's taking his time she realized. He's still just playing with me! The realization sent hot fury burning through her body, incinerating all traces of fear and hesitation. Kensi was done being the victim of his sadistic games.
Nikolai stepped into view, his knife hand swinging lazily. His face was that of a confident hunter, intensely focused on his quarry, but still showing enough a baleful sneer to demonstrate that he believed his prey helpless and doomed. Kensi's hands tightened until her knuckles turned bone white, anger surging once more. Her breath came in short, sharp bursts as she waited for him to come closer…closer…
Nikolai drew up beside where she hid and froze, his nose in the air as if he were scenting her, and she could wait no more. Her good leg tucked under her, she used the three good limbs she had to push herself out of the undergrowth and clumsily crashed into the man, bringing her arm up to smash the stone into her tormentor's face. It fell short, landing on his shoulder instead, making him howl in pain. Within a second, Nikolai turned and drove the knife into her shoulder, burying it deep. Kensi screamed, gripping the hilt and turning her body so that he couldn't reach the weapon again. Again she struck with the rock, the pain in her shoulder throwing her aim so that it couldn't reach anything vital. With another roar, Nikolai struck the rock out of her hand, threw her backwards and pinned her to the ground. He gripped the knife dug deep into her shoulder and worked to pull it out, only to have it rip further through her flesh. Blood leaked out as her vision greyed, but Kensi gritted her teeth and shoved her fingers into his eyes to force him away. She lifted her good leg and kicked, hitting nothing soft, but forcing him back nonetheless.
Nikolai growled and put his hand behind his back, producing a gun. He pistol-whipped her and then aimed, pointing the barrel at her head. His teeth were bared, and his eyes were glinting with hatred. The hammer clicked back, and something finally broke inside of Kensi. With something that was part roar, part scream, she tugged the knife out of her own shoulder and stabbed. She hit something soft and then the pain got to her, making her fall back into the foliage. Something heavy fell on her, and then Kensi cried out, waiting for the inevitable end.
It never came.
When something trickled onto her face, Kensi couldn't help to look up once more, only to force her raw throat into one more scream. Nikolai's face was mere inches from her neck, supported by the hilt of his own knife, which was buried into his eye. The un-stabbed eye was clouded over in death.
Nikolai was dead.
…..
She didn't remember much after that. Somehow she was able to push the bastard off of her. Somehow she managed to stifle the bleeding enough to stumble into the car (she couldn't remember how she got the keys) and start it. Somehow she managed to drive to the nearest town and crashed into its sign (she was still unable to remember its name). She heard voices, sirens and then… nothing.
…..
Time must have passed, for when she awoke again, the sun was shining bright through a pair of curtains that were certainly not her own. Everything ached; even things that she was sure couldn't ache gave her pain. All-too-familiar beeping filled her ears- a monitor, keeping track of her heartbeat and oxygen level. An IV line ran into her left arm, and she could just see that her shoulder was wrapped in bulky bandages. Kensi made the mistake of moving and groaned as further spasms of pain shot through her body.
"You might want to limit your movement Kens. You've got a hell of a stab wound in your shoulder, your leg re-broke, not to mention the numerous other bumps, cuts and bruises that you accrued over your excursion." Kensi's head whipped around so fast everything in her body screamed, but she didn't care.
"Marty." She had never been happier to see someone as she was at that very moment. His scruffy beard, his long, dirty blonde hair, his sparkling blue eyes and his wonderful, gorgeous smile that only grew the second they locked eyes. He reached out with a finger and gently, tenderly, stroked her cheek. She gripped his hand with all of her strength, feeling tears running down her cheeks. Marty wove his fingers through her own and brought them to his face, brushing his lips across her knuckles.
"Kensi," he whispered, and she could see tears making their way down his cheeks. "Kensi, you scared me. I thought I wouldn't see you again." He reached over and gently cupped her cheek, rubbing a calloused finger over her skin. She leaned into his caress, enjoying the tender moment. Then her traitorous brain threw a troubling question to the forefront of her thoughts.
"Wha-, what happened? How'd you find me?" Marty's face darkened somewhat, and Kensi couldn't help but to flinch at the change. Immediately his expression softened, and he moved his hand back to her hand, squeezing her fingers reassuringly.
"There's not much to tell. When you were first abducted, I had Eric try a Kaleidoscope search for the truck he started with, but he ditched it before we could find the car he switched to. Honestly, we were really just trying to find the second vehicle when Hetty got a call from one of the doctors who told her that you had ended up in this hospital. When we got here, you were still in surgery. That…That was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure. When…when they told me what happened to you…" Here he paused and ran a hand over his face, and Kensi could see agony reflected in there. He took a breath, opened his mouth, closed it, took another breath, and when he was finally able to speak, his voice was shaking. "I…I lost track of time…how many times I thought I was going to lose you." Here he took another fortifying breath and shook his head, as if to rid himself of dark thoughts. Kensi reached over and re-gripped his hand, making him turn and smile. "But you're okay now, that's what matters. While I was here, the guys went with the LEOs to backtrack. They… they found that bastard." Here Marty bowed his head and let the tears fall freely, without restraint. Kensi murmured softly, pulling his head to her chest. Marty ever-so-carefully wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.
They stayed like this, locked in the embrace. When Kensi was able to speak again, her words were softened by the pain encompassing her entire body. "It's…done…Marty. It's done. He's gone. Oh God, he's finally, finally…gone." Shaking, forcing herself to ignore the agony it created, she gripped her partner even tighter, allowing all of the pent-up emotion of the last several hours to be released. It was over- Nikolai was completely and truly gone, and she had no more to fear from him.
…..
Days passed, and while Kensi slowly and steadily regained her strength, Marty kept her up to date with what was happening in the world outside the hospital. On the second day, Callen and Deeks came to visit, making small talk, jesting with her, and generally lifted her spirits. It wasn't until the discussion inevitably came around to Nikolai's death that everything darkened. For a moment, all fell silent. It was, surprisingly, Callen, who broke the quiet.
"Hetty's taken care of the… details. No one's going to miss that bastard. What's done is done." He made a slashing motion with his hand. Sam nodded, and then reached over to rub Kensi's shoulder reassuringly.
"He's right Kens. I know that none of us can even hope to imagine what you've been through, but I can tell you this. You've saved yourself, but you also saved Ziva DiNozzo and her triplets as well. You know that he would have gone after them eventually." Sam squeezed her shoulder. Callen checked his watch and let out a heavy sigh.
"Gotta go, Kens. Unfortunately, duty still calls." Kensi waved them away.
"I know, I know, take care. And thank you. Both of you." Callen patted her shoulder, Sam kissed her forehead, and soon both were gone. For a moment there was silence, and then the door opened once again to admit Hetty. Kensi eyed the woman with some trepidation.
"I heard you… took care of things for me while I was gone. Thank you." The slight woman didn't say anything at first, but rather sat down on the chair next to her bed and calmly observed the monitor above Kensi's head. Just when it seemed the older woman would not speak, she spoke.
"Ms. Blye, I will not even attempt to think that I can relate to what you have gone through, so I will not. What matters now is that you are here, and you are safe. And you have no idea how much that means to me." At that, Hetty wrapped her hand around Kensi's, squeezing it tight. The young agent startled at the contact, jumping slightly, but then she brought her other hand around to hug Hetty tight, allowing a few stray tears to fall before pulling away. The look on Hetty's face was first one of amazement, and then something similar to motherly pride.
"Welcome back Ms- Kensi. Welcome back."
…..
It took about a week, but eventually Kensi was able to leave the hospital. She had just finished packing up the gifts that had been left for her (she wasn't sure how, but Nell had somehow managed to get a gigantic teddy bear into her room) when she heard a knock on the door. Looking up, she met the eyes of Deeks, who was standing in the doorframe with a massive smile on his face.
"What… is that?" he asked, pointing to the teddy bear. Kensi chuckled and patted the bear's arm.
"Nell got it for me."
"Ah." Deeks walked over and gently tapped the bear's ear, although his eyes were on Kensi. "Cute."
"Hm, the bear, or me?" Deeks' grin merely widened as he sauntered over to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "What do you think?" he murmured in her ear. He then pulled her in for a kiss. Kensi stiffened, and then relaxed into it. When they parted for air, his blue eyes had lost their joking gleam and had taken on a softer look, a loving look.
"I love you Kensi." She startled, unsure of what to say or do. Then it came to her. She wrapped her arms around Marty and rested her head on his chest.
"You saved me Marty. It was the thought of you that gave me strength enough to… go on. Thank… you." Marty wrapped his arms around her and rocked her gently back and forth, ever mindful of her numerous injuries. He let go and carefully turned her around to the door, shouldering the duffle bag she had been given by the guys and picking up the teddy bear. With his free hand, he twined his fingers with Kensi's.
"Let's go home… love."
As some of you might know, I'd been swapping back and forth between this story and my Frozen one, which is why it took so long.
For all of your reviews and support, a huge thanks! Eventually I'm planning on doing an NCIS/NCIS LA crossover, but it'll be after I finish "Our Aunt is the Snow Queen".
Yeah, sure, you becha!
