Well I'll admit it - I'm a little out of practice with this! Many thanks to those who have written and encouraged me to post a story of some kind, it really has been appreciated, though I'm not too confident on the below results... definitely a bit rusty!

Anyway, many thanks as always to everyone who takes the time to read. And to Mel - SURPRISE!


Breathing, it truly is an underrated sound. Soft and smooth, the gentle push and pull of air entering and exiting the lungs is something we really, for the most part, pay little attention to. Though its absence can be significant, its presence can often mean so much more. And right then, to Marty Deeks, the simple sound of his partner's breathing could hold no greater meaning.

The four months Kensi had spent in Afghanistan had come to an almost unimaginable conclusion with Sam, Callen and Deeks being sent to recover her. The discovery of a single photo of her had failed to bring much needed hope and instead lent further credence to a possibility Deeks could not have feared more, or wished to believed less. It stole the very air from his lungs and sent shock waves through his soul, but also left him with a single minded determination that few would sensibly bet against. All he wanted was to have her next to him, all he needed was to hear that which had saved him before, when the darkness had descended and there had been no light to guide him.

So many sounds, so many noises had flowed through his head following his time with Isaak Sidorov. Varying in volume, switching in tempo, resonating constantly, it had become something akin to a stampede driving its way endlessly through his mind. An uncontrollable rush of sights and sounds trapped within a space far too small to contain their intensity; a surge of memories so often unwanted, perpetually rebounding; the echoes of his past playing over and over on a continuous movie reel he just couldn't seem to escape from.

He'd tried so hard to drown it all out, to over-ride the din with whatever he could, and when that hadn't worked he'd removed almost every outside disturbance in hopes that the nightmares might just slip away into the silence. That the silence might just swallow them whole.

Neither approach had really worked, nor brought him the peace he so desperately sought.

Kensi though, Kensi had worked. Kensi had brought the emotional equivalent of a ceasefire to his troubled mind, and the only sound she had offered was that of her presence. Her voice alone had cleared a path through his head, bringing clarity and order to the internal chaos which had been ruling him for far too long. Memories and emotions which littered the route all the way to his heart calmed and quieted, and the sound of her breathing, so steady, so constant, never wavering was that which he fiercely clung onto. Even in sleep he could sense himself re-balancing and as the scales gently shifted his world slowly came back into focus. It was as if the natural equilibrium within him had been restored.

And now high over the Pacific Ocean, as the team made their way home, Deeks was experiencing this all over again. With her nose resting just an inch from his shoulder Kensi slept soundly, nestled deep into the seat beside him. The deep hum from the aircraft engines had been their constant companion for some time now and Deeks knew that it would be some time longer before they had served their purpose. The monotonous cacophony they created seemed to fill every space in and around them, yet against all reason he could still clearly make out the sound of Kensi's breathing. In and out, in and out. No song, no tune, no melody had ever sounded as sweet or as perfect as she did right then, and to Deeks it was simply incomparable.

Sinking down further into his seat he turned his head towards her and found that their noses were almost touching. Sleep pulled at him warmly and invitingly, and as he closed his eyes the smallest of smiles played over his lips at knowing Kensi would be there when he opened them once more.

"So, Partner," he murmured softly as he drifted ever further towards a deep and welcoming slumber. "What happens next?"

The End