The characters and the show they're on don't belong to me. And that's okay with me.

I admit that I used this chapter as a way to resolve some of my issues with this season. Hopefully it does the same for you.

Knock "Kensi"

Knock "Kensi"

Knock "Kensi"

Kensi groans as she rises from her couch to answer the door. Her partner is standing on the other side of it with a greasy bag of food and a green smoothie in his hands. She opens the door with a glare. "Really?"

"What? There was a Big Bang Theory marathon on TBS last night." Deeks settles himself on her couch and places the bag of food on the coffee table. "I brought you tacos."

"Oh yum, I love tacos!" Kensi shouts, walking to the kitchen. "Can I get you a beer?"

"Uh no, I'm good. I got this smoothie here, it's got avocado and a bunch of other healthy stuff in it. Besides, I don't want you to get me drunk and take advantage of me." The last part is only partially a lie. Truthfully, Deeks hadn't had a drink since his oral surgery. He knows that drowning his problems in alcohol is the route his father would take. Exercise and meditation has been his drug of choice, even if it didn't always work.

"I would say that goes both ways, but I'm already halfway through this 6 pack of Dos Equis, so...no funny business," Kensi says as she settles into the couch with no regard to his personal space. "I would also say that I'm sorry about your bike, but I'm not. I AM sorry that you bought it and are going to have to trade it in and lose value on it though."

Deeks curls his lips into a frown. "Yeah, whatever."

Taken aback, Kensi scowls at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I guess I'm just curious about your sudden interest in my safety and well-being. Ya know, one minute you're ragging on me with the guys and the next you're acting all…" Deeks can't think of the right word for it. "I don't know, different."

Sobering some, Kensi places her hand on his arm. "I worry about you." He glances down at her hand but she doesn't remove it. "And things ARE different. I feel like we need to talk, but…"

"Right, poor communication," Deeks chuckles bitterly. "I meant it when I said you don't have to worry about me. I uh, I'm going to start talking to somebody. Later this week. But don't tell the guys, I just want everything to be normal. Even if it means I'm the joke du jour, okay? Just...back to normal."

Kensi scoots back on the couch, stunned speechless for a minute. Deeks being forthcoming and honest with his feelings tends to leave her this way.

"Okay?" he repeats.

"Um yeah, wow, I mean no, that's great. I can do that. Back to normal." Kensi offers a weak smile, but Deeks doesn't notice because he's pulling tacos out of the bag. "So when exactly are we resetting back to?"

Deeks takes a bite of taco and chews, delaying his answer to her question to ponder the appropriate response. If he wants to complicate matters further, he would say about 10 minutes before he was captured and tortured. An easier answer would be before the whole Monica debacle even happened. "I dunno, maybe like last year? It'll give you a chance to not forget my birthday."

Kensi punches him in the arm and tries not to show the disappointment she's feeling at the moment. "It was a horrible mistake. Let it go."

"Yeah, yeah I have." Deeks takes a sip of his smoothie, puckering his lips. Looking down at his half-eaten taco, he sighs. "We're going to talk about it. I promise."

She smiles and nods her head. "Okay."

"So what about a Jeep? Does Hetty have some crazy rule about those too? I mean, I could still feel the wind in my hair, we could fit our surfboards in it, Monty too. I could get him some Doggles and a 'Dog on Board' sticker…"

The pair both start laughing, the serious implications of their conversation forgotten. For now.