A/N: Thank you for all your reviews! I can't believe I made it over 100! I love you guys! I really should be working on my Densi fic but this kinda wrote itself.

A Spoonful of Sugar

It took a lot to make a man like Marty Deeks cry. He didn't even shed a tear when he'd been shot. There was just a lot of cursing during his rehab but there were never tears. He never let one single salty drop fall. But no he felt like crying like a baby.

He rolled over in bed, curling up into the foetal position and keeping his blue eyes securely shut. The slight movement made the pounding in his aching head feel like a herd of wild horses had trampled him and left him to die.

The door creaked loudly as it opened. "Deeks?" Nell asked, her voice louder than the whisper migraines demanded everyone speak in. "Dinner's is on the table."

"Not hungry," Deeks grumbled into his pillow.

Soft footsteps echoed as she took a few steps into the room. "Are you alright?" She ventured, asking what he considered the stupidest of stupid questions.

"Do I look ok to you?" He snapped, raising his voice and wincing at the pain it caused.

"No," Her voice was small; he'd surprised her with the anger in his voice. "I'll put something in the fridge for you in case you get hungry later."

His stomach churned violently at the thought of food, "That won't be happening."

"It's there if you change your mind," Nell told him, her voice fading as she backed quickly out of the room. The click of the door told him she'd left him alone to wallow in self-pity.

Deeks dragged a pillow over his eyes, trying to make it darker. The light hurt his eyes and his eyelids weren't enough protection. The room he and Eric shared lacked anything resembling curtains and the sunlight poured in like water down the Niagara Falls.

He groaned, clutching the pillow tighter against his eyes as if his sheer will could block out the relentless light. "Now I know how vampires feel." His wisecrack faded into silence. He was alone- holed up in the room he'd (temporarily) kicked his roommate out of. He could hear the movement and cheerful conversation of the rest of his team outside. Someone was pacing the living room and he could make out the faint murmur of Callen and Sam's conversation. He didn't have the willpower or the attention span to discern the words; his head hurt too much for that.

The door creaked, "I said I wasn't hungry, Nell," Deeks said, pressing the pillow to his face. The pillow muffled some of his words but didn't mask the irritated tone.

"Good, because I'm not Nell and I'm sure as hell not feeding you," Kensi told him in her usual brisk manner. He felt the bed dip as she sat on its edge. "But I do bring presents."

"Christmas isn't till next week," Deeks replied, his curiosity a little peaked. He released the pillow and turned slowly to face Kensi. "What did you bring me?"

Kensi tried not to react to her partner's bloodshot eyes and pale pallor and held out a glass of water and aspirin with one hand. "Aspirin and water," She pressed it into his hands, not letting go until she was certain he had a firm grip.

"You don't have to treat me like I'm dying," Deeks told her dryly, tossing back the aspirin with more energy than he'd had for the entire morning. He took a small sip of the water and handed it back to Kensi. He didn't want her to see how his hands shook with the effort of holding it. He didn't want her to see him so weak. She had to trust him.

"You look like you are," She replied evenly, watching him carefully.

"It's just a headache," He tried to be stoic.

"Nell said you looked like death warmed up but I think she was being polite," Kensi shot down his attempts at downplaying the migraine. "Why didn't you tell me you got migraines?"

"It's not that big a deal," If he could have shaken his head at her, he would have. "It's just a couple of times a year."

"I'm your partner," She stressed the word, "I'm supposed to have your back."

"And I'm supposed to have yours!" He countered vehemently. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, ignoring how the room swayed. "We both know you have trust issues bigger than the Pacific and you need to trust me."

"What's that got to do with anything?" She shook her head, confused. She didn't see his logic. She trusted him; he was her partner. He was Deeks.

"If you think I'm going to keel over at any second, you're not going to trust me." He avoided meeting her eyes, feeling overexposed.

"Oh Deeks," She sighed. "You can be so thick sometimes, you know that, right?"

"I've been told," He replied tightly, not liking where the conversation was going. He was always told he was an idiot before he was dumped.

"I'm not going to not trust you because you're not always 100%," Kensi said honestly.

He paused, going through her words, "Can you clarify that? That was a lot of double negatives and my head is spinning."

"I trust you," She spoke slowly, enunciating her words. "Just because you get sick sometimes doesn't mean I'm going to kick you to the curb. We all have off days," She shrugged a little.

"Even you?" Deeks couldn't help but take a jibe at her.

"Yes," She said with fake heaviness, "Even me. Now come on, lie back down before you pass out."

"I always knew you'd make a good nurse," He grinned at her eye roll as he slid back down into bed. She stood up and grabbed a clean handtowel that had been placed on the dresser and dunked it in the glass of water. He frowned at her, "What are you doing?"

"Relax," She told him. "This is what my dad used to do when I was sick when I when I was little. Now close your eyes."

He obeyed, doing what he was told for the first time. "Why do I feel like- oh." He stopped speaking when she laid the cold, damp handtowel on his forehead. "That feels so nice."

She smiled, "I told you so."

"Your dad was very smart," Deeks said, relishing in the coolness. It made the pounding subside a little.

Kensi's smile grew, "That he was."

"Like father, like daughter."

"Good night Deeks," She chuckled and left, a faint pink tinge on her cheeks at the compliment.

A/N: Something a little different from usual. I hope people weren't too disappointed. There will be more fluff in the next chapter. There's another shopping expedition – try and guess who goes :P. Reviews are love!