A/N:- As always, many thanks to Malia Amane for being the beta reader from heaven. Any mistakes after it goes through her are my own. Also… why do I always seem to update on a Tuesday? Do people care about updated fanfics when there's an episode due? Especially one where Kensi and Deeks are in the sneak peek again? Anyway, this chapter took a while to complete; I can usually breeze through the Densi scenes with ease, but this time it took me a while to wrangle it. You can probably tell by the sheer amount of prompt one-shots I've posted recently, trying to get back into the swing of them. As usual, I hope you enjoy.

The big black muscle car pulled up to the kerb, the engine cutting out a second later. The leather of his chair creaked as Callen leaned forward, looking across his partner and out the window to where the single story bungalow stood opposite them. It was painted a deep green, with bright white trim around the windows and door to match the small picket fence that edged the tiny lawn.

"You know," said Sam, "that this could be totally innocent. A coincidence; someone got themselves a new phone and just called to let the Comiskeys know what the number was."

Callen scratched the stubble on his chin. "Could be," he admitted. "But we can't afford to assume anything is a coincidence right now, since we actually know nothing more than we did an hour ago."

"Okay," said Sam. "So how you wanna play this? We can't exactly tell her why we're looking into her husband's disappearance."

Callen nodded his head. "No, that'll just raise too many questions. And if she does know something…" He trailed off, leaving the implication hanging. They couldn't afford any small thread to rabbit, not with the stakes as high as they were. He pushed the door open, stepping out before crossing the deserted street, Sam at his side. "Follow my lead," he said, a plan forming in his brain as he strode up the paved pathway towards the front door.

"I don't like the sound of this," called Sam, before following him.

Callen grinned. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

Callen rapped his knuckles against the door. A few seconds passed, with no response. He glanced over at Sam, who was already peering through the main window. Then, Sam looked back, nodding once. A second later came the unmistakable sound of a lock clicking, and the door opened as wide as the chain would allow. Through the gap, Rachel Comiskey peered out. She was in her mid twenties, with long ginger hair, and a speckling of freckles on her face.

"Rachel, hey," said Callen brightly, a wide grin fixed on her face. "He about?"

"I'm sorry, I don't…" Rachel began, her voice shaking.

"Peter. Is he in?"

"I'm sorry," Rachel said again. "Do I know you?"

Callen affected an affronted look. "It's Bob. And Faruq." He gestured to Sam, who grinned in greeting. "We're friends of Peter's from Pendleton? We've met ten or twelve times? I think you know my wife, Susan? Anyway, we just wondered if he wanted to go grab a few beers. We haven't seen him in months."

Rachel's eyes flicked from Callen to Sam, and back again, but she made no motion to unlock the door. "My husband is still on deployment," she said, words clipped.

Callen narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure? I thought he was back this weekend?"

"No," said Rachel. "He's not due back for another three months."

"Told you," said Sam, jovially.

"No, no," Callen said. "I'm pretty sure I heard he was back now."

"I'm afraid you heard wrong," Rachel said, quite sharply. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get ready to go out."

"Oh, of course. Sorry to take up so much of your time." Callen turned, starting to head off, before pretending to think of something. "When Peter's back, get him to call me, okay? And remind him he still owes me ten bucks. He knows what it's for."

Rachel didn't reply, just closed the door. A second later, the lock slid back into place. Callen led Sam back out to the street.

"Well, she was lying," said Sam, as they stopped by the side of his Challenger.

Callen barked a laugh. "What was your first clue? Some people just don't have the ability to lie convincingly. Like you for example."

Sam paused in the process of reaching for the door handle, glancing up in confusion. "What'd'ya mean?"

"Like when you say you were a great receiver. You certainly have a unique way of remembering what actually happened."

Sam's face went blank. "What?" he monotoned.

"I'm just saying, I've seen the tapes of you playing in high school," said Callen with a grin.

His partner's features darkened dangerously. "Where did you…?"

"Michelle gave them to me."

Sam began to stutter an outraged protest, but Callen glanced over at the bungalow, weighing things in his mind. "You're right though; Rachel Comiskey knows more than she's letting on," he said. "If we're lucky, we might just get our first break in this case."

"So what do you wanna do?" asked Sam.

"Well, she said she was heading out. If that's the case, we follow her, see where she goes. And if not…" He rubbed his chin again. "If not, we sit on the house and see if anything turns up."

Nell's fingers flew over the keyboard, inputting and creating fiction as they went, a steady stream of false birthdates, school records, credit scores. Nothing too deep, just enough to withstand a casual glance, but that didn't mean she was going to put in half an effort. That just wasn't her style. Besides, if you cut corners when it didn't matter, what was to stop you getting into bad habits when it did?

At the desk besides her, Eric sighed theatrically for what could well have been the hundredth time. And, for what was also probably the hundredth time, Nell ignored it. Her Ops partner was supposed to be busy running through all the CCTV footage he could find, from in and around Pendleton, looking for a trace of the marines – I mean, thought Nell, they can't have just literally vanished off the face of the earth. Can they? – but so far, was coming up with squat. How a sizeable body of men could disappear from a sealed aircraft without anyone knowing was…

Eric sighed again.

"What?" said Nell, not looking up from where she was photoshopping a school website's Year Book page.

"Nothing," Eric replied.

"Okay."

A few seconds passed, the only sound in the room the gentle hum of computers and the clicking of keys, until; "It's just," Eric began, before trailing off. Nell swivelled her chair to face him, affixing him with a stern glare.

"What?" she asked, again.

He looked over finally. "Sometimes I wish the guys wouldn't mock me about my physical fitness. I may not be field trained like them, but I'm not a weakling."

Nell felt her eyebrow arch. "And it wouldn't have anything to do with you being afraid to get involved in the football game? I mean, really, what do you expect?"

Eric's face contorted into a scandalised expression. "What?" he sputtered. "That's not what happened. I didn't want to hurt you is all."

"Hurt…?" Nell started, her eyes widening in shock before narrowing dangerously. "The only thing that you hurt is my feelings. Cause it means you're not treating me like an equal. I'm not a porcelain doll, Eric, and as sweet as it might be, I actually don't need you to protect me."

Eric's mouth did an astounding impression of a guppy fish at feeding time. Then he had the good grace to blush, and avert his eyes. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "If we play again, I won't hold back."

"Good," replied Nell, nodding sharply, before returning her attention to the screen before her, hiding a smile. Her long talks with Kensi had paid off; it certainly was fun to keep the boys on their toes by being unpredictable, even more so when you were completely in the right.

Speaking of Kensi… Nell reached for the phone. A few seconds later, the agent answered. "You're all set, Kensi. Ready to go whenever you are."

"Thanks Nell," came the tinny response. "Make the call."

"I'm so glad you could fit us in last minute," said Kensi.

The blonde beamed back at her, the kind of wide smile that only a trained investigator would recognise as being completely bullshit. "It's no problem, Mrs Sumners" Katy Buschel replied. "When your office called, I was able to move some things about."

She was pretty hot though, Deeks had to admit. Hair so bright it was almost white, long sensual body, tight skirt over an amazing ass. For a brief second, he thought about throwing his most charming grin at her - maybe try to make up for Kensi's atrocious attempts at making him jealous by flirting with that pilot guy – but thought better about it; they were supposed to be a newlywed couple, looking for their first shared apartment, and hitting on the realtor certainly wouldn't help sell that fabrication.

There was also the fact that everything about the woman was a con, from the tight skirt to the open buttons on her blouse, designed to befuddle men and make a sale. And when it came to being distracted by sexy things, men were certainly the weaker gender. Though thankfully, he had the stunning brunette, currently standing with her arm linked around his, to make sure he hadn't already placed a down payment.

"You two are just the cutest thing I ever did see," the realtor gushed, the slightest hint of a Texan accent still audible. "Have you been married long?"

"About two months," Kensi replied, forcing a blush onto her cheeks. She held his hand, leaning against his shoulder and tilting her head back to gaze into his eyes. Deeks stared back, mesmerised, feeling himself falling in love all over again. "I've known Jonathon for years, but it took me the longest time to finally snag him."

"What can I say," Deeks added, a smug grin on his face. "I'm a great catch."

As the realtor turned away to lead them down the corridor, Kensi made a dry heave, pantomiming it for Deeks' benefit. He stuck his tongue out at her in retaliation.

"Well, here it is," said Katy, gesturing to the red wooden door, the number 8b on it. She unlocked the door, pushing it wide and led the two agents into the apartment. Deeks let out a low whistle as the room opened up before them. And open was certainly the correct term; the walls were spread wide apart, and even though it was currently bereft of furniture, he could tell that there would be plenty of space. The kitchen led directly on from the living room, giving the apartment even more of an open plan feel. When Katy reached the large windows that covered almost the entirety of one wall, and pulled the blinds wide – bathing the room in rich bright sunlight – it seemed to shine with the warmth of home. It was certainly bigger than Deeks' own place, but if they were in the market for somewhere new, he and Kensi's combined wages would more than comfortably cover it.

Deeks let his arm slip around his partner's waist, pulling her in close, their hips bashing together easily. "Wow," he said, not even needing to stay in character. "It's nice. You like it, Rebecca?"

"Yeah," replied Kensi, head swivelling this way and that. She started to pull away, but Deeks tightened his grip on her. She shot him a small, mysterious smile, but didn't move again.

Katy crossed back into the middle of the room, her high heels clicking on the hardwood flooring. "And I don't even need to tell you that this place has all the modern conveniences; air conditioning, en suite bathroom…"

"Hot and cold running water?" Deeks interjected with a grin.

"Naturally," she replied, clearly not realising it was meant to be a joke. At least Kensi gave a small snort of mirth. Katy continued; "As you saw, security in this building is above reproach. Getting into the main lobby requires a unique pin code, and the front desk is manned 24/7. We're in a good area, too; LAPD, ambulance dispatch and local fire services are both within only two blocks."

"That's good," said Deeks, letting his thumb run down the line of Kensi's jaw. They'd already known about the security procedure; it's why they'd needed to pose as a couple of prospective buyers of a conveniently empty apartment on the same floor as Quiggin's, just to get through the front door. And, it turned out, the firm that ran security would also run a background check on you before they'd allow that, which meant Eric and Nell had to get a little creative. "I only want the best for my princess."

Kensi giggled girlishly, accepting the gentle kiss he pressed against her lips. Then she pushed him away slightly, not with her usual force, but as much as someone like Rebecca Sumner could muster. "Stop it," she tittered, but didn't disentangle herself from his arms.

Katy watched the interactions with interest. "The schools in the area are, well, second to none. Speaking of…" She began to walk deeper into the apartment, stopping by a door. "Second bedroom. Now, obviously, you can use this as a guest room if you wish, but it could also be set up as a children's room. It's never too early to start planning these things."

Against him, Deeks felt Kensi's whole body stiffen, and her smile became forced and sickly.

"We, uh…" began Deeks. "We're just taking things one step at a time."

Katy smiled brightly back. "Of course. And naturally, the space could also be converted into a home gym if that's more your style." The woman was smooth, Deeks would give her that, moving from one subject to the next with ease. She'd actually make a damn fine agent if she had chosen that career path. "If you'll follow me, I can…" Her phone ringing cut the realtor off. "I'm so sorry," she said to the agents, before flipping the cell on. "Katy Buschel."

Deeks watched with interest as Katy listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, blood draining from her face with each passing second until she was little more than a white sheet. "I'll… I'll be right there," she stammered, ending the call. She looked up, blinking as if seeing the couple for the first time. "I need to… I'm sorry, but I need to… there's an emergency."

"Oh dear," said Kensi, voice thick with sympathy. "Well, go, go. We'll look around, and then let ourselves out when we're done."

Katy nodded. "And you'll stay in touch?" she asked, some small part of her brain able to keep her job in focus.

"Of course," Kensi assured her. Katy smiled again, before dashing out the front door. Kensi and Deeks watched her go.

"I really don't wanna know what story Eric gave her to get that sort of reaction," Deeks said.

"No, me neither," Kensi replied, finally extracting herself from his grip. "So, what was that all about?"

"What, uh, what was what all about?" Deeks asked.

His partner raised an eyebrow at him. "All the kissing and the holding."

"What, we're supposed to be a newly married couple, I was selling the cover."

"That's not what married couples do," Kensi said.

Deeks laughed slightly. "You always say that, and you're always wrong. I'm pretty sure by this point you've never seen what a married couple looks like."

"Have too," she snapped.

"Besides which," he continued, "you're my girlfriend, it's not like we don't do that sort of stuff all the time anyway, you know?"

"Oh," said Kensi, stepping close to him and catching his eyes again. She licked her lips. The disarming expression on his partner's face put Deeks on edge. "And this was your subtle way of reminding me of that, is it?"

"I don't, uh…" he stammered, taking a half step back.

"So someone smiles at me, and this is the sort of reaction I can expect from you?"

"You think I'm overemphasising our relationship cause some handsome marine pilot smiled at you?" Deeks exclaimed, eyes wide and jaw slack. Kensi shrugged slightly. "You really think I'm jealous? Of that guy?" he continued. "What would I possibly have to be jealous of that guy for? Oh, but hey, by the way, and in absolutely no way related to that discussion, but since we're alone, you wanna, uhm, wanna go find a closet to make out in?"

Kensi rolled her eyes as she turned away. "Oh my gosh," she muttered, already heading to the door.

"Kensi?" he called after her, grinning. "Pumpkin patch?" Deeks laughed as he scurried after his partner. "Sunshine? You know I'm only half joking, right?" He paused by the door. I'm so glad she has more restraint than me, he thought, with a shake of his head.

The comforting weight of her SIG in her grip, Kensi led her partner into Quiggin's apartment. As Deeks went right, she took the left corridor, swiftly finding herself in the bedroom. Once she was convinced every corner was empty, she cleared the bathroom.

"Clear," she called, hearing Deeks answering cry a few seconds later. She tucked her SIG into the waist band of her jeans as she made her way back towards the living room to meet him. Deeks was already pulling on a pair of black latex gloves, eyes roaming across the space around them.

Quiggin's apartment, smaller than the one they had just looked at, had the comforting air of a military occupant. Every little thing was squared away, in its own individual place. It made her remember the places she had lived with her father, all those years before. Donald Blye liked to keep his house neat and orderly. Sometimes, Kensi wondered just how that desire had seemed to skip her. The funniest thing was, she had never considered herself to be a messy person until Deeks had stepped foot in her place; a gentle joke about her tidying habits had been the first thing passed his lips.

"You could really take some pointers from this guy," Deeks said, clearly reading her thoughts in that irritating way he had. "See, Kens? If you ignore the fine layer of dust, this is what a tidy apartment looks like."

"I am tidy," she lied at him. "We can't all be OCD like you."

"If I was OCD, I'd probably mind more that my place is starting to look as bad as yours does. You really should try and tidy up after yourself."

She shot him a dark look, which only prompted a wolfen grin to appear on his face.

"This place," said Kensi. "This place has the feel of someone who wasn't going to be back for a while."

"Makes sense, I guess," Deeks replied. "He knew he was going on deployment, and… hey, I found something!"

Kensi glanced over towards the window, where her partner stood.

"Looks like Quiggin left his laptop," he finished.

Left his…? Kensi cocked her head to one side, deep in thought. That doesn't sound right. Why would Quiggin leave his laptop out, if he was deployed? Surely he'd take it with him? Something didn't….

She was already racing towards her partner as she saw him pick the laptop up, hearing the familiar click of a pressure sensor, screaming his name.

"DEEKS!"