When the two young agents wandered back into OSP, Kensi wolfing down a donut on the way, there was no sign of Sam or Callen. Kensi sat down at her desk, continuing to shovel donuts into her mouth as fast as humanly possible as Deeks looked on, a smile gracing his lips. He enjoyed nothing more than to see his Kens… his partner happy. As much as he wished that she were his, he wasn't sure that it was what she wanted too.

Sometimes he would swear that there was definitely something there, whether it was a look in her eye, or a gentle touch of her hand, he could feel something more than just a partner. Then there were times where Deeks felt as though she didn't even want to be around him. Those times that she would just shut him out of whatever she was going through, swear she was fine when he knew better. She was a tough woman to figure out, but the way he felt about her, the way he cared for her, there was no way he could let that slip away without giving it a chance.

"Earth to Deeks!?" Kensi damn near yelled to get his attention, breaking his chain of thought.

"Oh sorry Kens, what?"

"They guys are up in Ops, you coming?" she asked. What she really wanted to ask him was what he was so deep in thought about. The look she saw on his face when he was in his little daydream had her curious. It was a look she had seen before. That look that he got in his eye when she would appear from the changing room in a gorgeous dress for an op, leaving him lost for words. It was that same look that he had on his face just then.

As soon as Kensi and Deeks entered Ops, Callen was on them for information. "You guys get anything useful from Santo Rivera?" Callen asked.

"He told us about the phone call he got from Eduardo, apparently these two were close like brothers. But Santo doesn't think much of Javier. He said that Eduardo sounded paranoid, thought someone was following him. Wanna take a guess to who he pointed the finger at?" Deeks said.

"Javier Sandoval" Sam said.

"Bingo!"

"Well big brother Javier denies any involvement from him or his gang in the death of his brother, no surprises there. Rival gang is still an option though" Callen told the other agents.

"Santo also said that Eduardo told him that he witnessed something bad, he believed that was the reason why someone was after him" Kensi added in. "He also said that Javier was always trying to talk Eduardo into joining the gang, but by the sounds of it Eduardo didn't want anything to do with them".

"Right, so that throws a spanner in the works" Callen said as he scratched his head, wondering what Eduardo could possibly have seen that got him killed. "If he didn't want anything to do with the gang, then maybe his death isn't gang related at all".

"Maybe G, but it could also have been a way at getting to Javier" Sam said, raising a very valid point.

"True Sam" Callen replied as he stood silent for a moment as he figured out the teams next move. "Kensi, Deeks, I want you two to go and talk to Eduardo Sandoval's C.O and find out whether he was having issues with anyone there, or had concerns about anything he had seen or heard"

"And us?" Sam asked.

"You and I are gonna pay a little visit to the head of the Gallegos Cartel Sam" and with that the team left Ops. Before they went their separate ways to try and find out more about Eduardo and what kind of trouble he may have got himself into, Callen and Sam pulled Deeks aside, wanting to know how Kensi was holding up.

"She's going through a pretty rough time right now, but when does Kensi ever admit that she needs anyone's help?" Deeks laughed.

"Yeah, you got a point there Deeks" Sam chuckled.

"Just let us know if she needs anything ok, and keep us in the loop on the investigation. We are not gonna see her go down for this, that bastard deserved it, we all know that. We will do whatever it takes to make sure LAPD see that she did the right thing" Callen said sternly.

Deeks gave the guys a nod as Kensi emerged from the ladies room. "Ready to go partner?" he asked cheerily, giving her a sweet smile.

Sam and Callen watched as the two young agents left. "You really think she is doing alright with all of this G?" Sam asked, looking over at his partner.

"Honestly Sam, I don't know. She has been through hell, first her father's death which haunted her for years, then Jack, now this. There is only so much a person can take until they break".

"Yeah, you're right G, but remember Kens isn't like most people, she is one tough girl" Sam smiled.

"She sure is Sam, she sure is" Callen said also grinning with admiration for the young agent they were proud to think of as family.

When Kensi and Deeks arrived at Camp Pendleton, Sandoval's C.O Lieutenant Macarthur 'Mac' Lewis was already waiting for them. They followed him to a small office where they could talk privately, the last thing they needed was anyone to overhear the conversation and spook any possible suspects.

"So, NCIS huh, you guys are here about Ed Sandoval. Such a shame, he was a smart kid, had a lot of potential. Have you got any leads?" the Lieutenant asked.

"Sorry we can't discuss the investigation with you" Deeks told him. "We just need to ask you a few questions about Eduardo".

"Yeah, I understand, so what do you need to know?"

"Was Eduardo acting strange at all lately? On edge? Did he mention anything that had been bothering him? Something he may have witnessed?" Kensi asked.

"As far as I knew, everything was normal with Ed, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He was never in trouble, kept his head down and got on with his job"

"Did he have any enemies? Or a fall out with a friend maybe?" Deeks asked the Lieutenant.

" Everybody loved Eduardo, everyone treated him like he was their own flesh and blood. He was just that kind of guy you know, would do anything for anyone" he told them fondly.

"Ok, well if you think of anything else, please give us a call." Deeks said as he and Kensi got up to leave.

"Sure thing Detective Deeks, Agent Blye".

"Thank you for your time Lieutenant" Kensi said as he shook her hand gently.

"Oh, one thing I forgot, I don't know if it's important to the case but Eduardo requested a room change recently, didn't give a reason why. I hope that helps" Lieutenant Lewis told the agents.

"We're gonna need the name of his former roommate" Deeks told him.

"Sure, give me a sec" he replied as he began to type on the computer. "Gerard Henderson is the guy you need to talk to, but he has been reported here as awol, never showed for work this morning".

"Okay, give us a call if he shows up, we will have our people track him down" Deeks said as he and Kensi headed for the car.

"Well that sounds like some pretty dodgy circumstances huh Kens" Deeks said, turning down the radio.

"Huh… what?"

"Geez, I'm glad I'm the one driving, you keep spacing out on me. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay Deeks, What were you saying?" Kensi asked, trying to forget about all that was going on inside her head and focus on the case.

"Just saying that it's pretty dodgy that Sandoval's old roommate is awol right after he is found dead, I think he's gotta be connected somehow"

"Yeah, you might be right"

"I'm always right princess" Deeks laughed, giving Kensi a big cheesy grin. "Kens, stop worrying okay, everything is gonna work out fine, I promise. I'm here for you, whatever you need" Deeks said softly as he reached for her hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. She didn't have to tell him what she was thinking and worrying about for him to know, he could see it in her eyes…

As always, I do not own NCIS LA, just wish I did!

Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews you guys are great. You inspire me to keep writing!

Sorry for the slow update, busy busy busy.

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