Life, Lies and Video Surveillance

By Cortexikid

Chapter 27: Tacit (Part I)

A/N: Hey guys :D so here's the beginning of the aftermath of the events from the 'Deeks, M' series. There will again be a mixture of humor in with the serious so I hope you like it!

THANKS TO silversparklybooks for the word suggestion! :D & HUGE PROPS again to SuperDensi427 for the fantastic case suggestion! :D

Disclaimer: I own neither NCIS: LA nor Community, they belong to Shane Brennan and Dan Harmon. "Annie's song" belongs to Harmon and the lovely Eric Christian Olsen. :D

WOTD: TACIT; Tac·it adj. Silent, unspoken, understood or implied without being stated.

"Alright Scott, okay, yeah—yeah I'll get back to you...no man, I'm with my kid right now I can't—look, I'll call you back," a tall, black-haired man sighed before hanging up.

"You gotta go, Daddy?" a small, blonde girl of about seven asked with a dejected tone, her olive eyes squinting against the evening sun as she stared up at him.

"No pumpkin, come on, let's go down to the pier," Nick Clarence reassured his daughter with a soft smile before gently taking her hand.

As they gazed down at the waves crashing against the rocks below, Nick took a deep breath and felt a calm settle into his bones, a calm he hadn't felt in quite a long time. It was here, in the evening sun, standing on a pier with his young daughter that the man finally felt at peace, as if everything was right with the world; every bad thing that had happened over the last two years had somehow been cancelled out by this brief but wonderful moment in time. It was beyond tranquil, it was therapeutic, every second spent with his little girl always was. He wouldn't trade this for the world.

"Daddy," Lily Clarence spoke suddenly pulling him from his trance by tugging on his sleeve, "why are those men wearing masks? It isn't Halloween..."

Nick stared down at his daughter in confusion before following her eye-line. A silent gasp escaped his lips as he saw three figures in the near-distance, clad all in black, wearing balaclavas and carrying pistols, heading straight for them.

"Lily, stay behind me," Nick warned under his breath, stepping in front of her and spreading his arms, shielding his daughter from view, adopting a defensive stance as the three figures came to a halt a few feet from them.

"Mr. Clarence, come quietly with us and no one shall be harmed," an unknown and heavily accented voice came from the figure that stood in the middle, the only one out of the group that didn't have a gun raised.

"I—" suddenly, two of the masked individuals grabbed either arm of the Master Sergeant and roughly tugged him away from his daughter.

As if on autopilot, Clarence's training kicked in along with his leg that connected roughly with the thigh of the attacker on his right as his elbow connected with the nose of the one on his left.

"Daddy!" Lily screamed, stopping him dead in his tracks. Slowly, he lowered his fist and turned around.

There, he was met with one of the most terrifying sights he'd ever seen. His little girl, mouth open, olive eyes wide with fear as her shoulder was clutched tightly, a knife held to her throat.

"Don't hurt—"

"Ah, ah, ah," the accented voice interrupted with a warning tone, stepping back and dragging the child with him, the blade never leaving its position at her neck.

"Come with us Mr. Clarence and your daughter remains unharmed..."

"One, two, three, four," Kensi Blye muttered as she began the last stages of her fitness regime.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed up and down off the floor quickly, hooking her left foot around her right ankle. A bead of sweat made its way down from her forehead, trailing between her eyebrows and descending her nose until the droplet clung at the very tip, like a wayward branch at the edge of a cliff.

It had a hell of a long day. There were no active cases at OSP so her day had been filled with paperwork, the occasional coffee and more paperwork. The ambience in the bullpen was a little off-kilter, stifled with an odd sense of stuffiness, as if there weren't enough oxygen in the room. And yet, whilst everyone else seemed overheated, she couldn't get warm.

An unrelenting shiver had seemed to settle into her bones, ravaging her body at random intervals and increasing the sense of unease in her. But no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, it wasn't a faulty A.C or the tediousness of the work, no, it was the change in dynamic, an absence in the room. One that caused a sharp pain to pierce her chest as her eyes rose to the familiar spot opposite her only to find it empty.

Deeks had quit...

She hadn't expressed the words aloud yet, despite being questioned by both Sam and Callen as to when exactly Deeks would be 'reinstated', but it had finally hit her a few hours ago as she found her eyes travelling to his seat for the fifth time in ten minutes, only for her heart to thud uncomfortably as again she was met by nothing but air. A sickening rose in her stomach, a twist of her gut, not unlike the hilt of a knife, it hit her like a ton of bricks. After three days with no running commentary, no not-so-subtle flirting, no teasing and certainly no banter that he was gone, really gone. Indefinitely.

"Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen," she continued, her heartbeat hammering in her ears.

She's lost track of time from when she first started working out. It seemed to be one of the only things to drown out her thoughts, the uncomfortable notions that had plagued her over the last 72 hours. It was the only time where everything fell away, the worry for her partner, the anxiety of what might be, the anger at seven ignored phone calls and the pain at being shut out, shut away when all she wanted to do was help him, all she wanted to know was if he was okay.

"Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three..."

As much as she hated being chained to a desk, Kensi almost didn't want them to catch a case. She knew, just knew that being out, chasing down a lead, is where it would hit her so much harder. She was once again partnerless.

First, there was the agonizing disappearance of Dom, then the subsequent loss of Dom, then the temporary arrangement with Deeks before he went deep uncover, then the more permanent partnership after he agreed to be their liaison. But the agent took it all in her stride, the upheaval, the change and had finally gotten her comfortable routine with Deeks only for him to alter it again by quitting...leaving.

And this time, it was just too much. This time it felt like abandonment. No matter how hard she tried to rationalize it to herself, to remember that it was nothing to do with her, that it was something that Deeks decided for himself, that he was no longer happy with his career, that voice started calling to her. A voice she hadn't heard in a long time, not since she was a lot younger, not since Jack...

You should've done something more...

You're supposed to help him...

This is your fault...

"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thir—ah!" Kensi hissed as her hand slipped from under her, causing her torso to smack heavily down onto the hard-wood floor. The droplet of sweat that clung to the tip of her nose landed on her forearm, leaving a ghostly trail down her skin.

With a wince, she thumped the floor with a clenched fist, her jaw set, her eyes narrowed in frustration. It seemed that excess-exercise wasn't working to drown out her thoughts anymore...perfect. She had tried just about everything to get her brain to shut the hell up but nothing was working, bad TV, reading and now exercise were not distracting enough. Just what was she supposed to do with all the thoughts that were attacking her brain at the most inconvenient times during the day? What she really needed was—

Before she could finish that particular thought, her cell phone began to vibrate across the coffee table. Blowing a tendril of hair out of her face, she hobbled up off the floor, rubbing her abdomen slightly before snatching it up and pushing the accept button.

"What's up, Eric?"

The glistening sun was setting over the horizon as Agent Kensi Blye made her way out onto the pier. There was a russet hue in the sky, a chill in the dusk air and it heightened the sense of foreboding as the various law-enforcement officers came into view. The agent pointedly ignored the LAPD white n' blues and focused on her colleagues off to her left.

"Hey Sam, what we got?" she asked, all business, arms folded against the breeze.

"Abduction of a marine, Master Sergeant Nick Clarence," he nodded at her before turning his attention to his partner that halted behind Kensi.

"Apparently Clarence is the son of a friend of Granger's...which explains why we were ordered straight here and not back to Ops," Callen murmured, his eyes sweeping over the police officers.

"The LAPD are handing the case over to us," he continued, finally catching Kensi's eye, something in his gaze. Something that silently screamed that he wanted to mention Deeks but knew better not to.

With a gentle clearing of her throat, Kensi nodded in acknowledgement before her trained eye caught something off in the distance. Her heart sank into her stomach...

"Who's the little girl?" she asked, the sinking feeling growing worse.

Both Sam and Callen followed her eye-line, their expressions turning grim.

"That's Lillian Clarence...his daughter and our sole witness," Sam replied, his tone dejected.

Kensi grimaced, scuffing her foot on the ground, her eyes lowered. She hated cases that involved kids. No one should have to go through what she'd seen victims go through, but especially not a child...it just wasn't fair.

"We've been trying to contact Mrs. Clarence but she's not picking up, so a couple of uniforms have gone to get her so she can take Lily home and sit down with her, see if she can tell us anything," Sam continued, his face pensive, his thoughts clearly a million miles away, perhaps with his own daughter.

"That was nice of them," Kensi mumbled, her brow furrowed, wondering why the LAPD would be helping them so willingly, especially after everything that happened with Deeks and the Benson case.

"It is..." Callen smirked, "apparently it was on Lieutenant Bates' orders, once they deliver Mrs. Clarence, the case is ours."

The NCIS team exchanged glances before Sam nodded with indignation and made his way over to the officers to get an update, leaving Kensi and Callen standing alone on the pier.

The two were engulfed in silence, the only sound being the occasional crashing of waves from below them. After a few moments, Kensi felt a shift in ambience just as Callen opened his mouth, his eyes searching hers.

"So...how's Deeks? He get reinstated yet?" he asked levelly as they watched the young girl, Lily, be bundled into the back of a police car.

Kensi just kept staring ahead, her gaze glued to the terrified child's tear-streaked face. A hilt of irritation seeped into her veins as her colleague voiced the oh-so-familiar-question yet again. This made a half a dozen times in the last 72 hours. She gritted her teeth, barely restraining an eye roll. Today was definitely not going to be a good day.

"Don't you think he'd be here with us if he was reinstated, Callen?"

Before her colleague could respond, a young uniformed officer raced over to them, radio clutched in his hand, looking to Callen and Kensi as if they held all the world's answers.

"Agent Callen! I just got word from the Clarence house. Nick Clarence's wife Jessica has been found unconscious and badly beaten…"

Marty Deeks heaved a sigh as he raised the remote to change the channel again and again and again. A loud whine from Monty alerted him that maybe he should just pick one show and stick with it, so with a fleeting glance to his canine companion, he held up his hands in surrender and dropped the remote, opting to apologize with a scratch to the mutt's ears.

"I gotta say Marty, I love what you've done to the place...very bachelor-chic," Angela Deeks commented as she walked out of the bathroom and into the living room, towel-drying her hair.

"Uh thanks mom," he murmured, shaking his head to try and rid it of its fogginess. Mindlessly watching TV for the last three days was starting to take effect on his usually active brain.

"Yeah," she nodded, her cerulean eyes surveying the room with hawk-like precision, "I'm expecting Andie MacDowell to show up any second now..."

"Mom!"

"So," she sighed, ignoring him and plonking herself down on the couch, "are you under house arrest or are you actually free to roam Los Angeles?"

Deeks' eyebrows furrowed as he turned his head to look at his mother.

"Not that I'm not grateful but...why are you here, mom?" he asked, deflecting her question, watching intently as she leaned a little into him.

"Does a mom need an excuse to visit her only son?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrow, doing precisely what he did to her and not giving a direct answer.

Evasion, thy name is Angela Deeks.

"Andi told me she called you," Deeks changed tactic, hoping to catch her off guard.

But Angela was the epitome of calm, unsurprising really. She always had a damn good poker face. He'd learned from the best, after all.

"She did call me, asked for your new address…" she trailed off, patting Monty absentmindedly before picking up the remote and flicking through the channels. Apparently that was all she had to say on that matter.

"And…?" Deeks was forced to ask after a long stretch of silence.

"And I gave it to her," she responded simply with a shrug of her shoulders.

The blond shook his head; he was suddenly reminded of the fact that this woman was where he really did get all his good genes, skills and attributes. She was the master of not only evasion but deception and most of all, when it came to hiding her true feelings, emotions, her inner most thoughts encased in the depths of her mind. She was married to a monster for twelve years, being the brave rock for her son, protecting him in the only way she knew how and putting up with sheer hell, all the while plastering on a smile for any passer-by, a wave to a neighbour as if she had not a care in the world, it was enough to win anyone an Academy Award. Still, he never thought she'd ever do it to him.

"Mom, I know there's something you wanna say, so why don't you just say it?" he asked wearily, not particularly in the mood to have this conversation but knowing that it had been steadily brewing within her the last 72 hours she'd been in his apartment.

Just before she opened her mouth to reply with what was sure to be a witty retort, a very familiar TV show came on the television. Suddenly, without warning or preamble, Deeks' mind was transported back to a time, not too long ago where he sat in this very spot with another feisty brunette that meant the world to him…

"Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, Kensi...

Ooh, Ooh, Oooooh Kensi's song..."

He strummed the guitar lightly, serenading her with his near-perfect pitch. Her expression however, was not as perfect as he'd like.

"Did you seriously just steal the hippy guy's song from that show and change it to Kensi?" she asked, arms folded, brow furrowed, lips pursed, utterly unimpressed.

"Uh—"

"You did!" she exclaimed with an accusatory tone, her finger poking his shoulder, "that's Annie's song. You showed me that episode, idiot."

Well, damn. He'd totally forgotten about that particular TV marathon. And here he was, thinking he'd be smart and impress her with his lyrical genius...only to be outed as nothing but a cover-artist and a shoddy one at that. Still, he had his good-looks, charm and raw talent to fall back on.

"Ha yeah, but I sing it better though, right?" he asked, a grin on his face, knowing the familiar twinkle would be ever-present in his eyes.

All he received was a quirked eyebrow.

"Kens?"

"It's also where you got 'Sugar Bear' from. Yeah Deeks, I caught that too."

Double damn. Busted! He knew there was a reason she was so good at her job. It was time for some damage control. When in doubt, go on defense.

"Oh what, so I'm the only one allowed to show my appreciation for good TV?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

His partner rolled her eyes to the ceiling before sinking back into the couch and stretching her limbs. Deeks couldn't help but follow her movement, utterly transfixed, despite her aesthetically pleasing form being clothed in baggy sweatpants and an overly large T-shirt. The woman could wear a trash bag and still manage to be the most enchanting being he'd ever seen.

"Haven't you ever heard that imitation is the lowest form wit?" she asked with a smirk, clearly still stuck on his stealing of a 'hippy guy's song' from 'that TV show.'

"Haven't you heard that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?" he countered just as cheekily.

"You wanted to flatter a fictional character?" she laughed, clearly finding his argument amusing.

"I wanted to flatter you," he responded quickly, unthinkingly, the heat of his words travelling to his cheeks, colouring them a bright crimson.

He was such an idiot.

"Yeah well, try again Lloyd Dobler," she grinned, standing up and walking to his kitchen to get another beer.

"So standing outside your house with a boom-box isn't completely outta the question then, huh?" he called after her, "good to know Kens…good to know…"

"Don't you even think about it Deeks!"

Back in the present, Angela Deeks quietly surveyed her son as they sat in silence in front of the TV. A small, gentle smile had formed on his face, one that reached his eyes, the first she'd seen in the entire time she'd been in Los Angeles. She couldn't possibly let it go unmentioned…

"What are you thinking about?"

"Huh?" he murmured, snapping out of his reverie as he met his mother's gaze, quickly morphing his expression into something more neutral.

"Ahh," she smiled an all-knowing smile, "or should I say, who are you thinking about?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he dismissed, standing up and away from the couch, depositing his glass in the kitchen.

But Angela was not being deterred that easily and just followed her son, hot on his heels as he tried his utmost to put any amount of space between them.

"You know…Andi had a lot to say about you," she murmured, leaning an elbow on his counter, propping her chin in her palm.

"I thought you said all she wanted my address," he asked with his back to her, turning on the faucet and rinsing the plates they used for dinner.

"Well, I haven't seen the girl since you broke her heart fourteen years ago so I wasn't just going to hang up on her," she shrugged with a hint of something in her tone, the same something that always managed to get under Deeks' skin.

"I didn't break her heart mom," he rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling as if he were twelve again and being scolded for not cleaning his room, "we both decided that staying together and trying to make it work long-distance just wasn't going to work, you know that," he finished with an air of exasperation.

"But now she's back in town," Angela smiled, walking around to stand next to her son, laying her palm on his shoulder, "and she was always great at making you smile, no matter how bad of a day you were having…"

And there it was. The subject they were so artfully dancing around, his mood. He had spent the last three days cooped up in his apartment watching bad TV with Monty as his mother came and went, pretending that she didn't notice the fact that all he managed to do each day was catch up on the soap operas he vehemently denied he watched and scrape something together for dinner. As for why he hadn't been in work, nor communicated with anyone from work? Well, that was getting harder and harder to ignore…

"Just how bad of a day do you think I'm having, mom?" he sighed, his tone void of anger, lilt with dejection, his shoulders sagging as he waded his hands through the sudsy water. It seemed their dance had reached its peak and the elephant in the room was making itself known. With a squeeze of his shoulder, she cleared her throat and took up a cloth, drying the cutlery as he continued to wash.

"Why don't you start from the beginning? You know what I always say Marty, a problem shared is a problem halved…"

Harsh light flooded his senses as the black bag was reefed off his head. With a wince, Nick Clarence squinted, blinking rapidly, waiting for his eyes to adjust. In a blurry haze, he glanced around him, finding himself to be tied to a wooden chair in a small, dank room, lit with florescent light with no windows and only one heavy, steel door to the far right. After a moment of surveying his surroundings, his eyes darted to his left, where he could hear the steady breathing of his masked companion of the last few hours.

"Hello Mr Clarence," he murmured, his voice soft, as smooth as velvet, his accent not from a foreign land as the previous individual's but rather an American tone, perhaps mid-western.

"W-where am I?" Clarence asked, clearing his throat, finding it to be dry and raspy from dehydration and lack of use.

"That's on a need to know basis Mr Clarence and I'm sure you can ascertain that you don't need to know," came his reply, the condescension not lost on either party, the impeccable elocution only heightening the feeling, "no, the bigger question you ought to be asking is when we are going to let you go from wherever you are…" he trailed off, sitting back in the wooden chair, folding his muscular arms over his broad chest, wrinkling his what appeared to be expensive Armani suit.

That got the Master Sergeant's attention.

"And that would be?" he asked calmly, meeting the dark eyes steadily, his face the epitome of calm and determination.

"When you tell us what we want to know…so, let's get started shall we?" the masked man clapped his hands together, his tone pure business, "first thing's first, if you ever wanna see your precious little girl again, tell us about Operation Sinon…"

The soft beeping of a heart-monitor filled the small hospital room as Kensi Blye and Sam Hanna entered, their gazes falling onto a small, limp, blonde woman, her pale skin covered in discoloured, purple tinges, her left eye fully closed, her right olive eye peering at them in quiet apprehension.

"Mrs Clarence?" Kensi spoke gently, approaching the bed as Sam stood at the foot, waiting patiently.

Upon her nod, the agent continued, "I'm Agent Kensi Blye and this is my colleague Agent Sam Hanna, we are in charge of your husband's case. We were wondering if you would be up to answering a few questions about what happened?"

At another nod, Kensi shared a look with Sam before asking gently:

"Can you give us a brief description of your attackers?"

After ten long minutes, Jessica managed to gasp out as much about the event as she could recall, occasionally pausing to chew on her chapped bottom lip, her tongue peeking out to wet her mouth, swallowing deeply, a crease forming between her eyebrows as she concentrated greatly on not succumbing to sleep.

"Thank you Mrs Clarence," Kensi smiled softly as she answered the last of their questions, catching Sam's eye again and preparing to leave the woman to rest.

Before the brunette could follow her colleague out of the room however, her arm was caught. Looking down, Kensi saw the bloodied knuckles of Jessica Clarence as she wrapped her fingers around her wrist.

"Find…find my husband Agent Blye, please…he's all Lily and I have…" she gasped, desperation in her tone as her uninjured eye widened with alarm.

"We'll do everything in our power to get your husband back, Mrs Clarence," Kensi replied, careful not to make any promises she couldn't keep, before softly patting her hand, quietly backing out of the room and closing the door gently behind her.

With a sigh, the agent turned around to the hustle and bustle of the hospital corridor, finding that Sam and Callen were waiting on her.

"She give you anything?" the latter asked as they prepared to leave.

"There were three assailants," Sam began, nodding goodbye to the security detail posted outside the hospital room, "they busted into the house around six-thirty so maybe a half-hour before Clarence's abduction…"

"They beat her until she told them where her husband was," Kensi continued from where Sam left off, her tone grim, "and they left her for dead, heading straight for the pier…"

The trio made their way out into the parking lot, each stopping at their respective cars, turning to regard each other.

"They wore masks, barely spoke other than to ask where Clarence was and one of them had an accent, that's all she could give us," the brunette finished, running a tired hand through her hair.

The two partners exchanged a glance before meeting her mismatched gaze.

"Guess that leaves just one other witness," Callen replied with a frown, "Lily…"

Three pairs of shuffling feet made their way into OSP, necks creaking, shoulders rolling, yawns being stifled as a petite, bespectacled brunette met them, staring up at each in turn.

"Long night?" she asked rather unnecessarily as her team began packing up their stuff to head home for the night.

"Not the longest we've had," Callen replied, several other long nights coming to mind, some of which spent in places a hell of a lot worse than the office, beach or hospital corridor.

"Not the shortest either, Mr Callen," Hetty responded matter of factly, "I suggest you each go home and get some sleep, Assistant Director Granger will be expecting a progress report in a few hours and I for one am not going to be the one to tell him that we got squat because my agents hit their snooze buttons..." she trailed off, her tone suggesting a warning but the twinkle in her eye giving her away, "meanwhile, you will all be alerted to any news of a ransom call or any information on Mr Clarence pertinent to his disappearance so keep your phones nearby…"

At that, she walked away and left them to make their way out. With another roll of her neck, Kensi picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, nodding to her colleagues as they exited the building and fully preparing to do the same.

"Oh Ms Blye—" Kensi stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned on the spot, looking down to meet the familiar hawk-like orbs.

"Yes Hetty?" she asked politely but tiredly, desperate to get home and rest. Between the mountains of paper work, the extensive work out, the catching of this unfavourable case and the unrelenting reminder of the absence of her partner hanging over her like a dark cloud, all she wanted to do was go to bed for a few hours and try and chase the darkening thoughts away.

"I just wanted to inform you that—" the operations manager paused for a moment, her expression tinged with a flash of something but before Kensi could decipher it she was continuing, "there will be a new presence here tomorrow…"

Kensi frowned, wondering where she was going with this cryptic information and why she wasn't talking with someone like Callen instead of her.

"Hetty what—"

"A new agent will be joining the team," Hetty interrupted firmly, twisting her hands, her gaze falling somewhere to the left of Kensi's head.

"A new agent? Why do we—"

"He is in need of field experience and you're currently without backup. As such, he'll be partnered with you until further notice. Good night, Ms Blye."

With that, Hetty turned on her heel and made her exit, leaving her agent gobsmacked, lost for words and silently fuming.

It had only been three days since Deeks left. Three! And they were already trying to replace him? No, no way!

Suddenly, as if she were a dead battery that had been recharged with a surge of electricity, she sped after Hetty, her mind oddly clear as she had one objective and one objective only: making it crystal clear that they were not going to stick her with a 'new partner.' She already had a partner dammit and no rookie yuppie looking for his big break was going to try and take Deeks' place!

Over her dead body…

"Hetty you can't—" she broke off as she stepped out into the night air and found herself staring at nothing but darkness.

The woman was a frickin' ninja…

"What's up Kens?" Callen asked as he stood at the car, Sam already in the driving seat.

"You guys see Hetty?" she asked quickly, scanning the place and coming up empty.

"No, why—"

"I can't believe this!" Kensi growled, kicking the gravel in annoyance.

"Kens what—"

"You know, this never would have happened if you hadn't provoked Deeks. He'd still be here and I wouldn't have to be stuck with some new guy—"

"Kensi, what the hell are you talking about?" Callen interrupted with a raised hand as he stepped closer to her.

The brunette rolled her eyes, a humourless laugh escaping her lips.

"I'm talking about the fact that because you pissed off Deeks so much he lost it not only here but at the LAPD too, I'm now stuck with a new partner! That's what I'm talkin' about Callen," she snapped, adjusting her bag on her shoulder and pushing past him, towards her car.

Sam had stepped out of the Camaro at this point and was watching the events unfold with interest.

"Look Kensi, I'm sorry for how it all went down with Deeks and I plan on making it right with him when he gets back—"

Kensi whirled around, fire in her eyes, venom dripping from her lips as looked from Callen to Sam and back again, "don't you get it?! He isn't coming back!"

A stunned silence followed her biting words.

"What are you talking about? He was just suspended, he's gonna be—"

Kensi cut Sam off with a curt shake of her head.

"He quit."

A surge of adrenaline soared through her veins as she slammed on the brakes, climbed out of the car and flung the door closed, racing her way across the parking lot and up the line of stairs Rocky-style before skidding to a halt at the elevators. Perhaps it was the frantic thoughts firing through her tired brain or the wild thumping in her heart, but part of the agent just wanted to run, to try and do something, anything to escape that unrelenting voice in her head. But running didn't work either.

"Oh, you again," came a voice to her left. With a frown, Kensi looked down and was met by a very familiar, wizened old woman with wispy grey hair and beady almost-black eyes.

"Mrs Davis," she nodded, pushing the elevator button rapidly, again and again.

"The elevator is broken," the elder lady smiled sweetly as the brunette rolled her eyes, nodded to her and took off like a bat outta hell towards the many flights of stairs.

With a smirk, Mrs Davis watched the rapidly retreating back of the agent, barely supressing a gleeful chuckle as the elevator doors swung open not a moment later.

Exercise was for the young.

Meanwhile, Kensi found that climbing dozens and dozens of steps was working wonders on her overworked brain, finally quietening the voice (wow, could she sound any crazier?) as she pulled open the door onto Deeks' floor and slowly made her way to his apartment, 21B.

It was at that moment, as she halted at the familiar dark-green door, did she realize that she had absolutely no clue what she was going to say to her partner…ex-partner. He had been dodging her calls and practically told her to get lost when they spoke last in O'Brian's pub, he had made himself clear that he wanted to be alone. And as a good partner, she should respect his wishes.

But as a great partner? That wasn't gonna fly…

With a determined knock, she raised her hand and knocked firmly, twice. After a moment of no response, she leaned forward, resting her ear against the door to listen for any sign of life. Maybe he was out?

"Deeks?" she called, not too loudly (she learned her lesson after Mrs Davis' many, many complaints) adding another knock.

It was at that moment did she hear some shuffling inside the apartment and couldn't help rolling her eyes. He was seriously still going to try and dodge her?

"Deeks, I can hear you in there, come on, open up."

No response.

"Seriously? You're just going to ignore me? How old are you?" she asked, trying to inject some teasing in her tone, not wanting him to know how much his shutting her out was effecting her. Hurting her. Not that she'd ever admit it.

Still no response.

It was time to pull out the big guns.

It was time for some brutal honesty.

"Deeks come on…I made a promise to myself, when you first got that call from Banks. I promised myself that I would be there for you, in whatever way you needed me to…because that's what partners do. That's what you would do if it were me. And you're the best partner around," she finished, biting her lip as she realized what she just said. But she didn't regret it, she meant every word.

Just before she could reach up to knock again, the door opened slightly, one piercing blue eye peeking out.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Blye."

"If I'd known all it would take for some face time with you was to inflate your ego I would have done it days ago," Kensi murmured as she stepped into the apartment, arms folded, not heading straight for the couch as per her usual routine but opting to remain standing.

"Hi, I'm Marty Deeks, have we met?" he asked sarcastically, holding out his hand for a faux-handshake before letting his arm drop limply to his side, ever aware that her dark eyes were boring a hole in him.

"So, what's up Kens?" he asked nonchalantly, feeling as if he were a specimen under a microscope as she continued to stare at him silently.

"Oh nothing's up really," she began, adopting the same nonchalance, "you know, except for the fact that my partner is hell-bent on ignoring the outside world for the rest of his life."

The blond frowned at that, not only at the words but at her tone. It was not at all what he was expecting from her.

"I'm not ignoring the outside world—"

"Oh so it's just me then?"

A silence engulfed the room, hanging over them like a thick, dark cloud. Just what the hell did he say to that? He could hear something behind her words, a pain, a hurt that she was trying so hard to mask, to pretend wasn't there. He knew he was the cause of this, that shutting her out was bringing up painful memories for her and he hated himself for it. But he didn't know what to do. When he asked her to leave that night in O'Brian's, he was so convinced that he was doing what was best, for both of them, that he needed to go through this alone and that she did not need the burden, didn't deserve it.

But now, looking at her standing in the middle of his living room, concern, anger and pain in her eyes, in her voice, he started to second guess himself.

"I'm sorry Kens, I didn't mean to shut you out—"

"Yeah Deeks, you did. I know what you're doing…you're playing the martyr act, thinking you're 'sparing' me from some great burden by dealing with everything by yourself. But guess what? The lone hero act is something I got over a long time ago so you can just—"

"Wow. You're one to talk," Deeks interrupted, a surge of anger flooding his veins at her words.

"You say you're over the lone hero act? Really Kensi? Just how long ago was it that you went off the reservation and played Ramboette on your dad's case?" he knew as soon as the words left his mouth that they were a big mistake but the effect of being holed up in his apartment for days and having no outlet for his anger was fuelling him to continue:

"And you're pissed at me for ignoring a few calls? Don't you think that's a little—"

"I'm pissed at you for giving up," she grit, her jaw clenched, looking as if he'd just slapped her.

He knew if he looked closer he'd see past the hard wall between them and see the cracks in her foundation, the unsteady, shaking walls that were so close to crumbling. But this was neither the time, nor place.

"And besides, you wouldn't let me be the lone hero when I 'went off the reservation' if I remember correctly so consider this me helping you beat up the bad guys, saving the damsel in distress and riding off into the sunset."

"Wait," Deeks held up a hand, "I'm a damsel in distress?"

"You're a partner in distress," she corrected, stepping closer to him, an almost pleading look in her eye, "my partner in distress and I just want to make sure you're going to be okay…that you'll find a way to make it past everything and come back to work…"

Deeks ran a hand through his hair, glancing to the ceiling as if it held the answer to how they could possibly continue this conversation without either saying something they'd regret later.

"I'm not coming back Kens…that LAPD just isn't for me anymore, isn't what I want to be associated with," he murmured, the words causing a sharp pain to pierce his chest. He never thought he'd see the day where being a cop would cause him this level of discomfort. There was a time where being a cop was who he was.

Just who the hell was he now?

"That doesn't mean that you gotta quit OSP though. You could always—"

"Become an Agent?" he asked, trying his best not to sound bitter.

Kensi was taken aback at his tone. The way he said it, he made it sound like it was some sort of dirty word, some less-than-favourable occupation.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" she asked, her voice defensive.

Deeks shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't sure if he had what it took to be an NCIS agent. He'd only ever identified with being a police officer, had always viewed the specialized branches with cautious eyes, weary patience until he joined OSP. But to be an agent full time?

"My new partner starts tomorrow," she said suddenly, spitting him out of his reverie.

Light eyes met dark as they stared at one another; the shock of her words struck him dumb.

"Never thought I'd see Marty Deeks speech—"

"Didn't take you guys long to replace me, huh?"

Kensi took another step toward him, her eyebrows furrowed as she heard the hurt in his tone, the flash of it on his face, reaching his eyes, dulling them.

"No Deeks, that's not what—"

"Well, I'm sure things will work out great with you two Kens," he walked past her, ignoring any sound of her protests, "you'll have a new 'thing' in no time."

He didn't have to turn around to know that those words had hit home. Kensi gaped at his back, now it was her turn to be speechless. An uncomfortable feeling rose in her chest, bursting out and engulfing the room. Deeks merely kept his back to her, sipping from his glass and trying to ignore the fact that that line that he promised himself he wouldn't cross was now a dot in his peripheral vision. He was an ass.

But before he could backpedal, a loud thump came from kitchen followed by a round of curses.

"Dammit!"

Kensi cleared her throat, shuffling her feet awkwardly as she realized that they were not alone in the apartment.

"I—I'm gonna—"

"Oh hello there," a tall, brunette woman with cerulean eyes and rosy cheeks smiled, entering the living room with a sheepish look on her face.

Deeks whirled around and looked from the woman to Kensi and back again.

"Uh, Kensi Blye this is Angela Deeks…my mom," he watched intently as the two shook hands.

"Oh so you're Kensi, I've heard so much about you," Angela beamed, patting her hand gently and looking to her son. Upon seeing his clearly forced expression she took a step back and held up her hands. It seemed that she had walked in on quite the conversation.

"It was wonderful to finally meet you Kensi, you must come over to dinner sometime and give me all the gossip on my son…anyway, I'll let you kids get back to whatever you were talking—"

"Oh no, that's alright I was just leaving. It was great to meet you too Angela, Deeks I…" she trailed off, eyes lowered, shaking her head before offering a wry smile to the elder woman and turning on her heel.

"Kensi—" Deeks followed her out the door, watching as she halted in her tracks, waiting with her back to him for him to continue.

But word failed him. He didn't know what to say, didn't know where to start, to begin to apologize, explain how he felt, what he'd been going through so he just watched, as her shoulders sagged dejectedly.

"I'll see you around…partner," she half-whispered before continuing towards the stairs, forgoing the elevators and turning the corner, out of sight.

With a sigh, Deeks watched her go, the rising sense of despair in his chest before dragging his feet back inside and sinking into his couch cushions, ever-faithful Monty by his side. He knew it was wrong, he knew he was being unfair and even a little bit pathetic but right now, this is exactly what he needed. A healthy dose of mind-numbing nothing before he went back out into the big, bad world in search of a new life-choice. Whether that was with or without NCIS (and everyone that went with it) would just had to be something he'd figure out later.

In the following few hours, Angela acted as if she didn't notice the change in her son, his sudden dip in mood, his withdrawing into himself so unlike him (who had grown into his usually chatty self earlier that day) and just bid him goodnight, kissed his forehead and made her way to the guest room, leaving him in the company of Monty and The Three Stooges.

It was just around the time where Moe went into battle against Clam Chowder that a knock sounded at his door. Monty's head jumped up from his knee, his dark eyes looking to his owner in wonder, they almost saying exactly what Deeks was feeling.

I really hope that's Kensi…

"Hey Kens," Deeks began already as he made his way to open the door, "I just wanna say I'm really sorry for what I said, I was being a total ass and—" the blond was cut off as his eyes landed on a very familiar, very tall, very brunette, very upset-looking woman who was very not-Kensi Blye.

"Andi?"

A/N: 10 House-Points to anyone who gets the two references to two separate 1989 films :D Oh and if you're wondering where the random Community reference came from: I was re-watching season 1 of Community the other day and I realized that Vaughn (Eric Christian Olsen) called Britta (Gillian Jacobs) 'Sugar Bear' and inspiration struck!

Don't worry, the Densi angst is very temporary!

*Shameless pimpage* If you like my dorky referencing, head over to my other fic "Partners In Crime Fighting" for the prequel to that particular conversation between Deeks and Kensi :D

Oh and I'm back in college now guys so the updates will be a little sporadic, I'm so sorry! But I still love you all so I'll do my utmost best to update as soon as I can :D Oh and some chapters will surely have references to episodes in season 4 so yeah...SPOILERS AHEAD!

NEXT CHAPTER TEASER:

"You love him, don't you?" Angela asked, fixing the brunette with a knowing stare.

"He's Marty Deeks...he's kinda hard not to love."