Life, Lies and Video Surveillance
By Cortexikid
Chapter 36: Exordium (Part I)
A/N: I'M SO SORRY GUYS FOR THE LATE UPDATE! :( My life has been beyond crazy these last few weeks. From producing a student film to a short hospital stint it's just been hectic. I hope to never leave you guys hanging that long ever again :( Oh and I know it's shorter than most of my behemoth chapters but as the title suggests, it's only the beginning of the larger plotline.
Just note, when I began writing this chapter, I was mourning the loss of my favourite television show of all time, Fringe. It happened to have one of the most beautifully executed finales in the history of television (in my humble opinion) and left me beyond awed. So, if you guys pick up on some particular weirdness in this chapter, it is due to me being emotionally wrecked by both sorrow and adoration. My love for NCIS: LA is still strong however my readers, so fret not. Hope you enjoy the first instalment of what I hope is the next (big) step in the Densi relationship...
As always, spoilers for Season 4!
Disclaimer: I am not the owner of any amazing television shows. I hope to be one day, but at present and in this timeline, I am not.
WOTD: EXORDIUM; ex·or·di·um noun. A beginning.
Kensi Blye flinched a little as the cold hands brushed against her skin, the cool air-conditioning in the room prompting goose bumps on her flesh, a shiver flowing up her spine.
"Okay Ms Blye, you can put your bra and shirt back on now," Dr. Noble smiled as she walked back around her desk and sat down, shuffling her notes, her head bent to give the woman some privacy (no matter how futile it seemed, considering she'd just seen her partially naked) and waited for her to sit down.
"Well, what's the prognosis?" Kensi asked after as she attentively pulled on her shirt and began buttoning it.
Dr. Noble interlaced her fingers, a pensive expression crossing her flawless dark skin, her face hard to read.
"You sustained an incredibly dangerous injury Ms Blye," she began, her English accent sounding particularly clipped in the quiet room, "the bullet narrowly missed puncturing your aorta and instead ricocheted into your abdomen..." she paused as Kensi sat down in the chair, her arm subconsciously coming up to rest itself around her mid-section as she listened to the doctor speak.
"I know you may not wish to hear this, but it will be a while yet until you are one hundred per cent back to form," she continued, trying to ignore the shadow that had just crossed the brunette's features, "you are healing quite nicely though, a little faster than I would have expected—"
"That's good, right?" the agent couldn't help but interrupt, not liking the turn in conversation.
Dr. Noble stared at her, her hazel eyes gleaming in a chiefly understanding fashion, "yes Kensi, it's good. However, due to your occupation, I have to stress that while you are cleared to go back to work whenever you please, you are not to engage in anything too strenuous...you work in law enforcement, yes?"
Kensi nodded, running through the cover-story that Hetty supplied her with in her head before replying:
"I was just made Detective," she plastered on a fake smile as Noble nodded.
"Congratulations, Detective Blye, I'm sure you will make a wonderful addition to the police force. But for now, no field work, you're to be on strictly desk duty, okay?"
The woman was pulling no punches.
Mutely, Kensi nodded, resigning herself to the fact that she'd have to wait a little longer before she could go back out into the field. She hated being on the sidelines in an active case, but the silver lining remained in that she was clear for work, even if it meant riding a desk for the next few weeks.
"How's the pain? Are you weaning yourself off the medication like I suggested?" the doctor asked, making a note in her files.
"Uh yeah, took my last pill a few days before Christmas," she informed her, remembering fondly how she celebrated with some egg nog on Christmas day.
Noble's eyebrows furrowed.
"I gave you a two month prescription Kensi; you really shouldn't be completely off them this early. But," she paused, holding up her hands, "everybody's threshold is different, if you feel you don't need them, then by all means, stop. Once you're comfortable and the pain isn't too much then that's completely fine."
The brunette nodded for what felt like the hundredth time. She found that her mind was wandering, far out into the extremities of this room, out into the parking lot and into the car that housed a particular blond man with a cheeky grin that was waiting patiently for her to finish her check-up so they could get back to her place, kick up their feet and watch some TV that may or may not be accompanied by some making out and over-the-clothes fun.
It was that thought that sparked a question that came tumbling from her lips before she could stop it:
"What about sex? Is that still off the table?"
She knew if her partner were present, he'd crack some jokes about Sapphic undertones and how she had just propositioned her medical professional but hoped that Dr. Noble didn't have the same sense of humor Deeks did. Judging by the wry smile and the chuckle that erupted from the English woman, Kensi wouldn't bet on it.
"I did say that nothing too strenuous was to be attempted Kensi..." she trailed off with a shake of her head, "give it a few more weeks. After that, it'll be up to you, you'll know yourself if your body is up to it."
Oh she was definitely up to it.
Deeks was too if their last few encounters were anything to go by.
"Okay, thank you, Dr. Noble," the agent stood up and shook the woman's hand before turning on her heel and exiting the room, walking briskly out into the parking lot.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She could see his one hundred watt smile as he watched her approach.
A silent promise passed between them both...
Soon.
"I think my mother is a closet hoarder," Marty Deeks said suddenly, breaking the near-silence that had enveloped the room as he and Kensi Blye sat huddled on the couch watching the TV on low sound a few days later.
"Why?" his companion asked, shuffling a little to look at him.
"Because," he grumbled, "she's only been in LA a little over three months and already has enough crap to fill Aladdin's cave," he finished, picking up a small, porcelain figurine from the coffee table and handing it to Kensi.
"Aww," she grinned, "it's a fairy."
"Of course it is," Deeks rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't expect anything else from my mom," he paused for a moment, looking around the stagnant apartment and sighed, "you sure you wouldn't feel more comfortable you know...back at your place?" he asked before clearing his throat, avoiding eye contact with her.
Kensi turned further in her spot so she could study his face.
"Of course I'm comfortable here...why wouldn't I be?"
He shrugged, clearly mulling something over in his brain.
Kensi smirked. He was falling for it...
"Why? Are you not comfortable here?" she asked, doing her best to hide the smile that wanted to break out onto her face.
His eyes met hers, a flash of something passing over his face before he could disguise it with a forced grin.
"No, I'm good really, it's just that today is kinda—"
"Why don't we get outta here for a while? It's Saturday and I go back to work on Monday, might as well enjoy the time we've got left..." Kensi cut across him, standing up off the couch, hands on her hips as she stared down at him, waiting for him to respond.
Deeks frowned; his usually light eyes a little dull as he shrugged noncommittally.
"Sure...where do ya wanna go?"
"O'Brian's? I didn't realize you were in the drinkin' mood Kens," Deeks murmured as Kensi pulled up outside the bar.
"I'm the designated driver, Deeks...but, that doesn't mean I can't partake in what I know is a 'karaoke night extravaganza' if the posters are anything to go by," she smirked, pointing over his shoulder.
Deeks whirled around and saw the advertisement, a slow smile breaking out on his face.
"You always said that the only way you'd ever do karaoke with me is—"
"On threat of death or I'm so drunk I think I'm Gloria Gaynor, yeah, I know...but, I've had a change of heart," she shrugged, taking the key out of the ignition just as her cell phone began ringing.
Picking it up, she glanced at the screen before staring at Deeks.
"I gotta take this. You go on in, I'll be right behind you."
The blond nodded, reaching into the back and grabbing his jacket before stepping out of the car and slipping it on. Kensi watched with slightly widened eyes as his t-shirt rode up a little, exposing his toned stomach. With a bite of her lip, she forced herself to focus and answer her phone, her dark eyes following her partner intently into the bar.
"Kensi," she said as she pressed the accept button. "The eagle has landed...it's a code mom! No, no I didn't make it up. It's—it's a well-known phrase. It is! Look, I'll see you in a minute...okay..."
She sighed, hanging up and rolling her eyes as she pulled open the car door, racing around to the trunk and pulling out the bags before slamming it shut and locking up.
Time to get this show on the road...
Marty Deeks hunched his shoulders as he walked into the familiar Irish pub that was a hell of a lot louder than usual, spotting the bar tender Eddie almost immediately and walking over to him.
"Long time no see Marty, how are ya?" the elder man called raucously over the music that was wafting from the back room.
"I'm good, thanks. How are you?" Deeks yelled in reply.
The Irish man shrugged cheerfully, "ah, can't complain."
"Didn't think you were the karaoke type, Eddie," the agent commented as the bar tender served up his usual drink.
"Oh well I'm not really, it was a special request," Eddie grinned, nodding to something behind Deeks.
Deeks turned around, catching Kensi's eye before she smiled at Eddie.
"Nice to see ya again Kensi," he grinned, shaking her hand.
"Always a pleasure, Eddie," she winked before turning to her partner, "well Deeks, you ready to dazzle the unsuspecting audience with your drawl?"
"Pfft," Deeks smirked, "I was born ready."
"I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky like a tiger, defying the laws of gravity...I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva, I'm gonna go, go, go, there's no stopping me. Burning through the sky yeah, two hundred degrees that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit, I'm travelling at the speed of light, I wanna make a supersonic man outta you!"
Deeks stopped dead in his tracks, Kensi colliding with his back as his feet glued to the floor, his mouth hanging open, his eyes frozen wide as they stared at the small stage where his mother Angela stood, microphone in hand, belting out the oh-so-familiar lyrics of her favourite Queen song.
"MARTY!" she shrieked when she saw him but his attention was now split with the fact that he was being engulfed by Sam, Callen, Eric, Nell, Nate, Monroe, Woodruffe and Julia—all yelling "SURPRISE!" and "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Many hands clapped him on the back, shoulders, clasped his arms, ruffled his hair (damn Sam and his jealousy of Deeks' flowing locks), all smiling widely as the new Agent's brain scrambled to catch up. It was in that moment that everything began to click into place, Kensi's cagey behaviour over the last few days, the whispering sessions between his mother and Julia, the little smirks that the team didn't think he'd been seeing at work...
"This was your doing," he accused his partner as she stepped around him to stand beside his mother, identical smirks on both their faces. It was eerie.
"I couldn't have done it without Angela, I now know where you get your sneakiness from Deeks," Kensi laughed as Angela bowed lowly, a satisfied twitch to her lips.
"Yeah Agent," Sam stressed the word with a smirk, "how's it feel to know that your mom got one over on you?"
Deeks' caught Angela's gaze as she threw him a wink before glancing around the room at every last person there, grabbing a glass of what appeared to be champagne from off the table and smiling brightly.
"It feels great."
"Go on now go! Walk out the door! Just turn around now! 'Cause you're not welcome any more!"
"Deeks shh!" Kensi hissed as she led him out of the elevator, wincing as he tripped over his own feet and stumbled into the wall.
Reaching forward, she clasped him around the waist and shifted him until he was leaning most of his weight on her shoulder, his footsteps heavy as she directed them towards his door.
"I shudda changed that stupid lock, I should have made you leave the key..."
Kensi rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of keys, where are yours?"
Deeks chuckled, his eyes shining brightly as he regarded his more-than-partner, leaning even further into her until their lips were an inch apart.
"I gotta say Kens...watching you and Nell sing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun tonight has definitely climbed the list of my all-time favourite moments," he grinned dopily, his breath bouncing off her cheek.
Kensi shook her head, "that's great Deeks, really it is but...where are you keys? We gotta get you inside before Mrs. Davis comes to investigate."
"Let her," he replied haughtily, his grin growing cheeky before he leaned forward and placed a feather-light kiss on her lips, "at least this time we could actually give her something to look at," he finished, leaning back a little to catch her gaze.
The brunette felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Deeks had always been flirtatious, it was practically written into his genetic code but this...this felt like...foreplay. Or at the very least pre-foreplay. Was that a thing? It had been a while since she—
She shook her head again, this time more vigorously to try and rid herself of those thoughts. It was difficult enough trying to not toe that line with Deeks prematurely without those unrelenting fantasies making their presence known again – especially when she was the responsible, sober person here.
"Come on Casanova," Kensi tapped him on the nose before reaching her hand into his jeans pocket and pulling out his keys (ignoring his hooded eyelids) "let's get you inside before you decide to bust out your Frank Sinatra impression—"
"And then I go and spoil it all by sayin' something stupid like I lov—"
"Deeks!"
"Alright Derek, can you check on Mr. Collins? I got Mr. Yamagata..."
Derek nodded to his co-worker and made his way down the long corridor with an ease of someone who had walked the same halls for many years. Taking a deep breath to ready himself, he halted outside room 222 and knocked on the door.
His response was silence.
With a frown, Derek raised his hand and knocked again, peering in through the small square window and found the room dowsed in darkness. That was strange; it was an hour from lights out.
"TJ? It's Derek, listen, I heard what happened today...I just wanted to check on you," he paused, listening for any noises from inside. When he didn't get any, he bit his lip and pushed open the door, his eyes falling instantly on a hunched figure on the floor.
"TJ what—"
He broke off with a silent yell, his eyes bulging as he flipped the switch on the wall, basking the figure in florescent light, the large pool of crimson liquid dripping ever wider on the cold, white floor.
"DYLAN! DYLAN! CALL 911! SOMEONE'S KILLED MR. COLLINS!"
"I thought you wanted to go to sleep?"
Marty Deeks looked at his partner over his shoulder as he connected her iPod which he gracefully commandeered from her jacket without her knowledge (or so he thought, he was about as graceful as a new born giraffe right now) to his docking station.
He snorted at that sentence.
"What?" she asked, stepping forward and folding her arms.
"Nothing," he murmured, "it's just...your iPod is connected to my docking station," he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.
Her eyebrows rose. She assumed that was his feeble attempt at a dirty joke. But it was hard to tell, his humor got even more obscure when he was drunk.
Deeks stared blearily at the device for a moment before he pushed the button and waited, smirking when a familiar song he hadn't heard in a while flowed through the speakers.
"I threw a wish in the well, don't ask me I'll never tell, I look to you as it fell and now you're in my way..."
Deeks' lips quirked upwards.
"Didn't peg you as a Carly Rae Jepsen fan..." he said as he began to tap his foot along to the beat almost unbeknownst to himself.
Kensi found herself staring at him as he began to bounce around the living room.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice rose slightly over the music.
"Come on Kens, dance with me...for my birthday," he grinned, "unless you wanna ditch me for dear ol' Jaime this year too?"
She knew it was in jest, that he meant nothing by it but guilt washed over her as she remembered his last birthday as if it were yesterday.
"How many times do I have to apologize for that? The guy saved my life Deeks, I owed him. If it makes you feel any better, it was the most awkward two hours of my life and I spent the whole time thinking about you..."
"Oh really?" he smirked, stopping his ridiculous dancing and staring at her pensively, clearly not as intoxicated as she initially thought.
A heat rose to her cheeks as her eyes lowered to the floor.
"Yeah I—I felt so guilty for missing your birthday. I—I couldn't stop thinking about what you could be doing for the night and...with whom," she cleared her throat, shrugging her shoulders, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better," he took a step forward, hands coming to rest on her shoulder, "I wasn't at a club with some blonde," he paused, watching intently for her reaction but she was keeping her face as impassive as she could whilst avoiding his gaze.
After a moment, he heaved a sigh and shrugged, "I spent the night watching re-runs of Breaking Bad with Monty..."
Her dark eyes flickered as she forced herself to meet his gaze, his thumb sweeping across her cheek.
"It doesn't make me feel better actually," she murmured, her hand reaching up to clasp his collar, "I—you're always there for me Deeks, I should have been there for you."
"You've made up for it, and a lot more," he breathed, silently reflecting on how much she had been there for him especially over the last few months, including tonight where he had the most fun he's had in a long time.
"That doesn't excuse it though," she mumbled, "I—sometimes when you'd...you'd be on my mind too much I—I'd get a little defensive, and maybe a little snippy and—"
"Snippy?" he grinned, clearly teasing her choice of words.
Her eyes hardened. Deeks threw her an apologetic look and motioned for her to continue.
"Snippy," she pressed, "but that doesn't excuse anything. You're always so thoughtful with me and my birthday and Christmas and a random Tuesday and you—you deserve that too," she finished, picking at some imaginary lint on the front of his shirt.
Deeks bowed his head, as if not believing what she was telling him.
"I'm serious, Deeks," she stepped further into him, placing one hand around his shoulder and another into his hand as the music changed to a slower song.
Gently, she began to sway, he following her lead, letting his chin to rest against her head, his eyes falling closed.
"Thank you for today Kensi...it was the best birthday present ever," he smiled against her hair.
"Me and Nell singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun was your real birthday present. I know how much you love Cyndi Lauper," Kensi replied easily as they turned, their feet shuffling together.
"And I caught it all on camera to forever capture that awesome moment," he responded dreamily, "now all I have to do is somehow hide it from the beast that is Nell Jones so she can't erase it."
Kensi hummed in agreement, content to just let his words wash over her, along with the music, a warm feeling settling in her chest as his arms tightened ever-so-slightly around her.
"If I step on your feet, I'm just gonna go ahead and blame that last shot Sam bought me," he half-whispered into her ear, his lips dragging against her earlobe.
Kensi fought a shiver that certainly had nothing to do with the cold.
"I'll kick your ass if you ruin these shoes with your lack of coordination, Big Foot," she mock scolded.
"Sasquatch, please."
"Because Bigfoot's offensive," she grinned as he brought his hand off her hip up to her hair to tuck it behind her ear.
"And I'll have you know Ms Blye..." he murmured gently, his hot breath causing her eyes to close, "I have incredible coordination."
Kensi's heart hammered in her chest, a flush rising up her neck and colouring her cheeks. She knew if she were to check her pupils they would be dilated.
"You gonna dance for me, Apollo?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrow, opening her eyes to meet his, noticing that his pupils were blown.
Now dirty jokes were filling her head. Damn Deeks for being such a bad influence!
"That all depends," he smirked, twirling her around and pulling her back into him with his good arm, "what kinda salary are we talkin'? I may be an agent now but the pay still sucks..."
She laughed, shaking her head at his boldness.
"I'm sure we could work something out," she bit her lip, knowing she was threading dangerous water here.
Deeks' eyes shone with amusement.
"You want to tickle my pickle?"
Kensi groaned and smacked him on the shoulder.
"If you promise never to say that phrase ever again, I'll flip you for the right side of the bed and...we can take it from there."
His face was comical. His jaw dropped open wide and his eyes bulged out of their sockets.
"I'll rock, paper, scissors you for it," he laughed as she pulled him towards his bedroom, "but no east coast rules!"
She could feel Nate's eyes on her. With a tilt of her head, Kensi raised her eyebrows in the universal sign of the sarcastic 'can I help you?'
"There's something different about you Kensi..." the psychologist observed through narrowed eyes.
The agent stilled, willing her face to remain expressionless. Nate was like a bloodhound for body-language and she wasn't going to make it easy for him.
"You got a new man in your life?" he asked with a grin, raking in her tousled hair and same clothes she wore the day before.
Kensi shook her head, allowing the irk she felt to cross her features.
"Nope...not a new man," Nate murmured to himself, "old man then?"
The brunette took a sip of her coffee, her eyes staring straight ahead.
"Well, knowing your preferences, he can't be that much older than you so I'm going with an old flame, someone you've dated before," he continued his one-sided conversation, coming to lean against Deeks' desk, arms folded.
Kensi sat back in her chair, folding her arms, mirroring him, still not breathing a word.
"Nope, that's not it either," Nate shook his head, a puzzled expression now on his face.
With a quirk of her eyebrow, the agent leaned forward and rested her elbows on her desk, her eyes reaching his.
"How do you know it's a man?"
Nate gaped at her.
"Whoa, Sapphic undertones, my favourite," Deeks' voice sounded just as he walked up to the pair, his eyes flashing with mirth as he took in the scene before him.
"So," he turned to his partner, a secretive, knowing glance passing between them, "what did I miss? You know, apart from what I imagine is the incredibly hot woman you're now apparently dating?"
Kensi rolled her eyes, gesturing with her coffee cup.
"Just enjoying my first day back on the job," she levelled the psychologist with a stare, "that's all..."
Nate glanced between the two partners, an indistinguishable expression on his face.
Kensi and Deeks kept their cool however. They had been preparing for this type of scrutiny since they enhanced their...thing...so this was just the first hurdle.
No biggie.
But the thundering in Kensi's chest and the sweating of Deeks' palms said otherwise.
Neither had ever been so glad to hear the oh-so-familiar whistling of one Eric Beale.
Three heads tilted up to see the bespectacled man staring down at them, tablet in hand.
"We got a case," he said with a grin before turning on his heel and out of sight.
"What are the odds Hetty will let me go out in the field?" Kensi asked Deeks as the three of them began to climb the stairs.
"Let's just say they are less than favourable," a voice sounded from the top of the stairs.
Kensi, Deeks and Nate halted in their tracks and stared down at the petite brunette.
"You are to be firmly on desk duty for a number of weeks and will need to be reassessed; you know the drill Ms Blye," she finished before she and Nate walked on ahead of the partners.
Kensi was just about to follow them, her gait a little more sunken than usual when Deeks caught her hand. Instantly she stilled, a little tense as she stared down at their adjoined hands. The blond leapt back, his hand jumping as if burned, his eyes a little wild.
"Sorry," he cleared his throat before lowering his voice further, "listen Kens I was just wondering about the other night—"
"You'd remember if you slept with me, Deeks," she smirked, "trust me."
The risky sentence was totally worth the look on his face. Point 1 to Kensi.
"I—I know that we didn't...Kens I just...I wanted to apologize for—"
"Falling asleep? Snoring in my ear for five hours?" she deadpanned.
She was mocking him. She wasn't mad, at all. She knew with the amount of alcohol he had had that there was no way they were getting past second base that night. Truly, she hadn't wanted their first time together to be when he was drunk and she sober. She wanted no alcohol involved, she wanted them both in their right minds, she wanted—
"Go on a date with me," Deeks said suddenly, breaking her from her reverie.
"Huh?" she gaped. If she were to guess she'd say she now had the dumbstruck expression on her face.
"You heard me, Blye," he leaned forward ever so slightly to mumble in her ear, "tonight, after work, we're going on a date. You said that we should take this slow and we will. But I think it's about time you wine and dine me don't you think? After all, I'm a traditional girl..." he trailed off before brushing past her towards Ops.
A small smile spread across her face before she caught herself and schooled her face into something more passive.
It was going to be a long day.
WAR VETERAN TERRANCE JENSEN COLLINS (42) FOUND DEAD AT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR WOUNDED WARRIORS*. COLLINS LEAVES BEHIND A LOVING SISTER AND MOTHER...
Oliver Bradley stared down at the article in the newspaper before sliding it across the table for his lawyer Viktor Kajetan to look at. After a beat of silence, the lawyer's eyes met his client's that were brimming with anger as he pointed a finger into Kajetan's face.
"This is why I wanted to talk to Agent Marty Deeks. To prevent this and more from happening. Think you can manage to get him on the damn phone now?!"
A/N: So I busted my knee pretty badly and can't walk for the next six weeks but every cloud has a silver lining and that means I'll actually have some time for writing so hopefully the next update won't take a quarter as long as the last once I take my pain meds and don't attempt to run any marathons ;)
Oh! Something I noticed in the episode "Paper Soldiers." They have Rose's last name on her tag as 'Carlyle.' Now, I could be completely wrong but I could've sworn Rose's last name was Swartz or Schwartz or some variation in earlier seasons. Regardless, I will change it in my previous chapters accordingly.
*The name of the clinic is completely fictitious; any similarities in name are completely coincidental.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm quite nervous as in this arc I'll be tackling another tough subject from one of our team-member's pasts that the show hasn't touched upon much so a lot of it will be conjecture and whatever other crap my brain decides to attack with me with at 4am when I'm trying and failing to sleep. So yeah. There's that.
The next chapter will be A LOT longer!
Please Review!
~Cortexikid x
NEXT CHAPTER TEASER:
Deeks stared blankly at her.
"And how exactly am I supposed to charm my way into a little old lady's apartment without coming across as a complete pervert?"
Kensi shrugged.
"Maybe you could dazzle them with your Margaret Thatcher impression?"