She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then quietly began to speak.

"I do know…what it's like…to be raped."

"Kens" Deeks whispered.

"I don't think it matters, if you are an adult or a child when it happens. The emotional devastation is the same. I wasn't recruited to NCIS by Hetty. I wasn't with our unit originally. I was the only female on another team." Kensi quietly said a mild quiver to her voice.

"There was this drug ring operating out of Virginia. It was suspected that they had recruited a few members of a navy unit. The ship they were assigned to tended to dock regularly in Miami. Cocaine was being brought into Florida from Columbia. Our guys were picking it up from a Columbian agent in Miami when they were in port. It was easy; they weren't even searched when they left the ship or returned. The military didn't just want the navy boys, they wanted everyone involved. We traced everything back to a high class gym in Virginia. It is where the exchange of goods and money seemed to take place. I was sent in to apply for work as a personal trainer. I had an ear bud and was supposed to have back-up at all times. The afternoon that the exchange was going down I was in the gym. The suspects began to slowly came in and head to a back office. As this was happening a couple of customers asked me if I could get some towels. The shelves were empty. I was told not to break cover. It was lunch time, there wasn't another employee around. I went to the supply closest, got the towels quick and when I came out, of the closet, the two customers jumped me. They dragged me downstairs, overpowered me and…"

"Kens…your back-up."

"They heard everything. Recorded it all. No one came to help. They were ordered not to leave there posts by our squad leader. To remain focused on the "task at hand". It was more important. They stood by and let it happen. By the time, one of my team came to look for me it was over. They were gone. I had three broken ribs, a broken arm and God only knows how many cuts and bruises."

Kensi was swallowing hard, trying to keep the lump that had formed in her throat, the tears behind her eyes and the now pronounced quiver in her voice at bay.

"Kens…there is no order from anyone that would have stopped me from running in and protecting you."

"I know." She replied as a tear spilled from her eye and began to trickle down her tanned cheek.

"I handed in my resignation two days later, after I was told by our leader that I was to forget about what happened. There would not be an investigation. No report would ever be filed. I wouldn't qualify for help from the unit's therapist. It didn't happen, so I didn't need to talk about it. He told me he wasn't going to accept my leaving. When I told him my mind was made up, he slapped me across the face and told me to take a couple of days off to grow up. Then he threw my resignation letter at me. When his hand touched my face it felt like I was…I ran out of his office leaving the letter on the floor."

Kensi's nervous system was in overdrive. Small uncontrollable waves of anxiety began to form, deep within her core. Every few minutes one came out as a short, but violent tremble that radiated through every cell in her body. Deeks, his arms still around her waist, had felt the last couple. Now it was his turn to draw her close to him.

"Shhh…Kens. You've told me enough."

"No, I need to finish." She replied quietly as tears ran down her face and dripped onto his shoulder.

"I was young. I just ran out of his office. To this day I don't even know how I was able to find my car in the parking lot. My eyes were full of tears. My face stung, every breath I took hurt, my arm was throbbing and I swear every muscle ached. Everything I had become, the strong, independent, confident woman all just vanished within hours. When I reached my car, there was a tiny older woman standing there, with a small cooler, waiting for me. She introduced herself as Hetty Lange. Hetty had me take a seat in the front passenger side of my car. She placed an ice pack on my face, gave me a bottle of water and got me to take my painkillers the doctor had prescribed for me at the hospital. Somehow she knew what had happened. I have no idea how. Until then I had never met her. She took me to a rape crises centre to meet with a councillor. Over the next few days she was there for me. I think, in that time, I experienced every emotion possible. I was a mess. Still, she continued to take care of me. She offered me the opportunity to join her team. She told me that I would never be asked to perform "favours" under her command. My back-up would always have my best interests first."

"Kensi, I didn't know."

"Only Hetty knows. She moved me back to California three weeks after the assault. She continued to make sure I received the help I needed. She made me a member of her team. She continued to train me. When I started to come to terms with what happened, Hetty gave me a thousand dollars from petty cash, and told me to use it to go away for a week-end. I used it to come here. I knew the effects this place could have. I came back, after that week-end, feeling better than I had since the attack 12 weeks earlier. Hetty saved me, but this place…this place healed my soul. I was able to really move forward, with my life, after my visit here. My confidence was back."

"It wasn't long afterwards that I started listing Hetty as my next of kin. She has always taken care of me the same way a mother takes care of a child. I think she is the closest I have to a mother."

The partners held each other in comfortable silence until the last tear was shed and the final tremble had left. Keeping their arms around each other, they pulled apart, just enough, to meet each other's eyes.

"This place…it heals. It heals the soul. I don't know how, but it does. I think it's why my dad brought me here. It's why I brought you here. Just give it some time…you'll start to feel it. It's…magical…it's…like walking on the edge...of Heaven." Kensi said quietly as Marty, moved his hands from her waist to her face, and gently wiped away the remnants of the last couple of tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

With his hands still cupping her face he leaned forward and placed his forehead against hers. A few moments later he tilted his head, leaned in and shared a small gentle kiss with her. It was slow and lingering. It was sweet, passionate and full of promise. The type two people share at the end of a fabulous first date. The kind of kiss that neither participant really wants to end, but each knows that to continue would destroy what they were heading towards.

"I'll stay…for you. Stay…here."

Kensi nodded her head slightly as they embraced again.

Eventually the crackling of the fire caused both partners to part slightly and glance over at the fire pit.

"We haven't eaten since we stopped and had those coffees and brownies at that Bistro." Kensi said.

"I know."

"I…have the chicken skewers, we bought at the market, all ready to go. My dad taught me to cook over an open fire years ago. Would you like me to show you? The chicken will taste amazing when it's done. Especially on a bun with a little lettuce, tomato and some sauce."

"I know you probably don't have much of an appetite, I know I don't…but…I think we should try to eat something Marty."

"Yea…we should."

Kensi stood up slowly, and held her hand out to Deeks. Locking eyes with her, he reached up and placed his hand in hers. Slowly he stood up, and allowed her to lead him over to a bench near the fire pit.

From his basket, Monty had been keeping an eye on his Master and Kensi. The dog knew the minute the two had entered the apartment that something was terribly wrong with Deeks. He could sense it. Kensi had given him a small pat, on the head, as she had walked by leading Deeks, by the hand, over to the sofa. He had gone over and sat quietly on the floor beside Deeks, resting his head on his Master's knee in the hope that the gesture would help to comfort Deeks. His Master would know he was there for him. Kensi had raced through the apartment packing a bag of Master's belongings and then all of his things. A few minutes later he found himself sitting in the back seat of Kensi's car heading out of the city.

Now he was half lying, half sitting in his basket, on a back deck of a beach cottage. He had been glancing over at the two for the past hour. Kensi was taking good care of Master, he could tell, but that didn't mean he wouldn't go over to help if he felt he was needed. His feeling was that it would not be necessary though. Kensi was good for Deeks. He had seen how much happier Master had become, over the last few months, since she had come into his life.

No, Master was in good hands. What he was more concerned about was the strange tall, thin, muscular man, in the uniform, that was sitting in one of the white washed wooden Muskoka chairs in the corner of the deck to his right. He had walked onto the deck a few minutes after they had arrived, and had taken a seat in the chair. Kensi had even walked by him, a couple of times, and not even said anything. It was as if Kensi had not even noticed the man.

"Perhaps it's because she is too concerned with helping Master right now. Strange though, considering she seems to notice everything." Monty thought.

Normally he would have barked, and made everyone aware of this strange person's presence, but something inside him told him there was no need. He could sense this person was not a threat, but that couldn't stop him watching and from still being concerned. It was his protective nature.

Monty glanced over at Deeks and Kensi. They were walking over to the fire pit. Deeks took a seat, beside the fire, and Kensi went over to the table to get the tray she had brought out earlier. When he looked at the strange man again, he was standing up and walking over to him.

"Who is this strange man? Why are Kensi and Master acting they do not even see him?" Monty thought as he sat up in his basket.

The man knelt down in front of Monty, and began to pat his head. It was an odd feeling. The man was patting him, but he couldn't feel his touch. At least not in the normal sense. Every time the man's hand stroked his head, he felt a small gentle breeze. It caused the fur on his head to move ever so slightly. It was like a stroke, but completely different at the same time. Monty did know that with each stroke he felt more and more relaxed and less and less worried.

"Don't worry about them boy. They are both going to be fine." The man said softly as he looked over at Kensi and Deeks sitting side by side, on a cement backless bench, near the fire pit cooking.

"Why can I understand everything you are saying? How can you completely comprehend what I am thinking?" Monty wondered.

The man smiled at him. "We just can."

"This place…it's a small portal. A pinhole, so to speak, in the vast scope of the universe. It's a place where Heaven and Earth brush ever so lightly together. It's a healing place for broken souls. It's why I was drawn here. It's why I brought her here and it's why she has brought him here."

"She tried to bring her friend Jack here, but he would never come. It was fate intervening. They were never really meant to be."

"Don't fret about those two boy. Your Master…and my Daughter are different. They're life paths have always been meant to cross…They're good for each other." He said smiling while stroking Monty.

"They don't know it yet, but they will"

"He's been happier since she's come into his life."

"I know...and she's soon going to stop denying the fact that he's more than a just a friend or a partner to her."

"It scares her."

The man smiled and stroked Monty. "It does, but a lot less than it did a few months ago. That's why tonight; she's going to allow him to share her bed. He won't be able to settle and fall asleep without holding her in his arms. It will only be the beginning."

"Are you sure she's ready? Ready…to let him in? Ready to try love again?"

"Yes…now that she has brought him here, this place can heal more of her soul. It was never able to before. Not until he came here with her. This place will help him deal with the torment that is currently raging through him. Then it will help them both. They're soul mates."

"They need to be here together for this place to help them come to terms with their emotions for each other."

"You're smart boy. Yes…they do and they will. Then in a few days time, the first night after they leave this place, and once they have admitted they have feelings for each other beyond that of "partners", they will make love for the first time. Don't worry though. The walls, those two have built around themselves, will be intact and as strong as ever. They will each simply allow a small crack, to form, that's big enough for the other to slip through. "

The man glanced over at the partners and smiled.

"Not to worry boy. They're about to embark on a life long journey. Hang on…cause you're going along for a bit of the ride. After all, who do you think will be giving "doggy rides" and attending "tea parties" in a few years?"

Monty peered over at his Master and Kensi again.

"They do look like they're becoming more comfortable together." He thought.

The strange man smiled. "They do. Listen boy…I have to go now…but I'll see you again. Next time you visit here. Take care of them boy."

With that Kensi's father stood up, walked behind his daughter and gave her a smile of parental pride before heading down to the beach and simply vanishing.

"They are going to be alright… "Doggy rides" and "tea parties"…bring it on." Monty thought as he lay down in his basket and listened to the melodic sounds of the surf.

That is it. It's finished. It may not be the ending everyone wanted, but it is the ending I wanted. When I decided to write a story based on the show NCIS LA I wanted to write something that included all the main characters. I'm not really sure if Monty is suppose to live with Deeks, or if Deeks simply has access to him, but I did want to include him. Having him live with Deeks seemed to be the easiest way to work him in.

I do believe in God and Heaven. I do believe that angels walk amongst us and I do believe there are natural healing places on earth. I don't think they are meant to be exploited by man. I believe people stumble upon them, and simply don't realize what they have experienced. I do believe that the spirits of our loved ones, who have passed on, can come back to help us in times of great distress.

My maternal great grandmother died when my grandmother was six years old. It happened during childbirth and I am sad to say that both my great grandmother and the child she was carrying perished. I was 31 when my maternal grandmother passed away. She was 105. Till the day she died my grandmother claimed that she saw her mother a week after she watched her be buried. The story she told was that she woke in the middle of the night to see her mother sitting at the edge of her bed. She heard her mother say "good-bye", but being a child of six she became frightened, and closed her eyes and covered her ears with her hands. When she opened her eyes, a few moments later, she found herself alone. It was a move I believe she regretted her entire life. She had the opportunity to tell her mother she loved her one last time, but allowed fear to take control. My family never believed my grandmother. I was always told that it was the ramblings of an old woman and ghosts do not exist. I chose to believe her. There was such passion in her voice, and a deep sadness in her eyes every time she told me the story that I could never understand how anyone could not believe her. Grandma held on to her story for one year short of a century. People do not hold onto a lie for that length of time, they only hold on to truths. By bringing Kensi's father, into the story, in the form I did, I believe I am, in a way, paying tribute to my grandmother. I guess I am somehow still trying to tell her that I believe her.

Let me know what you think of my story and tell me if I should give this writing thing another try. I do have an idea for a second story. Send me a review.

Thank-you all for reading. Take care.