This is a fairly short chapter, and I am deeply sorry. It was originally intended to be part of Chapter 2, but I had some trouble getting the whole thing to load together, for some reason. So I had to shorten it, and it worked. I promise that the next chapter will be sooooooo much better. Thanks again for bearing with me on this one. :)

The mood in the waiting room was one of apprehension for all those involved. It had been nearly three hours since the doctors had taken Kensi into surgery. Deeks had become restless after about an hour and a half.

"This is insane!" Deeks blurted out suddenly. "They've been back there for three hours…I need to know now."

"Mr. Deeks, I'm going to have to ask you to settle down." Hetty spoke calmly and evenly from the seat where she sat.

"Settle down, Hetty—my partner is fighting for her life back there. I can't just-"

"Mr. Deeks." Hetty said sternly.

Deeks got quiet—real quiet. He just stared at Hetty, not blinking,

A doctor appeared behind them then, and when he cleared his throat they turned around.

"Henrietta." The gray-haired doctor greeted the tiny woman upon seeing her. This was an unexpected surprise for him—though also a pleasant one.

"Clay." She said with a smile. "It's been a while."

"It has." The man agreed.

"I trust you've got some good news for us?" Hetty asked, standing up and moving forward.

The doctor looked really serious in that moment. He stood silently, carefully choosing his words. He finally looked up at Deeks and Hetty.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Deeks asked quietly.

"Ms. Blye's injuries were substantial, and she lost a great deal of blood. That said, we gave her a blood transfusion and finally got her stabilized…but she's not out of the woods yet, I'm afraid. She's got quite a battle ahead of her now."

"Can I see her?" Deeks asked. The doctor flashed a sympathetic look Deeks' way. "She's being moved to ICU as we speak. I'll have a nurse escort you back as soon as they get her settled in—You'll have ten minutes with her for tonight."

"Thank you." Was all Deeks could say.

A while later, the nurse came and offered to lead him to Kensi's room in the ICU. He followed obediently, ready to see his partner once again.

The room was silent for the first five minutes of Deeks' allotted time. He just couldn't bring himself to speak or do anything at first.

Then he sat with Kensi holding her hand in his, and wished that he could go back in time and prevent this from happening to her in the first place. She didn't deserve this—none of it.

She looked so helpless and fragile hooked up to all the machines that had wires running between them and her body. She looked so unlike herself.

"I'm gonna fix this, partner—I promise." He whispered, as he placed a gentle kiss against the back of her hand. "Just promise you won't die on me, Kens—Cause I-I don't think my heart could take it…if you did."

The nurse came back a few minutes later, and Deeks had to leave his partner's side. "I'll be back. I won't be gone long."

Deeks walked back out into waiting room, and before he could say or do anything—he found himself being slammed hard into a wall. He soon realized that it was Callen who had him pinned against the nearby wall.

"How the hell did this happen Deeks!" Callen demanded, his face red with anger. It was no secret to anyone that Callen had once been interested in Kensi. It was also no secret that she had turned him down, reasoning that they were too much alike for a relationship between them to end anyway other than badly. Still he loved her—in secret.

"Hetty said you knew about Rick being a killer." Callen spat angrily. "You knew…and you did nothing!"

"G man, come on." Deeks tried to pull away. "I-I didn't really know he was the killer until I saw the news earlier. I tried to warn her, but she wouldn't take my calls." He tried to explain.

"G, let him go," That was Sam Hanna. He was the calm and assertive member of the team. He cared deeply about Kensi too, but his affections stretched only as far as that of an older brother. "Its not his fault." Sam tried again.

"She's Your partner!" Callen raged, still holding Deeks pinned to the wall. "You should have tried harder! I'll bet you don't even really care about her!"

"G!" Sam raised his voice a little bit louder, trying to get the other man's attention.

Something inside Deeks snapped at Callen's words, and suddenly a great burst strength came over him. He shoved Callen away, and then as soon as his feet hit the ground his right fist flew through the air and connected with the side of Callen's jaw—toppling the senior agent over backwards.

"No one cares more about Kensi than I do!" Deeks nearly screamed at Callen. "I would die for her! Hell, I'd take her place right now if I could. So don't tell me I don't care!"

Callen pulled himself up off of the floor, with some help from Sam. "Get out." Callen said firmly, biting back what was left of his anger. "Go. Leave. You're not fit to be a part of this agency."

"Mr. Callen-" Hetty started.

"No, Hetty. He's right—I don't belong here. I never have." He shook his head in disgust. "I should have done more, but I didn't."

"You're right. You didn't." Callen spat at the shaggy-haired man.

Deeks nodded in sad agreement. "But you can be damn sure of this—I'm not gonna let what happened to her go quietly." He said in a low voice. Then he turned and stalked away.

Callen pulled away from Sam, and went to fix himself up in the restroom.

"Mr. Hanna," Hetty said seriously, looking up at the big man. "I don't believe Mr. Deeks will let this go." She said.

"I don't either Hetty. Someone's gonna get hurt, and I'm just afraid that in his condition right now…it'll be him."

"I agree." Hetty said with a nod. "I need you to follow him. Keep an eye on him, and report back with any leads he comes up with." She instructed the big man.

"You got it. You'll keep me informed on Kensi, right?"

"Indeed, Mr. Hanna. Indeed I will."

…TBC…