A/N: Since this was my first story published, I was initially going to keep this a one shot. But because of some lovely reviews and a fresh burst (somewhat) of inspiration, I decided to continue it. Let me know what you think :)
It was a rough night on the couch. Add that to the list of reasons why Deeks wished Kensi was here instead of Agent Sandy Brookes. The list of many, many reasons.
Sure they would have been fighting over the right side of the bed. And then she'd end up taking up both sides of the bed anyway. And sure, they'd wake up in the morning and he'd tease her for snoring and she'd tease him for the nose twitches she imagined he did in his sleep. But it would have been comfortable. It would have been nice even. With Kensi.
Deeks drew himself up so he was sitting on the couch, elbows leaning heavily on his knees, hands raking through his blonde tangles.
"Good morning, Detective," a familiar, yet somewhat unwelcome voice chirped from the kitchen.
Kensi was never that disgustingly cheery at seven on a Saturday morning. He missed that.
"Morning," Deeks mumbled, forcing himself to stand and stretch out the sore muscles in his back.
"Sleep well?"
"Fine." The lie was better than admitting he wished he didn't have to sleep on the couch.
"What do you want for breakfast?" She emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of cheap cereal that looked like it tasted like cardboard.
Deeks tried to hide his cringe at her choice in breakfast. "Coffee."
"Coffee's not breakfast."
Says who?!
"It'll do."
"So we have the real estate conference today at twelve. Hetty reserved us seats next to Alan Lyre and Paul Browning. I was thinking if—"
The ringing of Deeks' phone interrupted Sandy's words. He scooped it up from between the couch cushions and answered. "Morning sunshine."
"It's way too early for this, Deeks."
That's my girl.
"Get called in early?" Deeks tried hard not to let his laughter show in his voice.
"Yes. I have to help you and your new partner access—"
"Whoa. Hold up there." Deeks glanced over into the kitchen and spotted Brookes pretending not to listen to him. He slid open the glass door to the balcony and stepped out, closing it behind him. "Did you just call her my partner?"
He could almost feel Kensi's irritation in the air. "Well, she seems to think she's filled the spot quite nicely when—"
"Hang on," Deeks interrupted, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. "There was never a spot to fill. Where do you think you're going?"
"Nowhere, Deeks. I'm going nowhere. Because my stupid ankle is killing me and I can't even get my own coffee without stumbling over my crutches like an idiot."
Deeks couldn't help but laugh at her misplaced frustration. He waited a few moments when she'd finished her rant, letting the words settle and her temper cool. He spoke gently. "You know what I meant, Kens. Are you planning on going anywhere?"
A slight pause.
"No."
"Not planning on fleeing the country any time soon?"
"Probably not."
"No other agency trying to steal you off us?"
"No."
"Not thinking of giving up your job to make some of those mutant ninja assassins we talked about?"
"Deeks—"
"Planning on dying any time soon?"
"Not planning on it."
Deeks smiled and leaned against the balcony railing. "Good. Because if you're not going anywhere, then I'm thinking I'd still like you to be my partner."
"Sucks that I'm back here then."
A small laugh escaped him. "Yes. Yes it does. So why did you get called in early?"
"You and Brookes will need to get into the computer in the lobby. It has the details of everyone staying there, including our two suspected arms dealers. Hetty wants you to get the info before the conference so Eric and Nell can get digging. So I'm basically just here to supervise."
"Gotcha."
"Then at the conference, you'll be seated next to our suspects and you need to try to get to know them. Once we know what rooms they're staying in, Sam and Callen will take a look around, plant bugs, the usual. Any information is good information. And this is the only lead we got."
Deeks nodded and glanced through the glass doors. Sandy was eating a bowl of cereal on the couch, an impatient expression on her face.
"I should go."
"Don't do anything stupid."
Deeks grinned. "You know, I usually can't help it. That's why I need you here."
"I'll talk to you soon."
"And Kens, Sandy's gonna have an earpiece in today. So be nice."
He heard Kensi scoff on the other end. "Whatever."
"Good girl."
…
The morning had been awkward enough so far. Deeks hoped that this next bit would go smoothly. In spite of Sandy's obvious flaws, namely – the fact that she wasn't Kensi, she was highly qualified according to Hetty and had years of experience on the field.
Let's get this over and done with.
"Hey Deeks, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear." Deeks responded to Kensi.
"Who's on the line here?" Brookes asked.
"Nell and I are in ops with Kens," Eric replied.
"And Sam and I are parked outside, in case you need backup today. Also keeping an eye on the people attending the conference who might have connections to Lyre and Browning," Callen voiced.
"What's the plan?" Sandy asked quietly, slipping her hand into Deeks' as the headed down the hall in the lobby.
"Depends."
"On what?"
Kensi decided to butt in here. "On whether the receptionist is male or female."
"Thanks, Kens."
"Right." Sandy nodded, lips thin. It was clear she did not approve.
"You'll be pleased to know that there is no one attending the reception area for the time being," Eric informed them as they entered the lobby and glanced around. There were four others in the room, none of whom were overly alert. This was a good thing. And wherever the receptionist was, Deeks hoped he or she would take his or her time.
"I'll keep watch. You jump over." Deeks suggested as they approached the desk.
"We've got eyes through the security footage. Coast is clear for now," Nell added.
Deeks positioned himself in front of the desk, and turned to the four others in the large lobby. One was reading a newspaper. He was safe. Another was sitting on the couch engaging in a lively conversation on the phone. No worries there. And the other two were heading in the opposite direction. All good.
He turned and nodded to Sandy who hoisted herself up onto the desk and swung her legs over, landing silently on the other side. She retrieved a USB from her pocket and inserted it into the computer.
"Eric, you getting this?" She whispered.
"Give me a minute and I'll have it."
"Search the list of check-ins for a room number," Sam instructed.
Deeks glanced around at the remaining two people in the room besides he and Brookes. Still oblivious.
"Got it. No sign of any staff heading this way?"
"You're good," Kensi responded. "Try and find the key cards to their rooms."
"Do we have time?" Deeks asked. Probably a bad move to question Kensi right now, but it needed to be asked.
"No Deeks. That's why I asked her, because there's no time." A thick layer of sarcasm dripped off every word.
"Okay, my bad."
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Sandy dramatically roll her own eyes as she picked the locks of drawers and searched through them.
"And our missing receptionist is on her way back," Eric informed them.
"That's my cue." Deeks took one more quick glance around the room.
"She's headed in through the same hall you came." Kensi's voice was focused, and if Deeks wasn't mistaken, slightly anxious. Then again, he would be too if it was her out here without him.
He fixed the collar of his shirt as he walked till he met a young blonde woman in the hall wearing the hotel uniform.
"Excuse me," Deeks donned his smoothest voice and touched her arm as she passed him. "I was wondering if you could show me where the gym is. Gotta complete my daily work out. You know how it is."
"Uh, sure." The blonde smiled politely. "It's on the next floor up. If you turn left out of the elevator there's a sign. You shouldn't miss it."
"I need more time, Marty."
"Right. And what facilities do you have. As you can probably see, I do the full body work out. Intense, vigorous work out. As you can see. So I need the latest—"
Deeks was distracted slightly by a loud laugh from Kensi.
"—the latest…equipment." He finished the sentence with his best charming smile and a slight flex of his biceps.
The woman's smile grew. "It's fully equipped. Has everything you need."
"Almost done, Marty."
The blonde made a move to leave Deeks but he caught her gently by the arm again. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"Meg. Yours?"
"Ben. It was good to meet you."
"You too."
"And I'm done. We're good." The relief in Sandy's voice was well evident.
"Can't believe she bought the gym story," Kensi scoffed.
"Yeah me either. I'm wearing a collared shirt and jeans. Not the most practically gym-wear."
"Not the reason I was referring to, but okay."
Deeks felt a grin tug at his lips. Only Kensi.
Sandy joined him several seconds later and the two headed for the elevator without a word. Funny how he was here with Sandy and he still felt like it was Kensi who had his back. He'd hardly said two words to Sandy all weekend and it was her he was sharing a hotel room with.
There are some things you just can't mess with, he supposed. His partnership with Kensi was one of them. It was okay though. He'd have her back in a week or two if she stayed off her right ankle.
He'd have her back.
…
Later that day, Kensi had had enough of the distance. If she couldn't have her partner back yet, she was at least going to make sure he knew she wanted it. She picked up her phone and began typing.
…
'Good work this morning. Gotta say, it was weird not being there with you. Give me a week and I'll be back in the game.'
'I'll give you two.'
'Generous of you.'
'That's me.'
…
'Hetty called. If all goes well today, I'll be finished up here by tonight. Busy?'
'I'll see you tonight.'
A/N: Thanks for reading!