Deeks was exhausted as he walked into the bullpen on Monday morning, hoping the large cup of caffeine he carried would do something to battle the tiredness. The op yesterday had gone exactly as planned. With the information Eric, Nell, Sam and Callen were able to retrieve because of the distractions provided by Deeks and Sandy, who were being closely watched by a vigilant Kensi, they were able to determine a time and place the dealing of arms would take place. Shots were fired. Arrests were made. The usual stuff.

And another day saved thanks to the team at NCIS: OSP.

But as he entered the bullpen and saw Sam and Callen sitting at their desks, smirking at him, he knew he was about to get the talk.

"Eventful weekend, hmm?" Sam commented, leaning back in his chair.

Deeks shrugged and took a seat at his own desk, next to Sam. "No more eventful than usual."

"He's not going to talk to us, Sam," Callen remarked.

"I don't know, G, I reckon he'll open up. It's us after all. We're good to talk to."

"We are that. Wouldn't you say, Deeks?"

Deeks groaned and leaned his head against the desk. Sleep had evaded him for a good few hours last night, and he was paying for it now. He sat up and looked between Sam and Callen. "Is this about Sandy?"

"Actually, it's more about Kensi," Sam replied.

As if on cue, Kensi entered the bullpen on her crutches, appearing just as exhausted as Deeks felt.

"Oh great," Deeks commented on her entrance. "This will make it far less awkward."

Kensi tilted her head sideways. "Huh?"

"We're just reminiscing on the events of Saturday night," Callen explained.

Kensi looked at Deeks who shrugged. "What event might this be?"

"Okay." Deeks slapped both his palms against the desk, deciding now was the best time to give some sort of explanation. He couldn't be bothered dancing around the topic anymore. "Sandy was all over me for some strange reason that is far beyond me. Though it makes sense. I get that a lot with the ladies. But that's going off topic. The point is, I needed to give Sandy a reason to back off so I asked Kensi to help me out. That's all that happened,"

Kensi nodded with a grateful smile and took a seat at her desk. He had decided not to mention the fact that Kensi had gotten all territorial and possessive, although he would have thoroughly enjoyed her furious denial of it.

Callen looked both relieved and disappointed at once. "Now what are we going to speculate about all day?"

Kensi offered a topic. "Has anyone else noticed that Sandy is—"

"Here! Sandy is here. Hi Sandy," Deeks interrupted, as Sandy rounded the entrance into the bullpen.

"Good morning," she practically sung.

So cheery. So disgustingly cheery.

Kensi stifled a laugh at something and Deeks made a mental note to ask her about it later. Today they'd be writing their reports for the weekend's operation. The excitement was hardly containable. Really. It was.

Deeks opened his laptop and began to type. Today was going to be a long day.

…

It had been half an hour since Kensi had disappeared silently from her desk. She couldn't have gone far. But all the same, Deeks had taken it upon himself to find her, just in case.

She wasn't in the bullpen, she wasn't in ops, she wasn't at the boatshed. The gym was Deeks' next destination.

"Kens? You in here?" He called as he entered the room. No reply. No noise. He looked around and saw no one at first.

Then he spotted her. Sitting on the bench along the far wall of the gym, sprained ankle stretched out in front her. Pain etched on her face.

Deeks approached her carefully, knowing by her posture she wasn't in the mood for company. She looked frustrated. It wasn't till he was only a few feet away from her that she looked up at him.

"It hurts," she said simply.

He took a seat next to her, bumping her shoulder lightly with his own.

"I can't even walk yet."

"Kens, you shouldn't even be trying to walk," he said gently, wanting very much to scold her, but knowing that wouldn't help right now. "How long did the doctor say?"

"Three weeks."

"And how long has it been?"

"One and a half."

They remained silent for at least a minute, until she stood without warning.

"Kens!" He stood with her and touched her elbow.

"I can do this, Deeks. I just need to exercise it."

"No." He moved so that he was standing in front of her. "You need to rest it. That's how it works with a sprain."

"It wasn't a bad sprain, Deeks. I can do this."

"Anyone ever told you how stubborn you are?"

She shrugged. "Mostly just you."

"That's because I'm the one that has to watch out for you when go prancing into dangerous situations because of your stubbornness."

"Lucky you."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Lucky me."

A small smile appeared on Kensi's lips, and even though he was complaining, he was glad to see the fire in her eyes. A stubborn Kensi was a determined Kensi. And there was no arguing with this Kensi, he knew that much by now.

"Okay." He held out both his arms towards her, bent at the elbows.

She looked down at them as if his action was completely foreign to her. He curled his fingers, gesturing for her to lift her own arms, which she did. Slowly, gently, he placed his arms under hers, holding her elbows in his hands. "I've got you, okay?"

She nodded. Her dark eyes gazed into his and, for a fraction of a moment, he thought he could see trust in her eyes. Trust in him.

"Lean your weight on me. I've got you."

She took a small step with her bad leg, leaning heavily on him as she put weight on it. She winced and her breath caught as she lifted her other leg, then set it back down.

Again, she took a step, this time releasing a small cry of pain as she stepped down.

"Okay." Deeks held as much of her weight as he could in this position. "Okay, that's enough. You did good. You can walk. Congratulations. Now let's find your crutches."

"No," she protested adamantly. "I can do this, okay?"

"Right, of course. I'm sorry I was mislead by your cries of pain!"

But she wasn't backing down. Did she ever?

He moved around behind her, so her back was against his chest. This time, he took her arms from behind, leaning her arms on his and intertwining his fingers with hers. "This okay?"

She nodded, and that was enough response for him.

"How you snuck up on me on Saturday, I will never know."

She released a laugh, though the pain was still evident somewhere in it. "It was so worth it."

"You good?"

"I'm good."

Together, they took a step. And then another. And then another. She was leaning on him heavily, but at least she was walking somewhat. At least the pain was bearable.

"Is it weird that I think your hair smells really good?"

"Deeks!" A loud laugh erupted from her mouth and in the moment of lost concentration she leaned on her bad foot. "Ah!"

"Sorry!" He tightened his hands around hers, and held as much of her weight as he could. "Sorry."

"S'okay. I'm good."

"Please tell me this is enough," he pleaded, unsure how much longer he could cope seeing her in this much pain.

"A few more steps."

"Kens—"

"A few more steps please."

With a reluctant groan he gave in. And together they stepped. First their right legs. Then left. Then right.

"How's that feel?" He asked.

"Kills."

"Okay." Still holding her weight, he moved around till he stood facing her side and bent over, tucking one arm around her waist and the other behind her knees.

"Deeks, what are you—"

"Don't argue with me, Kens." He lifted her with considerable ease, and she wrapped one arm around his neck to help him carry her weight. He carried her over to the bench but for some, unexpected reason, he felt reluctant to set her down. "If I put you down, will you be good?"

She simply rolled her eyes. "Define good?"

"You won't try to walk again for a few days."

She shook her head like a stubborn little girl, and the sight brought a smile to his lips.

"Okay, you won't walk without me for a few days."

"Fine."

"Fine." He placed her gently on the bench and took a seat next to her once again. He wanted to say something reassuring. Something about how it would all get better, and that he'd be there to help her along the way. But every way he arranged the possible words in his head, they came out far too cheesy. So instead he just reached for her crutches and handed them to her, placing a hand on the small of her back as she stood.

If this is what it took to get her to stop walking on her own, he'd do it gladly. He followed closely behind her as they made their exit from the gym.

"I'll bet Sandy would have loved to witness that back there," he joked.

Kensi responded by angling her left crutch so that Deeks tripped over it as he walked, leaving him sprawled on the floor.

"Okay. Touché," he groaned.

Kensi just laughed and left the gym without a word.

And that's my girl.