"Okay, come on Kens. You can do this." Deeks stood behind Kensi, his chest pressed against her back, her hair tickling his chin, her hands in his, his arms supporting hers.
"It hurts," she grunted.
"Oh good. We can stop then." He takes a step back, still careful to keep her balanced.
"No! No. Deeks. I'm doing this with or without you."
"Then I'm thinking you didn't quite understand the conditions of our deal."
She reached back and motioned for him to come closer, gripping his left hand in hers. Again, he took his position.
"I'm starting to think maybe you just like having me so close."
"Ha!" Kensi released a loud, exaggerated laugh. "You wish."
Yeah, I really do.
"Ready?"
"Mhm." She braced herself for the pain as they stepped together. Right. Left. Right. Left.
"How's that feel?"
"Better. Better than it has been."
He squeezed her hands gently. "Good. 'Cause I gotta tell you, I really need my partner back. This Sandy woman is really starting to freak me out."
"Yeah?" Kensi tried and failed to withhold the pain from her voice. "What did she do now?"
"Came over last night."
"What?" Without thinking, Kensi whirled around to face him, then winced in pain as she landed on her bad foot.
Deeks held both her hands to keep her balanced. "Whoa. You okay?"
"She was at your house?"
"Do you want to sit for a while?"
"When? Why?"
"I can run and grab some ice?"
"How long did she stay?"
"I told you, you need to rest it! But no—"
"Deeks! Stop talking about my ankle."
"Okay."
"Why was she at your house?"
"She dropped off my wallet."
"Why did she have your wallet?"
"I left it at work."
"Why did you—"
"Why do I feel like I'm in an interrogation?"
Kensi responded with a fast punch to his shoulder.
He winced in pain. But decided not to let it stop him. "You jealous?" He asked with a small grin.
"Deeks. Really?"
"I'll take that as a no." Again, he grabbed both of her arms and helped her to the nearest seat. She was walking easier now. Her sprain had healed a lot in the last week. She'd be able to walk soon. But getting back on the field was a whole different matter.
"How long did she stay?" Kensi asked as she sat down, lifting her ankle and massaging it gently.
Deeks took a seat on the floor in front of her, boldly reaching for her foot and drawing it towards him. As gently as he could, he pressed an ice pack he'd prepared earlier against the side of her ankle, lightly stroking her foot with the thumb of the hand holding it up. "She didn't. I didn't let her in."
"Really?"
He nodded. "I uh…I may have told her you were sleeping on the couch…and I didn't want to wake you."
Kensi smiled and shook her head. "You are so unprofessional."
"You're the one who's jealous." He shrugged.
The sound of footsteps entering the gym interrupted their conversation.
"We got a case."
Deeks and Kensi both turned to Eric who motioned for them to follow him.
Please, let this be a short one.
…
It had taken Eric, Nell, and Hetty five minutes to run through the details of the next case. A petty officer found dead, his laptop containing several links and passwords to protected government sites.
Problem was, the petty officer had been missing for several weeks. And most of his intel had been gathered prior to that.
"So who's Petty Officer Daniels closest to? Who'd have access to his laptop?"
Eric displayed pictures and IDs on the screen as he spoke. "He lived with his parents until a year ago when he began to room with Petty Officer Chris Baker. He has a girlfriend named Tawnie Winters. He spends a lot of time at a bar around the corner from his house, and at the gym down the street. His land lord says he's a responsible tenant and has no complaints."
"That is, until he showed up dead in her building," Nell added.
"Okay. Sam and I will chat to the parents. Deeks, Sandy, go check out the apartment. See what we can find out about this guy."
"Hang on," Kensi protested. "What about me?"
Callen turned to Kensi, an apologetic look on his face. "Kens, we can't send you out in the field yet."
"Callen! I'm a field agent!"
"Yes. Kensi, your ankle is—"
"I can walk now, Callen." She whirled around to face Deeks, masking the grimace at putting weight on her foot. "Deeks, tell him."
All eyes turned to Deeks as they awaited an answer from him. "Uh." He ran a hand through his hair. "She's, uh…"
"Deeks…" her expression pleaded with him.
"What do you want me to say, Kens?"
"If she can walk alright then I think she's okay to go inspect a victim's house. So if she can walk, she can go," Callen remarked.
"Deeks, tell them."
"Tell them what? That sure you can walk – if I'm holding you up. And even then you're wincing in pain the whole time."
"Deeks!"
"What if something happened? If something went wrong? You can't run, Kens. You can't fight." He turned to Callen. "If we send her out there we're putting her in danger."
Kensi looked shocked and hurt. She leaned against the table in the center of ops, arms crossed, lips pursed.
"Okay. Deeks and Sandy, check out Daniels' house. Sorry Kens." Callen patted her awkwardly on the arm. She just nodded.
"Got it." Sandy smiled at Deeks and exited ops behind Callen and Sam.
Deeks turned Kensi and stepped towards her. "Kens—"
"Don't, Deeks." She shook her head. "Just don't."
He nodded and took a step back. "Okay. I'll uh—I'll call you later. Okay?"
She didn't respond. She was too busy pouting. And while, admittedly, it was kind of cute, Deeks hated that she was mad at him.
"Okay, Kens?"
She nodded. "Okay."
He turned to leave, but stopped at the door when he heard her voice.
"Don't do anything stupid."
Deeks couldn't help but release a small laugh. He knew that was Kensi's way of saying 'good luck'. So she couldn't have been all mad at him. "I'll try."
…
"Okay, Kens. Here's the thing. See, I would have loved to have you with me today when we went to Petty Officer Daniels' house. I would love to say you're ready to be back on the field. That your ankle is better and everything is peachy. But I can't.
And I'm sorry. It doesn't make you less of an agent. Or less of a partner. It doesn't make you weak. It doesn't make you worth any less. It makes you human."
Deeks took a breath and continued. "But I can't let you back on the field with an injury like that. Why? Because you mean too much to me. Because I'd be putting your life in danger and that's just not okay with me. Because if something happened to you I couldn't…well, I couldn't live with myself.
You are everything to me, Kens. Do you know that? If I could spend the rest of my life protecting you every single day – that's what I'd do. No question. Even if it means fighting you every step of the way.
So get mad. Hit me. Give me the silent treatment. Throw me your best insults. I don't care. I'm not putting you at risk like that. I can't.
I'm not strong enough to lose you, Kens…"
Okay, time to stop. This is getting way to emotional.
Deeks slid his jacket over his arms and glanced in the mirror one last time. He was quite eloquent when Kensi wasn't in the room. But as soon as she looked at him with her beautiful, dark eyes… The words just never came. And he knew tonight wouldn't be any different.
When he rocked up at her door step, doughnuts in hand, he'd almost forgotten every word he'd rehearsed.
She opened her door slowly. She was wearing jeans and a purple tank top. Her hair was down and curly and a little messy. Beautiful.
But it was her frown that caught his eyes. He briefly considered that fact that she may not be pleased to see him.
"Listen, I know you hate me right now. But I was going to call like I said and then thought I can't buy your love with doughnuts over the phone."
If he wasn't mistaken, she did smile a little. Maybe just a little. The corners of her lips may have turned up ever so slightly. A sorry excuse for a smile, really. But he'd take it.
"Am I allowed in?"
She nodded and opened the door, taking the bag of doughnuts from his hand and using her crutches to get to the couch. He took a seat next to her.
A thick coat of silence filled the room for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Deeks had never been good with silence.
"You mad at me?"
Kensi looked at him, then down at her hands in her lap, then at the television which was currently on mute. "No."
"Really? 'Cause you look mad."
"I'm not mad."
"Sure, okay." And the silence resumed.
Suddenly feeling nervous and tense and restless, Deeks stood and walked around and began to pace. Once. Twice. Then sat again, body angled towards Kensi who was still pretending to watch TV.
"Kens?"
No reply.
"Kensi?"
She continued to ignore him.
"Fern?"
"Don't you ever shut up?"
"Knew that would work. And no. No I don't. I'd have thought you knew that by now."
"I know you were just trying to protect me," she stated simply and matter-of-factly.
Deeks raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh?"
"I know you didn't want me getting hurt."
"Oh." He stammered, "well—well that's good that you know that because I was trying to think of a way to tell you that and then it was like my brain forgot how to speak English."
Kensi tried to look annoyed at him, but the amusement in her eyes betrayed her.
"I really, really wanted you out there with me today. But not enough that I would even consider putting you at risk."
Kensi nodded with a small smile. "Okay."
"So you're really not mad?"
"I'm not mad."
"Okay." He smiled, relieved that he wasn't in the proverbial dog house anymore. "Would you like me to go?"
She looked at him with wide eyes and shook her head adamantly. "Nope."
Man, that was cute. Did she do that on purpose?
"That's good," he responded, "because I wasn't planning on leaving."
As if to prove she wasn't mad at him, Kensi held the open bag of doughnuts in his direction. He reached in and took one and she did the same.
"So you never answered my question today."
Kensi turned to him with both eyebrows raised. "Question?"
"Yep. You jealous of Sandy? 'Cause if you were, that'd be totally hot."
Letting a loud laugh escape her lips, Kensi grabbed a cushion from behind her and shoved it at Deeks.
Yep. Definitely jealous.
A/N: Hi! The author's note on my last chapter disappeared when I re-uploaded the chapter with a few corrections, but there was a massive thanks in there for everyone who has read and reviewed my work. Feel free to send me any ideas of where else you might like this to go, and what situations I should include. Every idea gives me inspiration for whatever I end up choosing. Thanks again!