Thank you for the reviews and love through all the favorites and follows! You readers are awesome! And now I bring you Chapter 5...

The next day, Nate decided to start with Kensi. She had been the friendliest upon his arrival, and at least by outward appearances seemed to be the least affected by the events of the case. He looked across his office at her. She was fidgeting with her fingers in her lap, and she opened and closed her mouth several times, as if wanting to say something.

"Kensi, you know you can talk to me about anything. I am here to listen," Nate began.

She sighed. This was just a waste of time. "Nate, you know I respect you. But why am I in here? I'm fine. You know that," she spoke quickly.

"All I know is that when you say you're fine, that usually means you are not. And you should know that everyone on your team has to be cleared by a psychologist before returning to field work," Nate replied calmly.

"I am fine. Really. I'm a little annoyed that no one is talking to each other, but we've all been through some tough shit. It's not me you should be worrying about or wasting time on though. Callen, Sam, Deeks – those are the guys you need to be focusing on. I wasn't tortured. I wasn't beaten. I wasn't betrayed by some psychopath."

"I am talking with everyone, Kensi. You weren't tortured or beaten, but your partner was. How do you feel about that?"

"Seriously Nate? You're asking me how I feel about my partner coming close to death? How do you think I feel? It's horrible. Deeks went through a lot he shouldn't have ever had to, and now he's not the same," Kensi said, her voice getting louder and more defensive with each sentence. "You need to fix him!"

Nate nodded and made some notes. He looked up at Kensi and patiently waited for her to continue. Instead, Kensi stood up and stared down at him.

"You know what? I am done with this. You are wasting my time and yours. I am thinking clearly, I am not injured, and I am not in any kind of post traumatic stress. If you don't think I am fit for the field, fine. But I need to get out there and find a way to help my partner and my team. Goodbye, Nate." Kensi stormed out of his office and down the stairs.

About an hour later, Nate found himself face to face with Sam in his office. He was quite surprised when Sam agreed to talk with him, and he even seemed eager to do so.

"How are Michelle and the kids?" Nate began.

"Good. They're good. The kids started school and Michelle is home again," Sam simply replied.

"How is life at home? Have you all settled back into normal routines?" Nate asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Have there been any uncomfortable or awkward moments with either your kids or your wife since you came home from the hospital?"

Sam's mind recalled multiple arguments with Michelle, and times when he had shut himself off from his kids. "No, not really. The kids don't really know anything other than I got hurt, and Michelle and I don't talk about it much at all," he lied. He looked at the clock on the wall. It had only been 10 minutes.

"Have you and Michelle ever talked about what happened?" Nate tried to get Sam to open up a bit more.

"Ever? She knows I was tortured, she knows the extent of my injuries and my physical condition. She knows I still can't sleep well. But we don't bring it up and relive it all over again," Sam answered slightly annoyed.

"You're not sleeping well? In what ways? How long has this been going on?" Nate wrote in his notebook then looked up.

"A little while. It's not a big deal, just a few bad dreams here and there. It happened after bad missions when I was with the SEALS, too. Nothing I can't handle, man," Sam told him.

"Hmmmm."

"Seriously, it's not a big deal. I can handle this. I have been trained to handle this," Sam continued, his voice betraying his growing frustration. "I'm good Nate. Can I go now?"

"You can leave anytime. You aren't forced to stay here for a certain amount of time," Nate answered calmly.

"Good. Then it's over. This means I can go back in the field now, right?" Sam asked hopefully.

Nate shook his head. "Not exactly Sam. I think there is more we need to discuss before you are ready. There are things you are avoiding and I believe things you are hiding from."

"Uh-uh. No way. You said I had to come talk to you. I did. Now I want to go back in the field and do my job. This is crazy," Sam complained.

"Take it up with Hetty. It's her rules and NCIS procedure."

"I just might." Sam left Nate's office with a slam of the door grumbling Hetty's name.

Kensi had been replaying her session with Nate over and over in her head. She had been rude, and she knew that Nate was just trying to help. Her frustrations had taken over and she lashed out at the one person who was trying to make a difference. Kensi walked up the stairs and knocked on Nate's door.

"I'm sorry for earlier today. Can I come in?" she softly asked.

He nodded, and she made her way over to the couch. This time she didn't fidget or hesitate. "Nate, I need to talk to you. I've tried to do this on my own, but nothing is working. Deeks and I… we're not the same as before. Everything is different now, and it's probably my fault. He hates me," she acknowledged out loud.

"Different how?" Nate inquired.

"Us, our partnership. We don't talk anymore. He won't talk to me, and I'm tired of trying to get him to. He doesn't joke around anymore; we don't have our usual banter, none of it. It's almost like he's shut down." Kensi paused and took a breath. "Did he… did he say anything about what happened between us?"

"Kensi, I can't tell you what Deeks said or didn't say during his session. It's confidential, just like our conversation now," Nate reminded her. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"We, um, we kissed. Well, he kissed me. During the case, and it wasn't to sell a cover story," she admitted.

"Did you want him to kiss you?" Nate gently asked.

"Yes. No. I don't know. It's so complicated. Ugh," Kensi flopped her hands down on the couch cushion.

"Ok. What happened after he kissed you?"

"I ran off. I mean, it was for the case; I had to follow Michelle. But I didn't say anything to Deeks. We looked at each other, and then like an idiot I said I needed to follow her. Then I left him standing there," she said almost apologetically.

"Have you and Deeks talked about the kiss since it happened?" Nate slowly pressed her for more details.

"No. I want to, I mean I think we should, but he won't talk about anything with me, not even minor things. I can't get through to him, I don't know how to get through to him, and I'm afraid he hates me and I've ruined our partnership and our friendship and anything else we might have had." Kensi was speaking rapidly and the words were just coming out now.

Nate was curious about this latest revelation. "Anything else? What do you mean by that?"

Hesitantly at first, then gradually relaxing, Kensi began to tell Nate about the last few months and how things had escalated between her and Deeks. She told him again about their argument and subsequent kiss during the Siderov mission. Finally, she revealed her feelings for Deeks, admitting to Nate that she had more than just friendly partner feelings. Kensi was quite honest with him, more honest than she had been about the situation with anyone. She voiced her frustration in not knowing how to talk to Deeks or how to reach him. She doesn't want to lose him. Kensi also admitted that she was at a loss when it came to Callen and Sam as well – two men she considered her older brothers. They were no longer speaking to each other or to her, and it really bothered her.

Nate patiently let Kensi speak for as long as she needed to, and reassured her with simple questions and responses for her ponder. He encouraged her to not give up on any of the men in her life, and just keep trying to reach out to them.

Just before she left his office, Nate let Kensi know that he would clear her for active field work. He had no concerns that the current affairs of her heart would prevent her from doing her job effectively.

"Hetty!"

Sam's booming voice echoed within the enclosed area Hetty called her office. He sounded upset and she was pretty sure she knew why.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Hanna?" she asked calmly as he stormed up to her desk.

"I talked to Nate, and then he said I'm still not cleared for the field. Something about your rules… what's going on?"

"Mr. Hanna, the directive to speak with Mr. Getz is not about frequency, but about progress. That last case affected all of us in profound ways, and we each need the opportunity to discuss those things in a safe environment. Unless you can be honest with yourself about your mental health and how you are dealing with everything that has happened, you will not be effective in the field. We have these rules and protocols in place for specific reasons," Hetty explained.

"But Hetty, I've been doing this for years. I know how to cope, how to handle things. I am fine and I can do my job," Sam told her.

"You may think you can handle this and that you are fine, but what I have observed tells a different story. You and your teammates do not interact anymore; you will not talk to them or even make eye contact. I'm not sure what your home life is like, but if it is anything like your work life, then you still have a ways to go." Hetty paused to take a sip of her tea. "There is no judgment about anything Mr. Hanna. What happened, happened. Now we just need to be honest with ourselves and each other in order to heal and move on. Mr. Getz is a professional and I trust that he has good reasons for not clearing you yet. Do you think you can give him another chance? I don't want to lose you on this team."

Sam nodded slowly. Hetty was right - he wasn't being honest with himself or anyone else. And he had been avoiding all those closest to him. How did that woman always know what to say? How was she able to always see the piece of them that they tried hardest to hide? As much as he didn't want to talk to anyone about what took place, the thought of disappointing Hetty was much stronger. He wasn't going to seek out Nate, but if approached he would try harder next time. For her.

After Sam left, Hetty sat looking at the letter on her computer screen. She was going to email and then print the letter out when Sam interrupted her. Even though Hetty had been feeling helpless, her talk with Sam left her feeling a little more hopeful. He seemed to understand what was at stake and possibly even accepting of what he needed to do. Hetty looked up and saw Kensi walking down the stairs. She had a little more spring in her step, and the look on her face was lighter than it had been. Maybe it was Hetty's imagination or wishful thinking, but maybe things could get better. She decided to wait on the letter one more day. It wasn't dated after all.

So Hetty seems to be staying... Kensi finally opened up to someone, and Sam is acknowledging there is room for progress. Nate has some more work to do in the next chapter. Stay tuned!