Chapter 2 – One Piece at a Time

The first thing she noticed was a tiny twitch of the fingers on his right hand, which was resting in hers. Then there was an ever-so-slight movement of his lips. She wouldn't have noticed it had she not been intently staring at his lips. Staring and remembering. Just yesterday those lips had been pressed against her own in a short but passionate kiss. At the time it had overwhelmed her – the sudden honesty of it – but now his meaning had clicked in her brain, and more importantly in her heart.

"Deeks?"

There it was – her voice, calm and comforting. If sunshine had a sound, her voice would be it. "Why does she sound so calm? Does that mean she's ok, that they haven't hurt her too badly? Maybe there was still hope," Deeks thought to himself.

"Deeks? Can you hear me? Open your eyes or squeeze my hand or something so I know you're coming back to me. Please," Kensi said, almost whispering towards the end. It wasn't often that she let her voice betray any emotion, but this was a special case. She had kept up a façade long enough about their "thing" and her feelings. That kiss and everything that happened after finally broke down her last wall. She didn't want to deny or ignore anything anymore.

"I'm trying, Sugar Bear. Keep talking. Stay here with me." Summoning up all the energy he could find within himself, Deeks slowly opened his eyes. "Hey they do work," he thought. Deeks blinked a few times and tried to focus. Hazily at first, and then coming clearer into view was a person. A female person, make that a brunette female person - his favorite kind. The kind that matched the scent and sound his brain had recognized just minutes earlier. It really was Kensi here with him, his Kensi. But the question of where they were still remained.

"k-k-k-u-u-h-h," he tried to speak.

"Deeks! Oh my god it's so good to see those baby blues of yours again!" Kensi's entire face lit up as she peered into his eyes. She placed her hand gently on his right cheek and continued, "Shhh, don't try to talk. It's ok – you're going to be ok. You are in the hospital, safe. You have some cotton and gauze in your mouth, so you can't talk right now. Just try to relax. I'm not going anywhere." She pushed the nurse call button so she could let them know Deeks was coming out of the sedation. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, so let's see if I can answer them for you. Yes, it's over. Siderov and Janvier will not be a threat to anyone ever again. You have some bruises and cuts, a black eye, a couple of bruised ribs, your wrists are pretty raw yet, and there are a couple missing teeth on the left side. Hetty has already arranged for all the necessary dental work to be performed. They had to sedate you because you were apparently having some violent dreams or memories, and were in a lot of pain."

The hospital – so that's where he was. The pieces of the puzzle he had gathered earlier were starting to make sense now. Deeks glanced down toward his hands and saw that he was not restrained, as he had thought. There were ID bracelets loosely around his bandaged wrists, and IV tubes taped down along his arms. The sounds he heard were the usual monitors keeping tabs on his health. And Kensi sounded so calm because she was safe – she was there with him in his room. A sense of relief washed over him.

As Kensi continued on with updates about his injuries, and the rescue efforts that somehow included Nell out in the field with a gun, Deeks could only focus on one thing: Kensi. She had been by his side this entire time. She hadn't left him once since they had found him. She had ridden in the ambulance with him to the hospital and hadn't left his side. Even Hetty couldn't convince her to leave for a shower or food. The team took turns delivering doughnuts and coffee to her in his room. Deeks had been worried yesterday – right after he kissed her, she took off on her motorcycle claiming she had to stay with Michelle. Deeks thought he had scared her off with his abrupt communication and that she might build more walls and excuses up around her again. Now he was starting to think his spontaneity had been welcomed by Kensi after all.

Since the minute she saw him in that horrible room at Siderov's place, Kensi knew she had to stay with Deeks. There was no way she was going to let him be alone through any of this, not in the ambulance, not in the hospital, and not through the healing process once he was released. Over the past few months, she had come to realize that the two of them were molded in such a way that they fit together perfectly. And when one part was missing, the picture was incomplete. She just hated that it had taken jealousy, undercover work and a dangerous mission to put it all in proper perspective for her.

"S-s-s-m-m-m" Deeks tried to speak again.

"Uh-uh. No talking Deeks. Sam is going to be ok. He was hurt pretty badly, lots of internal injuries, but they are monitoring him. He should make a full recovery in time. Michelle has been here with him since he was brought in. Sam will be in the hospital longer than you, but once you are up and moving around I can take you to visit him. I'm sure he'd like that," Kensi assured him.

Deeks nodded his head "yes." Despite the things Sam had said to him at the park during their chess match, and despite the physical pain he endured for Sam and his wife, they were still teammates. They were family, and he needed to see Sam for himself and make sure he was ok. Two nurses and a doctor came in to check on Deeks. They asked Kensi to step out for a moment so they could do a thorough exam now that Deeks was awake, and then she could return. She hated to let go of his hand, the one she had been holding for a long time now, but knew it was important to let the doctor have a turn with her partner. She placed a gentle kiss on his right cheek and with a smile that lit up her entire face, Kensi assured him that she would be just out in the hall, not too far away. Once the doctor and nurses had finished checking on him and making him comfortable, they left the room. Deeks looked up at the door, waiting to see Kensi walk back in. Instead, a much shorter brunette walked in.

"Ah, Mr. Deeks. It's so good to see you awake and alert again," said Hetty. "You gave us quite a scare, but I commend you on a job well done. I don't believe the LAPD trains you for what you experienced in the last 24 hours, but you stayed strong through it all - as well as any federal agent I have had the pleasure of working with. Now please rest, be nice to your nurses, and don't argue with Ms. Blye for at least 3 days," Hetty concluded with a sly smile. All Deeks could do was nod and give her a lopsided smile as she patted his arm and walked out to the hall.

Kensi had walked out to the waiting area to let the rest of the team know that Deeks was awake and doing better. Kensi made her way back to Deeks room and took up her place beside his bed. Callen, Eric, and Nell all stopped in to see him (for the third time that day), and then went to Sam's room to see him again. Michelle even left Sam's room briefly to come see Deeks and say thank you for what he did for her and her husband. No one from LAPD had stopped in to see Deeks, and Lt. Bates hadn't even returned any of Hetty's phone calls. His team, his real team, had been there for him, had truly cared enough to hang around hour after hour waiting to see him and be reassured that he would be coming back to them. That meant more to Marty Deeks than any of them would ever know.

to be continued...