Hey guys! So, here we are, chapter 8. Let me just say that I couldn't have gotten this far without you guys. The feedback is so amazing! The favorites, follows, reviews, they all make me so happy! So THANK YOU!
I don't own NCIS LA.
Enjoy!
Chapter 8
It had been nearly a week since Kensi and Callen had gotten the lead on Sidorov. Tomorrow was Friday, the day it was all going down, the day this would all finally be over. She hadn't mentioned the lead to Deeks yet, just because she didn't want him to worry. And she didn't want him doing anything stupid.
Over the past six days, Kensi had checked on Monty each day and gone home each night to shower, change, and sleep. But most of her time was spent at the hospital, keeping Deeks company. They were currently playing about their hundredth game of Go-Fish. They had switched off between card games, but it almost always came back to Go-Fish. Partly because quite a few of their card-game-options were thrown out the window due to Deeks' broken fingers. But mostly because Kensi still hadn't lost once.
Kensi gathered up all the playing cards and began shuffling them again, a smug smile on her face. "I win. Again."
"Yeah, yeah. You said that the last time. And the time before that. And the time before that—" Deeks replied.
"You're just bitter because you keep losing," she smirked.
"I bet you've got a camera on me and Eric is the little computer geek on your shoulder telling you all the cards I have." Deeks said.
"Nope," she said, popping the 'p'. "This is all me. Though, that camera thing is a good idea. Maybe I'll have to use that when we're playing poker."
Deeks didn't say anything as she started dealing the cards again. Kensi considered asking him the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind since day one in the hospital. Callen's words—or Sam's words, depending how she looked at it—echoed in her head: "When Deeks wakes up, you should ask him what thought got him through it". She was about to say something, but Deeks spoke first.
"You know, Kens, you don't have to stay here with me. I'm sure you're bored out of your mind. I know I am." Deeks told her.
"Well, it's either hang here with you or go do a mountain of unfinished paperwork. I've decided that you're more fun." She smiled.
"Well, I'm honored that you think of me as more entertaining than paperwork," he joked back. "I guess I don't mind you being here. It's better than hanging with Nurse Carol. She's been like Oscar the Grouch ever since you insisted on coming with me to my mouth surgery."
"Oh, I insisted?" she scoffed. "I'm pretty sure that was you. You're the one who said that if I wasn't coming, you weren't going."
"Yeah, well, she gives me the stink-eye whenever I tell her to bring extra Jello for you,"
"I'm sure she's just got a crush on you," she teased.
Deeks shuddered dramatically. "Thank you, Kensi. Now I have brain-stabbing imagery of her asking me out with a hypodermic needle in her hand. You know how much I hate needles."
"Oh, I remember. The last time you had to get a shot, you passed out." She laughed at the memory.
"Laugh all you want, Fern, but needles are scary. They're pointy and they go inside you and…wow. That came out way more wrong than I intended it to." Deeks gave her a crooked smile, the one he did whenever he said something stupid and awkward. She loved that smile. And it always made her smile back.
Kensi momentarily flashed back to the kiss. They hadn't talked about it yet. There had been brief moments where they would both fall silent, just looking at each other, and Kensi knew they were both thinking about it, but they never actually said anything. And it was happening now. Deeks noticed her sudden silence and looked at her, his beautiful blues examining her face. As she looked back at him, for the first time it seemed like one of them would say something. But just then, Callen appeared in the doorway. Kensi glanced away from Deeks quickly, and Deeks cleared his throat.
Callen's eyes darted in between them curiously. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No," Kensi said.
"Not at all," Deeks added.
"Okay, whatever you say," Callen smirked. "Anyway, Hetty wants us in OPS. She wants to debrief us on all we have before tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll be right there." She said quickly, knowing Deeks was two seconds away from asking what was happening tomorrow.
"Sure, see ya there." And then Callen was gone.
"Kensi," Deeks started slowly. "What's happening tomorrow?"
She took a deep breath and looked back at her partner. The bruises on her face were yellowing; by next week they would be gone. His fingers would take at least three weeks to heal, and his broken rib six weeks. The laceration on his arm was healing well. He'd even be able to get the stiches taken out soon. The burns on his legs were healing as well. All in all, he was doing okay, physically anyway.
The selfish part of her wanted to keep Deeks in the dark until the bombs were retrieved and Sidorov was behind bars. But for that exact same reason—selfishness—she knew she couldn't do that.
"Last week, after your surgery, we got a lead on Sidorov." She looked at Deeks, and saw his features change from confused curiosity to seriousness in a matter of seconds. "We found that he checked into a hotel and made contact with the Iranians. He's gonna sell the bombs tomorrow."
Deeks was silent. But she understood.
"Look, Deeks, you have every right to be angry with me, is should've told you, I just—"
"Wanted to protect me, I know. I probably would've done the same thing. But I do have a right to know. This is my case, too." He said, a lot more gently than she expected.
"I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to worry." She replied, a little sheepishly.
"I'm always gonna worry, Kens. Especially when I can't have your back. Believe me, there is nothing more I'd like than to get out of this stupid bed and help you. But we both know that's not going to happen. So just do me a favor and kick Sidorov's ass for me," Deeks grinned.
"Yeah, okay. I mean it though, if I find out later that you tried doing something stupid to help, I will kick your ass right back into this hospital bed, new wounds and all." She threatened.
"Scout's honor, I won't do anything stupid," he replied, holding up a hand.
"You were never a scout," she accused.
"You better get goin', Princess. Don't want to keep Hetty waiting." He said.
"If I don't see you anymore tonight, I'll stop by tomorrow after we get him, okay?"
"I'll hold you to that,"
Kensi turned to leave, but Deeks called her back.
"Hey, maybe you could smuggle in a cheeseburger for me? I'm tired of hospital food," he pleaded.
"Yeah, I'd have to get it past Nurse Carol first," she reasoned.
"You're Kick-Ass Kensi Blye, remember? You could con your way past anyone,"
"Get some sleep, Deeks." she said quietly, then turned and walked out of his room.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
With a sigh, Deeks watched Kensi leave. He wished she didn't have to go. And even though he'd told her not long before, that she didn't really have to hang out here with him, he was glad with her responding that she wanted to. Mostly though, he wished he could have her back tomorrow. He didn't want her to go after Sidorov alone. She won't be alone you idiot, he told himself, she'll be with Callen. But she won't be with me, he thought. He knew Callen would have her back, but he wanted so badly for it to be him. But that wasn't happening because every time he made a sudden move, his broken rib felt like it was on fire. Plus he couldn't exactly hold a gun with his broken fingers. He was just frustrated. It was his job to have her back, and her job to have his. They were partners. Partners that kissed, remember? The little voice in his head amended.
It didn't really matter that they'd kissed…okay, that was a lie. He just kept telling himself it didn't matter because neither of them had brought it up since he'd woken up. He wasn't really sure what to say. He knew what he wanted to say, he just didn't know how to say it. And even if he did, Kensi made him too tongue-tied to even attempt to get the words out.
Groaning in frustration and the utter boredom of having laid in a hospital bed for over a week, he threw his head back against his pillow, wincing a little as his rib sent little arcs of pain stabbing through his body. He was about to close his eyes, try and get some sleep as Kensi had advised, but he turned when he heard a familiar voice greet him form the doorway.
"Sam," Deeks said in surprise.
He watched as Sam nodded in acknowledgment and hobbled slowly into the room. He made his way over to the chair that Kensi had occupied minutes before and fell heavily into the seat.
"So, they're lettin' you move around a bit?" Deeks asked, noticing the tiny beads of sweat that had accumulated on Sam's forehead from the effort of moving around for the first time in days.
"Yeah, a little," Sam replied. "It's exhausting, but the sooner I can move around the better. Then I can get out of this place,"
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Deeks agreed.
Sam was wearing linen pants and a plain white t-shirt, the exact same thing as Deeks was wearing. Sam had a splint on his broken finger, and bandages around the still-healing burns on his wrists. His superficial cuts in scrapes were scabbed over, and his bruises were fading.
There was a tense silence between them. Deeks waited for Sam to say something.
"I came here because I wanted…" Sam started then trailed off, looking a little embarrassed, maybe a little at loss for words. Sam cleared his throat. "I came here because I wanted to apologize, Deeks."
"For what?" Deeks asked, even though he was pretty sure what Sam was apologizing for.
"Not trusting you," Sam admitted. "I was wrong. And that's not an easy thing for me to admit, because I don't like being wrong. But… I said some things to you…and I just—I should've trusted you. So I'm sorry I didn't. You—you…you're stronger than I gave you credit for."
Deeks didn't quite know what to say. Sam was never Mr. Sensitive around him, nor was he real sharing and caring about his feelings either. So to hear Sam make that kind of confession, especially to him, was a little shocking. But it also made Deeks feel just the slightest bit angry. Part of Sam not trusting him was what had gotten them into this mess in the first place.
"Sam, look…I hear you. I do. And I would love to accept your apology but…I think it's just gonna take a little bit of time for me." Deeks said, warily looking up at Sam to see the former SEAL's reaction. He looked confused.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"I just…you know, you not trusting me almost got us killed in there, Sam." Deeks explained, and Sam nodded just the slightest, like he understood where Deeks was coming from. "Look…I'm not married. I don't even remember the last time I was in a serious relationship, so I don't know what it's like to have my wife's life on the line, but you're my friend, Sam. And I know what it's like to lose a friend. So, you not trusting me enough to keep Michelle's cover intact…well to be honest, that stung a bit. I guess what I'm saying here, is that I just need a little time to…readjust."
"Okay," Sam said, looking earnest.
"O—okay?" Deeks clarified, confused.
"Yeah. I get it, Deeks. Like I said, I was wrong. So if you just need some time, I'm okay with that. I just hope that you can forgive me at some point. 'Cause, believe it or not, you're my friend too." Sam smiled, then stood, his legs looking a little shaky.
More stunned than before, Deeks watched as Sam walked out of his room, not really sure what to think of everything that had just been said.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Kensi blinked, her eyes slowly adjusting to the morning light filtering in through the cracks in the curtains over the window in her bedroom. It's Friday, she thought. Finally, the day they could end this Sidorov crap was here. Kensi sat up, stretching out her sleep-stiff muscles. Surprisingly, she'd slept pretty well. She glanced over at Monty at the foot of the bed. She knew that Deeks didn't always let Monty sleep in his bed with him, but Kensi didn't have the heart to tell the dog's scruffy, adorable face no.
"Come on, Monty, breakfast time," she called, crawling out of bed and making way to her small kitchen.
Kensi refilled his food and water dish, then popped some bread in the toaster for herself. She poured herself a glass of milk, started making a fresh pot of coffee, knowing she'd need it, then grabbed a plate just as the toaster made a satisfying ding. Kensi ate her breakfast in silence; the only noises were the coffee maker and Monty as he crunched his dog food.
After taking Monty outside to go to the bathroom, she made her way to her own bathroom. She showered quickly and got dressed just as fast in jeans, a black, long-sleeve Henley tee, and her favorite boots. She dried her hair, and pulled it up into a ponytail. She grabbed her bag and walked back into the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee, and headed out the door, telling Monty a quick good-bye.
As she made her way to her car, Kensi actually felt a little excited. She was eager to finally put this case to rest. As she climbed in the driver's seat and turned on her radio to an alternative station, she smiled.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
Friday morning, Deeks sat in his hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling, counting the white tiles up there. He was at 73 when he heard a knock at his door.
"Come in!" he called, and turned to see Nell poke her head in. "Hey there little red thing, what's up?" he greeted her with a smile that she returned.
"Hey, Deeks. You have your laptop, right?" she asked.
Deeks handed her his laptop, which Kensi had brought to him a few days ago after he started whining about not having been on the internet for days.
"Right down to business, I see," he commented, watching as she typed furiously away on his computer.
"Here," she said, handing it back to him. "I secured your laptop; nobody will be able to hack through the firewall now. Hetty thought that even if you couldn't be in on the mission physically, that you might just want to be there spiritually instead."
Curious, Deeks looked at his computer screen. On it, were six different video feeds—two of which were moving, like they were attached to somebody. They all showed different angles of Sidorov's house.
"The meet's at Sidorov's house," Nell explained. "Kensi and Callen are waiting with the two SWAT teams they called in. we're just waiting for the Iranians to show up with the money.
Looking at one of the video boxes, Deeks saw the pool he pulled Sam out of. Sidorov—surrounded by four ugly henchmen—was sitting at a little table next to it, drinking expensive liquor that would take Deeks a decade to save up for.
"Oh, here," Nell said, handing Deeks a regular looking Bluetooth earpiece.
"Am I going to be taking conference calls or something?" he asked.
"No," Nell laughed. "Your com's in there. Just didn't want to draw suspicion in case you have any unwanted visitors."
"Smart," Deeks commented, putting the disguised com in his ear. He turned in on, and he heard the crackle of voices.
"Agent Callen, two blue SUVs coming up the drive, heading your way." A voice said.
"Copy that, Briggs." Came Callen's response. "Kens, you get that?"
"Yeah," Kensi responded, and Deeks had to fight the urge to grin hugely when he heard her voice.
Instead he kept his eyes on the screen in front of him, watching as the camera that must've been Kensi's bobbed a little as she shifted in her position.
"Sam's online with you guys, too." Nell told him. "I better get back to OPS."
"Thanks, Nell." He said, and he listened as her footsteps retreated out the door and down the hall.
Deeks watched the video feeds, watched as the Iranians pulled up to Sidorov's house and the two arm dealers shook hands and exchanged pleasantries like they were Facebook friends or something. The minutes inched by slowly, until finally, Deeks watched as one of the Iranian henchmen brought out several briefcases, opened one up, and displayed hundreds of thousands of dollars before the Russian. Sidorov smiled, obviously pleased. He gestured for the Iranians to follow him, and he led them to a driveway, where Deeks noticed a simple white truck, about the size of a larger U-Haul truck. Sidorov opened up the back of the truck and the Iranians looked inside.
"Does anyone have a visual inside the truck?" Callen asked.
"Negative, Agent Callen. None of my teams can get a good look," Briggs reported.
"Eric?" Callen asked.
"I'm trying to find a street camera that can get a better view of the driveway," Eric said.
"Callen, I'm gonna move closer to try and get a better look," Kensi said, and her camera bounced as she moved around Sidorov's house.
Deeks tried not to freak out about her sneaking around a Russian arms dealer's house without him there to back her up. He was, in a hospital, after all. The last thing he needed to do was explain to Nurse Carol why he was talking about nukes and secret missions.
He watched as Kensi moved, and she ended up in the same spot that he had been with her the first time they had been at Sidorov's house, before Sam got thrown in a pool, before they got tortured. Right before you kissed her, a part of his brain thought. Kensi seemed to pause, as if she was thinking about that kiss to. But then she moved again. She was almost in view of the back of the truck. She was getting dangerously close to the bad guys, but Deeks knew she could do it. Almost as if hearing his silent encouragement, Kensi inched to the left a few more feet, putting her line of vision right into the back of the truck. The stood still so Eric could get a clear picture of the remaining bombs.
"Eric, you getting this?" Kensi said quietly.
"Got it, Kens." Eric responded.
"All teams, move in. On my three," Callen ordered. "One…two…three!"
There was a collective "NCIS! Hands in the air!" from Callen and Kensi. The SWAT teams moved in, the shocked Sidorov and Iranians' not even having time to react, before their hands were bound behind them.
"Sidorov's in custody. The bombs have been secured by the SWAT team, Hetty." Callen reported, and even he sounded happy.
"Hell yeah!" Deeks shouted, not being able to help himself. He could hear the chatter of excited voices over his com at their victory. He could even hear Sam next door talking to Callen over his com.
His excitement momentarily deflated when Nurse Carol poked her head into his room, suspiciously eyeing his laptop and disguised com.
"Uh… really intense video game," he said, trying for a charming smile that seemed to only make her more suspicious.
She rolled her eyes, annoyed, but left him in peace once again.
"Nurse Carol checking up on you?" Kensi laughed over his com.
"Maybe," he muttered.
There was a brief silence as they soaked up the fact that they'd beat Sidorov finally.
"Told you we'd get him," Kensi said.
"Someone sounds smug," Deeks commented.
He could almost see her shrug. "Maybe a little. Guess we'll have to celebrate, huh? Guess I should smuggle in those burgers after all."
"Can't wait, Princess,"
An hour later, the rest of the team filed into Deeks room—Kensi, Callen, Sam, helped by Michelle, Nell, Eric, and Hetty. It was lunch time, and instead of having to smuggle in good food, Hetty talked to Doctor Shaw and they were allowed to order pizza and wings and, yes, burgers. Kensi sat in the chair by Deeks bed; Michelle and Sam share the couch, with Callen sitting in a chair beside his partner; and Nell and Eric had dragged in three cushiony chairs for themselves and Hetty. They all sat and chatted and laughed and just bathed in the light of another successful case.
Soon enough, Hetty raised her glass of water—because even Hetty couldn't get the doctors to let them have beer—everyone else following suit. "I propose a toast," she started with a fond smile. "to my wonderful team, for another job well done."
Everyone tapped their cups together, huge smiles all around.
"Oh, and Mr. Hanna, Mr. Deeks, I talked to your doctor, and you are to be released from the hospital next Friday." Hetty said.
"Good," Sam said gruffly. "This place is boring as hell."
"Ditto to that, my friend," Deeks agreed.
He and Sam shared a look. Deeks knew he was still a little mad at Sam, but he also knew that he couldn't stay mad at the big guy for long. He wasn't quite ready to forgive him, but probably by next Friday, when they were so sick and tired of the hospital, maybe then Deeks would be ready to have another little heart-to-heart.
"Ah, don't worry guys," Kensi said. "You'll be back to having push-up contests in no time."
"Even with cracked ribs and a broken finger, I could still kick Deeks' ass," Sam boasted.
"Yeah, well, next time you try and kick my ass, just remember how you got those cracked ribs." Deeks retorted.
"I could've got out of those handcuffs. I just needed a minute," Sam responded.
"Yeah, okay, next time I'll give you a minute then. Have fun drowning,"
Within seconds, everyone was in on the banter. Callen and Kensi were on Sam's side, picking on him as usual. Michelle had taken Deeks side, making fun of her husband. Eric and Nell threw in comments here and there, not really having a side. And Hetty watched all of them warmly, with a smile on her face.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
1 week later…
"Shut up, Deeks!" Kensi growled again, trying to fit the key to Deeks apartment into the door knob.
"Ouch! Kensi! Owowowow," Deeks said, squirming.
"Deeks, I'm trying to help you, stop whining!" she snapped. She struggled to keep her one arm around him to support him and unlock his apartment.
"Ha!" she exclaimed as she finally got the key in the lock and gave it a twist. She grabbed the keys and nudged the door open with her foot.
Within seconds, Monty was trying to jump on Deeks, extremely excited to see his owner. Kensi had brought Monty back to Deeks apartment the night before, so the pup was there for Deeks homecoming. Kensi wasn't quick enough to put an arm out to restrain Monty, and the dog leaped up, kicking Deeks with his front paws, right in the groin.
Kensi couldn't help but laugh as Deeks doubled over with a groan.
"Sorry, Deeks, I—" she broke off with a laugh as she led Deeks over to his couch.
"Monty…man…what have we talked about, hitting me there." Deeks griped as she helped him sit down.
"You okay?" she chuckled.
"Awesome," he responded. "You know, it's just…my rib—"
"Yeah, yeah, your rib, I know," she muttered. "I only heard about your rib all the way up the stairs."
"Hey, it's not my fault they were fixing the elevator." Deeks replied.
"Yeah, well, you keep acting like a baby, I'm gonna start treating you like one," she threatened, kicking off her shoes, and making her way to his kitchen to grab a beer.
"Does that mean you'll spank me?" Deeks asked her, raising his eyebrows and grinning.
She responded by cuffing him over the head with one of the throw pillows on his couch.
"Hey, do I get one of those?" he said eyeing the beer.
"Not with your prescription. Doctor's orders." She smirked. "Gotta wait till all your pills are gone."
"Dammit," he muttered. "Can you get me some apple juice then?"
"No," she scoffed, settling down on his couch.
"Fine. Make the injured one go get it. I see how it is." Deeks muttered, mock-hurt, and headed into the kitchen, Monty eagerly following on his heels.
As Deeks sat back down, Kensi took in his appearance. The bruises on his face were gone. Most of his minor scratches and scrapes had faded. The laceration on his arm was close to being healed, though it would leave a scar. She knew the burns on his legs were pretty close to being healed too, though they, too, would leave scars. All that was left to heal were his broken bones. She quickly turned her eyes to the TV before he caught her staring at him.
"So," she started. "We've got a whole day ahead of us. What should we watch first?"
So there's chapter 8 for ya! Hope you liked it!
Next chapter we find out that maybe Deeks isn't as healed as Kensi thinks. The next two chapters (which are also the last two chapters) will be all about Deeks and Kensi, with maybe a bit of the team in there. But now work stuff really, just a lot of Densi =)
Please REVIEW guys! Tell me what you think! Your feedback really helps, and it just means the world to me!
I'll try to update within the next week, but if I don't update by Monday, it'll probably be by Tuesday or Wednesday, so stay tuned!
Thanks for reading!
-DaughterOfPoseidon333