Damn….I don't think I could have gotten any pictures half as good, Sam thinks in disbelief as he sits on one of the couches in the main foyer. With the photos download onto the tablet, Sam has nine, beautifully taken photos that he can send to Eric and Nell for facial recognition. Problem is that with the twelve hour time difference, it is four in the morning back in Los Angeles. Sam knows that Hetty will have her two analysts resting from the past two chaotic days.
And with Deeks meeting with Yentz' friend, Dr. Kevin Damin, Sam has nothing to do but sit and wait.
He places his head in his hand that rests on the arm of the couch. Sam runs through the course of the pair's first day in Abu Dhabi- Deeks' pouting at the airport, Sam leaving the detective as if the clinic was a daycare center, the frantic search at the mosque and the unexpected quiet ride home. Deeks hadn't mumbled a word since Sam had swooped in and saved him from drawing suspicion and the SEAL could easily see why. Day one of the Sam-Deeks partnership can't even be considered decent.
"So I gave Mr. Johnson a dosage of pain killers and that should help him through the night."
Sam's ears perk up at the sound of Deeks' cover name, Mr. Johnson. He turns to see Damin talking with a blue eyed American doctor wearing a John Hopkins patch on her white coat. Sam shoots out of his seat and damn near sprints towards the duo without a care of possibly drawing suspicion. When Damin sees him, the redheaded English native calls out, "Mr. Christopher! I was just coming to see you."
"How's my par- I mean, so he should be ok for the night?" Sam unintentionally stammers. He places his hands near his pockets and tries his hardest to look settled.
"He's….fine. Why? Did something happen today that I should be concerned with?" Damin asks with a raised eyebrow.
"No, no, no- he's my friend and-" Kensi's face quickly appears in his mind, " His girlf-wife will kill me if I don't bring him back in one piece."
"Well, he's fine so I will check in on him in the morning," Damin replies. He reaches over to pat Sam on the shoulder, but stops at the daring glare coming from the SEAL. The man eyes flicker down and up anxiously and he slowly backs off and briskly walks towards the elevator. Sam shakes his head with a smirk and begins the five minute trek to Deeks' room. He finds the detective hugging his knees with one hand and holding a small unrecognizable object in the other.
"So the doctor said that you have your painkillers," Sam states as he sits down on the arm chair placed on the other side of the small room. Deeks' response is a quick upward glance before he returns his attention to the object in hand. Sam points to the object with curiosity nagging at him and asks, " What's in your hand?"
The detective's shoulders tense as he brings the object closer to his face. He sighs in a bit of frustration as he extends his hand out to Sam with the object, now clearly seen as a golden brown antique lock with an Arabic inscription on the top. By the looks of it, Sam judges it to be over a hundred years old.
"Where'd you get this?" Sam asks in wonder as he takes the lock in hand. It's heavy and stunningly beautiful.
"He…" Deeks reaches over to grab his communication board and marker. Hetty - he writes quickly.
"Why?"
She told me to hold onto it and that she'd give me the key when I was ready to make the 'next move'.
"Joining NCIS," Sam says softly. He takes a moment to decide whether to open up to Deeks about the changing view of him becoming an agent during the past four years. Unbeknownst to everyone, he could see agent potential in Deeks as early as their trip to Romania. However, it was the detective's goofiness and casualness that had Sam antsy about Deeks joining NCIS full time.
"What's stopping you?" Sam asks, "Four years later and you haven't joined us full time. I know that Callen and I haven't encouraged-"
Deeks scowls at Sam and angrily writes, You haven't been there period.
"I know and I'm sorry for that. If you ever want to talk about it-"
Absolutely not.
"Hmmmm…" Sam runs his thumb over the gold inscription on the lock. "Did she tell what it means? The writing on the lock?" He pauses and sees that the detective blink twice without a word, "It means bravery, courage, and fear. Interesting."
Why?
" I don't know. It looks like it's one of Hetty's mysterious things you need to find out by yourself," Sam replies. He stands up and places the lock in Deeks' hand, saying, "It could be useful. Don't lose it."
Deeks rolls his eyes and tosses his board to his left. Sam takes his jacket off the chair and slips it on. " I'm going to go get some food. I can't stand hospital food. After that, I'll call back and try to get in contact with Kensi and Callen as well. Get some sleep, ok?"
Deeks inhales angrily and rolls onto his side with the lock in hand. It's another step back for the partners- once again, Sam is leaving Deeks out of the investigation, alone in a room by himself. Sam walks to the door and places his hand on the doorknob. He takes a breath and turns his head to take another guilt ridden look at Deeks.
"Actually….never mind," Sam sighs. He returns to the sofa chair and leans back and crosses his legs. Deeks stares at him confusedly for a few minutes, his eyes drooping every few seconds. When Deeks finally drifts to sleep, Sam leans his head back against the wall and closes his eyes. I should be it out there…..I should be out there, he repeats over and over in his mind until he drifts to sleep.
"Take a minute to prep yourself before I call Callen and Kensi. She's piiiiissssed, Deeks."
"Eric, you better hide those Oreos before Hetty get up-hi, Hetty!"
"I'll pretend not to see the crumbs this time, Mr. Beale. Mr. Deeks, it is quite nice to see you."
Sam's eyes fly open to see Deeks standing in front of the room's flat screen television with his Samsung tablet in hand. The lack of light coming from the blinds tells Sam that it's only been a few hours since he fell asleep, having it be before dawn. Groaning, Sam pushes himself onto his feet and sees that the video camera on the top of the television is displaying both men to the OPS center and on the screen is Hetty, Eric, and Nell.
"When did they call?" Sam asks.
Deeks keeps his gaze on the screen and mumbles, "I called them."
"You were supposed to be sleeping."
"Couldn't."
Nell waves a hand up from her spot next to Eric. "Sam, hey…before we start, there's something I need to tell you about Michelle."