Chapter 2
"Hi, Nate."
Kensi was in shock- she had never expected him to come back.
Everyone mobbed Nate, asking him how he was and giving the giant "bro-hugs". She didn't have to feign happiness though, because Deeks was doing just as lousy a job.
Thank heavens for Hetty, though, because after twenty seconds of niceties she herded the team around to do this job and that, which allowed Kensi to leave the Ops Center.
"So that was Nate," Deeks said, on their way home after work, practically devoid of emotion.
"Yeah," was the only answer she could muster.
"Some how, I remembered him shorter."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Well, I mean, I knew he was a giant, but after two years without seeing him, I kind of forgot. I rationalized that there could have been no one that tall, and that I had just exaggerated his size. But he's tall."
"Nate just came back from the dead, practically, and you're commenting on how short he is?" Kensi really didn't know what to think about that.
"Well, it's either that or think about how jealous I am that he knew you before me." Deeks tried to laugh to lighten the tension that was suffocating the car.
Wrong move.
It hit Kensi like a well-placed blow to the gut- suddenly, she couldn't breathe. How he knew me, she thought. That's a nice way to put it. She turned her face to a blank slate and turned to look out the window.
"Kens," Deeks started, trying to reach out to her arm, but at the nickname she pulled away.
Curl up, girlfriend, Kensi thought. Just curl up into your shell until he's gone.
Deeks, realizing when he had hit a wall, put his hand back on the steering wheel and drove them home.
"Kensi, do you want something to drink?" Deeks asked her around nine. She had sat on that sectional couch since they got home.
It killed him the way she was acting. Kensi had wrapped herself in their big blanket on the couch when they got home, curled up under the soft folds of synthetic fabric, staring off into space. She was sitting on the sectional couch- it was a weird navy color, and whenever the team came over they pulled it apart for chairs to play cards. Or Pictionary. Or to watch sports when the guys got their way.
"Kens," he started, but when her shoulders stiffened he realized his mistake. He paused for her to relax again.
"Sweetie, I'm gonna go to sleep. I've got to be back at PD early tomorrow. Come on in when you want." He kissed the back of her curly head of hair and padded to the bedroom. He wasn't going to push her tonight.
(A/N): Hey. So I know that this was a super short chapter, but I wanted to get it up because of the serious fan alerting that I've been getting for this story. YOU ALL ROCK! But anyway, I know that what's next is gonna need to be a chapter by itself so I didn't want to lump it. Thanks for everything you guys.
BTW: Read & Review: It's more addicting than pistachios... :)