Chapter 6

The ride to Deeks's apartment was quiet. He had tried a half dozen times to get Kensi to talk but she only gave one word answers or grunts. He finally gave up, knowing that she would talk to him in her own good time. She pulled up in front of his building and he grabbed up his stuff. "Thanks for the ride, Fern." he said. She smiled and simply wished him good night. He watched as she drove away. He went over the day in his mind and tried to figure out when he might have upset her. Nothing stood out. He unlocked his door to be greeted by Monty who desperately needed to go out. He put the bag with his tux, shirt and shoes over the back of the couch, grabbed the leash and took the dog down to the beach. It was a nice warm night and the beach wasn't as empty as it usually was at this time of night. He listened to the waves crash on the shore as Monty ran back and forth, expending his pent up energy from being locked inside for so long. Knowing he didn't have to get up the next morning for work, he stretched and thought about the weekend looming in front of him, so full of possibilities. He figured Kensi would get over whatever it was that was bothering her and they would spend the weekend together as usual, eating bad take out, walking Monty on the beach and watching cheesy movies on television. He smiled, wondering when these kinds of weekend plans filled him with happiness instead of boredom.

He whistled for Monty and the two of them headed home. Heading up the stairs, he noticed the silver SRX parked across the street. He frowned, looking around for Kensi but she was nowhere to be seen. He continued to his apartment and unlocked the door. Stepping in, he found his partner sitting on his couch, her feet up on his coffee table, eating out of the container of Rocky Road he kept for her in the freezer. She had Titanic playing on his DVD system. He grinned at her, figuring she was over whatever mad she had been chewing on while driving home from the Sheltons. She frowned at him in return, still saying nothing. His own smile faltered as he realized he must be in bigger trouble than he had thought.

"Kens, what's wrong? What did I do to upset you?" he asked as he plopped down on the couch next to her.

She stared at him and finally asked "When did you learn to dance the waltz? When Hetty tried to make us dance together, you were all left feet. You kept stepping on me and making me feel ridiculous, talking about me in a bikini. Could you dance then? Were you just making fun of me?"

He shook his head. This was so not what he expected her to be mad about. He gathered his thoughts and decided he would just tell her the truth. "I've known how to waltz since college. When I was trying to make extra money to pay the bills as an exotic dancer, I had no idea what to do. One of the girls took pity on me and would teach me how to dance after work. We started with the basics like the foxtrot and worked our way up to the waltz, she helped me learn how to move to the music so that I could use it in my routine. Like me, she was just working there to make ends meet. Her folks were dancers, had won all kinds of ballroom dancing contests and ran a small studio in Oregon. She grew up dancing but wanted to be an actress. She was in L.A., like so many others, convinced she had what it took to make it. We became good friends. Even after I graduated, I kept up with it as I found I really enjoyed moving around the dance floor like that. Eventually she realized she was never going to be the next Meryl Streep and settled down with a good guy. They have a family now and she owns her own dance studio. I go there every once in a while to catch up with them and to practice the dances she taught me, as well as to learn a few more. I'm sorry if I made you feel ridiculous, that was never my intention. I just didn't want to have the guys riding me. They're on me for enough as it is." He wound down and risked a look at her face. She was still frowning but seemed to be processing what he had told her.

"Why?" she asked.

Confused, he asked "Why what?"

"Why do you always let everyone think you can't do things? You sing off key, play horrible air guitar, pretend that you can't waltz or even just dance reasonably well on the floor at whatever club we go to. Why is that what you let everyone see? Because you know what I saw today? I saw someone who could play the violin like an angel, could dance like he was on a cloud and could make a young girl put away the ever present cellphone and talk to you. Why is that not the you we get to see more often?" she asked.

He looked at her, not sure how to answer. Finally he said "I guess it's just become a bad habit to let people underestimate me. It's what kept me alive during all those years of undercover work at LAPD with no one to watch my back. When I was in grade school, anyone who found out I played the violin would tease me unmercifully. I learned to hide it if I didn't want to be beaten up. Playing the violin in Reseda is not exactly the way to keep safe on the streets. Eventually I started to play the guitar, using the skills I learned with the violin. That was much more acceptable in my neighborhood. You know I was in a band in high school. What I didn't tell you was that we were actually pretty popular and not half bad. It never went anywhere. Two of the guys in the band were gunned down by the Southland Kings. One of them I mentioned to you when we were trying to figure out why Ray went rogue after we faked his death. I kind of lost interest after that. To tell the truth, I was pretty surprised that I could still remember the Moonlight Sonata. When Meaghan handed me her violin, I almost lied and told her I had made it all up. It was like she was expecting it and I didn't want to let her down so I played. I guess it's like riding a bike, once you learn how you never really forget. As for the dancing, it has its origins in something I had to do that I found humiliating. When Hetty tried to force us, I reacted out of instinct and protected myself."

He looked over at her and was pleased to see the frown was gone. Her face had softened and she was smiling slightly. Taking her feet off the coffee table, she moved in to snuggle up to him. "Will you do something for me Deeks?" she asked.

"Anything Kensalina." he responded immediately, pulling her in closer to his side.

"Will you play for me again? Sometime very soon? And will you take me with you when you go visit your dance studio friend?" she asked quietly.

He hesitated, thinking of the small black case hidden in the back of his closet. For her, he would do it. Maybe things had changed enough for him that he could start to enjoy making music again. If he started taking her dancing with him, could her presence replace the feelings he had about it with more positive memories? He was willing to give it a shot. "Sure Princess. I can do both of those. I think we can even start this weekend. You have any plans?" he said.

She leaned back and looked at him, then smiled a huge smile. "Just my regular weekend plans. I think I can modify them a little."