Chapter 49

"You're Kensi, aren't you?"

Kensi's jaw dropped open despite her best efforts to stop it. After a few seconds she managed "How..? Who…?" She cleared her throat and started again. "Who are you? How do you know my name?" She eyed the blonde suspiciously, the expected jealousy from earlier finally making its appearance now that Deeks was secured and on his way to the hospital.

Tara eyed the machines hooked up to Deeks and then turned to her, satisfied that her patient was stable for the moment. "Marty and I have been friends for a long time. We met at an accident scene he was covering for LAPD. He hadn't made detective yet. I thought he was kind of cute, until he smiled at me. You know that smile, the one that just lights up his whole face? I just thought, man, he's gorgeous and I asked him out right then and there, without really planning to. Truthfully, I'm not sure if I was capable of conscious thought at that moment! I was stunned when he said yes. We dated for a little while but there just wasn't that, I don't know, spark?, between us. We decided it was better to just be friends. We meet up every once in a while, sometimes just for coffee, sometimes to catch up with a few drinks after work. He introduced me to my fiancé. He's an accountant, of all things. Marty and Dave went to college together. Met freshman year and became good friends. You know, he has a bit of a talent for matchmaking." She held up her left hand, showing off the ring. Tara choked down a laugh as Kensi smiled widely at the announcement she was engaged,

She eyed the brunette, liking what she was seeing, noting that her eyes never really left Marty's face. She knew his side of things but was now seeing first hand that this woman loved her friend deeply in return. She continued "He didn't tell me about his new position with NCIS at first. I think he was afraid it wouldn't last. When he finally did, I think it was more because he wanted to vent a little about the way he was treated." She frowned at Kensi, remembering him telling her he had felt unwelcome and disrespected. Some of the comments he'd repeated to her? Those had riled her up, made her want to go face down the high and mighty federal agents and tell them just what she thought of them. Her reactions had usually cheered him up and bolstered his confidence.

Kensi noted the frown and she felt herself blush a little. She didn't realize just how much to heart Deeks had taken their comments and the way they treated him at first, it was so long ago. He'd always seemed so confident, so cocky. He'd had a comeback for everything they'd said to him. She knew now that that was how he covered up his vulnerabilities. He'd let her in but she'd never thought back to his first months as Liaison Officer. Never thought to tell him she was sorry for the way they'd all treated him. She offered up a bargain. She would tell him she was sorry for every mean thing said to him back then, if the powers that be would just let him live.

She swallowed. "I know we were kind of hard on him when he started. He was replacing my partner, who had been kidnapped and who had been missing for a long time. Dom was never far from our minds and I know it especially bothered Sam and Callen to see someone else sitting at his desk. It sort of felt like we were giving up on him, that we'd decided we'd never find him again. It would have been the same for anyone who sat there; it wasn't just that it was Deeks. As for me, well, I was fighting a battle against my attraction to him. He was soooo not my usual type but there it was, right from the first time we met. Hell, I didn't even know he was a cop! I thought he was a suspect in a murder we were investigating and he still made my heart pound whenever I was near him." She found herself smiling at Tara, knowing that the woman would understand what she was saying. Tara grinned back, and then glanced back at the machines and her patient. Everything still appeared to be stable. She turned back to Kensi, her eyebrows raised to indicate she should continue.

"Anyway, once he started with NCIS as my partner, it took a while for us to trust him. He wasn't NCIS, he wasn't a federal agent but he's proven time and again that he's just as capable as any one of us. He just has a…unique…way of looking at things. He uses humor to relieve tension or to hide his feelings of the moment. That was hard for Sam to swallow. As he'll tell anyone, he's Navy through and through. He thought that Deeks's way of dressing, his hair, his joking around, meant he was lacking in character. Deeks proved to him how wrong he was when he went through a really traumatic experience in order to save someone Sam was close to. Sam's one of his biggest advocates now. I think he's made it his life's mission to make up for the years of treating Deeks like he wasn't good enough." She couldn't disclose the details as most of that case was classified, but she wanted this woman to understand that the entire team valued the unconscious man on the gurney and would do anything for him, just as they knew he would for them. "We're a team, we're family. He's my best friend, my partner, my lover. I never thought this could happen to me. That my happiness could be so tied up in one person."

Trying to get the focus off her and their relationship, she said "And you, you still haven't explained how you know my name or how you knew it was me."

Tara quirked an eyebrow at her. "Seriously? One look at your face as you barreled towards the rig, determined to come with him, no matter how much we objected, told me exactly who you were! Marty told me that you and that you had finally acted on your feelings for each other. All he did for almost three years was talk about you. How he was falling in love with you, the reasons why he didn't act on it, at first afraid you didn't feel the same, and then afraid it would rip away the most stable thing he had in his life. I know some at LAPD don't like him, I know they sent him into undercover situations without sufficient backup. At NCIS he seems to have finally found a place where he's not the square peg trying to fit into the round hole, a place where people will watch out and care for him. Then, for a while, he stopped mentioning you. I thought maybe you had left the agency or been reassigned to another office. I asked him about you a couple times, but I could see how much it hurt him so I stopped. Then, you were back and he was happy again. When he told me almost a year ago that you had finally admitted your feelings for each other and started a relationship, he practically glowed. He's been happier in these last months than I've ever seen him. "

Kensi smiled widened. She thought in wonder about the fact that he'd been talking about her for that long. Sharing how he felt about her, confiding in a friend about how much he cared about her. They'd wasted so much time fighting this "thing". And then the smile slipped when the machines monitoring Deeks's vital signs sounded an alarm. Tara whipped back to her patient and eyed the read outs. "Damn it, his BP's dropping!" She reached out and touched him, eying the bruising across his entire torso. "He's cold and clammy. Along with the bruising, it could mean he's bleeding internally." She yelled out to her partner. "Randy, speed it up, we need to get to the hospital now! Call ahead and let them know that the need for surgery just became critical!" Randy yelled back his understanding and pressed harder on the accelerator, reaching out for the radio at the same time. He updated the hospital who confirmed they had a surgeon and OR ready and waiting.

When the noise from the machines sent out one long droning sound, Tara yelled "We're losing him! He's flat lining. Damn it, he's in VT!" She grabbed the defibrillator from its storage space and turned it on. "Charging!" She began chest compressions while she waited for it to signal its readiness.

"Do you need me to stop? Do you need my help?" yelled Randy from the front.

"No! You need to get us to the hospital ten minutes ago. Kensi will help me if I need anything." Tara looked at Kensi for confirmation, still keeping count of the compressions in her head. She got a nod in response.

"I have some training in field medicine, it's necessary for our jobs." Kensi could hear her voice trembling and, for once, didn't care that someone besides Deeks might see her vulnerable. The sound filling the ambulance was squeezing her heart, filling her head with images of an empty future.

"Good. You do as I tell you, when I tell you, understood?"

Kensi nodded again just as the defibrillator indicated it was fully charged and ready.

"Clear!" Tara stopped the compressions, grabbed the two paddles and pressed them to Deeks's chest, his body rising slightly off the bed as the charge passed through him. The heart monitor tone didn't change. She began compressions again waiting for the machine to recharge. When it indicated it was ready, she stopped. "Clear!" she yelled and shocked him again. When there was still no change, she indicated to Kensi to take over chest compressions while she manipulated the machine. She yelled "Charging to 360!" turning up the voltage. When the machine whined its readiness, she pulled Kensi away and hit him again. This time the heart monitor started to show normal sinus rhythm, both women staring at it, barely breathing. When it didn't flat line again, they both took a deep breath and stared at each other, sharing a look that mingled both relief and fear. He was back but far from being out of the woods.

For the first time Kensi realized there were voices in her ear. She could hear Sam, Callen and Eric, all yelling for her attention, wanting to know what was going on. Sam's Challenger was right behind the ambulance with him, Callen and Michelle and he had noticed it picking up speed. Both he and Callen had been in this position before and knew that it wasn't a good sign. They'd relayed that information to OSP and, through Eric, to Hetty. They passed their fears on to Granger, who was following behind with John Shelton. Granger grimly agreed with their assessment that the turn of events was not positive.

Kensi reached up and tapped her earwig. "Sam? Callen? It's not good. He just flat lined. Tara had to shock him three times to get his heart started again. She's pretty sure he's bleeding internally in addition to a punctured lung and severe blood loss!" She took a deep breath and said "Guys! He…he died." She whispered again "He died."

"Kensi, you listen to me! You guys brought him back. I told you, he's strong and he has a lot to live for. Don't you dare give up now, you hear me?" Sam's voice rang in her ear.

"He's right, Kens. Deeks is a fighter! He won't give up and he'll need your strength!" this from Callen.

"Where are they taking him Kensi?" asked Eric. Kensi realized they had never discussed which hospital they were going to.

"Tara? What hospital are we headed to?" she asked.

"Pacific Beach Medical. It's the closest one."

"Eric? Pacific Beach Medical."

"Okay Kensi. Hetty, Nell and I will meet you there. He's gonna make it, you know he is!"

"Thanks Eric."

Pulling his Bluetooth out of his ear, Eric turned to Hetty, for once in his life ready to defy her if she told him they'd have to stay behind. He stared at her, daring her to tell him he couldn't go to the hospital and support his friend and teammate. He felt Nell step up to his side, slipping her hand into his and squeezing it, the two analysts presenting a united front.

Hetty simply nodded at them. "I'll drive." Turning she led them from ops.

Back in the ambulance, Kensi leaned forward and kissed Deeks forehead gently, her breath hitching at the feel of his skin, so different from its normal warm, dry condition. She whispered in his ear. "You stay with me, you hear me? You can't leave me alone here. You fight! You come back to me!" She kissed him again and whispered. "You're my everything, Deeks! I love you so much; I can't do this without you. I don't want to do this without you." A lone tear made its way down her face and dropped onto his.

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A/N – thanks to ohBuddy66 for some suggestions that led to slight rewrites to this chapter before it was published and some ideas for the upcoming ones that will finish this story arc.

Thanks to honus47 for reviewing, correctly typos and encouraging me!

Don't ask how long this one will take to resolve, you've seen that I can't be held to a number. This story was supposedly completed 43 chapters ago! Everyone keeps offering up such great ideas that one chapter turns into three..or four…or five!

Please keep reviewing and offering suggestions/prompts! They're really encouraging and make my day. Even if you don't like the way things are going, let me know. Constructive criticism is always gladly welcomed!