This story is starting to wind down. When I started to post, I thought it would be 15-20 chapters. A few parts have been stretched out, so I'm expected 20-25 now. Thanks to everyone for your support, comments and ideas. That being said, if there is something you want to see (read) happen, now is the time to speak (write) up. I'll try to incorporate what I can. I had hoped to finish before the new season starts… Not sure if that will happen or not, but could be close.
Kensi jolts awake to the sound of her phone ringing in the night.
She groans and rolls towards the sound. Despite the early hour and her limited sleep, she has become accustomed to middle-of-the-night phone calls over the years.
Her first swipe towards her nightstand is unsuccessful, but her hand makes contact with her phone on her second try.
"This is Kensi," she says into the phone, sounding more awake than she feels.
"We have a case," Callen announces. He doesn't bother with preliminaries like saying hello.
"M-kay," she responds. "I'll be there."
"Quickly," he says. "High priority."
She doesn't bother saying goodbye, knowing he has already hung up. She imagines him for a moment, completely awake and able to function on so little sleep. For a moment, she hates him.
She swings her legs over the side the bed and sits up. The alarm clock tells her it's two in the morning. She groans and runs a hand through her hair. It had been after midnight when she and Marty had fallen into bed together.
She stands and turns to meet her bed-partner's eyes. Marty is sitting up, looking even less awake than she feels. He blinks at her. "Is everything okay?" He asks.
His concern surprises her for a moment. He stares at her, his eyes pinched with worry for her.
Then it hits her. For most people, a middle of the night phone call means something bad; someone they know is hurt, or worse. But for Kensi, a middle of the night phone call usually means an urgent case. It hits her that this is the first time she has been called away from him to work in the middle of the night.
She clears her throat and offers him a tired smile. "Everything is fine. I'm being called into work."
He takes a moment as the meaning behind her words sink in.
"Do you know what it's about?" He asks carefully.
She shakes her head. "Callen isn't exactly forthcoming on the phone. When it's Eric calling, I at least have some idea…" She trails off as she realizes it's not the case he's worried about.
She hesitates, wanting to be able to reassure him, but also knowing she cannot delay any further.
"I'll find out when I get there. All I know is that it's high priority."
She can feel his eyes track hers as she pads across her bedroom, getting dressed as quickly as she can. When she is dressed, she turns to find him standing beside the bed.
She smiles softly at the sight. He's wearing only boxers and his hair is mussed more than usual.
"You'll be safe?" He asks.
She strides towards him and snakes her arms around his waist. She needs to hurry, but she has time for a hug. "I'll be safe." She pulls back far enough to meet his eyes. "High priority doesn't necessarily mean more dangerous. Sometimes it's a bad case, but sometimes we're called in to assist another team, or even another agency."
He holds her tighter for a moment and presses a kiss to her hair. Then he lets her go. "Do you want me to go home?"
She shakes her head and stands on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. "Of course not. Stay here and get some sleep." She pauses for a moment before adding, "I'll check in when I can. Don't… don't worry if I don't respond right away. I don't always have access to my phone."
He nods and leans down for another kiss.
She kisses him back and then turns towards her closet, and then turns back. She winces and motions behind herself. "I have to…get my gun…"
His eyes glances towards her closet and then back to her. He knows where her safe is, and what she keeps in it. "Okay."
She keeps her eyes on his for a long moment, before nodding and turning back to her closet. She enters the key code easily and pulls open the door. She makes no attempt to hide her gun from him as she pulls it out and stashes it in her waistband, but also tries to make the action quick.
When she turns back around, he is staring at her with a steady gaze.
It makes her feel better, that he seems to be accepting this part of her life. He's forgiven her, and they've been moving forward together. But she still recalls the way he had openly told her about his past, before he had known the truth about her job. It still grinds on her now; that this may all be too much for him.
She hurries to the bathroom to relieve herself and brush her teeth. Then she makes her way into the living room where she knows Marty has moved to.
"You should go back to bed," she tells him.
He smiles at her. "I will once you're out the door."
She hugs him again. "Thank you for being so awesome."
He chuckles. "If I'd had time, I would have made you breakfast."
She leans up to kiss him. "You really are awesome."
He takes a breath. His smile fades, but doesn't falter. He reaches to brush a few strands of hair from her face. "I love you," he tells her.
"I love you, too." She pauses a moment, before motioning towards the half-awake dog on the couch across the room. Monty is blinking sleepily at them, like he's trying to decide if it's worth the energy to get up. "Now, you boys go back to sleep. I'll see you when I get home."
He lets her go with a smile.
She's halfway to work when she realizes what she said.
She had assumed she would be going home to Marty that night. It didn't matter if it was her house or his. Home had become a shaggy haired man and a slightly-weird dog.
She spends the rest of her drive thinking of how much her life has changed, but when she arrives at work, she pushes her thoughts from her mind. It's time to focus on work.
She parks her car and is getting out when a now-familiar dark sedan pulls in. She waits for her new partner to join her before heading into the Mission. Typical for a former Marine, he looks entirely awake and put together, despite the early hour.
"Morning, Freddy," she calls jokingly.
Cole takes the nickname with good humour. "Are you ever going to stop calling me that?"
She huffs a laugh. "Probably not. I mean, Frederick is a long name…"
"You could just call me Fred," he says.
"You told me you don't go by Fred," she counters.
"I don't," he says. "But I don't go by Freddy either."
She laughs as they reach the bullpen. The lower floor is empty, so they make their way up the stairs.
"How about I just call you Cole?"
"That would be much appreciated," he says dryly. She laughs and for a moment, her mind jumps back several months. She remembers joking with Renko about calling him Michael. The memory of her late-partner tugs at her heart a bit, but it also makes her smile. She knows Renko would be glad she has a new partner she can feel safe with.
They reach the top of the stairs and enter Ops. As soon as they arrive, Eric briefs them on the case. From there, they find themselves quickly heading into the field.
It's been light for a few hours before she has a moment to breathe. She and Cole are sitting in the SRX, waiting for their suspect to reveal himself. It's been a busy morning, with more than one shoot out, and two tactical breaches.
"Why can't bad guys be bad on a better schedule?" She voices.
Cole chuckles. "If they were considerate, they wouldn't be bad guys."
She struggles to hold back a yawn. It's one thing to work on little sleep when the adrenaline is pumping. It's another when there's downtime and the adrenaline dries up.
"I hope he shows up soon."
"He will," Cole replies easily, with the ever-lasting patience of a Marine. His eyes remain on the house across the street as he keeps conversation with Kensi.
She takes a moment to look away, knowing Cole has it covered. She pulls out her phone. There are no messages from Marty, but she's sure he wants an update from her. He's been really good about trying to accept her job. He's told her to stop walking on egg shells around him, but she still worries there is more she could be doing to make this easier on him.
She types a quick text telling him she's okay and eager for the day to be over.
His reply is quick. She swallows down the quick swell of guilt at the knowledge that he has been waiting for an update. He tells her he's glad she's okay and looks forward to seeing her that night.
Then he sends her a dozen random emoticons and several hearts.
She laughs out loud, knowing he had done it just to make her laugh. She feels her heart swell in her chest. She is so lucky to have him in her life.
"How is Marty?" Cole asks, still not looking away from the house across the street.
She rolls her eyes at his easy read of her. "He's good."
"How are things going?" Cole doesn't know everything, but he knows the basics; that she dated Marty for more than half a year before her last partner died and Marty found out what she really does for a living, that things were bad before they got good again, that Marty's past sometimes causes her to walk on eggshells, and that she's trying like hell to make it all work, but knows there's a good chance it will be too much for Marty.
"Good, I think," she tells him. She is trusting her partner more and more every day. Trust had been hard for her before. But it's coming easier than she expected. She thinks it's Marty's influence. He's proven her trust won't always be broken. "I mean, I got called away in the middle of the night and he watched me pull my gun out of the safe in my closet, and he's still here," she tells him, waving her phone.
Cole nods, though he's still focused on the house. "That's a good sign. Though you sound surprised that he's still here."
She sighs and stays silent for a long moment. If Cole expected her to respond, he doesn't push. She's about to let it all go, but the silence gets to her and she continues.
"He's put up with a lot," she voices. "I kept so much from him for so long. But he accepted me anyway. And he doesn't like guns. But he accepted that I carry one, that I use one. He puts up with me not knowing when I'll make it home. And he puts up with me being called away in the middle of the night. And he helped me reconnect with my mother." She pauses for a breath. "Sometimes I wonder what I bring to the table."
Cole shrugs. "Ask him."
"What?"
He pulls his eyes from the house for a single second to meet her eyes. Then he turns back. "Men are simple, Kensi. We don't keep score. If Marty wants to be with you, he has his reasons. And if you need to know what those reasons are, he'll tell you. You just have to ask."
"You're far too reasonable sometimes, do you know that?"
He chuckles. "Can you tell my wife that for me? She'd never believe I'm too reasonable."
Kensi laughs. She absorbs his advice, but doesn't have time to dwell on them. Their suspect appears from the front door of the house.
They immediately move to intercept him, but the moment the suspect sees them, he starts shooting.
Kensi swears as she takes cover behind a parked car. She had been in the driver's seat, so she was closer to the suspect. If they had expected him to be violent, the whole team would be there.
Cole is still across the street. He had still been in the passenger side of the SRX when the shooting started. He's taken cover as well. At least two more shooters appear from the house and start shooting. Kensi shoots back, and manages to hit one of them. But her location is now known by both remaining shooters.
She doesn't have much time left using the parked car as cover when Cole starts shooting. He has moved over a car, and his firing gives her enough cover to move away while the shooters' focus is split.
She gets three parked cars away when she sees one of the shooters circle the car she had been behind, ready to shoot. He looks up in surprise when she is not there. It's just enough lead time for her to get a shot in. He goes down, and Cole takes care of the third.
They are carefully checking their surroundings when Callen and Sam drive up.
"Good timing," she calls.
Callen chuckles.
"You two okay?" Sam asks.
"We're good." She shares a smile with her partner. She holds her fist out to her partner. "Thanks for having my back, partner. I owe you."
He bumps her fist with hers, but shakes his head. "I'm a man, Kensi. I'm not keeping score."
She laughs. He joins her in laughing.
Her day is far from over, but she makes a promise to herself to follow her partner's advice and talk to Marty.