A/N: This one's for Internal Affairs. I know that this doesn't quite fit in with the timeline of the episode, but I can't imagine Kensi being Deeks going off on his own after everything. For countdown day 7.

"Oh my god, baby," Kensi murmured, wrapping her arms around Deeks again and squeezing as tightly as she could. His clothes and hair were still damp and he smelled a little fishy from the water, but she didn't care. "You scared me."

They hadn't actually made it all the way to the boat shed, stopping alongside the dock once everyone else had dispersed. She didn't think anyone would fault them a few more moments of PDA given everything that happened today.

"I'm sorry," Deeks said. He pressed his face into her shoulder, just breathing while they held each other. Kensi hooked her fingers into his belt loops and tugged him even closer.

"When we heard you broke out of jail and we couldn't find you, I was so worried. With the LAPD after you, and Steadman…" She shuddered. "It could have gone really badly."

"I know. It was a poor choice, but when Bates offered the opportunity, it seemed like a better idea than going to County."

"No, no that would have been terrible," Kensi agreed. "I think any of us would have made the same decision. I wished you'd figured out a way to let us know your plan before taking Steadman and Monica Lee. When Eric and Nell said Steadman was going to shoot you…" She shook her head. "I wanted to kill him."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't," Deeks said, humor in his voice even as he lifted his head, eyes serious. "Because one Internal Affairs investigation in this relationship is more than enough."

"That's for sure." Sighing, she pulled enough to tip her chin up and kiss him. God, she'd nearly lost him today. In more than one way. Deeks leaned into the kiss, starting out slow and then gaining intensity. It seemed he was trying to say something without actually using words. When he pulled back, there was a shadow in his eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Tiffany," he apologized. "I was trying to keep her safe from Steadman, but you should have known before this."

"Yeah, that would have been nice," Kensi agreed. "It was kind of a shock to find out you were hiding a prostitute." She tilted her head, running her hands over his shoulders. "But, once I had a minute to think about it, it made perfect sense. You've always protected the underdog, the most vulnerable. And Tiffany was extremely vulnerable."

"She was. What Boyle did to her…god, it was horrific. And she was so young. So scared." He stopped, shaking his head again, the past in his eyes even though he was looking at her.

A sudden, certain knowledge struck Kensi. He would have done anything to keep Tiffany safe, including kill Boyle.

She could confront him, demand an answer. A real answer, but Kensi held back. This was the man she loved, her partner. She trusted him more than anyone else in the world. And she trusted that eventually he would tell her everything, when the time was right.

"She was lucky to have you on her side," she told him, offering a smile. His returned it, but it was again shadowed, lacking its usual brightness.

"Yeah."

"C'mon, let's go home."

"I gotta do something at the mission first," he said. "I'll meet you there soon, ok?"

"Ok." She stretched up on her toes again and kissed him gently, brushing his hair back. "I love you."