Bugs!
A Kensi Blye / Marty Deeks story. Densi? If you squint really hard there are hints; sort of like the rays of sunlight just before dawn. Maybe.
Kensi has convinced Deeks to go camping with her; into the Angeles National Forest. No motel/hotel, no indoor restroom, no indoors, WTH are we doing his brain screams at him. His heart doesn't know what to think, yet.
When she pulls up in front of his apartment in her SRX he sees a kayak on top of the vehicle, a two-person kayak. Now he loves the water, well the ocean and surfing. In that environment he is in total control of what happens; himself, his board, the surf – a slice of heaven. Now he gives up some control to another person. Ok, he really likes Kensi, he trusts her implicitly as his partner. Hell, he puts his life in her hands daily, and she reciprocates. It works, admittedly it was awhile in coming to this place, but it works. But now, on a fricking lake, in a duo kayak; where's the nearest shootout, the nearest car chase, maybe an explosion or two. I hope we have enough Michelob to get through this.
He stands on his front stoop, unmoving. Monty moves, he dashes to the car and hops into the rear seat where Kensi stands with the door open for her favorite mutt.
She looks questioningly at her 2nd favorite mutt (does he know he's in 2nd place?). "You coming Deeks?"
"Yeah," he finally gets his feet to move, climbing into the passenger seat.
"You ok, partner?" Kensi looks at him with a touch of concern on her face. "We agreed on this, right?"
"Yeah we did. Do you have everything? I only brought my clothes like you said. Do you have enough beer?"
"A cooler full. If you need more, I'll give you some creek water, maybe it'll have giardia in it." She snorts, "Then you can spend some time hanging your ass over a log pooping your guts out!" She guffaws!
He looks at her with a huge scowl on his face and makes a move to exit the SRX. She catches his arm just in time, "Just kidding, partner. I'll take good care of you, have no worries!"
"Will I get a medal for valor after this?"
"I will talk with Hetty. Or maybe Granger."
"God, leave him out of it. He might just cook up a wilderness op if he smells outdoor experience on me."
"I hadn't thought of that. We could volunteer."
"Over my dead body." Deeks mutters.
"Your bear scat smeared body," she snorts again.
"What? Scat?"
"Never mind, let's go." She starts the car and they are off. 'God, I thought for a minute there that we wouldn't make it out of town. Two months of convincing wasted.'
They stopped at a campground by an 8-acre lake. There were a dozen campsites, half of them unoccupied so it wasn't crowded. First thing they did was spread the ground cloth then pitched the tent. It was a roomy 4-person outfit with a nice sized front door flap which made a nice shaded area like a front veranda. They put all their supplies into the tent then Kensi spoke up: "We will have to put all our food into the car and lock it at night or when we are away from the campsite. Those bears, remember."
Deeks looked around, scanning the area as if looking for perps. "There are bears around here? Any other critters?"
"Bears aren't critters, that term is reserved for smaller animals."
"Smaller animals? Like?"
"Oh, I don't know. Like raccoon, skunk, coyote, opossum, things like that."
"Skunk? Are you serious?"
"Yes Deeks, but they are afraid of you. Just stand your distance, don't approach or threaten them and you will be allright."
"What if they are where I need to pee?"
"Hold it partner. You can do that, right?"
Deeks scowls. Their partnership has faced many challenges, some life or death. This may be the ultimate test.
They took a little walk around the lake, always keeping their campsite in sight. It was a beautiful, peaceful spot. Kensi was in her element, thinking of the many times she had gone camping with her dad; those memories remained highlights of her life as she remembered it. As they walked she was able to relax, the stress and tension of their job gradually slipping away.
Deeks wasn't able to relax as much as Kensi. He had no reservoir of pleasant memories to draw upon to aid in de-stressing; but he was able to relax and release tension somewhat.
When they returned to camp Kensi set up the little camp stove and they shared in the duties of meal preparation. Their food attracted a variety of insects, some flying and some not.
"Bugs! Kensi, do we have a fly swatter, or some repellant? Flies carry germs you know!"
'Here we go!' She thinks.
After supper they sit in camp chairs on their front veranda, watching the gorgeous sunset – swatting flies all the while.
After sunset Kensi lights a lantern and hangs it from a canvass loop at the top center of the tent. They get out 2 adult sized sleeping bags, shake them out and hold them up. They look at each other, neither being sure what to say or do. Finally Kensi break the silence; "Deeks, we can do this either of two ways. We can each have our own bag, or we can zip them together and sleep in one large bag. Operative word is sleep! Do you have a preference?"
Silence as he looks down at the bag, then at his feet, then at Kensi.
Silence.
"Deeks?"
"Ah . . . I would prefer one big bag but I know that during the night two things will happen. 1st you will assume starfish mode and tangle your limbs up with mine. 2nd one of my arms will go around your waist, spooning you. I promise that I will not take advantage of this situation, those things are just inevitable. If we can live with that, let's do the 1 bag."
Kensi smiles, "I can live (sleep) with that. I promise not to hurt you unless your arm wanders – then I will gently return the offending limb to safer territory. Ok?"
"Ok."
They put all their food in the SRX and lock it. Kensi extinguishes the lantern and stows it, then slides into her side of the bag.
"Good night, Marty."
"Good night, Kens." His arm slides around her waist at navel level. It feels so good, so natural.
The first rays of sunshine are appearing over the eastern hills. Deeks is screaming – "ANTS! KENSI THERE ARE ANTS ALL OVER ME!"
Kensi sits bolt upright, "Deeks, what's the matter?"
Deeks scrambles out of the bag screaming about ants. Kensi looks through sleepy eyes and sees a few small ants on his legs. She brushes them off and sees no more.
"I got them (she knows there are more, but hey they are sleeping outdoors on the ground), it's too early to get up Deeks. Go back to sleep."
He tries, he really does. He dreams about "Ant Man".
After breakfast they do their 1 activity of the day – a kayak cruise on the lake. They put on their swim suits, Deeks wonders why, and they have a delightful time.
Until.
The kayak rolls over. It is self-righting (a weighted keel) so within a few seconds it comes upright. Kensi is laughing her head off; "wasn't that great? I was getting hot anyway!"
Deeks is sputtering and cursing; "what the hell, Kensi? Did you do that on purpose?"
"What if I did? You wipe out occasionally when surfing."
"That's different and you know it! When that happens I can feel it coming; I can prepare, take a big breath, control my fall. Shit – this came out of the blue, I was totally unprepared. Let's get this f-g kayak out of the water." He starts paddling toward shore.
She can't resist his direction, so paddles to shore also.
Packing up and the drive home are miserably silent. Deeks keeps his head turned, looking out the passenger side window. When Kensi drops him off, the partners are still silent. Kensi walks him and Monty to their door. As he is unlocking his door she says a soft "I'm sorry, Deeks. I didn't mean to frighten you. I guess I should have warned you."
"Yeah, that would have helped." He slips into his apartment with Monty and softly closes the door. Kensi's heart is in her stomach.
At home Kensi slams the front door behind her, slips to the floor with her arms around her knees. She cries, 'man, I blew that. I thought we had a chance to make progress with our friendship. Maybe turn the corner to a relationship. But now?'
The next few days, even a week plus, are uncomfortable at work. Their usual teasing is totally absent, their banter is very subdued. Deeks jokes are few and far between, the bullpen is a somber place. Everyone feels it. Neither Kensi nor Deeks will admit to the problem.
Finally, 2 weeks out the partners can stand it no more. They both have thought about and analyzed what happened. Each realizes that they had a role in the disastrous weekend. They miss each other and their usual light-hearted friendship, they want it back. Hell, they need it back.
Deeks puts the leash on Monty, stops at a store and picks up 2 cartons of Rocky Road plus a six-pack and heads for Kensi's place.
Kensi picks up her purse, phone and keys and heads for her front door. She swings the door open and there they are – Deeks & Monty. He was about to knock.
"I'm sorry!" They softly exclaim simultaneously.
"I have ice cream and beer," Deeks announces.
"Please come in," Kensi whispers.
They do, and the door closes softly behind them.