Deeks' first stop once they enter the station is Granger's office. He can tell Kensi's reluctant to leave him on his own, but she doesn't voice her concern as they part ways.

"Meet you in the break room?" she calls over her shoulder before heading for the locker room.

He gives her a two fingered salute, heading in the opposite direction.

Granger's office door is open, so Deeks raps two knuckles against the glass, waiting for him to look up.

"Deeks." When he does, Granger's face shows as much surprise as it ever does. Which essentially amounts to the twitch of an eyebrow. "I didn't expect to see you so soon."

"I figured it was time." Deeks shrugs. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Granger says, ushering him in with a short wave of his hand. From anyone else, Deeks might be deterred by the gruffness, but he knows it's just Granger's way. "Close the door behind you," he adds with an exasperated roll of his eyes. "Biggest bunch of gossips I've ever seen."

Setting a stack of paperwork to the side, Granger waits for Deeks to sit, clearly docketing each of his visible injuries.

"So, how you holding up?" he asks abruptly. "Hell of a thing you're going through."

"Uh, that is a loaded question, sir," Deeks answers with a wry laugh. "Definitely could have done without the surprise facial reconstruction." He recrosses his legs, regarding Granger more seriously. "I'm doing better than I was."

"Good. Cause you got a partner out there who needs you."

"About that." Deeks slides a hand through his hair, momentarily thrown off when he finds it loose and not slicked back. "What are the expectations for my return?"

"Medical leave until you're fully cleared by a physician and you pass your psych eval," Granger replies. "The parameters are a little different since your injuries didn't occur in the line of duty. The exact timeline is up to you, I suppose."

"Probably would be a lot easier if I wasn't involved in an open felony case," Deeks muses.

Granger frowns, folding his hands atop the table, and leans closer.

"Deeks, you know I'm not one to coddle my people. However, I also don't victim blame."

"Sir—"

"You ever hit her?"

"No, of course not," Deeks says automatically.

"Did you initiate fights, intimidate her, use manipulative tactics?"

"No," Deeks repeats more warily, hearing everything that he'd experienced parroted back is overwhelming.

Apparently Granger is satisfied with his response, because he nods once. "Good. Then you don't have any reason to apologize or assume guilt in my book."

"In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that Sylvia hasn't maintained the no contact part of her release agreement." Granger's eyebrow twitches again at Deeks' revelation. "She's been texting and calling."

"She could have her bond revoked for that. But I'm guessing you haven't pursued that yet."

Deeks shakes his head. "I thought you should know in case she does try to make contact. It would be incredibly reckless, but…" He shrugs again.

"I'll let everyone know in the next meeting know not to engage if she shows up and contact the bond officer. I'll pass it on to the other shifts too," Granger says.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Don't spread it around," he grumbles. "And you're welcome. Was there anything else?"

"Well, I was wondering if there was a possibility of coming back on desk duty until I'm cleared," Deeks says.

"I'll see what I can do." He holds his hand out for a firm handshake, effectively ending the conversation. "Now go bug the detectives in homicide; I've got work to do."

Deeks braces himself before he goes into the break room, preparing for whatever reactions he might receive. Mercifully, there's only a couple people there, Kensi not among them. One is a young cop he doesn't recognize, who is too busy scrolling on his phone to notice Deeks. The other, glances up when he comes in, her face lighting up with a smile. She waves before returning to her own phone.

He's in the middle of fixing himself a cup of coffee, when the door swings open, and Nell pokes her head through. She's doesn't hesitate to come in, embracing him tightly.

"I thought I saw you sneaking around. Can't mistake those golden curls," she says. "You better have been planning on stopping by before you left."

"I was, but you did see me two days ago," Deeks reminds her with an amused smile, returning the hug.

"Yeah, which is a long time to go without seeing my favorite officer. Don't tell Kensi I said that." Deeks laughs then, the last of his anxiety trickling away. It's one of the things he's always appreciated about Nell; her unapologetic affection.

"Your secret's safe with me," he promises.

The two other officers leave, and Nell moves to take their seats.

"So, I thought you were still on leave."

"I am. I just had a couple things to discuss with Granger, and trying to see if I can ease my way back in." Seeing Nell about to protest, he beats her to the punch. "Strictly desk duty," he clarifies.

"But you hate paperwork," Nell says suspiciously.

"I do. There's a lot of hours to fill in the day though, and right now paperwork seems more desirable than reorganizing Kensi's dish towels for the fifth time."

"You're bored," Nell surmises.

"Yep. And antsy." He hasn't mentioned Sylvia's continued harassment, and asked Kensi not to either. He's sure she'll come to certain conclusions when Granger makes his announcement, but he doesn't feel like dealing with more concern, outrage, and well-intentioned badgering.

"That's understandable."

They chat for a few more minutes; Nell's settling into married life, and planning a delayed honeymoon later in the year with her new husband.

"Oh, I have to get back," she says suddenly, checking her watch. "Walk me back?"

"Actually, I was supposed to meet Kensi in here."

"I saw her talking with one of the other detectives about an ongoing case, so I'm guessing she might be a while."

He follows Nell back to the detectives' area, pulling a seat up to her desk while she runs off to a meeting, and starts in on some medical paperwork he'd picked up along the way.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," someone says, and Deeks looks up, sighing internally when he sees two detectives approaching him.

"This time it actually looks like somebody dragged you through an alley. Thought you were supposed to be out for weeks, or something Deeks," the female of the pair drawls.

"Perkins, Banks." He nods curtly at both of them. Just enough to acknowledge their presence without indicating he wants to continue the conversation.

"I'm surprised to see you without your protector," Janet Banks teases, smirking at Deeks.

"Yeah, where is Officer Blye? We heard all about how she's been taking care of you, holding your hand, defending your honor," Jared Perkins adds. He's never the one to start trouble, but he always willingly joins in, and is usually worse than the instigator.

"She's been a good friend," Deeks says carefully.

"From the sound of it, she's more than that. I mean, I heard you two were shacking up together."

"Is that why your old girlfriend beat you up? Not a very good look for a cop, is it? Getting taken down by a woman, I mean."

Deeks laughs softly, tilting his head slightly. He's surprisingly unbothered by the insults directed towards himself, but the disgusting comments about Kensi have him infuriated. When Kensi first offered to let him stay with her, he knew that it might raise some questions, but he'd still hoped for better. She deserves better.

"As always, Jared, your compassion is astounding and talking to you is a delight," he drawls, not rising to their taunts. At least not in the way they want. "Reminds me of spending the afternoon with my dad and his drunk buddies. Only, that was the 90s and everyone knew he was a misogynistic jerk."

Janet splutters in surprise, looking vaguely impressed by the insult, while Perkins' nostrils flare, and he takes a step forward. He's always had a temper. Deeks sighs, exhausted by it all.

"You've always had a smart mouth, Deeks. Guess getting punched around didn't teach you to keep it shut," Perkins says in a low tone.

"Would you like to repeat that, Perkins?" Nell demands from behind them, effectively hidden by the taller detectives.

She pushes between them, glaring at Perkins as she comes to stand halfway in front of Deeks. The foot difference in their height would be amusing if she wasn't vibrating with anger, all of it directed at the two detectives.

"Nell, it's fine," Deeks insists, not wanting to fuel more of a commotion.

"No, it's not."

"Aw, that's cute. You two got something going on the side too?" Perkins gestures between them with a nasty grin in place again. Banks' eyes widen, like even she realizes he's taken things too far.

Deeks spins back towards the other man, using his height and size in a way he rarely does as he towers over Perkins.

Kensi and Nell are my coworkers, and my friends, and if I hear any rumors otherwise, then I will report this entire conversation to HR," he says. "I'm sure there's more than enough people in this station to back me up."

Perkins looks like he's ready to dig his heals in, but Janet tugs on his sleeve, silently pleading with him, and after another glance at Deeks and Nell, he relents. He throws them a disgusted look as Janet shepherds him back to their desks.

"You know that wasn't necessary," Nell says after a moment. She sounds completely unbothered now, if a little amused. "They just like to cause trouble."

"Yes, it was. You were about to do the same for me," he points out. Nell acknowledges that with a nod and sigh.

"That is a valid argument. Thank you for defending mine and Kensi's honor." She knocks his shoulder. "And I'm sorry they were giving you a hard time."

"It's ok. I actually expected a lot worse, so I was pleasantly surprised."

"What are you two whispering about?" Kensi asks, appearing in the bullpen in her uniform.

Deeks and Nell share a quick look, silently agreeing not to mention this incident to Kensi. Nell's anger would hold nothing to Kensi's if she found out.

"Just catching up," Deeks fills in quickly. "Everything ok?"

"Oh yeah, I just needed to confirm some evidence from a burglary," Kensi replies. "How was your talk with Granger?"

"Good."

"Did you know he's trying to come back already?" Nell shares with a roll of her eyes. "I think we need to find him a hobby."

"Only desk duty," Deeks clarifies before Kensi can get too alarmed. "If Granger approves it."

"Yeah, we're still keeping our eyes on you. I think we need to find him a hobby." She directs the last part to Kensi.

"I'm not sure I can help with that, but I was thinking that since you're here, maybe I could introduce you to Dom. He really wants to meet you," she says.

"Of course, I'd love to."

"And in the meantime." Nell links her arm through both of theirs. "We can talk pastimes. Have you considered knitting or crochet?"

He shakes his head, as always amused by how quickly Nell can jump from cold rage to joking. It feels normal. It feels good. He lets them chivvy him along, listening to their debating possibly hobbies, and smiles to himself.