A/N: Once again, thanks to everyone who has supported this little story and Deeks in firefighter gear.
After grabbing a few hours of sleep at home, everyone returned to OSP to debrief and attempt to track down the man who attacked Deeks. LAPD had put out an APB, but that hadn't brought any leads so far.
"Ok, so the description we're working with is a male around 5'10 with brown hair and dark clothes?" Eric confirmed, spinning around from his work center with one eyebrow arched.
"Yeah. Is that going to be a problem?" Callen asked.
"Of course not." Eric tone suggested insult. "But it's probably gonna take some time unless he was foolish enough to use a vehicle with a license plate."
"Based on what we know so far, I'm guessing he didn't," Sam said.
Nodding, Eric started pulling up security cams in the area of the latest fire site. Beside him, Nell was reviewing all the evidence they'd gathered up to this point.
"Hey, Kensi."
She didn't answer, discreetly pecking out a text. Deeks' last response had come around 4 in the morning with a quick update that he'd gotten home and was planning to sleep off a massive headache.
"Kens," Callen repeated, smirking when she jumped and tucked her phone into her pocket.
"What?"
"Did Lieutenant Deeks tell you anything else after we left?" Callen asked, and Kensi rolled her eyes the emphasis he put on Deeks' title.
"No. He didn't," Kensi answered, speaking with clipped phrasing. "Um, but he was pretty banged up last night, so he might remember something else today. I could go talk to him…" She trailed off, as though it was a mere helpful suggestion.
"Hm, what do you think, Sam? Should we let Kensi go visit her boy toy on company time?"
"Mm, I think we should let her suffer a little more. Builds character," Sam replied with a teasing wink.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Kensi maintained, ignoring the buzz in her pocket that she was certain signified a new text from Deeks.
"Oh give her a break," Nell spoke up and Kensi nodded in thanks. "Her man was hurt, she's probably worried about him." Nell let Kensi's glare roll right off her back, smiling broadly before she turned back to her screen.
"That's right. Deeks never got his boo-boos kissed," Sam agreed.
"Ok, I think I caught our guy on a camera from a nearby gas station," Eric—blessedly—interrupted, displaying a dark capture of a figure much as Deeks described, clothed in dark clothes. He played a 10 second clip, which showed the man darting across the street, through the parking lot, and off camera.
"This clearly isn't the first time he's done this," Kensi commented. "He kept his face out of view the entire time."
"He didn't count on running into Deeks."
"And when he did, it made him a little sloppy," Sam said. "Good work, Eric. Keep checking surrounding cameras."
"Will do."
"And Nell, focus on men who meet the general description we have and also have a connection any of the arson sites."
"That is going to be a very long list," Nell warned them.
"Well, while we're waiting on that, we'll go down to the latest site and see if anyone in the surrounding area saw our lurker," Callen decided.
In between questioning possible witnesses, Kensi checked in with Deeks. Apparently he'd been cleared to come back to work, but was restricted to the station for the next two days.
That was something of a relief. He'd had two close calls within hours of each other, and Kensi didn't think her nerves could handle another one so soon.
She spoke to the owners of three nearby businesses, two of whom hadn't been open at the time of the incident and didn't have security cameras. The third did have some footage saved, which Kensi quickly reviewed before getting a copy to send to Eric and Nell.
As she was exiting the third business, a young man in a black t-shirt and turnout pants approached her, jogging the last few yards.
"Are you Agent Blye?" he asked, certain he wasn't one of the firefighters she'd met before.
"Yes," Kensi answered hesitantly.
"Oh good. I'm FFT Jimenez. Lieutenant gave a very good description of you."
Kensi didn't know whether to be embarrassed or pleased by this information, and ultimately settled on vague curiosity.
"And is there a reason why you're looking for me?" He nodded enthusiastically at her question.
"Yes! One of our investigators found something of interest. They'd like you and the other agents to come take a look at your convenience," Jimenez informed her.
"Ok, let me contact my partners and we'll be right over."
Callen and Sam had taken the Challenger so they were probably father from the site than she was. She sent a quick text, then headed back over.
This time, no one objected or tried to redirect her when she flashed her badge and ducked under the lines of caution tape surrounding the large destruction zone. Various investigators, arson specialists, and officers collecting and bagging evidence.
She followed a marked off path, peering above the crowd until she saw Deeks standing near a hastily erected tent. His figure was unmistakable to her now. For once, he didn't wear any part of his typical gear, instead clothed in a black uniform complete with a badge and insignia on his shoulder.
As she walked toward him, another officer passed him a clear evidence bag, which Deeks scanned thoroughly, logging it on a clipboard while the officer watched.
Kensi felt her chest swell with pride at his confidence and skill. He was sure of himself without being cocky or obnoxious, which was evident in the way the people around him looked up to him.
She'd never felt so strongly about anyone before, especially so quickly. Maybe she should be concerned about rushing in, but no one had made her smile so much in a long time. Plus, he was undeniably hot.
"Hey, I thought you were supposed to be taking it easy," Kensi said from behind him, the warmth of her recent thoughts filtered into her voice. Turning to look over his shoulder, Deeks met her with a welcoming grin.
"Hey! I see Jimenez found you. And don't worry, I'm solely supervising right now." He rolled his eyes at that. "Captain Palmy has threatened to put me on cleaning duty for a month if I even think of doing anything more physical than walking."
"Good. I approve." Leaning closer, Kensi took his chin between her thumb and forefinger, turning his face to the side. "Here let me see."
He now had a butterfly bandage on both temples, each gash bordered by purple and black bruising. The skin around it looked swollen and inflamed.
"Mmm," Kensi murmured sympathetically. "That looks painful."
"Extremely painful," Deeks agreed playfully.
"How's your arm?"
"8 stitches, only superficial damage, no physical restrictions," he reported dutifully. His voice dropped a little lower. "I'd show you, but the LA Fire Department frowns upon stripping while on the job."
"Shut up," Kensi gasped, flushing despite herself.
She absolutely did not have an instantaneous image of Marty Deeks slowly removing his uniform piece by piece to music. She shoved his uninjured arm, hand lingering longer than she intended, which Deeks noted with a smirk.
"Ok, so what's so important you had to call us away from canvassing?" she asked.
"One of the arson investigators found a gold lighter with an inscription on it around the spot where I tussled with the suspect. I'm betting that just might be why he came back," Deeks replied.
A/N: I hope you all are still enjoying this. I'm sprinkling in the tiniest bits of procedural stuff so we can keep having Firefighter Deeks.