A/N: DocR47: Yes, I do need to proofread better. I do review my stories and the wonderful mashmaiden catches a lot of my typos, but I have an inconsistent posting schedule and often edit later in the day. Plus, I keep falling prey to AutoCorrect's shenanigans.
I've enjoyed reading all your comments. I'm happy you're enjoying my various series. Sometimes I do take a while to update, so please be patient with me.
As always, thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing, and supporting this story!
"You're joking," Kensi exclaims in outrage. "She wasn't even in holding for 24 hours."
"Apparently one of her friends, Tanya, showed up early this morning," Deeks explains, rubbing his hands over his face in an exhausted motion. "She had the bond and a lawyer ready as soon as the judge finished with her."
"This is completely ridiculous." Kensi paced across the floor, crossing the room in just a few times. "They didn't get a full statement from either of us."
"Kens, we see this all the time with people way worse than Sylvia. I don't get special treatment just because I'm a cop."
It's frustrating that he's taking it so calmly, but he's not wrong. Tucking her thumbnail between her front teeth, she reminds herself once again that Deeks is not the enemy here. However much she might dislike his ability to forgive and give Sylvia the benefit of the doubt, he doesn't deserve to be the target of her anger.
"Well, forgive me if my take is less generous. I don't like the idea of her being out already."
"Honestly, I'm not the biggest fan either," Deeks admits. "I was hoping that I'd have a little more time before I had to deal with her again."
"You don't have to deal with her at all," Kensi says firmly. "At least not outside of her hearing and any other legal events. She lost that right."
"Mm, you make it sound so easy." He yawns unexpectedly, leaning heavily on his closed fist.
Kensi's lingering outrage shifts to concern for Deeks, who looks a few minutes away from collapsing in his abandoned French toast.
"Hey, why don't you go back to bed?" she suggests. "I can clean up in here. You look like you could use some extra sleep.
"Yeah, that's probably not a great idea. I'll just end up spending the whole time thinking," he says with a tired smile. "I should probably call my therapist or something." He sucks a small breath between his teeth. "That'll be quite the conversation."
"You been to therapy outside of mandated sessions?" Kensi asks, too shocked to hide her surprise. Especially with recent events, she'd assumed Deeks would be firmly against any kind of counseling.
"Yeah, the first time when I was a kid," he says with a shrug. He smirks slightly. "What, can't imagine it?"
"No, of course not. You just seem…ok, yeah, I'm surprised," Kensi admits. "You're a private person." She draws her hands in a circular motion to encompass his current situation. Maybe it's a bit too soon, but he'd successfully concealed his personal problems from everyone. It seemed unlikely that he would share it with a medical professional.
"Well, I don't exactly love it, and sometimes I don't go when I should, but I trust the woman I see. She's been with me for a long time." He pauses, the silence contemplative. "Though it's been a couple years since I've met with her."
Since he and Sylvia started dating, Kensi fills in, though she doesn't voice the thought.
"So, were you planning to wear your pajamas to work today?" Deeks asks abruptly, and Kensi glances down at her old t-shirt and leggings, like she's expected them to magically turn into her uniform.
She swears under her breath, glancing at the clock, and then her phone. Apparently, Deeks can guess what's she's considering, because he shakes his head.
"No, you're not calling off." Kensi starts to object, but he holds a hand up. "I'll be fine and Granger's going to have a fit if you don't show up. I mean, right now I'm not even on official medical leave. Imagine if we both call off."
As much as Kensi wants to disagree, Deeks is right once again. He's fully capable of taking care of himself, and she can't shirk her own responsibilities simply because she doesn't want to leave him alone for part of a day.
"Ok, but stay out of trouble," she warns, meaning it though she says it jokingly.
"Knowing me that might be difficult," Deeks sighs, then gestures with his chin. "Go on, get to work. I promise I won't go anywhere besides the station to finish my statement."
Kensi checks in with Granger before she starts her shift, in part because she is once again without a partner and because she knows he'll want a full and official report about yesterday's incident. He takes it all in with his usual gruff irritation, but doesn't reprimand Kensi for her part in all of it. When she's finished, he asks after Deeks, and sends her to man the tip line.
From anyone else, she'd think it was punishment. Granger isn't that vindictive though, and with her own mandatory mental health evaluation is pending, she can't be on active duty. Plus, it keeps her from direct contact with most of her fellow officers.
Even so, the rumors have started to circulate; there's no way they wouldn't after yesterday, but it still bothers Kensi to hear the bits and pieces of gossip when she stops in the break room or makes a pit stop to the restroom. Fortunately, the full story doesn't seem to be out yet, and what is, appears mostly accurate. Still, she knows Deeks would hate it.
The one problem with tip line duty is that it gives her far too much time to think. She almost texts Deeks a dozen different times, but manages to hold herself back. He deserves some space.
Nell Jones stops in around lunchtime with a container of takeout pasta and a listening ear.
"How's Deeks doing?" she asks when they're packing up the empty containers.
"As well as can be expected," Kensi answers carefully. "You should come see him."
"Good. That was…a lot. I've seen some truly horrific things over the years, domestic abuse of course, but it's something else when it happens to a friend." Nell shakes her head. "What about you. How are you dealing with all of this?"
"Narrowly controlling the urge to find Sylvia and practice some judo on her."
"Hey, you ever decide to act on that urge, I'll be right beside you," Nell tells her grimly.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side," Kensi jokes.
"You know it, lady. Seriously though, we both have seen that Deeks is reluctant to protect himself against her. It's just not in his makeup for reasons I won't begin to try to analyze or understand. So, it's up to us to make sure she doesn't get a chance to hurt him again."
They share a look of understanding, and then Nell squeezes Kensi's shoulder, lightly hopping to her feet, like they didn't just finish a serious conversation.
"Ok, I gotta get back to it before I get a slap on the wrist for taking too long of a break."
Kensi's is hit by the scent of tomatoes, cheese and Italian spices when she walks into her apartment that evening. She kicks her shoes off, noticing that the living room is perfectly straightened, the blankets and pillows Deeks uses neatly stacked at one end of the couch, and fresh vacuum tracks on the area rug. That instantly sets off some warning bells; she hopes Deeks hasn't spent the entire day deep-cleaning her apartment.
She enters the kitchen cautiously, finding Deeks surrounded by what looks like every single pot and baking dish she owns. Deeks looks up as she walks in, sparing her a small glance that doesn't give her enough to gauge his mood before turning his attention back to one of the smaller sauce pans on the stove.
"Hey, how was work?"
"I got put on the tip line," Kensi answers slowly. "Fortunately, there weren't too many crazy calls and we got one solid tip on a serial burglar." She pauses as Deeks nods. "I thought you were supposed to be taking it easy the rest of today. Cleaning my place top-to-bottom and cooking another gourmet meal isn't my definition of relaxing."
Deeks wordlessly holds his phone up while still stirring one-handed, waiting for Kensi to take it. She does so with some confusion, tapping the screen before it can turn off. It's open on the message app, and there's a massive wall of blue below Sylvia's name. She reads the first half of the paragraph length text, mouth widening at the truly vile words written on the screen.
"Oh my god," she mutters, scrolling up and finding more texts. One is a plea for Deeks to call Sylvia. The one before that is almost threatening. It reminds her of Sylvia's response after she attacked him yesterday.
"They've been coming in since 11," Deeks says shortly, his arm working a little harder as he stirs.
Oh, he's angry, Kensi realizes. That's new.
She scrolls through a few more, shocked by the quick vacillation between blatant manipulation, anger, and pleas for forgiveness.
"She just doesn't quit, does she?" Kensi says. After everything, Sylvia doesn't seem cowed in the least.
"That's putting it mildly," Deeks says, pulling off an oven mitt and tossing it to the side with a frustrated sound. He drags his hands through his hair, lifting his chin towards the ceiling.
"It's actually one of the things I found attractive about her when we met, if you can believe it," he continues with a grim chuckle. He passes his hands over his face and back up into his hair. "Her unending tenacity seemed so compelling at the time. She built her own business from the ground up and refused to let any obstacles get in her way." He inclines his head again. "And now she's apparently refusing to let me go too. Like some kind of freaking Mary Higgins Clark book."
"I know you're not going to like this, but you need to consider a restraining order," Kensi tells him. She waves his phone in the air. "These texts go in direct violation of the terms of her arrest. She's shown that the threat of further charges and jail time isn't enough to stop her from contacting you."
"I know. I'm not seeking a restraining order though. Not yet."
"Why not? She's dangerous, Deeks!" She raises her voice slightly in her frustration.
"Again, I know. Which is why I contacted a lawyer today. I'm keeping a record of any texts or calls she makes, and sending it to the lawyer. He thinks it'll build a better case for my claims if we can show that there's a continued history of…verbal abuse in addition to the witnessed event yesterday. The case is less likely to get thrown out or end with her sentenced reduced to time served. Or give the sense that I'm being unreasonably vindictive," Deeks explains. "It's not like restraining orders work most of the time anyway."
That deflates some of Kensi's anger. She's glad he has a plan, that something in the last 10 hours has awoken his desire to actively fight back. She just doesn't know if it's enough.
"Ok," she relents though, because pushing him is not the answer. "Did you find anything else about your case?"
"Yeah, the initial hearing is scheduled in seven weeks. I also talked with Granger and he's putting me on four weeks of medical leave, pending a full psych and medical eval at the end of that leave."
"Good. You need it."
Deeks raises and eyebrow, reaching over to flip off a couple burners on the stove. "Should give me enough time to apartment search. Since the condo is currently in limbo and I'm not sure I would want to go back even if I could." He ends that revelation by grabbing two plates and doling out portions of stuffed shells, green beans, and garlic bread.
"Well, you know you can stay here as long as you need," Kensi tells him after a moment. "I mean, the place hasn't been this clean…well, ever. Plus, you cook, so you're kind of the perfect roommate," she jokes.
"I know and I appreciate it. Today just made me realize that it's time for me to start moving on with my life." He smiles, handing Kensi a plate. "Don't worry though, with the rent around here, it's probably gonna take a while to find a place, so you won't lose your personal chef too soon."
"Just as long as I don't lose my friend," Kensi says honestly. "Can't live without him."
"There's no chance of that," Deeks says with a softer smile. "No matter what happens, you're stuck with me."
A/N: I realize Deeks' emotions are a little all over the place in this chapter. My explanation is that he's working through the trauma, grief, and shock of everything he's gone through with Sylvia, which is resulting in some mood swings.
Also, please forgive any procedural inaccuracies.
And yes, they are still completely platonic.