A/N: Another story for the Deeks at FLETC series.
"Hey man," Charlie Teale shouted, clapping Deeks on the back as he fell into step beside him. Deeks just barely held back a wince, his ribs and abdomen twinging sharply from the well-meant gesture. He discreetly wrapped an arm around his middle and managed a half grin in Charlie's direction.
"Hey, nice work on that simulation exercise yesterday," he said. Charlie accepted the praise with a pleased smile and a shrug.
"Couldn't have done it without your help."
"Don't sell yourself short. I gave you some tips, but you're the one who put in the hard work." Deeks reached out to give him a fist bump, hoping to avoid anything too strenuous or enthusiastic. "I'm proud of you."
"Thanks, Deeks," Charlie said, a little shyly, which was odd coming from the normally outspoken man. "It means a lot coming from you." He glanced down at his watch and swore under his breath. "Crap. I have to get to my next class. You still good to run later?"
Deeks hesitated, thinking of the bandages he'd wrapped around his torso earlier that morning. Even with that, it still hurt when he breathed too deeply or moved suddenly.
"Uh, yeah, sure. That'll be fine."
"Great, I'll see you after lunch." Charlie gave him a friendly punch, thankfully in the shoulder this time, and then jogged off to his next class.
Sighing, Deeks wondered how he was going to make it through an hour run. He wasn't about to cancel though and risk someone figuring out that he was injured. A couple ibuprofen right before and the tightest bandages Deeks could manage would have to do.
Deeks knew almost as soon as they started running that he'd made a terrible decision. His left side burned after just a few strides and he could barely keep on pace with Charlie.
He kept his head down, trying to concentrate on staying upright while Charlie chatted about the next round of tests they had coming up.
"How hard do you think fieldwork assessment will be?" he asked. Deeks grunted instead of answering, drawing in a shallow breath that did nothing to alleviate the ache in his chest. It felt like there was an anvil sitting on his lungs. "I heard that‒geez, Deeks, are you ok?"
Charlie glanced over in time to see Deeks stumble and fall to his knees. He panted unevenly, black spots blocking his vision as Charlie continued to say his name with increasing panic.
"I'm…ok," Deeks managed to wheeze, ignoring the fact that his arms were shaking and he thought he might pass out if he even thought about moving.
"You just fell over, man. That is the exact opposite of 'ok'." Ignoring Deeks' breathless protests, Charlie helped him into a sitting position against a tree. He was grateful for the solid wood behind his back and concentrated on evening out his breath. Eventually he glanced up at Charlie again, who was pacing in a small circle, hands on his hips.
"Sorry about that."
"You wanna tell me what happened?" Charlie asked, sounding pissed off. Deeks figured it was more to do with worry than actual anger. "Yesterday you ran like six miles and took down three opponents like it was nothing."
Sighing, Deeks swiped his arm across his forehead and glanced up. Little streams of sunlight were filtering through the tree tops.
"You know that last jab Ramirez got in when we were sparring?" Deeks said as he lifted the edge of his shirt, revealing the layer of bandages. "I think he might have broken a rib. Or two."
Hissing in sympathy, Charlie crouched in front of him and gently prodded the spot Deeks indicated.
"Son of a‒!" Charlie jerked back at Deeks' exclamation, his eyebrows drawing together even more.
"Dude, I barely touched you. If it hurts that bad, you need to get to the clinic and get checked out."
"No!" Deeks leaned forward like he could somehow stop Charlie in his current condition. "I could get kicked out if it's bad enough."
"You almost passed out," Charlie reminded him, his tone slightly sarcastic. "I know you're used to doing insane things with your team, but you can't fight or train like this. You could injure yourself even worse."
"I can handle it," Deeks insisted. He gave Charlie a pleading look. "I might not get another chance if I blow this one. Promise me you won't say anything to anyone."
"Deeks…"
"I'll take it as easy as I can and if I feel like it's not improving, I'll get checked out."
"Right, cause you're clearly such a good judge of what's reasonable," Charlie said. He shook his head and then sighed deeply. "Fine. I won't rat you out. Yet." He raised a finger before Deeks could say anything. "But if I think you're being too risky, I reserve the right to drag your stubborn butt to the emergency room."
"Understood," Deeks agreed, not exactly pleased with Charlie's terms, but knowing by now that he wasn't easily swayed when he'd made a decision. "Thanks."
Charlie rolled his eyes and reached to help Deeks stand.
"I'm beginning to see why there's so many stories about your team. You guys really are crazy."
"Oh, if you think I'm bad‒" Deeks paused to groan and pressed his hand over his ribs again. "Then you should hear about this op we had in Mexico."