Kensi had hoped that a night of sleep would give Deeks at least a little time to recover, but when she saw him the next morning, he looked clammy and pale with splotches of flushed skin along his cheekbones. The six hours of sleep he'd managed didn't seem to have done much good.

Once they'd returned, Kensi had rebandaged his wound, which had indeed begun bleeding again, before they called OPS. That had been a long and unpleasant conversation. Callen and Sam didn't love that they'd gone off-script without any warning or backup. Somehow, thanks to a lot of impressive quick talking, Deeks managed to convince them not to take over.

Against her better judgment, Kensi had kept the extent of Deeks' injuries to herself. If she had, they almost certainly wouldn't have agreed to merely being in overwatch.

"You look terrible," Kensi told him, covering her concern with bluntness.

"I told you if you were going to stay over, you couldn't criticize," Deeks joked as he dragged himself to the kitchen area. He walked stiffly, arms held close to his side.

Kensi had insisted on staying with him, even though he repeatedly told her he was "good". She worried that Frankie, or any number of criminals would somehow hear of his injuries and take the opportunity to strike. She told herself she simply didn't want the operation to go bad, but she knew it went a lot deeper than that.

"I take it you're not going to listen if I suggest you go to the hospital."

"Would you?" Deeks raised an eyebrow, sardonic even when he almost certainly felt awful. When Kensi didn't respond, he nodded in a satisfied way, and started pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Kensi watched him winced when he raised his arm to grab a mug, and rolled her eyes. "Let me do it," she sighed, her worry making her irritable.

Directing him to a chair, she fixed a mug of coffee, guessing at what he'd like based on the cream in the fridge. Deeks accepted it with a grateful sigh, taking a long sip.

"Do you want some breakfast?" He'd be limited to sliced fruit or whatever could be stuck in the toaster, but she figured that would be better than an empty stomach.

Grimacing, Deeks shook his head once. "No, thanks."

"You didn't eat last night either," she reminded him.

Clearing his throat, he leaned forward, his eyes tightening in obvious pain at the movement.

"I've survived on worse," he informed her with one of those sly grins she was learning were intended to distract. "Don't worry, I won't let you down."

"I'm not worried about that," Kensi snapped in exasperation. She tossed the loaf of bread she'd found in the refrigerator on the counter, crossing over to stand in front of Deeks. He tilted his head back, expression shifting to something more uncertain and vulnerable. I'm worried because for the time being, you're my partner. And for whatever crazy reason, I do care about you." Giving into her instinct and desire for once, she dipped her head, just touching her lips to his. She finished by brushing his hair from his eyes. "So, I'd rather not see you put yourself in more danger."

Deeks swallowed visibly, his eyes wide, his expression almost one of surprise. As though he didn't quite believe what she said.

"Do you mean that?" he asked finally.

"Yes. You're pretty good at telling when I'm lying," she said, and his upper lip quirked up in a brief smile.

"That's true." He licked his bottom lip. "Ok, so what exactly does that mean?"

"For starters, it means you eat the damn toast I make you."

Deeks laughed outright at that, his head tipping forward to press against her midsection. "It's been a long time since anyone's cared about me beyond my ability to do my work."

"Well, then they don't know what they're missing," Kensi murmured. Maybe it was a foolish thing to say when they had to meet the Kaisers in just a few hours. She pushed that thought away, leaning down to kiss him again.