A/N: For Densimber Day 12 There's a fair bit of whump here and some blood for anyone who's squeamish. Takes place sometime between seasons 3-5.
"Ok, this officially sucks," Deeks announced after running into something hard, and extremely painful, for the sixth time. He rubbed his head, trying to see beyond the few feet of light his flashlight provided in the near pitch black.
Currently, he and Kensi were following the trail of a suspected gun trafficked and murderer through an abandoned tunnel. Since it hadn't been used in more than a few decades, the infrastructure was starting to crumble and a strong musty scent permeated the area.
"Deeks, quit being such a baby," Kensi told him with zero sympathy. "If you can handle getting shot and then running down several flights of stairs with fresh bullet wounds, then a few bumps and bruises won't kill you."
"Your concern is touching. At this rate, I'm going to have permanent brain damage."
"Going to or already do?" Kensi joked, laughing to herself.
Something skittered by them and she jerked away, colliding with Deeks. He caught hold of her waist and upper arm as she collided with his chest.
"What, don't tell me you're afraid of a rat," he teased back and he clearly saw her glare. Kensi pushed him away, lightly smacking his arm.
"Of course not, I was just startled." She jabbed a warning finger in his face. "And if you so much as even think of telling anyone about what just happened-"
"Wouldn't dream of it." Seeming to be satisfied by his response, Kensi aimed her flashlight ahead and they started walking again. "I hope we don't have to walk all 8 miles of this thing," he said.
"I'm pretty sure if I took a three-year-old with me, they would complain less," Kensi said derisively. "Plus, there's no way this tunnel is 8 miles long."
Deeks just grinned, not terribly offended by her lack of support. They rounded a corner and suddenly it became drastically lighter.
"Do you hear that?" he whispered, referring to the sound of something buzzing. Kensi nodded and they both raised their weapons, slowly moving forward.
Another 100 feet of curved tunnel and they walked into a fully lit corridor. There were tracks on the ground indicating that something had been moved through recently.
"This must be where-" Kensi started to say, but Deeks cut her off as he saw a red light blink from the far wall.
"Kensi, run!" he shouted, grabbing her hand and jerking her back the way they came. They only made it a few dozen yards before an explosion rocked through the tunnel.
Deeks was thrown against the wall, head impacting with the concrete. As he fell, debris covering him, he whispered Kensi's name.
Kensi came to with a gasp. There was something heavy on her legs and her head throbbed. It took more than a few seconds for her to recall what happened.
"Deeks!" Ignoring the pain that came with moving, she desperately searched for him amongst the debris. He lay face-down a few feet away. She climbed out from under the rubble, pushing pieces of rock and cement aside. She stumbled to her feet, having to hunch to avoid losing her balance completely, and dropped to her knees beside Deeks.
Most of the fallout had missed him, but he wasn't moving at all. She managed to turn him over without too much difficulty, worry growing when he remained limp.
Miraculously, some of the lights had survived, so she could see every scratch and bruise. His face bore several smaller cuts, but his torso seemed uninjured, or at least on the surface. There was a growing irregular circle of blood soaked through the thigh of his jeans. She inspected it briefly and decided that it could wait.
She cupped his cheeks, rubbing them a few times.
"C'mon Deeks, open your eyes." He inhaled suddenly with a sharp wince and turned his face away, blinking several times.
"Kens, you ok?" he muttered before his eyes were fully open.
"I'm fine," Kensi insisted, gently pushing him back down as he tried to sit up. She saw his eyes go to her forehead and she automatically touched the spot, which was sticky with partially dried blood. "I promise, it's not that bad."
"Ok." He glanced around at the destroyed section of tunnel in dismay. "Is your comm working?"
Kensi pressed a finger to the small device in her ear, but there was nothing. The connection hadn't been good to begin with before the blast.
"No. We need to get moving before this collapses completely," she said as Deeks experimentally moved his leg.
"I think there's something stuck in my thigh," he told her with a grimace. "I don't think I can walk far with it in there."
"Let me see." Grabbing her knife, she bent over his leg again. It was a testament to Deeks' faith in her that he didn't flinch when she unceremoniously started slicing through the denim.
"You know, if you wanted me to get naked, all you had to do was ask," he joked as she cut away a large patch, revealing his upper thigh and a gory wound.
"Shut up," Kensi said distractedly. Even without the material in the way, it was still difficult to tell how bad it was with the blood and torn flesh. Deeks pushed himself on his hands to get a better look, seeming less squeamish at seeing his own skewered leg than she felt.
"I think there's a piece of metal or something lodged in there."
"Can you get it out?"
"What?" Kensi shied back, surprised by his causal question. For some reason, she hadn't anticipated that she would have to perform minor surgery on Deeks. "Deeks, I don't have anything on me to pull it out."
"Then use your fingers," he suggested simply. When Kensi started to shake her head, Deeks added, "You're going to end up dragging me otherwise."
"Fine." Taking a deep breath, she wiped her hands on her jeans and used the hem of her jacket to remove as much blood from around the wound as she could. She noticed Deeks reach behind him for a pipe that was still firmly embedded in the wall and grab it firmly.
"Ok, ok, ok," Kensi softly chanted, more to psyche herself up than for Deeks' benefit. She gripped the tip of the metal piece buried in Deeks' thigh. Her fingers slipped on the blood-slick metal and she swore under her breath.
"What's wrong?" Deeks asked in a calm, but noticeably breathy voice.
"I can't get a good grip. There's not enough sticking out."
"Then do what you have to."
Kensi frowned, not immediately understanding him and he gave her a significant look.
"It's going to really hurt," she warned him.
"It already does," Deeks said. Even so, he tightened his hold on the pipe behind him and closed his eyes. "Just do it, please."
Before either of them could lose their nerve, she bent over his leg again, digging her fingers in and around the shrapnel. Deeks roared and his upper body tensed, but he somehow managed to keep his leg still. She didn't know how.
Forcing herself to ignore his pained noises, Kensi relentlessly dug at the metal until she felt it shift the tiniest bit. More blood pooled around the wound as she worked it free. Deeks panted softly, each breath creating a quiet rhythm. Finally, the piece slid out with a nasty suctioning noise and she pressed her palm over the wound.
Kensi turned the metal in a trembling, blood-covered hand. It was jagged on one end and about two inches long. Grimacing, she threw it to the side, returning to Deeks' thigh. When she lifted her hand, a stream of blood trickled down to soak into his ripped jeans.
It wasn't as bad as she'd anticipated, but it was bleeding enough that without some kind of bandage, it would weaken Deeks even more. Coming to a hast decision, Kensi pulled her jacket and t-shirt off.
She glanced at Deeks, expecting some inappropriate response but his eyes were still tightly clenched shut. She put her jacket back on, zipping it up to her neck. Tearing her shirt into two pieces, she balled one up and pressed it directly to the wound, then wound the second piece around his thigh in a makeshift bandage.
"Ok, it's done," she told Deeks, rubbing the back of her hand over her mouth. She felt a little nauseous and lightheaded.
Deeks released his death grip on the pipe and opened his eyes again, laying limply on the ground. His skin was a little too pale and breathing still a touch too fast, but he didn't seem in danger of passing out on her.
"Thanks," he croaked. He laid there for another minute or two while Kensi attempted to wipe as much blood off her skin as possible. The ceiling above them gave a sudden, ominous creak and Kensi gave him an apologetic look.
"Deeks, we have to get moving." She stood and offered Deeks her hand, supporting him as he struggled to his feet. He leaned heavily on her shoulder, but managed to keep a steady pace back through the tunnel, using her flashlight to guide their way.
Fortunately, they didn't run into anymore obstacles along the way, though the creaking and falling debris increased steadily. Kensi's head pounded with every step she took, making her stomach clench, but she ignored it, focusing on reaching the entrance.
Deeks stumbled at the door, nearly falling, and Kensi grabbed him around his torso, dragging him through. They tumbled into an empty bar where Deeks' promptly collapsed with a strangled groan. Kensi slumped beside him and jabbed at the comm in her ear. It took two tries to hit the tiny button.
"Nell, Eric we need backup at the tunnel," she said shortly. She glanced over at Deeks who gave her a weak, exhausted smile. Not having the energy to say anything else, she reached for his hand, relieved when he grabbed it with shaking fingers.
A/N: Would they probably need to get far away in case there was another bomb? Probably. But we're going to ignore that little inconvenient detail for now.