Author's Note 1: Okay, so first I just want to thank all of my loyal readers for all of the comments/reviews, and in general, all of the love. It really means a lot to me, and it makes me seriously want to keep writing this stories about everyone's favorite 'NCIS: LA' characters/partners. That said, I hope you guys are ready for this. Enjoy

Author's Note 2: So just a heads up for those of you in the 'know'. For this chapter, yes, I did pull another one of my favorite shows into the mix, but only just for fun. I know, I'm weird like that hahaha-Enjoy the story though.

Partners

Chapter 12

"So you don't deny it?" the well-groomed, middle-aged man on the huge plasma screen questions, narrowing his eyes at the Assistant Director of NCIS suspiciously. The suave-looking man is the Director of the CIA—Arthur Campbell.

Owen Granger stands in the high-tech communication center that is MTAC, located within the walls of the NCIS Headquarters in scenic Washington D.C. He is alone, for the most part, despite being surrounded by the necessary technical specialists responsible for maintaining the facility. Director Vance is still way on his European junket, and therefore Granger still remains in charge of things pending said Director's return.

The Assistant Director's main focus here now is 'damage control', and going by appearances he seems to be up to his elbows in the mess created by the actions of certain members of his agency. Yet, despite all of this, his outward demeanor reflects that of say a man in a coma.

"If your intelligence is as accurate as you claim, then what purpose would a denial serve here? Sir?" Granger replies coolly.

"Touché." Campbell mumbles unhappily. "This whole thing has been one disastrous screw-up after another." He states evenly. "And your agency is mostly to blame for this mess."

"I agree." Granger says in agreement. There would be no point in disagreeing as, again, denying NCIS's involvement at this point could only hurt their case. "But with all due respect, Mr. Director, I would like to point out that the professionalism displayed by your agency hasn't been quite up to par either."

Campbell scoffs, and averts his eyes from the screen as he shifts a small stack of papers around on his desktop. "That's beside the point." Campbell replies calmly. "I'll deal with my people how I see fit, and I suggest that you put some serious thought into your future at NCIS, and whether it's worth having those loose-cannon agents working for you."

Granger appears to go stiff at the CIA Director's thinly veiled threat. "Is that a threat?" he asks, maintaining his calm composure.

"I confided in you, Owen." Campbell reminds the NCIS Assistant Director. "I trusted you, remember that?"

Granger reigns in an amused expression, and shifts slightly where he stands. "If you're under the impression that I leaked information about your operation…I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken, Mr. Director." He explains coolly.

"Then explain it to me, please? How did your people know where to find our asset? If not you, then who?" Arthur Campbell's voice rises only slightly as he speaks, but his eyes burn with a flaring intensity that could sear right through a lesser man.

"You crossed Henrietta Lange, Arthur." Granger says pointedly, his voice somewhat lower than before. "And you and I both know how well that usually ends."

"She blew a major CIA operation, Owen. Both she and her team." Campbell fumes. "Hetty or not, she had no right."

Granger tips his head in a slight nod. "She feels responsible for those who work under her." He explains. "She cares."

"But, this—this guy they were after, he wasn't even an Agent." Campbell points out to Granger.

"Doesn't matter," Granger tells him. "He's part of her team."

Arthur Campbell lets out a long sigh and lifts a hand to rub the bridge of his nose in contemplation of his next words. "So where does this leave us, then?" he asks, tiredly. "These kinds of rogue actions are what causes entire nations to fall, and we certainly can't have that, now can we?"

"No, we can't." Granger says in agreement. "But, given the circumstances I think maybe it would be wise to back off—for now."

"You can't be serious?" Campbell questions incredulously.

"I am." Granger replies, standing his ground firmly. "Arthur, I think we both need to step back and give both of our agencies time to assess the full extent of the damage. I'm sure, given some time, that we can come to some sort of agreement that could potentially benefit all parties involved."

After a long moment of quiet thought, the CIA Director finally nods in agreement with Owen Granger's suggestion. He isn't exactly thrilled about it, but it does make some sense though. "Fine. I'll concede this round to you, Owen. But this isn't over." With the CIA Director's last words the screen almost immediately switches to static.

Granger hangs his head in silence for a moment, and then finally turns towards the stairs leading out of MTAC. "This is gonna be a long night." He mutters to himself.

Two weeks have passed since their arrival in Hawaii, and one week has passed since Deeks was released from the hospital into Kensi's capable care. The passage of time up to this point has been painfully slow, and anything but easy for either of them. Deeks started having episodes shortly after being admitted to the hospital, and with them came the inability to sleep through the night and at times keep a meal down for very long.

Kensi reached out to a friend then for help, and true to form Nate Getz arrived on their island within just days of being requested. Though the lovable 'head-shrinker', as Kensi affectionately dubbed him, was only with them for the first weekend his time with Deeks seems to have helped a great deal.

She now knows that Deeks is suffering from a mild form of PTSD, brought on by his time in captivity, and that while it may never completely go away—it can be managed. Furthermore, even though Kensi is not privy to all of the details, she has heard Deeks mention something about his 'happy place' on more than one occasion since the sessions with Nate. She has made a point of not bringing it up though, or pressing him to talk whenever it does come up.

Their stay here in Hawaii has been cleared with Hetty, who promised to take care of everything back home until they returned. She even offered Deeks a new job as well, provided he decided that he wanted it, and could pass all of the necessary tests included in the screening process.

The thing that Kensi is most grateful for at this point is that Deeks finally seems to be sleeping longer and longer through the night. This is a good thing because she knows a good night's rest is a major part of any healing process. Besides, she isn't sure how much more she can actually take of him waking up in the middle of the night, dazed and tormented by whatever visions happened to be plaguing his dreams. The truth is while it's surely been a nightmare for Deeks, for Kensi it's been utterly heartbreaking to see him this way.

Still, the last few nights have been the best so far, and Kensi is really hoping that it becomes a lasting trend.

It is nighttime in the Hawaiian Islands now, and somewhere inland in a small, fairly secluded cabin the partners lie in bed together fast asleep. The cabin was loaned to the pair courtesy of their Five-0 friends. The shaggy-haired surfer lies on his back only covered partly by the top sheet, while Kensi lies with her head resting against her partner's chest. Deeks wears nothing but pajama bottoms here, and Kensi is comfortable in just a t-shirt and panties.

Nothing has happened, really, between the pair, but their relationship has taken a big, somewhat natural turn in the time since they left Iraq. Kensi no longer seems quite so intent on keeping her 'personal space' free and clear at all times. This is made evident by how frequently she now lets Deeks invade said privacy, and she's also taken to making a game of it at times as a way of lightening the mood when needed.

On the other side of the coin, Deeks' usual witty comebacks and flirtatious banter now often carries with it more serious undertones, and as an added bonus he seems more comfortable leaning on her for support. This in combination with Kensi's gradually lowering shield has helped the couple greatly in easing into the new relationship that neither can quite avoid at this point.

The only sound that fills the tiny, single bedroom comes from the steady, rhythmic breathing of its occupants. It is a peaceful night, all in all, and thus far both have managed to sleep quite soundly. This is quite surprising given the over all hectic nature of the previous day. Still, all seems well for the moment.

A sudden movement in the darkened room comes when Deeks unconsciously wraps a somewhat possessive arm around his partner. Kensi shifts slightly under the new source of warmth that comes over her, and as a result presses herself even closer to her partner.

Morning comes in the form of a bright, beautiful Hawaiian day. A gentle breeze drifts through the room from an open window, which of course has a screen over it to prevent any bugs or critters from gaining entry to the cabin. Sunlight also pours into the room through the slightly parted curtains hanging in front of windows on the adjacent wall.

Kensi stirs gently against a beam of light that has settled over her face, and the slight breeze gives her a bit of a chill. She turns over and pulls her pillow over her head, and the top sheet further up her body.

"Deeks…" she moans from beneath the pillow. "Could you close the curtains please?"

No answer. Now Kensi is feeling a little more alert than before, as she slowly lifts the pillow away from her head. "Deeks?"

A muffled, repetitive 'Thud Thud' sound suddenly grabs her attention, and the female federal agent jerks upright in the bed. Her eyes tell her that Deeks is not in bed any longer, and the sound she's hearing seems to be coming from the bathroom. Worried, she snatches the sheet(s) away from her body, and pulls herself out of bed heading in the direction of the bathroom.

"Deeks!" she calls out to her partner.

She pushes open the bathroom door, and gasps at the sight beyond. She finds Deeks standing naked and soaking wet in the shower, though no water is running at present, and banging his fist hard against the tiled, shower wall over and over again. The look of torment painted across his face is enough, even from a distance, to rattle the usually unshakable female federal agent.

"Deeks." Kensi gasps, as she darts towards him.

She steps into the shower and wraps her arms around the muscular man, and tries to pull him away from his destructive activity. "Deeks, snap out of it." She pleads with the shaggy-haired man. The contact between them leaves her clothes sopping wet as a result.

He grunts and tries to free himself from the female federal agent's hold.

"Deeks, remember what Nate said-" she tries.

Suddenly though he spins around to face her, freeing himself of her grip, and with one hand pins her to the far wall of the shower. The motion is swift and his grip is firm, but he in no way hurts her.

"-go to your 'happy place'." She finishes, staring back at the shaggy-haired man poised to strike her at any moment.

The expression on Deeks' face goes from one of confused anger to one of painful realization in a split second. He opens his mouth to speak a minute later, but no words come out at first. Kensi can see the fresh tears playing at the corners of his Pacific Ocean blue eyes. This isn't the first time he's had an episode of this nature since his escape from captivity, but each one seems to leave him emotionally distraught and visibly ashamed of himself.

"Kensi, I wouldn't-" he starts. "I couldn't have-"

Kensi moves towards him, and wraps her arms around him in a soothing, reassuring manner. "Shhhh, it's okay. I know you wouldn't have." She assures him, and the weight of her words when she speaks then openly shows just how far they've come in their relationship. She closes her own eyes for a second, and lets fresh tears streak down her tanned cheeks.

"I'm so sorry." She says apologetically in a low whisper. "I should've been here…with you." She tells him, as she rubs a hand gently up and down his back. He remains silent for the most part.

Looking past him, at last, Kensi notices a light, red smear on the shower wall near the spot that Deeks had been punching only seconds before. She quickly realizes that the stain is blood—his blood.

"Deeks." She gasps once again, as she pulls back from him. She lifts his right arm up and inspects the hand, and to her horror she finds the area around his knuckles bloody and worn raw. Her mind reels at the sight, and she can't help but wonder at all the things he must've endured to make him this way.

New tears stream down her cheeks, and she shakes her head in disgust with herself. "I'm so sorry."

Deeks wants desperately to say something, anything, to make her feel better, but he knows that nothing he can say will be quite enough. "Kens." He tries, but nothing else follows.

After a moment Kensi wipes her eyes with the back of her hand, and brings her face up to his at last. "We should clean this up." She says, motioning to his bloody knuckles.

Deeks nods in silent agreement.

The partners sit together in the bathroom as Kensi works on cleaning and dressing Deeks' hand. Deeks sits on the toilet, and Kensi sits back on her knees in the floor in front of him. He at least has a towel wrapped around his waist at this point, but Kensi remains in her newly soaked t-shirt and panties. She had been too worried about her partner's hand to really care much about her own appearance.

The mood around them seems to have eased up a bit in the little time since the earlier incident. This is something that has sort of become a part of their ritual now. Whenever Deeks goes through one of his episodes, she brings him out of it, and helps him to calm back down, and then afterwards they don't really talk about it (much), and somehow they end up laughing or doing something silly. She knows it's just his way of distracting his brain and preventing himself from having to face the horror that hides within, but she doesn't care—at least he's not locked in a room somewhere alone helplessly moping around. They have found that somehow it seems to work out better (for both of them) this way. So why question it?

"You know, I dreamed about you last night." He tells her, keeping his eyes trained on his hand. "It was kind of like this, actually." He adds, letting his eyes drift slowly upwards over her wet body.

"Really?" she can tell he's eying her, and given her current state she's sure he's enjoying himself. But that's fine with her, she's already seen him naked once or twice now and admittedly the sight always gives her goose bumps.

He nods carefully. "Yeah, you were wet, like now, but we weren't in a bathroom."

"Oh, and where were we then, exactly?" she asks, trying to avoid direct eye contact because she knows if she doesn't she'll just start laughing way too soon.

"Down at the beach." He replies, trying to sound cool and casual. "And you were…" he trails off for a beat as his mind drifts back to the dream. He clears his throat seconds later, and tries to cover himself quickly. "Um, er, Y-you were…You were…"

"Shaking my ass in your face?" she says humorously, arching a brow at her partner.

Deeks lets out a soft laughter that fills Kensi's ears like sweet music. "So we both had the same dream then?" he quips, flashing her that adorable lop-sided grin of his.

She laughs at the expression on his face, and at the same time steadies his hand in her grip once more. Then she seems to fall silent again, and this kind of scares Deeks. It makes him instantly afraid that he's crossed a line.

"Kens, I didn't mean-" he tries quickly, but then stops short when he sees the sly grin beginning to spread across her lips. Realization falls over him in an instant, and a chuckle escapes his throat. "Oh, you are so evil." He tells her in a low voice.

Kensi laughs at herself. She really had him going there for a second. She finishes the dressing on Deeks' hand, and then takes a few seconds to inspect her handiwork. Neither one has really spoken yet, both are aware of the fact that they soon will have to. She carefully turns his bandaged hand in her own as she checks for any lose pieces or uncovered openings, but finding none eventually leaves her satisfied with the job she has done.

"All done." She says, looking up from Deeks' bandaged hand.

"Fern," he says admiring her bandage work for himself. "You're in the wrong line of work."

Kensi grins. "Are you saying I should've been a doctor?"

"Sure, except, instead of a white lab coat—maybe you could wear one of those real sexy nurse outfits like the ones they sale at that place over on Anderson street back in L.A."

"Deeks!" she lets go of a laugh and slaps his chest playfully. "There's hardly anything to them." She laughs. "You'd be able to see everything."

"Exactly." Deeks replies with a wink. Then something strikes him at that moment. "Wait, hold on a second—how do you know that?" he asks, suspiciously.

"I, uh, I just assumed." She tries.

"Nice try Fern. Spill."

"Fine." She says, trying to hide a smirk, but failing miserably. "I was supposed to go to this Halloween party last year, and I needed a costume. I may have tried on a few things there, you know, for fun." She explains, a mischievous glimmer suddenly visible in her eyes.

He leans forward and plants a quick, gentle peck against his partner's lips. "I'm hurt princess. You should've invited me, I could've kept you company." He says with a wink.

Kensi returns the gesture, and smiles against his lips. "We would've had so much fun." She teases, before planting another kiss against his lips.

Deeks laughs at his partner as he stands to his feet, pulling her up with him at the same time. "Oh, you have no idea." He tells her, as he pulls the beautiful brunette into his arms. He waits for her to protest, but she does not. So he continues.

"Lucky for you, Fern, I might be in the mood for some fun." He teases, as he runs his teeth gently across her collarbone.

Kensi feels butterflies invading her stomach at this point, and it startles her a little bit. Until now, she never realized that anyone could make her feel this way, and what he's suggesting—could it really be? Is this really happening?

"I-I guess I could be persuaded." She replies, trying to sound cool. "For a price."

Deeks pulls back a little bit, and looks at the woman in his arms. A small grin plays across his face as he stares into her mismatched eyes. "Whatdya say we go back to bed, and discuss your terms there?"

"Sounds like an offer I'd be foolish to refuse." She replies softly in his ear.

They both know, and understand, that their relationship won't be an easy one by any means. Especially with everything he still has left to deal with and work through. They are confident though, that it is a storm they can and will weather together. Together.

…The End…

Author's Note: Okay, I know that some of you guys are probably thinking 'wtf' right now, but here me out a second, please? I ended it this way so that I would have some really juicy territory to cover in the sequel which will see its first chapter posted by, at least, tomorrow evening—if not sooner. I hope that you guys will join me for the next leg of this Densi journey, and I promise you all this is to be one of those times when the sequel is actually better than the original.

P.S. The title of the sequel, so you all can be on the lookout for it, is L.A. Blow(Back).