Note: They say it takes a village to raise a child. And sometimes it takes one (or at least a great, supporting group of fellow writers) to write a fic. The idea for this little story (which will be a total of five chapters in length) came while I was on vacation in Oceanside, CA, in February. The sleepy little southern California beach town and the possibility for Deeks getting himself into a big mess was too good to resist. My dear friend Anna (thepixiesmademedoit) had the inception of the idea of Kensi possibly being offered a position with the NCIS Red Team, and it took off from there. My deepest thanks to Angela (Angela6257) for the suggestions and support, and to Jenn (MioneAlterEgo) for her beta prowess. And if you do, thank you for reading, reviewing, and following along!

Chapter 1

"So that's it? You were going to make this decision, leave NCIS, give up on our partnership, and you weren't going to talk to me about it first?"

"I haven't actually made any final decisions, Deeks. Besides, it isn't as though I thought I'd always stay here in Los Angeles, here at NCIS. I don't know if this is what I want for the rest of my career. It can't be what you want for yourself."

"It could have been. I thought it might be."

"Liaison to NCIS for the LAPD? Partnered with me? Always reporting to other people? Don't you think you'll eventually want more?"

"I want to be your partner, Kensi. Everything else is secondary. Was secondary. But it doesn't sound like you're content with just that."

She woke with a start, her eyes flying open and her heart racing. Kensi turned her head quickly, trying to figure out what had shaken her from sleep. And she groaned when her eyes fell on her bedside clock, the display reading a mocking 4:15AM. She sat up, slumping over at the waist in tired defeat. She was so exhausted from not sleeping.

It was the third night in a row where she hadn't slept. Not really slept. She'd gotten a few minutes here and there, a catnap or two, but nothing that left her rested. And it galled her that she knew exactly why. It was all his fault.

Ever since Friday afternoon when Deeks had taken off, too angry to talk to her and too hurt to let her near, she'd been rocked by unsettling and unwelcome feelings of regret and irritation. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong and felt as though the blame and anger he directed at her wasn't deserved. And if there was one thing Kensi Blye hated, it was being blamed for something she hadn't done.

Besides, if he'd just listened to her, let her explain, let her talk, maybe he wouldn't have gotten so mad. But he hadn't listened past what he thought he'd heard: Granger had offered her a position with the NCIS Red Team.

An elite undercover team, the Red Team never stayed in one place for very long and they were comprised of the very best NCIS agents. They worked together, traveled together, and solved some of the most complex criminal cases in the Navy. Kensi had heard stories about them and their exclusivity for a few years. The Red Team had seemed like a fascinating prospect but not one she ever figured she would qualify for.

But then Granger had approached her earlier in the week, suggesting that the team had an opening and that he would recommend her for it if she were interested. And Kensi had been more than surprised. She hadn't thought Granger had much of an opinion of her. Or whatever opinion he had she'd been sure wasn't favorable.

She'd mulled the offer over. And she'd realized that there were things she would miss if she left NCIS and Los Angeles. Sam, Callen, Nell, Eric, and Hetty, certainly. The beach in Malibu, Crumbs Bakery, music at the Hollywood Bowl, and coffee from Aroma, for sure. But all those things and people weren't enough to make her hesitate from turning down the opportunity. There was only one person who made her truly consider saying no. Deeks. And so she'd thought about it, made some plans, worked some deals. And she'd hoped she might have a solution that would work for both of them.

So when she'd gone to Deeks and had explained the initial offer Granger made, his reaction had more than stunned her. In hindsight she probably could have worded it better. Saying she had an incredible opportunity for a job that would take her away from Los Angeles and out of contact with everyone at NCIS had sounded as though she was trying to get away from him. She realized that now in her excitement to explain it all to Deeks, that she hadn't described it well.

But Deeks had jumped to conclusions. He hadn't let her finish, hadn't let her explain. Kensi had grown frustrated that he assumed what he wanted to about her and instead of talking about the position with the Red Team, their conversation had turned ugly. The loud and angry words were followed by accusatory and biting remarks that neither could find a way to take back once they were spoken out loud.

Their conversation hadn't really concluded. It just ended when Deeks walked away. Kensi had been sure he would cool off and then call or text her, a chagrined apology in his warm voice. And she would have told him to come over and then they would really talk. And she would tell him her plan.

But the call never came. Friday night ended with her tossing and turning, a little worried that Deeks hadn't called. All day Saturday her worry had turned to an unfamiliar sadness that he didn't get in touch to try and work things out. Saturday night she'd felt more than a little pitiful looking at her phone every five minutes and she'd drunk enough vodka in her Coke that it should have knocked her out. Instead, she stared up at the ceiling all night.

Sunday had been overtaken by anger. Kensi knew she wasn't always the easiest woman to deal with, but Deeks was no picnic either. He might put up with a lot when it came to her, but that street went both ways. In the back of her mind Kensi heard a small voice suggesting she could call Deeks, but she shoved a cookie into her mouth to shut that voice up.

And so her sleep on Sunday night had been a maelstrom of angry and irritated emotions. Her annoyance with Deeks kept her practically vibrating and wide awake. Somehow she'd managed a little bit of sleep, only to be awoken by some random and indiscernible noise that now left her alert in a way she didn't want to be before dawn.

"This is all his fault," Kensi announced out loud, glaring at the clock as the numbers flipped higher, and ever closer to her usual wake up time to go to work.

She sighed and closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. She had to sleep. She could not show up at OSP with bags under her eyes and red, scratchy eyes. Deeks would know she'd been bothered all weekend after their exchange on Friday. And she couldn't have that.

She would absolutely not dwell on how his walking away had hurt. How she'd felt more than a little lost and alone after he'd left her standing in the gym at OSP. She would not think about how stunned she'd been to walk into the bullpen and find his bag gone, his "have a nice weekend" farewell greetings given to Sam and Callen, but not a word for her. She would not think about it. Because thinking about it made a kind of throbbing pain pulse over her heart. And she did not want to think about that either.

Just as she could feel peaceful sleep coming, the cell phone on her bedside table rang, piercing the dark silence of her bedroom. Kensi groaned, then rolled over to check the caller ID. She squinted at the area code. 760. That was somewhere in southern California, outside of the main city and suburbs of Los Angeles. The number was unfamiliar. But it was her NCIS-issued phone ringing and nobody called that unless they meant to.

"Hello?"

"Kensi."

"Deeks? What the hell are you doing calling me at—" Kensi glanced at the bedside clock, her irritation growing. "—Four thirty in the morning?"

He hadn't called all weekend but he called before dawn on Monday morning. He'd let her stew for two days. Somehow this made her angrier rather than relieved at finally hearing from him.

"Kensi, I need you to come get me."

Her eyes narrowing at the tired stress she could hear in his voice, Kensi felt a twinge in her gut. Something was wrong. She concentrated on the sounds coming across the phone, hearing the loud echoing over the line even while she couldn't make out the words. He was somewhere with hard, unfinished walls in what sounded like a large, open room.

"Deeks, where are you? You'd better be dead after taking off on Friday without a backwards word."

"Not dead. But I really need you to come get me."

"What happened to your car? Where are you?" Kensi repeated.

"Oceanside."

"Oceanside? As in two hours south of Los Angeles? Near Camp Pendleton? That Oceanside? Take a train if you're having car trouble. I'm not driving two hours to pick you up, Deeks," Kensi replied testily.

"I'll explain when you get here. Just—please, Kensi. Will you come?" Deeks asked, his voice giving way to a note of desperation she was not at all familiar or comfortable hearing from him.

"Fine," Kensi said shortly. "Where exactly am I going?"

Deeks recited an address and thanked her, hanging up before she could ask him more questions about what was going on. Shaking her head, Kensi dressed quickly, getting into her car and on the road south before the major commuter traffic jammed up I-5. Kensi made a stop for coffee north of Anaheim, also leaving a message with Hetty to let her know she was going to be late since she had to go rescue Deeks, and then she continued navigating south, the interstate turning west to nearly hug the coast.

Just past Camp Pendleton, Kensi started to see signs for Oceanside. The sun was beginning to come up, shining through the high clouds over the eastern hills. Following the directions from her GPS, she took the Mission Avenue exit, heading inland. But it was when she pulled into the parking lot of the address Deeks gave her that the pieces began to fall together. And her heart nearly stopped, the earlier angry words she'd exchanged with Deeks wiped away.

Oceanside Police Department.

Kensi entered the building quickly, approaching the front desk. Oceanside seemed like a sleepy little beach town and it was still early, so one lone person stood behind the counter, clearly beginning the morning rounds of making coffee and getting ready for the day. And she didn't really think, just reached for her badge and held it up for the officer to see.

"Agent Kensi Blye, NCIS. I'm here to see Detective Marty Deeks."

The officer took in the badge and glanced at Kensi's face, then shifted his knowing eyes around to the police officer sitting at a desk behind him.

"Sanchez. A Fed here to see the guy in lock up. Get her signed in and then take her back."

Kensi tried not to blurt out her immediate questions but kept her gaze measured as the officer, a young Hispanic man, stood to meet her at the counter. She signed in quickly, Sanchez taking an agonizingly long time to write down her badge information. The other officer took the sheet with her information on it, staring at her pointedly.

"I'm going to check you out. And I expect you'll want to talk after you've seen him."

Not really caring about "after" when all she wanted to know right then was that her partner was safe, Kensi nodded quickly. Sanchez led her behind the counter, taking her through several locked gates to the cells in the rear of the station. After each one her heart pounded a little louder, and then suddenly Deeks was in front of her.

Sanchez gave her a quick nod, then departed, leaving them alone. Deeks was sitting on the bench inside the locked cell, his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. He was wearing medical scrubs and paper slippers. Her heart clenched at the sight, realizing his clothing had been taken for evidence.

Kensi took a silent step forward, her fingers curling around the cold bars of the cell. Even without him looking up at her she could see how tired he was. There was even a hint of a confused and lost little boy in how his head was bowed, his fingers covering his eyes.

"Deeks."

At the sound of his name, Deeks' head shot up. There had been worry in his eyes, completely wiped away when he saw her. He breathed her name with relief and stood to cross the cell in two strides.

"Kensi."

She let herself reach for him, circled his wrists with her hands, any further movements restricted by the bars. Deeks leaned in, as if he were seeking her embrace, but checked himself at the metal barrier between them. Kensi looked over him quickly, reassured to find that he seemed fine. No overt signs of injury.

"How did you get here? What are you doing in there? What happened?" Kensi asked quickly. Deeks' eyes fell from her, the relief he'd felt upon seeing her replaced with something else. Perplexed, Kensi watched as Deeks stepped back from her, running his hands through his hair before he turned partially away, a deep sigh lifting and dropping his shoulders.

"They think I killed someone."

To be continued