Hey guys!

So, this is my first fanfiction ever.I hope you like it and if you could send me reviews, I could use some help.

Other thing, I'm portuguese if some parts of the story don't make sense, just let me know :)

About the story, I just love NCIS: LA so I decided to write about the development of the characters after this season's finale.

-Rita

DISCLAIMER: I'm portuguese, I don't think I can own anything !

Chapter 1 – Awakening

3 months later

Kensi woke up with the scream coming from the bedroom. She checked her watch, 'Damn, 4am'. She knew exactly what was happening. It was the third time that week. It was the first in two months that she had been sleeping for more than three hours though.

She got up, ran to the bedroom. He was still screaming, in panic. She reached him and hugged him saying, 'Hey there, I got you it'll be okay Deeks'. He stopped screaming when he felt her around him. He opened his eyes. She could feel his heart racing against her body. 'Here, drink this. Breathe in and breathe out.' she said handing him a glass of water. 'When will this end? I can't take this anymore!', he sighed laying back down, still scared. She sat beside him without saying a word. She knew he wouldn't want to talk about his nightmare but he wouldn't want her to go back to the couch either. So she just stood there, holding him, while his heart started to calm down. Right there, in the dark, silence was only interrupted by their breath.

xxxxx

Sam was sitting on the bench outside his house waiting for the sunrise. His recovery had been faster than anyone expected, but since the first day in the hospital he'd said he needed to make it, for Michelle and their daughter. And so he did.

Three months were enough to fully recover from all the internal damages caused by Sidorov and his ´partner'. It was 6.30am and he was already up because that was his first day back to work.

In those last three months, Sam hadn't seen the guys more than a couple of times back at the hospital. Except for Callen. He would go to his house every now and then. Sometimes to brief him about the smaller cases he and Kensi were dealing with and other times just to hang out with his partner.

Sitting on that bench, that morning, Sam remembered one of the conversations he had with Callen. They were on his backyard, on that same bench, and Callen had brought news about Deeks.

'He's in a pretty bad shape, at least that's what Kens told us.' Deeks was still in the hospital and Sam had came back home a week before.

'Have you been there with him?'

'Yeah, but Kensi is the one who's been staying there night after night..'

'I hope he can make it through this, he need to help him.' Sam sighed.

A couple of minutes went by and Callen was the one breaking the silence.

'Sam?'

'Yeah?'

'You know what you talked to me about….feeling bad for saying all those things to Deeks. You told me you were just kidding but you thought you might had crossed the line?' Callen started.

'Yes, I remember talking about that with you in the hospital.'

'I think you should tell him.'

'Tell him what G?'

'That you regret saying those things and thank him for being so strong for you and Michelle.'

After that moment, they didn't talk much about Deeks, only the usual briefing. That morning, Sam decided to go to Deeks' place after work to talk to him.

xxxxx

The light illuminated the room and she opened her eyes, due to the clarity, to see a sweaty Deeks sleeping in her arms. He looked so peaceful though and Kensi didn't want to wake him up right away since it was only 7am and it had been a rough night.

The sun was hitting his face and his blonde locks. She looked at him. She could see all of his scars, not just the ones that he had after the surgery, but the ones made by Sidorov as well. She stared at him for a moment, she could only imagine what he had been through those hours before their rescue.

She tried to get up so she could go to the bathroom and take a shower, but as soon as she started moving, she heard a voice mumbling, 'Thank you' Deeks said.

'Sorry, I didn't want to wake you up…I mean you looked so peaceful and-' She stumbled on her words.

'It's fine, I wasn't sleeping anyway..' He cut her off.

'But…thanks for what?'

'Uh-you know… Being here for me last night, thanks for bringing me back to reality and thanks for staying.' He said finally.

'Oh-uh..That's fine. I'm your partner, I always have your back.' She showed him a crooked smile when she finally got up.

xxxxx

Michelle woke up to an empty bed. She got up quietly and she knew exactly where to go. She opened the door to the backyard and there he was. She approached him and he turned around with a weak smile.

'Hey there cowboy,' she greeted kissing him lightly. 'why are you here so early?'

'Thinking.'

'About what?'

'Deeks. Today is my first day back on the field and he's going to stay on desk duty for now.'

'Why are you so worried?' She asked.

'I don't know how he feels, you know…Three months ago I didn't really care about him but now I feel like I owe him our lives.' Sam blurted out.

'Are you going to talk to him about it?'

'Tonight.' He stated.

'I'm glad you will.' She smiled and kissed him again. 'Well, let's get ready. I'll call the kids. Take care of breakfast.'

As she walked away, the only thing Sam could think about was how thankful he was to Deeks and how badly he needed to apologize to him for all the trouble he caused him.

xxxxx

So, what do you think? Can you help me improving it?

Thanks!

-Rita