Denisprompt: AU Deeks was still with the team when Dom died. Credit for the prompt: moresassythanclassy

Changes from the show: Deeks didn't leave at the end of Fame, instead he remains with the team through the close of Season 1. I'm trying to stay as true to the original plot as possible while figuring out what kind of role Deeks would have played within the episodes, occasionally having him take over lines/roles from other characters. I plan on doing one chapter each for Found through G. Callen. The characters and the primary plot don't belong to me, they belong to the creators of NCIS: LA.

*"The news that truly shocks is the empty empty page. While the final rattle rocks its empty empty cage. And I can't handle this." –Peter Gabriel*

The phone call had interrupted her infomercial-infiltrated dreams. She hadn't remembered falling asleep on her couch, but clearly the reality show she had been watching earlier that evening had given way to loud men who were way too excited about cleaning for their own good. None of that matter now. It didn't matter that it was the third time this week she'd fallen asleep on the couch, which was on par with the previous week. Didn't matter that the habit came from a mixture of confusion over her immediate comfort with her new, temporary partner and a desperation to find Dom and get everything back to 'normal.' Rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, she reached for the phone again, dialing a number that was becoming too familiar for her liking.

A sleepy voice answered after the third ring. "Kensi, is that you? What the hell time is it? Is everything all right?" The words jumbled together in a mix of panic and exhaustion. Deeks was beginning to wonder just how many acronyms he could handle in his job on a day-to-day basis and remain sane.

"We have a lead on Dom." Was all she said before hanging up. He assumed this meant, 'get your ass to the mission, ASAP.' and began to get dressed, even though it was still several hours before dawn.

The level of panic he encountered up in Ops was unlike anything he'd experienced in his short time with the team. Callen, rattling off orders and instructions at an uncharacteristically rapid rate was almost as off-putting as seeing the agent he replaced on the video screen. God, he was just a kid.

Tagging along with Kensi to gather information on the terrorist organization in the video, as an LAPD cop, on the surface he was woefully unqualified for this mission. But he knew better, beyond gathering data or interviewing suspects, he could provide some levity and rationality to the situation. The whole team was too close to this case, being too emotional caused mistakes. Mistakes in this line of work caused deaths. If he could act as a voice of reason during this whole processes, maybe they stood a prayer of getting the kid back and all coming out of this in one piece.

As Sam and Callen went off to who-knows-where after chatting with Hetty, Kensi had taken to hovering over Eric's shoulder in ops. Being the voice of reason sure did make a cop feel useless, there was quite literally nothing for him to do at that point. He was just about to verbalize a suggestion that they start using some of the other multitude of computers in the room to make this a four-pronged approach rather than two when Callen and Sam walked in with a flash drive.

Nate filled him in on who Mo was after the contents of the flash drive were revealed as Kensi contacted Gitmo. Callen and Sam's argument traveled up to Ops and Deeks was able to call and have a black and white meet them at the youth center. Didn't change the outcome at all, his partner still ended up in a pool, diving for a computer that might have some information on her missing teammate.

"Thanks Ariel. Tell Sebastian I say hi." Deeks joked as he grabbed the soaked computer and helped Kensi out of the pool. He really wanted to make a joke about a wet T-shirt contest, but they weren't at that point in their relationship yet and despite some of his coworker's opinions, he did have some tact. He wanted to instill calm not behave like an inappropriate lecher, no matter how hot his partner was.

Nate was never going to be able to pull Sam off the suspect on his own was all Deeks could think Sam rushed into the interrogation area with Nate on his heels. Holding Sam's left arm back as Nate took his right the two smaller men were able to keep Sam far enough away from the witness while Callen talked him down. Deeks, however, could also feel the tension radiating off the senior agent's body. Given his reaction to someone merely sitting in Dom's desk and Nate's earlier explanation of Mo, Deeks figured Sam blamed himself for some, if not all, of the current situation. He also couldn't deny the man a little release. He purposefully loosened his grip on Sam's left arm, allowing him to slam his hand against the wall, right next to the Yari's ear, causing him to fall to the floor in fear.

"Whoops." Deeks looked at Nate, not at all sorry. "Grip must have slipped." Callen quickly ushered Sam out to the nearby beach to clear his head, nodding in Deeks' direction in silent appreciation.

The team started shouting at each other after the failed attempt to talk to Kaleel Abramson. Sam's refused to see the whole board, too wrapped up in self-blame and Hetty's talking to Callen and her voice is breaking. Not doing a very good job, Deeks tells himself. Team's still making decision with their hearts and not their heads. But there's nothing he can do or say at this point that's going to change that. Not that he would. God forbid he ever end up in Dom's position, he'd want this team and this level of commitment working to bring him back too. He just can't shake the sinking feeling that somehow this method of investigating is going to get a team member hurt.

Kensi gives the forty-minute count down and she's rubbing her own neck raw with panic. He takes the risk and places his own hand on top of hers, halting the movement and hoping to transfer some level of calm and assurance through the slightest of touches. It seems to work, at least a little, as he can hear her inhale slowly. The brief reprieve doesn't last long as Callen starts shouting about options and ideas.

And now they're talking about torture by proxy and Deeks is pretty sure he didn't sign up for that when he signed the liason position. Or maybe he did. Either way, this was his team now and he's in. He's pretty sure Nate's going to need a magician's assistant anyway.

His blood pressure was rising with everyone else's as they entered the theater. Clearing rooms with Kensi, they could hear the shots fired right before they stepped into the room that had been used to film Dom, just days before, and his stomach sank. Even before Kensi realized that he'd never left LA, Deeks knew he was in the building. More shots, more panic, more lapsed protocol.

He and Kensi made their way to the roof as fast as they possibly could, knowing that Sam was on the roof with with Dom. They had Kaleel cornered in the stairwell but the gunfight erupted on the roof. Emerging into the sunlight, they stood back to back as the cleared the roof from their heightened position. Because of coms they both knew that Dom was down, but Deeks caught Callen's head shake a second before Kensi did and was prepared to support her, lowering her slowly to the ground as she turned into his chest and sunk to her knees.

Having been woken up at the wee hours of the morning, he had been readying himself for bed at the relatively early hour of ten when he heard the knock at the door. Outside, she stood there with a six-pack of beer and a look on her face some impossible mix of hesitant, hopeful grieving. Letting her silently enter the apartment, he stayed quiet, sitting on the couch, opening two beers and handing her one.

"I didn't get to know Dom before it was too late." That was all she offered, taking a sip of her beer and staring ahead at the muted television. Not another word was uttered for the rest of the night between the two, the beginning of a permanent partnership forged by tragic circumstances.