"Fern! Hey, Fern! Let me in."

Deeks knocked on the familiar door, wondering what was up. His partner hadn't shown up for work this morning and hadn't let anyone know why. Last night she had gone out for drinks with Nell, but Nell was adamant nothing was out of the ordinary and Kensi had gone home at a normal time and hadn't had too much to drink. After a few jokes about how Kensi was nursing a hangover or avoiding the walk of shame (which Deeks desperately hoped was untrue), those at OSP were getting a bit concerned. Callen checked with Hetty, and when even she had no idea where Kensi was or why she wasn't at work, they decided something might be up and sent Deeks to check things out. So that's why he was here, knocking at her door - trying to keep his voice light and playful even though he was starting to feel uneasy.

"Kens! Let me in or I'm gonna pick the lock! You better be decent in there... or not, your choice." But the joke felt a bit lame, even to him.

"Come on, Princess. Let your partner in. We're getting a bit worried about you."

When there was no sound, and no movement inside, Deeks pulled out a key that Hetty had given him and opened the door.

At first glance, nothing looked out of place. It was the same as the last time (and every time before that) he had visited her. Then again, with Kensi it was hard to tell. He was constantly teasing her about her lack of organization and her hoarding tendencies.

"Hey Kens, you here? You're late for work, you know." He called out while glancing around. He saw her bag on the couch where he guessed she would have dropped it last night. On a hunch, he dialed her number and sure enough the bag started ringing. So her phone was in her bag, which was on the couch. He reached in to grab it, and felt her keys. Going back to the door, he looked out the window. Yup, her car was there. How he missed that on his way in, he didn't know. But he figured at this point she must just have been really exhausted and slept in.

He was quiet for a moment, and realized he thought he heard something.

"Wake up sleeping beauty, it's morning time!" he yelled out, hoping he'd get a response, even if it was just a groan. When he didn't, he started towards her room, but kept chatting at her in hopes of a response.

When he got to her room, he knocked on the door (which he realized was kind of stupid, because if his yelling and clattering around hadn't woke her up, how was a knock on the door going to?) and then slowly opened it. He was totally unprepared for what he saw.