Marty Deeks pushed himself into an only slightly less uncomfortable position in the hard hospital provided chair. It was day four of his unwanted stay and he was just about ready to bludgeon himself with something, provided he was able to locate an object that was reasonably hard yet light enough for a bullet hole ridden man to lift, to ease the sheer boredom and inevitable pain. He'd turned off his TV earlier today, well technically it was yesterday but days didn't really matter much in a hospital since they all tended to blur together and people came along and poked you no matter what hour it was, thoroughly sick of Little House on the Prairie reruns.

"Hello, Mr. Deeks!" An overly cheery nurse greeted him, not bothering to knock on the door before she entered. "How are we doing today?" She didn't wait for a reply but Marty still felt the urge to tell her they weren't doing anything unless it involved fewer articles of clothing. He resisted though since she wasn't Kensi and he wasn't really in the mood for wordplay.

"I see you're up bright and early." She continued, ignoring Marty's annoyed expression.

"Yeah, I'm a real go-getter." He muttered which the nurse ignored as well. He thought her name was Kim but like the day, the nurses were starting to blur together. Maybe-Kim snapped on a pair of latex gloves and began the usual round of torture, slipping the cold metal of her stethoscope under his bandages while her other hand prodded one of his still healing wounds. He held back a gasp as she blithely pushed against the swollen flesh, cheerfully telling him about her sister's latest pregnancy.

Marty remembered now that her name was actually Melissa and that she'd regaled him with the stories of her sister's first three labors on previous visits. He could only hope that she didn't have any more siblings.

"Hey Deeks." He jerked up in surprise and instantly regretted it, letting out a low moan of pain. Nurse Melissa turned slightly to glance at the newcomer and then turned back to Deeks as though nothing had happened while Kensi rushed forward with a concerned expression.

"Deeks, I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" She spoke quickly, her words slightly breathless with worry.

"Don't sweat it Fern." He reassured her, hissing the next second when Melissa jabbed her index finger directly into one of his wounds.

"Ooh, looks like I found a tender spot." She observed happily while Kensi stood behind her with a murderous glare. Marty saw her hand twitch towards her gun and he shook his head, not wanting to explain to the LAPD why he was wearing Nurse Melissa's guts.

"So what brings you here on this fine morning?" Marty bit out. Kensi sent Melissa a final glare as the nurse replaced Marty's bandages and checked his IV. Once the woman finally left the room Kensi seemed to relax and took a seat on the edge of his bed.

"Can't a woman visit her partner?" She hedged and Deeks shrugged. Kensi poked his shoulder and he gave her a brief smile. "Besides," She continued slowly, piquing his interest slightly. "Who else is going to smuggle you donuts and coffee?" With the air of one revealing a marvelous magic trick, she pulled a carton from the bag she carried over one shoulder.

"You brought me food? Real food? Not squares of yellow goo masquerading as eggs and toast made of old tires?" Marty gazed up at Kensi as he rambled on with an expression of adoration shining in his eyes. "Bless you, with all that is holy, Kensi Blye." He reached for the bag and Kensi merely rolled her eyes at his antics before relinquishing the food.

"Quick, close the door before Nurse Candace sees you." Marty urged Kensi as he peered inside the bag and inhaled deeply. "You are a goddess." He whispered as he pulled out the paper cup of liquid heaven and a chocolate covered piece of greasy gold. His gaze was so focused on the bag's contents he missed the slight blush that colored Kensi's cheeks and glanced up a second after she had schooled her expression into something vaguely amused.

"If I knew you were going to be this grateful, I would have asked for something in advance." Marty merely smiled as he grabbed a plastic knife and cut the doughnut in half, offering a section to his partner. She humbly accepted the pastry and the gesture.

"So, when are they gonna spring you?" She asked eventually, sucking on a chocolate coated finger. Marty shrugged, or as much he had learned he could do without causing unwanted pain.

"Haven't seen a doctor in two days. The nurses just keep telling me how brave I am. And that I'm a very fast healer." This last part was said with some confusion. "Apparently that's some kind of bragging point." Kensi frowned which surprised him since he'd been aiming for another smile.

"What do you mean your doctor hasn't seen you in two days?" Marty opened his mouth but Kensi continued as though he wasn't there. "That's negligent. You could have internal injuries and no one would know. I'm going to the front desk and find out what's going on."

"Kensi, that's not-" He called to her retreating back. "Whatever, not like anyone else listens to me here." He muttered to himself, moodily grabbing the TV remote. He flicked it on, glaring mutinously at the oldies station, daring it to continue its Little House marathon. Unsurprisingly the black box above his head remained unmoved by his intimidation techniques and proudly announced that the 'Best of the Prairie' week would continue after a brief message. Marty sighed and tossed the remote onto the bed, apathetically settling in to see how Laura's latest farm-hand suitor treated her and idly picked at his donut.

"I talked with your surgeon and sh-Deeks what on earth are you watching?" Marty startled from the stupor he'd fallen into over the last half hour.

"Huh?" He responded intelligently, attempting to straighten up from his slouch but finding that his muscles were rather uncooperative. "Oh, Laura's gone to the big city to meet one of her suitors. I think he's a bit of a cad." Marty said this last part with an air of confidentiality.

"No, why, why are you watching this?" Kensi clarified, sounding worried for his sanity.

"It's the only channel that doesn't show constant infomercials or 'Welcome Back Kotter'." He shuddered dramatically.

"Okaaay." She said, sounding fairly confused by this explanation. Marty shifted again, managing to actually move this time but not without sending a piercing ache through his chest and stomach. "Oh, for the love of all…" Kensi muttered and the next thing Marty knew her arms were around his waist.

"Whoa, hey warn a guy before you grab him." Marty complained, his body protesting as Kensi jerked him upright.

"Oh, quit being such a baby." Deeks said something which was muffled due to his face being pressed against her chest.

"E'si." He tried, knowing his partner would undoubtedly blame him for his unintentional encroachment on her physical boundaries. At last she let go and Marty could breathe little easier and not worry about potential castration.

"There, now you look less like a person in an old-folks home." She said, clearly pleased with her work.

"Thanks." He said dryly. "Your bedside manner is wonderful…tell me, do you always molest your patients." Deeks knew he was walking on thin, extremely thin, ice but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to see his partner blush.

"What?" Kensi asked and Marty saw her face blank for a moment and then flush. He saw the moment realization hit and ducked instinctually as her arm darted out.

"Ahh." He huffed out as her fist connected with his upper chest.

"Oh Deeks, I'm sorry." Kensi said, instantly contrite. Kneeling down she pressed a hand to his shoulder and he felt her fingers fluttering over his skin. "I'm sorry, it's habit. Are you ok?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Marty said as the pain ebbed down to its normal throbbing. Kensi was still looking unsure until Deeks shoulders started shaking.

"Deeks?" A small huff of laughter escaped and Kensi's expression transformed from concern to irritation and he received another smack, this time to his head.

"Unbelievable, hitting the wounded guy, who happened to save your life might I add." Kensi scoffed.

"It's your fault you know, for being a lecherous idiot." Marty adopted a defensive expression.

"Hey, I'm not the one who stuck her boobs in my face." He argued which earned a glare from Kensi.

"That doesn't even make any sense. And you don't have boobs."

"Thank the good lord for that, I don't have the hips to pull them off." Kensi made an exasperated noise and rolled her eyes. "However, I will say that they are a very nice pair of–okay, okay. I'm stopping." Marty lifted his hands to ward off any further assaults to his person as he saw Kensi raise her fist threateningly.

"What did the doctor say?" He asked eventually. Kensi was currently sitting on the edge of his bed as she peeled the chocolate glaze off a doughnut, her gaze fixed to the TV where Laura, or maybe it was Mary, was having her heart slowly broken.

"Mmm, sh' se' sh'l' co' ba' la'er," Kensi swallowed her bite of doughnut and continued on as though uninterrupted. "Today."

"How much later?" Marty asked, unbothered by Kensi's lack of etiquette.

"She has a surgery planned for nine so probably around noonish. She said you might even get released tomorrow. You know, since you're such a good healer and all." Kensi nudged Deeks knee playfully and he smiled up at her.

"Awesome, I am this close to shooting myself just to end the boredom." He held his fingers approximately a millimeter apart.

"Big baby." She offered affectionately, brushing her hands off on her jean covered knees. "Well, I gotta head out. See you tomorrow, Partner." Deeks smiled sleepily as Kensi stood.

"See you, thanks for everything. Especially the hug." He grinned hugely a moment before a pillow hit him squarely in the face.

"I'll let Nurse Melissa you're waiting for her." He heard in a singsong voice, followed by the click clack of Kensi's boots.