A/N: Thank you so, so, so much for the incredible support throughout the adventure! It has been absolutely mindboggling.

I have decided to make this the final chapter in this story for many a reasons, but mainly because I felt like this was a fitting end. Hopefully you'll agree, and if not constructive criticism is always welcome. I might end up revisiting this universe in a 2nd story, but that won't happen for quite a while, and as such, I won't make any promises towards that.

Hope you'll enjoy!

All the best, Cape!

It had been four days since the attack on the naval recruitment center, which also meant that it had been four days since the horrible event, that had a building crumble on top of the former Master Sergeant.

His elbow operation had gone as expected, the displaced fracture had been put into place by two screws and was thoroughly cleaned to avoid any infections. The CT-scan of the agents' shoulder had brought surprisingly positive results, the fear of a torn rotator cuff had proven untrue, there had just been some swelling, for which the treatment was not using the shoulder. That had not been a problem, since he was already using a sling for his broken elbow.

He had been in the hospital for the past days in order to monitor his healing process, even though Deeks had done everything in his power to be released from the hospital as soon as possible. However, as the former SOG agent had found out, his puppy eyes tended to work a lot better when female doctors were involved, neither Dr. Bernier nor Dr. Blanchard had been too impressed with his antics. Therefore, he had only been allowed to leave the hospital once the doctors were satisfied that he would have no long-lasting problems from the internal damages and that his healing prognosis was exactly as it should be.

...

"You really didn't have to do this, Kens." He told her as they exited her silver SRX.

"You're right," she humored him. "I'm sure Sam or Callen would love to take care of the cripple."

"Wow, that's just… not nice," he mock protested. "Are you sure we're going to fit through there?" He asked, pointing towards her front door.

She sighed dramatically, "We'll fit through just fine."

"I could, you know… just jump on one leg through if it's a problem," he offered.

"Deeks… You can't just hobble through, you need to rest your shoulder and jumping around like that will make you tense it. You know that." She chastised the injured man.

"I know," he said, before he was the one sighing deeply. "Look, Kens, I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the ass. I'm not used to having anybody look out for me." he admitted somewhat sheepishly.

"You are a horrible patient," she told him, before she stopped pushing the wheelchair, walked around it, and knelt down in front of him so he could see her face. She grabbed his good hand and squeezed, "But you better start getting used to having someone looking out for you, because I'm not going anywhere, Marty."

His expression had softened at her heartfelt assurance as he started blinking to fight away the sudden appearance of oncoming tears. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" He asked wonderingly, his weakened physical form had removed the usual barrier that barred him from showing too many emotions.

She leaned in and sealed his lips with hers, in a tender yet passionate kiss, which brought the promise of security. When they finally parted for air, she looked at his expression of wonder. "You must have done something really great, Marty Deeks," she giggled.

He smiled lovingly at her, already feeling better about the whole situation. The fact that he was able make the kickass special agent, whom could beat almost anyone in a fair fight, giggle was something he would never tire being reminded of.

"Let's get you inside," she told him, once she realized that he had no plans to retort her statement.

Just as Kensi had suspected, they got through the door without any trouble, and she quickly got Deeks situated on the couch, making sure to keep his injured leg elevated, resting nicely on a throw pillow on top of her coffee table. She went into the kitchen to grab something for them to drink, only to return to see the man having dozed off, knackered from the travel from the hospital.

Leaning against the doorframe, she studied his sleeping form and thought back to all the time they had had together. Even though they had only known each other for roughly two and a half months, the emotional connection they shared was beyond either of their comprehensions, and even though neither were great at displaying said emotions, they had both decided to just go with it. She thought how they still needed to continue their tourism at home once he was more mobile again, as she knew that because he struggled with accepting help from others, he would dislike being rolled around in a wheelchair to all the different packed locations.

Deciding that she needed something practical to do, she wrote him a small note saying that she had gone out for groceries. Since Kensi had spent the majority of her time with him at the hospital, she had nothing left in her fridge for them to eat nor snack on, and although not her usual diet mainly consisted on take-out, she knew that he would need better food to heal faster. As such, she left him to sleep on the couch, knowing that he would see her note if he for some reason woke up before she returned.

...

She managed to balance the two brown paper bags containing the groceries on one arm whilst retrieving her keys from her pocket, her form fitting jeans making the job much harder than it should have been. Just as she finally managed to retrieve the key and put it into the keyhole, she heard a thumb coming from inside the house followed by a loud groan.

She dropped the grocery bags, not caring if any of the purchased items would break from the drop, as all her attention was on getting the door open, so she could get to the man inside. The door flung open a few seconds later and she rushed inside, not bothering to close it behind her.

He was lying supine on the floor in the small space between her couch and the coffee table, his eyes firmly closed tightly shut and his shallow breath had quickened in a feeble attempt to combat the pain radiating throughout his body.

There were no reaction to her walking towards him, the pain clouding other senses, as he obviously had not noticed her return home. She pulled the coffee table away from the couch, giving them space and causing him to quickly sit up slightly at the surprise noise, which caused him to groan even louder as the pain in his injured ribs increased by the movement.

"Don't scare me like that," she told him concernedly, as she knelt next to him and her fingers through his hair in a calming manner.

He chuckled as much as his lack of breath allowed him, "Pretty sure you were the one who scared me right there, princess."

"You know what I meant," she chastised him, whilst trying to hold back smile at his term of affection, but the cute nickname had served its purpose of lightening the mood, albeit only slightly. "I can't leave you alone even for thirty minutes, can I?"

"Well, I wanted to watch some TV," he tried explaining, sounding almost like a young boy, who had just been scolded.

"And how did that work out?"

"Fine until I realized that the remote was on the coffee table." He looked at her with his puppy eyes, "Are you going to help me up?"

"Well…" she started responding, mischief clear in her voice now that she knew he was somewhat all right. "How did you end up down here?"

He sighed as deep as his cracked and bruised ribs would allow him to, knowing that he would probably get an earful from her. "I reached for the remote and by the time I realized that it was out of my reach, I overbalanced… and now I'm here."

"For a smart guy, you're really dumb," she just told him flat, as she started helping him up.

"You think I'm smart?" He teased.

"Not right now, you're not," she replied as he sunk back into the soft cushions of the couch. She grabbed him the remote, "Now try to not injure yourself whilst I go grab the groceries."

After she had picked up the paper bag and the contents and stocked the fridge, the two had spent the rest of the afternoon and much of the evening on the couch, watching whatever mindless television program was running. Although he had insisted that he was okay, he had noticed, that she kept glancing worriedly at him at from time to time, gauging whether or not he had been truthful in regards to his pain level. She got up to grab some of his prescribed pain medication, whenever it was time and she noticed his discomfort starting to show in the form of creased on his forehead.

...

Because of his injured leg, he was unable to utilize crutches, and as such, he was confined to a wheelchair throughout the first part of his recovery. Since cases had come in abundance during his recovery, Kensi's busy schedule had only allowed for few trips, or drives as he called them, to the boardwalk and nearby restaurants during evenings and the few free weekends, she had had.

The positive outcome of the whole thing was that since the two had spent so much time together, they had eventually ended up talking feelings. The conversation resulted in a title on their thing, and as such, they now called each other boyfriend and girlfriend. They also decided that they still would not tell their fellow colleagues about their newly titled relationship, if they had not already figured it out.

...

Even though the weeks spent at Kensi's place had rewarded him with a new title, he was practically bouncing in his wheelchair, as Kensi rolled him into the hospital. A combination of his restricted movement and having been cooped up in Kensi's house for the past six weeks had left him restless. The day where he was having both his casts removed were upon them, and whilst he knew he would not instantly be mobile, it would allow him to start physical therapy, meaning he would spend more time outside the walls of the house, he had come to know well.

He had been in same hospital the previous week for a minor surgery in order to have the screws from the corrective surgery removed from his elbow, and because of that, they had been told to get some x-rays taken before today's consultation. Therefore, Kensi rolled the excited blond to the department of radiology.

X-rays in hand, they made their way to the waiting area and got settled in, knowing that given the nature of hospital visits and doctor's appointments, that the time they had been given for the appointment would likely be off anyways.

Half an hour later, his name was finally called, Kensi let the kind nurse push Deeks' wheelchair, but she stayed closely behind and followed them into the room.

The consultation with the doctor was quite lengthy. The elderly doctor started by closely studying the newly taken x-rays. When he was pleased that everything was as it should be, he carefully started working on removing the immobilizing elbow cast.

Kensi studied her boyfriend's face for any signs of discomfort, when he was asked to attempt a few mobility exercises with his newly mobile elbow. She saw how he, carefully but determinedly, followed the doctor's instructions, whilst the experienced orthopedist closely examined the execution of said exercises, telling the nurse medical jargon to note down that neither Kensi nor Deeks understood.

It was the same procedure with the cast for his ankle, first a long look at the newly taken x-ray picture, before removing the cast, and finally some exercises, including carefully drawing the alphabet in the air by rotating his foot. Kensi had to bite back a laugh, when he asked if the aging doctor would mind singing the alphabet song along with him to help him remember the order of the letters, causing a hearty chuckle from the otherwise serious medical professional.

Lastly, he was asked to attempt a few mobility exercises with his shoulder, but they were all done with ease. Because of the sling his arm had been in, he had used his shoulder minimally in the past month and a half, and as such, the swelling had completely dissipated and he had no impaired movement in the joint.

The doctor had been very positive by the healing progress, quoting it as being much above average, which had pleased not only Deeks but especially Kensi as well.

"So what do we do about physical therapy?" The former SOG agent asked curiously, wanting to start it as soon as possible in order to hasten his recovery.

"Well, usually we would arrange for that at a partnered facility, but I have been contacted by a Miss Lange, whom assured me that she had it all taken care of." The elder doctor replied.

Deeks furrowed his eyebrows at that and looked to Kensi for answers. He had had minimal contact with the tiny operations manager since his injury, only speaking to her briefly over the phone, when she enquired about his well-being.

She merely shrugged, as the information the doctor had provided was news to her as well.

The doctor, too, had noticed the quizzical look on his face, "I assure you, that the physical therapist, Miss Lange has chosen, is highly regarded." He guaranteed.

It did not surprise her that their boss had made arrangements for her agent, since the powerful woman had many contacts and could usually arrange for the best treatment possible.

They spoke a bit more about the prognosis and outlook for the coming months, where the blond man surprised the doctor with his extensive knowledge of the process, which stemmed from the plethora of injuries he had sustained during his long military career.

The mood was good when they left the hospital, the positive prognosis had brightened both agents' day tremendously, and since she had been given the rest of the day off, they decided to go to the nearby beach promenade for an early dinner, and per Kensi's suggestion or more like demand, dessert afterwards.

...

The first week with physical therapy had gone surprisingly fast, the usually very active man had gotten an outlet for some of all his pent up energy, he otherwise had been storing during his recovery.

He was still staying around her house. He was only allowed to put minimum weight on his injured leg and only for short durations, which meant that he still was not able to go grocery shopping or even stay on two feet long enough to cook anything more complicated than a glass of milk. Although that was the case, he had been allowed to drive due to some string pulling by the operations manager, since his right arm and leg were fine, he was able to operate an automatic vehicle without much problems, which meant that he could attend his therapy sessions without needing anyone to take him.

However, with all processes, there are setbacks, as Kensi discovered one of his, when she had returned home from a rather boring day, filled with nothing but paperwork. She had gotten home a bit earlier, than what she usually would have, because yesterday had been a long day, Hetty had let her agents go home before time.

She opened the door and called out for him, but since she had not seen his car out front, she had not expected him to be there, knowing that he would probably still be at the rehabilitation center.

A few minutes after arriving back home, she was standing in the kitchen, when she heard him unlock and open the door. As opposed to her, he did not call out upon entering, instead she could hear the familiar sound of his limping shuffle in the living room.

When a loud groan of annoyance sounded from the living room, she decided to go and see what was up with him. He was lying on the couch with his bad leg elevated up on the armrest with a hand draped over his eyes.

She could practically feel the tension radiating off him, as she approached the supine man.

"What's wrong, baby?" She carefully asked, still a few feet away from him, as she did not want to spook him.

He turned his head towards her and his expression softened, but not before, she saw the pain painted clearly on his face. He reached out for her hand, "I'm fine."

She accepted the proffered hand, intertwining their fingers. "I know you better than that, you know." She told him, hating whenever he would keep anything from her.

"I know," he sighed. "Just had a bad session today, that's all."

"Your ankle?" She asked, knowing that it was surprisingly the clean break, which caused him the most trouble during his rehabilitation.

He nodded and finally allowed the pained expression he had been hiding from her come forward. She squeezed his hand before heading to the kitchen. Grabbing one of the many icepacks she had stored there as well as some painkillers and a bottle of water, she returned and placed it tenderly over the throbbing leg as she gave him the medicine and water.

"Did you drive home yourself?" She asked concernedly.

"Yeah…" he dragged out the answer after swallowing the two pills.

"How many times do I have to remind you, Marty? You should have called, I could have picked you up. You're not alone in this."

"Obviously a few more times," he chuckled, before swallowing deeply. He looked at her with a vulnerable look, "I'm sorry."

She did not know if he apologized for hurting himself, for not calling her so she could pick him up, or perhaps a combination of both. What she did know was that he still struggled with having someone look after him, "You need to stop overdoing it, you know." She started softly. "And you need to allow me in. Allow me to help you. Can you do that for me?"

He looked into her mismatched eyes and found nothing but sincerity and concern in them, his own blue orbs shone with a glimmering layer of unshed tears at the reminder that he was not alone in any of this. "I'll try. But you might need to remind me a few more times."

"I'll remind you as much as you need," she confirmed.

"Lay with me?" He requested, as he scooted closer to the back of the couch.

She looked at him unsure and he was easily able to read her concern. "You won't hurt me." He assured her, "I'll let you know if you do. I just need you close right now, okay?"

Convinced that he was telling the truth, and unable to deny him what he wanted after he showed her such vulnerability, she got on the couch next to him, carefully stretching out until she filled out the length of the sofa.

As she rested her head on his shoulder and draped her arm across his chest, he thought on the long road of recovery ahead of him. A daunting task he, unfortunately, had been through many a time before. This time was different, however. This time, he did not need to go through with it alone, because he had the most amazing woman by his side, who was steadfastly ready to help him over every hurdle, he might encounter on the long journey ahead.

At peace of mind and with invigorated confidence that he would make it through whatever life decided to throw at him. That they would make it through whatever life decided to throw at them.

He slowly drifted towards slumber, at the thought. He would never have to be alone ever again. No. They would make it through…

Together.

-Fin-

So... that was it. Thank you for sticking through with me until now!

I have a few new ideas for new stories, but any and all prompts are much welcome!