Hello there! It has been quite a while since I've had a chance to write - just been so busy with real life - but I've been playing around with this story idea for at least six months now, so I really wanted to get it written. It's not going to be a long story, but depending on how real life goes, the updates might be a bit sporadic. We'll see.

I must also warn you that this is a Callen/Kensi story. Yes, I do like the character of Deeks, but I'm really a very loyal Callen/Kensi shipper (as I'm sure most of you know). So if you don't mind Callen and Kensi, please read on. Thanks so much for reading, and please do leave a review!

-Prologue-

She was plunging through space, spinning rapidly, trapped inside an empty room with four blank walls closing in around her. She clawed at her cage, searching for an escape without success, her desperate screams lost among the other voices. They were also screaming…earsplitting, painful cries that echoed off the walls, coming at her from all directions. Overcome with dizziness, she put her hands to her ears and fell to her knees, crumpling into a ball on the floor. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe...

"He'll reject her..."

"He'll abandon her..."

"He'll destroy her..."

"And then his bloodline will die..."

The angry words swirled around her, almost as if they were suffocating her, swallowing her strength until she trembled in pain. But just at the point when she was about to surrender completely to the vertigo...

There was silence.

There was stillness.

The only sounds now were her own heart thumping hard against her chest and her own lungs gasping for air, as she tried to catch her breath. Slowly, she dared to uncover her ears and lift her head.

At that moment, a bright light burst through the ceiling, blinding her in a flash of golden sunbeams…

Kensi Blye's eyes shot open. She blinked in surprise, finding herself in the dark, safe in the confines of her own bed. Instead of spiraling into empty space, she was tangled in a thick, cozy comforter upon a firmly grounded mattress.

And yet she could still feel her heart pounding. Kensi took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing pulse, as she realized that her pillow was also damp with sweat. Or maybe tears. She wiped her eyes and then quickly clutched her stomach as a wave of nausea suddenly washed over her.

Another nightmare, she thought.

She rolled over and found the spot in bed next to her cold and empty. Kensi wasn't surprised. By now, she was used to waking up alone, without the man she had fallen asleep with, as he never slept through the night.

She pushed back the blankets and eased herself out of bed. She pulled on a robe and padded out to the kitchen, silently praying that he wasn't taking apart her toaster again. But when she found the kitchen empty, all electric appliances in their place, she could not explain the strange sense of alarm that set in.

Kensi breathed a sigh of relief as she found him in her living room, sitting on the couch in the dark, holding a cup of tea.

"Callen?"

He didn't respond.

She moved closer to him, taking the mug from his hands and helping herself to a sip. As the hot herbal liquid sloshed down her throat, she smiled as she recognized Hetty's special chamomile blend.

She handed him back the mug and slowly sank down on the couch next to him. It wasn't until then that he finally seemed to break out of his reverie.

"You okay?" he asked.

"What?"

"You're shaking."

Kensi suddenly became vaguely aware that she actually was shaking.

"Nightmare," she said softly. "It's nothing."

He eyed her carefully but didn't say anything more. Instead, he placed the mug on the table in front of him and then pulled her backwards into his arms. He brushed her hair to the side and kissed her neck softly, running his fingers lightly down her arm, sending a warm heat racing through her body as his hands came to rest gently on her stomach.

And just like that, Callen and Kensi remained in silence, lost in their own thoughts, watching as the morning sunlight spilled in through the windows.

"You gonna get ready for work?" Kensi finally asked.

Callen shook his head. "I think I'm, uh, gonna go for a run," he said. "I'll meet you there."

"Callen—"

"I'm fine," he insisted, quickly rising from the couch. "Just a nightmare. It's nothing."

Kensi heard him echoing her own words and knew she couldn't stop him. "Hetty will blow a gasket if you're late," she tried.

"I won't be late."

"Callen." She caught his arm and stood up next to him. Their eyes locked, both of them silently challenging the other to admit that it was much more than a nightmare. When that didn't work, Kensi grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a heated kiss. She felt his lips relax against hers and his arms wrap around her waist, holding her tight. Kensi sighed, as Callen's kiss always had the ability to take her breath away.

She didn't tell him that something about his kiss just didn't feel right that morning.

"Kensi!"

Kensi cringed and looked up innocently, quickly hiding her hands behind her back.

"Give me the doughnut." Deeks held out his hand. "Come on."

"No."

"Kensi..."

"Deeks, I'm eating for two now."

"You are? 'Cause I'm pretty sure doughnuts aren't part of the recommended diet for expectant mothers."

"Have you ever been an expectant mother?"

"Gonna have to go with no."

"Deeks, you ever gonna learn to let her eat her feelings in peace?" Sam's grumpy voice interrupted the squabbling. "Or her hormones," he added with a slight grin.

"Just looking out for my partner," Deeks protested. He motioned towards the door. "Something you might want to do."

Sam turned to see his partner walking into the bullpen, bag slung over his shoulder, shirt soaked in sweat, his overall appearance looking unusually ragged and worn down.

"What happened to you?" Sam asked bluntly.

"Went for a run."

"You don't run."

"Sam—"

Eric's sharp whistle from above interrupted any further response from Callen. "You hear the shrill, you know the drill," the computer tech announced.

As four pairs of eyes turned to glare at him, Eric gave them all a sheepish look. "Sorry, there's a dead petty officer...thought you might want to...you know..."

He quickly turned on his heel and headed back into the ops room.

As Deeks and Kensi rose from their desks and started for the stairs, Sam hung back for a moment, cornering his partner with a suspicious look.

"Sam, I'm fine," Callen insisted. "Just...needed to clear my head."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You don't clear your head. What's up, G?" he asked carefully.

"I don't know," Callen admitted. "Something just...doesn't feel right."

"Petty Officer Jason Reilly," Eric proclaimed, displaying a video on the screen. "Shot early this morning at a café in downtown Los Angeles. Security cameras got footage of the shooting…and the getaway car."

"Gunned down in broad daylight," Sam observed. "Black car, tinted windows, no plates."

"Kaleidoscope is running as we speak," Eric said. "Nothing so far."

"What do we know about this guy?" Callen asked.

"No criminal record, stellar military record, model son, loving husband, basically your all-around good Marine."

"So why would anyone want him dead?"

"Don't know," Eric said. "But we have a witness." He quickly pulled up another photo. "Amanda Reilly, his wife. She was meeting him for breakfast."

"She remember anything?"

"Don't know that either," Eric replied. "She's refusing to talk to the cops."

Callen shrugged. "Good thing we're not cops." He eyed Deeks warily. "Some of us anyway."

The LAPD liaison rolled his eyes. "Okay, not feelin' a lot of love here, guys."

Sam stepped forward to the screen. "Not Deeks," he said, studying Amanda's image closely. "We need somebody else...somebody who can get her to open up."

"I'll go," Kensi volunteered.

"No," Callen said automatically.

"What do you mean no?" Kensi demanded. "Callen, I have a better chance of getting close to this woman than you do. A little girl talk, she'll open up in no time. What's your other option...Deeks?"

Deeks had also been intently studying the screen, and he glared at his partner as her words suddenly registered. "Hey!"

Callen's eyes flitted back and forth between Kensi and Deeks.

"Okay," he finally said.

"I'll be fine," Kensi reassured him with a smile.

Callen looked skeptical, and Kensi scowled at him. "How could I not be?" she asked indignantly. "I'm taking all three of you with me."

"Mmmm," Deeks mused. "Protectors of Kensi."

"You are not my protector," she corrected him.

"I have a gun."

"So do I, and I'm still quite capable of using it."

Kensi could see the amused smirks creeping onto both Sam and Callen's faces. She rolled her eyes and headed towards the door. "Okay, let's go, you three wise guys."

"Kensi, you should be honored to have us three wise guys as your bodyguards."

"Yeah, why is that?"

"Everyone will think you're a really lucky girl." Deeks waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Deeks?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

After a seemingly endless drive during which Deeks continued to recite the many ways that he was capable of protecting her, Kensi was relieved to escape both the car and her partner. Bounding out of the car with surprising speed, she left Deeks with Callen and Sam and pushed her way through the LAPD squadrons to find Amanda. She flashed her badge and quickly escorted the heartbroken widow away from the commotion. They settled down on a bench alongside the street, although still not far from where Callen, Sam, and Deeks were examining the crime scene.

"Amanda," Kensi said gently. "My name is Kensi Blye, I'm with NCIS. We're very sorry for your loss."

The only response was a sad sniffle as Amanda tried to hold back dangerously threatening tears.

"I know it's hard," Kensi continued, "but we need to know if you saw anything that could help us find who did this."

The woman shook her head firmly.

"Or do you know anyone who would want to hurt your husband?"

Kensi stopped as she realized that Amanda wasn't even listening to the questions. The woman was so lost in her grief that she wasn't going to get anywhere with an interrogation.

She sighed and decided to try a different approach. "Can you tell me more about Jason then?" she asked. "Was it love at first sight?"

Kensi waited patiently for a response, and as a weak smile crossed the woman's face, she knew she had finally broken the ice.

"It was," Amanda whispered. "We were high school sweethearts…we thought we'd be together forever."

Kensi smiled encouragingly.

"Have you ever had that feeling?" Amanda asked. "When you find the one who completes you? And you just know? That's how it was with Jason."

"Sounds like you two were very happy," Kensi said, ignoring the small flutter of her heart as she thought of her own handsome blue-eyed NCIS agent down the street.

Kensi took a deep breath. It was time to ask. "Amanda, do you remember anything about what happened today?"

"I—I can't," she whispered chokingly.

"Amanda, please," Kensi said.

"You wouldn't understand," Amanda accused angrily. "Cops never do."

"I'm not a cop," Kensi argued. "And I'm asking you to help us so that someday you will have an answer for your baby."

She emphasized the last part of her sentence, and from the look in Amanda's eyes, Kensi knew that she had struck a deep nerve.

With another sniffle, Amanda dabbed away the tears and looked at Kensi sadly. "He had just gotten back from deployment," she said. "He made sure that he was allowed to come home when I had the baby."

She motioned to her large belly, as her shoulders began to shake, and a fresh wave of tears started flowing. "And now he's gone."

Kensi nodded sympathetically, wrapping her arms around her own stomach unconsciously.

"So you do understand," Amanda whispered, noticing Kensi's movements.

Kensi quickly unfolded her arms.

"I always thought he would be here for us," Amanda said sadly. "He wasn't supposed to abandon us this way. Oh, God, what am I supposed to do without him?" She quickly wiped another tear from her eye. "Do you ever think about it, Agent Blye? Do you ever think about what would happen if he abandoned you?"

Kensi swallowed hard, as images from her nightmare almost seemed to flash before her eyes. "Yes," she admitted softly. "Yes, I do."

Inside the café, Callen, Sam, and Deeks were completely puzzled over the crime scene.

"Shooter comes in, kills one guy in a crowded restaurant, and takes off," Callen recounted. "Doesn't steal anything, doesn't shoot at anybody else. So he was targeted."

"Eric said this guy had no criminal record," Sam argued. "Everyone liked him. Came home because his wife's gonna have a baby...why would anyone target a guy like that?"

"Just because he has no criminal record doesn't mean he's not actually a criminal."

"Unless he wasn't the real target," Deeks pointed out.

"Then his wife, maybe?"

"Why would you target his wife?"

Callen shook his head. "Something's off."

"You're telling me," Deeks muttered. "There's no motive, so there's no reason—"

Callen suddenly looked up. "Why do you kill a Marine for no reason?"

"Because you're insane?" Deeks asked.

But Sam knew exactly what his partner was getting at. "Because of NCIS."

Callen nodded.

"Guys!" Eric's voice came through loud and clear in their earpieces. "Kaleidoscope just got a hit. That black car...it's on its way back to the café...it's a block away from you."

The three men looked up, realization striking them all at once. "Kensi," they said in unison, bolting out the door.

"Jason was telling me about some of his buddies in his unit," Amanda explained. "And this man just came up to us and said, 'you're a U.S. Marine.'"

"But you didn't know him?" Kensi asked.

"No," Amanda said. "We'd never seen him before."

"Do you remember anything about him?"

Amanda scrunched her forehead as she tried to recall the details. "He had dark hair," she said. "He was dressed in dark clothes, too. And he spoke English, but had a heavy accent. I'm not sure…it might have been Russian?"

"Russian secret operative," Kensi guessed.

"Secret operative?"

"Maybe," Kensi said. "Go on."

"Jason said yes, he was a Marine. And the man said that he was sorry, but he had no other way to contact NCIS."

Amanda quickly took a deep breath, but she could not stop the relapse into tears. "And—and then he shot him."

Kensi shook her head. "I'm sorry…what? Why would a Russian secret operative be after—"

She stopped short as she caught sight of Callen, Sam, and Deeks racing out of the café, their guns drawn. Her entire body immediately tensed in high alert, and as she turned her head to scan the area, she almost doubled over from a sudden sharp contraction in her side.

"Kensi! Black car on the street...get out of there!"

Kensi looked up just in time as the black car roared down the street, two masked figures hanging out the window with guns aimed directly at her. Ignoring her pain, Kensi somehow managed to leap to her feet and shove Amanda out of the way, just in time as the gunmen opened a rapid line of fire.

With no thought to her safety, Kensi whipped out her own weapon and fired back.

People scattered on the street, screaming in panic, as Kensi's bullets smashed the back windshield. She saw Callen, Sam, and Deeks racing towards the car in tandem, riddling the vehicle with rounds from all directions. The car screeched to a halt, reversed, and came speeding back towards her.

"Kensi!"

It happened in a split second, but Callen felt like he saw the entire scene in slow motion.

Kensi squared up against the car and fired through its front windshield. The glass shattered, and there was an agonized cry as the bullets fatally struck the driver. The car rolled wildly out of control, heading straight for Kensi on the curb.

At the last second, Kensi leapt to the side as she had done so many times before.

But this time she could not get out of the way fast enough.

The brakes screeched and the car slammed into her body, flinging her sideways and crumpling her to the ground. As the vehicle smashed into the brick wall of the closest building, it finally came to a halt amidst a massive wreck of glass, metal, and other debris.

"Kensi!"

Rushing to her side, Callen dropped to his knees and whipped out his phone.

"Eric—"

"Ambulance is on its way," came the voice in his ear.

"Kensi..."

The voices almost seemed to be swirling inside her head. She could hear Callen's voice murmuring softly to her. She could also hear two other voices yelling nearby and the ambulance siren already wailing in the distance.

"Get down on the ground! Turn over!"

It was Sam and Deeks who were yelling, as they ripped the car doors from their hinges and roughly hauled the gunmen out of the vehicle, quickly slapping handcuffs on their wrists.

"Come on, Kenz…stay with me..."

Callen. Kensi tried to speak to him, tried to whisper his name, but the words caught in her throat. She could only gasp in pain as another contraction ripped through her side. Her entire body felt as if it were shattering into pieces. She could smell blood, probably her own, and her head throbbed violently as her heart pounded in double time against her chest.

Kensi closed her eyes, slowly drifting in and out of consciousness. She saw the empty white room as its walls began to spin around her. She could feel Callen's grip on her hand, and she tried to squeeze back, but her fingers refused to move. She desperately wanted to say something to him, but she still couldn't find her voice.

She wanted to tell him good-bye.

She wanted to tell him to let her go.

And above all else, she wanted to tell him to save the tiny heart beating inside of her...