Final Chapter

Kensi enters the office that has been empty for such a long time now. Nate has been gone for so long that she can't say she doesn't miss him. Yes, he never was one of those people she opened up with without caring about his judgments. She always knew that he didn't mean to be judgmental but that's how it looked like in her eyes. She sits on the couch and waits. Kensi waits because she knows Callen came after her. That's what he always does. No matter how much they fight, no matter how bad the situation is, no matter how upset she is…he always comes for her. He understands her and sees her as a little sister. He told her once that he enjoyed looking out for her because Sam and Kensi were the closest thing he had to a family and Sam doesn't need to be protected.

He walks inside just a few seconds after her and sits next to her. They stay in silence for a few seconds and he's the one who ends up breaking it. "Why do I get the feeling that this is not just because of the letter?"

Kensi lets out a weak laugh as a tear makes its way down her cheek. "It's not just about the letter. I may be messed up but I'm not that much."

Callen is looking at her, trying to figure out what's going on inside her head but it's an impossible mission. There is no way anyone can tell what's going on inside Kensi's head. Well, Deeks can sometimes but Callen decides not to go there right now. There will be plenty of time to talk to her about this 'thing' between her and Deeks when she's not as upset as she is right now. "Do you want to tell me what this is about then?"

Kensi sobs softly and meets Callen's eyes. "Do you remember what happened the last time Deeks went undercover for LAPD? Because I sure as hell can't forget about it…He almost got killed, Callen. I can't lose another partner. I can't lose him."

Callen grabs her hand and squeezes it with a gentle smile on his face, the kind of smile a parent would use to sooth a child after a bad dream. "It's not about losing a partner, is it? It's about losing him…That's what's really getting to you."

Kensi doesn't even try to deny it. One way or another, she can't lie to Callen so there's no point in doing it. "So what if it is? Deeks…he's my friend. Losing him would hurt too much, Callen. He didn't even say goodbye this time. At least not a real one. The only thing he told me before he left was to take care of myself. There was no 'I'll be back' or 'I'll be here before you know it'…I know it's stupid but I really needed to hear that."

She doesn't tell him more than that because she's honestly not sure of how much more is there to tell. He left and their 'thing' was far from being resolved.

Callen wraps and arm around her and kisses the top of her head to try to give her some comfort she desperately needs. Kensi allows him to give her that and relaxes in his arms. When Sam comes in and hands her the letter she doesn't want to open it and read the silly things he wrote there. She doesn't want to think that this will be the last joke she'll ever witness coming from him. But there's something on Sam's eyes that tell her she should definitely read it. So she accepts it and they leave her alone to read it.

She reads the first page and can't help but laugh at the things her partner wrote about her. Then she starts reading the second page and it brings a smile to her face and tears to her eyes.

Attention everyone, this part of the letter is meant for Kensi's eyes only. And be careful because if you're not Kensi and you're reading this you're just bringing unnecessary trouble upon yourself.

Kensi, I'll be back. You know I will.
I didn't say that to you because I don't think I would be able to say just that.
You're my partner and I feel awful for not saying goodbye to you but that's the way it has to be. You might be wonder woman but I'm not nearly as strong as you are. There are some things I find somewhat hard to do. I can't say goodbye to you because that would be acknowledging the fact that I might not come back from this.
I know I'm probably being a bit pessimist but we both know that in our line of work we can never be sure of anything. Sometimes the easy op can be the one that ends up worst that any other one.
Look, if something happens to me I wrote you another letter. You will find it on the top drawer of my nightstand. I hope it doesn't come to that but if something happens to me I need to know that there is nothing left unsaid. However, if you go there and read it just out of pure curiosity even though nothing happened to me there will be no donuts for you for at least a month. You've been warned, Kensi Marie Blye.
I'll see you soon, Fern. I'll be there to piss you off once again before you know it.

Kensi lets out a teary laugh by the end of it and folds the letter before putting it on her pocket and going downstairs with a smile on her face.

X

3 months later

Deeks parks his car outside the familiar building he missed so much during the past few weeks. He allows himself to let out a sigh of what can only be described as relief looking at the NCIS building. For some reason, this feels like home. He gets out of the car and enters the doors, looking forward to see everyone again. The first person he sees is Callen.

The agent looks at him with a smile on his face and shakes his hand. "Welcome back, Deeks."

Sam greets him the same way and Deeks finally gets a glimpse of what it feels like to feel at home in the work place. The he goes to find Kensi. He takes a wild guess and ends up finding her at the gym, running on the treadmill. He smiles to himself and walks to his partner.

As soon as he's close enough to be heard, Deeks whistles at her to grab her attention. She turns to him and jumps off the machine with a large smile on her face. "I can't picture anything better than my sweating breathless partner greeting me when I come back after months away."

Kensi punches him playfully on the arm and he pretends to be deeply wounded before grabbing her upper arm and pulling her to him for a much needed hug. Kensi relaxes in his arms and breathes in his scent. God, how much she has missed him…

Then Deeks leans in and whispers in her ear. "You were the only thing I could think about whenever I was alone."

Kensi pulls back and meets his eyes. What she sees there should probably scare her more than what it actually does. In fact, a few months ago, seeing that much care and adoration on Deeks eyes would have made her run away from him. Now, she just offers him a small smile and pushes him back when he leans in to kiss her. Deeks looks at her questioningly so she looks around before talking again.

"I didn't tell anyone about us."

Deeks lets out a groan of frustration and grabs her hand. He pulls her to him and doesn't allow her to push him away this time. "Princess, I've spent the past four months away from you. Do you know how hard it was for me to sleep alone after all those nights I got to fall asleep with you in my arms? I don't care about what anyone else thinks. I'm going to kiss you now because I missed you. Do you have a problem with that?"

Kensi shakes her head with a smile and allows him to kiss her, responding to him as soon as his warm lips connect with hers. She would never admit how much she missed him or how many nights she had to sleep in the living room couch just because the bed felt way too cold and empty without him there.

From afar, Nell and Eric witness the reunion of the two partners with smiles on their faces. Nell dragged Eric away from the gym as soon as Deeks kissed Kensi and once outside she finally allowed herself to speak. "Did you film it?"

Eric nodded and the two of them rushed to the bullpen. Callen turned to them with a suspicious look on his face and Sam frowned when he noticed that Eric was walking around with his phone, something he never did. "What do you have there, Eric?"

Eric handed the phone to Callen who sighed as soon as he saw what was on it. "That, Sam, is the proof that you and Callen own us 20 bucks each. We won."

Callen tried to fight back. "This doesn't prove that they were already together before he left. It only proves that they're together now."

Eric carried on. "See the whole video. In the beginning Deeks tells her how hard it was to sleep without her after they spent so many nights together."

Callen gives up and hands him the money.

Sam does the same and turns back to Callen with a smirk. "How long do you think it will take them to let us know?"

Callen seems to think for a few seconds before answering him. "I say two weeks."

Eric turns to them and joins the conversation. "Want to bet on it?"

Then Nell clears her throat and they all pretend to talk about something else as Kensi and Deeks walk in the bullpen with a smile on their faces. Eric and Nell go upstairs and Sam and Callen simply pretend not to notice what's going on between the two partners.

They are happy and, as long as they don't let their relationship interfere with their work, everything's okay.

Somehow, they know that Deeks won't hurt Kensi. Somehow, they know that Kensi is not going to shut him out.

This is definitely the beginning of something new.

Done!