Note: Sorry if the cliffhanger from Chapter 4 left anyone in distress! I would never permanently harm Deeks or Kensi, just put them in a little bit of danger now and then. I'll finish this story off with a last big THANK YOU to my fellow Texans, MioneAlterEgo and Angela6257. For betaing, listening, helping, and so much more. And thanks to all of you who may have been following along, read, alerted, favorited, reviewed, and hopefully enjoyed this story. I've very much appreciated that you felt compelled to comment and took the time. This is the end (for now), and I hope you enjoy the conclusion. Thanks for reading and reviewing if you do!

Chapter 5

"I think we have different ways of seeing this. And you're not even willing to listen to what I have to say."

"I'm willing to listen. I'm just not going to be an afterthought."

"You were not an afterthought. Stop acting like I left you at the prom to go home with another guy!"

"So because I'm angry that you're going to throw away our partnership it means I'm being too sensitive? Nice, Kensi."

"That's not what I meant and you know it. I was offered a position on the Red Team and I said I would think about it."

"You say that, but I can tell your mind is made up."

"Stop putting words in my mouth! And stop being afraid of things changing."

"So now I'm sensitive and scared. That's just great."

"If the shoe fits."

"Is this what we're going to do now, you insult me and I'm just supposed to take it?"

"I'm not insulting you, I'm trying to get you to hear me."

"I guess we disagree on that then."

"Apparently it's not the only thing we disagree on."

"Is this what we are now? Just a bunch of irreconcilable differences?"

"I don't know. Is that all you think we have?"

"You know what? I can't talk to you about this right now."

Watching Deeks thrown off the Oceanside Pier, Kensi was certain she'd never been more terrified in her life. Seeing him being shot at when they were on a case or chasing a criminal was hard but instantly over. She always knew within seconds that he was fine. When he'd been shot and she kept vigil in the hospital waiting for him to wake up that had been difficult, but even then the doctor had assured her he would be okay. She had certainly been anxious, but it was nothing like watching her partner dropped from a height of over a hundred feet into the cold ocean below, not knowing if he survived the fall.

Kensi screamed Deeks' name, rushing to the railing of the pier in time to see that he'd fallen below the surface of the water, her eyes scanning for him and praying his head would pop up and reassure her. People on the pier who had seen the struggle and watched as Deeks went over the railing crowded the edge next to her. In the back of her mind Kensi knew the man who'd thrown him off the pier was getting away, running and putting distance between her and perhaps her only chance to clear Deeks' name.

She allowed a quick glance towards the shore, seeing the tall man in a dark hooded sweatshirt beginning to disappear from her sight as he ran down the pier. Kensi tore her eyes away, knowing she would have only a minimal physical description that wouldn't help her identify the man later. But she couldn't go after him, not until she knew that Deeks was okay.

Within seconds Deeks ended her worried waiting when he came to the surface, quickly shaking his head, water churning around him as he began to tread water. Considering the man had been choking Deeks when he'd thrown him over, Kensi felt relief wash over her in a wave, her body instantly relaxing. Although he was far enough away and the ocean breeze would have stolen anything he tried to yell to her, she instantly recognized the gestures he was making with his arms.

Heeding his suggestion, she took off at a run down the pier in pursuit of the man who had attacked Deeks. Knowing the man had taken off and that she would be waiting for a signal from Deeks, he'd pointed towards the shore, telling her all she needed to know. He would catch up to her and he was okay.

Feeling the adrenaline rush of finally having a suspect to track down and a real lead to follow that might result in exonerating Deeks, Kensi picked up speed as she ran. The man had a significant head start but from a distance she could see that he'd slowed down, confident she wasn't following him. She cursed when he glanced back and saw her chasing him and began to run again.

In the back of her mind Kensi tried not to worry about Deeks getting to land from more than a quarter mile off the shore. She knew he was a strong swimmer. And with any luck one of the surfers in the water had seen and swam over to help.

She was reaching the end of the pier and gaining ground on the man when he veered north towards a parking lot adjacent to the road by the beach. Kensi rounded the staircase leading down the pier towards the beach, taking the steps three at a time and hitting the pavement hard enough to knock her teeth together.

Realizing the man could get to a car and get away, Kensi cut across the road, ignoring the honking horns and barely missed getting hit by a passing car, and she tackled the man, throwing them both against the sand. The man was tall and easily outweighed her but thankfully broke her fall. And she could tell she'd knocked the wind out of him because he didn't move for several seconds.

Knowing she didn't have much time before he came around and could potentially physically overpower her, Kensi flipped the man over, pulling his arms back and using a zip tie to handcuff him. For good measure she tied his feet together as well, then turned him back over so she could see his face. With satisfaction she recognized Paul Willis, criminal boyfriend of the murdered woman found with Deeks.

"Did you get lost on your way to your drug dealer's house?" Kensi asked, trying to breathe evenly as her heart rate began to slow down. Willis looked at her worriedly but also defiantly, traces of anger screwing his face up into a scowl.

"That bastard slept with my girlfriend. He had it coming, just like she did."

Kensi smiled and shook her head in amusement. Willis was so angry and out of control that he was hand delivering his confession. "So you killed Shellie Stern?"

"Damn right. We had a fight and Shellie took off, then she sent me some cryptic text that she'd met some guy at this bar in Oceanside and I show up and find out they're gone. The bitch actually had the nerve to text me his address. I got to his house and found Shellie naked with him in bed!"

Taking a quick look at Willis's shoes, she noted the tread seemed similar to the footprint she'd found outside Deeks' beach house.

"I knocked and she answered the door with just a sheet on. She had this smile on her face, rubbing it in. She didn't see me coming though. Shellie tried to tell me some bullshit story about how she didn't sleep with him, just drugged him and got him back to the house so she could make it look like she slept with him to make me jealous."

Kensi shook her head in disgust. "Well, the joke's on you then. She didn't sleep with him."

Willis fell silent from his ranting, digesting the new piece of information. Then he paled, his eyes widening almost comically. "She didn't? She was just trying to make me jealous?"

Kensi let the new information sink in, glancing back at the ocean. She saw Deeks wading through thigh high waves towards shore, sharing a handshake with a surfer who helped him partway on his board. His clothes soaked all the way through, Deeks had ditched his shoes and jacket in the ocean and his wet t-shirt clung to his body while his jeans barely managed to stay on his hips.

From a distance Kensi heard sirens approaching and she knew the police and paramedics would arrive soon. She left Willis on the sand, knowing he couldn't go anywhere. A sunbather offered Kensi a beach towel and she took it, taking long strides over the sand until Deeks was right in front of her.

He shivered, the breeze from off the ocean obviously making his clothing feel cold and heavy in the chilly spring air. Kensi quickly wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, making sure it was against his neck to help warm him. Her arms around him were meant to be brisk and professional but she couldn't deny she leaned in close and it was more a hug to reassure herself Deeks was fine.

Deeks surprised her then, his arms going around her waist as he pulled her up against him. He was wet and cold but she didn't think or try and process what she was doing. She immediately returned the embrace, feeling her own tremble as he ducked his head, his wet face against her neck. Just a few weeks earlier he'd nearly been drowned by some easily irritated Russian mobsters and she'd resisted hugging him. This was different. This was needing to know he was in one piece after she'd witnessed him nearly strangled and almost drowned.

"I'm okay, Kensi," Deeks murmured, his voice reassuring in her ear. And she felt the sting and burn in her eyes, the realization that after everything he'd just been through, he was assuring her that he was safe. All she could do was nod since she didn't trust herself to speak and not give herself completely away. Her palms flat against his shoulder blades, Kensi rubbed in slow circles over the towel to try and warm him up a little, then moved her hands up to his neck, finding his hair still wet and dripping.

Although Deeks didn't seem in a rush to let her go, she gently pulled at the towel around his shoulders, loosening it so she could cover his head to try and rub some of the moisture from his hair.

"We need to get your hair dry so your head isn't soaked. You'll catch a cold," Kensi whispered.

Deeks shook his head and mumbled against her neck. "Don't care. You're warm."

His last word had been punctuated by his arms tightening around her and Kensi felt the answering leap of her heart. Although he was warming up against her, Kensi was suddenly aware of their public setting, the lack of space between their bodies, and how little she cared about either factor.

"Well, you'll make me catch a cold then," Kensi replied, the admonishment gentle in her voice. Deeks sighed, releasing her so she could step away and see that the paramedics had arrived and were making their way towards Deeks. A few minutes after the EMTs had started to examine Deeks a police cruiser pulled up and Officer Gleeson arrived, shaking his head at the sight of Paul Willis hogtied on the sand and Deeks looking as though he'd nearly drowned.

Approaching Kensi, he gave her a grudgingly admiring smile. "You've been in my town all of three hours and this is the mess you make?"

Kensi smiled in return, gesturing to Willis. "I'm pretty sure I caught your murderer for you. Now it's up to you to get his confession written and signed. It sounds like Shellie Stern tried to use Deeks to make her boyfriend jealous. She just didn't count on how jealous he would be."

"I'll take him in and get the details. He'll probably lawyer up but your office has been forwarding me incriminating stuff all morning. Really high quality information on the drug dealing this guy was a part of, stuff it would take me months to get. Who are you guys?"

Kensi shook her head. "Nobody really. But I would like to get my partner into some dry clothes. Then do you need us to come back to the station?"

Gleeson agreed to process Willis and fill them in when they returned to the police station. The paramedics gave Deeks a clean bill of health and Kensi led Deeks back to his beach house so he could change. She followed him into the bedroom, watching as he sifted through his duffel bag.

"Between the police taking some of my clothes and now the ocean soaking most of the rest, I don't really have much to wear," Deeks commented. When he looked up he grinned slyly at her. "Kensi? A little privacy? Unless you'd like me to give you a show. Or jump with me into the shower."

Kensi realized she'd been hovering in the doorway, watching Deeks as though she were afraid to let him out of her sight. And even though his last few sentences had been phrased as playful statements, the implied questions flustered her in a way she wasn't sure they would have before that hug on the beach. Embarrassed at being caught lurking, Kensi spun on her heel and exited to the kitchen, uselessly washing some dishes in the sink until Deeks returned, freshly showered and in dry clothes.

Deeks looked at her, his eyes studied and serious, his expression unreadable. And that bothered Kensi because she almost always could tell what he was thinking. Deeks was usually an open book to her. But the way he was looking at her was new. New and full of something inexplicably grateful and intimate.

"Thank you, Kensi."

She stopped drying dishes and faced him fully. "What for?"

"For coming when I called you. For asking Granger if I could join the Red Team with you. For putting up with me when I blow things out of proportion. For believing in me. And for helping me when you didn't have to."

Perplexed, Kensi shrugged. "There is no 'have to,' Deeks. We're partners, it's what we do."

"It's not just that. And you know it."

She couldn't argue with him. Not when he was right and calling her on her evasiveness. But she also couldn't think past that intimate embrace on the beach. Not that she didn't want to. But she couldn't. Not with how things were and not with how things had to stay.

Not sure what to say, and the silence full of expectation she wasn't sure she would ever be brave enough to affirm, Kensi was both relieved and disappointed when her phone rang. She answered, speaking to Officer Gleeson another few minutes and then hanging up and turning to Deeks with a smile.

"Looks like you've been given the all clear, Deeks. The second blood test found the date rape drug in your system. And Paul Willis pretty much confessed to everything. He slept with his girlfriend yesterday afternoon, they got into a fight, she took off and taunted him into coming to Oceanside."

"So she did drug me?"

"Looks like she did. She must have helped you stumble home, got you partially undressed and into bed before texting Willis. You were probably out of it at that point, Willis showed up and left that footprint outside your house, then he knocked and Shellie answered."

"Eric got a match on the footprint?" Deeks asked.

"Willis is a pretty big guy, size sixteen shoes. And the tread was the same. Eric also confirmed the text message exchange. This all would have come out eventually with a little more time for the police to investigate. We just helped them along," Kensi confirmed with a nod.

"So, what? Willis comes in, gets mad and then strangled Shellie Stern? And then he just left her there? If he was so pissed off why didn't he kill me then?" Deeks wondered.

"Officer Gleeson said Willis wanted to frame you for the murder. He 'anonymously' called the police and tipped them off so they came to your beach house this morning. It wasn't until later that Willis thought about it and decided he wanted you dead as well. And apparently he heard that you were released from jail and he hung around waiting for his chance."

"Which is when he forced me into taking a header into the Pacific Ocean."

"Not the brightest of criminals. It isn't as though the fall was likely to kill you," Kensi commented.

"No, but he did a pretty good job of trying to wring my neck before throwing me off the pier," Deeks replied, gingerly touching his neck where Kensi could see a light bruise was beginning to form. She stepped forward, leaning in so she could examine him for herself. And although she didn't touch him, Kensi could swear she saw his pulse jump below the surface of the skin under his jaw.

"Poor baby, but you look fine," Kensi replied, lightly teasing. She lifted her eyes to look at him, realizing she was close enough that if she turned her head just to the left her nose would brush his chin. She hoped for his typical response to her teasing, that easy smile and answering gleam in his eyes that would tell her they were okay, that they could get past their recent disagreement.

Deeks didn't disappoint, his eyes nearly twinkling in response. "You were worried about me. Don't try and deny it, I could tell. On the beach you had that little furrow between your eyes. And those serious, serious eyes."

Kensi chuckled, neither confirming or denying. She fell silent, the relief of the current moment still a little overshadowed by the events of the past week, and their angry words on the Friday before. Trying to look past her hurt, she could see that while the argument and Deeks' leaving had hurt, what he'd done had been a reaction to her actions.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Granger's offer. And what I was trying to work on behind the scenes," Kensi whispered the words, knowing they were crystal clear in the silence of the house. And she knew Deeks had heard them by how his eyes widened in amazement. And with a slight sense of guilt she realized she didn't say she was sorry very often. Usually because apologies between her and Deeks weren't really necessary. They had an unsaid understanding. But every once in awhile she went too far, or he did, and this was one of those times.

"I'm sorry, too. I should have had a little more patience to listen to what you were trying to tell me. I just heard what I thought you were saying and—" Deeks paused, taking a deep breath. "—I got scared. I thought of you leaving and I just couldn't process it. So I didn't, and I made a mess of things as a result."

Kensi knew Deeks was also referring to how he'd been framed for murder, inadvertently because he'd taken off to clear his head. But she was stuck back on his confession of his fear that she was leaving him. And that was what she held on to. The anger and hurt she let go of.

Deeks kept talking, as though a dam had been broken. "I'm sorry I said what I did, about you leaving me even when I know how you feel about people leaving—"

"It's okay."

"I really don't think it is. I wish you'd let me—"

"Really, Deeks. It's okay." Believe me. Kensi implored him with her eyes, his gaze back at hers still uncertain.

"I'm not sure that it is."

Deeks voice was filled with frustrated regret, distress at how he thought his words had hurt her. Kensi knew he'd stepped over a line he hadn't wanted to cross. As much as Kensi hated fear, she understood it. Especially the emotional kind that had driven Deeks. But after all they'd been through that day, from when he'd first seen her in the jail and looked at her as though she was his only hope to Kensi's undeniable breathless relief that he was safe, she could forgive.

"I'm saying it's okay."

Kensi emphasized her words, reaching out to lace Deeks' fingers with hers, an offer of her hand for him to take. And when he took it without hesitation, finally nodding in agreement, Kensi felt the remnants of their misunderstanding vanish.

"What are you going to do now? If Granger offers you the Red Team position? And if he doesn't, can we still be partners?" Deeks asked, uncertainty clouding his eyes. And there was nothing more she wanted to do than banish that look from his face.

"We're partners, no matter what happens. If Granger says we can both join the Red Team then we need to decide if we both want to do that. If he says no, then we stay partners at NCIS," Kensi replied firmly. Deeks' grin was slow, but wide and confident.

"Yeah?" Kensi nodded in answer to his question and his smile deepened as his voice warmed. "No irreconcilable differences?"

Kensi shook her head, knowing that while there was plenty unsaid between them, partners they would stay. She wasn't going to be the one to change that. It wasn't what either of them wanted. They just weren't always good at admitting such attachments to each other. But then she grinned, not able to resist a parting shot. "Just the regular kind of differences that we deal with every day."

Deeks chuckled in response, running a hand through his hair and then tucking his hands in his pockets as if he weren't sure where to put them. He'd taken a half step forward and Kensi belatedly realized he'd been moving to hug her. But he'd held back, as if he realized their moment on the beach had changed things, as if he knew there was a next step to take that he was equally uncertain how to handle.

They would figure it out. Kensi really could say how, but the hardest question had already been answered. It was also the easiest answer. They were partners.

Kensi's phone rang and she reached for it, her breath catching when she saw the caller ID. Granger. She held it up for Deeks to see, the flicker of anticipation in his blue eyes making her wonder what he wanted Granger to say. Stay or go? NCIS or Red Team?

Kensi held the phone out between them, activating the speaker feature and accepting the call at the same time so Deeks would also hear Granger's decision. She looked up and met Deeks' eyes, absolutely certain that her path forward, whatever it was, would be with Deeks at her side.

"Hello?"

END