For Mel, my wonderfully supportive, endlessly patient and fantastic friend. This wouldn't have been finished without you x

Just a three chapter adventure this time. Many thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read and review. Hope you enjoy :)

The gunfire had temporarily subsided. The fast paced footsteps of their pursuers were finally moving on and away, and in the quiet which followed all that could be heard above the partners' strained and rapid breathing were the sounds of the city far below echoing back up across the steep hillside. Night had fallen an hour previous and through the single, narrow window the moon shone brightly and strongly, partially illuminating the room they now occupied.

Sliding down against the bare concrete wall onto the equally bare concrete floor, Deeks drew a deep, steadying breath in through his nose and rubbed a hand over his face, caring little about the grime and sweat which covered him. His left wrist broken and cradled against his chest, he could feel a dull throbbing along the length of his arm and knew the continual doses of adrenaline he was experiencing were keeping the worst of the pain at bay.

Looking over at Kensi as she slid down the wall opposite him, he couldn't help but notice the fresh cut above her right eye and the blood that now trailed down her cheek over the scrapes and bruises already there. Like him dirt and sweat covered her skin and matted in her hair, clear evidence of what they had been through over the previous few hours.

Running and chasing suspects through the streets of Los Angeles was an energy consuming activity on any ordinary day, but this had been no ordinary day, and right now they were a long way from Los Angeles.

Down through the maze of narrow streets and alleyways, Kensi and Deeks had been chased in, out and over the tin and tile roofed buildings which characterised Rio de Janeiro's hillside favelas. Hiding when they could, fighting when they had to, they had eventually managed to either shoot or lose the seven or so armed men who had been less than thrilled to have them making inquiries regarding the drug related deaths of two US Navy Intelligence Officers.

One question too many, one step towards the truth too far and suddenly the tables had turned on the two partners frighteningly and without warning. A rain of gunfire had come seemingly from nowhere, the sound of bullets embedding in walls and ricocheting off metal uncomfortably loud as they barely missed their intended target. Quickly finding themselves heavily outnumbered, Kensi and Deeks had been forced to run, the two local police escorts assigned to them having promptly removed themselves from the firing zone without attempting to help.

How they were still alive Kensi couldn't quite be sure, especially after having landed atop a solid tile roof only to witness Deeks crash through the one beside her and land badly a further fifteen feet below her. She had screamed her partner's name at the sight of his still body and the overwhelming relief she felt at seeing him move only increased when he took fast aim and shot dead the man approaching her from the building above and behind. Largely unscathed, other than a broken wrist, Deeks had quickly but awkwardly pulled himself onto his feet as Kensi had joined him and for a moment they had simply stood, looking each other in the eye. A sea of un-tempered emotion had silently poured from each of them in that moment and only the imminent threat of more bullets seemed to push them on towards any kind of safety.

Ten minutes had passed since they had managed to find temporary safety in the small, unfurnished room they were currently hiding in. Ten minutes had passed wordlessly with only the exchange of open and unguarded looks and gazes between them. Ten minutes had passed and Deeks could stay silent no longer.

"Kens," he began softly, his gaze never wavering.

Her knees drawn up nearly to her chest, her arms draped over them with her gun held firmly in her right hand, Kensi stood quickly and rolled her shoulders, but remained within the shadows.

"Kensi," he tried again, watching as she closed her eyes with a frown of withheld emotion at hearing the tone he used. It was not one she welcomed. Not here, not now.

"Don't, Deeks," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "Just don't, okay?"

"You don't even know what I was going to say," he protested gently, but as she opened her eyes and the intensity of her gaze bore into him, he knew that he was wrong. She knew him too well not to be.

"We're getting out of this," she told him defiantly, as if no other option existed.

"You don't know that," he countered evenly. "We don't ever know that."

"Well that kind of goes with the job, Partner. So what makes today so special?"

"We never talk about it," Deeks returned, refusing to back down. "We hint at it, we joke about it, we flirt..." Pause. "With the idea of it, but when it comes to actually talking, we just put it off and put it off."

"And so far that's worked really well for us." Kensi returned tightly, a hint of a warning clear in her tone.

"You know, procrastination is the thief of time," he threw across at her, a lopsided smile stretching at his handsome features.

Kensi arched an eyebrow.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Studying her partner more closely she couldn't help but notice how even in the dark of night a clear tint of blue could still be seen in his eyes. It anchored her, it calmed her, it gave her hope. It always had. And she wasn't about to let him take that away from her when she needed it most.

"You're really not going to let me talk about this right now, are you?"

"Nope," she confirmed.

"Why not?" he enquired, curious at what reason she could possibly give.

Kensi thought for a moment, the beat of her heart rising just a little as she considered the question. So much remained unspoken between the two of them. So much emotion, so much want, so much fear, and right then, in order that she could see a way through the darkness, to see a way through to them getting out of this situation alive, Kensi needed it to remain unspoken. Anything else just felt like admitting defeat, like giving in and right then was not the time for them to be giving in.

"Because you're not a coward."

Deeks could feel his breath catch in his chest and his eyes widen at the words he had been unprepared to hear. Unsure as to what he had expected Kensi to say, he was fairly certain it wasn't going to be that.

How he was even supposed to interpret that statement he wasn't sure. Which column should he assign it to? Positive or negative? Opening his mouth to request an explanation, a change in the surrounding city noises cut him off and sent Kensi towards the window to investigate.

Gazing out over the moonlit rooftops Kensi's eyes narrowed, her look becoming more calculating as she observed the dark figures starting to make their way back up the hill towards them.

"We need to move," she told her partner warily. "We need to move now."

Deeks pulled himself quickly to his feet before checking the safety on both his Beretta and the gun he had acquired from one of the gang members who'd been chasing them. If the situation hadn't been so dangerous, with all the bullets coming their way, then how he accomplished the task would probably have been comical. With his broken wrist both a hindrance and severe disadvantage in hand to hand combat, Deeks had simply stuck his foot out into one of the alleyways as one of their pursuers had run past and the results had surprised even him. The local man had flown spectacularly head first down a set of concrete steps and the LAPD detective had finished the job by knocking him unconscious with the butt of his gun.

Standing behind his partner and looking out over her shoulder, his chest coming in tantalisingly close contact with her back, Deeks took in the positions of the approaching men and sighed tiredly. A light shiver passed fully across and through Kensi's shoulders at the feel of his warm breath on her neck and she had little doubt that with the proximity of their bodies Deeks had felt it too.

"Let's go," he murmured, and with a nod Kensi turned from the window and followed him back out into the night.

Cautiously making their way down through the narrow streets and alleyways once more, Deeks could feel the heady buzz of adrenaline quickly return, his senses on full alert, trying to anticipate where the next source of danger might come from. There were few people out on the streets despite the density of population residing within the hillside favela, and Deeks couldn't quite decide if that would likely work in their favour or not. In truth he knew they were not in a good position however he weighed it up and that the men effectively hunting them were not going to hesitate in killing them no matter how many times they used the words, "US Federal Agents".

The dim light from the homes they passed helped to partially illuminate the unfamiliar route, and Kensi couldn't help but note how recognisably normal the sounds which emanated from them were. The music; the television; the ordinary, everyday noises of a family living together.

The situation that she and Deeks were in right then, though, was far from ordinary, even for them, and it was even less normal for Kensi to feel as vulnerable as she did. Rarely did a circumstance lead to Special Agent Kensi Blye feeling like prey. This game of cat and mouse which they had been forced into playing was becoming increasingly perilous with the odds continuing to be stacked against them at every turn. Expressing this concern to Deeks more than an hour earlier, she had watched as a small smile had played over his lips before commenting that they better keep an eye out for frying pans.

"Frying pans?" she'd asked incredulously.

"Well they always seem to serve Jerry pretty well when he's being chased by Tom."

Kensi hadn't verbally responded to the attempt at levity, but the smile that had covered her face had told Deeks all he needed to know. It was his own unique brand of reassurance and it was one Kensi was more than familiar with. In fact it was something she had slowly and steadily come to rely upon.

A movement in the shadows a short distance in front of them and Kensi reacted on instinct, suddenly pulling Deeks back against the nearest wall without a hint of warning.

Taking in a sharp breath Deeks swore multiple times in a husky whisper before releasing the breath once more. Taking a split second to note the look on her partner's face, his bottom lip curled in over his teeth, his eyes wide and turned skywards, Kensi realised with guilt that he had inadvertently knocked his injured arm against the wall when she had unexpectedly yanked at his shirt.

"Sorry," she whispered, her eyes searching the area around them before returning to her partner.

Deeks continued to take in deep breaths, battling down the pain which had exploded through his arm, but watching carefully as Kensi indicated with a nod as to where she had seen the movement, he focused in as best he could and nodded back a reply.

Edging cautiously forward to where two paths crossed, Deeks could see more clearly a broad, stocky man with long, dark hair standing about seventy feet directly in front of them. Facing away from them but clearly well armed, and sporting some of the tattoos the detective now recognised with ease, he began to take several backward paces causing both partners to raise and aim their own weapons purposefully before checking either side of them and moving along the alley to their left.

Immediately spotting another armed gang member further along their new chosen route, Kensi took in a deep breath and forced herself not to openly react as he turned to face them. There was little light between the man and them, and although an armed gang member wasn't exactly unusual in the vicinity, Kensi could tell by the way he was surveying the area, weapon drawn, that he was looking out for them. Lowering their weapons back down to their sides, the dark, it seemed, was to be their saving and as they continued to walk towards the entrance of a street leading away to the right the man turned away from them once more.

Then out of nowhere the almost blinding beam from a spotlight was on them and without hesitation it started. An eruption of gunfire sounding out into the night like the simultaneous lighting of a thousand fire crackers. It surrounded and enveloped them, and even in their heightened state of alert there was little that could be done to fully avoid the hailstorm of bullets which was so suddenly coming their way.

Desperately scrambling back out of the alleyway that they had only just stepped into, Kensi moved to the right, Deeks to the left, each of them urgently seeking cover from the buildings around them.

Recognising the all too familiar intense burn of pain in his left upper arm, Deeks didn't even bother to turn his head and confirm that he had taken a bullet to his already injured limb. His first look was in search of Kensi whom he found standing across from him, her back pressed to the nearest wall, staring straight back at him.

The beam from the spotlight remained, spreading out around them, creating the shadows they now stood in and providing just enough light for Deeks to see the change in his partner's expression. The startled, almost fearful look in her dark brown eyes, the tautness in her jaw, the frown so deep it almost bridged her eyebrows. She'd been hit.

Before he had chance to react to this new information movement just beyond Kensi's position quickly drew his attention, and as the gang member who had previously ignored them closed in, Deeks simply raised his gun and wasted no more than two bullets in settling the matter. Surprise, though, came in the form of the bullet fired from Kensi's SIG, which passed almost directly over Deeks' shoulder at the same time that he had released the trigger on his own weapon. Not only had he heard it, but such was its proximity that he had felt it too. Turning to look at what she had been aiming, Deeks found the long-haired gang member, whom they had bi-passed just a few minutes earlier, lying motionless just thirty feet behind him. Gunshots were still being fired in their general direction and neither partner had any doubt that there were more men making their way towards them. They needed to move, and fast.

Wasting no time in retrieving the semi-automatic rifle from the dead man's hands, Deeks holstered his Beretta, and after sharing a look, two hand signals and a nod with Kensi they both stepped back into the spotlight and let off a series of shots which allowed him to cross the gap over to her.

"Where are you hit?" Deeks immediately asked of his partner, their bodies drawn so close in the chaos that Kensi could practically feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest against her own.

"I'm fine, let's go," she answered through laboured breaths, as she turned and walked as fast as she could away from the bullets which were still landing and ricocheting about them.

"Kensi, where are you hit?" he demanded from right behind her, uncaring as to how much of his emotions now seeped into his tone.

"I'm fine!" she growled over her shoulder.

"Don't make me start talking about our 'thing' again," he threatened, knowing it would have the desired effect.

"My hip, okay?" she returned irritably, but immediately.

"Not okay. How bad?"

"I'm still walking, Deeks," she reminded him tightly, forcing the words out from between gritted teeth.

"Yeah, like that means anything with you, Wonder Woman," he muttered, his gaze shifting around them warily.

Keeping the rifle aimed above their heads as they moved, Deeks soon heard the heavy footsteps he expected coming at them quickly across the rooftops. Catching glimpse of a gun barrel, Deeks didn't wait for faces and bodies to appear behind them, or for the inevitable flash of gunfire which he knew would follow, he immediately and instinctively fired off a number of rounds, then after a short pause repeated the action. The footsteps scurried away from the roof edge once more providing what he knew would only be a temporary reprieve, but right then they had to take what they could get.

TBC...