Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate it. I'm pretty unsure about the Densi scenes in this chapter. I tried my best with them. Hopefully, they're okay.

xxxxx

"Here we are, home sweet home," Kensi said as she opened up the door for Deeks and held it open as he walked inside ahead of her. Monty immediately came running over to him, running around and jumping in excitement. Deeks tried to bend down to pet him, but gasped at the pain in his ribs and quickly straightened up again.

"You'd better sit down," Kensi said softly, the concern for him obvious in her eyes.

"I think you're right." Deeks slowly made his way to the sofa and sat down as Monty jumped up beside him.

"Monty, be careful," Kensi said to the dog. "Daddy's hurt."

Deeks thoughts immediately went back to their argument at Kensi's use of the word 'daddy.' Kensi's did too and the two were caught up in an awkward silence. "Can I get you something to eat or drink?" Kensi asked.

Deeks shook his head. "No...no thank you."

"Okay...well I'd better take Monty out for a walk,' Kensi said. "I won't be long. You just rest."

Deek nodded, his eyes on Kensi as she fastened Monty's leash to his collar and headed out through the front door. He then sighed and leaned his head back against the sofa. He knew they were both just putting off the inevitable. They really needed to discuss what had happened between them.

xxxxx

"I want to go for a walk," Callen stated after an unsuccessful attempt to find something watchable on t.v. He was bored and restless and needed to get out of his room.

"Well, that's fine with me," Sam said, "but you're going to need to clear it with the doctor first."

"He's not here." Callen tossed the covers aside and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "You're a big guy. I'm sure you can catch me if I fall."

"G…" Sam said, a warning tone in his voice. "Wait." He pressed the call button and stared back at his friend. "Don't make me stop you."

Callen rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was only kidding about falling. I'm not going to fall."

"Like I said, if the doctor okays it, I'm all for it," Sam stated.

"If I okay what?" Dr. Perez asked as he came into the room.

"He wants to go for a walk," Sam said.

"I'm capable of speaking for myself," Callen said, glaring at his partner.

"I'm sorry, G," Sam replied, looking contrite.

"Well, let me see how you're doing before we come to any decisions," Dr. Perez said as he proceeded to examine Callen. "Any dizziness or headaches?"

"No," Callen said and then reconsidered his answer. "Maybe just a little…"

"Which? Headaches or dizziness?"

"I guess both," Callen admitted.

Sam had to say, he found his friend's honesty a bit unnerving. There was no doubt in his mind that Callen would have blown off his symptoms if he was himself. He likely wouldn't have mentioned them at all.

"I'll get a physical therapist to walk with you."

"I don't need a physical therapist," Callen said. "Sam can walk with me."

"Let me see you stand up before I decide anything."

Callen carefully stood up and balanced himself. He then took one careful step, then another, appearing to be steady on his feet. "Okay?" he asked the doctor.

Dr. Perez turned to Sam. "You think you'll be okay walking with him?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, it should be fine."

"Okay, but take the wheelchair with you." The doctor turned back to Callen. "If you start to get tired or dizzy at all, you sit in the wheelchair. I don't want you falling."

Callen sighed. "I'm not going to fall."

"In my experience, there aren't a lot of people who think they are going to fall before it happens," Dr. Perez said. "You don't want to be here any longer than you have to be, do you?"

"No…" Callen admitted reluctantly. "We'll take the wheelchair. But speaking of not being here longer than I have to be, when do you think I can go home?"

"We'll discuss it tomorrow," the doctor said. "Let's see how today goes. Plus, you need to make arrangements for someone to stay with you or for you to stay at someone else's home."

"What? What are you talking about?" Callen asked, looking distressed at this latest unexpected development. He hadn't thought of this possibility. "I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

"Can you?" Dr. Perez asked.

Callen nodded. "Yes...yes, I can."

"Then tell me, what's your address?"

Callen stared back at the doctor blankly. "I...I don't know," he admitted.

"Your phone number? Where do you work? What town do you live in?"

"I DON'T KNOW," Callen's frustrations were evident as he struggled unsuccessfully to answer the doctor's questions.

"So, hopefully you can understand why I can't leave you to your own devices," Dr. Perez said gently. "You're going to need to have someone with you for a while. In addition to the memory loss, head injuries can sometimes prove to be unpredictable. I wouldn't be any kind of a doctor if I just released you on your own. That's something you're going to need to figure out before we even discuss you leaving the hospital. I'll be back to see you tomorrow morning. Don't overdo it."

"I won't," Callen mumbled. He watched as the doctor left the room then sat back down on the edge of his bed. "Well, this sucks…"

"Come on, G...you really didn't think he was going to let you leave on your own, did you?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Callen challenged, his blue eyes intense as he stared back at Sam. "I'm not a baby."

"No one is saying you are," Sam said patiently.

"Well, I don't know what to do now," Callen said, hanging his head.

"Don't worry, buddy," Sam said as he placed his hand on Callen's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "We'll figure it out."

xxxxx

Deeks had fallen into a light sleep, but he quickly awoke when he heard Kensi and Monty come back into the house. Monty ran excitedly to his master and jumped up onto the sofa beside him. The dog then settled down and contentedly rested his head on Deeks' lap while Deeks petted him.

"How are you doing?" Kensi asked, sitting down on the couch with Monty between them.

"I'm fine," Deeks said, his attention on Monty as he continued to gently pat the dog in a rhythmic motion.

Kensi nodded and the couple once again fell into an awkward silence. Finally, Kensi broke it. "I hate this."

Deeks looked at Kensi, but didn't say anything, unsure if they were really going to have this conversation or not.

Kensi sighed, turning her body so that she was facing him.. "Come on Deeks...you're not usually at a loss for words."

"I just...I didn't know if we were really going there now…"

Kensi shrugged. "When should we go there? I think we'd both like to put it off indefinitely, but that's not really practical."

Deeks sighed as he leaned into the sofa, his eyes filled with emotion. "We were almost killed, Kens...not just me and you, but Callen, Sam and Hidoko too… Our whole team was almost wiped out."

"I know…" Kensi said, her eyes welling with tears. "I thank God every day that the team is okay… that you're okay. I don't know what I would have done... " she trailed off, realizing that she was likely supporting Deeks' opinion, but she wasn't sure she cared anymore. Deeks was more important to her than anything, even the job she loved so much.

"And that's how I feel too," Deeks said softly. "And I hate that this job is so damn dangerous, and that one day I could be in Sam's shoes…"

"I can't promise you that will never happen," Kensi said, bowing her head as the tears she'd been trying to hold back, began flowing fast and furiously. "I wish I could, but…"

"Baby, don't...don't cry," Deeks pleaded softly. He hated to see her cry, especially since he felt that he was the cause of her tears.

"I...I don't want to lose you," Kensi said. "I can't lose you. If...if you want me to quit...I'll do it. I'll do it for you, Deeks."

Deeks gazed back at Kensi, stunned that it had been that easy, that she was willing to give up her career for him, but her words didn't make him feel the way he had thought they would. He now knew he couldn't force her to give up her job for him, not until she really wanted to. "I don't want you to quit, Kens…not now...not like this."

Kensi raised her head and looked at him stunned. "You don't? but…"

Deeks shook his head. "I was upset, baby...really upset. "I said some things I didn't mean. More than anything, I would like for us to be married with children, and to have jobs that are safe, or as safe as anything can really be in this day and age. But...if you're not ready for that...I'm not going to force you. The most important thing is that we're together, because nothing in the future is a certainty, we know that more than anyone, and I don't want to give up a day of us being together now, even if it means giving up some of the things I want for us someday."

"Deeks...I want those things too," Kensi said, moving in closer to him and putting her hand on the side of his face as Monty jumped down off the sofa. "More than anything, I want to have your babies and have our own little family. I don't know how I'll feel in six months or a year from now. I might suddenly wake up one morning and decide that I've had enough too, or that's it time for us to try to have a baby and then everything could change. I just can't make promises to you about when exactly that will happen..."

"I understand," Deeks said, smiling as she leaned in and kissed him, then pulled back, gazing into his eyes. "This….this is what I can't do without. I love you so much, Kensi...more than I ever thought I could love anyone."

"I love you too, Deeks..so much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"That's what I want too, baby…" Deeks said as Kensi gently curled against him and he stroked her hair lovingly. "This is all I need."