A/N: I'm really sad Nell is kind of leaving folks. Like really sad. Ugh.

"So, you want to tell me what's wrong now?" Deeks asked as he drove them toward home.

Kensi scoffed and shifted uncomfortably in her seat."I don't know what you're talking about. I'm fine."

"You basically missed the whole briefing this morning. You spent the whole day looking like someone just told you there wouldn't be any more episodes of Queer Eye. And you were distracted at the bar."

"No I wasn't. I was fun."

"No, you were Fake Fun Kensi. I know the difference."

She raised her eyebrows. "Fake Fun Kensi?"

"Yeah."

"Uh huh. What exactly is Fake Fun Kensi?"

"Fake Fun Kensi is the persona you put on when you're upset but you don't want anyone else to know about it."

"I don't do that."

"Yes you do."

She glared at him. "Prove it."

"Okay when you're Fake Fun Kensi you laugh at all the right times."

"What?"

"Real Kensi laughs when she thinks something's funny. Which is way more often than they actually are funny. But Fake Fun Kensi laughs when everybody else laughs."

"Deeks you're making this up."

"Nope, I'm serious. You end up buying everybody drinks because you keep going to the bar so you can think by yourself. And you don't stop me from telling embarrassing stories. Like tonight I told everybody about us almost getting caught by Callen in the boat shed shower and you didn't even get mad."

"Oh."

She didn't say anything as he put the truck in park. "So. You want to tell me?"

Kensi sighed, fiddling with the straps on the bag in her lap. "Nell's leaving."

That took him by surprise. "Like…leaving to go home today? Or for a vacation?"

Kensi just looked at him, tears springing to her eyes. He shook his head in disbelief. "Not like…leaving leaving?"

Kensi shrugged and wiped her eyes, voice breaking a little as she spoke. "She says she doesn't want to be an analyst anymore. That it's too hard."

"Oh babe." Deeks unbuckled and got out of the truck, walking around to her side and opening her door so he could hug her.

"She cornered me this morning in the armory. That's why we were late to the briefing. I tried to talk her out of it, she's had such a rough year, but you know what she's like when she's made up her mind."

"I mean, you can't blame her. Maybe she needs something less demanding right now what with her mom and her sister and everything."

"We're her family. If she leaves…"

"She's got Eric babe. And she'll still have all of us, but without the stress of life or death situations."

"We need her." She sniffed, tears still flowing freely.

Deeks ran a hand comfortingly up and down her arm. "I know."

"I wasn't there for her. If she felt like she had someone she could talk to; if I'd just been a better friend, maybe she would stay."

He pulled her into another hug. "Kens you've been a great friend to her."

"I don't want her to go," Kensi said, her voice muffled against his shirt.

"Hey." Deeks pulled back and wiped away some of her tears, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Sometimes people have to make choices, tough choices, for themselves. If it's Nell's time to go, you have to let her."

Kensi looked up at him through watery, red eyes. "I can't lock her in the Burn Room?"

"No, I'm pretty sure that's called abduction." He brushed his thumb over her cheek. "It's going to be all right."

"I know."

"Come on." He pulled her to her feet. "I'm starving. Pizza?"

"Uh uh. My choice tonight."

"Why do you get to pick?!"

"Because you almost died twice today."

"You almost died too!"

"Mmm…" She wrinkled her nose. "I don't think so."

"That whole house was wired, if it had gone up we all would have been toast."

"Yeah but that was only one time. Which actually makes your total three near death experiences. My choice."

A/N: Leave your love in the reviews!