It was strange how, in that moment, life seemed to move in slow motion. Everything was changing for Deeks, yet somehow the world still turned on its axis and people retained their basic ability to breathe.

That wasn't the case for Deeks though. If someone had asked, he might've said that his world was no longer turning, but that would've been an understatement. It had practically been relinquished from it's field of gravity and spun off it's axis.

No analogy really seemed fitting of the situation that he was watching unfold. It's almost as if he'd just lost a part of himself as Kensi hit the floor, her body coming to land on the pavement with a loud thud.

She'd been shot- Deeks knew that she'd been shot.

But even as he heard the bullet escape the barrel of their fleeing suspect's gun, even as he watched it burn into Kensi's side, and even as he watched her eyes begin to flutter closed, Deeks couldn't bring himself to believe any of it was actually true.

To acknowledge that her death was something imminent, something he could sense, something he could practically taste would mean it was real.

Despite the facts, his mind had blocked out the possibility completely- he wouldn't allow her to ever die like that. Getting shot was quite possibly the worst way to die, and Deeks hated that Kensi was experiencing the same pain he had once before.

He knew what it was like. He knew that a burning sensation was encapsulating Kensi's entire body as the bullet pierced into her flesh, not being held away from her skin by a bullet proof vest of any kind- usually visiting a victim's house didn't require protection.

Kensi couldn't die. She just couldn't.

She was his partner, and she was the one person Deeks loved more than life itself- but she didn't know it yet.

So Kensi couldn't die.

The man that had shot her was getting away, but he'd allow Sam and Callen to catch him- they were just around the corner.

Deeks sprinted over to his partner, vision narrowed to focus in solely on Kensi. He came to a sliding stop beside her, tears already pricking at the corners of his eyes as he peeled off his jacket, wrinkling it up into a ball and pressing the wad of fabric firmly against her side.

"Deeks," she whispered, her eyes frantically searching for him. Kensi had tried to yell his name, but the noise just wouldn't come out. Her voice was small, weak and childlike, which was something that Deeks rarely ever heard. "Owww…. "

"Hey hey hey, Kens? I've got you, okay? I've got you."

His voice cracked, but he steadied it immediately as a tear dripped from Kensi's wide eyes upon hearing the sound of his voice.

Suddenly, Deeks couldn't help but wonder if the job was really worth it. All the pain it caused, all the tears, all the devastation. He remembered only a split second later though that without that job, as awful as it might have seemed in that moment, he never would've met Kensi.

So yes- it was all worth it.

Kensi winced. Her skin grew flush as beads of perspiration from the mounting pain continuously popped up around her hairline. He could see her fighting the ache- she was desperately trying to internalize it.

"I'm not gonna let you go, Kens. I'm not gonna let you die," Deeks muttered as he continued to tightly hold his jacket up against her side. His favorite coat was bloody and damp now, but he just couldn't bring himself to care, not even the slightest bit.

If she survived, Deeks would give her never-ending amounts of grief for it. He'd tell her how much he had loved that coat, and how she was going to have to buy him a new one. He'd use it as an excuse to make her go with him to the mall and find it again. But Deeks wouldn't really care about the coat, not at all. Behind the laughing and the jokes and the jibes, he would simply be happy that they were together.

Sadly, the idea of that shopping trip was becoming less and less probable with the passing time.

Sam and Callen had seen everything go down, and he knew that they'd called Eric, which meant that it was only a matter of time before an ambulance came.

It had to be, because it was clear that Kensi was running out of strength. With each second that ticked by her breathing grew increasingly shallow, until she was nearly gasping for air.

Deeks was losing her, he could feel it. And just about all he could do was panic.

"No, no no- come on Kens. Stay with me," Deeks whispered, his voice quietly frantic as he leaned even further over her. "Please. Kensi please. Just breathe."

Kensi's eyes pierced into his, tears fully streaming down her cheeks by that point. She tried her best to speak to him silently- but it just didn't feel like enough. She searched for words and was only able to find a few, ones that were barely even in her vocabulary.

"I'm sorry."

Deeks didn't need to ask her anything, but he did it regardless.

"For what?"

Kensi didn't say another word, she honestly couldn't. But as she tearfully held his gaze, eyes wide, Deeks knew exactly what she was sorry for.

She was sorry that she hadn't kissed him back. That she'd left. That she hadn't been able to get him away from Siderov when she'd first had the chance.

She was sorry because she'd always teased him incessantly. Kensi had given him never ending amounts of grief for everything he did on a daily basis, and she suddenly regretted it all.

She was sorry that she hadn't been kinder, that she hadn't told him how she felt, that she hadn't tried harder.

But above all else- Kensi was sorry that she was slipping away from him and there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it.

She repeated the words, hoping that the second time around they might carry more weight.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't say that," Deeks whispered tearfully. He knew what Kensi was doing- she was trying to say goodbye.

Her eyes were half open as she struggled to stay alert.

"Kens- you can do this. I'm gonna keep talking, alright? Just keep listening to my voice. Don't close your eyes."

She was desperate to live, desperate to carry on- so for once in her life Kensi Blye did as she was told. She nodded and reached one hand out, wrapping it tightly around Deeks' left wrist- both of his hands were still holding the bloody jacket against her side.

"I'll tell you a story. It's a wonderful story, a beautiful story," Deeks began, trying to speak without his voice breaking. He needed something to keep her awake.

"There was a guy and a girl-" He shook his head, swallowing hard before continuing. "-and they were just mad about one another."

More silent tears sprung up in Kensi's eyes. She tightened her grip around his wrist, tightly closing her eyes before opening them up wide again.

"They were partners. They saved each other, in more ways than one. But the problem was, I mean, the problem is-" He paused, changing his story to the present tense. There was no use in denying that the tale he was telling was actually about them. "One can't live without the other, Kens. It's… it's a love story."

Kensi's heart practically stopped beating altogether, but not as a result of the gunshot wound. It was because of Deeks.

She felt her mind slowly slipping away, as if her subconscious was ready to die before she was. She really couldn't say much more verbally, but Kensi didn't have to. Deeks already knew how she felt, even without the added confirmation.

He knew that she loved him. He knew. But regardless of that fact, she wanted him to have no doubts about them as he moved forward in his life.

His new life without her.

She smiled half-heartedly, her cheeks stained with salty tears. Squeezing his wrist tightly before her eyes fluttered closed for what she believed would be the very last time, Kensi breathily whispered her final words.

"It is."