Disclaimer: The characters of N.C.I.S. Los Angeles are property of CBS

Kensi got back and saw the team sitting in the bull pen. She stopped and thought long and hard about what was going to happen. She was a little sad that Deeks was out by himself and more so that he was acting all nonchalant about the fact that he has a serial killer that has being doing his thing for twenty years.

{Leave it to Deeks to attract that kind of heat.} Kensi thought.

"What did you learn Kensi?" Callen asked.

"Until Deeks gets back, this case is dead in the water." Kensi said.

"What; why?" Sam said.

"According to the record Deeks is target here." Kensi said.

"How do you know that?" Eric said.

"A Captain Spears said that when the killer comes back, Deeks will be the "Object of His Obsession"." Kensi said.

"What does that mean?" Nell asked.

"It means that Mr. Deeks being "Deeks" pissed the man off, or he has a strange affection for Mr. Deeks." Hetty said walking over from her desk.

"I'm going to address the elephant in the room, how long has the man been killing people?" Callen asked.

"In general, or since Deeks has been chasing him?" Eric asked.

"You know we like our dessert first, Eric." Sam said.

"Deeks has been chasing the killer for ten years." Eric said.

"So basically Deeks has been chasing this man his entire career as a cop." Callen said. To which Eric and Nell nodded their answer to his question.

"You want shock us with the truth?" Sam asked

"He's been killing for twenty years." Kensi said. Everybody stared at Kensi in shock.

"How did you know that?" Nell asked

"She was present when Captain Spears attempted to rip my knickers a new one." Hetty said.

"Attempted." Callen said looking at Hetty sideways.

"Do I lie Ms. Blye?" Hetty asked

"No." Kensi said.

"Obvious this Captain Spears has no idea who he is dealing with." Eric said.

Kensi was off in her own world as the Sam, Callen, Eric and Hetty were talking. She decided to wander off and get lost to think in private. Nell was watching Kensi was she turned and left. Nell hung back and tailed Kensi to have a word in private with her, and to no surprise the women ended up in the armory.

"Worried that Deeks will try to take The Hermit Crab down by himself?" Nell asked. Kensi jumped at the sound of Nell's voice. Though she wasn't surprised that Nell followed her, but Kensi did want some private time; instead she let Nell stay.

"As if there was a doubt." Kensi said.

"Why are you worried about?" Nell asked.

"Really; you're asking that question. What do you think I'm worried about?" Kensi asked.

"You're afraid that Deeks is going to go toe-to-toe The Hermit Crab, and he is going to kill Deeks." Hetty said scaring Nell and Kensi.

"Any idea why Deeks would take the man on by himself?" Nell asked

"Without seeing the police reports, I couldn't begin to formulate an accurate assessment on the matter." Hetty said. "Let's just hope that when the time comes that we can bring Mr. Deeks back to us."

The two younger women nodded their agreement to Hetty's last statement and then they left the armory heading back to the bull pen.

Upon entering the bull pen Hetty decided that they had done enough for you day.

"Alright since the case is at a standstill I'm giving you the rest of the night off. Let's pray that the Renner case doesn't decide to heat up while we are out."

"Anybody up for a drink?" Sam asked.

"I'll tag along partner." Callen said.

"Kensi." Sam said.

"Why not. Sitting at home will only serve to drive me up the wall seeing as how my partner is out for a while." Kensi said.

"Nell. Eric." Callen said.

"No thanks. We have plans already." Nell said.

"See you all tomorrow." Eric said. The tech specialists turned and walked out the door. Just as they were exiting the door Nell and Eric reached for each other's hand and held it the rest of the way to her car.

"Did I miss something?" Callen asked as the turned the corner and headed out to their cars.

"When Eric and Nell become a couple?" Sam asked.

"About the time Deeks and Nell rescued me from Jack. You might not believe it, but Shaggy got them together." Kensi said.

"Really?!" Sam and Callen said in unison. Kensi nodded her head.

"Then a toast to Shaggy and to Eric and Nell becoming a couple." Sam said.

"I'll drink to that." Callen said.

"Me too." Kensi said.

The agents got in their cars and drove to the usual bar that they drank at, but Deeks was have a rough night back at Pendleton.

N.C.I.S L.A.

"Agent Deeks."

Deeks looked up and saw a couple of the local natives entering the lounge he was in and closed the lid of his laptop.

"What's up fellows?" Deeks asked.

"Not much we were about to head out to a club and were wondering if you wanted to join us." The marine asked.

"Sounds like a great idea. Let me shut down my laptop and I'll be right out." Deeks said. He shut down the flash drive and ejected it and put it in his bag, then shut down his laptop. He put the laptop and flash drive on his desk, and then he left his room locking the door. Deeks joined up with the marines and then left with them to a local bar.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Deeks and the marines were at the bar for two hours before the excitement jumped off. Deeks was relaxing and sitting at the table with the rest of his buddies when a woman took interest in him. She waved him to come over and to be polite and Deeks complied; though he had every intention of going home alone tonight.

"Of all the people in the bar, you seem the least bit disinterested in me." The woman said.

"Because I have a girlfriend that I love with all my heart; she also has a very nasty jealous streak that I have no intention of provoking." Deeks said

"It's not like she wouldn't know." She said.

"I understand that you want company or a booty call, but this woman is my one and done. So you can believe that I'm not going to ruin this relationship I have." Deeks said sternly.

"Can I buy you a drink?" The woman asked.

"I'll buy you a drink, and you can go back to talking to the rest of the crowd." Deeks said as he waved to the bar tender.

"What will it be?" The bar tender asked.

"A drink for the lady here." Deeks said.

"What will it be?" He asked

"Scotch on the rocks." She said.

The bar tender walked away to make the drink; after it was made he returned with the drink. Deeks paid for the drink and headed back to the marines.

"So you strike out?" The lead marine asked.

"I didn't; she did." Deeks said.

"Really? She wasn't worth the ride?" the marine asked.

"I have a woman back in L.A. that I want to marry. On top of that she is the daughter of a marine." Deeks said.

"Anybody we would know?" the marine asked.

"Are any of you a sniper?" Deeks asked. The marines shook their heads.

"Then probably not; he was active back in the eighties, and nineties." Deeks said.

"Why do you always spend your free time staring at you laptop?" Another marine asked.

"Because a skeleton in the closet from my past has decided to come out and say hello." Deeks said.

"So you're trying to get him before he gets you?" Another marine asked.

"Think of this guy as Hannibal Lector, terms of finesse and intelligence." Deeks said.

"How long have you two been after each other?" The lead marine asked.

"Ten years." Deeks said.

"Whoa!" The group said.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to call it a night." Deeks said. He paid his tab, and got out. As Deeks was headed back to his bunk, he decided to call Kensi. The phone rang three times before Kensi answered.

"Hello baby." Kensi answered.

"I love it when you call me your baby." Deeks said

"Miss me?" She asked.

"All the time darling; all the time." He said.

"How's the training going?" She asked.

"Training is going great. I was just hit on at a local bar and I need a moment with my girlfriend." He said.

"I love you too." Kensi said. "How is your investigation going?"

"I'm about to find out in the morning." He said.

"Promise me something." She said.

"Kensi, when the crap hits the fan you won't like what is going to happen." He said.

"How bad?" She asked.

"We are both going to be at the heart of the investigation." He said.

"Stay safe my love." Kensi said.

"And you stay safe yourself. I love you." Deeks said.

"I love you too. Good night." Kensi said.

"Night." Deeks said, and then hung up the phone. With renewed determination Deeks continuing heading home and then went to bed. He decided to hit the m.p. office in the morning. Maybe they could cast a wider net they N.C.I.S could.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

As Kensi was walking into the bull pen she heard Sam asked.

"Why are you so chipper this morning?"

"I got a call from Deeks last night." Kensi said. It dawned on her that she did have a smile on her face

"Really?" Callen asked. "What for?"

"A woman at the bar he was hitting on him, and he want to talk to his partner." Kensi said.

"Wow! Deeks is missing Kensi! I'm so going to harass him when he gets back." Callen said.

"So tell me Callen: Did you miss Jolene while you two were in San Diego?" Kensi asked.

Callen shut his mouth and attempted to come up with a retort to that, but Sam spoke up instead.

"Kensi- 1; Callen- 0."

"Touché." Callen said.

"Ms. Blye." Hetty said walking into the bull pen.

"Yes." Kensi said.

"My office." The tiny ninja said and then walked off to her desk.

"Coming Hetty." Kensi said.

Kensi dropped her bag on her desk and then followed Hetty to her desk. Hetty had already boiled some water for tea, and was pouring a cup for herself. She offered a glass as Kensi was sitting down, but Kensi refused.

"How is Mr. Deeks doing?" Hetty asked.

"From the short conversation we had last night he misses being here, but he is okay with it." Kensi said.

"And the investigation he has been working on?" Hetty asked

"Supposedly Deeks was going to check something out this morning. What he was going to do? Well your guess is as good as mine." Kensi said.

"That will be all for now Kensi, and be safe when you are out there." Hetty said. Kensi nodded her thanks got out of the chair and headed back to the bull pen.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Deeks was walking into the police office with picture of the hermit crab when he was stopped by his Commander Burton, his range instructor.

"Agent Deeks this Lieutenant-Commander Jane Shepard, she will be joining us for your training." Commander Burton said.

Deeks looked at the L.C. and did a double take. Shepard caught the glance and smiled. It was a devious smile; one that let Deeks know that he was going to be sweating a lot today.

"It seems that you two have met in an unofficial capacity; I have to run these files to records. Why don't you too catch up until I get back?" Burton said.

He walked off in the direction of the records. Once the commander was out of ear shot, the silence was broken.

"Ready to sweat today, grunt?" Shepard asked.

"If this is about last night, I don't regret my decision." Deeks said pulling out his phone and brought up a picture of Kensi. He showed the picture to Shepard.

"Impressive! I admit defeat." Shepard said as she handed the phone back to Deeks. He motioned with his head for her to follow.

"So what brings you here this morning?" She asked.

"Trying to run down a lead from the case I was working before I came out here to start training." Deeks said as he entered the cop shop.

"Agent Deeks, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" One of the M.P. asked.

"I need you to run a facial rec on this person." Deeks said handing them the picture.

"Isn't this Petty Officer Jack Renner?" The M.P. asked.

"Trust when I tell you that man is not P.O. Jack Renner. I'm going to put it plain and simple: I have history with that guy." Deeks said.

"What type of history?" Shepard asked.

"Murder." Deeks said.

"What?" The M.P. asked.

"He is a serial killer, and when I was a cop; we crossed paths a time or two. Last time we meet before he killed Renner, he said that he would come back for me some day." Deeks explained.

"It may take a few days, but I'll see what I can do." The M.P. said.

"No rush. Just let me know what you find." Deeks said. After the M.P. set out to rundown the lead on the Hermit Crab, Deeks motioned for Shepard to lead the way. A Deeks was closing the door to the shop, Burton was approaching them.

"Good; just the man I was looking for." The commander said.

"Something wrong, sir?" Both Deeks and Shepard asked in unison.

"Problem has developed with a special forces unit that has been training for a mission in six months." He said

"And that problem is?" Shepard asked.

"The unit is down a man, training accident. They need a person to fill until the injured man can get well again." The commander said. The Commander and the L.C. looked at each other, and then they looked at Deeks.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Deeks asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"The people training are the ones that you were with at the bar last night." Shepard said.

"And there is no other person capable to cover until the injured man gets back?" Deeks asked.

"Nope." Burton said.

{Hetty is going to kill me!} Deeks thought as his mouth was saying.

"Lead the way."

The Commander, the Lieutenant-Commander and the Special Agent left to meet up with the marine unit that was training.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Five months later-

"Commander Jones, to what do I owe the pleasure of this personal visit?" Hetty said sitting in the main room of the boat shed.

"It's about Agent Deeks." Jones said.

"Is there a problem?" Hetty asked.

"With his training? No. I would like to borrow your agent for a mission coming up in the future." Jones said.

"Why do you need my agent for this mission?" Hetty asked.

"Five months ago unit was slated to begin training for rescue mission to save people of high importance." Jones said.

"I'm guessing Mr. Deeks filled in, and the injured man never recovered." Hetty said.

"That's the short version." He said.

"I will be out to talk to my agent today." Hetty said.

"Thank you, Ms. Lange." Jones said. He got up shook Hetty's hand and then exited the boat shed.

As Hetty was contemplating the gravity of what she just heard all she could think of was.

"I hope you know what you are doing Mr. Deeks." She said.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Nell was in ops when her phone started to ring. She saw that it was Hetty.

"Yes Hetty." Nell said.

"Call the agents to ops. There has been a development." Hetty said.

"In the Jack Renner case?" Nell asked.

"With Mr. Deeks." Hetty said, and then she hung up her phone.

Nell looked at Eric, but she couldn't keep the fact that she was as pale as a ghost upon hearing that Deeks life was about to get difficult.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Hetty just said to rally the troops. There has been a development in Deeks training." Nell said fighting hard to control her emotions. Eric left ops and call the agents up. Eric came back in and against his better judgment pulled Nell into a hug. And Nell just hugged Eric back. When the agent came into ops there were stunned by the sight. Eric and Nell embracing each other, Nell was crying.

"What's wrong?" Callen asked.

"There has been a twist in Deeks training." Eric said seeing as how his girlfriend was still crying for their missing family member.

"What kind of twist?" Kensi asked emotion starting to creep its way into her voice.

"Mr. Deeks has been filling in for a Special Forces unit that has been training for an op next month." Hetty said.

"And." Callen said.

"What- no?!" Kensi said.

Everybody looked at Kensi in shock. And then the rest of the crew caught onto the predicament at hand.

"And because Deeks has been training with the group, they want to send him along." Callan said.

"But Hetty." Kensi said.

"I'm sorry Kensi, but your partner inadvertently signed up for this when he agreed five months ago, per se." Hetty said.

"When do they leave?" Sam said.

"I didn't get the whole briefing, and I probably won't. I'm going to be leaving for Camp Pendleton to inform Deeks of his first assignment as an agent." Hetty said. Then she turned and left Ops to make the journey out to Camp Pendleton to inform Deeks of the decision.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Deeks was coming in from the field, fully dressed in tactical gear, when he heard that his presence was required at the shooting range. Deeks saw Commander Jones standing by the entrance to the range and wondered what was going on.

"You called sir." Deeks said.

"I did, plus your boss did." Commander Jones said. Then Hetty appeared behind Deeks in her usual fashion, scaring the crap out of Deeks. It took Deeks all of two seconds to realize the purpose of the meeting.

"When does the unit leave?" Deeks asked.

"I'm sorry?" Both Hetty and the commander asked.

"Hetty is here to tell me that I'm going on the mission with the marines. I'm asking when the marines are leaving." Deeks said.

"Friday, 0:00 hours." The commander said. Deeks look at his watch and saw that there was thirty-six hours until the unit leaves for the mission.

"So am I going to be brief about this now, or when we get to where we're going?" Deeks asked.

"You'll get the official mission briefing when you get to the base camp; Hetty can give you an unofficial briefing for now." Commander Jones said. The two men shook hands, and then the commander left leaving Deeks and Hetty alone so she could give him a brief rundown of the mission.

"The short version and the one the commander gave me is that you and the marines will be going to some unnamed location. From there you will extract some v.i.p.s." Hetty said. She paused so Deeks could digest what he just heard, and the gravity of his decision that he made five months ago. "Standard protocol before being shipped out is down time to avoid complications before leaving. So you can head home and pack for the trip."

Hetty nodded at Deeks and Deeks nodded back. Hetty turned and walked away heading for her car. Just as she was getting Deeks approached her and stopped behind her.

"Question Mr. Deeks." She said.

"You approve of me going out with this unit?" He asked.

"Not really, but you proved yourself to be a valuable asset to this unit. Not only that you sealed your fate when you agreed five months ago to fill until the regular person got better." Hetty said.

"I'll talked to you later Hetty." Deeks said. As Hetty was getting into her car Deeks head for the cop shop and see if there was an update on the search that he requested.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

"Agent Deeks!" Said a voice when Deeks enter the office. He saw that was the same man who he talked to five months ago.

"What do you have for me?" Deeks asked.

"I have what you were looking for." Said a woman coming out of a side office. Deeks walked over to her and get a brief rundown on the search.

"I spotted your guy overseas dating back to the earlier eighties." She said. "I haven't contact them yet, but I'm playing phone tag with Interpol. They have warrants for this man's arrest."

"This is my email address." Deeks said scribbling it on to a post it note and handing it to the woman. "It's secure address. I want to hear about this as soon as you hear back from Interpol."

Deeks got closer and whispered. "Not a word of this investigation leaves this office, or discussed with anybody that isn't an N.C.I.S. agent."

"Why?" The woman asked.

"The man in that picture told me he had a cop in the L.A.P.D. out my old station on his payroll. On top of that he murder P.O. Jack Renner and was impersonating him for seven months. I'm not taking any chances." Deeks said. "And if Commander Jones asked, tell him exactly what I told you."

Deeks left the office and head back to his room to get packed so he could head back to his apartment back in L.A.; his home that he hasn't seen in five months.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Just as Deeks was pulling into his apartment complexes parking lot he notices Kensi suv.

{I wonder if Kensi stayed here the entire time I was at Pendleton?} Deeks thought. Deeks parked his suv, unloaded his luggage and gear that he acquired, and headed up to his home.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Kensi headed to the door when she heard Monty bark like crazy and knew that one person was home.

"Honey I'm home!" She heard Deeks shout as he opened the door. He dropped his things as Monty jump on him looking for some lovin' from his dad. After Monty was satisfied Deeks walked over and kissed Kensi. He saw that Kensi had a beer in both hands. Deeks smile and reached for a beer, and then the couple head for the couch. They sat on the couch and drank their beers in silence.

"Did you stay here the entire time I was gone?" Deeks asked.

"Yes. What is the mission?" Kensi asked.

"Extract some V.I.P.s from and unknown location." He said.

"Regretting your decision to help out?" She asked.

"Too late now." He said. Deeks looked at the clock and saw that it was close to ten o'clock at night. "I don't know about you, but I've had a long day. I'm going to go get change and call it a night."

Deeks finished his beer and then headed to his/their bedroom. After he had got some shorts on his bottom half Kensi walked in and grabbed her pajamas and headed to the bathroom to get changed. Coming back from getting changed, she threw her clothes in the hamper and crawled into bed with Deeks and turned the bedside lamp off. Before Deeks could drift off to sleep he heard Kensi ask.

"Get any further in your investigation on Renner?"

"Yeah, somebody got a hit from an Interpol warrant. The guy was killing over in Europe during the early half of the eighties." He said.

Kensi thought on what Deeks just told her, and before she could ask any more questions she could hear that Deeks breathing had softened, and then she knew he was asleep.

{Those trainers out a Pendleton really whipped him into shape. I see he put on more muscle, and thinned out.} Kensi thought as she ran her hands over Deeks' body; and then drifted off to sleep.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Thirteen hours later-

After spending the entire day with Kensi: from waking up and having an impromptu love making session to spending the day at the beach surfing and watching his lover and dog relax on the beach; Deeks and Kensi pulled up to the hanger on Camp Pendleton where the unit would be shipping out from. As Deeks, Kensi and Monty had got out of his suv, Deeks grabbed his gear, and then they started to walk towards the hanger. Before entering the hanger Deeks said.

"Remember the word daybreak."

"Why?" Kensi asked.

"In case the crap hits the fan and I speak that word, go into my bedroom closet. On the floor there is a blanket; under the blanket are five boxes. Grab the boxes and take them to gang." He said.

"Will it help them?" She asked.

"Yep." Deeks said, and then the couple and Monty entered the hanger. Upon entering the hanger Deeks heard a familiar voice.

"Took you long enough to get here Shaggy."

"Good to see you too Sam; Callen." Deeks said shaking both of the older agent's hands. Deeks turned to see that Nell, Eric and Hetty were there too. Nell hugged Deeks, Eric shook his hand, and Hetty nodded at him. Deeks was chatting with his team for a little while when he was approached by the one of his marines that he had been training with for the past five months.

"Agent Deeks." The marine said.

"Yeah." Deeks said.

"We're leaving in five." He said.

"Alright." Deeks said, then the marine walked away to board the plan.

Nell, Eric, Hetty, Sam, and Callen said their good byes. Monty walked up to Deeks and started whining knowing that Deeks was going away.

"Hey little buddy, don't be sad. I'll come back. So keep your head up" Deeks said. Then he hugged Monty. As he was standing up Kensi handed him his gear. Deeks took his gear, but he stared at Kensi for a moment. Then they hugged and kissed one last time, and as they parted Kensi started to shed a few tear.

"Don't worry Fern, I'll be back." Deeks said with a smile, Kensi smiled weakly. Deeks reached out and caressed her face one last time, and then turned walked away; heading onto the back of the waiting C130. After Deeks cleared the ramp, the tailgate raised and then the plane taxed out onto the run. Once the pilot got clearance from the tower, the plane took off.

{I pray that Deeks stays safe for the duration of his mission.} Kensi thought through tears. Then she heard he phone beep. As she pulled it out she saw that the message was from Deeks.

{Know that I will always love you baby.}

{Yes, and I will always love you too, babe.} Kensi texted back; she replaced her phone and then left the hanger with Monty in tow. The team was waiting outside for her, and they all gave her a hug knowing that she would be feeling a little depressed that her partner would be gone for a few months.

"Team night out." Eric said. Everybody sound off about how that would be a great idea; even though she'd rather be alone, Kensi went out with the group anyways. They went to usual bar, but Kensi made a stop by Deeks to drop Monty before heading out to meet up with the team.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Two months later- A base located somewhere in Bosnia

"What do we have?" Deeks asked

"Well it looks like the gang is moving around the west side. It's possible they might try to block off their escape." Said the N.C.I.S. team leader, then Deeks heard is laptop beginning to beep.

"Thanks." Deeks said, ending the conversation and heading over to his laptop to see what this new message was about. He logged on and checked his messages. Deeks saw that it was from the woman in the cop shop back at Camp Pendleton.

[Your suspect's name is Aramis Devereux; French national born in 8/14/69. Attached is his dossier. Good luck and good hunting.}

Before Deeks could download the attachment the N.C.I.S. team leader approached him.

"You have a call in MTAC." They say.

"Thanks." Deeks said.

As Deeks made his way to MTAC he wonder who was calling, and more importantly why; upon entering the room he saw that it was empty and secured. Deeks shut the door, and heard a pneumatic pump pressurize securing the room completely. Deeks activated the vid com and got his answer.

"Ah! Hetty! To what do I owe the pleasure of this conference call?" Deeks asked.

"Jack Renner's case just heated up again." She said.

"Hetty, don't send the team after him." He said.

"I have the brass breathing down my neck Mr. Deeks. Give me something to work with, or I won't have a choice." She said.

"How bad is it?" He asked

"Supposedly there is a possible terrorist plot in the works." She said

Deeks phone beeped. It was a message for the marines. They had a window of opportunity to move to secure the targets.

"Hetty the best I can do if give you the files I secure from L.A.P.D., but I'm not sure how well that will keep the bass off your case." Deeks said.

"Where are they?" Hetty asked.

"Tell Kensi daybreak, and she will know what to do." Deeks said. "Hetty I have to go. There unit has been called to go try to secure the targets. And do me a favor, will you."

"What?" Hetty said.

"Tell Kensi "1-4-3" will you. When I get back I will send an email to let you know when I'm available to continue this conversation. At that time we will need the whole team present." Deeks said.

"Good bye Mr. Deeks." Hetty said.

"Bye Hetty." Deeks said. When the call was ended the room unlocked itself and Deeks hurried over to his laptop and downloaded the attachment from his email and started a new email. He attached the file and sent it to Eric. After that was finished and grabbed his gear, suited up and headed to the entrance of the base camp. Once the rest of the unit arrived, they headed out to find the targets.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

Back in L.A.-

Sam, Callen, Kensi and the wonder twins were in the bull pen following leads that popped up about Jack Renner and his possible ties to a terrorist group.

"Ms. Blye I have a message from Mr. Deeks." Hetty said. Everybody turned and look at Kensi and wondered what the message could be. Kensi dropped what she was doing and gave her attention to Hetty.

"He said the words: daybreak and the numbers 1-4-3." Hetty said.

"Thank you Hetty." Kensi said. Kensi look at Nell and nodded at her to follow. The two women left the bull pen.

"Do you have any idea what that was about?" Eric asked.

"Something between partners." Hetty said as she turned and left for her office. The men returned to work that was in front of them.

N.C.I.S. L.A.

"What was that all about?" Nell asked.

"Before Deeks left he told me that if he uttered the word "daybreak," to go to his apartment and secure some files." Kensi said. And with that the rest of the trip to Deeks apartment was made in total silence.

T.B.C.

A/N: Be on the lookout for the continuation of the Hermit Crab story entitled Skeletons in the Closet.