Deeks took a deep, shaky breath and knocked on Kensi's door. The sound made him jump, and he realized that every single muscle in his body was tense. In fact, he was tempted to run away from the place as quickly as possible. He was already turning around to leave when the door opened.

"Deeks?" Kensi asked uncertainly. "Is something wrong?"

Deeks swallowed hard. "I…came by to check on you," he lied lamely.

Kensi opened the door wide. "Would you like to come in, Marty?"

It was the first time that Kensi had ever called him by his first name, and it certainly wasn't lost on her partner. He smiled faintly at her when she said it; he liked the way his first name sounded rolling off her tongue.

"So, seriously, why did you come by?" she asked him again. "Did you come by just to check on me? Did Hetty send me?"

Deeks took another deep breath and looked up at Kensi earnestly. He could see the faint shadow of a bruise on her cheek—a injury she had sustained during her imprisonment. When he saw that mark, it brought all of his emotions rushing back.

"Sam and Callen—and Hetty—said I should come talk to you about…about how worried I was when we didn't know where you were." The words came out in a rush, and Kensi struggled to understand everything he said. She smiled uncertainly when she finally comprehended the rush of words.

"Hetty mentioned that you were all worried," she told him.

"Yeah, but I was really, really worried," Deeks insisted, running his hands through his hair and pacing back and forth nervously.

Kensi had never seen her partner look so vulnerable before. His playful, cheerful demeanor seemed to have disappeared completely, and she was suddenly aware of how much she liked his casual, mischievous attitude.

"Hey, are you okay?" she wanted to know, putting a gentle hand on his arm. "You seem upset."

Deeks gazed down at Kensi's pretty face intently. "You have no idea how scared I was, Kens." His voice was hoarse, and he had to swallow the lump in his throat. "I realized that I'd been really mean to you for these past few months, that I teased you unmercifully, and that it was understandable that you didn't trust me completely."

"That's not true," Kensi began to object. Deeks silenced her, however, by placing a gentle finger over her lips.

"I'm here to apologize," Deeks told her honestly. "And to tell you that you can't ever get hurt again, because if something should happen to you, I would be devastated."

Kensi stared back into Deek's intent eyes, and then she did something that completely surprised him. She raised up on her tip-toes, placed her hands lightly on his chest, and pressed her cool lips against his. Deeks was shocked at first, but then he gently slid his arms around Kensi's waist and kissed her in return.

Their embrace was sweet and tender. Very slowly, Deeks backed Kensi across the room and gently eased her down onto the sofa. She didn't hesitate to pull him down after him, and Deeks hovered over her carefully, feathering her face and neck with light, breezy kisses.

"I was so…afraid…I was…going…to lose…you," he whispered between kisses.

Kensi ran her fingers through Deeks' shaggy blonde hair. "I'm right here," she assured him. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You promise?" he asked her seriously.

"I promise," she declared adamantly.

The next day, Kensi and Deeks walked into the office with wide, happy grins on their overly-expressive faces.

"I'm guessing everything went well yesterday," Callen remarked dryly, watching them sit down beside each other without any smart comments or teasing remarks.

"Oh yeah." Deeks nodded adamantly. "Everything went really, really well yesterday."

Kensi grabbed a stack of paperwork and smacked Deeks' shoulder as hard as she could. "Watch your implications!"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied obediently, smiling lovingly at her as he did so.