Omg I absolutely loved "There’s A Lot to Lose"! I hope you have some sort of follow up in mind with like Callen checking on Kensi, or any other angsty fics during that period in mind! Happy Easter and thank you for always writing!
A/N: Thanks anon! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the stories, and I apologize for the delay in writing this (but isn’t that ever the case with me).
It’s three days since the team returned from Mexico and Sam hobbles along down the hallway of the post critical care wing of the hospital. Technically, he’s not supposed to be up and about on his own, but Sam Hanna has never been very good at following doctor’s orders. Besides, he tramped all over Mexico with police and criminals chasing him. He can handle a few hundred feet.
He pauses just outside Deeks’ room, taking a moment to observe before he’s noticed. Deeks lays asleep, head turned towards the blind covered windows, Kensi half-slumped on the edge of his bed. Sam doubts she’s left the hospital at all since they were admitted, even though Nell confirmed all her injuries were relatively minor.
He’s glad about that at least. There’s be more than enough fallout from this case.
Figuring he’s seen enough, he lightly knocks on the door, just loud enough to announce his presence without waking Deeks. Although, with the type of meds he’s probably on, Sam imagines he could probably sleep through another shootout.
Kensi jerks up at the sound, wild-eyed and on edge in the few seconds it takes her to realize Sam’s standing there. Even in the poor lighting, she looks exhausted.
“Sam.” She sound grateful as she stands, leaning over for a tight hug. When she releases him, Kensi’s eyes travel down to his bandage and booted feet, not missing that he’s grabbed onto her vacated chair for support. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting your leg?” she asks, mildly admonishing.
“Eh, I did earlier,” Sam says, shrugging off her concern. “Besides, G’s not really a great conversationalist right now.” It’s dark humor, given what they just barely survived, but he figures since their resident jokesters are out of commission, somebody has to pick up the slack.
“Better.” He thinks of the Callen’s struggled to stay awake long enough to complete the basic physical and respiratory therapy exercises every day. The blood he occasionally coughs up, sometimes with minimal activity. “It’s going to be a long road, but he can manage it. He’s tough.”
“He is,” Kensi agrees, rubbing at her elbows. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to come see you guys before but…” she glances over her shoulder, and Sam can tell she’s itching to go to Deeks again. That’s a good sign at least. Though, Kensi’s not exactly the type to abandon Deeks in his time of need, even if they had broken up.
“Hey, I understand,” Sam assures her. “After everything you’ve been through, after all you’ve done to bring him home, it’s hard to step away.”
Kensi nods, brows furrowing as she reaches over to brush his cheek. Deeks remains still, other than the even rise and fall of his chest, right hand loosely placed over the blankets pulled up to his neck. His skin is speckled with cuts, burns, and bruises, which somehow look worse in the dim lighting.
“What did the doctor say about him? Nell said his overall prognosis was good.”
“Uh, he has a severe, grade 3 concussion,” she says. She twists her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger. “You know, from the TBI. So that’s not great, but the doctor said it could have been a lot worse. There wasn’t any bleeding or fractures, or enough pressure to require surgical intervention at this point. The couple times he’s been awake, he seems to remember bits and pieces. I guess he’s lucky.”
“I suppose we all are.” Sam pauses a beat and then brushes Kensi’s shoulder, meeting her gaze steadily. “And how are you doing? I know things were kind of tense between you two when we left.”
Kensi sighs, lifting her eyes towards the ceiling. “I guess you probably know about our fight,” she guesses. There’s no judgment in her voice, though maybe slight exasperation.
“Deeks and I had a…disagreement and I, I purposely misunderstood what he was saying. Tension was high and we were stressed, but it’s not really an excuse for what I accused Deeks of or almost leaving without him.” She pauses, swallowing deeply. “I guess what happened kind of put everything in perspective for me.
“Does that mean you made up?” Sam asks gently.
“When Deeks woke up for the first time, he said he still wants to get married and I do too. I love him more than anything,” Kensi whispers. Her voice trembles as she cups Deeks’ hand beneath the blanket. “But what if I can’t give him what he wants? I’m afraid he’ll just give in and do whatever I want to keep me happy, to keep us together.” Tears fill her eyes as she says the last few words. Her turmoil is almost tangible and Sam gently grips her shoulder, hoping to ground her, to steady her.
“Hey, you have plenty of time to figure that out, Kensi,” he says. “I know you two are going to feel like this is a sign to get married as soon as possible, that life is short, but don’t fall into that trap. Talk to each other. Work things out. Realize that you’ve been gifted a second chance and take it.”
Kensi nods jerkily, dipping her chin slightly, likely to hide oncoming tears.
“I’ll try,” she mutters thickly.
“You guys got this.” He pulls her in for a second, briefer hug. “And if you don’t, I’ll come kick some sense into both your butts.”
Kensi chuckles at that. “Thanks, Sam.”
A/N: Just a bit of angst as requested. I’m never quite sure how much anyone else on the team new about the fight, so I went with them having a basic idea. Additionally, the medical info about Deeks is taken directly from 10x06. I decided to keep it close to the timeline of the first fic. Hope you enjoyed!
