8A/N: The original fic I working on for Whumptober is being difficult so you get this instead.
Kensi edged her way between a chatting couple, intent on reaching the bar a few yards away without getting anything spilled on her clothes. Deeks was trying to scout out a table that wasn't too close to the dance floor or a particularly loud bachelorette party.
It would have saved a lot of time to just grab some drinks at The Squid and the Dagger, but every so often it was nice to have a break from the place. This way they could actually relax without worrying about the business side of things.
"Two Coronas," she requested, when she finally reached her destination. The bartender gave her a quick nod in between making a row of mixed drinks.
Most of the seats along the bar were already taken and she really hoped Deeks would be able to find a table. She'd decided, against her better judgment, to wear a pair of spiky stilettos that weren't practical or comfortable. Her feet were already beginning to ache.
They made her legs look good though and went well with the slim black jeans and ruffled top she'd thrown on after work. Not to mention, they made Deeks' eyes light up whenever she wore them.
"Hey gorgeous, want some company?" A male voice asked way too close to her ear. Fighting back the instinctive urge to shift away, she turned and made eye contact for a brief moment. She had enough time to see that he was tall with short dark hair and a couple days' worth of beard and he had a glass of liquor in his hand.
"No thanks." She leaned back against the bar and did her best to block him out. If she wanted, she could easily scare him off but she wasn't interested in making a scene.
"Oh come on. You're all alone and looking so pretty. Don't tell me you didn't come here hoping for a little action," he continued, unperturbed by her clear rebuff. Kensi rolled her eyes and this time didn't even look in his direction,
"I'm really not interested," she said more firmly.
"Yeah, I've heard that one before and they always change their minds."
"And I'm married," she added through her teeth. Kensi turned back to him, now truly annoyed, and lifted her hand for evidence, wiggling her ring finger. The bartender placed two bottles of beer in front of her and as she reached for them, tall, dark, and jerky grabbed her wrist.
"It's very pretty," he said, sounding angry. He wasn't looking at her hand but rather was staring her in the eye furiously. "But I can't imagine any man leaving a gorgeous woman like you all on her own. I'm not buying it."
"Let go of my arm," Kensi said with a dangerous edge to her tone and surprisingly, he did. She saw Deeks heading their way and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe if this creep saw him, he'd finally get the message. She really didn't want to resort to violence.
"Hey Kens, there's a table all the way by the bathrooms. I know it's not the best location, but at it's a little quieter over there," Deeks said, placing a hand on her back. He didn't give the other man so much as a second glance. Either he hadn't noticed him, or Kensi thought more likely, he figured she had it handled.
"Works for me." The man took a step towards her and she felt Deeks' hand tighten minutely on her waist.
"Wait, you're telling me this hippy wannabe is your husband? You gotta be kidding me. He looks like more of a girl than you do," the man sneered, looking Deeks up and down while he puffed out his chest.
"Aw, I'm flattered. But my wife doesn't like it when I flirt with other men." Deeks commented flippantly and then turned back to Kensi, once again dismissing him. "Do you want to get a table, or just–"
The man lunged at Deeks unexpectedly, knocking him against the bar. He aimed a punch at Deeks' nose which he easily avoided and countered with a punch of his own. Before Kensi could react, the man grabbed his empty glass and smashed it into the side of Deeks' head.
"Deeks!" she shouted as he groaned and slumped against the bar, stunned by the blow to the head. Feeling a wave of overwhelming rage and protectiveness overcome her, Kensi grabbed the man's arm as wound up for another punch.
Fueled by her anger, she managed to yank him a few feet away from Deeks. He swung at her, but his form was sloppy and she evaded him, jumping back a step and then swinging her leg up in a high kick that hit him straight in the abdomen. He let out a gasp, his hands falling to his stomach, and Kensi felt a hint of satisfaction. Taking advantage of his distraction, she swept her leg behind his knees, pushed him to the ground and forced his arms behind his back.
"I'm a federal agent," she hissed when started to struggle beneath her knee. "So I'd think very, very hard about your next move. You've already assaulted an LAPD Detective." He stilled and she breathed out a silent sigh of relief.
Looking up, she saw that Deeks was now crouched on the floor, a hand clutched to his head. There was blood trickling between his fingers. A lot of blood.
A crowd had gathered around them, including the bartender who seemed to be debating what to do. Making eye contact, she said
"Call 911 and tell them to send police and an ambulance." The bartender hesitated and she added, "I'm a federal agent." Apparently that was enough for him since he slipped his phone from his pocket and moved a few feet away.
A minute later, the building's security guard came to take over for Kensi and she rushed over to Deeks' side. He had his eyes tightly closed, but at least he was conscious.
"Baby, let me take a look," she said, gingerly easing his hand down from his temple. Her stomach flipped at the amount of blood smeared across his hand, face and neck. Beneath the blood, it looked like there was one longer cut along his hairline, surrounded by several smaller ones. She winced sympathetically. "At least one of these is probably going to need stitches."
"Awesome," he responded dryly, cracking one eye open.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. If I hadn't–"
"Kensi, this is totally not your fault, so don't even think of apologizing," Deeks said firmly, cutting her off and sitting up a little straighter to look her straight in the eye. "Besides, I got to see you beat up a guy twice your size while wearing three inch stilettos. That alone might have been worth a face full of stitches."
"Oh my god, why are you so stupid sometimes," she asked, feeling a rush of affection for him. He was sitting there bleeding, but was still trying to make her feel better.
About 20 minutes later, the police arrived, closely followed by paramedics. While one officer took custody of Deeks' attacker, Kensi gave the other officer a brief statement. Both she and Deeks would need to go down to the precinct for more in-depth questioning and an official statement, but they were cleared to go to the hospital.
"You know, this is not how I pictured tonight turning out," Deeks commented sadly. The left side of his face was covered with a large white bandage. His cuts had been cleaned, a nasty process which had taken a good 30, and then stitched. Now, they were just waiting to get a script for antibiotics and his release forms.
He was slightly loopy from the dose of pain meds and had been making random observations every few minutes.
"Oh yeah, what did you imagine?" she asked, having some idea but curious to know just what he'd had in mind. It would also keep her mind busy; now that the adrenaline had worn off, she was starting to feel a little shaky and nauseous. It didn't help that Deeks had almost passed out on the way to ambulance.
"Getting a little drunk, maybe dancing a little." He paused to wince and then continued, his voice a little more hoarse with pain. "Then we'd go home and I'd give you a special, invitation only, sans clothing dance."
He winced again and Kensi gently ran her fingers through his hair.
"Well maybe when you're feeling a little better, we can make that fantasy a reality," she whispered into his ear. "Or maybe I'll be the one doing the dancing. Sans clothing."
"I feel pretty good right now," he said hopefully and Kensi rolled her eyes.
"I think we should probably wait until your head is in one piece again."
"Such a tease," he sighed, closing his eyes as Kensi gently rubbed his back and neck. She'd though he'd fallen asleep when he peered up at her, his expression affectionate.
"Thanks for beating up the mean guy who was trying to punch my lights out," he whispered. Unexpectedly, Kensi felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes.
"Anytime, baby," she said and leaned down to softly kiss him. "Anytime."
