Okay, so here it is - a sequel to Happy Birthday, Kensi. A HUGE thank you to everyone who read and reviewed it so kindly, I was completely overwhelmed by the response!

Please pardon any spelling mistakes as my spell-check is on a dulally!

Finally to those lovely people who asked for a sequel, I only hope that I've done you justice - fingers crossed!

Disclaimer - NCIS Los Angeles and it's characters belong to someone else - *sigh*

Paddle, paddle, paddle, swoosh, quiet. Paddle, paddle, paddle, swoosh, quiet.

Marty Deeks paddled his surfboard out into the ocean, diving under waves as he went. He loved that moment of quiet as a wave passed over him, just a second in time when he became part of the water around him.

Paddle, paddle, paddle, swoosh, quiet. Paddle, paddle, paddle, swoosh, quiet.

He reached his desired destination and silently waited. And waited. The only sound came from the waves crashing on the beach behind him. A couple of other surfers paddled out towards him, only nodding in greeting.

This was their time, before they faced the day ahead. Before problems had to be solved and deadlines had to be met, before classes had to be taken and lessons had to be learned. This was the time when time didn't mean anything and nothing else mattered because nothing else existed.

That's the one Deeks thought, turning his board back towards the shore. Paddle, paddle, paddle. As he felt the wave take the board he quickly stood and enjoyed the ride. 20 seconds where it was just him, on a board, on a wave. The world around him blurred and he was alone.

The beach came back into sharp focus as the ride came to an end and he dropped down onto his board, the process beginning all over again.

There were quite a few surfers out on this Monday morning and as the sun climbed higher more joined them.

The lifeguard towers opened their hatches and well-toned bodies lounged in canvas chairs, eyes never leaving the ocean. Joggers made their way along the footpath, water bottles in hand. Santa Monica was waking up.

Kensi tried to stifle a yawn as she poured herself a mug of coffee, willing the caffeine to kick in quickly as she took a sip. A lazy smile played at the corners of her mouth while she considered the previous few days. It had been a seriously good weekend, and completely and utterly worth every single wink of sleep she'd lost.

Returning to her computer the list of e-mails looked about as interesting as it ever did with weapons updates, suspect alerts, health and safety information. It never ceased to make all of them laugh in disbelief at the last one. Health and safety in their line of work usually entailed trying your best not to get shot. How to open your mail in a fashion so as to avoid paper cuts just didn't seem a high priority when your job involved knives, guns and even the occassional RPG being pointed in your directionon a regular basis. Delete.

"So, when's our boy Deeks back with us?"

Kensi looked across the bull-pen to where the question had originated. Sam was sipping at his third cup of coffee of the day as he worked his way through his own list of electronic correspondance.

"Ah, you looking forward to having him back, Sam?" Callen asked lowering his newspaper

"I'd just like to know how long we've got left to enjoy the peace and quiet."

"If I recall, it was only last week you were saying that it was too quiet without him here."

"Doesn't mean I can't appreciate the time that's left."

"Deeks has been away for almost a month longer than he was supposed to. If you haven't appreciated the peace and quiet by now you're probably never going to." Callen pointed out.

"I've appreciated it." Sam argued "And now he's actually coming back I'm just contemplating on the fact that it's going to end."

"Contemplating?" Callen asked and looked over at Kensi "I can feel a meditation session coming on."

Sam smiled as he eyed his amused partner.

"Keep it up, G, and you're gonna feel a concussion comin' on too!"

Kensi smirked "Well, make the most of it, Sam. He's supposed to be back tomorrow," she said answering Sam's original question "Not that there's much for him to do right now."

"Well, that's just jinxed the hell out of that!" Callen commented dryly

"Meaning?" Kensi asked the man sitting to her left.

As Callen opened his mouth to reply a high-pitched whistle caused them all to look up at the balcony.

"This is not a drill, this is not a drill," Eric called over to them "We have a case!"

"Meaning that." Callen said pointedly and the three agents filed up the stairs.

Deeks drove inland towards downtown Los Angeles and a meeting with his boss. These kinds of meetings had become routine for him following undercover operations and he had even learned to approach them as a kind of cathartic release. But not this time. Today the prospect of this particular meeting felt like a lead weight hanging around his neck.

The assignment he'd just finished had in no doubt been a success, but it was also one from which the reverberations would be felt for some time to come.

Two detectives had already made their feelings clear about his recent job performance, and that was before he'd even manged to leave the building on Thursday evening. Luckily a couple of other cops had stepped in before they'd made their point too thoroughly. A couple of stitches to his cheek and a finger splint later and he'd just about made it to Kensi's birthday dinner on time.

Kensi Blye. Now she was a wonderful gift to have come home to. Waking up on Friday morning, realising that the previous evening hadn't just been wishful thinking had sent a rush of goose bumps across his body. The subtle scent of Kensi's hair surounding him and the small smile that was present on her lips when she rolled over and kissed him was enough to make him temporarily forget the previous six weeks. Hell, it was enough to make him temporarily forget his own name.

Having enjoyed the best night's sleep he'd had in two months he'd awoken eager to play his part in resolving the sexual tension between him and the beautiful woman laying in his arms. However, being a work day, and the fact that they'd somehow managed to sleep straight through Kensi's alarm, meant they didn't really have time to take full advantage of their new sleeping arrangements. The kisses that they'd parted with were full of promise for later that evening, but until then there was paperwork. Kensi returned to her cold case and Deeks began the arduous task of collating diaries and writing reports.

Arriving at the station a short while later Deeks made his way inside. One of the joys of working undercover meant that you were largely unknown to a lot of the police department population, so he managed to make it up to his boss' office without incident. He paused at the door, taking in a deep breath to steady his nerves. He and Kensi had managed to get through most of the weekend without delving too deep into the details of his assignment, but now he was going to have to face the consequences of it all head on. Thank god he'd managed to get in a surf that morning.

to be continued...