#an error in judgment

[ejzah]

A/N: @mashmaiden encouraged me to get this story finished up, so here we are.

***

An Error in Judgment, Part 9

Deeks spent the next two-and-half days in and out of consciousness while antibiotics did their work. The doctors said they’d caught the septicemia in time before it spread to other parts of his body. Kensi marveled at the amount of damage a few little wounds had caused.

In that time, Deeks drifted in and out, battling high fevers, disorientation, and pain. It was terrifying, and reminded Kensi far too much of when he was in recovery from his injuries in Mexico. She’d barely let him out of her sight in all that time, insisting on observing all tests she could, and assisting with his medical care.

Now, he was finally more lucid, though he slept through large parts of the day.

“You know, you’re supposed to eat that, not sculpt with it, right?” Kensi commented as she came back from the bathroom and found Deeks pushing a scoop of food into a more uniform mound.

“Oh, you know I’m more a jello guy than…whatever this is,” he replied. He gave it an experimental poke. Kensi had to admit that the soft and bland diet left a lot to be desired.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’ll ask Sam to bring you some chicken soup, the good kind, and sherbet.” She already had her phone out, but Deeks waved her down with a muted gesture.

“Eh, don’t bother. I’m not hungry anyway.”

“I know.” Kensi sat down next to him, cupping his jaw. His beard had grown out a little more than usual, so it felt softer under her skin. “But they’re not going to let you out of here if you don’t eat.”

“Ugh, fine,” he relented, shifting with a grimace. “Ask him to bring orange and lime.”

“Will do.” She settled back, sending the request to Sam, biting back a yawn.

“Hey, you should go home.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, even as she yawned again, unable to hold it in this time.

“Kens,” Deeks said. When she looked up, he was eyeing her knowingly, fondly. “Baby, you’ve been here for days. Go home, take a shower, get some sleep, get some real food.”

“I don’t want to leave you here alone,” Kensi admitted.

“You know I’m just going to end up sleeping most of the time. Besides, Sam will be here before too long. Please.” He gave her the soft, pleading look that she could never refuse, and she sighed.

“Ok, I will go home for a little bit. But if anything changes, you feel even a tiny bit worse, you text me right away, ok?” Deeks nodded once, giving a playful salute. She bent down and kiss him softly, lingering for a couple extra seconds. “I’ll see you soon.”

***

True to his predictions, Deeks dozed off shortly after Kensi left. He dreamed he and Kensi were floating in the middle of a perfectly blue ocean, the sun shining overhead as they laid on the deck of a small yacht. He was just leaning over to kiss Kensi, when a voice broke through his revery.

“Deeks. Investigator Deeks.” Deeks cracked his eyes open slowly, fighting the voice urging him to wake up. It was a lot more pleasant to sleep right now than facing the discomfort of reality.

“Yessir,” he slurred, only partially aware, but recognizing Admiral Kilbride’s gruff tone. His vision finally focused enough to see the man standing over him, dressed in one of his three-piece suits, and a frown firmly in place. “Afraid I’m not up to any super secret missions right now.”

“You certainly have looked better,” Kilbride commented. Deeks couldn’t tell if it was said sympathetically or in criticism. Either way, laying down seemed to put him at even more of a disadvantage, so he pushed himself up, concealing the pain it induced.

He must not have been as successful as he hoped, because Kilbride visibly winced, hand lifting slightly like he was reaching to help Deeks before he caught himself. Instead, he shoved his hand into his pants pockets, rolling back onto his heels.

He was uncomfortable, Deeks realized. It was an odd look on the normally unflappable man. Foregoing his usual urge to fill the silence, Deeks leaned back, and waited.

After several moments of extremely awkward silence, Kilbride cleared his throat.

“So, I hear that you had a pretty significant infection brewing,” he said finally.

“Yeah, turns out burns mixed with not the cleanest floors makes for a nasty combination,” Deeks agreed.

Kilbride nodded, turning partially away, seeming to study the notes left by the afternoon shift nurse, before he turned to face Deeks again, face set grimly.

“I am not in the habit of making apologies, Deeks,” he began.

“I’m aware of that, Sir.”

Kilbride’s eyes tightened and he sighed deeply, folding his arms behind his back.

“But, upon future reflection, it appears that I owe you one.” Deeks’ eyebrows rose at that. “Although I don’t like to admit it, I did allow my…own feelings about you affect my judgment. If not in the original incident that started this all, then in my decision to ignore concerns about your health. And I apologize for that.”

“Wow, I can say that I was definitely not expecting that. Are you sure I’m not having a drug induced dream?” Deeks said. He eyed the Admiral, not quite trusting him. His apology seemed too sudden and uncharacteristic. “I didn’t take your for the “see the light” kind of guy.”

“Yes, well, your wife made a very compelling argument in your favor,” Kilbride said dryly. Based on his expression, the discussion hadn’t been pleasant.

“Mmm, she did, huh? She’s kind of scary when she’s angry isn’t she?” Deeks guessed..

Kilbride harrumphed, which Deeks assumed was the closest he would get to agreement. “In any case, she pointed out certain oversights I might have made.”

“You mean like assuming we were having a tryst in the locker room and refusing to let me go to a doctor?” Deeks guessed. Maybe it was a little forthright, but he’d blame that on the drugs too.

“Perhaps.” Kilbride tapped his fingers on the footboard, once again seeming ill at ease. As though whatever he was about to say was physically hurting him. “She also reminded me of your excellent record and work ethic, including during this most recent case.”

“And now that you’ve had that reminder, what does that mean for the future?”

“It means, that I am ending your and Agent Blye’s probation, effective today,” Kilbride said. “Assuming that you can keep your relationship out of the office.”

“No.” Kilbride looked surprised at Deeks’ objection.

“Excuse me?”

“I appreciate your apology and the reinstatement,” Deeks began. He licked his bottom lip, working solely on instinct. “But I refuse to work in an environment where my every action is constantly under scrutiny. Kensi and I have managed to maintain our professionalism for years as partner who are also in a romantic relationship. An innocent hug or kiss in a private space shouldn’t discount everything that we’ve achieved for NCIS, for this team.”

“I sense an ultimatum coming,” Kilbride guessed shrewdly.

“I definitely don’t want to, but if it comes to it, I will seek legal recourse for the negligence that led to the exacerbation of my injuries.” Deeks gazed back steadily after he finished speaking. It wasn’t a threat precisely, more a warning and a promise.

“I see.” Nodding slowly, his lips twitched against a smile. “I often forget your past legal training. Alright, Deeks, you have a deal. With in reason. I won’t have you making out in the bullpen.”

“I think I can manage that,” Deeks agreed. He held out his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Kilbride took it, his grip firm.

“I’ll take my leave now. You look ready to pass out.” He gave a sharp nod, heading for the door. “Oh, and tell Agent Blye that she used up her free pass to shout at me.”

“I’ll let her know, Sir.”

Settling back in his pillows, Deeks rubbed both hands over his face. He had no doubt that he and Kilbride would butt heads in the future, but he thought they’d reached some kind of understanding.

And if not, he had a friend who would help him draw up the appropriate paperwork. Smiling to himself, he let that thought comfort him, and closed his eyes, returning to the peaceful ocean of his earlier dream.

***

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who stuck with me for this story.

I hope the ending didn’t seem too abrupt or Kilbride’s apology out of place. My intent is that he felt guilty about the role he played in Deeks’ decline in health and is trying to do damage control.

Do you think I should write a short epilogue, or does this seem like a good ending?

[hsw3k]

Praetorian Jack's reaction when he thinks Dementus has killed Furiosa.

[laufxsons]

'Not even Hell will stop the Wrath of a retired Angel'

My hc is that Hell decided to yoink themselves one (1) retired demon to extract information or enact whatever revenge they seem fit for the whole bathtub debacle. What they hadn't account for was that a certain Angel, who is know to be quite territorial about the things he loves, would do anything to find their husband after weeks of missed calls.

Well, once he does which might have included summoning and trapping a very frightened and confused demon and pressing them very politely for information (after Heaven was useless as always), he comes up with a plan.

One might say Aziraphale was quite disgruntled, positively seething, maybe even willing to give smiting a try after finding out demons had abducted their partner.

So, filled with the wrath of God and being judt enough of a bastard to be worth knowing he decided the best course of actions is, of course, passive agressive diplomacy. I mean the demons don't know that he isn't actually immune to Hellfire and noone would be stupid enough to try the main entrance, so noone would actually expect an Angel to just waltz into the place like they own it.

Those demons certainly aren't immune to an Angel's Divine Intervention (of the lethal variety) and Aziraphale be damned if he didn't at least try and get their partner out of this in the most idiotically genius way.

[truffle-chocolate]

Bad Sansuary day 9 and 13: shadow and judgment 🏜️

[tdragonomega]

Error:final judgment

[set-wingedwarrior]

People really be talking about peace and love and understanding of others and social justice, then the moment a villain in a children cartoon sees the errors of their way and gets redeemed through love and understanding they yell outraged that they didn't use a guillotine

[kaleidoscope1967eyes]

ok actually i think i'm opting out of dating undergrads lmao

[allthelittlecreepycrawlies]

A little goofiness this morning.

okay so you know all the jokes about koi tower being gaudy opulence over taste and jin guangshan being ancient fantasy donald trump?

imagine being jin guangyao.

you've worked your whole life to get here, to have this guy acknowledge you.

you're still a little overwhelmed by all the fancy gold shit around you so you haven't noticed yet that a lot of it might not be as authentic as it looks.

you need to use the bathroom (i am aware the canon setting has chamber pots instead but work with me for the gag).

you open the door and find just absolute piles of important-looking documents.

[sirnotappearinginthistumbl]

[ejzah]

A/N: Based on a few responses in favor of it, I decided to go ahead and write a little epilogue for this fic. Hope you enjoy!

***

An Error in Judgment, Epilogue

Apparently incurring septicemia in the course of fieldwork tended to scare people. Deeks was granted a full four weeks of medical leave, after he was released from the hospital. The first week or so wasn’t much fun, but once his wounds and the infection began to dissipate, and his energy returned, it was almost like a paid vacation. Aside from the frequent doctor appointments.

He’d had a multitude of visitors in that time, including all of the team. Eric and Nell had come bearing a massive gift basket, balloons, and tickets to a show Deeks had wanted to see. Roberta’s visits were fraught with varying levels of hysteria and overwhelming mothering. Even Kilbride dropped but one day for a very awkward encounter.

While he hadn’t enjoyed the first part of the whole endeavor, he was healthy again and nearly back to normal. More importantly, he felt more secure in his abilities and position with NCIS than he had in years.

Now exactly four weeks and six days after he’d collapsed, Deeks walked into the bullpen, Kensi by his side. There were met by the entire team, and a variety of greetings. Based on Kensi’s smirk, she’d had forewarning about this little get together.

Deeks had just enough time to register that was back before she rushed toward him. He bent down for a hug, her arms tight around his back.

“You are not allowed to get hurt while I’m gone again,” she ordered, giving him an extra squeeze. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Me too.”

“Looking nice and tan there,” Sam commented when Deeks and Nell parted. He pulled him in for a one-armed hug.

“Hey, I hear sun’s supposed to be good for your health. Vitamin D and all that,” Deeks said with a grin.

Sam snorted. “Right. You spent every day in the ocean, didn’t you?”

“Oh, he tried,” Kensi divulged. “I had to remind him he was recovering from a major infection.”

“You are looking a little skinny,” Callen said helpfully. “Way better than the last time I saw you, though.”

“Thanks, man. I missed you too.”

“I can get you back to fighting weight,” Sam said, the offer somehow slightly menacing.

“Well, I think you look great,” Eric said from his perch on the edge of Kensi’s desk.

“I’m feeling pretty good. Thanks for everything you’ve done while I’ve been out. The visits, the food. The life-size CHIPs poster.” Deeks nodded at Eric for the last. “I’ve really appreciated it.”

“Like we’d let you languish at home,” Fatima said, getting to her feet. “Now, c’mon and get some cake.”

“Cake?” Deeks repeated, vaguely bemused.

“Yeah, we wanted to celebrate your return,” Rountree explained. “Do you want banana, chocolate, or vanilla?”

As the discussion of cake flavors continued, Nell taking charge of the cutting of said cake, Callen intercepted Deeks, and wordlessly handed him a coffee.

A few minutes later, they all had plates with slices of cake covered in a thick coating of red and blue icing.

“Well, well, well, so the conquering hero returns,” Kilbride drawled, strolling into the bullpen, hands tucked into his pants pockets as he eyed the cake.

“Admiral,” Deeks said.

“Morning Sir, would you like a piece?” Fatima offered, managing to keep a straight face somehow as she held out a slice of garishly covered cake. From what Deeks had gleaned, she’d been a little frosty towards Kilbride since Deeks’ collapse.

“No thank you, Agent Namazi. We have a new case, so I suggest you all finish up this little get together and head upstairs,” Kilbride said.

“We’ll be right up,” Callen said.

“Good.” Kilbride started to walk away then paused, turning back around. “It’s good to have you back, Deeks. You were missed.” He caught Deeks’ eye with a knowing, measured look. Deeks returned it was a single nod. Then Kilbride was off again, grumbling under his breath.

“Ok, what the hell was that?” Nell wondered loudly once Kilbride was out of earshot. “Did he just give you a death glare?”

“No. When I was in the hospital, Kilbride and I had a discussion. I guess you could say we’ve reached a new stage in our relationship.

“What does that mean?” Kensi asked.

“Progress,” Deeks said, tugging Kensi into his side.

***

A/N: Two years after starting it, this story is officially done. Thanks so much to everyone who has stuck with it, offered their thoughts and comments, and been so supportive.

On to the next story!

[the-fae-in-your-walls]

Wow... my tummy hurts, I wonder what would fix it?

Hmmmm...

A huge bowl of spicy ramen

Yes, this surely won't go wrong... this will fix me!

Oh.. oh no..

[cats-inthe-cradle]

Me: yeah I’ll include 12 different Links in my Links meet au it’s not that many it’ll be fine

The “not that many” in question:

[itspileofgoodthings]

I am trying to get an appointment with a counseling center because I know it would help but they have been booked and busy (positively bedeviled with meetings!) for weeks now and they can’t get me in right now for the foreseeable future and it is, tbh, a comedy of errors.

[daisyachain]

Unforgivable for the b-options in a romance to be way more interesting than the main duo

[monsterlets]

"you should wash screen printed shirts in cold w--" no

[xerox-candybar]

:: blinks ::

Don’t think about TrueForm!Sukuna don’t think about TrueForm!Sukuna don’t think about TrueForm!Sukuna