Deeks Gets a New Hobby
I don't own the characters or anything else from NCIS: Los Angeles, just borrowing them for some fun.
It had been three weeks since Kensi was reassigned. Deeks was still suffering from the shock of her absence. He missed her terribly. He tried to hide that fact, but Sam and G were worried about him. They all sat at their desks finishing up paperwork before calling it a night.
"Deeks, what are you doing tonight?" Sam asked.
"Oh, you know me Sam…yeah, I uh…no - I got nothing to do. Why?"
"Deeks, you know she will be fine wherever she is. She will come back when the job is done." Callen tried to sound reassuring, but knew Deeks wasn't buying it.
"Yeah, sure - of course she will. Why do you bring her up?"
"Come on, Deeks – we know you miss her. Just admit it. Hell, we all do. You've been acting like a little lost puppy since she's been gone, though. Snap out of it!" Callen had a smile on his face, hoping to get at least a grin out of Deeks. Nothing.
"You know what Deeks? You need a hobby. Tell you what – you have no plans for tonight? You're coming with me," Sam offers.
Deeks looks at Sam doubtfully. "Oh, yeah? You think so, huh? I got a hobby, Sam. It's called surfing. I don't need another one."
"Yeah – I do, and another one won't hurt. G? What about you? You want to tag along and see the progress?"
"Nah, you guys go ahead, Sam. I got plans tonight."
Deeks looked at Sam, "Wait, what? What progress?"
Sam smiled. "Oh, you're in for a treat."
Sam followed Deeks to his apartment. He waited while Marty let Monty out and made sure he had food and water. Soon Deeks was headed for Sam's Challenger. He got in the passenger seat and put his belt on. Sam put the car in gear, checked his rear view mirror, and then pulled away. Sam glanced over at Deeks, who had his head leaned back watching traffic pass by.
Sam smiled and asked, "So, are you even the least bit curious about what I may be dragging you into?" Deeks didn't answer right away. As they pulled up to a stoplight Sam looked at Deeks with a questioning stare. "Yo, Deeks! You still with me?"
"Uh, yeah – sorry. I was just thinking. Yes, I am curious. I gotta be honest with you, Sam. I've been going crazy at night since she's been gone. Thanks for making me come with you, for getting me outta my place. You know what I said about surfing? I can't even enjoy that right now. Kens had been coming to the beach with me, too. Now that she is gone I don't feel like being there all that much anymore. Not right now, anyway."
Sam nodded his head in understanding as he drove on. "Well maybe it's time you did something Kensi would approve of. You know – something manly."
Deeks looked at Sam. Sam had a big grin on his face. Deeks couldn't help but smile and shake his head at that comment.
"Something manly, huh? What might that be, Sam?"
"Do you like cars, Deeks? I don't mean like our regular, everyday cars. I'm talking muscle cars. Big motors, loud exhaust, obnoxious paint jobs, fat tires. Like my Charlene before she was stolen and brutalized a couple years ago. Cars like that. Cars with swagger." Sam looked at Deeks, waiting for an answer.
Deeks thought for a moment before replying, "I've never thought much one way or the other about cars. To me they are a way of getting from point A to point B. I don't see the value in dumping money into an old pile of junk. Besides, I grew up here in LA. It wasn't about cars for me – it was about the beach, the water, the girls, music...which meant more girls," Deeks chuckled.
He thought back to that morning Sam had blocked his paper football field goal attempt, knocking it to Bangladesh he recalled. Callen telling them that Charlene had been stolen and Sam was heartbroken, that was why Sam had been acting all weird that morning. Charlene was – or had been – Sam's 1970 Challenger he was restoring. It was his "therapeutic refuge" as Callen had put it. He remembered how he had said it was just a car and Kensi defended Sam. "Uh um, uh um - V8 Magnum, 4 barrel carb with dual exhaust. That's not just a car!" Deeks could still hear Kensi question him when he said putting money into a car was a waste. "What kind of man are you?"
They pulled up to a storage lot on the outskirts of the city. Sam put the car in park and killed the engine. He climbed out of the car and started walking to the nearest overhead door. As he fumbled through his keys, he looked back over his shoulder at Deeks, who was just catching up to him.
"You remember that Challenger G got me to help me get over losing Charlene?"
How could I forget something as butt ugly as that car, Deeks thought. "Yeah, I remember it."
Sam lifted the door slowly. "I still haven't decided what to name her – but take a look at her now."
Sam reached inside the door and flipped a switch. Several bright fluorescent lights came on inside. It was a large area. Deeks figured easily the equivalent of three normal storage units. This was really more like a garage in the middle of several storage units. There were cabinets along the back wall. Along the one side was a work bench with numerous tools and parts strewn about. There in the middle, shining like a diamond, was Sam's Challenger - the one that had been a gift from G, who had used his rainy day fund to cheer up his partner. It was still yellow like Deeks remembered, but now it was like brand new. The mismatched fenders were gone. The dull paint was history. The chrome glittered brilliantly.
"Whoa," Deeks whispered under his breath. "You did this, Sam?"
Sam was beaming with pride, "Most of it. I did the body work, replaced the interior, and rebuilt the motor and transmission… The only thing I didn't do was the paint. I had the shop that repaired Hetty's Jag do it. Not bad, eh?"
"It looks fantastic! I…I can't believe the difference. I can't believe you did this with your own hands. You sure this is the same car?"
Deeks was clearly in awe of his buddy's skills. Deeks opened the driver's side door and leaned in for a look. The car looked and smelled new. The carpet was black as night, the seats looked like they had never been sat in. The dash was clean and flawless, as were the gauges. There was not a spot in the interior that hadn't been given attention. It truly looked like a brand new car, not a "pile of junk" as Deeks had put it. The car obviously was no longer old or junk. Sam had poured blood, sweat and tears into this car and it showed. It was, for the lack of a better word Deeks thought, awesome.
"Sam…wow…just wow."
"You wanna go for a spin in her? All that's left to do is swap out these old wheels for the new ones I have over here," Sam pointed to the back corner. Deeks looked and saw brand new tires mounted on shiny new wheels. "Those are genuine rally wheels." Sam said.
Deeks looked at the wheels on the car and the pile Sam had just pointed to, "Okay, what makes them any different than the ones on it now?"
"See these wheels on the car now – they don't all match. A couple are nicer wheels, but a couple are just steel wheels with hubcaps. No swagger. Those," he pointed to the new ones, "are original rally wheels. No hubcaps. Just like my Challenger I drive now, only older versions."
Sam walked over to the bench and grabbed a lug wrench. He knelt down and popped the hubcap off the wheel with the flat end of the wrench, flipped to the other end and started loosening the lug nuts on the car. "Deeks, grab me one of the new wheels and bring it to me."
Marty went over to the stack of new wheels and pulled the top one off, set it upright and rolled it over to Sam.
"Thanks, partner," Sam grinned up at Deeks.
Marty nodded. It was then that Deeks noticed the car was sitting up off the ground slightly. He was so stunned at the transformation the car had gone through that he didn't notice it was sitting on jack stands. He watched as Sam spun all five of the nuts off. He wiped his hands off on a rag that had been laying there on the floor, grabbed the new wheel and gently lined it up on the studs. Once the wheel was on, Sam reached down for the new lug nuts. They were nice and shiny, not all dirty and rusty like the ones he had taken off. They repeated the process on the next wheel. On the third, Sam asked Deeks if he'd like to do the honors.
"Sure, okay. You trust me with this?"
Sam shrugged and nodded yes. Deeks spun the lug nuts off while Sam rolled a new rim over. Deeks had to admit, he thought to himself, these really did set the car off.
"So why do you do this, Sam? Why spend so much time and money on something like this?"
"Why do you spend money on a funny looking board and float around in the ocean on it?" Sam countered.
Deeks laughed at that. "Touché."
Sam patted Deeks on the shoulder as he walked past him. "Let's get her back on the ground and we'll take her for a test drive."
He wheeled a floor jack under the car, positioning it in just the right spot, and pumped the handle up and down. The car lifted off the jack stand.
"Grab that out from under there, will ya?" Sam asked. Deeks pulled the jack stand out and sat it away from the car. Again, they worked their way around to each wheel until the car was sitting on the ground like it should be.
"Get in, Deeks. Let's roll!"
Deeks slid into the passenger seat and shut the door. It thumped shut nicely.
Sam got in and closed his door. "You ready to experience some real American muscle, Deeks?"
"As ready as I'll ever be!"
Sam pushed the gas pedal and hit the key. The engine roared to life. It was loud. Not in the bad exhaust pipe way it sounded when Deeks and the others had first heard the car all that time ago outside the Mission. This sounded more like Sam's work Challenger. Actually, he thought, this sounds menacing and powerful.
Deeks grinned as a new thought came to mind. This sounded…manly.
"Kensi would be proud, Sam. It doesn't get any manlier sounding than that!"
Sam rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help it. It was good to hear Deeks joke around. Sam knew Deeks and Kensi had a special kind of partnership and that he was really missing her. Sam missed her, as well, and wondered when she would be back.
Nobody had ever gotten through to her like Deeks had. For all the years Sam knew Kensi, although she was a great agent, she never had a sense of humor. She never really opened up to anybody. She was all business, all the time. When Deeks came on board as their liaison, he drove her crazy. She was always frustrated with the jokes and seemingly not a care in the world attitude Deeks showed to everyone. Even Sam and Callen had a tough time accepting his antics. As time went on, though, Deeks proved time and again that he was just as good at his job as they were at theirs, even better in some instances when undercover work was needed. There was no arguing that he made the team better. There was also no arguing that Kensi blossomed once Deeks started breaking down her walls. She had a beautiful smile, and Sam and Callen both had noticed the change in her when Deeks was around. She was…happy. It was nice to see her open up. Marty knew her better than anyone else and somehow knew just the right thing to say when she needed to hear it. Sam knew Deeks was missing her, probably more than the rest of the team, but he wasn't going to push Deeks about it. Sam had a new found respect for him after their run in with Sidorov and his men. Sam owed Deeks. He also enjoyed spending time with him, especially now that Kensi was gone. Deeks, Callen and Sam were like brothers. Deeks truly was one of them. In fact, if Sam was being honest, Deeks always had been – he was just too blind to see it at the time.
Sam gunned the engine a few times and then put the car in gear. He let it roll slowly out of the unit. He steered it towards the street and stopped to wait for traffic. The motor thumped along under the hood, the exhaust note strong out the back of the car.
"So Sam, is it a V8 Magnum, 4 barrel carb with dual exhaust?" Deeks asked with a grin on his face.
"How did you know that?" Sam looked at Deeks with one eyebrow raised.
Deeks laughed. "Well, when Charlene disappeared you had gone up to Ops and Callen was explaining to Kens and I about who Charlene was. I made the comment about it just being a car. Kensi went all Wikipedia on me and said Charlene had those and that she was not "just a car".
"Kensi was right. Charlene wasn't just a car – and neither is this one. But yes, 440 Magnum engine with a 4 barrel carburetor and dual exhaust. Sounds pretty sweet, right?"
"Sure, I guess – if you're into that sort of thing. I will admit, she does not sound like just any car," Deeks grinned.
At that, Sam pulled out onto the street, and with a glance around the area, mashed the gas pedal. Deeks wasn't expecting the power the car had and he was immediately slammed back in the seat as the car launched forward with a roar. No quicker than Sam had floored the gas, he backed right out of it and let the car coast back to a safer speed. He looked over at Deeks, who was looking back at him with wide eyes. It was all Sam could do to keep from busting out laughing.
"You know, Deeks, now that I'm done with this car I'm gonna have time to work on another. Why don't you find a car you think you would like and we can work on it together?"
Marty looked at Sam.
"I don't know, Sam. I have no idea what I am doing – I don't know what kind of car to look for…I don't need another car."
"That is the whole point, Deeks. It's not about need. It's about doing something for fun. Something to pass the time. It just so happens that when you're done with it you will have something to show for the time you invested. You might even find that you enjoy it. Come on, Shaggy – there has to be some old car you find intriguing or relevant to you."
Deeks sat in deep thought as Sam kept driving. It was only when Sam stopped the car and shut the engine off Deeks realized they were back at his apartment.
"Well, detective…come up with anything yet?" Sam asked impatiently.
Something in the way Sam said detective struck a chord with him. He started thinking about Kensi and the hard time she gave him about being sensitive, not manly enough. He knew Kensi really didn't think that way of him (or at least he hoped she didn't), they just liked annoying each other. It was part of their "thing". Marty Deeks was a cop – an LAPD detective – and it was at that very moment he knew the perfect car he had to find. He turned to Sam. Sam noticed right away the gleam in Marty's blue eyes and the grin that started to grow bigger and bigger.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact I know exactly what I want. Thanks so much for this, Sam! You promise you will help me once I find it?"
"Absolutely. So what are you thinking?"
Deeks jumped out of the car and shut the door, leaning back in the window to talk, "I want it to be a surprise, and it may take me some time to find it. Once I do I will let you know! Thanks again, Sam! I'll see you tomorrow."
"Later, Deeks," Sam chuckled as Deeks practically skipped up the sidewalk like a little kid. As he drove away he couldn't help but wonder what in the world shaggy boy had thought of that made him so excited.
Turns out he didn't have to wait long. It wasn't a week later that Deeks asked him to meet him at the storage unit. As Sam drove up he saw Deeks already standing there next to a car under a tarp. The shape looked vaguely familiar to Sam but he couldn't quite place it. He parked his Challenger and started walking towards the mystery car. Deeks had a mischievous grin on his face.
"Are you ready for this, Sam-dawg? This is gonna be all kinds of cool. Kensalina will be so proud when she comes back!"
"Let's see it, Deeks."
Marty grabbed the edge of the tarp and whipped it back. He watched Sam as it took a moment for what he was looking at to sink in.
"What the…seriously?" Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head before looking at the ground and laughing. "Only you, Deeks. Only you."
TBC