Chapter 1

Deeks entered the Mission, alone. Kensi had the last few days leading up to the wedding off and was currently out with her mother for a final fitting of her wedding dress, a dress he had yet to see, even though he'd tried his best to talk her into at least letting him see a picture of it. He'd pulled out all the stops, puppy dog eyes and everything else he could think of. Nothing had worked on her or Julia, both of them telling him he'd just have to wait for the wedding. Technically, he was off as well, but was bored at home. He had his tuxedo for the wedding and everything was in place. He didn't know why Kensi was so nervous.

He found himself humming 'Here Comes the Bride', along with snippets of a song he'd secretly written for her. Chris and the rest of the band had been practicing it for a couple weeks. Similar to Cassie and Paula's wedding, they were playing at the upcoming wedding as their gift to the two of them. His song was the song that would be played when he and Kensi danced their first dance as husband and wife, in place of the one the two of them had agreed on. He didn't think she'd mind. He stopped short, realizing he was going to be a married man in just four days. A small frisson of fear went through him, immediately followed by a flood of happiness. In just four short days she'd be Kensi Marie Blye-Deeks. How the hell had he gotten so lucky?

He started walking, a bounce in his step, then stopped again as he caught sight of Nell and Sheila in a heated, albeit, quiet discussion just outside the bullpen. He changed direction, heading towards them, eager to find out why the usually unflappable Sheila seemed so agitated. She caught sight of him heading their way and said something to Nell. Nell turned and went bright red when she, too, caught sight of him.

"Hey Nell, Sheila. What's up?"

"Up? Nothing's up, Deeks. What's up with you? Aren't you supposed to be on vacation?" Nell answered nervously. He cocked his head at her, his expression showing he didn't believe her and that he knew she was trying to distract him. "Look, it's just some girl talk about the wedding, that's all."

"Then why did it look like the two of you were upset? Is something wrong?" He wasn't going to let this go.

"No, of course nothing's wrong! We were just trying to figure out where to go for Kensi's bachelorette party tomorrow night and we couldn't agree on where. That's all." Sheila stepped in, earning a grateful look from Nell.

"I thought that was all set? That you had a place booked already?"

"We did but somehow the reservation got messed up." Nell said. Sheila nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh. Well, you guys can always just hang out at our place."

"No, no, that's okay, we'll find a suitable replacement. Thanks though!" Nell said and the two woman turned and scurried away, Sheila back into wardrobe and Nell heading upstairs to Ops. He watched them go, finding their behavior odd. He shook himself a little. Maybe he was just paranoid after what had happened last weekend during his bachelor party in Vegas. He put it out of his mind and headed to his desk to catch up on some paperwork he wanted to get done before he and Kensi headed to Hawaii for their honeymoon. Hetty had worked her usual magic and had given them a week's stay at a beautiful villa right on the beach as a wedding gift, being very mysterious about it, stating only that it belonged to a 'friend'.

He sat down and booted up his laptop, starting on the first report that was overdue. After working for a couple of hours, he stood and stretched. He was done and could leave without anything hanging over his head. He lowered his arms and realized he hadn't seen either Sam or Callen the whole time he'd been there. He assumed they were in the gym or at the firing range, seeing as the team was on stand down with two members on vacation. He decided to go find them, see what they were up to. He figured he'd head towards the gym first as that was the most likely place they'd be.

He could hear them as he approached and went into stealth mode, hoping to sneak up on them. When he got to the entrance, he watched the two men as they warily circled each other. Okay, hand to hand combat training. He watched for his opening and, just as Sam was about to pounce, his back to Deeks, he walked in and said loudly. "Hey guys, what's up?" Sam jerked around in surprise and Callen took advantage, doing a leg sweep that sent the bigger man to the floor.

Callen threw his arms up and yelled. "I win! King of the gym!"

Sam got up from the floor and glared at his partner. "That's not fair! Deeks distracted me!"

"You need to be more aware of your surroundings and not let your attention wander when you're in a fight Sam. If I was one of the bad guys, you'd be dead right now." Callen smirked at him.

"Well, you aren't and I knew that! Deeks isn't even supposed to be here today so I wasn't expecting to hear him."

"Trade craft, Sam, trade craft. You always need to be focused during a fight."

"Fine. Best two out of three?"

"I think I'll take my win and hit the showers." Callen wasn't about to let Sam back in the game. It was rare he won in hand to hand with his partner and he was going to take a win any way he could get it. He turned to Deeks. "Sam has a point Deeks, what are you doing here? Don't you have something weddingish to be doing?"

"Nah, I'm all ready and Kensi is out with her mom. Figured I'd come in and clean up some stuff so I can enjoy my week in paradise without worrying about what I'm coming home to." He replied.

Sam walked over and clapped him on the back. "Good idea man." He looked closely at Deeks. "You nervous?"

"No, should I be?"

"Dude, you're getting married in just a few days, hell yes, you should be nervous." Sam laughed.

Deeks shrugged. "Well, I'm not! Excited, yes, nervous, no." The three laughed and talked a bit more about the upcoming wedding before the two older men headed into the showers. Deeks looked around the empty gym and decided now would be as good a time to head home as any. He left the area, humming his song again under his breath. He was just about back to the bullpen when his cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, his eyebrows rose. Talk about a blast from the past, he smiled at some fond memories.

"Deeks." He answered.

"Marty? Long time no talk, buddy!" Joe Spencer had been a stripper at the club where Deeks had earned some money during law school. They'd become friends after Deeks helped him out with some legal issues after Joe'd gotten caught smoking a little weed. He'd returned the favor by helping Deeks get over his stage fright. Karen had taught him how to dance, but Joe had taught him stage presence. His friend had gone on to open a strip club of his own, a very tasteful place that served a mean porterhouse steak. Deeks hadn't been there since he'd started at NCIS, but the two had kept in touch now and again over the years. He realized he hadn't talked to the man in over two years now. He wondered what was up to have him call him out of the blue like this.

"Goes both ways buddy! As you can see, my phone gets incoming calls too!"

"Hey man, yeah, sorry about that! The club is doing really well. So well, in fact, that I just opened a second location on Hollywood Blvd. I haven't had time to breathe over the last year."

"That's great news. Glad to hear you're doing so well."

"Thanks!" There was a pause. "Look, I need to ask you a favor."

"What's up?" Deeks was a little cautious. He couldn't afford to be caught up in anything illegal just days before his wedding.

"I'm having some trouble at the new club. I think someone is skimming the cash register. The receipts just don't add up to the amount of booze we're going through."

"Have you talked to the cops?"

There was a pause. "No. I don't really want the publicity. I was just kind of hoping to find out who it is and get rid of them, quietly."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I was hoping you could come and bartend Friday night? I know you're good at it and I thought maybe you could watch the others to see if you can figure out what's going on? Kinda like an undercover operation."

He thought about it. Then thought about it some more. It would only be one night, help out a friend and keep him from getting nervous as the big day approached. "Cameras?"

"None except outside on the back doors. Not exactly the kind of place some people would want to get caught on camera. Some big names come in now and then. My clubs are known to be discreet."

"Well, guess I can see that. One night, right?"

"Yeah, man, it would mean a lot to me."

"I'll do it. When do you want me to come in?"

"Early tomorrow night so I can point out who's who. Say around 7? We open at 8."

"Okay, I'll see you then!"

"Thanks, Marty, I really do appreciate it! Steak dinner on the house."

"No problem buddy and I'll hold you to that!" They hung up and Deeks walked to his desk, thinking about Friday night. He smiled as he started to plan out his evening. No one would know him there but he figured he could try out a new disguise, really get into the undercover thing with no risk to life or limb. Rubbing his hands together, he started to pack up. He was just shoving his laptop into his messenger bag when the boys came into the bullpen, freshly showered and a little damp looking.

"Still here Deeks?" Callen asked. "Don't you have anything you need to do for Sunday?"

"Just leaving and no, I really am all set."

"I know the girls are going out for Kensi's bachelorette party tomorrow night, Michelle is really looking forward to it. You want to go somewhere for dinner, maybe have a few drinks?" Sam asked.

"Sorry, I literally just made plans with an old friend I haven't seen in a couple of years. Rain check for when we get back?"

"Sure, unless of course the new wife won't let you out to play anymore." Callen smirked at him. Deeks whole face lit up as he heard the term new wife and Callen found himself a little jealous. His relationship with Joelle wasn't really going anywhere and he envied his friends the fact that they'd both found the loves of their lives. He shook it off when he realized both men were looking at him quizzically. He grinned at Deeks and punched him in the shoulder. "Don't worry, if she won't let you out, we'll find a way to break you out!"

"Thanks Callen." Deeks grinned back and then sobered. "Look, you guys, I really want to thank you for agreeing to be part of our wedding; it means a lot to both Kensi and me. Who would have thought seven years ago, that this is where we'd end up?"

Sam grinned. "Not me, I figured you'd be long gone by now." He saw the flash of hurt that crossed Deeks's face and put his hand on the man's shoulder and squeezed, completely serious now. "I was just kidding Deeks. You've shown yourself to be a man whose worthy of our little sister and I'm glad you're part of my family. We're all looking forward to Sunday as there couldn't have been a better ending. I know we can trust you to make her happy. I also want you to know that it's just as important to us that she make you happy."

Deeks blinked a few times as his eyes filled up. Sam noticed and swallowed hard, not happy to find that his eyes were a little teary as well. Callen broke the spell. "Geez, guys. Mushy much?" The three of them stared as each other and Callen chuckled, followed by Sam and then Deeks. The laughter followed Deeks out of the Mission as he made his way home for the day.

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Friday night he waved goodbye to Kensi when Nell picked her up for the bachelorette party. They were going out to dinner and then dancing, the whole gang of girls. He'd had a hard time not bursting out in laughter when Nell had proudly produced a sash that read 'Bride to Be' and a cheesy tiara with a veil attached to it, for Kensi to wear. He'd seen that she'd been really pleased by the gifts and didn't want to hurt either girl's feelings. He'd taken a couple pictures of the two of them on his cell and made Nell promise to take more during the evening. Once they were gone, he turned to his own plans for the night. Kensi'd asked him what he was going to do and he'd been somewhat honest, saying he'd be seeing an old friend for dinner. Joe was an old friend and had promised that steak dinner. He wasn't really sure why he hadn't told her what he'd agreed to do, other than that he knew she didn't like the idea of him in strip joints. The fact that this was a strip club that was both classy and had men and women dancers, didn't stop it from being what it was. A place where people went to watch someone take off their clothes for money.

Twenty minutes later, he looked in the mirror and raised his eyebrows. He wasn't sure Kensi would even recognize him. He wore a dark brown wig and had pasted on a full lighter brown mustache and beard, neatly trimmed. Joe had told him to wear black pants and a white shirt, that he'd provide a vest for him when he got there, one that all the bartenders and wait staff wore. He'd darkened his eyebrows but the blue eyes staring back at him were startling. He tilted his head at his image and decided to go the whole nine yards, reaching out to pick up the contact lens case. Carefully, he put one in each eye and blinked until they were comfortable. The brown eyed man staring back at him smiled and he found himself looking forward to his little undercover operation.

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