"Well this is the life" Marty Deeks smiled to himself, retirement with his wife. Their youngest had graduated from college and was about to follow Sam's footsteps into the Navy and become a seal. Five kids all gone to college and into various forms of law enforcement or military.
"What is the life?" His wife answered as she brought out their coffees.
"You and me Kenzie Deeks, five children have left the house and we now have empty nest syndrome" Deeks accepted his coffee.
"Don't get your hopes about empty nest syndrome yet, Rachel is coming home for a few days with someone arriving today" Kenzie advised as she sat down and reached over to take his hand in hers "She said she had some news for us"
"Preferably the sort that involves a ring first rather than a baby" Deeks remembered how Kenzie dropped the bomb that she was pregnant before he had even asked her to marry him.
"I don't care which it is, I kind of miss having kids in the house. A grandbaby would be nice"
"How about once they have gone, a holiday somewhere just you and me"
"Where?"
"We could go back to Prague, since we didn't see much of it last time we were there or we could go to the Caribbean"
"Are you trying to seduce me Marty Deeks"
"I am always trying to seduce you Kenzie. You are still as beautiful today as you were when we met back in that gym"
"How about we go to the travel agent and see what is available, after all we never did get to Australia"
"I like the sound of that, Australia, you and me on the Gold coast or Bondi beach. I think you could still do a bikini Kens"
"You do?"
"I do, I think that you are still smoking hot"
"I know you are"
"I still can't believe it, each morning I wake up and you are there with me and I know we had some close calls"
"I love you forever"
"And the day after" Deeks raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.
"Hi mum, dad. I picked the lock" Rachel, their oldest daughter walked through the house to the back knowing that's where they would be, leading someone with her.
"I see that talent that Uncle Callen taught you has not diminished over time" Kenzie smiled and Deeks could hear the laughter in her voice
"So like you, Fern" Deeks caught her eye "Hi little princess who is this you have brought here"
"Mum dad, you already know Steve. You have spoken over the phone with him and I have brought him home before"
"Mr and Mrs Deeks"
"I brought Steve out to show him some more of my old hang outs"
"And" Kenzie asked her daughter
"And what" Rachel asked innocently
"She thinks she can hide things from trained agents" Deeks chuckled at his daughter
"Come on Steve, I want to show you my favourite spot on the beach" Rachel tugged her boyfriend's hand, pulling him away from her parents.
"Morning Steve" Kenzie said as her daughter's boyfriend came through to the kitchen.
"We have toast and coffee for breakfast unless you are taking Rachel somewhere" Deeks added
"Mr and Mrs Deeks, can we talk while Rachel is still asleep"
"Sure, how do you take your coffee?" Deek asked "Sit down"
"Milk no sugar, thanks" Steve was nervous, Rachel had told him they were dangerous agents back in the day.
"What do you want to ask us" Kenzie still had no patience after five children
"I would like to ask for your permission to marry Rachel" Steve was shaking with terror. This is a big question.
"Steve if you think that you can hand that spoilt, indulged, wilful, little princess that is asleep upstairs go ahead" Deeks smiled "Of course you have met her uncles that made her that way"
"Uncles?" Steve was confused as Rachel had told him her parents were only children.
"And you should probably get their permission as well" Deeks continued
"Uncles Sam, Callen and Eric" Kenzie continued "They spoiled her rotten"
"The answer is yes Steve, you can ask her to marry you" Deeks couldn't wipe the smile from his face "Wow the first asking of permission, it is the one thing I wish I could have done with your dad in person, I did still ask your mum"
"Do you have a ring yet?" Kenzie knew what her daughter liked "We chose ours together"
"I had to get my mum a charm for her ever growing charm bracelets collection and I put her infront of the engagement rings and asked if she saw any she thought she liked" Steve admitted "My mum and dad think the world of her, dad told me not to let her go"
"So Steve what are in your plans for the day" Deeks changed the subject as he heard movement upstairs and sure enough there were the sounds of soft steps on the stairs.
"I don't know but I was hoping to get to see the happiest place on earth" Steve answered before taking a mouthful of coffee.
After seeing the kids off for the day, Kenzie and Deeks sat in their back yard, drinking their coffee.
"You asked my mum for permission to marry me?" Kenzie had suspected it but it was never confirmed till today
"Yep we had been living together for about a year at that point and we had had a scare remember and I knew then that I wanted you to be my wife and raise kids with you. It was probably about three months before I asked you"
"You waited three months to ask?" Kenzie snuggled in closer to her husband
"Well there were a lot of people to get permission from" Deeks reasoned "And lets face it Sam and Callen were more than a little scary at times"
"Very true"
"You went out with Nell for the day and I called your mum and asked if I could come round and discuss something with her. I was terrified. She made us coffees and we sat at her table, I remember saying Mrs Feldman, Kenzie and I have been together over a year now and I would like your permission to marry her"
"And"
"She said you want to marry my daughter, she was shocked. Once she recovered, I remained silent. She continued with you are the best thing that has happened to her in a long time Marty, and I want grandbabies. So yes you have my permission to marry her. Have you chosen a ring yet?"
"That sounds like mum"
"I admitted that I hadn't even starting to look but I wanted us to choose the ring together. I knew roughly what you liked but I wanted you to help and I couldn't figure out how to get you in a jewellery store without tipping you off. She then asked have you asked anyone else for their permission? I told her I was going to ask the rest of the team as they were like our family as well"
"What happened when you asked them?"
"It was one of the days where you had really bad morning sickness but we didn't know that, we thought it was a 24 hour virus, it was about a couple of weeks after I asked your mum. I had everyone in the bull pen and said I am going to ask Kenzie to marry me and I would like your permission as Owen Granger walked in"
"Oh I can just picture that, you shock everyone and then he walks in" Kenzie giggled at the thought
"Well he heard every part of what I had just asked the others and he was the most surprising actually. He was like you want to marry Agent Blye? It takes a lot to ask a person's family if you can marry them and I knew her father, I take it you have spoken with her mother? I just nodded he then went on Donald Blye would be driven crazy by you, your hair, how you make everything a joke, the way you dress, the surfing but he would like you and he would approve because you make her happy, you would of course be made to camp out for a weekend with him so you could prove your survival skills. Infact he probably would have been after you for delaying it so long in asking her, Donald and Julia were engaged within six months" Deeks took a mouthful of drink "Callen then continued I'm impressed you asked us first and in the tradition of Kenzie's dad, we are going camping. Sam corrected him by saying that's three of us camping Huckleberry, Kenzie can survive most places you need help.
"So that explains the long weekend that you tried to get out of, Sam and Callen took you camping"
"Along with Eric who had never been either, and Renko came too when he found out what was happening. Back to the tale, Hetty looked at me and then asked what took you so long to decide, I answered I knew I wanted her from that day in the gym but I wanted her to be ready as well, to know that she is the most important person in the world to me"
"I still am"
"You always will be. Nell was like go for it I love weddings they are so romantic. Eric was totally awesome and I think we need to organise a stag weekend for him. Which led to the second camping trip."
"You got better at camping though"
"Yeah over time with my beautiful wife, teaching our children how to survive like her daddy taught her" Deeks dropped a kiss on her nose "Then after everyone had given their permission, I took a detour home, via your dad's grave and I sat there at the grave and I talked to him telling him about his beautiful daughter and how much I love her and how I wanted to make her the happiest woman in the world by asking her to marry me. When I went it was cloudy and stuff but right after I asked him the sun came out. I took that as his approval but I always wished that I could have done it in person"
"I know. I wish he could have met you too, but things happen for a reason"
"It still surprises me that you ever accepted. I must have spent days driving you insane"
"I knew you were mine from that day in the gym" Kenzie replied just before Deeks kissed her lips. "Do you think that they would like a barbeque night before they go so he can ask the Uncles"
"We will check when they are leaving so that we can time it right and so Rachel has no idea" Deeks smiled. Life was good.