The Ruby Rose

by PurpleHipposRock

4x21 "Resurrection" WHN. Deeks is asked for a bedtime story by Sam's kids while babysitting. The story that results is action-packed, full of surprises and includes just a little hint of that Densi goodness that we all love. I do not own NCIS:LA (but I really wish I did).

The Ruby Rose

4x21 'Resurrection' WHN

'Marty, tell me a story,' entreated Sam's daughter as Deeks tucked her into her tiny, very pink bed.

'No fair!' her brother complained, wandering into her room followed by Kensi, her hair still in the braided pigtails that the little girl had insisted on putting her hair into after her brother had loosened Kensi's braid, requisitioning her hair elastic for the fort that he and Deeks built out of tables, sofa cushions, sheets and rope, and Deeks ended up improvising something that even Sam the SEAL would be proud of. 'If she gets a story, I want a story too.'

'Well, you could sit down, and I could tell you the same story,' Deeks said, motioning to the pair of pink beanbags that had been arranged by the window.

'I don't want a girly story,' the young boy said disdainfully.

'Does it have to be girly?' Deeks asked the small girl in the pink bed.

'Daddy says that you're a detective. Could you tell us a detective story?' she asked, clapping her hands together.

Deeks exchanged a look with Kensi. 'I think I could do that.'

'Cool,' the boy said, pleased, dragging the beanbags over and settling himself into one before giving Kensi a beseeching look.

'Alright,' Kensi sighed, dropping into the bag before giving a cheery wave to the teddy bear sitting in the corner. They'd managed to scope out every single nanny cam in the house within the first few minutes of their being there, and now they made a habit of waving to each one that they came into view of, just to annoy Sam a little.

'A detective story, hmmm?' Deeks paused before stroking his beard thoughtfully, which made the little girl giggle. 'Alright. Once upon a time, there was a private detective named…'

'Marty Deeks,' she said brightly.

'That's my name,' Deeks told her.

'And you're a detective.'

'Okay, then. Once upon a time-'

'Long ago,' the little girl interrupted.

'How long ago?' the young boy asked suspiciously.

'How about the 1940's?' Kensi suggested.

'That's a long time ago,' Sam's daughter said in awe.

'Alright then,' Deeks sighed. 'Once upon a time, in the 1940s to be exact, there was a private detective named Marty Deeks.'

…

Marty Deeks was ready to give up. Not on life, no, he still hoped that there was a pretty girl out there to laugh with him in his good moments, hold him while he cried during his bad moments and stay by his side in the rest, but he was sick of trying to fix something that seemed perpetually broken. He was gonna give up being a detective. He'd been a detective with the police, once. He didn't stick with that too long. He'd been a kid, only twenty years of age, pretty innocent and fresh, but he'd soon become disillusioned with a completely corrupt police force, and it seemed to him that there was more evil inside the force than out of it. So he'd left, and after a stint in the army during WWII, became a private detective instead, where he made his own rules and answered only to himself, not to a fraudulent master who told him to arrest the wrong people. But private detectives weren't in huge demand these days, it seemed, and the originally meagre, slow stream of business dried up to being completely non-existent, and non-existent work meant non-existent money, which was not helpful when it came to paying very existent bills.

He looked around his office, dim and dusty with a distinct scent of coffee emanating from the very walls. It was cluttered with cardboard boxes of files and he found it mildly amusing how dusty and untidy it had gotten in the three days since he had been forced to let go of his assistant/secretary/person-who-cleaned-the-office due to the lack of funds to pay her wages.

Suddenly, there was a rap on the door.

'Come in,' Deeks said cautiously, opening his drawer to place his hand on his trusty Beretta. He'd had too much trouble with gangs to not be cautious.

A man stepped in, and the two sized each other up.

Deeks supposed that what the man had found was not quite what he had been looking for. Grey fedora hanging on the hat stand by the door, Deeks' blond hair was much too long to be even close to being fashionable, covering his ears and dangling in his blue eyes, while his face was covered in a scruffy blonde beard and moustache – he looked more like a hobo than a private detective – an ex-private detective, he corrected himself. The jacket of his charcoal grey suit was draped over the back of his chair, while his tan-coloured trench coat was hanging from the hat stand, and the sleeves of his white button-down shirt had been rolled up to his elbows while he transferred files into boxes, and the blue silk tie that he had started out the morning wearing had long since been discarded and dropped somewhere on the floor. He didn't even try to be fashionable – it simply didn't suit him.

He looked over the other man who stood in his doorway. Black three piece suit, blue shirt, black tie, he was, to the last thread of his clothes, very fashionable. Shiny black leather shoes on his feet – Deeks was pretty sure that his own were still muddy from the rain yesterday. He carried a black briefcase and was otherwise pretty nondescript. Blue eyes, a five o'clock shadow, every strand of his short, light brown hair gelled and styled perfectly. He looked like a man of society, and he looked like a man of money, and Deeks wasn't used to either.

'Detective Deeks?' the man asked. His voice was evenly toned and middle-pitched – not terribly high, nor deeply low.

'Mr Deeks,' Deeks corrected him. 'I ain't a detective – not no more.'

'I'm willing to pay,' the man said, moving into the room and taking a seat opposite him, despite not being invited to.

'Doesn't matter. This place is gonna go down the drain – 's been going that way for years now. No amount of money's gonna fix that, and no amount of money's gonna make me wanna do nothing anyways,' Deeks said dejectedly.

'Yes. I'd heard rumours that you were giving up the trade,' the man said calmly. 'I'd hoped that they weren't true.'

'Well, you've got the proof right in front of your eyes. So you can go off and tell whoever you like that Marty Deeks ain't in business no more,' Deeks said bitterly before getting up and opening a cardboard box.

'They said that you weren't interested in money,' the man said.

'The person who says he ain't interested in money and is saying the truth is the reincarnate of Jesus Christ himself,' Deeks said, gathering up a pile of files from a filing cabinet. 'So what did they say I was interested in?'

'Intrigue. You only take the cases that interest you. The ones that… what were the words the man used…? Oh, yes. The ones that give you a gut feeling.'

Deeks snorted. 'Used to be that was true.'

'I'll give you something to start on. My name's Callen.'

Deeks dropped the files into the box and stared at the other man. 'You mean…?'

'G Callen. Yes.'

'Humph.' Deeks dropped back into his chair and thoughtfully tapped at his chin. 'G Callen, reclusive millionaire mogul who doesn't have a first name. Well, Mr Callen, if you've come to me about the mystery of your name, I'm afraid that however much it does pique my interest, I still can't help you. I've heard about the others that tried to help you – they both got nowhere.'

'I'm not here about my name.'

'Oh no? Well, couldn't you just use one of the detectives that you hired to figure out your name?' Deeks asked disinterestedly, digging in a bottom drawer until he found a half-drunk bottle of whiskey. 'Drink?'

Callen nodded and took the glass from him. 'Both went out of business.'

'Well, I'm getting out of business before you get the chance to get to me,' Deeks said dryly before taking a sip of the strong, cheap alcohol. 'Just out of curiosity, what's the case?'

'There's a… woman,' Callen began.

'Uh huh,' Deeks said, nodding sagely. 'There's always a woman. When is there not a woman?'

'She… meant a lot to me.'

'She your sweetheart?' Deeks asked.

'Um… kind of. More like a sister. I'm married, you see.'

'Sister, right,' Deeks said, rolling his eyes. 'I'll play along. So, you want me to find your "sister".'

Callen sighed. 'She's an old friend of my sister's.'

'They never said that you had a sister.'

'I don't. Not anymore, anyway.'

'Oh. I'm sorry. So you want me to find…'

'Her name's Kensi. Kensi Blye.'

Callen pushed over a photograph of the most beautiful woman that Marty Deeks had ever seen in his life. Dark brown eyes, with a dark birthmark in one, long brown hair that ignored the fashions of the day and hung straight down her back, instead of being curled and coiffed within an inch of its life. She was staring at a point past the camera as she sung seductively into the microphone, sitting on the lid of a black grand piano, both feet clad in impossibly high black heels, the rest of her dressed in a slinky, clinging, silk black dress.

'She's an up-and-coming new jazz singer. I helped her a bit,' Callen said. 'And she's beautiful. You see her. It's pretty damn hard for a woman like her to go missing, and yet, she's managed it.'

'You think she's been taken?' Deeks asked before finishing his whiskey.

'No. I don't think she's been taken, so to speak. Despite everything, she's good at disappearing.'

'Something in her past help her with that? Or someone?' Deeks suggested.

'Definitely. Her pa's Owen Granger.'

'You mean-?' Deeks began, aghast.

'Yeah. That Granger.'

'I never knew that he had a kid,' Deeks said.

'No-one did,' Callen said easily, sitting back and propping his feet on a box of files. 'You might be a bit young to remember, but-'

'Blye's wife went missing thirty-one years ago,' Deeks finished. 'You're right, I am too young, but this case is like the Holy Grail for private detectives. You find his wife, you've got the keys to the city. No wonder Blye's good at going missing – she's been hiding from Granger all her life. I guess that answers why his wife went missing.'

'Kensi,' Callen said, nodding to the photograph. 'She was thirty years, last month.'

'I thought it was indelicate to discuss a woman's age,' Deeks laughed.

'Eh. She won't know if you don't tell her,' Callen chuckled before straightening his face. 'So you'll do it? You'll find her?'

'You reckon she might've been taken by Granger?'

'I don't see how,' Callen said, shaking his head. 'Her lineage isn't well known. I'm about only one of three people who she's confided in, and I'm trusting that you aren't gonna-'

'Detective-client privileges,' Deeks interrupted smoothly. 'I'm not about to say anything. I'm gonna need to know things, though.'

'Anything,' Callen said, and that was that. Detective Marty Deeks was back.

…

'Kensi got lost?' the little girl asked, aghast.

'Kensi got lost,' Deeks confirmed. Kensi sent him a glare.

'But you'll find her, won't you?' she asked.

'Of course he will,' the young boy assured her. 'Marty's a detective.'

'A very sure man,' Deeks said, nodding to him. 'But despite my detective skills, finding Kensi wasn't going to be easy. Especially when Callen hadn't given me all the details. All the real ones, anyway.'

…

The first thing that Deeks did when he got a new case was go visit his friend and seemingly all-knowing genius, Henrietta Lange. What Hetty didn't know, it wasn't worth knowing, about anything and everything, from science to music to the lowest man on Owen Granger's totem pole.

It was pretty empty in the little bar that she ran, as it was mid-morning, and she had the smooth jazz that she liked playing on the gramophone in the corner. The cosy tavern was filled with bits and pieces, such as photos of Hetty with various jazz singers, curious, mysterious tokens that she had picked up in her travels to the East and other random assorted pieces. Hetty sat in the corner in a chocolate brown tailored pants suit, just a variation of the theme that she always wore.

'Mr Deeks,' she said, taking his appearance, from his muddy shoes to the grey fedora on his head. 'You're back on the job.'

'How could you possibly- I forgot. You know all,' Deeks said dryly, watching her pour a cup of tea before pushing a cup of coffee across the table for him.

'I heard a whisper on the street this morning,' Hetty said.

'Of course you did,' he said, fighting the urge to laugh. 'What else did those whispers tell you?'

'Not much,' she said. 'Just that you'd had a visit from G Callen. Nice man, but sometimes with very wrong motives.'

'Wrong motives, hey?' Deeks asked. 'Tell me about them.'

'I could tell you about Callen all day,' Hetty said. 'You're going to have to narrow the field a little.'

'What about Callen and Kensi Blye?' Deeks said, throwing her the subject of his case.

'Kensi Blye. A lovely woman. A lovely voice.' Hetty motioned to the wall, where a photograph of Kensi and herself resided. 'I got that so that I can prove that I knew her before she was big.'

'She may never be big,' Deeks said, shaking his head. 'According to Callen, she's disappeared herself.'

Hetty laughed dryly. 'She hasn't disappeared, Marty. She's in hiding.'

'From Granger?'

'Oh, so Callen told you about him? No, not Granger. From Callen,' Hetty said.

'Callen? Why would she be hiding from Callen? From what he said, they're pretty tight.'

'Too tight for her own good,' Hetty said. 'What did Callen say about the ruby rose?'

'The ruby rose? Nothing. What is it?'

Hetty sipped from her tea and sighed in pleasure. 'The ruby rose is a ring, a very beautiful ring. Rose gold with an inlaid ruby, the largest ruby you ever saw, cut into the likeness of a rose. Granger gave it to his wife as an engagement ring. Kensi's wearing it in that picture over there.'

Deeks approached the picture, coffee cup in hand and looked over the young woman, finding the ring on her right hand. He took the picture of her from his pocket and pulled it out – yes, there it was on the hand holding the microphone.

'Damn,' Deeks said admiringly. 'It's a beautiful piece.'

'Worth thousands,' Hetty told him.

'And Granger gave it to his wife?'

'As an engagement ring, yes. When Kensi turned eighteen, her mother was dying. She gave her the ring and told her who her father was. Kensi decided that she didn't want to seek her father out.'

'Gee, I wonder why, with a reputation like his,' Deeks said dryly. 'You know an awful lot about a supposedly reclusive millionaire, a gang boss and his missing wife.'

Hetty smiled smoothly. 'Callen and Kensi knew each other as children.'

'He did refer to her as "like a sister",' Deeks said, nodding.

Hetty sighed before pouring herself another cup of tea. 'Mr Callen's business has taken… I think the term for it is a "nose dive"? He's losing money.'

'I haven't heard about that,' Deeks said.

'Mr Callen does try to keep things close to the vest,' Hetty said.

Deeks suddenly looked up at her. 'A giant ruby would be kinda helpful in fixing that,' he said speculatively.

Hetty pointed a teaspoon at him. 'Exactly, Mr Deeks.'

'You think Callen's looking for Blye to take her ring to save his business?' Deeks asked, frowning. 'He didn't seem like that sort of person.'

'Callen can be any sort of person he wants to be,' Hetty told him.

Deeks sighed. 'Hetty, do you know where Blye is?'

'No, I don't.' Hetty seemed unhappy about this. 'I wish I did. I wish I could help her.'

'You could. You could help me,' Deeks said.

'I could do that, couldn't I?' Hetty smiled before straightening her face. 'I'm going to be honest with you, Marty. Kensi could be anywhere. She's very good at two things – singing and hiding.'

'Any clue as to where she might be?' Deeks asked.

'She's got friends in high and low places,' Hetty said. 'She could be hiding on the poorest man's fishing boat down at the marina, or she could be living in luxury in a high rise apartment penthouse. I'll keep my ear to the ground for you, Marty, but I've got to be honest, she's good at staying away from the people looking for her.'

'So, if she's safe from Callen and she's safe from Granger, I should just stay away from her, shouldn't I? Just tell Callen I tried my best but it wasn't enough.'

'Callen would never believe that. He's been asking around, asking specifically about you.'

'Damn. He knows that I'm not the type to give up, then.'

'He hired you specifically because once you begin a case, you don't stop until you've solved it.'

'So I s'pose any other excuse that I give won't work, either,' Deeks sighed. 'Oh, well. Off I go. Are you sure you don't have anything you want to tell me, Hetty? No clues?'

Hetty gave him a small smile. 'How about you try her apartment?' And she gave him the address.

'Ah. Now there's the Henrietta I know and love,' Deeks said, giving her his patented grin. 'Thanks, Hetty.'

'Good luck, Mr Deeks.'

…

Deeks had a place to start, but before he could start, he needed his assistant/secretary/person-who-cleans-the-office back – heck, with the hiring fee that Callen had given him, he could pay her the money he owed her and pay her for this case too.

He rapped on the door of her apartment door and hoped that one, she was home, and two, that she didn't have a new job yet.

The door swung open to reveal a sleepy looking Nell. 'Marty?' she asked, surprised by his appearance at her door.

'Nell! What are you doing sleeping on such a beautiful day?' Deeks asked cheerfully.

'It's raining, and it's cold,' Nell said, pushing her hair out of her eyes. 'And I'm unemployed. Why should I bother getting up?'

'Because I'm rehiring you,' Deeks said brightly.

'Yeah – you and what money?' Nell asked dryly.

'This money.' Deeks handed her a cheque.

Nell looked at it suspiciously. 'Is it forged?'

'No.'

'Will it bounce?'

'No. I've got a case. One last case.'

Nell looked at him, surprised. 'Come in, then.'

'Thank you.' He stepped into her tiny, neat apartment and carefully wiped his feet on the mat before sitting in the arm chair.

She headed for the kitchen with a 'I suppose you want coffee.'

He chuckled. She knew him too well.

'So what's the case?' she asked from the kitchen above the sound of a boiling kettle.

'G Callen hired me.'

There was the sound of a dropped bottle, quickly followed by a 'I'm fine!' There was a pause, and then 'He's not trying to find his name, is he?'

'No,' Deeks said, laughing. 'No. There's a girl that he's looking for.'

'Oh?' Nell appeared and handed him his coffee before settling in opposite him on her sofa, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea.

'Her name's Kensi, Kensi Blye.'

'The jazz singer?' Nell asked.

'Does everyone but me know about this girl? Hetty's got pictures of her in the bar,' Deeks said, shaking his head.

'You need to get out more, Deeks,' Nell laughed. 'She's got a beautiful voice. Has she gone missing?'

'Callen reckons that she's in hiding from her father, Owen Granger, while Hetty reckons that she's in hiding from Callen.'

'Maybe she's in hiding from Hetty,' Nell joked.

'It does seem that way, doesn't it?' Deeks asked thoughtfully. 'Apparently, Hetty reckons that she's in hiding because she's got this priceless jewel that her mother gave to her, and Callen wants it because he's going broke and he needs the money to rescue his business.'

'Why would Owen Granger be looking for her? Hang on, since when did Granger even have a daughter?' Nell asked.

'Apparently, he's had a daughter for thirty years, but his wife went missing thirty-one years ago,' Deeks informed her.

'She ran away to protect the child,' Nell realised.

'It seems that way.'

'Granger couldn't possibly know that Blye is his child, though… Could he?'

'Hetty knew.'

'Yeah, but Hetty knows everything. She probably knows what colour boxers you're wearing.'

'I'm not even going to ask how you know what type of underwear I prefer,' Deeks said, staring at her.

'You just confirmed it,' Nell said cheekily, grinning at him.

'Oh, shush you,' Deeks sighed, shaking his head. 'We need to find out more about Blye.'

'Can I help?'

'You always help, Nell.'

'Well, you know, you say that this is your last case…'

'What do you want Nell?' Deeks asked suspiciously.

'Can I come out with you?' Nell asked quickly.

Deeks sighed. 'Sure.'

'Yes!' Nell squealed.

'Considering it is the last,' Deeks said.

'Do you still have the office, or do I have to work from here?' Nell asked dryly.

'It's a bit of a mess in there, but it is still there,' Deeks confirmed.

'Cool,' Nell said, putting her cup down and going to the door to go to work.

'Nell, Nell, Nell!' Deeks called after her.

She appeared back in the doorway. 'Yeah?'

'You might wanna change out of your pj's first.'

She looked at herself. 'Oh. Right.'

…

Deeks tentatively knocked on the door of Blye's apartment, but as he expected, there was no answer. Kneeling down, he turned to Nell.

'Keep an eye out, won't you?' Deeks asked.

'For who?' Nell asked, eyes widening as he took his lock picking tools out of his pocket. 'Is that legal?'

'No, which is why I told you to keep an eye out,' Deeks said, beginning to pick the lock.

'Right. Sorry.' Nell turned back to keep watch.

Deeks quickly picked the lock and opened the door. 'Got it. Come on.'

Nell followed him into the apartment, and quietly shut the door behind her. 'If this isn't legal, why are we doing it?'

'Because a woman's life is on the line. Why do you think you had to bail me out of lock-up so many times?'

'Because you were picking locks?' Nell asked, surprised.

'No, Nell, because I was doing things that were generally considered illegal.'

'Oh…'

Deeks looked around the spacious apartment.

'What do you know, she really does know Hetty,' Nell said, pointing to a photograph on the mantel piece of a much younger Kensi Blye, Hetty and another woman with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.

'Hang on…' Deeks frowned and pointed to the background of a picture. 'Is that a Christmas tree?'

'It is. Blye spent Christmas with Hetty?' Nell asked.

'I've never seen a picture of Blye's mother, but I'd say that that's her next to them,' Deeks said.

'The two do look very alike. I don't think Hetty was telling you everything, Marty,' Nell said.

'I'd say that you're right,' Deeks agreed. 'Alright. You search the bedroom, I'll search the kitchen.'

'What am I looking for?' Nell asked.

'Anything that might tell us where Blye went,' Deeks sighed.

'Oh. Okay.'

Deeks wandered into the kitchen and opened a cupboard, and then another. 'Mustard, ketchup and a tin of beans…' he muttered. 'I don't think she's been here a while, and I don't think she's planning on coming back any time soon. There's no food in the cupboards,' he called to Nell.

'I beg to differ,' Nell called back.

'Why?' Deeks asked, wandering into the bedroom.

Nell motioned to the closet. 'No clothes are gone. Her toothbrush and make-up are still here. No woman would go away without extra clothes, make-up and a toothbrush.'

'Nell, that doesn't mean that she didn't plan it. It just means that it was very short notice,' Deeks told her. 'Which means that it's less thought out than it could be. Any address books? Cards?'

'Why cards and address books?' Nell asked.

'Tells us her friends. What do friends do when friends are in trouble?' Deeks asked.

'Help them,' Nell said, eyes widening in realisation.

Deeks nodded sagaciously. 'Take them in when they're in trouble.'

Nell headed for the bedside table which had a small clock and a glass of water on it and opened the drawer, brightening when she spotted it. 'Address book!'

'Great,' Deeks said. 'How many names?'

'Only a few,' Nell said, flipping through it. 'Ha, we were right – Henrietta Lange.'

'Who else?' Deeks asked, finding a bundle of Christmas cards in the bottom of the drawer.

'Um… a Julia Blye – wait no, that one's crossed out.'

'Probably her mother.'

'A Sam Hanna,' Nell said, turning the page.

'Birthday card from him,' Deeks said, holding it up.

'Eric Beale?'

Deeks shuffled through the cards. 'Yeah, this one's from him.'

'G Callen.'

'Well, we expected that.'

Nell finished looking through the book, and then flipped through it again. 'There's no-one else in here.'

'Really? No music moguls? She's an up-and-coming jazz musician, there ought to be record-labels and famous names in there.'

'Maybe she's got a separate address book for that stuff, like you. You've got a book for business and a private address book.'

Deeks looked at her. 'How did you know that?'

Nell grinned at him. 'I notice things. Any other cards in there?'

'No,' Deeks said, shaking his head. 'Just from those people.'

'Maybe we should check with them, first,' Nell said brightly.

'Good idea,' Deeks said dryly. 'But first I think I want to check with Hetty first and ask her whether she's absolutely sure that she hasn't got anything to tell me.'

'Because she lied to you?'

'Because she lied to me,' Deeks confirmed. 'And you are going to go and do some research on all of these people and find out which one is most likely to be hiding our elusive Miss Blye.'

Nell stared at the book in her hand. 'You mean, take this?'

'Yes, Nell. That's exactly what I mean.'

'But… but that's stealing, isn't it?'

'Nell, we just broke and entered.'

'Breaking and entering… but what'd we break?'

'We did pick the lock,' Deeks said logically.

'But… you broke it? It didn't look like it was broken. Did you break it, Marty?'

'No, I didn't technically break it, but this is what this is called, breaking and entering.'

'Huh… That doesn't make much sense.'

'Great. Now we've sorted that out, just get the book and get out, so that we don't get caught.'

'Right. Being caught would be bad,' Nell agreed.

'Yes, it would,' Deeks said, nodding. 'So let's go.'

'So that you can talk to Hetty, and I can check these people out?' Nell asked.

'Exactly,' Deeks said, locking the door behind them.

There was a pause.

'Marty?'

'Yes, Nell?'

'I think I left my purse in there.'

Deeks was sorely tempted to bang his head on the door. Why'd he agree to working with a dame?

…

'Hetty.' Deeks slid onto a stool at the bar and gave her a stern look.

Hetty sighed. 'I didn't think you'd figure it out quite so soon.'

'She had a picture of you and she and her mother at Christmas on her mantelpiece. I notice these things pretty quickly.'

'You are a detective,' Hetty allowed. 'Alright, what do you want to know?'

'The truth this time – do you know where Blye is?' Deeks asked, organising his priorities.

'No. Trust me, Marty, I'd tell you if I did,' Hetty said, shaking her head. 'In fact, if I'd known she was in trouble, I would have asked you for help in protecting her. God knows, you're good at that. And I'm worried – I've been asking around, and I can't even find a whisper of where she might be.'

'You think she might be dead?' Deeks asked.

'No,' she answered, straight away. 'Kensi Blye is not dead.'

'Is that a statement or a wish?'

'Both.'

'How long did you know Blye?' Deeks asked.

'Her mother and I were old friends, we went to school together. Unfortunately, you of all people know how paths can diverge, and we ended up on almost polar opposite ends of the tracks – Julie married, at that time, a pretty well-to-do business man, while I helped my father in this bar, which was on the point of having almost no money. Five years later, I got a call in the middle of the night. It was Julie, and she was panicking. The doctor had just told her that she was expecting a baby, and she knew she had to get out, or else that baby was not going to have a good life, especially if it were a girl.'

'So you helped her get out.' Deeks shook his head ruefully. 'No wonder no detectives could find her. You covered your tracks well, Hetty.'

'Thank you, Mr Deeks. We gave her a new name, a new home, a new life.'

'So where did you end up hiding her?'

'During her pregnancy, she was here, in this bar. This bar was never frequented by any of the gangs, not Granger's, not anybody else's. We're too far out of the way for anybody to really be bothered to come here – that's why business was suffering. Kensi was born on the floor in that corner,' Hetty said, nodding to a corner. 'She had a set of lungs on her, right from the start. From a little girl, we always knew that she was destined to sing.'

'What happened to Julia?' Deeks asked.

'She worked in the bar, here. She had a beautiful singing voice, herself, nothing like Kensi's, but still beautiful, and her voice attracted people to the bar. Suddenly, business was booming again, all because of this wonderful woman who had gotten married to the wrong man.'

'No-one realised who she was?'

'If they did, they kept the secret.'

Deeks sighed. 'You said that she died.'

'She did. Twelve years ago, now. Cancer. It hit very suddenly. One moment, she was absolutely fine, the next she was on her deathbed. It hit Kensi hard, but she made a promise to her mother to never stop singing, so that's what she did, and it's what she's been doing for the last twelve years.'

'In her apartment, we found an address book, but it only had a few names in it. Other than you and Callen, there was an Eric Beale and a Sam Hanna. Is it likely that she might have gone to any of those people for help?'

'Yes,' Hetty said, looking at him. 'Sam. She'd go to Sam. He's an old friend of both of us, frequents the bar, and he's a Navy man. A Captain.'

'Is he likely to protect her?' Deeks asked.

Hetty nodded. 'With his life.'

'Beale?'

'Eric… is the odd one out, in that group. They're the same age, and they grew up together, he, Kensi and Callen. Callen was a bit older than Kensi and Eric, but they got along like a house on fire – we used to call them "the three musketeers". The mischief that those three got up to…'

'Why do you say that Eric was the odd one out?' Deeks asked.

'Kensi and Callen, they were both very smart, but also very physical people. They impose themselves physically, bodily saying "look at me". Eric… did not put himself out there, physically. If a stranger said something to him, he'd turn as red as a beetroot. But intelligence-wise… he was smarter than the two of them put together.'

'So, I'd be better off checking with Beale first,' Deeks surmised.

Hetty blinked at him, and then smiled. 'You think like Kensi.'

Deeks frowned at her. 'Sorry?'

'Most men would go – oh, of course she's hiding with a former military or police man, I'll check with Hanna first. But you and Kensi go, what is the least likely place that she'd go? – the nerd, of course.' Hetty began to laugh. 'I should have known that you and Kensi would think alike – fundamentally, you are very alike.'

'I'm not even going to ask what that means,' Deeks sighed. 'I'll let you know if I find her.'

'And by that, you mean that you'll bring her here when you find her, Martin,' Hetty said sternly.

Deeks sighed. 'Of course, Hetty.'

'Then go,' Hetty said, 'And be careful. Kensi is as dangerous as any of Granger's henchmen.'

'She grew up with you,' Deeks said, a small grin quirking his lips. 'I'm not surprised.'

'Indeed, she did.' Hetty seemed to think about this for a moment.

'I don't like the look on your face,' Deeks said, narrowing his eyes at her.

'I'm just thinking – it's rather fitting that you'd end up looking for Kensi. I always thought that if you two met, you'd be a formidable partnership.'

'Are you trying to set us up, Hetty? Because this is like the fiftieth time you'd hinted at the fact that I should be settling down with a "nice girl" soon.'

'First, my dear Mr Deeks, you have to find her.'

Deeks chuckled. 'You are setting us up.'

'I can't help it if I think you'd be good together – no, not good. Nigh unstoppable seems a better description.'

'And what about her? You aren't concerned about her having a relationship with me?'

'Not at all. You're a wonderful man, Marty. Not to mention, having her around might introduce a little… discipline to your practices.'

Deeks laughed. 'I'm going to leave before you start insulting me further. Bye, Hetty.'

'Good luck, Mr Deeks. And remember, I want to see her.'

Deeks waved over his shoulder as he walked out the door. 'I'll do that.'

::

'Hetty lied to you?' the little girl asked Deeks, hugging a fluffy purple pillow pet.

'She did it to protect Kensi,' Deeks soothed, running an affectionate hand over the little girl's hair.

'Oh, good,' she said.

'Keep going with the story, Marty,' Sam's son encouraged. 'Are you going to find Kensi soon?'

'Yeah, Deeks,' Kensi chuckled. 'Are you gonna find me soon?'

'Of course,' Deeks said easily. 'I always find you, Princess.'

'Aw,' Sam's daughter cooed.

'Yuck,' his son added.

::

'What have you got for me on Eric Beale, Nell?' Deeks asked, walking into the office and hanging his overcoat and worn fedora up.

'Beale?' Nell asked, surprised. 'You think Blye is with Beale?'

'According to Hetty, that's where she's most likely hiding,' Deeks said.

'Really?' Nell asked. 'Are you sure? I mean, Hanna is an ex-military man. Isn't it most likely that she'd be with one of them?'

'And this is what separates me from your average private investigator,' Deeks said brightly. 'I immerse myself in my subject's culture, their thoughts, their identity.'

'Are you telling me that you can think like Blye can, and therefore can know where she is?' Nell asked.

'No. I'm telling you that Hetty told me that Blye and I think alike. And I won't repeat what else she said.'

Nell laughed delightedly. 'She tried to set you up with Blye?'

'I said I wasn't going to repeat it,' Deeks said. 'Beale, Nell.'

'Eric Beale. Here's his address – other than that, I couldn't find much on him.'

'Childhood friend of Blye and Callen, according to Hetty who admitted to knowing Blye, Beale and Callen back in the day,' Deeks said. 'I'll go pay Beale a visit.'

Nell brightened. 'Can I come?'

Deeks hesitated. 'I don't know, Nell… It could be dangerous.'

'Visiting Hanna could be dangerous, Marty. Beale? All I've found is that he works in an office in town,' Nell said.

Deeks sighed. 'Alright. You can come.'

'Thank you!' Nell said cheerfully, gathering up her hat, coat and bag.

'But you've got to promise that you'll let me do the talking,' Deeks said to her.

Nell nodded eagerly. 'Yup.'

'You promise, Nell?'

'I promise.'

Deeks collected his Beretta from the desk drawer.

'Gosh! You really think you'll need it?' Nell asked, wide-eyed.

'Hetty told me that she's dangerous,' Deeks said. 'Come on.'

::

'Maybe he's at work,' Nell suggested as they strode towards Beale's apartment door.

'It's six o'clock, Nell,' Deeks said, checking his wristwatch. 'He should be home by now.' He rapped on the door.

After a few moments, it swung open to reveal a harassed looking blond man in a rumpled navy blue suit. He gaped at the two in front of him before squeaking, 'Can I help you?'

'Hi, yes, Eric Beale?' Deeks asked, much more confidently than Beale.

'Yes,' he replied, his tone returning to a normal pitch.

'I'm a private detective, Marty Deeks,' Deeks said, offering the other man his hand to shake. 'And my assistant, Nell Jones.'

'Hi,' Nell said breathily, and Deeks noticed that she was looking rather flushed – or was she blushing? The two shook hands, and Beale looked even more terrified than before.

'We're looking for Kensi Blye,' Deeks said.

'She's-not-here,' Eric said, almost so quickly that they couldn't understand him, and tried to close the door. Deeks' foot in the gap stopped that plan.

'We know that she's here,' Deeks said.

It didn't stop Eric from trying to close the door. 'Look, she's not here, she went somewhere this morning and she's not here now and you can tell Granger or Callen or whoever you're working for that-'

'We're working for Hetty,' Nell interrupted him.

Deeks glared at her – she had promised.

'Hetty?' Eric asked, surprised.

'You know Hetty, don't you?' Deeks took over. 'She said that you and Kensi were friends when you were kids.'

Eric looked around twitchily before opening the door further. 'You'd better come in.'

'So she was here?' Deeks said after Eric had closed the door.

'Yes,' Eric sighed. 'She's been here for days. But yesterday morning someone came to visit her, someone from the old neighbourhood that we grew up in, and she said that she was going out today and that she'd be back sometime tonight.'

'So should we stay here?' Nell asked Deeks.

'No,' Deeks said, much to Eric's relief. 'If we stay here, she'll never come back, and we need to keep our options open. Do you know why she didn't go to Hetty for help?'

'No,' Eric said, shaking his head. 'I asked her, and she just said that it wasn't safe enough for her to go to Hetty yet.'

'Yet. That suggests that she's going to go to Hetty when this all calms down,' Deeks sighed, nodding. 'Good. Going to Hetty is the best thing that she can do.'

Eric paused. 'How do you know Hetty?'

Deeks gave him a cryptic, 'Hetty knows everyone. Look, if Blye comes back here, just tell her that Hetty's worried about her and wants her to contact her ASAP.'

'Of course,' Eric agreed.

'And if she calls or something, let me know,' Deeks said, handing over a card with his name, address and phone number.

'Yeah, sure,' Eric said, nodding eagerly.

'Thanks,' Deeks said before leaving, Nell at his side.

'So what do you think?' Nell asked him.

'I think Beale cares a lot for her and wants to protect her, in his own way,' Deeks said, nodding. 'I think he'll do the right thing.'

They stepped out into the street.

'So, back to the office?' Nell asked.

'Yeah,' Deeks agreed. 'Back to the office… Actually, you can go back,' he said, tossing her the keys. 'I've got a source down here I want to check with.'

Nell eyed the keys in her hand warily. 'Alright. How are you gonna get back?'

'I'll cab it,' Deeks sighed. 'Be careful on the roads, Nell.'

'I should be telling you to be careful,' Nell sighed, shaking her head. 'Bye.'

'Bye.' He watched her get into the car and drive off before turning on his heel and striding off, only to hear his name being called.

'Deeks!' someone was bellowing. 'Deeks, help!'

Deeks spun to see Beale being dragged out of his apartment by two goons.

'Hey!' Deeks yelled, running towards them, drawing his weapon. 'Let him go!'

A third good must have materialised behind him, because the next thing Deeks knew, he'd been conked on the back of the head and had dropped his gun.

Deeks spun and threw a right hook into the man's gut. The man struck out with the knife that was in his hand, and managed to put a shallow cut in Deeks' side. Deeks let out a shout of pain and punched him in the nose, which was rewarded by a stab to the upper arm. Deeks groaned and punched him in the gut again. The man grunted and tried to retaliate, but Deeks simply kicked him in the shin before kneeing him firmly in the groin – simple, with little finesse, but it was cruelly effective. The man went down, and Deeks turned his attention to the other two with Beale.

Beale would have been doing a pretty good job of protecting himself if it had been one-on-one, but unfortunately, he was outnumbered – something that Deeks was looking to fix.

'Hey!' he yelled, attracting the attention of one of the goons – that was all he needed. He slammed his left fist into the man's jaw and almost cursed – the man had a hard head. Prob'ly a thick one too, he mused to himself. The other man did curse, and went to tackle him, but Deeks managed to step out of the way – right into the man that he thought he'd taken down. Deeks took a hard slug the cheek and a shallow stab to the chest – should've disarmed him, Deeks mused - and stumbled back into the man that had previously been occupied with Beale, who was now unconscious on the ground.

A kick to the groin and an effective slam to the back of the head finally knocked out the first man that he'd tackled, taking a moment to kick the knife out of the way and he returned his attention to the other two. Between the two of them, he was on the ground pretty quickly, and was admitting, in his own head, defeat. He was practically waving a white flag, but the two men weren't stopping.

Until they did. And the last thing Deeks saw before he passed out completely was a pair of feet clad in strappy black stiletto heels as one of the two remaining men hit the ground bleeding from the mouth.

::

'Oh no!' Sam's daughter squealed as Deeks paused to get a drink of water. 'You can't leave it there.'

'I'm not,' Deeks protested, coming back into the room with a glass of water. 'I'm getting there.'

'So, you're unconscious, Eric's unconscious, it's seeming pretty hopeless for you,' Kensi said, giving him a grin.

'Except someone's saved them,' the young boy said. 'There was a woman – wasn't there?'

'Good memory – there was a woman there,' Deeks chuckled.

'Keep going with the story,' the little girl lisped.

::

Deeks blinked, eyes sensitive to the unexpectedly bright light as he slowly regained consciousness.

'About time you woke up,' a soft, musical, decidedly female voice said. Deeks liked it. It sounded sensible, and like it wasn't trying to kill him.

'If you just got beat up by three goons, you'd be pretty reluctant to come back to reality too,' Deeks quipped, still squinting against the light. He tried to sit up, but a firm hand on his shoulder pushed him back down.

'Take it easy,' the voice said. 'You did just get worked over pretty bad.'

Deeks wiped his nose with the back of his hand and examined the blood that came away with disgust. 'I do apologise. I usually look a lot better than this.'

'I know. I've been following you ever since word got out that you had been hired by Callen to find me.'

Deeks, at that, sat upright and stared at his saviour. 'Miss Blye.'

The right corner of her mouth twitched in a smile. 'Detective Deeks. I do have to admit, I'm surprised to went to Eric so soon. I thought that I would have at least two more days to stay with him before going to Sam after you'd already harassed them.'

Deeks chuckled. Obviously Hetty had told him more about her than her about him. 'You did what I'd do – choose the least obvious option.'

Kensi approached him with a basin of water and a rag of cloth and perched on the edge of whatever he was lying on. Upon closer observation, he found that he was lying on a couch in an unfamiliar room.

'We're in Eric's apartment. I tied Callen's men up in the basement, but when they don't check in, we're gonna have more men coming down on us. We'll have to move soon.'

Deeks nodded. 'How is Mr Beale?'

'Alive,' Kensi said with a laugh. 'He made sure to confirm that with me when he woke up. He's always had a flair for over-exaggerating.' She helped to prop him up against a pile of pillows before beginning to remove his suit jacket.

'Wasn't I wearing an overcoat?' Deeks mused aloud.

'Yes,' Kensi said, nodding to his trench coat, draped over the back of a chair. 'And I know this is completely overstepping the bounds of proper-ness, and Hetty would probably be shocked at me right now, taking off a man's clothes, but I've got to clean up those stab wounds.'

'I'm alright,' Deeks tried to protest, but was silenced by a hard jab to a bruise on his upper arm.

'No, you're not, so let me take care of you,' Kensi ordered.

Deeks was quiet for a moment before saying, 'Speaking of Hetty, she wants to see you.'

'I want to see her too,' Kensi sighed, nodding. She peeled the blood-soaked shirt from his body, wincing at the cuts on his skin. 'It's a good thing these aren't too deep, or I'd be forced to call an ambulance.'

'Oh, no,' Deeks said, shaking his head. 'No hospitals.'

'I completely agree,' Kensi said, nodding before dampening the cloth in the warm water and carefully dabbing at the lowest wound on his right side.

'Who would do this?' Deeks wondered aloud.

Kensi snorted, a very unladylike sound. 'And you call yourself a detective.'

'Oh, and you know?' Deeks asked.

'Yup. It was Callen,' Kensi said, matter-of-fact about the matter.

'Callen – but Callen hired me,' Deeks said. 'Why would he want me dead?'

'He didn't,' Kensi said. 'Those men were after Eric. You simply got in the way.'

'So those were Callen's men? Huh.'

Kensi seemed absorbed in cleaning the ugly wounds in his torso, cleaning the blood away and taping gauze on the cuts that needed it.

'Oh, God, I should call Nell,' Deeks said, trying to get up.

Silently, Kensi pushed him back down and began to tend to his arm.

'And Hetty – they could both be in danger. The only way Callen would know to go after Eric is if his men were following me; they know where Hetty and Nell are too… Ow!'

Kensi stared up at him. 'Baby.'

'That hurt,' Deeks protested.

'Eric made less fuss than you,' Kensi said, rolling her eyes.

'Yeah, where is Eric, anyway?'

Kensi laughed. 'Unconscious, in the bedroom. He saw the blood on you and passed out after he helped me carry you in.'

'No wonder Eric didn't fuss. He wasn't conscious enough to fuss,' Deeks pointed out.

'Did you know that you talk a lot?'

'It's been pointed out before.'

'Maybe it's something that you should work on.'

'Maybe you should kiss me to shut me up.'

'Hey, I'm the one who saved you – maybe you should be kissing me.'

'Okay.' Deeks leaned forward.

Kensi immediately crimsoned as she realised what she'd said. 'I…'

Suddenly, there was a rap on the door.

Deeks watched her with an insolent grin as she moved away from him to answer the door, peeking through the peephole before opening it. She moved gracefully, sheer stockings covering her legs and feet, her strappy black heeled shoes having seemingly been kicked off at the entrance, her black overcoat draped over the back of an armchair, leaving her only in a short sleeved, low necked, velvety dark chocolate-brown gown that fell just past her knees. Her long dark hair had resisted curling, and fell straight down her back, while a delicate gold chain hung around her neck, the pendant hidden beneath the neck of her dress.

'Marty!' Nell was through the door and hugging him before he could think twice.

'I picked her up after Kensi called me,' Hetty said, stepping through the door.

'Ow,' he grunted, wincing against the pain of his injuries.

'I'm so sorry, Marty, what happened?' Nell asked, high pitched.

'Callen's men went after Eric,' Deeks grunted. 'I tried to stop them.'

'You succeeded in stopping them,' Kensi corrected him.

'For about two minutes, and then you had to help out,' Deeks grumbled.

'Oh, poor baby, you got beat up by the big boys,' Kensi teased, returning to tending his arm, wiping away the blood that had tricked down his arm and quickly taping the gauze in place.

Deeks sent a wounded look her way.

'Are you seriously pouting?' Kensi asked, fighting the urge to laugh at him.

'You're mocking me,' he groused.

'You're sulking – you're asking me to mock you.'

'Mocker.'

'Sulker.'

'Mocker.'

'Sulker.'

'Oh, be quiet, both of you. Where have you been, Kensi?' Hetty asked.

'Here and there,' Kensi said. 'I've been trying to not stay in the same place too long. Helpful when Deeks here moves around a lot.'

'You've been following him?' Hetty asked.

'Of course I have, Hetty. He's not gonna look where he's already been – well, except when he went back to you. I wasn't expecting that.'

'Mr Deeks has always had a penchant for doing the unexpected,' Hetty said, going to the kitchen. 'Where is Eric?'

'Last time I checked, he was passed out on the bed,' Kensi said, nodding to the bedroom.

'I'll check on him,' Nell volunteered quickly, and hurried into the bedroom.

Kensi finished cleaning the wounds on Deeks' chest and turned her attention to his face.

'So, you've finished examining my extraordinary physique and now you've moved onto my chiselled jaw and rugged features?' Deeks quipped.

'Sh,' Kensi hissed at him before swiping a little roughly at a cut above his eyebrow.

'Ow,' Deeks whined, drawing away from her.

'Oh, deal with it, Shaggy,' Kensi sniped.

'Shaggy?! You're calling me "Shaggy"?' Deeks asked. 'Why?'

'Because you are. You're like the dog I had when I was ten. I called him Shaggy too.'

Hetty laughed as she walked back in, holding two cups of tea. 'That's exactly what I thought when I first met Mr Deeks too. And that first impression of him holds.' She handed him a cup of tea.

'I'm not sure if that's a good thing,' Deeks said, sniffing at the tea uncertainly. In a whisper, he said to Kensi, 'I don't s'pose you've got anything stronger?'

'Sure,' Kensi said, getting up and going into the kitchen, digging around in a cabinet before surfacing, triumphant, with a bottle half full of whiskey. 'Here.' She got two tumblers out of a cupboard and put all three items on the coffee table, where Deeks deposited his now empty tea cup.

'Hetty's right, tea does make you feel better,' Deeks said, taking a tumbler with amber liquid sliding around the bottom, 'Just not as much as whiskey.'

'Agreed.' Kensi tapped her glass against his and they both took a sip before wincing at the strength of the alcohol. 'So, how much do you know?'

'Callen hired me… yesterday,' Deeks said after checking his watch. 'I went straight to Hetty who set me straight on why Callen really was going after you.'

'You mean this?' Kensi asked, tugging on her necklace to reveal that the pendant was, in fact, the famed ring. 'God, I should've sold it years ago. All it's done is bring me trouble. It's stupid, but the only reason I hold onto it is because it was my mom's.'

'That's not stupid at all,' Deeks assured her, tossing back the last of his drink. 'So, I've got a dilemma.'

'Oh, of course you two would switch to alcohol as soon as my back was turned,' Hetty sighed, returning from Eric's bedroom. 'Alright, where're the glasses?'

'In the cupboard,' Kensi said, nodding.

Hetty got one out and returned, pouring herself a generous slug. 'At least I instilled the virtues of having a decent drop around in Mr Beale.'

'Who is…?' Kensi prompted.

'As healthy as can be expected. He's resting now, with Miss Jones as a capable and willing nurse.'

'Very willing,' Deeks snorted.

'Yes,' Hetty agreed with a small smile. 'Now, what have you done to yourself, Mr Deeks?'

'Just a few cuts, a few punches,' Deeks said airily.

Kensi snorted. 'More like he was stabbed, punched and then knocked out, at which point I had to step in and help out.'

'And you managed to do that without getting a scratch on you… you must teach me how to do that when I'm less beat-up,' Deeks quipped.

'Maybe not,' Kensi said, idly playing with her necklace. 'Are you a young, pretty female?'

Deeks thought about this for a moment. 'Hmmm.'

'Well, two out of three ain't bad,' Kensi laughed. 'It might work if your attackers are female.'

'You think I'm pretty?' Deeks asked, fluttering his eyelashes at her.

'You did notice me looking,' Kensi said, allowing her eyes to slowly trail up his bare frame.

'Oh, for goodness' sake,' Hetty sighed. 'I did not come here only to be a third wheel. I think we all need some sleep and then we'll sort out what we're going to do tomorrow.' She drank the last of her drink. 'I'll find some blankets.'

'You should take the couch,' Kensi said, taking the tumblers to the kitchen and dumping them in the sink.

'I can take the floor,' Deeks said.

'Over my dead body,' Hetty said, returning with arms full of blankets. 'All we need is for you to get a bad back as well as being beaten up. You'll be staying right there, mister.' She draped a blanket over him.

'I'm happy enough here,' Kensi said, sprawling on the floor beside him.

'Maybe you should move over a little,' Deeks said, motioning with his hands. 'Just in case I fall off. Despite popular notions, I'm not actually that accustomed to sleeping on couches.'

Kensi laughed and obligingly scooted over a few feet. 'Anything else?'

'A kiss goodnight?' Deeks proposed with a grin.

He received a pillow to the face.

::

'Wow. Kensi saved you, Deeks?' Sam's son asked.

'Kensi does that an awful lot,' Deeks admitted. 'A lot of the time, these days, the princess saves the knight, rather than the other way around.'

'Kensi saves you, Marty?' the little girl, who Deeks thought really would be asleep by now, asked.

'All the time. Kensi is awesome,' Deeks told her from his perch on the bed beside her, where he'd migrated in an effort to try and soothe her to sleep, not knowing how much longer his creative juices would flow for.

'Wow,' the boy said, as if this was a huge revelation to him.

'Keep going, Marty,' the girl urged, snuggling up against him.

'Yeah, Deeks,' Kensi said with a smile. 'Keep going. It's us you're talking about here – things are going much too smoothly.'

'You know us too well, Kens.' With a small grin, he continued.

::

Loud yells startled Kensi from her shallow sleep, and she felt herself being wrenched upwards into a seated position.

'Come on, get up, quick,' Deeks urged, smoothing her hair out of her face. 'We've got to get moving, they're outside.'

He was putting on the clean clothes that Nell had brought him while rousing the others in the house.

'What about the others?' Kensi asked hurriedly, putting her shoes on.

'We've got to get them up too,' Deeks urged, but was too late – the door was kicked in, loudly.

Deeks swore, just as loudly, and pulled his Beretta and fired at the first of them. He went down, followed by the second who met with a bullet from Deeks' gun.

'Down!' he yelled as he spotted a Glock in the hands of the next man through the door, and the two dove behind the couch.

'Damn it,' Kensi said, doing some cussing of her own.

'That's not very ladylike,' Deeks mock-scolded, before gaping as Kensi pulled out her own Sig Sauer.

'And neither is this, I know,' Kensi said, checking her magazine before sticking her head up and firing a few shots off.

'Where the hell was that?' Deeks asked, running his eyes over her lithe form.

Kensi gave him a look from beneath half-lidded eyes. 'Wouldn't you like to know?'

He gave a grunt before adding his own bullets to the fray. 'I could have such fun searching for it, you know.'

'Maybe one day I might let you.'

'Can you flirt later?!' Nell screamed from the doorway of the bedroom, from which Hetty was adding bullets from her own weapon.

'There's just a mile of these guys, isn't there?' Deeks asked, just before a couple of the guys jumped over the sofa to confront them.

A high-pitched scream sounded from the bedroom.

'Nell!' Deeks yelled before turning back to Kensi who seemed occupied with the two men.

'Go!' she called. 'I got this.' And she proved this by knocking the two men's heads together.

Deeks scrambled over the sofa, firing as he went to distract the men going for Kensi before tackling the man that was about to hit Nell.

'No you don't!' he yelled, driving the butt of his pistol into the man's spine. The man promptly collapsed beneath him, and Deeks joined Hetty in firing on the oncoming horde of men.

There was a scuffle from behind the sofa, and Deeks realised that Kensi must be out of bullets.

The flow of men stopped, and Deeks' heart stopped when he realised that a man had Kensi at gunpoint.

He ran forward, only to stop still at the sight before him.

Kensi sat, her back to the sofa, weapon raised and pointing at the man who in turn had his own weapon trained on her. Kensi pulled the trigger, only to be met with a hollow click.

Deeks knew that pulling his trigger would result in a similar click, and instead froze.

The man reached forward, and Deeks' skin crawled when he dipped his fingers into Kensi's cleavage and brought out the ring, gleaming in the dull light of the room, bringing everyone's eyes to it. He gave Kensi a toothy grin before plucking it from her, breaking her chain.

'Callen says hi, honey,' he said before getting up, and those of his cronies that were alive followed him out.

'Damn it,' Kensi whispered, empty weapon still raised.

'Kensi,' Deeks murmured, creeping forward towards her.

She was seemingly frozen in place, and Deeks carefully put a hand on her weapon, pushing it down to lower it. Her grip loosened, and allowed him to take it away. Only then did she break, lowering her head as a single tear dripped down her cheek.

Deeks wiped it away before reaching out and gently squeezing her shoulder, which was all it took. She pulled away abruptly, stepping over a body. ''s only a ring,' she muttered, stalking away. 'Sorry about your place, Eric.'

'It's okay,' Eric said automatically.

'We shouldn't have stayed here so long,' Hetty muttered, stepping over bodies. 'We knew that Callen had men following Mr Deeks.'

'We should go,' Deeks said, grunting as he moved in a way that his wounded body disagreed with.

'Why?' Eric asked. 'They've got what they wanted.'

'Eric. Your apartment is filled with dead bodies that, at best, we can plead "self-defence" for killing,' Deeks said.

'It's unlikely that the police are on their way,' Kensi said, clearing her pistol and putting it away in a thigh holster. 'One, they never do anything in this neighbourhood and it's about time you moved, Eric, and two, half the police are under Callen's thumb, anyway, and they'd just cover it up rather than admit that Callen sent these men after me for the ring. But we should go somewhere else, only if to stay out of Callen's way.'

'Why would Callen come back here?' Nell asked nervously.

'To collect the bodies,' Kensi said, stony-faced. 'Despite being a terrible human being, Callen will still honour his men by giving them decent burials. And that's more than anything any of us will get if he gets his hands on us, so we should move, now.'

'She's right,' Deeks said, looking at himself. 'Clothes, clothes, I need clothes.'

'Oh, right, I grabbed your bag from the office before I left with Hetty,' Nell said, bringing it out.

'Thanks,' Deeks said, taking it and searching for a clean shirt, putting it on. He winced. 'Damn that stings.'

'Where should we go?' Eric asked.

'Hetty's bar?' Nell asked.

'No,' Hetty said, shaking her head.

'Callen knows that Hetty's involved now. Callen knows Hetty, and he knows her places. It's not safe,' Kensi sighed.

'Do you know anywhere that Callen doesn't know?' Hetty asked.

Kensi thought for a moment. 'He doesn't know Sam.'

'Yes, but Sam has a family, and his home is small. He wouldn't be able to help us.'

'Then I'm out,' Kensi said, shaking her head.

'I know a guy,' Deeks said.

'Will he help?' Hetty asked.

'He's an ex-cop that was destroyed by Callen. Callen had one of his corrupt cops tamper with evidence and he was suspected of tampering instead. At this point, there was a huge crackdown on "corrupt" cops, ironically done by the corrupt cops and he went under investigation. Because he was trying to come down on Callen, they ruined his reputation and suspended him. Instead of putting up with the crap that they were piling on him, he just turned tail and quit. Name's Mike Renko – he never actually had to work, he's inherited millions from his father, so he's got a huge place with plenty of security. He'll be positively gleeful at the thought of doing something that goes against Callen.'

Kensi nodded. 'Sounds like a good place to go.'

Deeks put on his tattered suit jacket with a regretful sigh, and covered it up with a not-too-worse-for-wear trench coat. He tugged at a cut in the fabric and made a face. 'I'm gonna need a new one of these.'

'It'll do for now,' Hetty said, patting his elbow. 'Everyone gather up your things. We've got a place to go to.'

Deeks snatched up Eric's phone and dialled the number.

'Hello?' a sleepy voice said.

'Mike, man, we need a place to hide,' Deeks said hurried.

'Marty, do you know what time it is?' Mike began to hound him.

'According to Callen, it was a good time to crash into the apartment we're hiding in and try and take us out,' Deeks told him.

'Damn,' Mike cursed. 'You need a place to hang out?'

'If you don't mind,' Deeks said. 'There's five of us.'

'Come right on over,' Mike said. 'I'll be waiting at the gate for you.'

'Thanks.' Deeks hung up. 'We're good. Let's get moving, people.'

Hetty was out the door, closely followed by Nell and Eric. Deeks touched Kensi's arm to keep her back a moment.

'Are you sure you're okay?' Deeks asked her quietly, taking his hand away.

'It's just a ring,' Kensi said, absently winding the broken chain around her finger.

'It was your mother's,' Deeks said.

'It doesn't matter. We're all alive, that's what matters.'

'Kensi, you're not telling me something,' Deeks said, leading her to the sofa and making her sit down.

'Two somethings, actually,' Kensi sighed. 'I feel so guilty getting all of you involved.'

'Hey, I was paid to find you… it's a good thing I insisted on half up front,' Deeks chuckled before sobering. 'And the other?'

'To get the money to save his business, Callen's gonna have to pawn the ring, and there's only one man who has the money to buy the ring,' Kensi said.

'Granger,' Deeks said, nodding. 'He will ask Callen where he got the ring from.'

'And Callen will have no qualms about telling him my family tree,' Kensi said, shaking her head.

'Either you've got to disappear, or we've got to get to Callen before he has a chance to sell to Granger.' Deeks swore under his breath before sending her a sideways glance beneath his eyelashes. 'Sorry.'

'I've heard worse,' she said airily. 'But thank you for trying to be a gentleman despite the circumstances.'

'We better get going.' Deeks got up and offered her his hand.

'Yup,' she agreed, taking it and pulling herself up.

Deeks picked up the bag that she had packed and gave the apartment one last look. 'Come on, then.'

::

'Didn't you say that Granger was Kensi's dad?' the little girl asked.

'He did,' Kensi said, sending Deeks a glare that Sam's daughter and son missed.

'Why doesn't Kensi want to see her dad?' she asked, resting her head against Deeks' shoulder and looking up at him with huge, dark, chocolate-y brown eyes.

'Because her dad is a bad man,' Deeks said.

Her eyes went wide. 'Bad like the men that you and Daddy catch?'

'Exactly like them,' Deeks said, running a hand over her curly hair.

'Is Kensi going to be friends with him?' she asked.

'Maybe. You see, all is not as it seems with Granger.'

'As is often the case,' Kensi muttered.

'Keep going, Marty,' the boy urged.

With a sigh and a glance at his watch, Deeks kept going.

::

The high gates of the fence going around Mike Renko's mansion opened slowly, revealing the man himself, clean shaven with slightly longer, dark hair that fell in his eyes.

'Marty,' he said warmly, waving the two cars in.

'Renko,' Deeks replied. 'How goes it?'

'Eh… pretty good, pretty good. Speaking of pretty,' Renko said, looking further into the car to peer at Kensi.

'Hey, leave the lady alone, Mikey,' Deeks scolded. 'She's had a hell of a night already, she doesn't need you adding to it.'

'Sorry, miss,' Renko apologised immediately.

'It's fine,' Kensi said, getting out of the car.

'Wow,' Nell said, looking around the huge grounds. 'This place is lovely.'

'Thank you. Mike Renko,' Renko introduced himself to her.

'Nell Jones, Eric Beale, Henrietta Lange, Kensi Blye, this is Mike Renko. We knew each other when I was on the force – he lasted a little longer than me,' Deeks admitted.

'Only because the boy here was smart enough to get out early,' Renko said, shaking his head ruefully. 'Come in, it's freezing out here.'

He led the way into the tastefully decorated vestibule, where bags were dropped and admiring whistles made.

'You've redecorated,' Deeks observed.

'Gee. You should be a detective, or something,' Renko said dryly.

'Very funny.' Deeks winced as he dumped his bag. 'Damn, that hurts.'

'What's happened to you now-? Say, Deeks, you do know that you're bleeding, right?' Renko asked.

Deeks pulled his jacket aside to reveal a growing bloodstain in his previously clean shirt. 'Damn,' he cursed before glancing at Hetty, Kensi and Nell. 'Sorry.'

'What've you done to yourself, Marty?' Renko asked, leading the way into the sitting room, where he pushed Marty down into an armchair before retrieving a first aid kit from elsewhere in the house.

'Got into a fight with a guy with a knife,' Marty grunted.

'Let me guess. He won,' Renko said.

'He won against me,' Deeks admitted. 'Thankfully, he lost against Kensi.'

Renko cast a look over Kensi's body, more analytical rather than lecherous. 'I'll believe that when I see it.'

'How are you, Eric?' Deeks asked the younger man. 'I haven't even really seen you since the attack.'

'I'm okay,' Eric said. 'My head hurts, but that's really the worst bit.'

'That's because you took a hit to the head and then went down,' Kensi laughed. 'Deeks hasn't such a soft head and they had to work him over a bit before he went down.'

'You mean you were watching the entire time?' Eric asked, dismayed. 'You could've helped, you know.'

'And get myself beaten up as well?' Kensi asked. 'No, thank you. I was following Deeks, remember? I followed him to your place and he left, so I thought I was safe to go in when I saw Callen's men and you.'

Deeks grunted and unbuttoned his shirt. 'I'm gonna need a new one of these.'

'I can lend you one,' Renko said, disappearing.

Kensi watched as Deeks tugged at the blood-soaked gauze on his torso before groaning and swatting his hands away.

'You're hopeless at everything,' she said to him, shaking her head.

'You haven't known me nearly long enough to make that judgement,' Deeks said with a frown before wincing and hissing as the gauze pulled a little on the wound.

'I've been following you around for two days,' Kensi said.

'Still don't think you know me,' Deeks said lightly, watching with morbid interest as she wiped blood away with an antiseptic wipe.

Kensi turned to Renko, who deposited the clean shirt on the chair next to Deeks. 'You got any superglue?'

'Yeah, in the shed. You gonna glue my boy back together again?' he asked with a smirk before disappearing.

'Actually, yes.'

'What?' Nell asked in a high-pitched tone.

'I can't stitch him, we don't have the proper equipment, but we need to do something to keep this together. I was wrong in my initial judgment that this wouldn't need stitches.'

'Are you actually qualified to be putting me back together?' Deeks asked, and he seemed to be growing faint at the thought of being stitched.

'I was a nurse in the war. How much more qualified do you want me?' she asked.

Deeks looked her up and down for a moment, trying to imagine her on the front, putting damaged soldiers back together again in those hellish, unsanitary little hospital tents. If you replaced the elegant clothes with the simple, functional nursing uniform, she fit in worryingly well.

'Well, we've got an ex-war-nurse putting back together an ex-soldier. Fitting,' Renko said lightly, putting the glue in her hand.

'You were a soldier?' Kensi asked Deeks.

'Yeah,' Deeks muttered, keeping his eyes on the window above her head.

'Lie back,' Kensi said, pushing his shoulder down. She looked over her shoulder at Nell and Eric. 'You may not want to watch this. Hetty, I'll need a hand.'

'Of course.' Hetty rolled up her sleeves and looked at Renko. 'Mr Renko, is there a place where Miss Jones and Mr Beale can get some sleep?'

'Sure,' Renko drawled before leading the two out of the room.

'Ready?' Kensi asked him quickly.

Deeks simply sent her a look which clearly said 'Really? How can one be ready for this?'

'Touché,' she muttered before liberally applying the glue and carefully but quickly closing the wound. 'Done.'

Deeks wiped away a tear that had formed in the corner of his eye. 'Thanks.'

'Do the others wounds need it?' Renko asked, sending a glance over Deeks' bare torso.

'No,' Kensi said, taping gauze over the last wound. 'You probably should try to avoid aggravating it.'

'I'll try, but I make no promises that you'll not see me again,' Deeks said, just as seriously.

'Do you say that to all the nurses?' Kensi asked with a small smile.

'Just you pretty ones,' Deeks said, winking at her.

She rolled her eyes. 'Come on.' She leaned down and gave him her hand, which he used to pull himself up with.

'I think I'll go get some sleep myself,' Hetty said, wiping her hands on her pants.

'Okay… up the stairs, first room on the right,' Renko said.

'Thank you.' Hetty disappeared up the stairs.

'You got any pain killers?' Deeks asked Renko.

'Yeah, in here.' Renko led Deeks into the kitchen, where he handed him a glass of water and a pill. 'So what's your girl's deal?'

'You know Owen Granger?'

Renko nodded. 'Yeah. I stay out of his way.'

'And that's probably the smartest thing you could do. You remember what happened to Granger's wife?'

'Disappeared, didn't she?'

'Actually, she went into hiding,' Deeks said. 'I'm swearing you to secrecy, by the way.'

'My lips are sealed. So, what's Blye's relationship to Granger?'

'Granger is her father. Her mother ran off after she found out that she was pregnant.'

'Damn,' Renko said, shaking his head.

Deeks swallowed the pill. 'That's not all. You know G Callen?'

'I also stay out of his way,' Renko said with a sigh.

'He, Beale and Blye were childhood friends.'

'Childhood? Callen's almost forty, while Blye can't be more than thirty.'

'Thirty-eight,' said a quiet voice from behind them. 'He was thirty-eight last month.'

Both men turned around to see Kensi in the doorway.

'He was eight years older than me, six years older than Eric. Can I have a coffee?'

'Sure,' Renko said, his face softening at the sight of the young woman. He turned and began to make preparations.

'My mom had this ring. It had a giant ruby shaped like a rose on it.'

'The Ruby Rose. Yeah, I've heard of it,' Renko said, pouring water into a kettle.

'She gave it to me when I was eighteen, shortly before she died. Earlier tonight, Callen stole it from me, most likely in order to sell it to save his company. That means that Granger will find out that I exist, and I won't be safe.'

'Do you know what Callen is going to do with the ring? Who he's gonna sell it to?' Renko asked.

'Granger's the only one with the money to buy the thing,' Deeks said, shaking his head. 'And to save his worthless hide because he lied to Granger, he'll sell Kensi out before you can say cha-ching.'

'Why didn't he just sell the information to Granger?' Renko asked.

'Would you believe it without proof?' Deeks asked.

Renko shook his head and quickly turned the stove off when the kettle whistled. 'I guess not. The ring's proof?'

'The ring's worth more than the information,' Kensi muttered.

'I wouldn't be completely sure about that, Kensi,' Deeks said softly. 'Family means a lot to Granger. The ring would probably pale in comparison with the fact that he may no longer be alone in the world.'

Renko pushed a warm mug into her hands and directed her to the kitchen table, where she sank into one of the finely carved chairs.

'So, he'll sell it tomorrow,' Renko said, taking two more mugs and setting them down on the table.

'After lunch, but before dinner. Never in any territory that's not neutral. Always got to be neutral territory, and each man is allowed one weapon in case of a police bust. Got to be careful of police officers – you've got to be careful of the honourable ones because you never know when they'll turn on you.' Deeks chanted this as if it were a prayer.

Renko and Kensi stared at him.

'Sorry,' he muttered, sheepishly glancing up from beneath his eyelashes. 'When I was a cop, I went undercover in his gang for a few months before getting "arrested" and disappearing. It gets drilled into you, his rules.'

'But that's good. We've got someone who's familiar with Granger's operation and someone who's familiar with Callen's operation,' Renko said.

'There's no way I'm getting back in with Granger's operation,' Deeks said, shaking his head.

'I'm not suggesting that. I'm just saying that we know something about what he's likely to do and what's about to go down,' Deeks said.

'No matter what happens, we're gonna need another gun hand,' Renko said.

'I know a guy,' Kensi said quietly.

'Hanna?' Deeks asked.

She nodded.

'I think he ought to be here,' Deeks said.

Kensi nodded. 'Can I use your phone?'

'Sure. In the hall,' Renko said, pointing.

'Thanks.' She put her coffee down and walked out.

'She's tough as nails, I'll give her that. Put you back together without blinking. A lesser woman would be unconscious on the floor,' Renko said, slurping coffee. 'And what she's been through – not many would have the guts to stay with it.'

'I was more likely to pass out than her,' Deeks said reflectively.

'You can't stand the thought of needles,' Renko said with a laugh.

'Please don't start,' Deeks said, going pale. 'I was just thankful that she didn't have the equipment to sew me up, or I would've passed out.'

Renko laughed. 'I still remember sitting in the hospital and watching as you and the nurse simultaneously passed out.'

'And I still haven't forgiven you for taking over the stitching,' Deeks said grumpily.

'Well, they were waiting for you wake up before they started again, although I told them all that would happen would be that you would pass out again,' Renko laughed.

'You screwed it up, dude,' Deeks said. 'Now I've got to wear this scruffy beard to cover up the bum job you did.'

'I only did one stitch,' Renko said defensively.

'And that was the one that has literally marked me for life. Not to mention, I woke up to the sight of your ugly mug.'

'At least you didn't pass out again.'

'I was close to it.'

There was a giggle from the doorway, and both turned to see Kensi leaning against the doorframe with a smile on her face.

'Are you two always like this?' she asked with another laugh. 'Like an old married couple.' She moved back to them and sat at the table, wrapping her hands around her mug.

'We've known each other for what feels like a long time,' Renko said. 'My man Marty here, he grows on you. Kind of like that shaggy thing he calls a beard.'

'I wondered why you wore that scraggly thing. It's not fashionable, you know,' Kensi said teasingly.

'I haven't got enough money to be fashionable.'

'Well, when I first saw you, I wondered if I'd been given wrong information, because you looked more like a homeless bum than a private detective, let alone a good one.'

'I tried being clean-shaven for a bit after the incident, but people kept asking questions and staring because of Michael's stitching job, so I grew the beard hoping to cover it up.'

She laughed softly before letting out a soft yawn and sipping at her coffee.

'What news from Hanna?' Deeks asked.

'He can be here in two hours,' she said, cutting off another yawn.

'Well, that's two hours sleep you can get,' Deeks said brightly, watching as she drained her coffee mug.

'I'm fine,' she muttered, staring at the dregs at the bottom of the mug. 'I'm happy to wait for Sam.'

'Kensi, we can tell that you're exhausted. And it's not like you're going to "miss" anything – I'm sending Deeks to bed too; if he doesn't get some rest soon, he's gonna pass out from a mixture of blood-loss and exhaustion.'

'Not arguing,' Deeks said, pushing his mug away. 'I'm assuming you're putting her in the blue room, and me in the room I'm always in.' He got up and offered his arm to her.

'You read my mind, Marty-boy,' Renko said. 'I'll wait for Hanna, and get you when he gets here.' He put his feet up on the table.

'Come on,' Deeks said, motioning to his arm. 'Don't leave me hanging.'

Kensi rolled her eyes at him, but humoured him. 'Seeing as you're the wounded hero and all,' she said dryly, linking her arm with his.

'This way.' Deeks waved to Renko, who winked back and watched them go.

'I'm really not that tired,' Kensi said as they ascended the stairs.

'You say that now, but you'll be out the moment your head hits the pillow,' Deeks said, leading the way to a blue door next to a small hall-table. 'Here's your room.'

Kensi gave him a small smile. 'Thanks, Deeks. Night.'

'Good night, Miss Blye.' Deeks watched her go into the room before heading for his own.

::

'Is Daddy going to be in the story soon?' Sam's daughter asked.

'Soon,' Deeks said.

'What about Kensi?' the boy asked.

'What about Kensi?' Deeks asked.

'If I had just had Mommy's ring stolen, I'd be really sad,' the girl said, curling up next to Deeks and laying her curly head on his shoulder.

Touched by a sudden paternal feeling, Deeks smiled at her before continuing his story.

::

'Marty-boy.' Deeks awoke to the sound of someone saying his name and the feel of a hand gripping his shoulder and shaking softly.

Deeks opened his eyes to find Mike staring down back at him. 'Talk about déjà vu,' he muttered, sitting up. 'Is Hanna here or something?'

'No, you've only been an hour, but…'

'But?' Deeks prompted, wide awake now.

'It's Blye. I think she's… sleepwalking.'

'Sleepwalking?' Deeks swung his legs around and planted his feet on the cold floorboards, immediately reaching for his pants and putting them on.

'She came downstairs, and she was fully dressed, so I figured that maybe she couldn't sleep and wanted to come down and keep me company, right? But she doesn't react when I say "hey" and when she finally looks at me, she weren't looking at me. She looked right through me. I've only seen that look once before, and that was when I was thirteen, and my auntie Janie sleepwalked into my room, this was a few years after the First World War, she was a nurse, you see, and she says in the weirdest voice "they shall not pass" and then walks out. The next morning I tell her what happens and she says she wasn't aware of it happening and that it was a miracle she didn't break her neck on the stairs.'

'Where is she?'

'I think my auntie Janie died a few years ago,' Renko said retrospectively.

'Not your aunt, Kensi!' Deeks snapped at him, buttoning his fly.

'Oh, sorry,' Renko said. 'She's downstairs, just sitting at the dinner table staring into space. She's still asleep, as far as I can tell.'

'Okay. I'll take care of her.' Deeks patted Renko's shoulder.

'I thought you would. I remember your mom used to.'

Deeks gave him a sad smile and left him sitting on the edge of the bed.

He padded barefoot down the stairs and found her sitting there, staring blankly at the entrance. She looked as fast asleep as one could without closing her eyes.

Slowly, Deeks pulled a chair up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, bare because of her dress-sleeve slipping down her arm. 'Blye,' he said gently, squeezing her cool shoulder.

She didn't look at him.

'Blye.' He squeezed a little harder and spoke a little louder.

Still no answer.

He knew that she had to be roused only slowly and gently, or she might go into shock or attack him or start screaming and wake the rest of the house up.

'Kensi.' He squeezed again, and this time she looked at him with comprehension and realisation.

'Detective Deeks?' she asked, looking around with a confused look.

'You're alright,' he murmured with one last squeeze and then letting her go. He left her for a moment to grab the crumbled ball of blanket that Renko had sitting on the couch next to a thick novel and came back with it, draping it around her bare shoulders.

'What am I doing here?' Kensi asked, blinking sleepily and drawing it closer.

Deeks went to the kitchen and got her a glass of water.

'You sleepwalked. Do you remember anything?' Deeks asked.

'No… I just remember getting into bed upstairs, and then… waking up here. I haven't sleepwalked for years,' she said, taking a sip of the water. 'Last time was… the night after my mom's funeral. Almost twelve years ago.'

'Well, as far as you know. You could've sleepwalked and no-one saw you.'

'Maybe.' She yawned widely. 'Were you awake?'

'No. Renko came and got me – he knew that my mom used to sleepwalk.'

'I'm sorry,' Kensi said sheepishly. 'You need rest, to try and heal a little.'

'I'm alright. I never sleep well in the midst of a case, and definitely not in the midst of one like this,' Deeks said. 'I was only getting fitful sleep.'

'I still feel bad.'

'Don't. If I'd slept any longer I'd have had a damn bad dream… sorry,' he muttered, realising his bad language.

'It's okay.' There was silence, and then Kensi's stomach let out a loud growl. She blushed and hugged her torso. 'Sorry.'

'It's been ages since either of us ate… The last decent thing I recall either of us put in our stomachs was the scotch at Eric's.'

'You should never drink on an empty stomach,' Renko said, appearing at the top of the staircase. 'At least, I don't. It gives me ulcers.'

'You never could hold your liquor,' Deeks said before getting up and going into the kitchen. 'What've you got to eat in here, Mike?'

'I dunno,' Renko said.

Deeks huffed a sigh before heading into the kitchen and beginning to list the items in the kitchen. 'Bread…' There was a pause, and then a muffled, 'Day old, it'll be alright for toast.'

'Do your detective skills tell you that?' Kensi asked teasingly, sounding a bit better than she had earlier.

'No. My brilliantly developed palate. Which is very sensitive to stale bread. Ugh. Some milk… Scratch the milk. It has to be a week old.'

'I knew yesterday when I went into the shop I meant to get something,' Renko said thoughtfully. 'I just forgot what it was.'

'A whole dozen of eggs.'

'Hey, those are new. I bought them yesterday morning from the little girl on the corner. She's got hens.'

'Aw. You got conned into buying eggs from the sweet little girl on the corner,' Deeks cooed. 'Butter. Tomatoes. Anyone for an early breakfast?'

'He cooks?' Kensi asked Renko.

'He's very domestic. I remember I came down with the flu once – he insisted on staying with me until it was over, made me soup and stuff every day.' Renko gave her a look that was highly ironic. 'He'll make a lovely wife someday.'

'Breakfast sounds good,' Kensi said as her stomach growled again.

'Scrambled eggs, tomatoes and toast it is,' Deeks decided from the kitchen.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the front door.

'I'll get it,' said Renko, taking a pistol out of a drawer.

Warily, he opened the door as far as the chain allowed it, and peered through.

'Someone call a gun hand?' Sam asked easily, duffel bag over one shoulder.

Renko glanced at Kensi, who nodded.

'Come in,' Renko said, opening the door wider and allowing the older man in.

'Sam Hanna,' Sam said, offering his hand.

'Michael Renko,' Renko said, shaking it.

'Kensi,' Sam said warmly before hugging the younger woman.

'Sam.' She buried her face in his coat for a second before taking it away and giving a small sigh. 'I'm in a little bit of trouble.'

'So you said. You didn't give specifics.'

'Couldn't over the phone.'

'Come into the kitchen,' Renko said, motioning. 'It's warmer in there.'

Sam followed Kensi and Renko into the kitchen, where they all stopped and stared at Deeks.

'What?' he asked.

'You're wearing an apron, Marty,' Renko said, stifling a laugh.

'A frilly, pink apron,' Kensi clarified.

Deeks looked down at himself. 'Personally, I was wondering why you had it in the first place.'

'The question still lingers as to why you're wearing it,' Kensi said with a small smile.

'My first set of clothing has holes in it from the stab-happy goon. The second is bloody from wounds caused by the stab-happy goon. I'd rather not get this lot dirty as well.'

Kensi laughed softly. 'Well, as first impressions go, this is interesting. Sam Hanna, this is Private Investigator Marty Deeks.'

'Hey,' Deeks said, shaking his hand.

'Hi,' Sam said bemusedly. 'Do you make a habit of wearing aprons?'

'Not generally, no. It gets in the way of the detecting.'

'Good to know. What's going on, Kens?' Sam asked.

'It's Callen,' she said, sitting down and motioning for him to do the same. 'You know his business is in decline?'

'Yes,' Sam said.

'Well, not anymore. Earlier tonight, Callen sent his goons after me and they took the Red Rose.'

'Damn.' Sam nodded as Deeks placed a plate of food in front of him.

'There're more eggs and bread there for the others,' Deeks said, taking the apron off and settling down next to Kensi.

'Start from the top.'

'I guess this starts with me,' Deeks said, and began his story, with the meeting with Callen in his messy office. He continued until he came to 'And then we all sat down here and began eating eggs.'

'Yeah, I think I'm familiar with that bit,' Sam said, his mouth twisting in a small smile. 'So you need a gun hand? When do we strike?'

'You don't mess around, do you?' Renko asked appreciatively, watching as Hetty stepped down the stairs, immaculately dressed in a dark blue power suit.

'Good morning,' she said, going into the kitchen.

'Hello, Hetty,' Sam said.

'It's good to see you again, Sam,' Hetty said, reappearing with a cup of tea in her hand.

'I don't have tea,' Renko said, frowning.

'I don't go anywhere without tea,' Hetty said. 'And it's a rather large oversight for you to not have tea, Mr Renko, and I advise that you remedy that.'

'Hetty, he went into a shop to buy milk and forgot that he wanted it,' Deeks said.

'Then he better remedy that too,' Hetty said simply, and sat down next to Sam. 'Have we a plan?'

'Well, we have a man who is familiar with Granger's operation, and a woman who is familiar with Callen's operation, so we have insider information on both,' Deeks said. 'We know that the meeting is probably going to take place after lunch, which is always served at 12 noon.'

'Callen's never met with Granger before this, because he never wanted to chance Granger seeing me… I look too much like my mother,' Kensi muttered.

'So Callen's plan will be to meet Granger at the soonest possible time,' Renko said, almost to himself.

'So we pounce on Callen before then?' Sam asked.

'Callen and the Ruby Rose will be heavily guarded until the deal,' Kensi said, shaking her head. 'It's the same before any deal.'

'What about when they're moving?' Deeks asked, looking at the map on which Callen's estate, Granger's estate and Renko's own mansion had been marked.

'It's unlikely,' Sam said this time. 'Have you ever tried ambushing someone in a car? It's not easy, especially when we'll be definitely outnumbered.'

'So not in transit.'

'Our only option, that is, if you want to get out alive, is to crash that meeting,' Deeks said decisively. 'There'll only be two people in the room – Callen and Granger, and they'll only be lightly armed. Callen wants Granger's money; he won't risk disobeying him for a little extra security.'

'Won't the meeting place be heavily guarded, though?' Sam asked.

'That's where my plan comes in,' Deeks said, eyes shining with devilry.

Kensi eyed him cautiously before giving him a small smile. 'I think I'm going to like this plan.'

::

'Are they gonna go find Uncle Callen and Kensi's dad?' the boy asked curiously.

'Of course,' Deeks said, grinning.

'They're not gonna hurt Uncle Callen, are they?' the little girl asked worriedly.

'Of course not,' Deeks assured her. He frowned at her. 'Shouldn't you be asleep by now?'

She shook her head excitedly. 'No. This story's too exciting.'

'Then I better end it soon,' Deeks muttered, exchanging a look with Kensi.

::

Kensi stepped out of her room impeccably dressed in the waitress' uniform of Granger's choice tavern for business, while Deeks stepped out of an adjacent room wearing the sharp suit of the bartender.

'I'm not gonna ask where Hetty got these,' Kensi said, looking down at herself with a perplexed expression.

'I will. Hetty, where did you get these?' Deeks asked the miniature woman who walked in with a satisfied smile.

'I have a friend,' she said vaguely. 'You two look like you'll fit in just fine… well… I would rather remedy Mr Deeks' hair, but we simply don't have time.'

Deeks held up a finger, as if to pause the conversation at the point. 'Give me two seconds.'

He disappeared into Renko's bathroom and reappeared a minute later with his hair gelled and slicked back.

Hetty looked at him with approval. 'Much better.'

'Renko's always got a ton of this stuff,' Deeks said, sniffing his hand and wrinkling his nose. 'Speaking of, where're Renko and Sam?' he asked.

'And Eric and Nell?' Kensi added.

'Coming. I got Mr Hanna and Mr Renko the clothing of Granger's guards, and they'll discretely infiltrate and disable Granger's guards,' Hetty said. 'Eric and Nell will be staying outside and will call a police friend of mine if it turns out that we're out of our league.'

'What about you, Hetty?' Deeks asked.

'You won't see me, but I'll be there,' she said calmly.

Kensi and Deeks exchanged a glance, but chose not to say anything.

'Is it likely that Mr Granger will recognise you, Mr Deeks?' Hetty asked.

'Not very,' Deeks said. 'I only saw him once, and it was briefly from a distance.'

'Did he see you?'

'If he did, I doubt he'd have remembered me,' Deeks said.

'We better hope so,' Kensi said.

'Keep out of Callen's sight for as long as you can,' Hetty told them. 'Both of you. Callen knows that you're working against him now, Deeks, and he paid you half upfront, and he doesn't like losing money. And Kensi, you're just more proof for Callen.'

'I know,' she muttered, taking the small pistol that Hetty handed her and making a face. 'This is a girl's gun.'

'I'm pretty sure you're a girl, sweetheart,' Deeks said dryly.

'Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I should use a girl's gun,' Kensi grumbled.

'It's as big as you can hide on your person,' Hetty said sternly.

Kensi sighed heavily and hitched up her skirt, revealing her thigh holster and a huge amount of leg.

At the sight, Deeks coughed and looked away after realising that he was ogling her, a blush rising up his neck.

'Oh, like you're such an angel,' she said to his back.

'I thought you'd appreciate the privacy,' he said to the wall.

'Well, I've re-covered myself, so will you turn back around so that we can get the plan sorted?' Kensi snapped at him.

'Yup.' He twirled and took the extra gun that Hetty handed him, pulling up his pant leg and putting it in his ankle holster.

'How many are you carrying?' Kensi asked.

'One in my waist holster, one at my ankle and a knife in my boot,' Deeks said, holding up the mentioned foot.

Kensi nodded. 'Good to know. So what's the plan for us?'

'There's a back room in the tavern,' Deeks said to the two women. 'Granger uses it for his business. Door locks from the inside, but that shouldn't be a problem.'

Kensi gave him a small smile. 'I saw you pick my lock.'

'And I can pick this one too. I've had to do it before and last I heard they hadn't changed the lock. The bar won't be too busy, and there aren't any windows in the room, so Granger and Callen won't see us coming until we're on them.'

'How will you know when Callen has the Ruby Rose?' Hetty asked.

'Granger's guards listen at the door all the time. If we can get Renko and Sam positioned there, we shouldn't have a problem.' Deeks nodded at the two men who appeared in the hall.

'So that's where you want us.' Sam nodded, straightening his jacket.

'Okay. We better go if we're to infiltrate without raising suspicion.' Renko nodded at Deeks before leading Sam out of the house.

'You'd better go, too,' Hetty said. 'The "shifts" that I have you filling in for start soon, and you'll have to be there soon.'

Deeks nodded. 'Let's go then.'

::

'Any sign of Callen or his men?' Deeks asked Kensi as she deposited an empty drinks tray on his bench.

'No, thank God,' she muttered, handing him an order for more drinks. 'You're good at that,' she remarked, watching him mix the drinks.

'Misspent youth,' Deeks said quickly, giving her a smile. 'Heads up. Those two are Granger's.'

'You recognise them?'

'Not them, but I recognise the uniform.'

'Good,' she murmured, taking the drinks and leaving him to deal with the two men.

'What can I get you?' Deeks asked easily.

'The backroom,' one said, sliding a fiver across the bar.

'Can do.' Deeks reached into the cash register and took out the key for the room, handing it over before sliding the cash into his pocket. 'Can I get you anything else?'

Granger appeared suddenly, almost as if he'd been hiding behind the two bulky men, making Deeks jump.

'Scotch, neat,' he ordered, giving Deeks the money for it.

Deeks gave him the drink and watched him sip it.

'You new here?' Granger asked.

Deeks nodded silently.

Granger silently appraised him. 'Alright. I'm gonna want a bottle of whiskey at two o'clock sharp in the backroom. Send it with a nice looking girl, yeah?'

'Yes sir,' Deeks said quietly, checking his wristwatch. It was almost two. Two must be Callen's appointment. Discreetly, he scratched at his temple with two fingers. Kensi coughed just loud enough for him to know that she'd gotten the message.

'Good man.' Granger finished his drink and slid the glass over to him. 'Thanks.'

He walked carelessly over to the backroom and went in, the door clicking shut behind him.

Kensi put her tray down behind the bar. 'Call me once Callen's gone in,' she muttered, not wanting to risk Callen seeing her.

'Let's just hope he doesn't look too carefully at me,' Deeks muttered.

A few minutes later, Sam and Renko strolled in, giving him a thoughtless glance, before positioning themselves at the entrance to the backroom.

And then Callen walked in.

Deeks immediately turned so that he appeared to be cleaning glasses and so that Callen couldn't identify him.

A soft throat clearing from Sam was his signal that he was clear, and he kicked three times at the bar, telling Kensi that it was clear for her to come out.

Sam and Renko were discreetly speaking to the few patrons, and they soon hurried out, taking the quiet warning that something was about to go down.

'Ready?' Deeks asked, giving her the tray with the whiskey and glasses.

'Ready as I'll ever be.' Kensi laughed bitterly. 'Ironic. This is the first time I'll have ever met my father.'

'Get ready to meet Daddy,' Deeks said dryly.

Kensi punched him in the arm. 'For God's sake, don't say that.'

'Ow.' Deeks rubbed the spot. 'Did anyone tell you that for a girl, you've got a hard punch?'

'Yeah. You.'

And with that, Kensi rapped on the door.

The lock turned. 'Come in,' Granger's voice said.

The door opened, and then closed.

And then:

A calm voice said, 'Kensi?'

Deeks, Renko and Sam exchanged a confused glance, which became utterly nonplussed when the door that they were pressed up again swung open.

'You may as well let your friends in, Kensi.'

Weapons drawn, the three men warily filed in.

Granger took the tray from Kensi and motioned to the four confounded people standing in the doorway. 'Come, sit with us.'

Callen was sitting at one end of the table, and Granger settled himself at the other end.

The four remained standing.

'Please, Kensi. Sit,' Granger said.

A frown wrinkling her brow, Kensi dropped into a chair next to Granger.

Narrowing his eyes at Callen, Deeks took the chair next to her and Sam and Renko settled opposite them.

'How do you know my name?' Kensi asked warily. 'Callen, did you…?'

'No, Kensi.' Callen sighed and looked at his hands. 'I promise you, this isn't what you think.'

Granger gave her a fond smile. 'I know who you are, Kensi.' He pushed a ring box across the table, into her hands. 'I believe this is rightfully yours.'

Suspiciously, Kensi pried it open to reveal the Ruby Rose. Swallowing, she picked it up and looked it over.

'Kensi.' A smile spread over Granger's face. 'I've waited so long to meet you. You look so much like your mother.'

'How do you know me?' Kensi asked, staring at him.

'Pretty simple. I'm your father, Kensi.'

Kensi's eyes widened. 'But-'

'I wasn't supposed to know? Your mother lied to you Kensi, for your own good. Don't be mad at her. We wanted this for you. We knew that this life would never be right for a young child – we'd seen the lives that other children had led in this lifestyle.'

'You… you knew Mom was pregnant?' Kensi asked slowly.

'I was the first one she told. I was so happy, until I realised she couldn't stay. It wasn't safe for her, and by extension, you.'

Deeks groaned in realisation.

'Deeks?' Kensi asked.

'No wonder no-one could find your mom. The best detectives in the city couldn't find her because you sent them all in the wrong directions, which is why she could stay so close to you – no-one was looking for her there. You hid her with Hetty.'

Granger nodded. 'I just wanted what was best for my baby girl. I've been watching you from afar, Kensi, and I'm so proud of what you've become.'

A single word dropped from Kensi's lips. 'Dad.'

'Kensi.' He reached over and took one of her hands in both of his. 'I'm so proud of you, baby girl, and I know your mom would have been too.'

Deeks shook his head in confusion. 'No, but what I don't get is your part in this little charade,' he said to Callen.

'Granger wanted Kensi to come to him. He knew that if he approached Kensi, she would run and hide,' Callen said.

'You may look like your mom, but you're me on the inside,' Granger laughed.

'So why hire me?' Deeks asked.

'I really truly couldn't find Kensi,' Callen said. 'Kensi ran away because she thought I was going to sell her out to Granger, because I'd entered "talks" with Granger. Granger recommended you because you knew his routines from when you were undercover.'

Deeks' eyes darted to Granger.

'I knew,' Granger confirmed. 'I didn't do anything because I knew you wouldn't get far. You're too good a man to have stuck with that game long enough.'

'So you did all this just to find me and bring me here,' Kensi said, eyes shining.

'You mother always played hard-to-get. I figured that you would too. I knew I would have to work to attract your attention.'

'But why now? I don't want a part of your business, Dad.'

'I know. I wouldn't wish this business on my worst enemy.' Granger snorted. 'Come to think of it, my worst enemy is in this business. I just wanted to meet you, properly, Kensi. I knew that your mother had died, and I know what it's like to be alone in the world. I don't want that for you.'

'I've been alone for a long time now, Dad. So why now?'

'I… I need someone to help me, Kensi.'

'I said it before-'

'You don't want a part of this. I know. I don't mean business decisions. I mean… I need someone to help me keep my humanity. You see the people around the city, they're all scared of me because without your mother, I got bitter and angry. The one thing I promised your mother I wouldn't do. I was never like this before she and you left.'

'But if I stay…'

'I'm not asking you to stay, Kensi,' Granger said. 'I'm aware that you have your own life, and I want to hear you sing, one of these days. I hear you're even better than your mother. I'm just asking you to stick around, come and visit me once in a while, and let me visit you. I just want you in my life, and I hope you let me in yours.'

Kensi sent Deeks a hesitant glance.

'Why are you looking at me?' Deeks asked her.

'I don't know what to do,' Kensi said.

'And you're asking me?'

She shrugged.

'You're looking at a guy who would do anything for a second chance with his pa,' Deeks drawled. 'Preferably a new pa, but you know.'

Kensi sought out Callen.

'Kensi, I'd do anything to find out who my dad is,' he said dryly.

'Kensi,' Granger murmured.

She met his eyes. 'I'd like that… Dad.'

::

'And?' the little girl asked.

'What do you mean, "and"?' Deeks asked. 'Isn't that a happy ending? Kensi's friends with her father now.'

'That was only a little bit of a happy ending,' she complained. 'What about the love story?'

'What love story?' Kensi laughed.

'The one between you and Deeks,' the boy said straightforwardly.

'That was a love story?' Kensi asked.

'Well, I didn't hear a love story between Eric and Nell,' the little girl said.

'Ironic,' Deeks muttered to himself.

'I want a happily ever after, Marty,' she said, pouting.

'Oh, all right. Kensi, please don't hit me.'

::

One Month Later

::

She sang slowly in a smooth, sultry voice. 'I fell for your jivin' and I took you in; now all you got to offer me's a fifth of gin – why don't you do right? Like some other men do… Why don't you do right? Like some other men do…'

Kensi smiled and swayed in time with the brass as the saxophone finished with a solo.

'Thank you,' she said, smiling at applauding audience before stepping down from the stage and smiling at Granger, who sat at a table at the very front of the room and had clapped the loudest. Next to him, Callen beamed.

'Beautiful, baby girl,' Granger said, hugging her close. 'You know, you were the spitting image of your mother up until you started singing. And then you reminded me of my mamma, the way she sang me to sleep every night.'

'Thanks, Dad.' She picked up her glass of wine and wound her way through the maze of tables, smiling at the appreciative people. She slid down into a seat at the back of the dim room and smiled at the worn grey fedora that had been tossed onto the table next to a glass of pricey whiskey.

'You know, you could sit with Dad,' Kensi pointed out, placing her glass on the table.

'I prefer to not draw attention to myself, which is exactly what would happen if I sat with your father,' Deeks laughed. 'Plus, I reckon the dim lighting is more flattering.'

Kensi laughed with him. 'I completely disagree.'

'Is that a compliment, Miss Blye?' Deeks asked, grinning.

'Perhaps, Deeks.'

'I can see what everyone's talking about,' he said, swirling his whiskey so that the ice cubes tinkled against the glass. 'Your voice is beautiful.' He looked her over in her deep wine red silk dress, high black heels and the famed Ruby Rose ring on her finger. 'In fact, the same could be said for the rest of you.'

She blushed and laughed. 'You're a charmer, Detective.'

'You're charming. And incredibly talented.'

'I've got a knack for singing, that's all.'

'I wasn't talking about that. You managed to not only hide from me for two days, but also follow me,' Deeks said, shaking his head ruefully. 'You're a natural born operator, Kensi.'

'Really?' she asked, tilting her head to one side.

'You don't know?'

'Well… I was good at hide and seek as a kid. I'd just hide near the seeker and then follow them around. It really frustrated them when they couldn't find me. People rarely think to look behind them. No-one ever wants to look at the past too closely.' She frowned at that, before taking a mouthful of wine.

Deeks also frowned at this sudden mood change, and decided to counter it, and stood up suddenly. 'Dance with me.'

The song was a smooth jazz instrumental, and Kensi looked up at him in surprise. 'You dance?'

'When I've got a beautiful woman to dance with,' he said. 'I believe you fit the bill.'

'The compliments are just flowing out of you, aren't they?' Kensi commented, but took his hand and allowed him to help her out of her seat.

'Your dad isn't gonna shoot me for dancing with you, is he?' Deeks asked nervously, sending a sideways glance at a staring Granger.

'Nah. If you cop a feel, probably.'

'Hands above deck, message received,' Deeks laughed, taking her hand and waist before twirling her under his arm and swaying in time with her.

She laughed with him, and winked at her father over his shoulder.

'I can't believe this,' she sighed happily.

'Dancing with a gorgeous detective? I agree, it's pretty unbelievable.'

'Shut up,' she laughed.

'You've got a father, you haven't lost your best friend, you've even gained a couple of new ones, and we all got out of this without damage,' Deeks said brightly.

'Damage?' she asked pointedly, poking him just above where she knew one of the mostly healed stab wounds resided on his torso.

'Ow,' he sighed. 'I meant permanent damage.'

He twirled her out before pulling her back in.

'Eric and Nell look like they're enjoying themselves,' she remarked, nodding to the bar.

'Yeah,' Deeks laughed. 'Nell was keen to come tonight, and I don't think it had much to do with Hetty's bar tending skills.'

Kensi laughed too. 'Did you ever find out where Hetty was, in Granger's bar?'

'Knowing Hetty, she was probably the fly on the wall,' Deeks said, grinning down at her before stopping and sighing. 'She's behind me, isn't she?'

Kensi peered behind him. 'Nope.'

'No?' Deeks asked in surprise.

'No, I'm in front of you, Mr Deeks.' And indeed, Hetty stepped out from behind Kensi.

'I always hated how you always managed to do that to me,' Kensi casually said, smiling down at her.

'I wasn't the fly on the wall, Marty,' Hetty told him. 'I was much safer than a fly on the wall.' And with that, she disappeared again.

'It's ridiculous the way she appears, makes an enigmatic remark that makes no sense and then disappears again,' Deeks said, shaking his head but taking her hand and waist again.

Kensi laughed. 'Hetty's awesome. Let's just leave it at that. What were we talking about before?'

'I was complimenting you on your sneaky skills,' Deeks said, smiling at her.

'Yes, you were… why?'

'Well… Nell is a great secretary, absurdly organised and smart, etcetera, etcetera, but she's no operator. That last case was the first and last time I'll ever let her come out into the field.'

Kensi laughed. 'I'd say that she's had more than enough excitement for a lifetime.'

'But it did make me realise that I do need a partner, in the field,' Deeks said.

'Are you making a proposition, Detective?' Kensi asked, stopping in the middle of the dance so that Deeks stumbled.

'Well, I… I think so.'

'You're asking me to be your partner,' Kensi said, wide eyed. 'Me.'

'Yes, you.'

'Me?'

'Kensi, we could do this all night. I am proposing that you come and work with me. Business has picked up, and while once upon a time I could've done this by myself, I don't want to anymore.'

'You want a partner.'

'A colleague, a workmate… yeah, I need a partner.'

'And you're proposing that I become that partner.'

'You could be a really great detective.'

'You think?'

'I know.'

She thought about it for a moment before sticking her hand out. 'Deal.'

He paused before taking it and shaking it. 'Deal. Partner.'

'Partner.'

He took her hand and waist again and began dancing again.

'So, what exactly does your partner do?' Kensi asked.

'Save my ass.'

'Oh, you mean like I did last week?'

'Exactly like that.'

'So I've already passed that test. Any others?'

'Well, if we went undercover we might have to pose as husband and wife…'

Deeks was silenced suddenly as Kensi pressed her lips to his and kissed him.

She drew away and stared challengingly at him.

'That was what you were going to say, wasn't it?' she asked.

'You passed,' he smiled, and she just had to kiss him again.

She smiled up at him after pulling away, and he resumed dancing with her, now to a man crooning "Blue Moon".

'Admit it. You've wanted to do that for a while now,' he said, smirking at her.

'About a month.'

'It's funny. You've known me about a month.'

'Uh huh.'

He bent his head and kissed her again. 'You do know that now I've started kissing you, I'm not going to be able to stop.'

'I don't want you to.'

Deeks bent to kiss her again, but was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He jumped when he realised that he was nose to nose with Granger.

'I… uh… this isn't… um…'

'Can I have this dance?' Granger asked.

'Sure.' Deeks gave Kensi a quick smile before stepping away like he'd been burnt. 'I'll be… over there.' He pointed vaguely before backing away to the bar.

'You look happy,' Granger muttered to his daughter.

Kensi laughed as Deeks backed into a waiter who was carrying a thankfully empty tray. 'He makes me happy.'

'Do you love him?'

'I don't know yet… but he's very easy to love.'

'I've had an eye on him ever since he was undercover in my business over ten years ago. He received numerous commendations and medals in the war. He's a good man. If I could choose a man for you, if I had the right to choose a man for you, he'd be on the shortlist.'

They watched as Deeks chatted to Hetty before tapping his glass against hers and drinking in unison, before greeting Callen who had sidled up to the bar.

'Hetty chose him for me… which means he's more than right,' Kensi said, exchanging a look with Hetty.

'Anything that Hetty thinks is best for you I will give my full blessing to,' Granger said, stopping as the song came to a close.

'Is that "father-talk" for "I give my blessing to Deeks"?' Kensi laughed. 'I haven't had a father before.'

'And I haven't had a daughter. However, I'm already ridiculously protective, and I barely know you.'

'Good thing that we've got all the time in the world, then, Dad,' Kensi said before hugging her father.

'Come on,' he said, taking her hand and leading her to the bar, where he nodded to Hetty.

She pushed their drinks across the bar.

'Why is it you always know what I want before I order it?' Deeks asked, staring at the glass of whiskey sitting before him.

'Maybe because it's the only drink I've seen you with?' Kensi laughed.

'No, he does vary occasionally… very occasionally,' Hetty told her.

'Why mess with something that I know works?' Deeks asked.

'To make it better,' Kensi said, taking her place next to him.

His eyes flicked sideways at her, and he smiled. 'There is that.'

'To new friends and old,' Granger said, holding up his glass.

Callen, Eric, Nell, Kensi and Deeks echoed his movements. 'To new friends and old.'

'Who knows what the future holds,' Deeks sighed, smiling down at Kensi.

'We'll get through it. Together,' Kensi said.

And they did.

::

'Now are you happy?' a tired out Deeks asked the children, only to find that they had both fallen asleep.

Kensi laughed softly. 'I guess they'll never know what happened.'

'Oh, no. They'll request the ending and a sequel next time we babysit,' Deeks said, picking up the young boy from his beanbag nest and carrying him into his own room.

Kensi followed, waving at the camera that had been carefully hidden between two storybooks. She drew back the covers and let Deeks gently tuck the boy in.

'He's a good kid,' Deeks said. 'He'll grow up to be just like his dad.'

'I can believe it,' Kensi said, smiling fondly down at him before going out of the room, turning off the light on her way.

Deeks peeped into the small girl's room, and seeing a small girl with one small hand curled around a puffy pink teddy, fast asleep, he smiled and turned off the light before half closing the door.

'Sam's lucky,' he said, following Kensi into the lounge room and dropping next to her on the couch. 'Awesome wife, cute kids, the whole white picket fence dream.'

'Never picked you for one to be longing for the white picket fence dream,' Kensi said, flicking the television on to a low volume so as not to wake the kids.

'Once upon a time, maybe not, but things change you know,' Deeks defended himself.

'Like the Deeks in your story?' Kensi said in a light teasing tone.

'Exactly,' he said.

Kensi sighed nostalgically. 'And here were the days that you chased anything in a skirt.'

'Then, I was looking for a woman. Now, I'm looking for the right woman,' Deeks told her, playfully trying to steal the remote from her. 'You do know that Sam will question my masculinity if he finds his television switched to the Top Model marathon?'

'Deeks, Sam is already questioning your masculinity. This won't hurt it any worse,' Kensi laughed at him.

'Well, I do have to admit, there are worse ways to spend an evening than watch a bunch of scantily clad women parade around on a television screen.'

'Now, if you tell Sam that, he won't think there's anything wrong with your masculinity,' Kensi told him.

Deeks chuckled and stretched an arm around Kensi's shoulders. 'You're not about to punch me, are you?'

'Nah,' she said, letting her head drop onto his shoulder. 'It's been a long day.'

'Very long,' he agreed.

'How long d'you reckon it'll take Sam and Callen to get home?' Kensi asked, stifling a yawn.

Deeks checked his watch. 'Not too long. Game should be finished soon. Add in the amount of time it'll take them to drive here, assuming that Callen drives because Sam left the Challenger here, add about ten minutes. Now add in the five minutes that they'll spend bantering sitting in the car about what Sam will do to us if he comes home to find that his kids are still awake and you've got about twenty-five minutes until-' He glanced down to see if he'd completed lost her attention, and instead found that she had fallen fast asleep.

He smiled contentedly and pulled a soft blanket off the arm of the sofa and draped it over her, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. 'Sleep tight, Kensalina.'

And he settled down to watch Top Model.

::

'I tell you, the ref made a bad decision in that last call,' Callen said twenty-four minutes later, shaking his head.

'The ref was totally justified,' Sam defended, unlocking the back door to his silent home.

'Mmmm,' Callen hummed, stepping into the kitchen. 'Something smells really good.'

'Kensi probably ordered in takeout,' Sam said, flicking on the light.

'Nope.' Callen pointed to the dish rack, where four plates and a pan were neatly stacked after being cleaned. 'Someone cooked.'

'Not Kensi. We've both tasted Kensi's cooking,' Sam said.

'And promptly spat it back out again. Who'd have thought it? Deeks is a proper housewife,' Callen joked.

Sam plucked a bright yellow Post-It note from the fridge door. 'There were plenty of leftovers if you want a midnight snack, guys. Smiley face, Deeks,' he read.

'Huh.' Callen opened the fridge door and pulled out two Tupperware containers. 'You wanna risk it?'

'Hey, you said it. It smells good.' Sam handed Callen a fork.

Callen opened the box and poked at the leftover stir-fry and rice before taking a bite. 'Oh my God. This is amazing.'

'Really?' Sam asked, taking a bite. 'Wow, you're right.'

'Deeks is a good cook.' Callen took another bite before wandering into the lounge room, where he stopped and stared.

'You know we can never tell him that.' Sam stopped when Callen abruptly shushed him.

They both stared at the sight of Kensi and Deeks curled up, fast asleep, on the couch under a blanket, while Top Model played on the television.

'I guess looking after your kids took its toll after such a long day for them today,' Callen whispered, watching them peacefully sleep.

'I don't blame them. It was a hard day,' Sam murmured, nodding.

'Should we just leave them?' Callen asked.

'I wouldn't trust either of them to drive, if they're this tired. They're not hurting anyone by being here, and Michelle won't mind,' Sam said, nodding. 'Besides, they look, for the first time ever, peaceful. It'd be a pity to wake them.'

Callen nodded in agreement. 'Yeah.' He pulled out his phone and quickly snapped a photo. 'For blackmailing purposes.'

'Good idea.' Sam moved further into the room and pulled a corner of the blanket up to cover both of them.

'I better go,' Callen said reluctantly, taking another bite of the leftovers.

'Take it with you, G.' Sam nodded to the container.

'Alright. Goodnight, Sam.'

'Night, G.'

Callen walked out with a wave and a contented hum.

Sam turned off the television and gave Kensi and Deeks one last look before turning off the lights and heading upstairs.

After looking in on his slumbering son and daughter, Sam went into his bedroom and opened up his laptop, accessing the feed from all the nanny cams earlier that night. He watched as Kensi and Deeks waved to each one as they entered each room.

He watched as Deeks tucked his daughter into her tiny bed and told her a story.

And he fell asleep to that story with a smile on his face as well.

::

The End

::

Look at that. Another story finished – as you can tell, it took me a long while to get it done, especially considering that it's my longest one-shot yet, over 20,000 words (yikes). It took me an especially long time because I had to A, wait for the episode "Resurrection" to come out in Australia so that I could watch it in order to get the idea for this story, and then B, I'm in my final year of schooling in Australia and am in the process of preparing for the High School Certificate, which means I've been writing this story in small bits and pieces whenever I had some spare time.

I really enjoyed writing this story – it was inspired by the Fringe episode "Brown Betty" and the Castle episode "The Blue Butterfly"; both crime noir episodes in which the characters take part in a "crime noir" flashback scenario. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

You've spent so much time reading this story. Spend another moment writing a review, please? Thank you!

XD PurpleHipposRock