Talia leaned over the car door, making sure he could see her yellow lacy possibly push up bra. Marty thought it was a very pretty bra. She said, "Anytime you want, that offer from the DEA still stands."
"I got lots of offers," Marty said. "See you next time." She stood up, he drove away and back to LAPD.
He didn't get home until 7 which left him very little time to take care of Monty and his new little sister, Fido. Marty still thought he had been hilarious naming the sad black kitten Fido. Even if no one else laughed. Great comedy was so often unappreciated in its own time. Monty got walked and fed, Fido got more food put out and fresh water, litter box emptied. "Back later," he said. "Don't invite over too many of your friends to party." Monty looked up, Fido licked her tummy and paid no attention to him.
He arrived at the movie theater five minutes late but Sam and Michelle still looked irritated. "Five minutes, come on," he said.
Michelle rolled her eyes and the three of them walked into the next door ice cream place. It was definitely not a parlor, that was too sentimental for this ultra hipster place. Sam frowned. "This place."
"I know," Marty said. "But you picked it."
"It's next to the theater where our daughter and three of her friends and the one mom willing to watch that movie are," Michelle said.
"I would have watched the movie, it looks cool," Marty said.
"Then we wouldn't get to spend any time together," Sam said. "Also you'd be late and my baby loves the previews."
"You're enjoying retirement, aren't you?" Marty grinned.
"He loves it," Michelle said. "He works out in the morning, has lunch with Callen every day, picks up our baby from school, never cleans anything -"
"I clean," Sam said, smiling. "I have cleaned."
Marty laughed. "I believe you."
He drove back home, feeling a little happy. He lay on the bed with Fido resting on his shoulder while he flipped through stuff on his tablet. Finally, finally he got a ping on skype.
"Hey, Fido," Kensi said. She had her hair up as always, it was never ever allowed to be down anymore. "Super dumb name, Deeks."
"You laughed when I told you. And she's adorable. She could be named Poop and she'd be fine."
"She would not be fine if she were named Poop, oh my god," Kensi said. She laughed again. "She is adorable. She is much more adorable than you."
"Monty heard you and he's really upset," Deeks said.
"He is not," Kensi said. "How are you?"
"Exhausted," Deeks said. "How's floating?"
"Agent afloat is an assignment that will help me move up in the Agency," she said. She sounded like there was a gun to her head.
"When are you home? When specifically are you back in LA where we can make out?" He made a kissy face at the screen.
"You have really big lips," she said. "And, I don't know what my next assignment after this is. It probably won't be LA. I told you this. We should stop -"
"Stop even trying? Nope," Deeks said. "I told you we will make it work. Once you're off that boat, where you go, I go."
"Right, because you have no ambition and will love starting over in Spain and then DC and then Detroit." She looked upset and her eyes were wet.
"I will love starting over. I can multitask. I can be your houseboy. Or butler. I would love to be your butler. A little upstairs downstairs action for Lady Kensi, am I right?" He kept talking until she was laughing again and then for another hour after that.
He was bouncing around departments, trying to find the right fit. Nothing fit, not anymore. He was too much agent and he knew it. That was why he was perfectly happy to go wherever Kensi went, because it seemed more and more like Kensi was the only place he knew for sure was where he felt right and at home. He sipped his third coconut milk latte and then went back to reading the files in front of him. This month he was in with the big boys and girls, Robbery Homicide. His first month back they had tried him as undercover again and he was still fantastic at it, of course, but he wasn't surprised or upset when they moved him out.
"Detective Deeks."
Marty nearly spat out his latte and looked up. "Granger," he said. "You're here."
Granger frowned. Marty idly wondered if Granger had an expression besides frowny face, pissed off face or stoic accepting face. Granger said, "I've been here for a day."
"Here in the precinct? This is a weird place to sleep over night, I mean, no one noticed you?"
"Let me know when you're being serious," Granger said. "If you're capable of it."
Marty frowned this time. "You know very well I am."
Granger nodded and sighed. He sat down in the chair next to Marty's desk. He said, "Fine. I need you to be serious."
xx
Marty mulled over Granger's proposal. Not very much mulling needed, though, because he could get behind most of it 100%. But he needed a plan to follow the proposal and all plans start with step one.
Step one for Marty would always and forever ever be Kensi. No more fucking around, no more waiting or stupid bullshit, she was his and he was hers. He sat at home with his feet up on the table, idly scritching Fido as she walked over his chest, around the couch and back to his chest again.
"Time to trim your nails," Marty said to Fido. He was lounging in just his underwear as all lounging should not be hindered by clothes, especially when you only had fans and not AC. He could feel the cat's claws as she settled down on his shoulder. She headbutted his jaw and then went back to just sitting. "I like you, too," he said. Monty jumped up on the couch and wedged himself against Marty's thigh. "It is nice to feel this loved," he said.
Naturally, Fido jumped off his chest and wandered around the living room like she had no cares.
Kensi was his north, his south, his east and west. He remembered watching Four Weddings and a Funeral when he was young with an older female relative (grandmother? great aunt? he barely remembered his childhood, he made up every single story he'd ever told Kensi or anyone else, except some of the ones from high school) and he'd been amazed how much she loved the movie. She was old and yet she was kept commenting on the love story - "See, she loved him. She wanted to marry him." He remembered her comments more than the movie, but he remembered the guy and his very English teeth and that accent and the poem.
He even said it, in just those words, to Kensi. He mumbled it, his head resting on her naked tummy. He'd had his choice of views; the undersides of her breasts, her very strong jaw or her legs and her waxed female parts. He'd sat there and thought of a million vulgar crass terms straight from urban dictionary that just seemed wrong for any part of Kensi's beautiful person. He'd said she was his north, and she had rubbed his head, hands in his hair.
They'd spent more time apart as a couple than they had together if you pushed all those hours together in one long continuous stream. But he didn't think about the sex much. Not much. Like, in the car driving to work, in the shower, sitting at his desk staring at the clock, before he talked to suspects sometimes, and laying in bed because it was his bed they'd done the most fucking in. Mostly, though, he thought about her, her smile, her laugh, her expression watching tv, the way she talked about her father.
She called him on skype and he said, "I was just thinking about you."
"Yeah, is that why my view is of your underwear?"
He moved the tablet so she could see his manly face. "Sorry. Unless you want me to keep that view. Want to sext or sexSkype? What is that called?"
"I don't have a private berth, Deeks," she said. She took a deep breath, and he could feel the desperation in her slow exhale. "I'm only alone in the bathroom."
He had a comeback but she was sad and he wanted to talk to her about Granger's idea. So he went with that and she liked the idea, as she would expect. She said, "You won't convince anyone else."
"Maybe, but I am very persuasive. When is your shore leave, I saw your email."
"Three weeks," she said, smiling. "You know I'm on this ship for another three months."
"I know," he said. "That gives me enough time to get everything set up for you."
She looked down. "Right, so three weeks. What do you want to do?"
"I want to do whatever you want to do. And also have tons of sex. I mean, I would prefer if I can't even walk after it's over," he said.
She made her gorgeous whatever face. "Maybe not that much sex," she said.
He said, "Do you tell all the Marines and Navy guys hitting on you you've got a cop boyfriend? I just wondered."
"Yeah, I don't tell them anything, I just sleep with them." She said, "Yes, I do talk about you, yes, it's mostly positive, yes, people keep asking me why I'm dating a cop."
They talked for another hour, and he fell asleep on the couch thinking about her.
Callen had a stroke after nearly drowning, the kind of thing that just happens. He was not old and was in good shape, but in three months he had only just got to the point where he walked with a slight limp. His left arm was mostly useful, but he'd probably never throw a good punch. He seemed in good spirits but with Callen, Marty found it difficult to tell. He hoped Callen was doing well, not pushing all his feelings into some deep pit of not showing feeling, but reality was that Sam would notice that stuff before Marty would..
So Marty came to the rehab center to talk to him. "I hear you're moving out," Marty said, smiling, sitting across from Callen. The food at the center was many parts of bland so Marty had snuck in some classic heavy cholesterol bacon laden burgers.
Callen shrugged. He was doing his eating with his right hand primarily, Marty noticed. Better than when he was first in the hospital, though. "Thanks for this," Callen said.
"I am here for you," Marty says. "Hey, you never had to agent afloat, did you?"
"Nope," Callen said. "And I'm pretty safe from having to now."
Marty nodded. "I was just wondering. Granger said if I became an agent, he'd make sure I didn't agent afloat."
"Granger?" Callen raised both eyebrows. "When were you talking to Granger and why are you listening to him about anything?"
"He wants to get the band back together, sort of. I want the band back together, I listen because we have our eyes on the same prize," Marty said.
Callen put down his delicious burger. (Marty knew it was delicious because his was delicious except he'd finished his and he kinda wanted to finish off Callen's.) He said, "Band? So what does Granger want? I get to play the triangle?"
"While the triangle is a valid and important instrument, actually, he was thinking and I was thinking, you'd be more like a short tea-sipping -"
"Operations Manager," Callen said slowly. He snatched his burger away from Marty who was slowly pulling the napkin it rested on closer to him. "Really?"
"Really," Marty said.
"You think I can handle the politics of it, recruiting agents and everything that goes into that job? You're wrong."
"You know, when you were first in the hospital, your scary friend from DC came. And we had a chance to talk and he was talking about these rules he has."
Callen frowned. He said. "I know. I know Gibbs, I know his rules."
"One of them is don't waste good. You're good. And you can still do good even if you're not going to be chasing down bad guys personally," Marty said.
"This is your pitch," Callen said.
"Also the burger and fries," Marty said. "And I'd be an agent, and Kensi, too."
Callen snorted. "Sign me up, then."
"I sense your sarcasm," Marty said. "But think about it, okay? Don't just say no."
Three days later, Marty entered after knocking on Sam's door. Little Brooklynn lit up when she saw Monty on his leash and Fido in her carrier. "I got Monty's leash and doggie clean up bags, his meds are in the bag and his special food. I also have Fido's litter box, the bed she almost never uses, her favorite toy she almost never plays with." He put the litter box down in the Hanna closet before he let Fido out of the carrier. Brooklynn immediately scooped her up.
"Be careful, she needs to warm up to you," Marty said. As soon as he said it, Fido melted into Brooklynn's arms with excessively loud purring.
"I can't believe you're doing this," Michelle said.
"I can't believe we're taking in your two mutts," Sam said.
"I love this kitty," Brooklynn said. Hearing that, Monty walked up to her and sat down at her feet. "You, too, doggie."
"You can't believe I'm going to see the love of my life for her very brief shore leave?" Marty grinned.
"This," Sam said. "You, Granger, Kensi, trying to talk Callen into this whole thing."
Michelle shrugged. "I think it's a good idea. I even like the part where the new OSP would do training and you would be part of that," she said to Sam.
Sam shook his head. "G does not need to take on some kind of dangerous job -"
Michelle said, "Why not? Because you can't bear him being hurt again? That's not fair to him."
Marty said, "Okay, I'm going to let your brilliant wife make all my arguments, kiss my pets goodbye, and see you later."
He kissed Fido's head and said, "I'll see you soon, and when I come back, you have to listen to me because I will be a federal agent."
"If you make it through training," Sam said. He smiled, though. He patted Marty on the shoulder and said, "You'll be great."
xx
"I love you, I love you," Marty said. "Kens, I think you should get another tattoo. Have it say Marty A Deeks loves this woman."
"That sounds like a super ugly tattoo," Kensi said. She was flopped on her back, staring at the ceiling. They had mostly had sex, but Kensi insisted they walk outside to the fresh air that wasn't on a ship for every meal. Now they were back in their hotel room, post coitus. She said, "I can't believe I have to stop saying my boyfriend's a cop."
"You can say federal cop," he said. He just kept staring at her so he could memorize what she looked like with her chest rising and falling, the sweat on her hairline, the smell of her perfume and the post part of post coitus.
"That's more FBI." She turned to look at him. He wondered if she was doing the same thing.
"Navy cop. You can say Navy cop. You are, I will be."
"True," she said. She turned on her side, still staring at him.
"Anyway, I love you. You should say it to me."
"I have said it," she said. "But fine, I love you. I love you. Not getting your name tattooed on any part of my body."
"I'd do it for you. I am going to do it for you. While I'm at NCIS training, I'm getting Kensi on my ass."
"Along with your jungle cat one on your hip?"
"You're right, I should put it under that, since you're a Leo. It's like I had already tattooed you on my body before we even met."
She kissed him. "I actually adore you, you irritating ass."
"Right back at you, except your ass is magnificent and not irritating at all."
xx
When Marty arrived in Los Angeles, he was tempted to go straight to the beach. Two months of training, no access to decent surf even though he knew it existed on the east coast, he had even seen pictures, but for some reason, working for the Navy seemed to mean you were never actually near the ocean. At least not for him.
Instead he went straight to Sam's. And then to his weekly rental place. Kensi said he liked to move which wasn't actually true, though he knew why she thought that. He'd moved after he'd got shot. He'd moved from the place he'd lived when the abduction happened. He'd moved from the place where he and Kensi had fallen asleep on the couch. He moved after Callen's stroke when Kensi was transferred. It was more that he didn't like staying in places that had bad associations. He had no trouble culling his possessions and moving on, he hated places that stank of failure and loss.
So there he was in his super duper bland hotel with his cat and his dog. Monty, the traitor, had come under protest since his new favorite person in the whole world was suddenly Michelle Hanna. "I agree she's cool, Monty, but really. Whining? About coming with me? Fido actually jumps in my arms and you just stand there."
Monty sprung up right before there was a knock on the door. He didn't bark, he just sat by the door. Marty wondered if it was a good thing or bad thing. But he looked through the peephole and saw Sam and Callen, so he opened the door.
Callen still had a visible limp but he had also acquired a really cool cane. He sat down on the couch and patted the space next to him. Monty jumped up right next to him. "So I'm third on my own dog's list of favorite people. Actually, I'm probably fourth, because he always liked Kensi more than me."
Sam cleared his throat.
"And we're moving on," Marty said.
Callen said, "I have been thinking about Granger's offer. About me becoming Operations Manager over the new OSP. "
"You have the look of someone about to say yes," Marty said, smiling. "And Sam has the scowl of someone who still doesn't think it's a good idea."
"Deeks, you know my worst fear," Sam said. "I lived it. Now I'm retired and he'll be on his own and I have no intention of going back to work in the field."
"Luckily," Callen said, "I get to make my own decisions and I'm pretty sure that I am still capable of doing my best not to die."
Sam frowned. "You really think you can do this job?"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Callen said, still smiling. "I look forward to seeing you Monday through Friday, from 9 am to noon."
"Was that addressed to me," Marty said. "Because if those are the new agent hours, I'm so in."
"It was for me," Sam said. "And you were already in."
"Let's eat, then, because this is going to be great," Marty said.
They even let Deeks choose, but he made sure there was shrimp curry just in case. Sam left after they'd finished eating, so Marty and Callen sat and joked. It was getting close to closing time when the waiter came over. "You are requested to join one of our guests in the private room."
Marty wasn't even surprised to see Hetty. She was sipping her tea, but there was an empty wine glass in front of her. She said, "I was thrilled to hear about your new responsibilities, Mr. Callen. And your new position, Special Agent Deeks."
"Thanks," Marty said, not warmly.
She said, "I have to admit, sadly, that despite what I said, I did have favorites. You two were my favorites." Hetty to the last, she was sitting straight up and looking them both in the eye. "I think possibly some of my mistakes from these past few months might have been me, trying not to show favoritism, railing against my certain knowledge of your mortality. Whatever the reasons, I am well aware I do not deserve your forgiveness. But I do believe I still might have something to offer to your new endeavors."
"You're forgiven, of course," Callen said, of course, of course, of course. Marty just faked a smile. Hetty knew, but he'd bet she was patient. She'd wait him out. He sighed.
"Thank you, Mr. Callen," Hetty said. "I have done some research for you on places you might wish to locate your new facility." She pushed a usb across the table. "And some other information you might find helpful."
xx
"That was a good first day," Marty said.
Kensi lay next to him on the huge bed, looking at him seriously. "We didn't really do anything," she said.
"Told you, good day." Marty smiled. "Wasn't it nice having Nell back?"
"A little rusty from her time at that think tank," Kensi said. "I think she's rusty."
"Yes, you flipped her three times in the gym, Kensi, we're all very proud."
Kensi grinned. "I'm saying." She reached out and trailed her hand down his back. "I can't believe you haven't said anything about it yet."
"Nell being rusty?"
She moved closer to him and raised her arm. "My tattoo. The one I've had for the past week and actually a month before that."
He looked. It was on her side, right where a bra band would cover it. "A jungle cat," he said. "You got me tattooed on your body."
"I am a Leo," she said. "I can't believe you missed it."
"I've been spending more time on other parts of you," he said. "But I love it, and you, and your tattoo." He kissed the pretty cat and because he was old and exhausted, he lay back on his back again.
"Since we're living together now," Kensi said, "you're not moving until I want to move."
"Or you leave," he said. "I know, that's your line."
She snuggled up against him. "It's okay now," she said. She reached across him to turn off the lights. Somewhere in the living room, Fido meowed until Monty made some scuffling noises. Probably Fido making sure Monty wouldn't move while she slept on his back or wherever she'd decided was now hers.
"Yup," he said. "all okay."
"I mean," Kensi said, "you lost a lot. I know OSP was a place that you felt like you fit in. I know that's not the usual for you."
Marty opened his mouth and closed it. Kensi said, "And they got rid of the Mission and you lost me, and Callen almost died and Eric and Nell and everyone, all gone."
Marty took a ragged breath. Kensi said, "And you just kept making jokes and being positive and I let you because I was pretty miserable but. It's all safe now, if you want to be upset."
He couldn't breathe right. He felt like his lungs were full of lead. "No," he said, and sounded croaky. "I'm good, I got you." He ran his hand through her hair. "I'm good."
"Okay," she said, ignoring how fucking weepy he sounded and how his hands were trembling. "But I got you, too." She kissed him and hugged him in that Kensi way that made him want an x-ray to make sure nothing was broken. The woman was a firm hugger. He'd tell her that later.
"We're all here now," she said. "You don't have to, you're good. We're keeping you no matter what."
He had a million jokes he was going to make but he didn't want to speak. He hugged her back and closed his eyes. Tomorrow would be a great day.