Max & Ferns

This is au. I didn't much care for season 9 especially the finale so this is what I wish would have happened.

A/N I need to thanks once again my friend Nherbie for looking this over and correcting all of my mistakes. Any incurred now are all on me.

Deeks didn't know what to do. He'd just been fired by Mosley and then had a major fight with Kensi. He's not even sure if he's still engaged or not. He'll have to wait and talk to her later. Right now, he needs to get home, have a beer and settle down. He then realizes that he won't be able to settle down. As soon as he walks through the door, he'll smell her, and the state of their home will bring her back to his mind. Before he knows it, he's home and parking his truck along side of her Audi. His heart skips a beat as he thinks about not seeing her again and hopes she'll see things clearer when she gets back from Mexico, praying that she'll even get back from Mexico, safe and sound. As he unlocks his door his phone starts ringing and he sees Hetty's name come up. He puts his phone to his ear and asks cautiously, "Hi Hetty. What's up?"

Hetty comes back with, "Mr. Deeks, can you meet me at the bar where I first approached you about joining NCIS as our liaison? In about one hour?"

"Sure thing Hetty." He replies.

"One thing more Mr. Deeks. Bring a go bag with you." Hetty says.

Deeks wonders why she asked him that and then has an idea. "I can do that Hetty. So, I'll see you in an hour."

Hearing that, Hetty says, " See you in an hour Mr. Deeks." and breaks the connection.

Deeks walks into the bar and sees Hetty right away, sitting in a corner booth facing the door. As he walks back to her he looks at the barkeep and nods his head hello. He slides into the booth and asks her, "What can I do for you Hetty?"

A pregnant pause ensues as Hetty ponders her answer. She decides to just come out with it. "Your team needs you, Mr. Deeks. Their plane leaves in about an hour and I hope you're on it. I tried talking EAD Mosley into recanting her firing you but her mind is made up. Just know that, if you go, none of you are working for NCIS. This is an off the books op in a foreign land. All four of you are in the same boat."

Deeks had had a suspicion that this was what Hetty wanted to meet him for. His answer stuns her. "No thanks Hetty. That mission should have been planned a whole lot better than just saying let's go get Mosley's son. He's currently in no trouble and living a fairly safe life, even if his father is a criminal. We could have decided on a better plan and then went after him. But Mosley didn't want to hear that. And Mosley firing me is not the first time. She sent me back to LAPD the first day on the job and has been trying to get rid of me ever since. Today she did it. To make matters worse, no one but you, tried to keep me there. After all I have done for this team, I would have thought someone would have stuck up for me. I mean think about it. When Sam was accused of murder with DNA and photo evidence, the whole team fought for him. When Kensi was accused by Granger, the whole team fought for her. When Callen went off to Romania, the whole team turned in their guns and badges and followed him to back him up. When we found you in Viet Nam, we all went to get you. Again, all off the books ops but we all went anyhow. And now today, when she fired me and had two agents humiliate me by physically walking me off the property, not one of them stood up to her to protect me, not even Kensi. To top it all off, she and I had a fight in the parking garage and I'm no longer certain if we're even engaged anymore. So, no Hetty, I'm not going. They can take care of themselves like they always do. I'm just a cop now anyway."

"Mr. Deeks . . . Marty, we both know you're more than just a cop but more importantly is the fact that Kensi needs her partner. You know this, in your heart. She needs you to back her up. Now, that plane leaves in less than an hour and I sincerely hope that you'll be on it. What do you say?"

"When you put it that way, I guess I can be her partner one last time. None of us will actually be law enforcement once we get there. Okay Hetty, I'll go."

Hetty takes a piece of paper out of her purse and slides it across the table to Deeks. "This is the information you need to find the plane. Good hunting Mr. Deeks." And then slides out of the booth and leaves.

Deeks makes it to the private airport in a little under 30 minutes only to find out the plane has left already. Apparently, Mosley figured as long as everyone was ready, they could leave. Deeks calls Hetty and when she answers with a surprised greeting Deeks tells her about the plane already being gone. All he heard her say was, "Bugger!" and the line went dead. He heads for home to have a cold beer, spoil Monty, and to think of what's to come. He thinks of his bar and remembers it has an apartment above it. If things turn out bad with Kensi, he can always live there. He has several weeks of accrued vacation time that he's going to start on Monday. Then he'll begin getting his bar ready to open. Being a lawyer helps a great deal and being a public defender helped him out even more. He knew people in the courthouse. He has already applied for and gotten the necessary permits for his bar, including a liquor license. He gets out a pad of paper and starts writing down things he needs to start on Monday. He also needs to check on the sign for the bar. It may be done by now. He'd ordered it almost a month ago. After he writes for a bit he thinks of Kensi and the guys. He already misses his everything and hopes things go well for the team.