A/N: I love John Denver and apparently ECO likes him too (he's mentioned his songs at least a few times), therefore in my head Deeks loves John Denver as well.
Take Me Home
1983
He's sitting on the kitchen floor while his mom cuts up broccoli at the sink, one of her favorite songs playing in the background. Marty sways to 'Rocky Mountain High', giggling as his mom pauses to belt out a word or two every so often.
His dad walks in halfway through the performance, headed for the fridge, but takes a detour over to Roberta. He grabs her wet hands and pulls her to the middle of the room. She protests weakly, but grins as he spins her around and around in uncoordinated circles for the remainder of the song.
Four year old Marty doesn't stop laughing the entire time.
1985
It's sunny outside and Marty wistfully looks out the window, wishing he could go out and play with the girl who lives next door. He doesn't say anything though; his mom is staring out the window too and her eyes are red. Her eyes are red a lot now and sometimes he thinks he hears her crying at night.
"What's this song called, mommy?" he asks quietly. It takes her a moment to answer and she looks at the record player like she forgot music was playing.
"Oh, it's 'Sunshine on My Shoulders," Baby," she tells him, her voice soft and scratchy sounding. "I used to listen to it a lot when…" she stops short and quickly turns away again. Marty almost wishes he hadn't asked, but it's too quiet and mommy is sad and daddy was yelling again last night.
The next day his mom seems happier, she's smiling again and Marty figures dad must not be mad anymore. She tries to teach him how to play 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' on her guitar even though his fingers are too small and weak to keep the strings pressed down. When he gets frustrated, she turns the record player on instead and dances with him to three songs.
1990
The past few weeks have been terrible. Marty had only gotten released from child protective services a couple days ago and he's constantly terrified that the lady who took him away the first time is going to come back. Or worse, that his dad will somehow post bail so he can finish what he started.
He thinks maybe his mom is scared too because she cries more than ever and jumps whenever the house makes even the tiniest creak. Sometimes Marty wonders if she hates him for hurting dad and causing all this, but then she always pulls him into her arms and whispers soft words he can't quite understand. They're reassuring nonetheless.
Finally, in a desperate need to end the deafening silence, he grabs his mom's old guitar, which has more scratches and nicks than when he played it the first time. Marty approaches cautiously; his mom is sitting on the couch, head bent over a pile of papers (bills he thinks) and he's not sure if he should interrupt.
"Mom," he starts, hesitantly. Roberta looks up, her eyes drawn and red again and he's not sure if it's from crying or being tired. "Can we work on our song," he finishes and holds out the guitar with two hands.
His mom stares at it, her eyes distant and he realizes she's probably thinking of the last time they played together. She'd started teaching him guitar again a few months ago and they'd slowly been working through 'Leaving on a Jet Plane' once more.
"Mom," he prompts again and she jerks before she smiles unconvincingly and reaches for the instrument.
"Of course, Marty. Come here." She sets the papers on the coffee table and pats a spot on the couch beside her. Marty sits down and loosely places one hand over the strings, waiting for his mom to guide his fingers. Neither of them mentions that he's leaning against her more than usual.
1995
"Take me home country roads, to the place where I belong…" Marty turns his head to see his mom singing loudly, her eyes closed as she sways to the music. He doesn't care if his birthday present is 9 months late and he's surrounded by former hippies, his mom is happy and carefree for what seems like the first time in years.
She catches his eye and he grins at her, singing at the top of his lungs as John Denver moves around on stage, a small figure from where they're seated. He wouldn't change a thing.
2010
"What are you listening to?" Kensi says with a frown as she climbs back into the driver's seat. She'd gone to grab them coffees and Deeks had taken advantage of her absence to turn the radio to something that didn't make his ears bleed.
"You're kidding, right?" he asks incredulously. Kensi shakes her head, obviously not seeing the problem. "You've never listened to John Denver?"
"Not intentionally," she answers and starts to reach for the radio controls.
"Wait, wait, wait! Just listen 'til the end and then you can turn your tencho stuff back on." Surprisingly, Kensi pulls her hand back and sits through the rest of the song.
"Ok, that wasn't quite as bad as it could have been," she admits a couple minutes later. Then she changes the station and turns the volume up. There's no mention of Rocky Mountains in the song that comes on, but Deeks is relieved it's no longer making him want to claw his ears out.
2016
Deeks leads Kensi out onto the beach, his hands covering her eyes. It might not have been the smartest idea ever, he thinks, after Kensi stumbles over a stick for the second time, but he wants this to be a surprise.
"You know, this would be a lot easier if you just let me close my eyes and led me by the hand," Kensi says, her voice filled with amusement.
"Right, I know you. You'd totally peek." Kensi says nothing to that but allows him to direct her the remaining 10 yards to the blanket he has laid out on the sand.
"Ok, keep your eyes closed and sit down. There's just one more thing…" Deeks trails off as Kensi sits down cross-legged and adopts a pleasant look. After a bit of fiddling around he finally gets his phone to cooperate. "You can open your eyes now," he whispers, his voice filled with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.
Kensi looks around her slowly, eyes lighting on the food and plastic champagne flutes he'd set out before skipping over to the mini lanterns staked in the sand.
"Deeks, this is beautiful," she whispers, leaning in to kiss him. He grins, happy and relieved. "I've never heard this one before," she adds, glancing down at his phone, which he's still holding.
"I was saving it for something special." He turns up the sound so they can both hear the song.
You fill up my senses like a night in a forest,
Like the mountains in springtime,
Like a walk in the rain, like a storm in the desert,
Like a sleepy blue ocean.
You fill up my senses, come fill me again
"Deeks..." Kensi says and then apparently unable to find appropriate words, kisses him again. "This is perfect." He smiles shyly, feeling just a little self-conscious now.
"My mom never played this one that much when I was a kid, but it's one of my favorites. Every time I listen to it, I think of you and how much I love you." Kensi doesn't say anything, but pulls him into her arms while the song finishes playing.
2020
"Deeks, what the hell are you doing?" Kensi asks patiently. Deeks doesn't answer immediately, too busy trying to attach a pair of headphones to Kensi's belly. The problem seems to be that there isn't much of anything for them to wrap around yet so they keep slipping off.
"We've got to start early," he explains.
"I'm pretty sure he or she can't even hear anything yet," Kensi points out with infuriating logic.
"Yeah, I'm not leaving it up to chance. Our child will have 50% of your DNA and therefore 50/50 chance of inheriting your taste in music."
"You are ridiculous. You really think you can make them love John Denver in utero?"
"It's a family tradition," Deeks says very seriously. She rolls her eyes but sits back and lets him continue as the faint sound of music drifts up between them.
A/N: Thank you for indulging me and my overuse of song titles and lyrics. I may have taken a few liberties with Deeks' past and hopefully I got general dates and ages right.
Songs referenced include: 'Rocky Mountain High', 'Sunshine on My Shoulders', 'Leaving on a Jet Plane', 'Take Me Home, Country Roads', and 'Annie's Song'.