A/N: Doing some very serious wish fulfillment after that ending of "Better Angels" last weekend. I 100% thought they were going to end the episode differently and when it didn't happen I was slightly heartbroken. I usually try to be canon compliant, but I couldn't help myself this time. Enjoy!
Kensi's throat closed and she couldn't breathe. She couldn't watch this man die, not after all they'd been through today. She thought she might be sick. The world was spinning and she put a hand to her head in an attempt to try and right herself. Deeks. She needed Deeks.
When his car pulled up it seemed like nothing short of a miracle. She collapsed into him, all of the façade she'd kept up so valiantly during the day crumbling as his arms cradled her against his chest. "I've got you," he murmured stroking her hair. "You're amazing. You were so good baby."
"It's not fair," she said, her voice breaking. "It's just not fair."
"I know," he soothed.
Nothing he could say would make this any better, but she wanted him there all the same. She felt sick with grief and fear. David deserved more time with those he loved. He'd deserved peace and home and family and he would never have any of those things again.
He hadn't had enough time.
And as surely as she knew that, she knew what needed to come next. She couldn't wait. Not a minute longer.
"Deeks I want to marry you," she whispered, tears still streaming down her face.
"I want to marry you too baby."
He didn't understand and she desperately needed him to. Nothing else mattered. Nothing but this. "No, now Deeks. Today." She pulled back, wiping her eyes so she could look at him. "I don't want to wait anymore. I don't need a cake and a party. I just need you." She shook her head. "I don't want to waste anymore time."
He took a shaky breath. "Are you sure? Baby, are you serious?"
"We can still have the wedding in March. But I want you today. I want our always to start now."
He cradled her face in his hands, eyes searching hers. He nodded. "Okay. Yes."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
There was something in the desert
There was someplace wild and green
And a child in a village I passed through
There are places that I've travelled
And so many things I've seen
And it all fades away but you
The distress signal went off at 5:00am. Nell shot up and reached over Eric, grabbing her phone. "Who is it?" he asked as he scrambled to put his glasses on.
"Kensi and Deeks." Nell was already out of bed. She grabbed her dress from the day before off the floor and pulled it on. "Get dressed."
They were in the car within five minutes. "Which way?" Nell asked as she hit the gas. Everything had been fine when they left last night and she felt sick imagining what could have caused both of their friends to hit their distress signals simultaneously.
"Turn left here," Eric instructed, never taking his eyes from the GPS. A single mistake could cost them precious time. "Straight through that light."
It took twenty minutes to find the coordinates that had been sent to their phones. They flew into a parking lot by the beach right after Sam and Callen appeared only seconds behind them.
"You good?" Sam asked, checking his gun as he got out of the car.
Callen nodded, withdrawing his own weapon. "Anybody see them?"
Nell had been scanning the beach and she grabbed Eric's arm with one hand, the other coming up to cover her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. "Oh my god."
Kensi and Deeks were standing hand in hand on the sand, Kensi's white dress fluttering in the breeze. Julia and Roberta stood on other side of them and a man Nell didn't recognize was in the middle. It became immediately clear that the only danger anyone was in was of crying their eyes out.
"Well it's about damn time," Sam said.
I was sliding down a mountain
I was burning in the sun
I was crying with amazement at the view
I was capturing a moment
But when all is said and done,
Well it all fades away but you
Deeks's eyes were suspiciously wet and he smiled as they drew near. "We couldn't wait any more," he said.
"It was just going to be us but then we realized, we needed our family here," Kensi said, her voice breathy with emotion.
Nell squeezed her into a tight hug as Callen shook Deeks' hand. "We're glad you called," he said.
"Is everyone ready?" The officiant they'd spent all night looking for was surprisingly pleasant for such an early morning ceremony.
"I think they're past ready," Sam said, eliciting a laugh from the small group.
"Then let's begin. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"
I have sailed across the oceans,
Passed the cities and the farms
On a never-ending quest for something new
And the only thing that mattered
Was the four days in your arms
And it all fades away but you
Kensi felt her heart race as the officiant looked at her and asked her to say her vows. This moment, so long in coming, was finally here and she wasn't sure she could speak at all, let alone say anything coherent.
"We can do the traditional vows if you'd rather," he offered .
She shook her head. Deeks deserved to hear from her heart. "Deeks," she said, and then paused, looking into his blue eyes, so full of life and hope. "Marty. I know you've waited a long time for this. But you never once pushed me, you let me come to it in my own time. You took care of me, and you held my hand, and showed me in a million ways that you loved me and would wait for me to be ready.
"You have changed me." She looked back at their team. "You've changed us. When you came into my world, I didn't need or want anyone. I was scared and angry. But you made me see that love," she took a breath, "love is worth having. It's everything." She looked directly into his eyes. "You are everything. I could never in my life have dreamed someone as amazing as you."
She reached up and brushed a few curls from his face. God he looked handsome today. "You are strong and you are brave and you are kind. You're one of the best people I know." She blinked back a few more tears. "And because of that, you have my whole heart. You have my soul. And I love you to the end of time and back."
Deeks swiftly leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss, eliciting a laugh from the group. "You're a little early. But I think we can let it slide," the officiant said as they broke apart. "Martin, what would you like to tell Kensi?"
"Oh god," he shook his head and blew out a shaky breath, trying to get his bearings. "Kensi, I've thought about this moment for forever. And I don't even," he laughed as he choked up, "I don't even know how to say all the things you mean to me." He shook his head. "Uh, my life was…so dark. And you just came out of nowhere and filled it with sunshine.
"As if you weren't already the most beautiful, kind, amazing person on earth, you're also a complete and total badass," he said, making her laugh. "Every single day with you is the greatest of my life. You make me so happy and whether we have ten more minutes or a thousand years together, I'll love you for every second of it."
She smiled at him through watery eyes and he could barely breathe. They'd been up all night trying to put everything together and even still she was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen with her hair falling down her back, the white dress she'd picked out shimmering in the sun. He took her hand and placed it on his chest. "This heart? It's is yours. Today and everyday, forever. My world doesn't exist without you Fern. I love you."
Both moms were in tears and Kensi suspected Nell and Eric were too judging from the sniffles she was hearing.
They exchanged their rings and Kensi felt a profound sense of relief and happiness as the gold band slid onto Deeks' finger. They'd made it. "I think I've cried more this morning than I have my whole life," she said, as he reached to wipe another tear from her cheek.
"That's okay," he said. "As long as they're tears of happiness, not regret."
She squeezed his hand. "Definitely happiness."
Deeks looked at the officiant. "Now?"
The man smiled. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."
Deeks grinned at her and twined his fingers in her hair, pulling her close. "All in?" he asked quietly, so only she could hear.
She smiled back. "All in." His lips found hers and she heard their friends and moms cheer. When they broke apart Deeks had the most ridiculous grin on his face and Kensi was pretty sure she looked equally besotted. They'd done it. Forever was theirs.
There is one thing that's eternal
That cannot be torn apart
There is one thing that remains forever true
Past the thinking, past the breathing
Past the beating of my heart
It will all fade away but you
-"It All Fades Away" from The Bridges of Madison County by Jason Robert Brown
A/N: I adore this song and I couldn't help but use it in this story. If you haven't listened, I seriously recommend it. Fingers crossed for an even more fabulous wedding in the near future! Leave your love in the reviews!