Well, I didn't really have much of a plan in mind when I wrote this, so it kind of wrote itself. It turned out to be... very long, to say the least, its the longest story (or part of a story) I've ever written! I'm so proud of myself! Hope you like it and leave me lots of reviews :)
_
"Well, I'm calling it a day," Deeks proclaimed as he looped his bag around his shoulders and grinned at the incredulous looks of his teammates.
"There's no way you're done with that report!" Callen accused. "I'm not even halfway done."
"Me neither," Sam said, eying the detective suspiciously.
"Well, that's because you two took an hour long break to play for Champion of the World in the Trash Can Olympics," Deeks snorted.
Callen grinned at the glare his partner sent him. "You cheated," Sam grumbled. "I know you did. I just don't know how. Yet."
"You're just a sore loser," G replied innocently.
Deeks smiled at Kensi, who was watching the two arguing men in amusement, and made his way out of the bullpen. He was passing the stairs when Nell called, "Deeks! Wait, um, I need to show you something." Deeks turned to look at her, puzzled until he saw her face. Nerves gathered in the pit of his stomach as he realized what was about to happen.
"Sure," he said tightly, and followed her back up the stairs.
Back in the bullpen, Callen frowned. "What was that?"
"Don't know," Sam said. "Kensi?" They both looked over to the junior agent's desk. She was staring at the doors Nell and Deeks had just disappeared behind with a worried look on her face. "Kens?" Sam called again.
Startled, she returned her focus to them. "Sorry, what?"
"You know what's going on?" Callen asked, watching her reaction curiously.
Mutely, she shrugged and went back to her report, suddenly seeming very interested in it. Callen and Sam watched her skeptically for a moment before glancing at each other again, silently conversing. Callen raised an eyebrow. Sam shrugged. Callen nodded in agreement, and they both silently began typing their reports.
Up in Ops, the subject of their speculation was staring at a photo of a bruised, battered woman. "When was this?" he asked tersely.
Nell sighed. "This is the most recent, it was about two weeks ago."
Deeks tensed at her words. "Most recent? How many other times?"
Nell took a deep breath. "As far as I can tell, she's been admitted eleven times over the past three years, under several different first names, though the last name is always Wilde. On this report, she was Maddi Wilde."
Deeks couldn't take his eyes off the woman. He'd recognize her beautiful blonde hair and her clear blue eyes anywhere. They matched his own. He also recognized the signs of domestic abuse. He'd seen them enough as a child and as a cop. "Where?" he asked sharply.
"Several different hospitals and addresses over the years, but the place of residence on this report was a small house about 40 miles south of here." Nell pulled up a map and tapped a point near the coast. She watched the detective's face closely as he took this all in. He stared at the map for a few strained moments, then said, "I want all the reports."
"Deeks-" Nell started.
"I want the reports," he repeated forcefully.
"Don't do this to yourself," she said softly.
"Just email them to me, I'll print them at home," he ordered, ignoring her plea.
Seeing he had made up his mind and nothing was going to change it, she sighed and pulled up her email account. She sadly pulled the folder into the email and told it to send. When she turned to face him again, he was gone.
With a guilty heart, Nell walked out on the balcony and looked over the railing. The team below was staring at the door with expressions that ranged from confused to worried. Kensi looked up and caught Nell's eye. Nell nodded toward the door, telling Kensi that her partner needed someone.
Nodding subtly in agreement and thanks, Kensi stood up and shut down her computer. Paying no notice to the strange looks she got from the others, she bade them a distracted goodnight and followed Deeks out the door.
"Okay, something's up," Sam muttered. Both he and Callen turned to face the balcony where Nell stood. "Crap," she murmured as they stood up. Quickly grabbing her bag, she raced down the steps, slipping between the two men. "Oops, 'scuse me, gotta go!" she called over her shoulder.
The partners stared after the small woman. "We are officially being avoided," Callen commented.
Deeks sat at his laptop, staring at the unopened message from Nell. He'd lost count of how many times he'd reached out to click on it, only to lose his nerve. His stomach hurt from the nerves that hadn't disappeared yet. He was reminded of how he felt right before a bust. This time, though, he had no weapon, and the bad guy was a file on his computer.
Finally, after a very stern talking to from his subconscious and a mental slap, he clicked on the email. However, before he could open the attachment, there was a knock on his door. Secretly glad for the excuse to wait just a little longer, he jumped out of his chair and grabbed his Beretta. Peering through the peephole, though, he found he wouldn't need it. Opening the door, he raised an eyebrow at his partner. She held a case of beer. Were this any other time, he would have laughed at how typical that was of her.
"We said we'd be there for each other," Kensi said in way of explanation when he just stood there.
Sighing, and unwilling to admit he was happy he wouldn't be alone, he opened the door wider in invitation. Accepting the invitation, she entered and put the beers down on the coffee table.
After grabbing one, he sat down at his desk again, and Kensi joined him a minute later with her own. For a few moments, they simply sat there, gazing at the screen. "Do you know what's in the file?" Kensi asked gently, finally breaking the silence.
"Yep," Deeks sighed.
After a few moments, Kensi asked, "How long have you been sitting here staring at it?"
Deeks snorted. She knew him so well. "'Bout half an hour."
"You don't have to do this right now, Marty," she said softly. Her use of his first name startled him. "It's not going anywhere."
For some reason, her words emboldened him and quickly, before he could change his mind, he clicked on the paperclip icon in the corner of the screen. A folder opened, showing several documents, all labeled by date. The first was New Years Day 2009. Bracing himself, he opened it.
He distantly heard Kensi gasp beside him. The first thing that was in the document was a face shot of his baby sister, bloody, bruised, and broken. Scrolling down, he found a list of all her injuries. Broken nose, split lip, fractured cheekbone, black eye, various cuts and bruises on arms and legs...
Closing that file, he clicked on the next one. Then the next one, and the next. After a while, he found he could barely see the screen anymore, his vision was so blurry. Lifting a hand to rub his eyes, he was surprised to discover tears. He didn't know if he was crying out of sadness, regret or anger. Maybe a mix of all three.
He looked over to find Kensi still sitting next to him. "I..." he choked out, not really sure what he was going to tell her but feeling that he should say something.
"Shh..." She shook her head, and gently wiped a few tears off his cheek. "We're done for tonight." Closing his computer, she reached out and grasped his hand tightly. Standing up, she pulled him into his bedroom. Too tired to protest, he followed.
"Lie down," she whispered, "I'll go lock up." Numbly, he did as she said.
He wasn't sure how long it was before she joined him, but when she did, she pulled him close and held him as he cried for the little girl unable to escape violence.
A long while later, after his tears subsided, he took a deep breath and said what he'd been thinking since he'd seen the first picture. "I have to see her."
To his surprise, Kensi was still awake. Nodding against his shoulder, she replied quietly, "You know we'll all be there if you want us to be."
He'd seen that coming. "Yeah, I know. I think... I want to do this on my own though."
Again, he felt her nod. "Okay."
Nothing more was said as they both drifted into a restless sleep filled with dreams of angry men and injured women.
Deeks drove slowly down the unfamiliar road, scanning the street names for the one that would supposedly lead him to his sister. He snorted as he caught a glimpse of silver in the rear view mirror. He thought it was hilarious that his partner thought he wouldn't notice she'd followed him.
He hesitantly pulled up to number twelve, the address on the hospital forms. Two dirty children were playing in the poor excuse for a yard with some bent silverware and a plastic phone. They glanced up at his arrival. He removed the keys from the ignition and studied them, a boy and a girl. They both had familiar dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. "Mama?" the girl called. She was the older of the two, maybe seven. The boy looked about four. "Mama somebody's here!"
"Who is it, baby?" came the sweet, innocent voice that even thirteen years couldn't change. The owner of said voice appeared in the doorway. Upon seeing him at the edge of the property, she came out into the yard. "Take your brother inside, okay?" she told the little girl quietly.
Deeks almost opened his mouth to reassure her he wouldn't hurt them, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Michelle was very thin, and had deep circles under her eyes, and a few fading bruises on her arms. There was a small cut in her eyebrow. The bigger one on her arm that had landed her in the hospital a few weeks back was still healing. "Can I help you?" she asked cautiously.
"Hi," was all he could manage. Her long hair was flying in the breeze, and it brought back so many memories of their childhood together.
"Hi," she replied suspiciously. "Do you need something?"
Deeks let out a short laugh. "You don't recognize me, do you?"
Michelle frowned. "No... Should I?"
He took a few careful steps forward, not wanting to spook her. "Well, I guess my hair was a little shorter last time you saw me. Academy didn't want it long, but once I graduated..." He trailed off as he saw her eyes widen. "Oh..." she breathed as she came closer, slowly, as if she was unable to believe he was actually there. He knew the feeling. "Marty?"
Laughing nervously, he nodded. Her hand came up to cover her mouth. She stared at him a moment more before she rushed to him, into his open arms. Deeks felt the tears well up as he buried his face in her hair. Even after so long, she still smelled like the watermelon shampoo their mother used to wash her hair with. He held her tightly in her driveway, oblivious to the outside world.
Gently kissing her hair, he pulled back slightly, so he could see her face. Laughing softly, he tenderly wiped a tear off her face. "Found you," he whispered. "Finally." The last part was added bitterly.
Michelle shook her head. "No, don't you dare. I know you're mad at yourself, but I told you not to look for me. I changed my name, I did ridiculous things just so you wouldn't find me. I'm actually pretty amazed that you did," she laughed through her tears. Oh, Marty had missed that laugh. "Come on in." She took his hand and led him into the shabby house.
"Do you want some coffee or something?" Michelle asked, sounding kind of unsure. Deeks smiled.
"Yeah, yeah coffee's good." Standing in the doorway, he took the chance to look around the tiny kitchen while she was clattering around, seeming slightly nervous, trying to get the fixings for coffee together. The wallpaper was yellowed and peeling, and the counters were cracked and covered in food and papers and dishes. The table crowded the kitchen even more, and looked like it would barely fit four people and their plates. He frowned seeing that it was covered in rings from wet beer bottles. A second glance at the counters showed more than a dozen empty bottles, and several glass bottles of varying other types of alcohol.
Turning back around and finding a frown on her long-lost brother's face, Michelle followed his gaze to the evidence of an alcoholic living in the house. "Um..." she started uncomfortably. "Sit, please." She gestured to the table. He wiped the frown off his face and gingerly sat on one of the rickety chairs. "Coffee's ready. Do you want milk? Sorry, I don't have cream..."
Deeks shook his head and accepted the mug gratefully. "Black is fine."
She smiled ruefully at that. "You really are a cop, huh?"
Deeks grinned in affirmation. They sat together in awestruck silence until the little girl who had been playing outside peeked her head in the doorway. "Mommy? Can we go back out now?"
"Yeah, baby, stay in the yard though okay?"
She grinned gleefully and replied, "Okay Mama!" already on her way out the door. "Sammy! We can play outside!" The toddler's heavy footfalls were accompanied by his infectious giggles as he followed his sister into the yard.
"Sammy?" Deeks asked staring at the space his niece had previously occupied. Michelle smiled happily.
"Samuel Martin Wilde." Deeks looked up at the boy's middle name. Laughing softly, she said, "I couldn't not... honor you somehow."
Deeks couldn't help the feeling of pride that swelled in his chest. "What's her name?" he asked when he trusted his voice again.
"Danielle Rebecca." Deeks smiled sadly when he recognized her daughter's middle name as well. It had belonged to their mother. "She just turned seven last week, and Sammy will be four in November."
Deeks gazed into his coffee, unsure how to word what he had to ask. "Neither of them are old enough to be..." He struggled for the words. Luckily, he didn't need to find them.
"I lost the baby five months in," his sister sighed. "Doctors said it was because I wasn't getting enough of the nutrients he needed. It's... hard to find prenatal vitamins on the street. Anything else, sure, there's a guy for that, but vitamins... Sometimes I'd get enough money to splurge on them, but not often enough."
Deeks' heart ached at the thought of his baby sister in the harsh street life, and for the nephew that had never known life at all. He opened his mouth to ask why she hadn't stayed, but thirteen years out of contact hadn't changed the fact that she knew him too well; she easily guessed what he was thinking. "I know I shouldn't have left, I just... I couldn't..." She looked out the window over the rusty sink, unable to meet his eyes.
They sat in silence again before she asked suddenly, "How did you find me?"
Setting his coffee cup down with forced gentleness, he reached for the paper stuffed into his back pocket. He tossed it on the table in front of her. She gave him a puzzled glance before unfolding it.
She inhaled sharply, paling as she recognized the picture. "Hospital records," he said simply.
"They said these were sealed!"
Deeks laughed mirthlessly. "I have... friends in high places."
"Clearly," Michelle muttered as she placed the picture face down on the table.
"Shelly," Deeks whispered, using his childhood nickname for her.
She stood up abruptly. "You should go. Andrew will be home soon and I have to make dinner."
"Andrew?" Deeks asked curiously, hiding his fury well. "Is he the kids' father?" Please say no, please say no, he thought desperately as he waited for the answer.
"No," Michelle said distractedly as she opened and closed cupboards, trying to find something to cook for dinner. Deeks caught the sigh of relief before it escaped.
"I was just wondering, 'cause obviously Wilde wasn't your name last time I saw you."
"No, I changed it myself when I turned eighteen. Didn't have much use for a last name before that..." She paused in her rifling through the cabinets and stared off into the distance for a moment, obviously remembering things she'd rather forget. "Anyway, no, Andrew's last name is Navari." Deeks suppressed a triumphant laugh.
Michelle froze. "I shouldn't have told you that," she sighed.
Deeks attempted to look innocent. "Why?"
Her response was a look that said she wasn't buying it.
He simply smiled and asked, "Where's the bathroom?" She sighed again and pointed down the hall.
He went in the direction she gestured, forcing himself to walk casually. He looked around the rest of the house as he went. The carpets were brown and looked like they were older then he was, and the stains on the cracked wooden walls were less than reassuring. The furniture was mismatched and torn. He pushed the memories of his childhood home into the back oh his mind. He had more important things to focus on now. When he reached the tiny bathroom, he locked the door behind him, pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed Nell.
"Hello?" she answered, sounding slightly wary. After the last time she'd seen him, she wasn't sure what his frame of mind would be.
"Andrew Navari," Deeks said. "Tell me you got something on him." He could hear the keys clacking as she typed. "Umm... Ooh, I have something you'll like." Her mischievous smile was evident in her voice.
"Hit me, baby," he said happily.
"He's got an outstanding warrant for armed robbery a few months ago. A convenience store clerk was shot in the hold up. One of his buddies gave him up as the shooter, but LAPD was unable to locate him." The sound of more keys came through the phone. "Yep, I thought so. The name he signed on the lease of the house is fake."
"Has he been forging his signature on the payments?" Deeks asked excitedly.
"Already checking... Sure enough. Robert Jenkins. I have a death certificate in the name of Robert Jenkins here from 2008. The payments started two months after his death. Looks like Navari was his neighbor previous to his demise. Armed robber and identity thief. He's a keeper," she muttered sarcastically.
"How'd Jenkins die?" Deeks asked curiously.
"Cancer."
"Dang it, can't pin that on him, but I've got plenty of other stuff to work with! Thank you, Nell!" Deeks crowed. He could hear her laughing happily as he hung up. He sent a quick text and washed his hands while he waited for the response. Almost instantly, his phone beeped. Grinning at the single word in the message, he returned to the kitchen.
He found Michelle at the stove, cooking what looked like the beginnings of pasta. "Smells good," he commented, coming up behind her. "Can I help?"
She jumped at his voice. Clearly, her mind had been elsewhere. "Marty..." He frowned at the genuinely concerned look on her face. "Please, I know... I know this looks bad, but Andrew-"
"Don't," He cut her off firmly. "Just don't. Please do not make excuses for him. I saw Mom do it enough. He abuses you, and I'm not going to let him get away with it."
"Marty he's all we have! It's thanks to him I have this house. There's no way I would be able to afford this on my own. The kids need a father figure and he's been in their lives long enough to be that for them!"
"Yes, the same kind of father we had. The father you were terrified of," Deeks reminded her. "When he gets tired of you, he'll move on to them. They always do. Tell me he's never hit Danielle in a drunken rage."
Her flinch was answer enough. Deeks gritted his teeth in anger.
"I won't let him do this."
"Marty he loves me!" she tried desperately.
"Does he? Really? He tells you he'll never do it again? You've been in the hospital eleven times in the past three years. Doesn't that tell you something? He won't stop!" Deeks said angrily.
She opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by the front door slamming. "Whose car is in my driveway?" a man's voice said loudly and angrily. "Who did you bring home this time, you damn who-" The huge, dark haired man Deeks assumed was Andrew Navari stopped in the doorway, taking in Deeks' proximity to Michelle. She immediately stepped away from him. "Who're you?" he demanded with a glare.
"Baby, this is m-"
"Shut up," Navari snapped, not even taking his eyes off Deeks. Michelle obeyed meekly, drawing herself in defensively.
Furious, Deeks said coldly, "She was just answering your question."
"I was askin' you," Navari fumed.
"You'll get the same answer either way," Deeks retorted.
"Would you just answer the damn question?" Navari roared.
Just to piss him off, Deeks hesitated a few seconds before replying, "A cop."
"Well you're trespassing," Navari said confidently. "Get out."
At this Deeks laughed coldly, drawing a somewhat incredulous glare from Navari and a frightened glance from Michelle. "I can't do that. I have some business here."
"What business could you possibly have in my house?" he spat.
"LAPD's looking for you, did you know that?" Deeks asked threateningly, watching closely as this news hit home. The man's dark, beady eyes widened slightly, but he was otherwise calm. Michelle on the other hand, stiffened beside him.
"Yeah? What for? I ain't done nothing."
Deeks chuckled again, trying to hide his violent fury at the man's nerve. "Armed robbery. Was it really necessary to shoot the guy, Andy?" This time Navari shifted nervously. "Or should I call you Robert, because he's technically the guy who owns this house, right?" Now Deeks saw the subtle muscle tensing that came right before a suspect started running. However, before he could grab his gun, a new voice spoke from behind him.
"Don't run, please. I'd really rather not do all the paperwork that would come with shooting you." Deeks grinned at the dry voice of his partner. Navari tensed. Shaking his head, Deeks saw the wheels turning in the bastard's head. He easily followed his thought process. Female voice, females are weak, I could easily overpower her and get away.
Sure enough, not two seconds later, the man turned and raised his hand to smack Kensi out of the way. Thankfully, she'd also seen it coming and before he could even lower his hand, her booted foot had appeared between his legs.
The sharp yelp that came from Navari as he collapsed was piercing, but satisfying. The horrified gasp that left his sister's mouth, however, was enough to almost make Marty feel guilty. Almost.
Kensi stood over the man and sighed. "I said don't run, you idiot. You're lucky I didn't do worse."
Deeks rolled his eyes. "We've had this conversation before Kens. There's not much else out there worse than that."
Kensi rolled her eyes right back at him. "Men," she muttered as she grabbed Navari's hands and forced them behind his back. She made sure the cuffs were just a little too tight, and hauled him up from the floor. "Oh, you big baby," she chastised as he whimpered loudly.
"Marty..." Michelle whispered from the stove, where she'd stood silently during the entire confrontation.
Deeks looked to Kensi, who nodded and snapped, "Come on," to her prisoner, yanking him toward the front door. He watched them go to make sure the man didn't try anything before returning to his sister's side.
She looked out the window as Kensi stuffed Navari into her car, cuffing him to the back of the passenger seat. "Marty, I know he isn't a good man. I've suspected him of doing things like... like what you said he did for a while now, and he... he isn't nice." She ignored her brother's snort at this last statement. "But, Marty... I haven't been able to get a solid job in years... He takes care of us." She was fighting tears.
Again, Deeks felt slightly guilty when she brought up the kids, but he held his ground. "Shelly, no, he didn't. Financially, maybe, but that was it, and it wasn't even legal. He didn't take care of you, look at yourself!" He gestured to her various injuries. "He's just like Dad was, and I'm not going to let him hurt you anymore than I did Dad. You're my baby sister. I'm going to protect you no matter what you get yourself into."
Michelle was crying in earnest now, and he gently gathered her into his arms. "Hey," he whispered into her hair, "Hey, it'll be okay, I'm here now, and I won't let anything happen to you. He won't hurt you or the kids anymore."
Sniffling, Michelle pulled back slightly so she could speak. "I just don't know what I'm going to do, I have to take care of the kids, I need to get a job and I don't even know where to begin looking-"
"Hey," Deeks stopped her slightly panicked ramblings. "Why don't you come live with me?"
Shocked, for a moment all she could do was stare at him.
"Live... Live with you?" she finally gasped. Marty, I... I couldn't. I couldn't do that to you."
"Do what? Keep me company? Give me someone to come home to? Give me a reason to want to go home? Shell, I have nothing but a dog right now. My job is my life. It's empty. Yeah, I have the team, but to have a family to go home to... Please? My apartment's pretty big, I have a spare room and a pullout, you could have my room-"
"No," Michelle interrupted firmly. "No." Just as he felt his heart start to break, she added, "I will not let you kick yourself out of your own bedroom. I... I will take the pullout."
"So you'll come?" Marty asked, feeling his face break into a huge smile.
Hesitantly, she nodded, and said, "Someone has to take care of you."
Laughing with joy, he hugged her tightly and then said, "Let's go tell the kids."
Grinning tearfully at his childlike excitement, Michelle let her brother lead her out of the house haunted with so many painful memories.
_
Well, I haven't quite made friends with the very end of this chapter yet, but after some serious editing, I still haven't figured out how to make it right. Haha, I was actually going to have Navari come quietly, but I figured I'd let Kensi have her fun. Feedback would be lovely, as always! I'm not sure if I should continue this storyline yet... I have some vague ideas, but let me know what you think! Next chapter is Jack.
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