A/N: Hallo there! I know I said that I would update during June but summer, laziness and a finished NCIS LA FF got in the way.
I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who reviewed, followed, favorited? or just read Two Heartbroken Dudes. It means the world to me that my first solo multichap ff was good enough to get double digits reviews.
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it.
"This is your HQ, really? I thought that you guys get the biggest cut of the budget." Tony said as they arrived at the Mission. Callen didn't respond. He knew that once Dinozzo saw the interior of the building he would change his mind.
"Wow! I take that back. This place is awesome. No orange walls." he said as he looked around. "You have a fountain inside? Why don't we have one? Our office is at the Navy Yard, with the Director."
"Tony, do you forget the Navy Yard is surrounded by a huge garden?" Ziva intervened, hoping that she could spare the further humiliation from her husband.
"Yes, but-" he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Hetty standing in front of them, hands behind her back.
"I'm glad that you finally arrived."
"It was Callen's fault. He didn't let me drive. If he had, we would have been here hours ago." Ziva said while giving a side glare to Callen.
"I know Miss David, or should I say Mrs. Dinozzo. Congratulations on your wedding. It was about time."
"Thank you, Hetty." she replied.
"Mr. Dinozzo, it's a pleasure meeting you." Hetty said as she extended her hand.
"You too, Miss Lange." Tony replied as he shook hands with Hetty.
"Please call me Hetty."
"Ok."
"Now, everyone is waiting for you up in OPS. Mr Callen, lead the way."
"Follow me." he said as he began climbing the stair.
Only Gibbs didn't move. "Long time no speak, Hetty."
"Indeed Jethro. I think we haven't seen each other since Jenny's funeral. You haven't changed a bit."
"Same goes for you Hetty."
"Now, I was about to make a cup of tea. Would you like to have some coffee?"
"If it's like the last time."
"Oh, it's better."
Gibbs just smiled and followed Hetty to her office.
"Wow. McGee would have loved it here."
"He's been here, Tony." Ziva reminded him.
"Oh yeah, I remember now."
The moment they reached the OPS, their conversation stopped because they heard two people arguing from inside.
"C'mon Fern, really?"
"Yes Deeks, really. And how many times have I told you to stop with the nicknames. You know how much I hate them." Kensi replied, obviously frustrated.
"No you don't, Princess. You love them, just like you love me." the blond replied, while flashing his fiancé his most charming smile.
"You know what? I really reconsidering marrying you this summer."
"You having cold feet, sunshine?" he teased her a little more.
"No, more like a change of heart."
"That hurt." he said while placing his right hand over his heart.
"It better did."
Callen and the rest had stopped just behind the junior agents, listening to their banter. "Sorry to interrupt guys, but we have work to do." Callen said.
They both nodded.
"Before we start, let me introduce you to the agents who will assist our investigation." he turned towards the Dinozzos. "Special Agents Anthony Dinozzo and Ziva David-Dinozzo, please meet Agents Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks."
"You?" both Tony and Deeks said at the same time.
"I never thought that I would see you again." Tony said.
"Me neither. We do work for the same agency, but..."
"You were LAPD. What happened?"
"Long story."
"You too know each other?" Kensi asked.
"Yes, we met at a bar in LA, what last year?" Tony replied.
"Yes it had to be last year."
"I don't wanna ruin your reunion, but we have a killer to catch." Callen said. "Nell, what do we know?"
"The Red Rose Killer, six bodies in the past six months. He's called that because his victims hold a red rose what they are found. All the victims are females age 18-25. They have different hair, eyes, skin color, background, they have never met each other. The one thing they have in common is that they had all applied to join the Navy and were all accepted. Now, he shot them in the back of the head."
"Execution style." Callen added.
"Exactly. He is extremely careful, he leaves no DNA, no fingerprints, no witnesses. The last victim, Vanessa Bennett was found by some morning runners at Venice Beach, around 5:30 this morning and according to Rose she was killed between 13:00 and midnight."
"He's good." Tony said.
"Really good." Deeks agreed.
"What about the DC victims?" Sam asked.
"We did background checks, we interviewed families, friends, colleagues. We looked into phone records and emails, we even know what they were doing 24 hours prior to their death and nothing stood out."
They spent the next two-hour going over all the evidence and trying to make a psychological profile of the killer. Deeks was about to go get lunch, when Eric caught their attention.
"Guys, look at this. It was just released on the internet."
All agents focused on the video playing on the big screen. A blue car had parked along of Venice Beach and the driver made his way to the passenger's seat and carried a, what seemed like an unconscious woman, to the sand. Five minutes later, he was driving away. The video ended and they looked at each other.
"We were able to get the plate. It was a rented car to this man, Peter Scuared. Guess what? He lives in DC, but flew to LA three days ago." Eric informed them.
"That's our guy." Callen said.
"I hope so. Where is he staying?" Sam spoke up.
"He has booked a room in 'Venice Beach Motel'. The car is still there." Eric continued.
"Let's go." Callen said as he left OPS and made his way towards the armory to prepare for the operation. The rest of his team, as well as the DC team, followed him. There they formed a plan and half an hour later, they were ready to go.
It didn't take them long to take him down. He played innocent at the beginning, but 15 minutes with Gibbs in the interrogation room, were enough to loosen up his tongue. His confession, combined with the evidence found in his motel room, were enough to guarantee him a place in prison.
They were all ready to call it a night.
Sam was glad that he could get to spend some time with his family. Callen decided to buy Gibbs the drink he owed him, and Nell and Eric left for the night too. Hetty had to make some phone calls after informing Gibbs' team that they would leave the following day at 15:00.
"Do you guys wanna join us for dinner?" Deeks asked the remaining two agents of the DC team.
"We wouldn't want to bother you." Ziva said.
"It's no bother. I was just going to make some pasta. It's no big deal."
"Sure. We could catch up too. What do you think, Zi? We don't have anything better to do."
"Ok, then." she agreed.
The ride to Deeks' apartment - now Kensi's too - was spent differently. Deeks and Kensi picked up their fight over their child's name, while Tony and Ziva spoke on the phone to Abby, reassuring her that nothing had happened in LA during their visit.
Upon arriving, the two couples were greeted from Monty, who might have barked at the visitors at the beginning, making Tony to jump three feet up in the air, but soon enough fell in love with him, much like everyone who met him, even Sam. Kensi decided to take Monty for a short walk around the block, along with Ziva, as Deeks and Tony prepared dinner.
"So married, huh? Deeks asked as he filled a pot with water.
"Yeah." the other man replied as he played with his wedding ring. "I proposed one month after she came back. We got married two months later. What about you?"
"We got together when she returned from Afghanistan and now she's pregnant and I'm gonna be a father."
"Congrats, man."
"Thanks."
"Are you having a boy or a girl?"
"A boy."
"Have you chosen a name yet?"
"We only found out today about the gender, but I've had a name on my mind from the beginning. Haven't told her yet, but I want to name him after Kensi's father. He was a marine and they were very close, until he was murdered when she was 15. This is my way of honoring his memory, ya know."
A few yards away, Kensi and Ziva were having a conversation of their own.
"You like dogs?" Kensi asked.
"I love them. I'm still trying to convince Tony to get one. He's afraid of them."
"Yeah, I got that from earlier. How long have you and Tony been married?"
"A little over 9 months, but we've been partners and friends for 8 years."
"Wow, that's a lot of time."
"I know. Things between us were just too complicate."
"I know the feeling." she nodded.
"What about you and Deeks?"
"We were both undercover when we met. There was something about him that had my alarms going off. And now, six years later, we're having a child. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around everything that's happened." she said with a dreamy look on her face.
After that, they returned to Deeks' apartment and found the boys making the table.
"Does agent McGee still work with you?" Kensi asked once they had all sat down.
Tony was the one to reply. "Yes. He just returned from paternity leave last week. He and his girlfriend Delilah just had a baby girl. Little Juliet has him wrapped around her little finger."
They spent some time eating in silence, until Tony spoke up. "I've been willing to ask. How is it like working for Hetty? I mean, she's the definition of a legend, like Marvel's Captain America."
"Working for Hetty is... interesting. And she lives up to the legend. But not as Captain America, more as Nick Fury." Deeks replied, snickering as he talked.
"Now that you said it, I would give everything to see a Hetty vs. Fury diva off."
"Fury might be a fictional character, but I bet that Hetty knows Samuel L. Jackson personally." Kensi said.
"You think?"
"She did have a fling with Sinatra once upon a time. I wouldn't be surprised if she advises him on how to be all sassy." Kensi continued.
"I for once, would have voted for her." Tony said, earning him a kick on the shin from Ziva.
"What about your boss?" the blond asked.
"Gibbs? What about him?" Ziva said.
"Anything interesting you would like to share with us?"
"Well, he drinks a lot of coffee. We're talking gallons here. He's probably the one who made Starbucks rich." Tony joked.
"He has a set of rules." Ziva added.
"Hetty does too."
"How many does she have?"
"Around five."
"Gibbs' rules are 69, that we know of, and he's only taught us 33."
"Wow. Have you ever broken any of them?"
"Technically, yes. Rule #12, 'Never date a co-worker.', but it never said anything about marrying one though."
"Anything else?"
"He has the tendency to headslap us whenever we're acting stupidly."
"That must hurt."
"It does, his headslaps must have cost me a couple thousand hundred brain cells, but they're nothing compared to his "Gibbs' Stare", as we call it, powerful enough to make the toughest of men cry like little babies."
Tony and Ziva left a couple of hours later, promising to come back to LA for Deeks' and Kensi's wedding.
And they did.
The following year, the McGee's, the Dinozzo's, who were expecting their first child, and even Abby with her boyfriend, attended Kensi's and Deeks' wedding.
Throughout the years, the two teams worked together a few times in a few cases and kept in touch as their respective families grew bigger and happier.
THE END
My new NCIS LA story, titled "Playing House" will be posted sometime during this week. This is the summary:
""Deeks, Kensi and a baby. What could possibly go wrong? Apparently everything. This is NOT a pregnancy fic.""
Thanks for reading! See ya soon!