Kensi spends a week in a detention facility in Boise. She makes sure she is teary eyed and upset every time she sees anyone from the compound.
She goes through multiple debriefs and identifying pictures. The nice FBI women tell her that Deeks will start his debriefs in a week, when he's more conscious on a regular basis. "He'll be fine," the older lady says.
"I'm not going into WitSec, right?"
"Nope," the younger lady agent says. "We've been able to dismantle almost all of their information network. You and your partner should be able to go back to work for NCIS. Just don't give press conferences."
"I don't like press conferences," Kensi says, thinking of Callen.
She flies into LA in a private jet. Eric meets her at the airport with Monty who breaks free of his leash and jumps onto her. She says, "Thank you, Eric."
"I'm going to miss that bathtub," Eric says. "I set up some of my gaming stuff in there, it was like heaven."
He drives her back to her apartment and she sleeps on the master bed with Monty draped over her.
She goes through her debriefs and psych evals, all mandatory after long term undercover. She only asks five times when she can see Deeks. "We want to be more sure of the security," she is told. "We're keeping you apart so everyone thinks he's dead," is another she gets.
The day before she's slated to go back to work, she's out walking Monty when she sees a Jaguar pull up next to her. Hetty calls from the driver's side, "Get in Miss Blye, and you can bring the mutt, too."
"Mutt is the technical term," Hetty says to Monty. "I meant no disrespect." Hetty drives her to a non-descript private rehabilitation center in Orange County.
"Deeks," Kensi says.
"Exactly," Hetty says, the car idling. "He's in room 409. I'll arrange for someone to pick you two up in an hour or so."
"Or longer," Kensi says.
"He's still not up for much exercise, Miss Blye," Hetty says.
"I just wanted to talk to him longer," she says.
Kensi almost runs into the room. Monty basically does.
"Yay," Deeks says. "Finally."
"I know," she says. They kiss for a few minutes even though Deeks's breath is pretty gross. She says, "You know your hair is getting long."
"Super long, that's my plan. Jared Leto long, you seen him recently? That long."
"No," Kensi says. "I know you need to let loose, but as your girlfriend, I have a veto. And I veto. A lot."
"ZZ Top beard?" He grins at her.
"Veto again."
She sits down next to his bed and rests her head on his uninjured shoulder. Monty is already on the bed, curled up in a protective manner at Deeks's feet. She says, "I'm gonna come here every day."
"It's a drive," he says. "Don't do it if you have a long day at work. I know how long those days are. You can text me, or email me. Nell brought me a tablet. I don't think it's actually been released yet, or Eric built it, but it's pretty sweet."
She sleeps very well that night.
Kensi finds the Mission weird in a way. Familiar, but different. She says hi to the people she knows and drifts down to the gym. She sees Callen and Nell talking, standing very very close. Nell laughs and Callen laughs, then he touches her chin and then they're kissing.
Kensi steps back so they won't see her and almost trips over Hetty. "I hope you don't feel resentful," Hetty says.
"Of what?"
"I seem to recall a memo from Assistant Director Granger about you and Detective Deeks refraining from any displays of affection in the Mission."
"I never saw that," Kensi says.
"Oh? My mistake," Hetty says, smirking. She walks away.
Kensi texts Deeks what she saw (he texts back "take a picture take a picture," she ignores that) and what Hetty said.
Then she walks into the gym and it's only Callen. She can tell, though, he knows she knows. He says, "Good to have you back, Kensi."
"Same to you," she says.
"We have a lot of agents these days," Callen says. "But they're all too good to get rid of any of them."
"Thanks," Kensi says. "You know, maybe we could have two teams."
"We used to have two teams running out of the mission, I think it would be good to go back to that." He smiles at her again. He's really chipper. It's scary.
"So, like -"
"You and Deeks can have the new newbie and Sam and I will have the old newbies."
"So who would be team leader if it's me, Deeks and," she says. She pauses. "You mean me. My own team."
"You'll be great," Callen says. He sounds very sincere. "Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a raise. Also, since Nell just got her upgrade to full time field agent after her work undercover, it would be weird for me to be her team leader."
"But I can boss around Deeks," Kensi says.
"He likes that, though," Callen says.
"That's very true," she says.
It's a surprising slow day setting up her new team space and meeting her new agent. But she's still bouncing when she gets to Orange County. She tells him everything and he says, beaming, "You're gonna rock this. You'll be great."
"I think I will," she says.
"I know you will," he says. "Tell me about my new teammates. Although, I'm finally getting along with Sam and now we don't work together? That's ironic and wrong."
"We'll still work together," Kensi says. "Okay, so you know Nell. And you know you. So Nell's new partner is Matt Bernhart, formerly LAPD."
"I've heard of him," Deeks says, a little frown on his face. "He was forced to resign."
"But it wasn't a bad forced to resign like he was dirty or anything -"
"There are good forced to resign events," Deeks says, slowly.
"It wasn't bad enough to keep him out of NCIS. Plus, Renko recommended him. Matt says everyone thought he would never make it out of training or his first assignment or his next, but he did. He worked in New York, he was an agent afloat for over a year," Kensi says. Deeks shudders. He tends to go on about what a nightmare being the agent afloat must be.
"Then he was on the green team and now he's back in LA. It works out well because Nell has the experience of undercover and the kinds of ops we do, and Matt has all the field agent experience. Although I think Callen is a little nervous," she says, laughing.
"I don't like him," Deeks says.
"Because Callen is nervous?"
"If Callen is nervous, he must be attractive. And I'm two months at best away from being back in the field. I know your weakness for LAPD."
"I'm so glad I know you're not being serious," Kensi says. Deeks is still frowning. "He does look a little like you, blue eyes, blond, scruffy. You know what he doesn't have?"
"My charm? My skills? My sparkling clean adult record?"
"Jared Leto hair," she says. "If I was choosing between Jared Leto hair on a guy and not as long hair, I'd go with the one closer to a high and tight. You know, Marine daddy."
"Fine," Deeks mutters. "What if I just have it for, like, a day. And then I cut it? I mean it's pretty long now."
She sighs. "Okay, you can grow it. But it gets cut the minute you're out of here."
"Deal," he says.
xx
The rehab is a lot of getting strong, building up resilience again. It's very boring, broken up only by the endless debriefs from Homeland Security and FBI and NCIS (not even Kensi NCIS which would be fun, but some agent from DC named McGee). Also, there's the healing and antibiotics and more gross recovery things but he tries not to dwell.
Finally, he is a day away from being released and Kensi is in his room, freaking out. Today they're both getting medals from NCIS for being awesome. After he gets out of the shower, Kensi pushes him down on the bed and climbs on his lap. He says, "Best idea ever, pre medal sex?"
"Ha," Kensi says. "Not that I don't want to have sex but I am trying to make your hair look somewhat decent." She's pulling it back in a ponytail.
"Aw, come on. A douche ponytail? Come on."
"Trust me, your hair down is way douchier. I know you have to let loose and I promise, I won't cut it in the middle of the night no matter how tempted I am until you get back to work -"
"I'm donating it," he says. "Locks of love, remember?"
She sighs and stands up. "Okay."
"Do you think this really looks medal acceptance okay?" Marty looks in the mirror, it's not great. He's been trimming his increasingly full beard, but his hair pulled back is not ideal for his looks.
"You're putting your cover on," she says.
"Cover?"
She waves her hand and points at the garment bag she hung up when she came in. "Your dress uniform. I ordered you a new one. I mean, you're so much skinnier. I could have had the other one taken in but it seemed silly because you won't be that gaunt forever or anything."
She's babbling, like she's him or something. It's a bigger thing for her than for him, he gets that. He says, "Got it. You shower."
He gets dressed in his new skinnier dress blues and sits back down on the bed. He calls Sam while he can hear the shower running. "Hey, you coming?"
"Coming to see Kensi get her medal, sure," Sam says. There's a warmth in his voice so Marty knows they're cool.
"And bringing the thing?"
Sam laughs. "I got it. I'll pass it to you covertly, like you're a real spy or something."
The shower stops and the hair dryer noise starts. Marty takes his morning pills and vitamins, plays a game of word search or three on his phone. Finally she comes out, curling her hair into some kind of bun thing.
"You look gorgeous," he says.
She smiles as she finishes her elaborate hair. "I hope so, this was a $300 dress."
"You make the dress work," he says.
She takes his hand to subtly help him up. Her heels are high enough they're almost eye to eye. He says, "Why aren't you wearing lipstick?"
"So I can do this," she says, and kisses him. Then she puts on her lipstick, which he guesses is also expensive.
They have a reserved room at the center and by the time Kensi and Marty get down there, Director Vance, Lt. Bates, Hetty, Gibbs and some people Marty doesn't recognize are already milling around. Sam and a few other people sneak in as Vance starts his speech. "Even though you are not an NCIS agent, Det. Deeks, and I think that is something I hope will change -"
Gibbs, probably only the person who can get away with interrupting the Director, says, "He says he needs a union."
Bates and Hetty laugh. Vance smiles, says more nice things and pins the medal on his chest. Then he gets to the part Marty cares about and does the same for Kensi. She glows and he thinks she might be tearing up. Everyone claps and they're done.
Sam claps Marty on the back and slips the thing into his pocket.
Marty says to Kensi, "You can put that in its box and store it with the one your dad got and it's like he knows. I mean, I know he knows and he's so proud of you."
She hugs him so hard, it almost hurts. "You asshole," she says, mumbling into his chest. "Thank you."
He takes her hand and pushes the ring onto it. "I have this for you, by the way."
"You're proposing?" She smiles down at the ring. "This is gorgeous, did you pick it out?"
"Technically, I left it up to Sam who knows us both and I think he left it up to Michelle."
She smiles wider. "Good plan," she says. "But I want a real proposal."
"Should it be mushy?"
She's looking down at the ring. "Do you only do mushy when you're about to die?"
"No," he says. "Okay, I love you, I love you. Everything is basically awesome with you even when we're fighting, even though Monty likes you more than me, even when you're not wearing $300 dresses and it's just those crappy sweats you bought at Walmart for god knows why reason. And you're crying a little, so that's mushy enough?"
She says, "You got a little leak, too, there, ass. Ugh, so yes, I feel like we're embarrassing ourselves a lot."
"Yes to marrying me?"
"Of course," she says. "Of course."
Notes: Matt's inclusion is a tip of the hat to the wonderful Tess DiCorsi's stories. I started this story as part of the extreme big bang challenge on lj - 100,000 words. Clearly, not something I could manage as this not even 30,000 is still the longest I've ever written. But I had high hopes and planned out lots of plotty things. This deep undercover plot was meant to be the first third and the resolution of the ex-stasi ring as the second and who called Nate as the end. I fully intend to get those last two thirds written at some point but right now, this summer, I have other stories I'm excited about and want to write. Also, a little burnt on this 'verse, it was a lot of words for me! So for now, this story is marked complete. Once I get the next 30,000 done, I'll start updating again. (So almost all loose ends will be tied up. Like those missing bad guys.) Thank you so much for reading along and all the nice comments! :)