Chapter 9
Deeks walked past Sam refusing to make eye contact with him as Callen walked him over to the interrogation room at the boatshed.
"Other side Deeks." Callen said as Deek went to sit on his normal side.
"Sorry." Deeks said and sat on the other side.
Callen walked out and grabbed the file. Looking at Deeks on the monitor he sighed as Sam came over. "You ok?"
"No…not really, I'm about to interview a member of my team for doing something I would have done in a heartbeat had I been in his position….hell I was in his position with the Comescu's and I killed them, I get exactly where he's coming from." Callen said sadly.
"Then perhaps you shouldn't be the one doing the interview." Said a voice from behind him.
They looked as Granger walked in and took the file from Callen's hand.
"He's screwed isn't he?" Callen asked.
Granger looked at him, "I can say his days as a cop are over." He said.
Callen looked at Sam worried as Granger grabbed the file and walked into interrogation.
"Shit." Deeks said under his breath as Granger walked in.
"Indeed Mr. Deeks, you are in deep shit." He replied.
Deeks closed off and glared at him, "I don't regret a thing." He snapped.
"That's good." Granger said.
"What?!"
"You took that step, although it was a little over the top, you found out who was blackmailing Dr. Hampton and who was responsible for the kidnap of her…sorry your daughter. My question to you is would you put that kind of dedication in again."
"Sorry?" Deeks was confused now.
"You didn't kill him did you?"
"I…I wanted to…but I…I couldn't." Deeks admitted. "Why do you care though, I'm through as a cop."
"You are, we have your gun, and I need your badge for Lieutenant Bates." Granger confirmed.
Deeks reached into his back pocket and held the badge for a second, running this thumb over the metal, with a sigh he tossed it onto the table and looked away.
"So have you given any thought to your future?" Granger asked.
Deeks laughed, for the first time in a long while a deep sad emotion filled laugh. "My future, well I think I'm gonna be pretty busy for the next five to ten years don't you?" He looked at up at Granger his face filled with hopelessness. "Maybe after that I may get to know my daughter…if she still wants to know me,"
"That's a pity." Granger said closing the file in front of him.
"I don't regret it, I'd do it again." Deeks said defiantly.
"I had hoped so." Granger said.
"What?!" Deeks said, this was echoed by Callen and Sam in the main room.
"Well we thought you'd want this badge." Granger put an NCIS badge on the table.
Deeks picked it up. "Are you insane?" Deeks asked honestly.
"What's he playing at?" Callen asked Sam in the other room.
"I am hoping he's convincing our Mr. Deeks to stay." Hetty said as her face appeared in the small box on the monitor.
"Hetty?"
"Fitzgerald copped a plea to his crimes, he has admitted to taking Miss Hampton and arranging for the body of that poor dead girl to be displayed."
"But Bates doesn't want him back?" Sam asked.
'"To be honest I believe that Lieutenant Bates has been looking for a reason to 'offload' Mr. Deeks for a while." She told them.
They looked back at Deeks who was still looking at the badge.
"Deeks." Granger asked,
"Why?" Deeks asked eventually.
"Why what?" Granger replied.
"Why am I not going to jail? Why did Bates….Scratch that I know exactly why Bates wanted me gone, Why are you offering me a job?" Deeks asked.
"You are not going to jail because Fitzgerald took a plea so he'd let us in on the other members of his gang, you have been cleared. And because, Hetty sees something in you and she thinks that you'd be a great special agent…now Deeks, Sign the Damn forms." Granger said pushing the paper towards him.
Deeks took them and looked at them his hand stopped near the pen.
"You need a job; you have a child to support."
"I'm not going to jail?" Deeks asked stunned.
"No Deeks, but you are due for dinner with your daughter in an hour, so I suggest you sign the forms and go and see Hetty for a wardrobe change."
"I…."
"The forms." Granger smiled as Deeks finally signed the forms, "I would suggest to ask Sam and Callen to drive you back to the mission, I assume they have questions." He said and stood up.
"You have a week off; we will see you after that Special Agent Deeks." Granger said he stood up and left.
"Special…Agent…." Deeks looked at the new badge in his hands.
"Congratulations man" Callen said as he walked in the room.
"Am I dead?" Deeks asked.
"What?"
"I thought I was going to prison, and now I'm a special agent?" He said totally stunned.
Callen smirked over at Sam, "I've heard of this, new dad syndrome, you become a parent the mind goes, was that what it was like for you Sam?" he asked.
Sam shot him a look. "Come on Deeks, we're all going to meet this daughter of yours." He told him, "I don't want to be late."
Deeks walked out of the boatshed nursing his wounds and holding tightly to the badge that Granger had given him and the box of letters that he had left on the table as he blindly got into the car.
"Shell shocked," Sam grinned at Callen before they got in.
Walking into the mission Deeks hesitated as he got closer to the door.
"She isn't going to bite you know." Callen said.
"Who, Kensi or Hetty?" Deeks asked.
"Neither of them." Callen gave Deeks a small shove and he went inside holding tightly to the box of letters.
Kensi stood at the door, "Ok Mr.….Showers." she said holding her hands out. "I'll hold that." she offered.
He reluctantly handed over the box as she walked him towards the showers, "I…Kensi…I think I've got this bit." Deeks said heading into the male shower area.
Kensi took the box and placed it on the desk, Hetty walked over "I take it Mr. Deeks is here now?" she asked.
"He's in the showers Hetty." Kensi told him.
"Good, good, I have his suit here for him, and an outfit for you Ms Blye, Mr. Callen has picked his suit up and along with Mr. Hanna is already changing."
"Are you coming as well?" Kensi asked.
Hetty smiled, "I have a new agents paperwork to process." She smiled and headed back to her office.
Deeks walked out of the shower wrapped in a towel and looked at the matching suit, shirt and tie that Kensi had hung up for him. He sat for a second on the bench looking at the suit. He couldn't believe it, he had thought that he'd be wearing orange and heading out on a prison transport by now rather than about to dress in a posh, possibly designer label suit to go to dinner with his team, his ex- teacher/girlfriend and the mother of his child and his daughter…his beautiful wondrous daughter. His child.
He suddenly felt faint and ran to the bathroom, hitting the bowl just in time.
He stood up and washed his mouth out, he knew by the fifteen minute call Eric had just played over the mission's intercom he needed to get a move on.
He had been a detective, he had faced down his fair share of bad guy, he had been undercover as everything from a homeless guy to a mixed martial arts fighter. He had been shot at. Blown up, drugged and beaten. From most people in his life from his father to all manner of dirt bags. He was now, (God knows how?) a special agent, he had even faced dirty bombs, and death on a regular basis.
But never until he looked in the mirror to tighten his tie and brush his hair had he ever felt so afraid that he was shaking and right now, he was shaking so much he couldn't hold his brush.
