Note: It's the last chapter, so it's a little longer. And we get some *dialogue* for a change! If you've been reading, thank you for following along. I'm grateful for the reviews and encouragement, they have all much appreciated. Once again, my big thanks to Anna (thepixiesmademedoit) for the advice, corrections, and support. And a 10 days later (once again) Happy Birthday to Jenn (MioneAlterEgo), who this was written for.

I'm sure I'll be back with some shorter stories or one-shots in the future, but now it's back to my longer story after this bit of a break. Thanks for reading and reviewing if you do, I hope you enjoy the conclusion. And if you are so inclined on your way out, I'd be curious to know if you had a favorite birthday "gift."

Dinner

I went from thinking about who Deeks is as my partner, to thinking about who he is as my friend and wanting to be someone he can rely on. I don't want him to think he can't count on me. I realized deep down that that was what all the birthday gifts came back around to. I may not have initially realized what forgetting his birthday meant, but I'd let him down. I was proving myself to him, wanting him to believe in me. His belief in me was something I was only just beginning to understand was fundamentally important to me. And even though Deeks had seemingly been won over by my efforts, he hadn't said the words yet.

As a sort of last hurrah, I told Deeks I would make dinner for him as my final birthday gift. It's true I don't really cook. But I can heat up precooked dishes and mix spinach dip like a perfect party hostess. And in the fine tradition of Blye family dining, I invited Deeks over for Appetizer Dinner.

Once Deeks arrived I explained to him this particular tradition. Instead of an actual meal with specific courses, like soup, salad, entrée, and dessert, Appetizer Dinner was something my parents had come up with when I was little and something of a picky eater. For kids things like mini pizzas, corndogs, chicken nuggets, even cut up fruits and vegetables become more fun. My parents eventually supplemented that with other dishes like French fries, hummus, and various vegetable dips. Apparently I'd been a difficult and stubborn kid when it came to food.

After my mom left the tradition kind of died away. As an adult, Appetizer Dinner for myself was a lot of work for one person. As I finished explaining all this to Deeks I was suddenly aware of how hard and loud my heart was beating, and of how long I'd been talking, completely uninterrupted as I spilled a family story I'd never told anyone. I stole a glance at Deeks, acutely aware of how I wanted him to understand the unspoken message in what I was telling him.

On the surface it wasn't a big thing. People had dinner all the time. But I wouldn't do this with someone else, or for someone else. Just for him. I hesitated to even think the word "family," as applicable as it had become in my apprehensive heart.

Deeks looked at me, the softness and understanding in his eyes a reassuring answer. I covered up the relief I felt by handing Deeks a plate and urging him to dig in. We settled into the chairs on my patio, enjoying the warmth of a January in southern California, the silence interrupted by the occasional murmur of appreciation for the food from Deeks.

I gathered my courage and finally blurted out the words I'd been thinking for weeks. "I really am sorry about forgetting your birthday, Deeks."

"You didn't forget my birthday, you just missed it by a bit," He paused, shooting me a wry smile as he continued. "You mistook the date, misplaced it. I know it wasn't intentional."

I sighed, feeling guilty for my relief at his words. Deeks was letting me off the hook. And it wasn't a kindness I necessarily wanted to just accept. "Mistaken, misplaced, or missed, I'm still sorry."

"I know you are. I've known since that night. I can admit I was upset at first, but that's long gone."

I chewed my lower lip, accepting that I'd hurt him. I spoke softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Deeks turned to smile at me, the grin fully reaching his eyes. "I know, Kens. It's okay, I forgive you. That's what friends do. Especially when you mean the apology."

"How do you know I mean my apology?" I asked him curiously. Deeks looked at my strangely.

"I seriously doubt you would have done all those things over the last month if you didn't mean it. And it wasn't the things themselves that told me. It was the things you did, the thoughtfulness. That alone told me that I mean something to you."

I thought about how second nature it had become to think of Deeks first, to want to surprise him with gifts and gestures. Then I shocked us both, reaching out to lay a hand on his forearm, my voice strong with conviction as the words tumbled out before I could really consider them, parse them out, or edit them down. "You've always meant something. You do mean something to me. More than something."

Deeks stared into my eyes, his gaze searching and hopeful in a way beyond the usual questions that came about through the time we spent together as partners. This was more than asking if I was okay after being shot at, if I'd filled out the proper report paperwork for Hetty, or if I wanted to get beers after work. This was asking a bigger question, one I thought I might finally be ready to at least consider. I might finally be able to not disappoint that hope in his eyes.

"Really?" Deeks asked me softly, turning his chair towards mine and leaning forward to trap my knees between his. "Now that sounds like something worth finding out more about."

Deeks' lips were gentle against mine when he kissed me, cautious as if he thought I might pull back or push him away. But I'd spent so much of the last month thinking about him, thinking about us, and I'd finally understood how important he was to me. Not just as a partner and friend.

I fiercely kissed Deeks back, sliding to the edge of my seat to be closer as I slid my hands up his chest, feeling the muscles I'd seen when he went surfing on the day I gave him his free pass to surf, to his neck where I threaded my fingers through the hair I'd cut earlier that month. I swallowed his exhalation of my name, the relief and awe in his tone making my heart hammer even louder in my head.

When Deeks pulled back after a few minutes, chuckling and a little flustered by my enthusiastic response, I couldn't change the grin I felt spread over my face.

"Wow. With a response like that, you can forget my birthday any year you want."

I laughed in response, knowing the date would be forever etched in my memory. But even something that had started out bad could be turned into something good. Strange as it seemed now, I was almost glad I'd forgotten about the importance of January 8th since it made me see what was right in front of me all along.

In the end it was about more than a birthday.

END