Hetty knew that she did not mesh well with their Detective at first. You rarely did with people you first met. She still wanted him, however, because she knew how good he could be for the team and how good the team could be for him. There was something about him that she liked and wanted to keep around. But no, she did not consider him hers from the offset no matter what Mr Callen thought.
Oh yes, she had been the one who had chosen one Detective Martin Deeks. Of course, she had. She had been intrigued by his personality, his abilities.
It did not mean that she automatically liked him. Considered him hers, yes - of course he was hers, but didn't think of him the same way she thought of the rest of the team. So, hers but not really hers. It made sense in her head.
Quite frankly, she had chosen him because he thought he was a good fit. The missing piece so to speak. He rubbed alongside Callen well, bounced off Sam (or collided with him, more like) and matched Kensi (not an easy feat). That and she did like to cause a little chaos every now and then. And Deeks was certainly a harbinger of chaos. Gave the team a bit of a stir.
But there was just something about him that made you want to keep him around. It was inexplicable. He was loud. He was unafraid to speak up. His personality was jarring. He was loyal. He was standoffish. He didn't know how to work as a team. He worked hard with people. A very confusing and sometimes clashing mixture of personality traits.
Quite frankly, she had been morbidly curious to see how long he could stick it out. Especially since she had all but forced him into her employment (she had been a bit sneakier when recruiting the rest of the team). But he could have just walked away. And he didn't. Which was both pleasing and alarming. He was reported to be one of the best Detectives LAPD had ever had. How could he just walk away from that? But, then again, that meant NCIS had him. But would they keep him for long? She knew the results of his HL-7 test after all. Including the details.
Issues with authority, she could handle- Kensi and Callen had that problem as well. It was something that she approved of if directed correctly. Skilful manipulation was a must in this job so that caused her no worries. Frankly, she took it as a sign of an excellent undercover operative. Trust problems was another thing she was intimately familiar with, depressingly so. Why did all members of her team have trust issues?
All in all, his test results weren't something sshe would worry over. Tests weren't everything and results could be applied in different ways. The note on betraying the LAPD eventually could just mean actually becoming an agent after all. There were many sides to everything. It was just a matter of flipping to the side you wanted.
And she wanted him to become an agent. At first it was because he was good and she needed to have those that were good to belong to her. That's how she got things done to the standards she required.
So, she got him. Quite easily in fact. He didn't put up much of a fight and neither did LAPD. Hmm. Something to note.
But he stayed for a case. Then it was a month. Then it was six months. Then a year. And then suddenly counting how long Deeks had managed to stay didn't really matter anymore. No one wanted to get rid of him. Because he was here. To stay. Even if he didn't have 'NCIS Agent' in front of his name but apparently you couldn't win them all.
What could be won over, though, was the team. Slowly but surely, she watched them all accept one Marty Deeks and bring him into their fold. Become protective of him. It was oddly easy to be protective of him, Hetty found. It had surprised her how quickly she had felt it beyond simple sense of duty to those under her. But this was Marty Deeks with the bright eyes and the don't care attitude that cared very much and the unkempt appearance that belied his highly honed abilities. Even more so once Sam got a hold of him.
Hetty really wasn't sure when it happened but somehow Deeks had managed to worm his way into her heart just like the rest of them. Oh, she had tried to keep him out. She didn't need any more people to think of like that, like family, but when did Deeks lay any attention to the rules when there were loopholes to exploit? And exploit them he did and suddenly you found yourself looking at him fondly and shaking your head over his antics that almost certainly deserved more than a scolding but rarely happened. She blamed that smile of his.
She couldn't help but develop a soft spot for him. It was different than the soft spot she had for one Mr Callen but it was a soft spot nonetheless. Hetty had to admit that Deeks' charm worked on her. Which let him get away with far more than she would usually allow of her people. It was just how Deeks was she would excuse because it was the truth. He needed to be cheeky and flirty and slightly inappropriate. It was how he stayed in control, how he felt safe. Of course, Hetty was going to allow that.
The fact that it was also amusing most of the time also helped, of course. She did have a sense of humour after all.
Strangely enough, Hetty thought that Deeks was one of her biggest successes. Almost more so than Callen. Almost but not quite. Here was another Lost Boy, so to speak, who had found his way.
