Two weeks later...
Deeks walks up the driveway to the front door with Lieutenant Bates matching his stride. It's a smaller house, but well kept, on a nice street. The garage door is open, and inside Deeks can see a child's bike and red wagon.
Two kids.
Phillip Monroe had two kids. The thought sobers Deeks.
They reach the front door and Deeks pauses without knocking.
"We're here with the best news possible," Bates reminds.
"I know."
"You brought down the son of a bitch responsible for her husband's death," he says anyway.
"I know."
"You did good, kid."
Deeks says nothing, but reaches forward and knocks on the door.
Bates shakes his head. "I mean it, Deeks. Even if you've finally left us for NCIS, I'm proud of you."
Deeks glances at his former boss and nods. "Thanks." He wants to say more, but the door opens, revealing Lena Monroe.
"Marty," she greets warmly.
"Lena," he says, stepping forward to hug his late friend's wife. He feels guilty he hasn't seen her since the weeks shortly after the funeral. "How are you?"
She hugs him tight and sighs. "I'm doing okay." When she pulls away her eyes are moist but her smile is strong. "I miss my Phillip every day but I see him every day in our children."
"Hellions, I'm sure."
She laughs at that, loud and unchecked. "Some days, yes."
"How are Annie and Marty?"
"Annie and Jeremy," she corrects with a practiced eye roll, "Are fine. They're currently in the family room watching Frozen for what I'm pretty sure is actually the millionth time."
"I don't blame them. That movie is awesome."
Lena laughs again and turns her attention to Bates. "Lieutenant. Nice to see you."
"You too, Mrs. Monroe."
"Please, call me Lena." She glances at them as if she's suddenly wondering why they're on her doorstep. "Would you two like to come in?"
"If you have a few minutes. We have some news." Bates says evenly.
Lena ushers them into the kitchen and sits them at the table with some coffee.
"You have news about Phillip's...about his...about who killed him?" Lena asks.
"In a manner of speaking," Bates answers. "Now, what we're about to tell you is still sensitive information, but the kid here got clearance from far above my pay grade for us to share this information with you."
Lena looked to Deeks.
"I know how important it must be to you to know, Lena. As long as you agree not to share this with anyone else right now, we can tell you what we know."
Lena smiles softly at him. "Phillip told me you were working with some federal agency. Some liaison position."
"He was until last week," Bates answers before Deeks can. Deeks glances at his former boss, who is smiling proudly at him.
"What happened last week?" Lena asks.
000
The team had been sitting at their desks doing paperwork for about an hour when Deeks slammed his hand down on his desk, interrupting everyone's concentration.
"I've got it!" He exclaimed.
"Got what?" Sam asked.
"I don't have to paint to get gradient blue walls when we find a house," he answered, turning his attention towards his partner as he answered Sam's question. "I'm sure we can just buy wallpaper."
Kensi groaned and buried her face into her hands.
Beside her, Callen started laughing, but quickly cut off when he received a swift elbow to the ribcage.
"If I found out you said something to him..." She threatened.
"I didn't say anything!" Callen said, holding up his hands in surrender.
Deeks stared at them for a long moment. "Wait. You already figured out how I could get my gradient blue walls?"
"We had a lot of free time when you were in the interrogation room playing traitor last week."
"I thought you were trying to prove my innocence? Defending my honour?" He glanced next to him. "Sam, you had my back, right?"
Sam clapped him on the back. "Of course. These two may not have been concerned, but I had your back. I even went to supervise the search of your apartment."
"Thanks, man."
Sam shrugged. "Of course, that was more for Kensi... and then I, you know, stopped for lunch on the way back. Picked up my dry cleaning. Stopped to pick up a pamphlet for a new gym..."
Deeks rolled his eyes as his team laughed. "I hate all of you."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Deeks," Hetty called, surprising all of them with her sudden proximity, though her tone told them all she knew he was joking. "Because as of today you are officially stuck with your team." She held out a large manila envelope. "This came from Washington this morning."
"Is that..." He trailed off because he didn't really have to ask to know what it was in the envelope. With surprisingly steady hands, he took the envelope from Hetty. "Thank you," he said softly.
"No, thank you, Agent Deeks." She said, smiling. "We've both waited a long time for me to finally be able to call you that. Inside the envelope you will find a copy of your approved application, insurance and pension information which we can go over later, and your new badge."
Deeks reached into the envelope until his fingers closed around the folded leather and he pulled out his new badge. He set the envelope down on his desk as he stared at the NCIS crest and then his new ID picture. He felt Sam clap him on the back, but he couldn't look away from the touchstone in his hands.
"This is...wow."
"Maybe more of a wow moment for us than you," Sam said.
"Deeks is actually speechless," Callen finished for his partner.
Deeks huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Hey, I waited four and a half years for this."
"I waited six," Hetty countered. She smiled warmly at him before reaching to pat him on the arm and walk away.
Kensi stood from her desk and walked over to Deeks. And then, despite Callen and Sam being right there, she leaned down beside him and reached her arms around him from the side. "Congratulations, partner," she whispered into the side of his neck.
Allowing Kensi to draw his attention away from his new badge, Deeks stood and turned at the same time to hug his partner properly.
When she pulled back, she patted him on the chest and smiled up at him. "Agent Deeks," she tested the words together.
He smiled.
"Sounds good," she said. "Can I see?" She reached for the new badge and he passed it into her safe keeping.
"It does sound good, Agent Deeks," Callen congratulated him with a quick hug and a pat on the back. And then Sam was right there beside his partner with his own hug and congratulations. Within just a few minutes, he'd probably been called Agent Deeks a dozen times.
000
"What happened last week?" Lena asks.
Deeks offers her a soft smile. "I gave up my position with LAPD and became an NCIS agent."
Lena smiles back at him. "Good for you." She sniffles slightly. "Phillip would be happy for you."
Deeks swallows hard. "I have so much respect for the work that Phillip did, Lena. I know the work he did. I worked beside him many times. My decision to leave LAPD..."
Lena leans forward and grasps onto his hand. "You don't need to justify yourself to me or this family, Marty."
He shakes his head. "I know. That's not my intention." He takes a breath and meets Lena's eyes evenly. "But we worked a lot of the same cases together. And a lot of the same types of cases apart. So, with a different set of circumstances...it could have been me." Who knew if Deeks would have been tapped on the shoulder for Fischer's assignment if he hadn't been assigned to NCIS? Deeks knows full well he could have infiltrated that cartel just like Phillip. It could have been him who had been burned. He knows the fear of being under when your mark calls you out and you know you're about to die. Only when it happened to him, his team had saved him. Phillip had been on his own.
Lena absorbs his words and squeezes his hand. He squeezes hers back.
"He said he saw you...summer before last," she finally says. "Said you walked into his store, when he was undercover, with your partner. Said you talked after. Said you were happier than he'd seen you. Said you'd found a home."
Deeks feels his eyes sting at her words. "I did find a home."
"He also said he thought something might be going on between you and your partner."
Deeks laughs out loud at that. "He always could read me."
Lena smiles. "He was right?"
"We're getting married in a couple months."
"That's wonderful news, Marty."
"We'd love for you and the kids to be there."
"We'd love to be there. We haven't seen enough of you these last few years."
"I know. I'm going to change that." He glances at Bates, who nods. It was time. "Have you been watching the news this last week?"
They'd managed to keep the case out of the news for the first week, but eventually enough people had been questioned and arrested that the press started to take notice. And as soon as the first official statement went out, the press had a field day with the story. The case itself was practically taking care of itself. Once Fischer was arrested he didn't have much more information than he had given up to Deeks in the car, but his handler, whom Hetty had identified as Colonel William Amparo had been picked up quickly. Amparo knew quite a bit more and had been willing to deal for all of his information. He'd given up five other handlers, as well as his own handler who was near the top of the pyramid. The five handlers were taken in and eventually gave up their lists of informants. So far, the investigation had discovered informants in six different agencies. NCIS was getting the credit for leading the investigation. At his request, Deeks's name was being left off the record.
"Of course," Lena says. "All the coverage about the security breaches. What does that have to do with-" She cut herself off as she realized. "Oh."
Deeks holds onto her hand and gives her a moment to absorb the information.
"I knew there was a chance he was sold out, but I never thought..." She swallows hard. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Deeks here started the ball rolling," Bates speaks up. "He was at the epicentre of what you're seeing on the news."
"You were?"
Deeks nods. "I was part of a small taskforce for almost four and a half years trying to weed out a mole. I didn't even know what happened with Phillip was related under a few months after he died." He meets Lena's eyes evenly and tries to offer her a small smile. "But knowing it was related was a huge help, if that means anything. It helped lead us to taking down the first mole, which led to everything else."
Lena moves to grasp his hand with both of hers now. "So, you're saying it wasn't in vain. His death helped lead to something?"
"Yes."
She sniffles and nods. "That does help a little."
Deeks squeezes her hands. "Lena, the bastard who sold him out admitted it to my face."
She meets his eyes. "You...you know who it was?"
"Yes. His name is Stephen Fischer. He was an NCIS agent who liaised with the FBI and DEA. He'll spend the rest of his life in prison."
"Why did he do it?"
Deeks squeezes her hands. "Money."
Lena closes her eyes and goes quiet for several moments. "He'll be in prison for the rest of his life?" She whispers the question.
"Yes. He'll never get out."
She releases a slow breath and opens her eyes. Her eyes are moist, but surprisingly clear. And then, surprising Deeks even further, she offers him a small smile. "It does help...to know. Thank you, Marty. For coming here today. And for finding out in the first place."
000
A few months later...
Deeks stands barefoot at the edge of the water with his pants rolled up his calves in an attempt to keep them dry. He stares out at the sunset as the evening waves lap against his ankles. It's a beautiful, slightly chaotic, perfect day. Better than he could have imagined.
He senses more than hears the footsteps approaching from behind him, and doesn't flinch when a pair of familiar and very welcome arms snake around his waist from behind. She presses her face into the space between his shoulder blades and sighs. "You're missing the party."
"Mmm," he murmurs. He tangles their fingers together and smiles at the faint clinking sound it produces. It's only been a few months since he's become an agent and a few hours since he's become a husband, but he's already certain he's even happier about the latter change. "Just taking a moment. Reveling in the day. Being the cheesy guy you fell in love with and all that."
She laughs, her body shaking against his and making him smile. "You're sometimes cheesy," she says. "But that's not exactly high on the list of things I think about when I think of you..." she trails off for a moment and he smiles, knowing she setting up for a joke. "Talkative. Annoying. Delicate. Indoors-y. Now those are characteristics that remind me of the man I fell in love with." She laughs out loud at her own joke.
He turns in her arms to meet her eyes and smirks as his hands find her hips. "That says more about you than me."
She makes a face and then opens her mouth to retort, but he cuts her off by dipping his head to capture her lips with his own. When he breaks the kiss, she's smiling up at him.
He brushes his hand over the soft white of her summer dress. Not quite traditional and yet, not quite not traditional. "Have I told you how beautiful you look today?"
Her smile softens. "Only a few times." She lifts a hand away from his middle to brush against the scruff along his cheek. He had offered to shave for today. Hell, for her he'd even have gotten a haircut. But she hadn't wanted it. She simply stared at him like he was crazy for offering. No, she'd told him, I'm marrying you, Deeks. The first day of our marriage should start with us being us. "You don't look too bad yourself," she tells him.
"Yeah?" He smiles.
She smiles back at him, moving her hand from his jaw line to his chest, her fingers working over the blue fabric of his shirt. They had opted for casual wedding attire. Kensi in a summer dress and not a wedding gown. Deeks in relatively formal pants with a simple blue button down. "Yeah," she confirms. Then she laughs. "I told you that you weren't going to wear the jacket. You owe me a dollar."
"You owe me a dollar," he counters. "I wore the jacket."
"Yeah? When?"
"For a picture," he says. He pauses and smirks. "Kip made me. Apparently we had to have one fancy picture. Said his buddies wouldn't believe he was best man because I don't look like a groom without a jacket."
She laughs and swipes at him. He laughs in response, finding he really likes happy, carefree Kensi. "That doesn't count!"
"It's not my fault you didn't properly define the terms of the bet. The stipulations we agreed on clearly stated I only needed to wear the jacket. You asked for no timeframes or reasons."
Kensi sighs and leans forward to rest her forehead against his chest. She mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like never marry a lawyer. He's about to feign outrage when she lifts her head. "Fine. But we're married now, so half of that dollar is mine. So technically, I only owe you fifty cents."
He laughs loudly. "Still a one upper."
"Only with you," she quips.
He ducks his head to press a quick kiss to her lips. "Don't ever change."
"I don't plan on it."
He kisses her again, because she's his wife and he loves her and she's just so freaking perfect that he can't seem to stay away. The hand that she still has pressed to his chest twists and clutches to the fabric of his shirt for support as she deepens the kiss. He doesn't know how much time goes by when they're interrupted by excited barking.
Monty careens down the beach from the small reception towards them, a small gaggle of children following after him. He barks at the two of them, pulling them from their embrace as he splashes into the shallow water around them.
Mood effectively broken, Deeks bends to pat his dog. "Couldn't let us have this moment, huh, buddy?"
Kensi laughs as she too offers Monty some attention. The dog chuffs in response and then takes off running again, circling around the kids who were 'chasing' him.
"I'm not sure who's having more fun?" Kensi comments, watching Monty playing with Sam's daughter, Kamran, and Lena and Phillip Monroe's kids, Annie and Jeremy.
Deeks hooks an arm around her waist as they begin to walk together back up to the gathering of their family and friends. "Mmm, I'm not sure either. All I know is we'll have one tired dog tomorrow."
"He can spend the day sleeping in the backyard."
"He'd do that anyway," Deeks jokes. In the five weeks since they had bought and moved into their new house, Kensi and Deeks had spent most of the time doing minor renovations, unpacking and preparing for their wedding. Monty had taken to the new house easily and spent many a lazy afternoon sunbathing in the backyard.
They reach the edge of the small reception and pause. Deeks tightens his arm around his new wife and smiles at the sight that greets them. Their family and friends are happily co-mingling. Lena Monroe is chatting animatedly with Michelle Hanna and Callen's girlfriend, Joelle. Granger and Bates are laughing together at another table. Kensi's mother is standing with Nell. The two women smile together and then clink their glasses. Callen, Sam and Eric are sitting off to the side at another table, staring in great interest to their left. Deeks follows their line of sight to see Hetty and Kip standing together. Seeing their shortest and tallest guest together in deep conversation would be humorous on its own, but considering the way Hetty has her hands raised as if she was holding a basketball... Well, the only logical conclusion is that she's giving Kip Brigham, the professional NBA player, tips on his free throw.
Deeks huffs a laugh and then shakes his head. "I don't want to know."
Kensi laughs as well, turning into him. She snakes her hands around his waist and just settles against him.
He rests his chin on the top of her head and sighs.
"Deeks?" She says after several moments pass between them.
"Mmm?"
"I'm really happy right now."
He hugs her a little tighter. "Me too, Kens. Me too."
AN: Thanks for reading! It took longer than I expected to finish, but I think I'm happy with the end result. Big thanks for everyone who took the time to leave some feedback! I do have a couple oneshots in mind based on the last few episodes that I may write over the next few weeks, and a possible longer project.