Debriefing didn't take as long, nor was it as painful as Marty expected. Hetty didn't scold him they way Sam had done, but her expression as she looked at him, was in some ways, worse.
They had all been sitting at their desks, filling out the required paperwork when Hetty came downstairs.
"Mr. Deeks." she crooked a finger at him and he glanced at the others as he got up.
Sam was ignoring him, Callen had a glad it's you and not me look on his face and Kensi's smile was encouraging. That made his stomach clench.
He felt like he was back in grade school and headed for the principal's office. With his eyes on the floor and his hands in his pockets, he followed Hetty back to an empty office.
She motioned him to a chair and he sat, she remained standing.
"I realize that you are used to working alone, without backup close at hand but I find your actions yesterday quite disturbing."
There was that disappointed gaze. He hated that.
He bit his lip, "I'm sorry Hetty; it's just that I didn't …"
"No Marty, I am sorry." she interrupted. "I'm sorry that you have come to expect this lack of assistance from your associates. I sincerely hope that in time you will realize that you are a valuable member of this team and that that you do not have to do everything alone."
She smiled and reached out; he took her hand and returned the smile.
"A team, huh?" he grinned, shaking her hand, "I think I could get used to that, maybe even like it."
XxXxXx
The worst part of the entire day was the solitary interview with Nate. The psychologist wanted details and he had a knack for getting Marty to tell him everything, things he had never mentioned to the department shrink and if it came down to it, never would.
"Let's start at the beginning." Nate said as they sat.
I love my mother and despise my dad. Marty thought.
"How long were you and Laura partners?"
Marty rubbed his sweaty palms on the thighs of his jeans and looked around the room, "Four years." his voice was tight.
"That's a long time to stay together."
"Longer than any of my girlfriends," Marty laughed, but it sounded pained.
"Were you undercover that entire time?"
"The first year we didn't do much undercover work, it was mostly street busts. We'd make buys and the unis would bust the dealers. Our first undercover assignment was only three weeks and it was pretty basic. We didn't do anything long term or deep until we'd been together for a little over three years."
"What did you do after she died?"
"I was on medical leave for several months; I stayed with some friends in Malibu."
Nate nodded, looking thoughtful. "Finding out that Damon Sharpe was still alive must have been pretty upsetting for you."
Marty was silent for several minutes, he swallowed hard trying to keep his stomach from rebelling.
"You must have been pretty angry at him." Nate promoted.
"I suppose."
"Why do you think Sharpe killed Petersen?"
Marty got up and started pacing, "He wanted to find me. He killed the first person he could, figuring that I was still a cop and the murder signature would bring me to the scene." his hands fisted as he controlled the urge to hit something.
"What were you thinking when you ran away from the others and got in the van?"
Marty stopped suddenly and glared at Nate, surprised that the psychologist was daring to rebuke him.
Nate coughed a little and shifted in his seat, suddenly remembering that he was alone in a small room with someone who had gone toe to toe with Sam and come out of it with just bruises.
"I meant were you hoping to distract Sharpe?"
"Oh." Marty's eyes darted around the room as he began to pace again, slower now.
"Sharpe… he …" Marty's sudden intake of breath was loud, almost pained.
"I know that if I hadn't gotten him away from there that he would not have hesitated for a minute to kill Kensi, Sam and G. Going with him was the only way I could think of to keep them safe."
"Even though you knew he was going to kill you."
Marty's eyes were wide, pupils pinpoints of black. He turned his back on Nate with a shudder and was silent for a moment.
"Did you have a plan for getting out of there?" Nate asked gently.
"Not really, I was just hoping that I could keep Sharpe talking and …" Marty rubbed at the back of his neck, "you know, delay until I found a way to get away."
Nate could tell that Deeks was getting upset, he need to say something to calm the detective.
"Tossing your badge into that car was brilliant. It gave us a clue where you were headed."
"Sharpe certainly didn't approve," Marty laughed ruefully.
"He's dead now. This time there is no doubt about it, Damon Sharpe won't be coming back ever again."
Marty sighed, dropped back into the chair across from Nate, "I know." He relaxed, head back, arms drooping and feet apart.
Nate smiled; this was what he wanted to see.
"You know that I'm here anytime you need to talk."
"Thanks Nate, I appreciate that. Are we done?"
"Yes." Nate smiled, "Yes, you're free."
XxXxXx
At 6:45, Marty met Sam and Callen at the door of the club, he told them to go on upstairs to the office and he would wait for Kensi.
She showed up five minutes later in a stunning blue dress. Marty whistled.
"You clean up niiiccce!" he teased her.
She twirled and the short skirt flared, showing off her tanned legs. "Thank you."
Upstairs, the twins were both glad to see Marty and his friends.
Muhammad actually lifted Marty off his feet, holding him up until they were eye level with each other.
"I greet you, Zack!" Muhammad said happily.
Marty ducked his head a little as the larger man drove his forehead against his. It sounded like two rocks smashing together.
Marty laughed as Mohammed set him back on his feet, "And I greet you!" he staggered a little and Sam reached out and steadied him.
"So that's how you greet your buddy, huh?" Sam asked.
"I don't recommend that you try it yet," Marty shook his head, "You might want to start out with something easier, like head butting a Mack truck."
"You are crazy, you know that, right?" Kensi asked.
"That and a little brain damaged." Marty admitted.
The door opened and a diminutive Negro woman entered. "Zachary!" she cried, dashing over and throwing her arms around the detective who bent down to accept her affection.
"Where have you been?" she demanded with her fists on her hips. Her salt and pepper hair was pinned up on the top of her head with ivory sticks; it made her just over four feet tall.
"Sorry, Momma C, I've been busy." he looked contrite.
"Too busy to eat?" she poked at his ribs, "Look at you, you're still too skinny."
"Momma C I'd like you to meet my friends," he introduced the team, "This is Sam, G and Kensi."
Momma C stood in front of Sam and looked up at him with a big smile, "Now you, you look like a boy who listens to his momma."
"I try to Ma'am." he replied politely.
She gave Callen and Kensi searching glances, "I hope that you two will remind my boy that he needs to come home for dinner more often."
Callen grinned at Marty, "Your boy?"
"Of course he's mine," she laughed, "And now you three are too. You all look in need of a little mothering."
"And you're a little mother." Marty teased.
She swatted at him and he yelped and threw up his hands in self defense.
"You had better show up for dinner tomorrow night, young man," she shook her finger at him, "if you know what's good for you."
"I do. The best lasagna this side of the Mississippi."
Alvin took their drink orders and called downstairs, soon a waitress arrived with the drinks and set them on the desk.
Mamma C raised her glass of sherry in a toast, "To good friends."
Alvin held his glass up, "And to new friends."
Sam raised his, "You can never have too many."
"Amen," said Deeks.
Muhammad slammed his glass against theirs, "And pretty new friends too."
"I second that," Kensi laughed.
"And I third that." said Callen with a grin.
"You are our guests for this evening," Alvin announced, "Please enjoy yourselves downstairs."
"Drinks are on the house!" Muhammad proclaimed.
Momma C smiled and patted her son's bulging bicep, her tiny dark hand with shiny, papery skin looked like a delicate butterfly against the background of his lighter skin.
"And you are always on the list, come by and see us as often as you can." she winked.
They stayed at the club for a couple of hours, dancing and talking.
"So that's how you got along with Hetty so well your first meeting?" Callen asked Marty as they settled into one of the small rooms downstairs. "Momma C is a lot like her."
"Yeah," Deeks admitted, "you have to understand the psychology of someone smaller than you."
"I still don't understand you." Sam said with a grin.
Marty gave him a dirty look.
"She is amazing." Kensi sighed, "I would never have guessed that the twins were her sons, they're so … so…"
"So much taller?" Marty finished.
"Yeah."
"Their dad was 6'9"; he played basketball for the Japanese Olympic team in 1973. He died in a plane crash three years after his sons were born."
"Their names are rather … unique too." said Callen, signaling the waitress for a refill.
"She named her sons after the two men she admired most, her dad Alvin and Cassius Clay."
Sam grinned, "The boxer better known as Muhammad Ali."
"She doesn't exactly look like the type to own a dance club." Callen observed, "Is this part of the 'good turn' you did for the twins?"
"Alvin and Muhammad both have records, they couldn't buy the place when it went up for auction but I thought they deserved something from Sharpe, so I may have had a little something to do with their mom having the winning bid." Marty admitted.
Kensi sipped on the colorful drink she held, "She didn't mind buying a dance club?"
"Momma C is a retired fourth grade teacher from Van Nuys, she and I quote, loves kids. She likes it too that her sons are running a respectable business, she never did like Sharpe."
"So how did they get mixed up in working for him?" Sam asked.
"They started out working security here, but better pay and fancy clothes made the idea of being his bodyguards seem like a good one at the time."
"Do they know about you?" Kensi asked, "That you're a cop?"
"Muhammad does, but he understands that it's a secret and there's no way he'd ever tell anyone. He's never told Alvin and they don't keep secrets from one another. Sometimes I think Mamma C suspects something, but she's never said anything."
Sam grinned ruefully, "If she has more in common with Hetty than just height, then she knows."
"Yeah."
"So how did you become friends with the Changs?" Kensi asked.
Deeks smiled, "That is a long story and someday I may tell you all about it." He got up and held out his hand to Sam, "Wanna dance, big guy?"
Sam choked on his drink.
"Suit yourself, then," he turned to Kensi, "How about you, pretty lady? Dance with me?"
Kensi smiled, set down her drink and accepted Deeks' hand, "Absolutely, partner."
"Partner? She likes me, she really likes me!" Deeks joked, leading her out onto the dance floor.
ZzZzZzzzzz
Back in 2005 when I was writing Sins of Commission, I created three characters I intended to use in another CSI fanfic. The character of Greg outgrew the storyline before I could get around to writing it and the trio stayed locked in the character box until now.
Momma Chang has always been a tiny woman; she is based on the mother of a 6'2" football/basketball player I dated in high school.
Alvin and Mohammed are named after Christopher Moore's characters of the same names in the book A Dirty Job, except that mine are human and Chris' are a matched set of Hellhounds. Somehow bodyguards just fit, LOL.
Thank you so very much for reading and especially to the ones who have encouraged me to keep writing, you're the inspiration!
BlueEyes444
I am trying to cut down on abusing my favorite characters and you encourage me to continue? ;) Thank you so much for encouraging me!
lynneanne
My daughter cut her foot on some broken glass in the creek this summer, it bled a lot (which freaked me out) but the ER doc said she didn't need stitches. They bandaged up the cuts and she hobbled around for a week. She's a daredevil tomboy; this makes a nail through her shoe and into her foot, burns on her feet from an idiot who poured BBQ ashes in the sandbox at the park, and more broken glass, all in the last three years.
I am so glad that you got into the story enough that you could empathize with them!
You see things in my story that I miss, when you mention them it sets the muse off again, please, please continue!
I don't really want to write anything romantic between them, Marty seems more of a flirt with Kensi than being serious. I see their relationship more like Morgan and Penelope from Criminal Minds.
I hope you liked the way Muhammad 'greets' his friends.
NcisLAFan
You're welcome and THANK YOU!
LostForeverInHisEyes
If you love Deeks, you will love season 2! I'm so obsessed with him that when it's on, I am glued to the screen. I even make obsessive screencaps of Deeks.
Good call on the owner, she is a character I created five years ago and it's spooky how much she and Hetty have in common. I am tempted to write about them meeting…
Thanks so much for your encouragement, I hope I can keep you interested.
Skyler1510
I hope you like Momma Chang; I've always been rather fond of her myself.
Velossian
I really wish there were more Marty stories, I just love him! I've got another Marty fic nibbling at my brain; I hope to start it as soon as I finish this one.
Just to tease you, here is a snippet from my next Marty fanfic:
I met Jess Traynor when we were seven years old. She was staying with her grandmother in the house on the other side of our back fence.
Jess was climbing the tree in her back yard the first time I saw her. She had a frog in the front pocket of her overalls, dirt on her chin and twigs in her hair. I knew right then that if I ever got married; she would be the one.
Music helps me write, these are the songs on my Marty/Past Presence playlist.
Bar Room Hero by The Dropkick Murphys, Never Surrender by Corey Hart, FRGT/10 by Linkin Park, Right Where I Belong and When I'm Gone by 3 Doors Down, Back Stabbin Betty and Ain't No Rest For The Wicked by Cage the Elephant, Falling by Stained, It's All Over by Three Days Grace, I'm Alive by Disturbed, Tubthumping by Chumbawumba, Come on Get Higher by Matt Nathanson, Whispers In The Dark by Skillet and You're To Blame by MercyMe
Got any recommendations for my next Marty Playlist?