AN: Happy 2014! This will be the second last chapter in Ever After. The next (and last chapter will be an epilogue of sorts to wrap up the story. Thank you all for all the reviews and alerts and for enjoying the story! We hope you enjoyed each chapter as we did writing them! :)


Unfortunately for Kensi, the wedding preparations went on as planned. Nell was forced by Hetty to bring Kensi out of her room and make her actually help prepare. Kensi barely did anything.

She'd hardly eaten. In place of her appetite, a knot of worry vacated the entirety of her stomach, making anything edible sound unappealing. Her days consisted of grudgingly preparing for the wedding, drinking nothing but water, and going to bed alone, wishing Deeks was the groom instead of the asshole she had to marry. In her spare time she snuck away to G, checking up on the progress he'd made concerning Deeks's whereabouts.

The day before the wedding, Kensi finally agreed to a dress fit, slowly facing reality. She went through the long fitting without saying a word and only nodding when she tried on a simple white gown with minimal lace. When she turned to face Hetty after the fitting, the royal queen smiled sadly, and Kensi returned it with one of her own, the first emotion she had shown since Deeks went missing.

The morning of Kensi and Jack's wedding was a very somber moment for Kensi's family. Especially Callen and Sam, who were trying to find where Deeks (or his body) was located. It seemed as if Deeks had fell off the face of the Earth. Kensi started to debate if maybe she'd just dreamed him up. Maybe she was stuck in a dream that had turned into a nightmare.


As Sam was returning to his barrack, he found Granger's office door open fully. Curiosity getting the best of him, and he decided to quickly snoop around, as Granger was currently at the castle for the wedding. Sam leafed through some of the papers stacked neatly on the desk, and came across a letter with a broken seal. After checking his surroundings, Sam opened and read the parchment.

Dad,

This has got to be your best plan ever. I'm so glad you thought of a plan to get rid of the bastard. He would've caused trouble and taken the princess away from us. And that would've gotten HIM the crown, not us. How dare he. The princess is mine, and only mine.

Jack

Sam's blood started to boil. He may not have been very fond of Deeks, but he knew he was a good man and a loyal knight. Deeks didn't deserve the shit that was thrown at him. As he snooped through the entire room, he stepped on a board which creaked. The next step sounded hollow.

"What's this?" Sam muttered and bent down to the rug. He felt around, then lifted the rug off it's place on the floor. A black handle peered at him. He gulped and opened the handle. Grabbing a lantern from the room, he descended into the basement.

Sam clambered down the rickety ladder into the musky room that smelt of blood. Was this where..? He heard a groan, and swiveled around to meet a battered, bleeding and bruised Marty Deeks.


Sitting in a room near the main room of the church, Kensi peered into the mirror, gently touching the fragile tiara with an attached veil placed in her hair. She stared into her eyes, void of emotion, completely vacant. Not only was she about to get married to possibly the biggest asshole to ever step foot on the planet, but even worse the man that she was in love with was probably dead. Or dying.

It shouldn't have been Jack waiting out there, it should've been Deeks. What she wouldn't give to see that lopsided smile of his, to hear his joyful laugh, to feel his hands as they glided down her hips, just to be surrounded by his sensation one more time.

"Kensi?" Nell peeked into the room. "It's time."

Kensi sighed. With one last glance towards the mirror at the porcelain doll who didn't look like her at all, she turned and walked out of the room. Callen stood outside, waiting for her. He turned and smiled.

"Well, I never thought I'd see Kensi Blye in a white dress with a veil," he tried to joke. She smiled gratefully at his attempt, feeling a sudden and overwhelming burst of affection towards her surrogate brother. Sensing his psuedo-sister's mood, he pulled her into a tight hug. A sob burst out of her mouth and she squeezed him tightly. He pressed a kiss into her hair and stood their holding her as she cried into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered against her temple. "I'm so sorry, Kensi."

When the organs started to play, she pulled away, hastily wiping her tears and attempting to compose herself. The grief-stricken woman was no more, replaced by a cold and fierce princess, angry at the world for taking the love of her life away from her.

The doors opened, and the whole crowd stood up Callen guided Kensi down the aisle. She couldn't look at them, the people radiating happiness, unknowing of the grief that was shooting throughout her body with every step she took towards Jack. They stopped at the altar, where the groom beamed at his bride, and she stared at him, void of emotion. He forcefully took her hands, squeezing them tightly as if to warn her of what was to come if she didn't go through with the marriage. The priest droned on and on about "serving her husband" and "forever and ever more". But every word, every second she stood at the altar was twisting a knife deeper and deeper into her gut, with all the memories of what could have been and what was in the past. With Deeks, she felt alive, powerful, strong, and most importantly, loved. With Jack, she felt used and wasted. She couldn't do this.

"Do you, Jackson Abernathy Granger, take Princess Kensi Marie Blye, to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to protect her, cherish her, love her, and stay with her 'till death do you apart? Do you also accept the duties of being the Prince of your land?" Jack grinned.

"I do!"

"Do you, Princess Kensi Marie Blye, take Jackson Abernathy Granger, to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to cherish him, serve him, love him, and stay with him 'till death do you apart?"

Now or never, Kens. "I.. I.." She thought of Deeks. "I don't."

The church fell silent. Jack's face turned into a brilliant shade of red and purple.

"What do you mean you don't, you little bitch?! Of course you do! You're mine and only mine. No one else's! Certainly not that Deeks!" he bellowed, and the crowd gasped after the last bit of his rant.

"No." Kensi glared at him. "I do belong to someone. And that someone is 'that Deeks'. Because he loves me for who I am, not for the crown." Again, the crowd gasped. "That's right. You're only marrying me for power. You never wanted me. You only wanted the crown! So you killed the only person I loved and forced me to do your biding! If I had said yes, all I would've been doing after this is pleasing you!" Kensi's voice slowly rose until she was screaming at him.

"Because that's all you're good for; being a little slave!"

"Why?"

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

"Why? Why did you kill him? Were you jealous? Did you see how much he loved me? Did you see how much I loved him? Did you see all that we would have had? Did you? Did you!?" Kensi felt tears stream down her face as she thought again of Deeks, realizing how large the gaping hole she felt inside of her really was. She missed her better half.

"You little..!" Jack took a swing at her, but she was prepared. She blocked the punch, and met him with a swift punch to his jaw. As he groaned, she punched him again in the stomach, then kicked him hard in the groin. He pathetically fell to the floor, groaning in pain. As he tried to get up, Kensi kicked him in the ribs.

"That was for trying to take the crown." Another kick to his legs. "That was for trying to get me to do your bidding." And finally, she kicked him in the back. "And that was for Marty Deeks, the best person I'd ever had the pleasure of spending part of my life with." She stormed away from the man, on her way to the door. Before she could get out, Granger blocked her way.

"Where do you think you're going?" he grabbed her by her wrist, twisting it painfully and preparing to drag her back to the stands when Callen showed up with a drawn sword.

"Uh uh! Let her go." Granger scoffed.

"What are you going to do, Princey? Stab me?"

"Nope." Callen grinned before approaching Granger and punching him in the face in one fluent motion.

"Prince Callen, Princess Blye, I've got it from here." Hetty stood behind Callen with a smile on her face. Callen nodded, then raced after Kensi. As he caught up to her, they both ran into a panting Sam Hanna.

"Hey Kensi. G, you gotta see this." He started running to the barracks, and both Callen and Kensi followed him.

"Dude. Why are we in Granger's barracks?" Sam shoved Jack's letter into his hands and Kensi peeked over Callen's shoulder to read the letter.

"That bastard!" Callen exclaimed.

"That's just part of it," Sam muttered, then went over to the Persian rug on the floor. He lifted it to reveal the trapped door he'd recently discovered. Before he could say anything, Kensi was already inside. The men also clambered in, only to find who Kensi had discovered.

"Oh my God! Deeks!" she screamed tearfully, rushing over to him. Deeks groaned. "Kensi? Wha...?"

"It's ok, I got you," Kensi forced out as she bit back a sob, kissing his face then hugging him. Deeks hissed due to the pain in his body, but smiled. Neither cared that the prince and his best friend were watching the scene unfold in front of them. They both shared a small smile, happy that the princess had her love back.