A/T: Thank you all so much for staying with me in this story and of course reviewing. I know it is taking much longer than originally planned but as a lot of you may know work is a b***ch sometimes and consumed too much of our free time.

I don't know your name Guest but thank you for your helpful remarks!

Kensi had always hated surprises ever since she was just a kid. By the age of four she was fully aware of the fact that Santa was a fictional character created by the parents so that their children would behave.

Every year on her birthday she was absolutely sure that her father would organize another two-day scavenger hunt at their lake house and she was more than thrilled.

At the end of another thriving school semester he would take her camping in the woods and they would stay awake all night just gazing the stars.

She knew what she wanted and her father was always the one to provide it to her. It was never about material goods though. All she ever wanted was love.

It didn't take a mastermind to understand Deeks plan. He was taking her to the beach and frankly, she didn't mind at all.

Even though she had always thought of herself as a mountain tomboy, a day at the beach suddenly sounded too appealing. Was it about the location, or the man making the offer?

Either way, she gladly jumped into his car and drove off to Venice beach. First of all though, they made a quick stop by his house to pick up Monty, his bathing suit and of course, his surfing board.

"Are you sure you don't want to buy a bathing suit?" he asked for the hundredth time as his parked his car in the parking lot.

"Yes Deeks I am sure," she answered back for another hundredth time "I'll just sit on the beach and watch you making a fool out of yourself." She smiled.

Deeks shook his head stepped out of the car and unloaded his board from the car's roof "If you happen to know I am a noted surfer. In fact, who do you think taught you how to surf?" he winked at her.

"No way! You talked me into surfing?" he jaw dropped.

"That's right," he bragged "and I was one hell of a teacher because soon the student became the master."

"Well, then maybe I was just one hell of a student," her competitive nature soon kicked in "maybe, you need to see me kick your wet ass once again."

"Wow," Deeks closed his eyes as he couldn't let this opportunity to tease her go wasted.

"What are you doing?" Kensi stared at him.

"Taking a mental picture of that," he licked his lips with his tongue and let out a soft moan of pleasure.

"Stop that right now," she warned him.

"Nope, can't stop. I am taking a selfie right now with you…..what was it…..kicking my wet ass. "

He was clearly enjoying embarrassing her and in all honesty, she was quite enjoying it too. Of course, she would never dare to admit it to him so instead of laughing she punched him on his shoulder.

"Ouch," he groaned and rubbed his aching shoulder "See what you've done? Now the picture is blurry and I have to try again."

"Martin Andrew Deeks if you close your eyes one more time I swear to God I'm gonna poke them out," she threatened while pointing her finger to him.

Suddenly, Deeks eyes widened, his whole body froze and no words could come out of his mouth.

Kensi lowered her finger upon seeing him like that and looked deep into his eyes desperately trying to understand what had just happened.

"You do realize that I am only kidding right?" she gave him her sweetest smile but there was no response from him.

"Come on Deeks you are freaking me out here," she sounded genuinely scared and Deeks was finally out of his trance.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he rubbed his scruff with his palm.

"What just happened?"

Deeks left his board leaning on the side of his car and softly took hold of Kensi's both hands.

"Kens what's my name?"

"Deeks of course! Deeks if this is another of your weird dirty little games tell me now cause I am not kidding. You are freaking me out."

"I am not kidding," he shook his head "In fact, I am more serious than I've ever been so please answer me. What's my name?"

"I've already told you. It's D-E-E-K-S," she mockingly replied.

"My full name?" he asked again in all seriousness.

"Martin Andrew Deeks," she firmly responded.

Deeks started laughing hysterically and pulled her into his strong embrace.

"God, my name never sounded so good," he exclaimed in absolute bliss.

"Will you please explain to me what is going on so I can share your enthusiasm?"she was practically gasping for air as Deeks embrace was too tight for her to handle.

The shaggy Detective savored that feeling for a few more seconds and then released her. He cupped her face as his thumbs gently rubbed her cheeks. A huge smile never leaving his lips.

"You are the only person apart from my family, who knows my middle name."

"I don't understand," Kensi squinted her eyes.

Deeks placed both hands on her shoulders and held her firmly. "You know my middle name."

It took a few seconds for Kensi to process the meaning of those words, but as soon as she realized the gravity of that statement she let out a cry of excitement and lost herself into his arms.

"I remember your name. I remember your name," she kept saying among tears of joy.

"I told you everything was going to be ok," Deeks held her as tight as he good, clinging on to her never wanting to let her go again.

They stayed like that for a while until they noticed the intruding looks of the people passing by the parking lot.

Deeks pulled back and wiped the hot tears from Kensi's cheeks with his thumbs. "We'll have more moments like this. I promise!"

Kensi smiled back and leaned her forehead onto his.

"I know," she whispered and took one step behind.

"We came here so that you could surf remember? So go surf beach boy!" she pointed at the beach prompting him to go enjoy himself.

"The plan was for you to join me," he said as he took off his blouse, picked his surfing board and starting walking towards the sandy beach.

"Oh come on Deeks, the plan was for you to get me in a bikini. Admit it!" she teased.

"I'll admit no such thing," he shook his head denying the wickedness of his original plan and run towards the cold waters of the ocean waiting for him.

Before she knew it, Kensi had a huge smile forming on her lips. God, he had done it again.

She grabbed his beach towel from the gym bag in the trunk – a pink and blue towel actually, who would have thought that he was so confident with his feminine side – put a leash on Monty and helped him out of the car.

To her amazement the furry mutt was actually cooperative and seemed to genuinely like her.

She never had a pet as a kid and after her father died, she could hardly take care of herself let alone a pet. Self preservation had become her first priority.

"Come on boy, let's see where your daddy is off to," she petted his head and then they both walked towards the beach.

It wasn't hard to track Deeks down. The water must had been really cold because no one else was seeing surfing or even swimming and the only person brave enough to go up against the angry ocean was her partner.

She placed the towel on the sand and sat on it while Monty quietly laid right next to her. Even though she had taken off his leash and even encouraged him to play he refused to leave her side. Like a guard he remained seated, keeping her safe until his master would come back.

She gazed as her blonde partner masterfully surfed through the waves.

The moment he took off his blouse back in the parking she noticed the two subtle gunshot wounds. Was that the reason he was in the hospital that time he mentioned that he saved her?

She had felt the urge to ask but now was not the appropriate time.

She stood still for several minutes just staring at him. Looking at the way the sun's rays crept through the clouds and illuminated him like a searchlight following his every move.

Suddenly, she felt that strange sense of déjà-vu once again. She dug her fingers deep into the sand until she could feel the cold ground beneath.

There was no doubt; she had been here before. She could distinctly remember gazing upon a male figure while standing at this exact same spot. Deeks didn't mention anything about it but she bet these kinds of little sorties were their thing.

She respected that about him. So far he hadn't pushed her or forced her to remember. He was just letting time do its work.

Unlike her own mother who was evidently turning her into a person she clearly wasn't.

She knew that she had supposedly made amends with her, but some anger inside remained the same.

Anger for trying to take her away from her father. For not being there by her side when he died. For not supporting her quest to find his killer. For not doubting the cause of his death in the first place. For not trying to reach for her while she was living on the streets.

Oh yes, she still remembered those ugly days.

That was when she learned real life's harsh lessons.

During that time she had become someone she could hardly recognize nowadays. She had lost all hope and will to survive. She was just living without actually wanting to live. She was just a shadow of her own self. Alone, afraid and lost, waiting for someone to reach out and help her.

She shook her head trying to send away those nasty memories. Why on earth did she feel like reminiscing that dark period of her life? It was in the past and that's where it should stay.

She let out a deep sigh and before she could realize it, Deeks was standing in front of her. Cold water was dripping from his body and onto her lap.

"Hey don't you have a towel?" she said as she wiped the water drops from her jeans.

"You are sitting on it fern," Deeks smiled before shaking his hair in the air like a wet dog, drops of water landing straight on her face.

"That's really charming," she wiped her face with her sleeve and got up refusing to hand him the towel. If he wanted it, then he should lean and get it.

"Oh come on, don't be such a spoilsport. It's just fresh water right from the ocean. Monty doesn't seem to bother," he grabbed the towel from the sand and covered himself with it.

"Apparently poor Monty is used to your sloppy ways," she kneeled in front of the hairy dog and playfully petted his head until he was rolling in the sand begging for a belly rub.

"Me? Sloppy? Really? I have lived to hear that! If you happen to know miss, you are the sloppy one. I one the other hand, am a real catch. Women should be lining up just to get a piece of me."

"Oh really? And why exactly aren't they lining up?" she mocked him.

"Probably because I am damaged goods. I am missing one piece."

"What's that?" she stood up and faced him, intrigued to hear the answer.

"Well come on, answer," she urged him as he was avoiding to say another word.

"I am missing my most valuable and vulnerable piece of myself."

Kensi couldn't help but giggle as she thought this was another of his dirty jokes, but his upcoming words caught her off guard.

"My heart!"his voice was barely audible.

She froze at the sound of those words and her mouth dropped open in utter shock.

"My heart belongs to someone else now," he continued only to make Kensi feel even more uncomfortable.

Was he talking about her? Should she say anything? All she could do was simply stare at the ocean of those deep blue eyes. Her lips were pleading to meet his and every inch of her body ached to lean in and kiss him. She could tell he wanted the same by the way his eyes were focused on her lips.

Finally she made the first moved forward, just a breath away from him.

Then, she gently placed her heart on his damp chest and felt the rhythmic beat of his heart on her palm.

"It's still there," she smiled at him.

His breathing became uneven. Even though he was was still wet and a light cold breeze was blowing, his whole body emitted an uncanny wave of heat.

Her hand felt like ice on his burning body.

God, all he wanted to do was grab her and kiss her like there is no tomorrow. Just here and now.

He licked his lips and moved his face an inch forward placing one hand on her cheek his thumb drifting across her lower lip. No words needed to be said. Their eyes spoke volumes. All that could be heard was the sound of the waves and his beating heart.

"We should really get going," Deeks was the one to break the awkward silence.

Kensi took a step back and rubbed her hand together to absorb the moist from Deeks body. "You are right, we should be going."

"Are we still in for dinner tonight? I am cooking my specialty!" he tried to lighten the atmosphere.

"You still haven't told me what it is."

"You know what it is and it will be fun watching you taste it for a second time. First time I cooked it for you, you were drooling all over the table."

"I don't believe you until I actually taste it shaggy!"

Within minutes they were back in the car taking her home.

He knew that their date that night wasn't actually a real date, but he couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach. Like a schoolboy in love.

There was no reason to deny it. He was hopelessly in love with that woman and from the looks of it, she shared the same strong feelings. If amnesia can't keep them apart, nothing will ever will. They would always find their way back to each other.