More season 7 speculation. And. Sorry. :D

Sand pricked his face and he squeezed his eyes shut to shield them from the sudden gust of wind. The ocean was choppy that morning - not a nice, clear day for surfing. It was probably for the better anyway, seeing as how he had another purpose for being at his favorite beach.

Kensi rested a hand on his shoulder. "You sure you wanna do this before work?"

Deeks nodded. "No better time than the present."

Somehow she sensed that he needed a minute to himself and didn't follow him as he stepped toward the ocean. Though he was a man of many words, he oftentimes lacked the ability to convey exactly what he was thinking. A silent goodbye to an old friend felt more appropriate than glowing praise or a solemn prayer.

He twisted open the top of the bottle in his hands and tilted it, watching as the wind picked up the ashes and carried them away on its back. It was more therapeutic than he thought it would be, almost as if his buddy was having one more run on the beach. Deeks wasn't sad anymore. He was relieved.

A cold nose at the back of his knee made him smile. He knelt down in the sand and cupped the five month old puppy's ears in his hands, shaking them as she smiled goofily. Chocolate brown and nothing but long arms and legs, she was as much the canine image of her mother as Monty had been of him. She didn't have her honorary NCIS badge yet, but her older brother had been a good teacher in the couple of months they'd had together. Her time would come soon enough.

Kensi followed her (their) puppy to meet him. "You good?"

"Yes, actually," he said, brushing the sand off his knees as he rose. "Maybe we don't tell everybody at work yet, though. I don't want to see Sam cry."

"You don't want Sam to cry?" She raised an eyebrow.

Deeks smiled sadly. "He and Monty were tight."

"Right. Of course." Linking her arm in his, she dragged him away from the water before he had a chance to dwell on his farewell ceremony.

The lanky puppy plopped her butt in the sand and tilted her head, either not eager to end their beach trip or not ready to say goodbye to Monty herself. She barked in protest, but Deeks turned and clapped a hand on his thigh. "Come on, Princess."

Whether or not any of them were ready, it was time to move on.