Chapter 73
They'd finally gotten everything into the house and the two of them situated. They were just gathering in the kitchen when they heard the sound of cars coming up the driveway. Everyone smiled at Kensi and Deeks's confusion and ushered the two out the front door in time to see Sam and Michelle getting out of the Challenger. Aiden and Kamran unfolded themselves from the back seat. Callen and Joelle were getting out of her car while Hetty was parking her Jaguar, Granger in the passenger seat, looking faintly green. Nell was just coming up the drive in her Mini Cooper with Eric pointing out where she should park. So, of course, she parked somewhere else. The two got out, laughing.
Kamran ran to Deeks, yelling "Uncle Marty!" as she came. He leaned over and caught her up in a hug, suppressing the pain in his ribs, glad to see her. She looked up at him and asked "Did you get my get well card?"
"I did! It was wonderful! In fact, I brought it here with me so I could look at it every day!"
"You did?" She looked up at him happily.
"Of course!" He stood back up and looked at Aiden standing behind her, looking around at the strangers surrounding Deeks. This was the first time that he'd meet the Sheltons as he was generally away at school, but he'd heard all about them from his mom. Michelle and Sam had agreed he could come home for a couple days, to see for himself that his 'Uncle' Marty was okay. Deeks smiled at him and held out his hand, knowing that the young man was trying very hard to be the prim and proper cadet, and said "Good to see you Aiden! How's school?"
Aiden blinked at him a couple times, remembering that his first thought when he'd heard Deeks was in the hospital and critical, was that it could just as easily have been his mom or dad. He knew what they did for a living. They'd told him a little over a year ago, although Kamran was still in the dark. He swallowed hard and, like John earlier, ignored the outstretched hand and pulled Deeks into a hug saying "I'm so glad you're okay Uncle Marty. You scared all of us." Deeks hugged him back and then looked into his eyes. He knew what Aiden was thinking and pulled him in again for another hug.
He whispered in his ear "If it ever comes down to that, we'll all be there for them and for you. You know that, right?" He pushed Aiden back a little and the young man nodded, not overly surprised that Deeks had known what was going on in his head. Deeks always seemed to know. He smiled and nodded again.
Sam and Michelle watched the exchange between their oldest child and Deeks and then shared a look. Neither of them knew what had been said between the two, but both were now smiling so they shrugged it off. If Aiden wanted to tell them, he would, if not, nothing would drag it out of him. Both of them blamed the other for that genetic trait.
The rest of the newly arrived visitors moved in and either hugged Deeks or clapped him on the back. When it was Granger's turn, he was the one who held out a hand but was hugged, again, this time with no advance warning. He seriously hoped this was not going to become a habit of the detective's. Deeks stood back and grinned. "I hear you had some nice things to say about me over the last few weeks!"
Granger glared at Kensi, Sam and Callen, all of whom tried to adopt a "Who, me?" expression but were mostly unsuccessful as they fought to keep the smiles from their faces. He turned back to Deeks and said grouchily "Only things that I felt were necessary to keep up morale until we found your sorry ass. And don't believe everything you hear!"
Deeks grinned at him and Granger found himself grinning back like an idiot. Once the greetings were over, everyone started pulling containers of food out of their cars. Kensi and Deeks looked at John who said "We thought we'd do a barbeque out back to celebrate. Everyone brought something. We'll cook everything up and you'll have leftovers for a few days. That way no one has to cook."
Deeks shared a look with Laura. He knew she was behind this. She didn't want him to have to cook and she knew Kensi would most likely land him back in the hospital if she tried to. He raised his eyebrows at her, conveying that he understood what she was up to and she just smiled in return. He smiled back, telling her, without words, just how much he appreciated her saving him from that particular fate.
They brought everything into the kitchen and John went out the back door to start the grill. In true male fashion, every one of the guys trailed him outside to put their two cents in on how things should go, even Eric. Kensi struggled. She wanted to go with the guys, the grill being more her thing than helping around the kitchen. Laura nudged her. "Go ahead and go. We have plenty of help in here."
Kensi didn't need to be told twice and bolted out the door with a skip and a smile. They watched as she tried to sneak up behind Deeks and he just held out a hand to her without even looking or stopping his conversation. Kensi took it and snuggled up against his side. Those inside sighed and smiled, then started getting everything else together.
The food was cooked with lots of suggestions and laughs from the guys. Kensi kept her mouth shut on that. She could light it but she couldn't cook on it. Somehow everything ended up burnt or raw, no matter how carefully she watched. There was enough food to feed an army and everyone had more than enough to eat. Most were feeling like they should have stopped one burger or chicken wing earlier. Monty had made himself everyone's best friend, getting a little of this and a little of that, especially from Nell who still called him her hero. Hetty's egg and potato salad was the hit of the party, everyone asking for the recipe but she refused, stating she'd been given it in secret by Grace Kelly and she couldn't break her promise to never reveal it to anyone else. Those who didn't know her well gaped at her open mouthed. The others just took it in stride and stopped asking.
While the groups ebbed and flowed, Deeks finally found himself alone with Laura. He put a hand on her arm and asked quietly "Can I talk to you alone for a second?" Curious, she nodded and Deeks nonchalantly led her away from the others.
"What's wrong Marty?" She asked, becoming concerned.
"What? Oh! No, no, nothing's wrong, I just wanted to ask you a favor."
"Why are you being so mysterious about this?"
"It's important and I don't want Kensi to find out."
"Ok, now you're scaring me."
He took a deep breath and blurted out "I wanted to ask you to go ring shopping with me."
"Ring shopping? Oh my God! You're going to propose? That's so exciting!"
"Shhhhh! Keep it down! I want to surprise her. I was hoping that I could get you and Nell to go with me. I was thinking Nell, because she knows Kensi better than anyone, other than me. You, because I trust your fashion sense above anyone else I know. Any piece of jewelry I've ever seen you wear is always elegant and beautiful. I would really like your input. I figure we can narrow it down to two or three and then I'll get the rest of the girl's opinions. That way no one feels left out."
Laura's eyes filled with tears and her chin quivered. Deeks looked at her in horror, wondering what he'd done that was so wrong as to make her cry. He started to babble. "Look, I'll understand if you don't want to do this. I'm sorry if I've upset you, that was never my intention!"
Laura sniffled and punched him lightly in the arm. "Stupid! I'm not upset! I'm just so pleased you want me to help you with something so important! It would be my honor to go with you! I know just where we should start! My regular jeweler is wonderful, a real artist and she could make you a custom ring that no one else will ever have! I can set up an appointment with her whenever you're ready and we can give her input on Kensi. Then she'll come up with some designs that we can show to everyone else. Oh my God! This is going to be so much fun! Have you talked to Nell yet?"
"No, I haven't been able to get her alone. I have plenty of time. I want to be sure I'm completely recovered before I even start looking. I'll ask her as soon as I get the chance.
"I'll say it again, this is SO exciting! Can I tell John and Meaghan?"
"If you think they can keep it a secret. If Meaghan tells Val, Kensi will know the very next time they see each other. That girl cannot keep a secret to save her soul."
Laura laughed and agreed. "Ok, I'll just tell John but tell him he can't tell anyone. I love having a secret!" She had a sudden thought. "What do you think Sam and Callen are going to say? What about Hetty and Owen? Will they let you stay partners if you're going to be married?"
Deeks blushed and said "Actually, I asked Sam and Callen for their permission to ask her at Cassie and Paula's wedding and they said okay. Hetty and Granger overheard us and gave me their blessing as well. Hopefully no one higher up like our Director has different ideas. If he does, then I'll quit, because I certainly won't give her up." He paused as another thought crossed his mind. "Oh God, Julia! I have to talk to Julia too." He swallowed hard. "Laura, what if she says no?"
"Julia?"
"What? No! Kensi. Wait, what? Do you think Julia will say no?" He was starting to panic, she could hear it in his voice.
"Marty! Of course Julia won't say no! She loves you. I would bet she's already been planning the wedding since you two started dating." She watched him, trying so hard not to laugh as the expressions chased themselves across his face.
"Wedding….oh lord, MY, OUR wedding!" At this point he was almost starting to hyperventilate and Laura threw her arms around him, laughing.
"I love you Marty Deeks! Don't ever change!"
His arms went around her and he replied. "I love you too Sis." There was no laughter in his voice, only sincerity. She leaned back and smiled into his eyes, appreciating the words. "You are such a sweet guy!" Smiling up at him she went back to her other concern. "You need to know, John and I had a discussion about you two a long time ago and he agreed to put any weight he has behind you two if it ever came down to someone threatening to split you up because of your relationship."
"He really said that?"
"Yes, we both think you belong together as partners, in every sense of the word."
"Laura, I don't know what to say! Thank you, and John, for that."
Laura reached up and kissed his cheek. She smiled and said "We should get back to the party before anyone gets suspicious about what we're doing off here by ourselves. I can already see Kensi eying us. If anyone asks either one of us, you pulled me aside to thank me for using the house."
Deeks smiled down at her. "You're good at this, aren't you?"
"It's an art form and I've perfected it!"
Laura put her arm through his and they wandered back to the party. Once all the leftovers were packaged up and put away, the grill and the kitchen cleaned, the sun was starting to go down and it was getting colder. The party moved over to a fire pit that John had installed the previous month. He was dying to try it out and this was the perfect time. With much 'assistance' from the others, the fire was eventually going merrily and they all settled around it. Kensi looked up from where she'd settled at Deeks's feet and made a suggestion. "You feel up to playing your guitar?"
He smiled down at her and nodded. She got up and went inside, coming out moments later with the case. He pulled the guitar out and made a couple of adjustments. Looking up he said "Any requests?"
The requests came fast and furious and they spent the next several hours singing along with whatever song he was playing. Eventually Kensi could see he was tiring so suggested making s'mores, having seen the ingredients in the kitchen. When everyone shouted their agreement, she took the guitar from him and placed it carefully back in the case, earning a quiet heartfelt thanks from him. They all took turns making the messy concoction, more than one of them dropping their marshmallow into the fire or letting it catch on fire if they weren't watching closely enough. Kamran, Aiden and Meaghan got along great and were inseparable all night, the teenagers even going so far as to give into childish things and taking turns chasing one of the other around the yard, playing tag, Monty in the middle of everything, barking happily.
Eventually, Kensi turned to offer another s'mores to Deeks, to find him fast asleep in the lounge chair, a smile on his face, his nose twitching. She stood there with the forgotten treat in her hand, watching him sleep and feeling it all washing over her again. Her hand trembled as she realized, once more, how close she'd come to losing him. Sam came up behind her and took the gooey mess out of her hand, handing it to Michelle who was right behind him. He put his arms around her and she sagged back against him. Speaking quietly he said "You have to let it go Kens. He's here and he's safe. With all our help, he'll be back to us in no time."
"I know Sam. It's just that, sometimes I get caught up in thinking about the might have beens and it scares me to think of a future without him in it. I love him so much."
Michelle had moved up beside them and put her hand on Kensi's shoulder saying "I've been there Kensi and it never goes away but it does get better, I can promise you that from personal experience." She shared a look with her husband, seeing the love for her in his eyes and she smiled.
Callen came up beside them to see what was going on and saw Deeks sound asleep. "So, what do we do? Wake him up or try to carry him into the house? We can't let him sleep out here, he's not well enough." The others started to join them, staring down at the sleeping man.
Sam grinned at him and took his arms from around Kensi, flexing his biceps. "What do you think you guys? Think I can carry him to his room?" All around him were nods, followed by phones being taken out of pockets and aimed in their direction. He bent over and gently picked the sleeping man up in his arms, frowning at how much lighter Deeks was then he'd expected. Another thing to lay at McGonagle's feet. Deeks murmured a little when he was picked up but settled quickly, burrowing his head into Sam's chest. Cameras went off all around as Sam carefully walked back up to the house, Kensi showing him the way to their room. They managed to get him there without his waking and Sam placed him carefully on the bed. Kensi gently pulled off his boots and socks and pulled a blanket up over him. He turned over onto his side, grunting a little at the pain he still felt in his ribs, even in his sleep and then was quiet.
They left him sleeping peacefully and went back out to the fire pit. His falling asleep started the general break up on the party. Sam and Michelle were the first to go, citing school the next day for Kamran, along with the long ride home. They said their goodbyes and thanked the Sheltons for a wonderful day, as well as for letting Deeks and Kensi use the house. Meaghan and Aiden exchanged phone numbers, having become fast friends. Meaghan gave hers to Kamran as well, knowing the little girl wouldn't want to be kept out of things, promising to text her soon.
Joelle and Callen left next, Joelle also having school the next day. Nell and Eric left with them. Hetty and Granger stayed for a while longer, talking quietly with John and Laura, Neal and Cheryl. The Sheltons, Neal and Cheryl were spending the night, Meaghan being given permission to skip school the next day. They would all be heading home the next morning, leaving Kensi and Deeks alone. Meaghan had eventually fallen asleep herself, sitting by the fire pit wrapped up in a quilt her mother had brought out for her. Kensi had been too nervous about Deeks being alone for long to stay. She'd said her good nights and gone in to slip into bed beside him, Monty lying in his bed in the corner, keeping a watch over them.
Neal and Cheryl had eventually gone to bed, leaving just the four of them still up. The friendship Hetty and Laura had struck up deepened during the evening as they discussed everything from tea to foreign policy. Granger and John had known of each other for a while, but had not actually met until that first case when NCIS had been assigned as their protection detail. They'd found they had a lot in common, and had become friends. Like the older Sheltons, Granger still couldn't put his finger on how or why the people who came into Deeks's orbit seemed to find themselves part of a larger whole, whether they wanted to or not.
Eventually, Granger and Hetty got up to leave and Laura woke Meaghan up to go to bed. They said their goodbyes and watched the Jaguar roar down the driveway, Granger hanging on for dear life. Tired, but happy, they made their way into the house to their own beds and the house spent a quiet night.