Hello my darlings. I would like to thank IWantColoredRain and Petunia3116 for the wonderful reviews. I would also like to thank those of you who have followed and favoured since I last updated.

So this is it. The beginning of the end. The start of the last episode in this story, though it will be quite a few chapters long. This is a prequel to season 2, episode 22 'Plan B', which starts at the end. I hope you like it. (And yes I know I've missed Rocket Man, which upsets me greatly as its one of my favourites, but I didn't think it needed including in this story.)

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS: LA.

Callen came home from having a drink with Sam to find Deeks sitting on the couch staring at a letter, a strange look in his eyes. He looked almost… haunted. Callen didn't think before dropping his bag and moving quickly to the man he loved's side. Whatever it was, whatever had happened, he was gonna be there for him. They would get through this together.

"Marty, what's happened?" He asked quietly, his arm moving to gently rub the younger man's back between his shoulders, so he could pull him into his arms if he needed to. Oh god, he hoped nothing had happened to Roberta. He didn't want to think about how Marty would feel if he lost his mom.

"Nelson Sanders' sentencing date has come through." Deeks replied not looking up from the piece of paper in his hand, the official seal stamped in the corner. Of course he knew this day was coming, but somehow, with everything that had happened, he had forgotten all about it. Forgotten the danger he had put Ray in. The danger he had put his best friend in by making him his CI.

"The arms trafficker that was picked up by the joint task force?" Callen asked frowning, wondering what that had to do with, well anything Marty related. Wondering why that had upset him so badly.

"The one and only." Deeks agreed with a sigh. He had known it was only a matter of time before he had this conversation with G. Only a matter of time before he had to tell him about his other best friend. But somehow he hadn't seemed to prepare for it. It had always been something that would happen in the future, some undefined time he hadn't needed to worry about. But now the future was here, and he was going to have to tell G about the one alias he tried to avoid at all costs. He was gonna have to tell him about Max Gentry.

"Okay. What's your connection to that case? I mean it was before you joined NCIS, so?" Callen asked still not understanding why this had rattled Marty so much.

"Remember the star witness?" Deeks asked in return, turning so he was finally looking G in the eyes, making the older man have to shallow before he responded.

"Some puke arms dealer who got flipped by an undercover cop-" it was at that point that everything became suddenly very clear to the special agent. The witness was a LAPD undercover cop's informant. There really was only one explanation for everything now. "That was you. You flipped him." he stated, it wasn't a question.

"Not so hard really. Ray is one of my oldest friends. Five years ago when I found him in the centre of an arms ring I was busting, I gave him the choice of arresting him or becoming my informant." Deeks replied with a small smile as he remembered his friend. Remembered the kid he had once been, remembered the man he had turned into. Their paths had diverged so long ago, but he knew their roles could have easily been reversed. It could easily have been him as the criminal. Well in way he was wasn't he? Max Gentry was a nasty piece of work. He was the man Deeks knew he could have been, if he had taken a different path.

"He's going go into witness protection now, though. Right?" Callen asked thinking maybe it was the fact that he would never see his friend again that had upset Marty so much. But surely they could arrange something… or more to the point, surely Hetty could agree something, if he asked her nicely, and no doubt promised far too much. But he would do it for Marty, he would do anything for Marty.

"Yeah." Deeks agreed turning back to the paper still in his hand.

"What is it, Marty? Talk to me." Callen whispered squeezing his shoulder firmly under his hand in a sign that he was there for him. That he would always be there for him.

It was now or never. He needed to tell him now, about Max… about Nicole. But as he opened his mouth to explain, opened his mouth to share a part of himself that he never wanted the other man to know, opened his mouth to share the darkest corners of his mind, the words wouldn't come out. So instead he said the other thing that was on his mind. The other thing that was troubling him, and maybe it was better that way. This thing was far less selfish that telling G all his sordid secrets, or maybe it was more so because he was chickening out on telling the man he loved about that side of himself. But either way, it was too late to change it now.

"Do you really think a guy like Sanders is just gonna forget him? He will hunt him down, no matter where we send him." Deeks asked, looking into the empty fireplace rather than at the man next to him.

"Okay. So we need a different plan." Callen responded, his mind already starting to turn. Planning undercover operations was what he did, this would be no different. And he wasn't going to let Marty's friend die. Not now, not ever.

"A different plan?" Deeks asked turning with a raised eyebrow looking into G's eyes and seeing the cogs already turning in his mind. He couldn't believe it. That G would that. That he would try and think of a way to save some petty criminal. He was a bad guy, and the definition of their jobs was to take them down.

"You don't think I'm really going to let one of your friends get killed for doing the right thing do you?" Callen asked mildly with a raised eyebrow of his own, though in truth he really couldn't believe Marty would think that. That he really thought he would let anyone Marty cared about get hurt.

"Well, when you put it that way." Deeks replied leaning back against the couch for the first time, his head automatically turning to rest on G's shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll come up with something." Callen responded wrapping his arms around his man and pulling him close. They would come up with something. They would find a way that this was going to turn out fine, for everybody, well everybody but Nelson Sanders that was.

"Thanks, G." Deeks whispers as he snuggled closer, closing his eyes as his head finally rested against G's chest and he could hear the calm rhythm of his heartbeat. He felt safe here. Nothing could harm him when he was in G's arms, nothing could harm them when they were together.

"No need to thank me, Marty." Callen replied quietly, turning to place a gentle kiss upon the younger man's head before settling back on the couch, holding Marty in his arms as his mind turned. As he came up with an idea to make sure Ray would stay alive once this was done.

Hetty was sitting behind her desk, drinking her first cup of tea of the morning when a shadow fell over her. She couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her lips at it. Because she knew exactly who it was, and she knew exactly why he was there. She had wondered when he come, wondered how long it would take him to approach her. In fact she had even had a little bet with herself about that, and, yes, looking at her watch she saw she was almost spot on. She really did know her boy far too well.

"What can I do for you, Mr Callen?" She asked placing her cup gently back in the saucer and turning her eyes to look at the man before her.

"We need to kill Ray Martindale." Callen replied simply, taking a chair opposite her as he spoke. He had been thinking about it all night, and it was the perfect solution in his mind. If everyone thought Ray was dead, then there would be no reason to hunt him down would there?

"Oh? Any particular reason, or is you just don't like the man?" Hetty asked with a smirk on her lips. She had already set the wheels in motion to do as Callen was suggesting, already had it all planned out to the letter, she was just glad to see he agreed with her.

"Hetty." Callen replied with fond exasperation, though her response did relax him as nothing else could. Because it meant he was not the only one to come to this conclusion. It seemed Hetty already had it all in hand, why did he ever think it would be different?

"It is already arranged, Mr Callen. All I need you to do is shot him." Hetty answered smiling happily at him making his eyebrow raise as he wondered how his boyfriend was gonna feel about him shooting one of his best friends.

"Fine. But you're explaining it to Marty." He replied standing once more and making his way out of her office area.

"But of course Mr Callen, who else would do it?" Hetty called after him making him chuckle. It seemed Marty had been worrying for nothing. And with that weight lifted off his shoulders Callen returned to his desk, and if he pulled up the case file for Nelson Sanders to read it through for the first time, well that was perfectly normal right? He needed to know the case if he was going to be working on it now, and it had nothing to do with wanting to find out everything he could about Marty's undercover persona. Nope, nothing at all.

And that was how a week later Marty found himself coming out of the court house, ready to watch his boyfriend 'gun' down his best friend in a drive by shooting. And he couldn't help but shake his head at G and Hetty's solution. Only they would come up with killing Ray to keep him safe. They really were in a league of their own.