Prompt: Can you do a drabble about Sam's interview about Deeks going to FLETC. Pick where we left off last time.

"I beg your pardon," DCSA Agent Martinez said, staring back at Sam in surprise. "You punched Detective Deeks?" He nodded, allowing a half smirk.

"Multiple times. By the time I was done with him, Deeks could barely get up," he continued. He could almost imagine Deeks' protests at that retelling of their first meeting. Even if he had lost in the end, Deeks had held his own pretty well for being severely mismatched in the weight department.

Narrowing her eyes, Martinez set down her pen, folding her hands as leaned slightly forward.

"Agent Hanna. I think you should start from the very beginning and explain exactly what happened."

"Our team first fan into Detective Deeks when someone from an MMA gym was murdered. Unbeknownst to us, Deeks was undercover for LAPD and trying to get a spot on the team to gain more information about cartel activity.

"Deeks was good. We thought he might be a criminal, but none of us had any idea he was undercover. I ended up fighting him to take his spot on the team as go undercover myself."

"And that's when you were forced to punch him," Martinez surmised.

"Yeah, Deeks wasn't too happy about the situation."

"Your team certainly has a flair for the dramatics." She wrote something in her file, shaking her head as she sighed. Sam held back another smile as he imagined Eric's interview. Hopefully his clear respect and trust in Deeks would shine through if Eric was especially hyper.

"Mm, well even after that I wasn't a huge fan of Deeks'. He talked and joked too much, didn't seem to respect anything. He did everything differently, right down to his hair and the way he dressed. I didn't like it."

"I'm going to assume there's a "but" attached to this that explains when your opinion of Detective Deeks changed," Agent Martinez said, still sounding a little dismayed. "So far you're not exactly helping your teammate."

"You're right," Sam agreed. "Over time I began to see that Deeks was more than just a joker who got by on fast talk and chance. He was good at being a detective and our liaison. But what really changed my mind, and much later than it should have, was this one case.

"I let my biases against Deeks convince me that he wasn't good enough, wasn't strong enough. I said as much to him." He paused for a moment, remembering that day. He was annoyed, even angry, that he was stuck with Deeks. When Sam glanced back up, Martinez was scrutinizing him.

"Even so, Deeks didn't hesitate to come to my assistance when I was in trouble. As a result, he was tortured in attempt to gain information about me and others on our team. He must have been in unimaginable pain, must have been terrified, but he never said a word."

"Agent Blye mentioned that case too," Martinez said with a heavy sigh. "It sounds like Detective Deeks endured a lot for your entire team."

"He has."

"So, you would consider Detective Deeks to be trustworthy?"

"Absolutely. His response was immediate and emphatic. "I trust Deeks with any of my family or our team. And I also know him to be a highly intelligent, hard-working man who is essential to this team."

"Well, that's certainly a ringing endorsement," Agent Martinez said with a slightly bemused expression. "I don't suppose you could have led with that instead of making me believe you physically assaulted Detective Deeks?"

"I wanted to emphasize that first impressions aren't always accurate. At first glance, Deeks doesn't seem like a good candidate for anything outside of surfing, but once you dig a little deeper, you'll find out there's so much more to him. He is extremely good at what he does."

"Noted." Agent Martinez closed the file and reached across the table to shake Sam's hand. "I appreciate your candor and input, Agent Hanna." She stood, indicating that the interview was officially over.

Before he left, Sam added,

"Deeks is a good man and he'll be a great agent."