A/N: In "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" Kensi said Deeks slayed his younger classmates at FLETC. She might have been joking a little, but I took the comment very seriously. Yes, we're still talking about FLETC.

"Hey, you got something from FLETC," Kensi told Deeks, holding out a large white envelope. "It's from the registrar." She practically sang the last part and did a little dance.

"Oh, that must be my grades," Deeks said with a sigh. He took the envelope, gave the address on the front a cursory glance, and then dropped it on the table.

"Wait, you're not going to open it?"

"I already know I passed. Or at least that Hetty forced me through. What else do I need to know?" He shrugged, not really wanting to delve back into the disappointment surrounding his hasty exit from FLETC.

Folding her arms, Kensi gave him an exasperated look.

"Baby, Hetty did not have to push you through," she reminded him, not for the first time. "You graduated all on your own merit and hard work."

"I still don't want to see my grades. But if you want to, knock yourself out." Deeks said, handing the packet back to her. She muttered under her breath, but took it anyway, peeled open the flap at the top, and removed several papers.

Despite his reservations, he watched as Kensi scanned the first paper. Her eyebrows rose and then fell, bottom lip tucked firmly between her teeth. This went on for a couple minutes until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Ok, Kens, you're starting to freak me out a little bit. How bad did I do?" She shook her head, her expression unreadable.

"Straight "As", she said, finally allowing a smile. "295 on your firearms exam and 97th percentile for the physical battery."

"That can't be right," Deeks said and she turned the transcript for him to see.

"Here see for yourself." She slid it in front of him, resting a hand on his shoulder while he read. Sure enough, there were two rows of courses, each with an accompanying "A".

"But I pretty much bombed the first physical assessment and screwed up some other stuff." Even though he was staring at the proof, Deeks couldn't believe it. He'd spent the last four weeks believing that he'd barely squeaked by. Or even worse, that he'd actually flunked out.

"That's not all," Kensi told him, smiling again as she offered him a second paper. "You were awarded 'Annual Honor Graduate of the Year'." She bent and kissed his cheek, wrapping one arm around his chest.

"This must be a mistake," he murmured. Kensi grasped his chin, turning his head enough that she could look him directly in the eye.

"They don't give that to just anyone and there's no way that even Hetty could push that through." There was pride, satisfaction, and just a little bit of "I told you so" in her voice. Something about it made Deeks' throat tighten a little and he swallowed a couple times as he felt his eyes fill with tears.

"So how many of you guys got one of these too?" he asked, throat a little raspy with emotion. Kensi gave him a knowing look, but didn't call him on it.

"As far as I know, no one has," Kensi answered. "Someone from the Capitol Police was the recipient when I was at FLETC. So that means you are even more special than we realized, Investigator Deeks."

Deeks grinned at that, tipping his head up to look at Kensi again,

"Would it be completely obnoxious if I had this framed and kept it on my desk?"

"For sure. It would drive Sam crazy." Kensi kissed him again, this time on the lips, and gave him a little smirk. "Which means you should definitely do it."

Chuckling Deeks, carefully tucked the transcript and award (which apparently was just a placeholder until the academy sent the official copy) away and felt something like relief settle in his chest. For the first time, it felt like he'd actually earned his role as investigator.

A/N: I don't know if any NCIS Agent has received this award (which is a real thing), so Deeks may be the inaugural recipient.