"Yes, mom, I ate breakfast," Deeks reassured Roberta, pausing to listen as she rattled off another question over the phone. She'd taken to calling at least once a day while she was at work to check on him. Sometimes it bordered on smothering, but he knew it made her feel better.
While money was still tight, Donald Blye's loan had helped considerably. It had Roberta not only reduce her hours, but also put her name in for a higher position. If she got it, it could potentially change everything for them.
"And you have enough for lunch too, right?"Roberta continued.
"Yeah, but Kensi's bringing something later."
"Boy, that girl would do anything for you. If you don't—"
"Mom," he interrupted warningly before she could get in the full swing of her "suggestions". Along with a reduced work schedule, less stress, and more sleep, Roberta's meddling had returned in full force. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to have her asking about his crushes and girlfriends.
Not that Kensi was either of those. Definitely not. She was his friend and any peculiar feelings he might or might not have were just a result of his gratitude.
"You can stick your head in the sand all you want, but everyone with eyes can see what's going on,"she said, completely unbothered. Deeks didn't know whether he should be relieved or frustrated.
"Did you have that meeting with your boss?" he asked.
"Sure, change the subject. We can talk about it later."
"I'm just concerned that you're using your whole lunch break up talking to me. Speaking of which, did you eat?"
"Very funny, Martin. You know I've been living off cheap coffee and cigarettes for years."
"Nice, mom."
Roberta sighed over the line, the sound a little melancholic."I missed this, Marty. Talking to you. I didn't realize how much."
"Yeah, I missed it too," he admitted. He cleared his throat, not what to say that wouldn't end in one or both of them crying. A knock on the door saved him from coming up with a response. "Hey, I think Kensi's here. I'll talk to you later, mama. Love you."
"Love you too, sweetie. Oh, I bought a cake mix last week, make Kensi some dessert. She'll love that!"
"Bye, mom," he said firmly, hanging up.
Running through the house to answer the door, he called out, "I'm coming! I don't know why you don't just let yourself in by now. It's not like—" he yanked the door open, taking a step back in surprise when saw that it was not Kensi but Sam Hanna.
"Officer Hanna." His first thought was that something must have happened with Ray. "What are you doing here?"
"Marty. You look surprised to see me," Hanna observed, crossing his arms as he looked down at Deeks.
"Yeah well, our last interaction wasn't exactlyin my top ten moments, so I was hoping not to repeat it," Deeks explained.
"You never called," Hanna said. "Even though I gave you my card."
"I thought that was more for worst-case scenario purposes. You know, like if I got stuck in a tree or something," Deeks joked.
"Very funny. I just came to check up on you. You mind if I come in for a few minutes?" When Deeks hesitated, Hanna added, "Off the record. I'm off-duty today, so unless you decide to rob a bank directly in front of me, I'm not arresting anyone today."
"That's reassuring." Reluctantly, Deeks opened the door wider, stepping aside so Officer Hanna could enter first. He seemed even larger than before, standing in the middle of their dinky little house.
Deeks saw his eyes traveling around the tiny sitting room that barely ever got used, the worn furniture.
"Yeah, it's not the fanciest," Deeks commented, unable to completely conceal his defensiveness.
"Fancy or not, it's your home. I don't judge anyone for where they come from," Hanna said, turning to face Deeks again. "Reminds me of my grandma's house. She didn't have much, but damn if she didn't keep it spotless."
"It's one less thing for people to blame you for." Inclining his head, Deeks acknowledged, "And it's surprisingly calming." Hanna smirked a little at that.
"So, Officer Hanna, do you wanna sit down or is this the standing up kind of drink. In which case, I'd like to call my lawyer."
Hanna rolled his eyes, his smiling morphing into a reluctant grin. "Kid, you're a riot. I'm off-duty, remember? None of this Officer Hanna unless I've got a badge on. Sam's just fine."
"Ok, Sam." Deeks scrunched up his nose. "That sounds weird," he decided. "Kind of like when you first realize that your teachers actually have lives outside of school. I was six when I saw my kindergarten teacher buying milk and I've never been the same since."
"Alright, enough rambling. I'll put you out of your misery," Sam said, holding up a hand, and Deeks tensed up again, his pulse picking up speed. "First of all, I thought you should know that your friend was sentenced the other day. He's on probation and got ninety days of community service."
"You know about Ray?" Deeks murmured with a flash or remorse. With everything going on, he hadn't visited Ray since that first time. Not that Deeks imagined Ray would want to see him.
"I knew you had an accomplice, so I kept an eye out for another stupid kid. It wasn't too hard to find him. He mentioned your name a couple times when he was asking for extra phone calls." Sam regarded Deeks seriously, and it made him feel like a little kid again. "He got lucky since he's still young, but he already had a record before this. There's only so many times he's going to get a break like this. He could probably use a friend to remind of that."
Deeks pursed his lips, looking beyond Sam. "Yeah well, I don't think Ray's really in the mood to listen to me these days. I mean, look at how well it went before this."
"That would be a damn shame, because you seem like a pretty good friend," Sam said. "He might surprise you with a little time."
"Yeah, no, you're right," Deeks agreed softly. "Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it."
"No problem. I hope you've been staying out of trouble in the meantime. No more climbing expeditions?"
"No. It's pretty safe to say you scared the crap out me, Sam."
"Good. Then I did my job. You doing alright otherwise? I got the feeling last time I saw you, you weren't doing the best," Sam said.
His level of intuition unnerved Deeks a little bit. It was hard to believe that he had no ulterior motives.
"I'm doing better," Deeks answered, keeping it purposely vaguely. Sam waited, apparently expecting more, but when Deeks stayed silent, he nodded.
"I'm glad to hear it. From everything I've seen, you're a good, smart kid. Keep it that way."
"I'm going to do my best," Deeks said. This time with complete honesty.
"That's all I can ask." Sam shifted his body towards the door. "I need to pick my daughter up from her dance class." He pulled another business card from his pocket. "Here. Just in case you misplaced the last one. We've got a mentoring program we run through the precinct that I think you'd be perfect for. Give me a call and I'll set you up."
"I'll consider it."
"I hope you do," Sam said. Holding out his hand, he waited for Deeks to take it, his grip firm and warm. "Keep making strong choices, Marty."
He saw himself out, leaving Deeks feeling slightly off-kilter. Flipping the business card between his fingers, Deeks examined the fine print. Somehow it seemed much heavier than a little piece of paper should be.
A/N: I'll admit, this chapter was a bear to write. I hope you enjoy it and the return of Sam.