As Deeks had expected, Hetty was extremely open to the idea of Kensi joining him as his undercover girlfriend. It helped that she had inside knowledge about their relationship and had urged Deeks to assist NCIS in the first place.

Sam and Callen, not so much. It wasn't clear if their mistrust was because they still thought he might be a double agent, or they simply didn't think him capable of pulling this off.

"Hetty, I get that you know Deeks better than we do, but I don't think this is a good idea," Callen told Hetty. They'd all gathered in the boat shed together, filling up the relatively small space.

Deeks had never been inside the team's main headquarters, for obvious reasons, but he'd heard enough from Kensi about Hetty's little throne, surrounded by her favorite antiques. Right now, she was perched on the edge of a far less regal chair, lips pursed as she listened to Callen's argument. It was difficult to tell, even after many clandestine meetings, what she was thinking at the moment.

"You don't believe that Mr. Deeks deserves our assistance should he fall into trouble?" Hetty asked slowly.

"Hetty, you know that I've had misgivings about this from the start. Bringing a civilian in, for such an important operation, is extremely careless." He glanced back to where Kensi and Deeks had naturally taken a position at one end of the long table, a few extra inches placed between them for appearances sake. "No offense, Deeks, but we don't know you, which means we can't rely on you."

"Oh, none taken," Deeks responded cheerfully, even though he was pretty certain Callen hadn't expected him to. "After all, I'm not sure I fully trust you two either."

Sam made a sound of mild disbelief but didn't add to the conversation. He seemed resigned to Deeks' presence, though that didn't necessarily mean that he wanted him there.

To a certain extent, he understood their reticence; he was an outsider, placing himself in a dangerous position. However, he'd hoped that Hetty's support would be enough to sway them.

"Callen, it makes perfect sense for me to go in as Deeks' girlfriend and provide backup," Kensi pointed out. "It will ease Bennett Forthright's suspicions and if something happens to go south, I'll be there."

"Mr. Hanna, what do you think?" Hetty asked. He considered her question for a minute before responding, folding his arms over his broad chest.

"We need to stop those shipments and stop Forthright and his colleagues from starting up somewhere else," he said finally.

"Well, then it sounds like the plan is settled." Hetty clapped her hands together, looking fairly imperious in her mustard tailored-fitted suit. This clearly wasn't a democracy, as much as the team might like it to be. "Mr. Deeks will continue to prove Bennett Forthright for information, accompanied by Ms. Blye."

"It's a date." Deeks grinned and winked at Kensi. She gave a quick snaked of her head, eyeing Callen who didn't look amused. Sobering, Deeks turned to face Callen. "Rest assured, I take this all very seriously, Agent Callen," he said, adopting the tone that he used when he wanted a jury to listen to him. "I understand the repercussions if Forthright continues unchecked. And, I would never do anything to put Agent Blye in unnecessary danger."

He didn't need to look at Kensi to know her attention was completely focused on him; he didn't turn from Callen though, needing to emphasize his sincerity. Callen regarded him for several moments, silently assessing him.

"I guess that's all we can ask," he said, seeming to come to terms with the situation. "But you know we can't guarantee your safety," he continued. "Even with Kensi there, you could be hurt or killed."

"I realize that," Deeks assured him. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that. Cause just between the five of us, I kind of like not dying."

Sam huffed out a laugh and said something Deeks didn't quite catch, shaking his head.

"Well, it seems you have this under control," Hetty decided. "I'll leave you to work out the details. Once you've settled on an alias for Kensi, make sure you let Eric and Nell know that you'll need backstopping."

Deeks watched her leave, wondering if the team had any idea about the magnitude of her scheming. Over the past few years, he'd had the opportunity to witness more than a few of Hetty's plans, which always had so much more going on beneath the surface.

Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, he grabbed a chair from the table and sat down with his forearms arms braced against the back. The fabric of his dress pants strained slightly as he straddled the chair.

"Alright, so how do you usually come up with aliases?" he asked, addressing Kensi directly. "Cause if I have a say in it, I'm definitely voting for Fern."

He bit back a grin at Kensi's warning look. The other two would have no idea about the inside joke, borne from the night when he'd first met Kensi. They'd met at a bar while Kensi was celebrating a friend's bachelorette party.

When Deeks introduced himself, she'd said her name was Fern and firmly told him she wasn't available. It was only once more of the other bachelorettes had gotten smashed and were playing some kind of drinking game, that they started chatting.

From there, he'd learned that Kensi worked in law enforcement (though she hadn't specified where at the time) and in between jokes, that he earned his first smile from her. With a slightly embarrassed smile, she'd revealed that Fern was the name she used when she wasn't interested in a guy.

Deeks left that bar with Kensi's number and called her Fern off and on for the first three months they dated.

The Kensi of the present had her arms folded over her chest, looking thoroughly unamused by the callback to their first meeting.

"Definitely not," she said firmly. "We can reuse one of my old aliases. Or, I've always liked the name Natalie and I don't think I've ever used that before."

"Mm, it has potential, but not as perky as Fern."

"Ok, we can figure out names later," Callen interrupted. "The more important question is, how are you going to introduce Kensi into the picture without causing any suspicious? People are going to notice if she just appears out of nowhere."

"I told Bennett that I was interested in someone from my office," Deeks answered. He'd already discussed this portion of the plan with Agent Blye, but of course he couldn't let onto that just yet. "She can start as my personal assistant as soon as we have her identity settled."

"What if Forthright or someone else asks around and finds out Kensi's only been working for you a few days? That's going to raise some red flags for sure," Sam pointed out.

"I'll say she was transferred from another firm, and I convinced her to switch over. For the benefits package, of course." Deeks flashed a faintly leering smirk, the kind that would make a man like Bennett Forthright chuckle knowingly. In a second it was gone, and he regarded Sam seriously again.

"I, for better or worse, have a reputation as a player. Most of my partners wouldn't be surprised that I'd recruit a woman from another office in a different city or state just to make another conquest," Deeks explained, feeling a nasty taste in his mouth as he said it. "It's helped me get closer to men like Bennett."

"And what does your wife think about your reputation?" Sam asked. Deeks hesitated, purposely not looking to the side, towards Kensi.

"She understands why I do what I do. And a good portion of that reputation is based on rumors."

There was a slightly awkward, charged silence where Deeks imagined that Sam and Callen were regarding him with mild loathing. He was sure Sam's opinion of him had degraded considerably in the last two minutes.

"Eric and Nell shouldn't have a problem creating a backstory for me that fits with that narrative," Kensi spoke up. "Now, we should probably iron out the rest of the details, so I'm prepared for my new position."

"Right. I'll call Eric," Callen said, turning to walk a few steps away.

Deeks felt Kensi's hand brush his back, not more than a graze of her fingers for a second, but it was enough to ease some of the tension from his shoulders. As long as they were together, they would get through this he reminded himself.

A/N: Once again, I've tweaked the characters a little to suit my purposes.