U.S State Penitentiary- Atwater

"G. Callen?"

Callen looked up from the cards in his hands to see a penitentiary officer standing at his cell door. His cell mate, a second in command Arian sect leader from Northern California, looked up to the Callen before closing his eyes and pretending to go to sleep. In the year that Callen had been at Atwater, Callen's cell mate had learned the hard way not to mess with the agent.

"That's me," Callen called out. He dropped the cards on his bed and walked over to the door with crossed arms. The officer held up a pair of silver handcuffs and replied, " Grab your things. You're going on a trip."

"Where exactly am I going?" Callen asked as he grabbed his only belongings- his only family picture and a photo of the team out for drinks from two years ago. The officer mustered up what looked like a half crooked smile. "You're going home, Agent."

Callen stopped in his tracks, mouth agape. " Home?"

"Yes, home. You're being released, Agent Callen, congratulations."

Once he was processed, Callen walked out of the front doors of the prison and into the Los Angeles sun. Under Granger's rules, he hadn't seen a whole lot of sunshine being in a high security prison. Callen winced at the brightness in his eyes and put on his sunshades that had been sitting in storage for a year.

"Damn, you don't do well without sunlight."

Callen grinned as he saw Sam standing at the prison gate. The dark skinned agent was wearing jeans, a black tee, and a NCIS jacket. Callen laughed and started walking towards his partner.

"Guess I was born to need some sunlight," Callen joked. He quickly hugged his partner, who patted him on the back. Callen pulled away and exclaimed, "What the hell happened? How'd we get out?"

"Apparently, Shaggy came through," Sam said with smile. Callen nodded and chuckled, " Deeks….damn. Speaking of- where is he?"

"He's with Kensi at the cliff where we all had out first case together as a team. Nell, Eric, and Hetty are going to meet us there," Sam replied as they started walking towards a black SUV sitting in the parking lot, " Hell of a reunion spot, don't you think?"

"What did you expect?"

Northern Los Angeles

"Any reason you picked this spot?" Kensi asked softly. Both agents were sitting at the edge of the cliff while waiting for their teammates to arrive.

Deeks shrugged as he pulled his girlfriend close to him. "It's the spot where you decided that I was a sucky liaison, remember?"

"Yeah- you still were a sucky liaison though."

Deeks snorted. "I wasn't that bad."

"Oh yes, you were. But I have to say, you're a hell of an agent."

"Thank you, Kensalina," Deeks looked out to where he could see the city skyline. It was dusk in Los Angeles where the sun was setting slowly, creating a beautiful red horizon for them to see.

"What happens next?" Kensi suddenly asked as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"You marry me."

Kensi smiled, not the least bit shocked at his suggestion. She laced her fingers within his and said, " As long as ….you never cut your hair."

"Done," Deeks replied enthusiastically, " I am never cutting off my gorgeous locks ever again."

Within a few minutes, Kensi and Deeks saw two SUVs and Hetty's sports car pull up to the cliff. Sam and Callen stepped out of a black SUV just as Eric and Nell stepped out of a Lexus SUV. The team's operations manager wasn't too far behind as she stepped out of her sports car, which was in the same condition as it had been a year ago. The group of agents and analysts all embraced each other with hugs, laughter, and thanks to Hetty, a bottle of Charles Noellat Richebourg Grand Cru wine.

The team quickly toasted twice, once to Deeks' although long, yet successful takedown of Granger and a second to their freedom and the new possibilities that the future had for them. They all knew that they couldn't go back to be agents again- the trust in the agency had been broken and their faces had been everywhere around the world. At the time, no one knew where and what their future would have for them.

Six months after being released, Sam Hanna had moved his family to Washington D.C so that the ex-SEAL could liaison communications between active SEALs in the Pacific and the Capitol. As expected, G Callen followed Sam to DC and became a Section Chief of the counter terrorism department in the CIA.

Nell Jones had decided to move back home to her family to get a change in scenery three weeks after release. She became a head analyst at the headquarters of a national communications chain. Her reunion with her family had gone incredibly well, especially with her family meeting Eric Beale, her new boyfriend.

Henrietta Lange retired for good, finally taking her boat across the Atlantic to a small cottage on the White Cliffs of Dover in the UK. She kept a relatively quiet life, which included keeping constant communication with the team, attempting golf, and flying to Cuba to see the execution of Owen Granger. She was the only one who went.

Marty Deeks and Kensi Blye had stayed true to their promise to get married. A small wedding a week after Deeks' return was all they needed before they moved to Paris to be consultants with Interpol. A year later, they welcomed Ananya Henrietta Deeks into the world, god daughter to everyone on the team. They kept in touch with the rest of the team almost daily through Skype, letters and flights home.

And even in the peace that they all found, every time one of them saw a red horizon in the sky, they remembered the adventure that changed their lives.

For good.

The End

A/N: A year later and Red Horizon is complete. Thanks for reading!