Chapter 4

Deeks turned when Cassie and Paula joined the group. He did a quick head count and found that only Nell was missing now. They'd all agreed to meet at a coffee shop just down the street from the jewelry shop and the "gang of girls" was slowly rounding out. He sipped his coffee and listened to the conversations ebb and flow around him.

"You have no idea what a teenage girl is like!"

"Aiden went through his teen years and it wasn't that bad!"

"Girls are different! Just wait until Kamran reaches that age."

This was Michelle and Laura debating the ins and outs of dealing with teenagers. He noted that Julia was part of that group and was listening intently, while not contributing much. He realized once again how hard it must have been for her to have Kensi grow up without her, having completely shut her mother out of her life. She'd missed those teenage years. Another snippet caught his ear.

"He was trapped under that car for over three hours. We thought for sure he'd lose that arm!"

"It was a bloody mess but we managed to save it. Did you see those gang bangers that were in the ER when you brought your guy in?"

"Hell yeah! What a scene that was!"

Moira and Tara talking shop.

"Oh, he's so cute!"

"I know! I can't believe it's been two weeks already since we brought him home!"

"It seems like he's been in our lives forever, he's made our family complete. How's LC doing?"

"He took his first step last week!" This announcement was met with congratulations and much excitement.

Deeks had to smile at the baby talk between Cassie, Paula and Cindy. Aaron's adoption had finally gone through and, while he wasn't technically a baby any more, the newness was still there. They'd hit a slight bump in the adoption road when a heterosexual couple had expressed interest in the young boy. He'd already become attached to the women and didn't want any part of the new couple but the adoption agent had insisted it was better for the child. His two friends had been devastated, but then a baby had become available and the other couple had forgotten Aaron even existed. Deeks had helped get the adoption expedited before someone else "more suitable" cropped up and showed in interest in the boy. Joelle was listening avidly and he had a feeling Callen was in for some baby talk in the not to distant future.

"A Sig 9 is the better gun!"

"Are you insane? A Beretta is soooo much better!"

He had to smile at the conversation between Talia and Cheryl. It reminded him of a conversation between himself and Kensi when they'd first been partnered, back when neither one of them had trusted the other. He scanned the group of women and shook his head when he realized just how big this group had gotten.

He contemplated the new additions. Tara had been his friend for a long time. Moira had come into their sphere while he was in the hospital. Both women had melded into the group like they'd always been there. Then there was Cheryl. The FBI agent and Neal were still dating and it looked like it was starting to get serious. He wouldn't have imagined the British butler and American agent together, but somehow it worked. Talia had been around NCIS for several years but she and Kensi had always been tense with each other. Something had changed when he was in ICU and he thought that something just might be Craig. They, too, had been dating since just after his stay in the hospital and, while neither of them would admit it, it looked serious enough. He hadn't seen or heard anything to indicate either was seeing anyone else, not that they'd have time as they always seemed to be together during every non-working moment.

Slowly, but surely, each woman had been reached out to and found a place in the group. It was a sight to behold when they went out en masse. Especially when they were dressed to the 9's. Julia was the exception. She'd been invited out with them on several occasions but had declined, feeling that having "mom" along would impinge on Kensi's enjoyment. She'd confided to him that the mere fact that she'd even been asked had made her so happy. Day by day she and Kensi were slowly repairing their relationship.

His immediate nickname of the "gang of girls" had stuck and had even been adopted by them. In retaliation, Kensi had come up with her own nickname for whenever the guys got together. She called them the "band of boys" and he'd actually been proud of her for it. Of course, the rest of his group was less than pleased with the moniker, claiming they were men not boys. Kensi had responded with "Boys will be boys!"

His thoughts were interrupted when Nell hurried through the door, apologizing for being late. Kensi had caught her before she left work and she hadn't been able to get away. As far as Kensi knew, he was out with Callen and Sam for some training on tracking. Something they planned to do after the meeting so that Deeks wouldn't have to lie to her, plus Sam was always looking for opportunities to bump up the detective's skill levels.

It was Friday night and Kensi'd been a little irritated that he was going out. She'd reached out to all the girls to try to get something going but each had replied that they had plans and she'd been disappointed to find no one to hang out with. Unfortunately, tonight was the only night all the women were free and Jen was available. Kensi'd finally declared a nice evening alone with the tub, beer and ice cream was perfectly fine. He was sure Titanic was already queued and ready to go. When she'd seen Nell still at work, she'd tried to get her to change her plans but the analyst had stayed firm and finally managed to extricate herself from her friend. Now that they were all here, everyone cleaned up their trash and headed for the door. Deeks led the way to the shop with Laura and Nell at his side.

He opened the door and stood aside to let the women through. He got glares from some and smiles from others. He chuckled as they paraded by him, his heart swelling as he thought of how different his life was now, compared to how it'd been prior to joining NCIS. When the last one was through the door, he entered himself and found Jen Driscoll staring at him in shock.

Jen had looked up when the bell rang, expecting Laura, Nell, Marty and maybe one to two other women. When the women started entering and didn't stop, her jaw dropped open. She watched each one come through the door, noting how disparate they were. She kept her smile on her face even as she wondered if she had enough to offer them to drink or if the store would hold them all. She'd bought two bottles of wine and hoped they'd go the distance. Thank goodness she'd opted for a slightly larger space than she'd originally thought she'd needed when she first rented the storefront.

When Marty finally closed the door and walked to the front, she randomly found herself wondering if this is what a sultan and his harem looked like. She felt herself get a little, ok a lot, warm, just thinking about that. Somehow her vision of his harem included her. She cleared her throat and said "Well, are we missing anyone? There has to be a few women left in the city of L.A. who didn't just walk through my door!"

This got a laugh from everyone and the tone for the evening was set. Jen pulled out the three designs and they were handed from woman to woman. When Laura had emailed everyone to set this up, she'd let them know that there was one design that she and Nell were pretty sure Deeks had his heart set on. When she described the ring, everyone had agreed it was perfect and asked why he was going through with this exercise. When Laura had replied that he wanted everyone to feel included in this important decision, they'd all felt special. Somehow, in the midst of all the back and forths to find a time that worked for everyone, someone suggested playing a little joke on him and picking any ring other than the fern design. By the time they'd agreed on when everyone could meet, the decision was made and all had agreed to bypass the design in question.

Jen left the women to it and went into the back room to get the wine. When she returned to the shop proper, she was surprised to find three bottles of wine already sitting on the counter. She grinned. These were women after her own heart. She added her two and went back for glasses and a corkscrew. She didn't have enough wine glasses but shrugged her shoulders and took out a couple of coffee mugs. She had a feeling this group wouldn't mind. When she got back the second time, it was to find one of the women attempting to open the wine with a wicked looking knife. She paused and shook her head. She found she wasn't really that surprised and walked up to the woman, silently handing her the corkscrew. The woman smiled widely at her and put the knife away.

Shortly three of the bottles were open and each woman had a glass or mug in her hand. Introductions were made all around. The atmosphere in the shop was festive and Jen felt like her face was going to split from the big grin on it. She was thoroughly enjoying herself. As each woman reviewed the designs, agreeing in her head that the fern design was the one, they also picked which of the other two they would falsely vote for. If it hadn't been for the fern design knocking the ball out of the park, it would have been a difficult decision. Each of the designs was beautiful and unique. As they made their decisions, they began to wander around the store, admiring the other pieces Jen had out for sale. Cassie and Paula found matching bracelets that they just had to have. Michelle found a ring that she couldn't live without. Laura had always had her pieces made but a pair of earrings had caught her eye for Meaghan. They practically screamed the teenager's name.

Deeks watched them all with a smile on his face, sipping his wine and answering any questions that came his way, all the while wishing he had a beer and Kensi by his side. He was confident that they would choose the correct design and watched the women interact, the groups shifting and forming in front of one piece of jewelry or another, sipping their own wine and laughing easily. In a fairly short period of time, the wine was gone and they declared they were all ready to reveal the design they thought he should pick. Each design was held up and those who wanted that one would raise their hands. He felt his heart drop as the first design was up and almost half of them voted for it. The other was shown and the rest voted for that one. The fern design was held up and no one held up their hand. He shared a look with Jen and was surprised to see the same look of devastation on her face that he suspected was on his.

He wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this. He knew there was only one ring for him but he'd asked them here to help him make a decision. If he selected the one design no one else had liked, what would that do to their friendships? Would he be busting up the gang? Would Kensi be furious with him? All these thoughts were running through his head until he realized Laura was trying hard not to laugh. He narrowed his eyes at her and she turned bright red, pressing her lips together. Eyes still narrowed he searched the faces of the rest of the women and it finally dawned on him that they were playing him. He shook his head and said "Seriously? A decision this important and you pull this on me?" He tried to keep an angry look on his face but his relief was too great and it quickly turned to a grin. Everyone started to laugh and then congratulated Jen on designing the perfect rings for their friends. Jen and Deeks agreed to talk during the week about the details, now that the decision was final.

They helped Jen clean up and were about to take their leave when the door opened again. Everyone turned to see who was coming in this late and Deeks heart dropped. The two men who'd come in were wearing ski masks and had guns. Instinctively, the law enforcement members of the group stepped in front of the civilians. The two men waved the guns and one said "We want all your jewelry and money, now. Put it in this bag." He indicated the bag being held by the other man. "We want all the cash from the register and every scrap of gold or jewels in the store. No one makes any calls, no one tries to hold out on us or someone gets hurt. Do you understand me?"

They all nodded. Slowly, Deeks reached behind him and put his hand on his gun tucked in his waistband. Around him, others made the same slow move. He took a deep breath and pulled the gun out, shouting "LAPD!" And listened as the rest of the alphabet made an appearance.

"NCIS!"

"CIA!"

"FBI!"

"DEA!"

He tried, he really did. Later he would say he tried so hard to stop it but it was out of his control. There had been nothing he could do about it. It had just happened. His mouth opened and it just came out, again.

"M-O-U-S-E!"

Every eye in the shop turned to him, including those of the would-be robbers and he just shrugged sheepishly. He waved his gun back at the men. Nell, Michelle, Cheryl and Talia looked back to the men and said in perfect unison "Put the guns down and put your hands up!"

The one on the left placed his gun on the floor and raised his hands. The man on the right started to bring his gun around and Deeks said "Don't be stupid, man! You're outnumbered and outgunned. The only way this ends well for you is to drop the gun and give up." The man wavered; the gun moving back and forth as he eyed all the guns aimed at him and decided on self-preservation as he, too, dropped the gun and raised his hands.

Deeks patted his pockets and asked "Anyone happen to have any zip ties?"

Still not sure exactly what had just happened in her shop, Jen blurted out "I do." He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What? I use them for packing things up." He smiled at her and she ran into the backroom to grab a handful. Coming back to the front she thrust them at him. "Should I call the cops? I mean, should I call someone to come get them?" Deeks nodded and she made her way over to the phone.

Holstering his gun, Deeks approached the men and said 'Hands behind your back!" Again, they complied and he zip tied both of their hands together. Once done, he grabbed hold of the ski mask on the one who'd given them the most trouble and pulled it off, revealing an older man with a scar through his right eyebrow. He pulled the mask off the second man, revealing a much younger man. "What the hell were you two thinking? Even if there was no way to know there were cops on the premises, why would you try to rob a store full of people?"

The one Deeks had nicknamed Scarface sneered at him. "We figured a store full of broads would get us a good score and no one would fight back. We cased the place for a week and knew she didn't have much in the way of security. It would have been easy if you guys hadn't been cops." He spat on the floor.

"Yeah? And how'd that work out for you?" He shook the guy a little. "By the way? That was disgusting and very unhygienic!" Scarface's eyebrows went up. Or rather, one did, the other stayed put, making him look a little like Mr. Spock. Deeks looked out the window at the sound of sirens. There must have been a squad car in the general area to get that quick a response. They all waited in silence for the police to arrive, the women still pointing their guns at the two men, watching them warily. When the car arrived, the two officers who entered the shop reached for their own guns when they saw all the guns still drawn. Deeks looked back at his friends and grinned. "Okay, ladies, I think you can put them away now." All the guns went back into their various holsters with sheepish looks.

Turning to the two officers, he said "I'm Detective Marty Deeks. My friends and I were here for an appointment when these two came in and tried to rob the place. Four of the women behind me are federal agents and have authority to carry concealed weapons. These guys are ready for transport."

The officers holstered their own guns and took charge of the two men, taking them out to the squad car and putting them in the back. One stayed with them to stand guard and the older one came back in to take their statements. As each one of them related what happened, including the synchronized drawing of guns with each agency called out, the officer started to smile. When Jen faithfully recited everything that happened, including Deeks saying M-O-U-S-E, he burst into laughter. He turned to Deeks and said "I've heard about you. Glad to know you live up to your reputation!"

Deeks swallowed and asked "What reputation?"

"Stan Wolinsky is at my precinct, for now anyway. Rumor has it your boss Bates has his eye on him. Stan's told us a couple stories about you. Stories that don't mesh up with the ones I've heard from other cops. I'll take his word over the other rumors any day." He reached out a hand and said "Sgt. Don Brady, pleased to meet you."

Deeks took his hand and grinned. "Pleased to meet you too. Any friend of Stan's!" He gave his own statement along with his badge number and Don closed up his notepad.

Looking at all the women in the store, noting that Deeks was the only male, he looked over at him and whispered "What lucky star were you born under to be here with all these lovely women?"

Deeks chuckled. "They're actually all friends or family of me and my girlfriend. I'm here to pick out an engagement ring and they're here for support"

Don shook his head. "Man, I wouldn't be so quick to settle for just one, not with all these on hand."

Deeks smiled and said "That's because you've never met Kensi. She'd make you change your mind."

Don tilted his head and made a rueful face. "You've got it bad, man."

"Nope. I've got it good!"

Don and his partner left with their prisoners and the group discussed what had just happened. The civilians in the room were somewhat shell shocked, the worst being Jen who hadn't known that anyone other than Marty and Nell were law enforcement. She was especially surprised that all of them were carrying. Michelle had explained that she never left home without her weapon, never sure if someone from her past might catch up with her. Each of the other agents agreed. Jen considered it and realized she was grateful that was the case. If she'd been here alone or with a client who wasn't armed, who knows what would have happened. The thought had crossed Deeks mind as well and he said "We need to talk about your security. You're a prime target with precious metals and jewels on the premises. I know someone who does this for a living. I can talk with him and have him come by to work out a plan. He'll give you the friends and family discount."

Jen smiled at him gratefully. "I'd appreciate that. I never thought I'd need it until tonight. I can't thank you…" she looked around at everyone…"all of you, enough. Things may have turned out quite differently if you weren't here." The enormity of what had just happened finally hit her and she began to shake, silent tears running down her face. The women all closed in on her, surrounding her and giving her comfort. She found herself envying them the closeness of their group. Unbeknownst to her, she had just unofficially become one of the "gang of girls".

Epilogue:

Three weeks later Deeks picked up the engagement and jacket rings. He'd agreed with Jen that he would hold off on the wedding rings until he'd actually done the proposing and she'd accepted. Jen privately thought Kensi would be a fool to say no. Deeks was thinking, now he just had to plan the perfect proposal.

FINIS

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A/N – thanks to honus47 for the suggestion "what if the girls got together to pull a joke on Marty by picking a different design rather than the fern? Of course they would take the fern AFTER they all got their laughs."

A/N2 – thanks to Khept for the suggestion "Maybe you could include a jewelry heist when they go to sort out the ring"