A/N: This story would not have been possible without several people kicking my butt to write. I first "blame" mountaingirl777 for being the first to encourage me. I also owe a huge thanks to ishiptoomanypeopleontv who brightens our tumblr dashboard daily with #littlebitofperfect photos and is my beta for this project. Finally to my partner in crime sassyzazzi. Stef you are the gift that keeps on giving everyday. I love fangirling with you even if our husbands think we are too old and too crazy to be doing it. I owe Deeks big time for meeting you.I hope you enjoy this journey.

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center

U.S. Army Medical Command

Landstuhl, Germany

January 26, 2013

She was beautiful walking down the aisle. He still wasn't sure how he got her to say yes – yes to starting a relationship to see what would happen, yes to taking it past 'partners with privileges,' Yes, I will marry you, get up, get off your knee, everyone's looking." But she kept saying yes…. The chaplain spoke about faith, hope, love and how the greatest of these three was love. Looking at Kensi, he knew maybe for the first time in his life, someone truly loved him*.

Deeks was deep in thought as he watched Kensi sleep. It had been a hellish 2 days. He was still trying to piece together the events - the bomb exploding, he and Morales, pulling debris off of Kensi, getting her to the ambulance, on to the chopper, to the evac hospital - that led him to watching his wife lying in a hospital bed. "His wife". What did he ever do in his life to deserve her. To deserve to be this happy. Deeks repeated his routine of begging, pleading, threatening to hide every Twinkie they had, to get her to wake up. When failing yet again, he decided to follow Col. Carter's orders and stretch out on the cot that was in the room. He kissed Kensi tenderly on the lips, told her to wake him up when she woke and laid down. Soon he was drifting off to sleep.

Blood and Guts Warriors Gym

Los Angeles, CA

April 4, 2010

Marty Deeks had been undercover as Jason Wyler for 3 months. He had finally worked his way in with Victor Janklow's elite team of fighters. He also had become friends with Daniel Zuna. Zuna was the youngest and the friendliest of the group so he started to bond with him with the hope of working Zuna for information on the group, their habits and drug connections.

The next day, Deeks was at the gym doing his workout, he noticed Danny had not yet come in. He was a little worried. Danny was religious about his workouts, never missed them. Deeks also noticed that Danny had been agitated the past few days. He was going to ask him about it when he saw him. As the day wore on, still no Zuna and he began to feel an underlying current with the rest of the team. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was up. Maybe it was the buy he was hoping to catch? All he knew was that he was ready for this OP to end and he wanted to go home. To HIS home, his dog Monty, and start surfing again. He missed the ocean, the peace he always found there.

Around midnight, "Jason Wyler" got a text from Craig Mangold, one of the warriors. "Zuna found dead, meet at the gym!" 'What the hell!', Deeks thought. He dragged himself out of bed, sent a text message to Lt Bates and headed out. This is NOT what he needed right now.

A few days later, Special Agent Kensi Blye, pulled into the Warriors Gym parking lot. She checked her hair, practiced some lines as Tracy, Daniel Zuna's grieving girlfriend, and headed in the gym. You could smell the testosterone. God how she hated that smell. All she wanted to do was get in, check out Zuna's gym mates and get out. On her initial sweep of the gym, she saw a fight cage and a line of fighters working on various bags or sparring with each other. They were muscular, all with military haircuts, except one. At the far end of the line she noticed a fighter. She guessed 6 foot 2, but shaggy blond hair, not squared away as the others. She also noticed he was watching her out of the corner of his eye while trying to look busy with his workout bag. Kensi/Tracy got a strange vibe from him. She will have to have Eric check him out. Kensi made her way over to the fight cage. The man coaching said, "it's sixty bucks a month to train. You bring your own equipment and we don't have a woman's lockers so you'll have to change in your car." "No! I'm not here to train. I am - er was a friend of Daniel's." Kensi hoped she sold her cover.

"You heard?" asked Janklow. She introduced herself as Tracy. She asked how can they still train after Daniel dying. His response, "It's what we do!" Janklow then gathered the fighters around him, including the guy at the far end. Each of them had some sort of military attachment to their name, except Jason Wyler. Wyler shouts out, "Yeah? How'd you hear?" He had an edge to his voice that was making her uncomfortable. Tracy explained that the police had called her. She guessed that hers was the last number Danny dialed. Wyler pushed back that Danny had a lot of numbers in cell phone. She wondered how he would know that. The fighter named Mangold told Jason to back off. Tracy thought she should probably get out but she was definitely going to find out more about Wyler. Mangold asked Tracy if they could get together, she gave him her number. Jason Wyler just watched.

Later in the day, Kensi and Callen went to Zuna's house to look for more information about him. Once inside, they found his laptop [not password protected!] and a kitchen counter full of drugs and supplements. Callen was in the kitchen when Kensi was startled by the front door opening and in walks Jason Wyler.

"Whoa!" they said simultaneously. Wyler asked Tracy what she was doing here. Tracy answered him she had a key and threw the same question back at Jason. He showed her his key, "I live here." Wyler/Deeks approached Tracy/Kensi. They did a circular dance never turning their backs on each other. Kensi also wanted to protect Callen in the kitchen. Jason asked what Tracy was doing with the laptop. "I emailed him some photos, private photos." Tracy answered as Deeks smirked, "You mean like the two of you watching the sunset at the Santa Monica Pier or the kind where you're not wearing anything but a smile? Kensi was starting to get annoyed, "Certain kind of photos like that, they end up on the Internet". Deeks was now very intrigued. "Wow. So definitely, uh, x-rated then, huh? Nobody under 17 admitted? Well played." Kensi would have been happy to leave it at that were it not for the fact that as 'Jason Wyler' turned to head to the kitchen, she noticed a handgun tucked into the back of his jeans which he quickly covered with his jacket.

'Dammit', she thought, 'where the hell is Callen?' She knew she had to get out of there without tipping Wyler off. She continued trying to keep him engaged in conversation trying to see what he knew. He was trying to do the same thing with her. Hoping to establish herself has Zuna's girlfriend, she asked if Daniel ever spoke about her. Deeks said Zuna had, described her as hot, that the two like to party hard, and as he came out of the kitchen he paused and then surprised her by saying, "Except he said your name was Kate!" Deeks slammed the laptop closed. Kensi tensed up. Deeks saw his chance and asked, "So who the hell are you?" Kensi quickly responded, "I met him at a party, paid him for some stuff. He never delivered so I came to pick it up myself. Is that why you're here?" Deeks answered, "No, cause I don't do drugs. So maybe Danny's connection never came through. You know who it was?" Kensi slides up to him seductively, eyes locked onto each other. "Well I was hoping it was you." At that moment time froze. Deeks and Kensi, staring at each other not understanding what was happening. Both feeling a current, hearing a buzzing in their ears, an oncoming collision they felt but couldn't explain. Deeks, recovering first asked, "Or maybe you found what you were looking for before I got here? Maybe you found some cash? Maybe you should empty those pockets." He was still reeling from whatever the hell was happening in his head/soul/heart, when there was a knock at the door. Deeks bumps Kensi shoulder as he goes by her to answer the door – it's Callen. As she leaves, she stares at him once more. He thanks her for stopping by and once in the cab, they again stare hard at each other. He knows he will never forget those eyes or her.

Eric contacts Callen and Kensi and informs them that Jason Wyler does not exist. The team adds his photo to the wall of suspects but Kensi still can't shake her 'hinky' feeling about Wyler. She is stuck on him. To which Callen teases, "stuck, smitten, whatever." Sam goes to the gym to try and work his way in and on to the notices Janklow talking to a new guy, a big, strong looking new guy. He overhears Sam with Janklow about a spot on the warriors. He makes his way over to them and protests saying he had earned that spot. Janklow tells them they will fight it out for the spot that night. Sam just smirks at Wyler thinking he has him where he wants him. The night of the fight as the team watches from OPS, Wyler and Sam go at it. Sam wins by knocking out Wyler. Kensi is waiting outside for Sam when Wyler comes out of the shadows and starts fighting Sam. Suddenly LAPD appears and arrests them both. Hetty is furious and contacts Parker Center and the Chief of Police.

It was quiet in the holding cell at the West LA precinct of LAPD. Both combatants are sitting in adjoining cell. Sam tries to goad Wyler in conversation when an officer comes to let Wyler out. Wyler thinks he is in the clear when two seconds later Sam is released. "Who are you?" Sam answers "I was just about to ask you the same thing." All of a sudden Hetty appears and makes introductions. "Sam Hanna, NCIS, meet Detective Marty Deeks, LAPD, who is undercover. Ain't that a kick in the head."

Marty Deeks is at the boatshed/safe house for NCIS. He is sitting across from whom he now knows as Agent G. Callen, Agent Sam Hanna and Agent Kensi Blye. He explains what he had hoped to accomplish by fighting Sam in the alleyway. He tries to get them to talk to him but all he gets are three stone faces. So he decides to poke them a bit to see what happens. When he gets nothing from Sam and Callen, he turns to Kensi.

"And you…well first I wasn't sure about you but those internet photos really sold me. So riddle me this, did you plan that or maybe, maybe that happened in real life?" As he takes a sip from his coffee Kensi comments, "Crashing in the spare bedroom, is that the best you could do? Deeks eyebrows rise, 'OK, feisty' he thinks. "I was vamping." Kensi huffs, "Oh you are lucky I didn't shoot you myself." Kensi still has not shaken the electrical charge she felt back at Zuna's house when they were face to face. Something about those blue eyes.

The discussion among the four continued, at times slightly agitated, until Callen thanked Deeks for his help. Deeks felt his case being railroaded away and started to protest when Hetty suddenly appeared and announced it was now a joint investigation. Deeks and Sam will stay undercover together.

The pieces of the case kept coming together. Callen and Kensi went to Davis' house to question him some more when squad cars pulled up. As the agents got close, they find the body of Craig Mangold. Also arriving was Det. Deeks. He asked what happened as Davis was now approaching the house. Kensi, Callen and Deeks pulled their weapons. Davis got out of the car and Callen cuffed him and led him away to the shock of Deeks. "Oh come on Callen, let me at least hear his story?" Callen told Deeks they had it under control. Kensi passing Deeks said "thanks Deeks for everything!" Deeks turned to follow her answering, "What? No hug?" And just like that she was gone.

He couldn't shake the feeling from earlier. Those mismatched eyes. He had never seen anything like it. She had a strength, a fierceness about her that he had never encountered. Most of the women he "met" were pretty but not much else. He didn't have time for serious. But he thinks he could maybe make an exception for her. Deeks thought he had a type, maybe he was wrong. Realizing he will probably never see her again, he went back to the station and to the ass chewing he was sure was coming his way.

In a dark bar later in the afternoon, Deeks sat drinking coffee. Wavy hair, mismatched eyes, can shoot a gun, total badass. Kensi Blye had invaded his senses and it was making him crazy. He was deep in thought when someone called his name and startled him out of his thoughts. Detective Deeks?" It was Hetty, Kensi's boss. "Hetty, who doesn't have a last name." "It's Lange, Hetty Lange" she answered. Hetty commiserate with Deeks about their day. She then slid a folder to him. She wants him as the LAPD Liaison Officer to work with her team at NCIS. Marty went through the folder and saw his life on paper. He just stared at her. She offered a pen. At the moment there was a buzzing in his ears warning him of something. But what? He remembered that same buzzing during his encounter with Kensi Blye. Kensi, he would see her! Get to work with her. He certainly had nothing holding him at LAPD. He likes being a cop, it's who he is, but maybe he could be more. Deciding a change might be a good thing, he signed the papers. Hetty gave him instructions and directions to the Mission. She had a strange smile on her face as she left. Deeks wasn't sure what to make of it. It was just a new job, that's all. A chance at a clean slate with a new team nothing more.

Right?

[TBC]

* Excerpt from "Scattered" by Tess DiCorsi - used with the author's kind permission.