Acceptance

This is it.

There's no turning back now.

Well, it's not like she wants to do such a thing. In fact, she wouldn't change a thing.

Kensi takes a deep breath and looks at her reflection on the mirror. She can't help but think how it all started. It started with a dream, which lead to them having sex on the backseat of his car. Yeah, they will definitely have to come up with a different story to tell their kids one day. They can't tell them that mommy and daddy started 'dating' because they were too horny. In all honesty, she knows that's not why they first hook up.

Pent-up feelings led to that meeting on the beach.

Then, a funny thought pops-up in her mind.

We all know about the five stages of grief, those things you go through when faced with a major loss. What nobody seems to acknowledge are the five stages of a relationship. They went through five stages. Well, she went through five stages.

Frustration was the first one, the one that made her act upon her feelings for Deeks in a strictly physical way.

Then it came Denial, when she tried to convince herself their 'thing' had nothing to do with the fact that she loved him.

Bargain came next, which lead to them moving in together after some arguments about it.

Anger has got to be one of her favorite stages, though. That's when he proposed and when she found out she was expecting her two adorable twins.

And it all lead to this final stage: Acceptance.

Kensi touches the curls currently framing her face and smiles.

She never pictured something like this but she wouldn't change a thing.

The white long gown is strapless, something that she was unsure about because of the twins. Sure, she's getting married and many people told her it was all about her today but she can't go through the whole day without holding Alice and Andrew.

At the age of two, the twins are the spitting image of their parents. Alice has her father's blonde hair combined with her mother's curls and blue eyes. Andrew had dark hair but takes after his father when it comes to the style of said hair. His brown eyes often twinkle with mischief.

Deeks says he's a troublemaker and Kensi has to agree with him on that one. Her son has her personality. Alice is much calmer. Kensi would go as far as use the word lazy to describe the little girl but that sounds wrong. No, she's just relaxed.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opens and Andrew comes running to her, as fast as his little legs can carry him. Kensi laughs at his excitement and picks him up.

Sam walks inside after the little boy and gives her a kiss on the cheek, the smile not leaving his face. "This little guy wanted to give his mommy a kiss. I told him that he was a boy so he had to wait by his daddy's side but Deeks is a softie and told me to bring him here for a quick kiss."

Kensi hugs her son and puts him down, knowing they will have to start soon and Andrew has to be by his father's side. "And where're Alice?"

Sam laughs and picks up Andrew so the little boy won't run away from him. "Callen and your mother were arguing to see who would change her diaper. I've never seen two people so eager to change a kid's diaper, I tell you that."

Before Kensi can say anything else, Callen comes inside with Alice in his arms and followed by Kensi's mother. Sam walks out to join Deeks outside. Alice hugs Kensi and her mother starts tearing up. Soon, they are all making their way outside.

They are getting married on Hetty's backyard, a beautiful garden with a lot of space for everything. It's a small affair, with only their closest friends and relatives. But that's perfect for both of them. Alice walks clumsily down the aisle, spreading rose petals along the way. About halfway through it, she gives up on the task and runs to her father, who picks her up in his arms and holds her, knowing she will only trade his arms for Callen's at the moment.

Callen is the one giving her away, being the closest thing she has to a big-brother. But the smile on Deeks' face when he sees her takes her breath away and makes her forget about their surroundings. Marty passes Alice to Callen's arms and takes Kensi's hand, pulling her closer to him.

The ceremony starts and she's the first one to say her vows. "I, Kensi Blye, choose you, Marty Deeks, to be my husband. In front of our friends and family, I promise to love you and cherish you through every obstacle that may come in our path. I promise to learn how to surf and go with you to the beach every now and then. I will comfort you when your team loses and drink beer with you when they win. I will love you for the rest of my life."

Everyone in the audience is smiling but that doesn't matter. The only smile that matters is his. Then, Deeks shares his own vows. "I, Marty Deeks, choose you, Kensi Blye, to be my wife. I promise to love you and to be your faithful partner, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, when the Clippers are winning, and when they are losing, in sickness, in healthiness and in Clippers-induced sickness. I will be true to you and loyal. I will love you for the rest of my life."

In the end, there's not a dry-eye in the audience. But they can't take their eyes off each other for long enough to notice that.

It was a crazy path with some bumps along the way but they wouldn't change a thing.

They're together, for infinity and beyond.

The end

I'm not 100% happy with this chapter but it was the best I could do. I couldn't bring myself to write this chapter because I just didn't know what to do with it. That's why I made that challenge but only two people sent their ideas (a huge 'thank you' to them) and it wasn't what I had in mind. So, after some begging (done by me), my twin finally accepted to do this little thing for his favorite (and only) sister. Yes, he was the one who wrote this. We have similar styles when it comes to writing so you probably won't even be able to tell the difference.

Anyway, thank you for your patience. Your thoughts about the story finale are appreciated.
Love,
Sarah (and Andrew)