A/N: I have been nitpicking with this last chapter for two months because I couldn't get it right. I hope you all enjoy the final copy.

So…..80,000 words, 26 months and a whole lot of awesome reviews later, this story is finally done. Thanks for reading.

9 weeks later- Hyatt hotel, Los Angeles

"Are you ready? Are you actually ready…Kens…."

"Deeks, I swear to God if you ask me that again, I will shoot you."

Marty Deeks snorts as he leans against the wall next to the bedroom. He rolls his eyes before glancing over his shoulder to see Kensi putting on one of her silver earrings. He can't help but grin at his beautiful partner.

"What? What?" Kensi exclaims. She places her hand on the sink and groans, "Martin Andrew- Micah Deeks, why are you drooling at me like an idiot?"

Deeks can't help but smirk at his new name that he had changed a few weeks after meeting his family. It was Alleluia's idea as a way to honor his mother and his return back to Hilo. It was one of many things that had changed since deciding to stay in Hilo- new name, new job as one of the senior agents at a Pacific NCIS office, and a new permanent life in Hilo.

"Where's your head, love?" Kensi calls out, grinning widely. She knows his grandmother's nickname will be the only other thing to pull him out of his daze. His blue eyes suddenly flickers up at her and it makes her heart melt. Kensi rarely outwardly admits it to him that her heart always flutters with every time he looks at her- she figures he already knows. She snorts and asks, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"'Cause you are just stunning."

Kensi rolls her eyes and chuckles, "And you are deflecting. I'm ready to go see her. What about you?"

"I guess."

The summer cottage that overlooks a small bay is only walking distance from Hyatt. Kensi leads the way, stepping onto the wooden porch first and rapping her knuckles against the front door. Deeks hesitates before following her onto the deck and waiting for the front door to open. He isn't ready for this at all- he isn't ready to face Henrietta Lange for the first time in nine weeks.

Callen had called him the week before asking for the pair to come visit Hetty as the ex- operations manager had made it through physical and speech therapy. When he had called, Deeks had initially refused to go- he had just wrapped his mind around having grandparents and relatives for the first time in his life. Six weeks of feeling an undeniable love from his family and his partner.

There had been nothing complicated about his life in Hilo and seeing Hetty would surely ruin it.

His grandmother was the one to convince him to go visit Hetty. He remembers the moment from a few days ago - he had been sitting next to his cousin, a daughter of his mother's recently deceased sister, while waiting for Alleluia to finish pouring tea for the group.

"Kensi called last night, dear. She told me that you were struggling as you've been invited to see that woman….Henrietta, isn't it?" Alleluia asked quietly. She sat down next to Deeks and sighs, "She also told me that you don't want to go."

"I don't know if I have the strength to go see her. I like having a life without complications. I just can't do it."

"There's nothing complicated about going to see your family. Don't you dare think it won't matter, Marty-"

"But-"Deeks could not understand how this woman that he barely knew always seemed to be one step ahead of him. Just like Hetty.

"She saved your life, love. She saved you from your father's terror and although, she hid you from us, she gave you the chance to live. Henrietta and Isabelle are the two reasons you are here today as a NCIS agent and an absolute sweetheart. GO see her."

"Nice to see you too, Callen."

"Huh?" Deeks blinks and finds himself staring wide eyed at a happy, scruffy Callen in the doorway. The lead agent now dons a loose button down, blue jeans and an incredibly scruffy beard. It's much different Callen than Kensi or Deeks remember. Callen gives Deeks a toothy grin and chuckles, "Head in the cloud there, Deeks?"

"I-uh- I-"

Callen's expression softens and he holds out a hand to greet him. "I know. I just trying to lighten the…. That's a lie- I'm sleep deprived."

"Well, with Jolene pregnant and you taking care of Hetty almost full time, exhaustion's bound to happen," Kensi states. She places a hand on Callen's shoulder and asks, "Where's Hetty?"

"Well, she-" Deeks pushes past Callen without a word and finds himself walking mindlessly down a small foyer that leads into an open, modern styled living room. The once feared Henrietta Lange sits quietly on a bench in the center of a room next to a wheelchair. In some ways, she appears younger, but incredibly feebler than she did weeks ago. The little voice in the back of his mind is the only thing that stops him from turning on his heels, grabbing Kensi and running back to Hawaii.

"Hi, Hetty" Deeks says quietly. Hetty raises her head slowly and suddenly smiles brighter than he's ever seen her. With his hands in his pocket, Deeks quietly sits on the bench next to her chair and takes in the woman he hasn't seen in months.

"Marty," Hetty asks softly. She uncharacteristically reaches out and pats his hand. "I recognize those eyes from the pictures G has shown me. I understand that it's been awhile since we've seen each other."

"It's actually been two and a half months. I couldn't visit as I've been going through a lot. How are you feeling?"

Hetty laughs. "I've been just enjoying the beautiful scenery in front of me! G has been so unbelievably helpful with me and I've had a visit from Sam every few weeks. I don't understand why so different-"

"Sam lives in Oahu while Kensi and I live in Hilo. Sam works part time at the NCIS office Kensi and I head up and at a naval base to help veterans transition back to the world." Deeks pauses when Hetty raises an eyebrow. "NCIS is the agency you used to work at."

"I never can remember that. My memory is something I'm trying to get a new handle on."

That's not the only thing. Two weeks after the final attack, Sam and Callen had flown down to check on Deeks and Kensi and bring news on Hetty. Doctors had come to the conclusion that their seemingly unbreakable operations manager would spend the rest of her days in retirement and would suffer from personality changes, possible muscle spasms and continuous short term memory loss. She would never work as an agent again and from what Deeks can see now, remember who he was.

"Marty, now that you are finally here, I have a question for you," Hetty reaches into the small bag on her chair and begins trying to try to open a folded piece of paper. After a minute of watching her struggle, Deeks takes the paper from her hand and opens it to see a picture of the team holding drinks at Christmas three years ago. Hetty chuckles and says, "Ah, there we are. Yes- G and Sam have both told me that you are an important person in my life, but I can't remember for the life of me."

Deeks takes in a heavy breath before he states, "My grandmother told me that you're the reason I'm here and I know that. I know that. I've been so scared to come here because my life has become normal and calm without you or Los Angeles being a part of it. But now that I'm here, I can understand what my grandmother was saying a little better now. Hetty, you gave me a mother even after I had lost my biological mom, you gave me a job and a home and a reason to live when my life was down. And after I joined the team, you kept giving. You gave me the woman I hope to marry, you gave me my family that I thought I had lost. That's what they're talking about."

"I'm sorry that I can't remember any of that, Marty."

"That's ok," Deeks replies. The weight he's felt on his chest is slowly starting to dissipate. "It doesn't matter much now. I'm just happy that you're ok and I'll see you'll see me here and there, I guess."

"Deeks?" Kensi pokes her head from around the corner. "There's a quick call coming from the office back in Hilo for you. It'll only take a minute."

"Alright." Deeks stands up and follows Kensi into the kitchen. Watching the pair leave, Hetty cups her hands together and decides to reflect on the moment at hand. She knows that it's a fleeting moment, a passing grasp at life before the explosion in San Diego. Everyone around her knows that her memories of Deeks are non-existent, but no one knows, and she'll hold onto that dearly, that every once in a while, Henrietta Lange remembers everything, including her ex-detective.

It's always a brief moment, here or there where she remembers everything about her young detective. She remembers hugging him tightly as a little boy, watching him play in the park when he was 11 years old and sitting and laughing with the team in the bullpen from a year ago. A little voice in the back of her head always begs her to tell someone before the moment passes and she's back to being the different person that Callen and the others don't recognize. She never gets the chance, whether it's an interruption in her train of thoughts or just a blink of an eye, she never gets the chance to.

So with a solemn look to the sky, Hetty says, "Lilane, if you can hear me, know that I'm here and there with my injuries. I hate that I can only remember your son for moments here and there and that I can't help him transfer into a whole new life, the life you should have been a part of. I love him as if he was my own and I will do my best to be with….be with him even my other state. I promise, Lilane…I…."

Hetty pauses, listening to Deeks talk quietly on the phone in the adjourning hallway. Right now, she won't say anything about her memory of Deeks. She'll give him the 'no complications' that he enjoys and from what she knows, has dearly earned. And for her promise to Lilane, Hetty knows that she'll keep it, whether she's her old or new self.

She'll love Marty Deeks no matter what the world hands them, just like it had twenty years ago. And if they hold it together like before, they'll be fine.

The End