25Finally got the scene I've been waiting for since Miguel's passing and the day Owen left the hospital. But, as much as I loved it, I think it should have been a moment with the whole team and not just C & S. Owen meant a lot to them (and to us fans) and this is my continuation to that great scene.
Kensi and Deeks were just walking up their driveway and towards the front door of their home, when their phones rang in unison and they turned confused stares at the other.
"Not now."
"Not again."
Both spoke at the same time as they picked up their phones in motions that perfectly mirrored the other, in a way that only partners, in work and life, could do.
"Kensi."
"Deeks."
Two quick conversations followed, as both agent and detective, nodded and agreed to whatever had been requested of them.
"That was Sam."
"That was Callen."
Again they spoke at the same time, prompting the couple to chuckle. "You first." Deeks eventually directed.
"Callen wants us to meet them at some place in the outskirts of town. Told me to pick up the Twins on the way there. You?"
"Basically, same thing. Sam also wants us to bring pizza…"
"Pizza?" Kensi asked with clear confusion in her voice.
"Not any pizza… Eggplant from Mulberry's…" Deeks responded cringing his nose. "And anything else we might prefer."
"Oookay." Kensi still didn't sound convinced, but the senior partners had really given them no room for argument.
"Time for a shower, princess?" Deeks wondered as he opened the door and dropped his messenger bag on the kitchen counter. "A hot tub, maybe?"
"Why? Is your hammy still hurting?" Kensi teased as her eyes sparkled and she moved to kiss Deeks in the lips, before pulling him towards their bedroom. "No time for that now, quick shower together and we need to be on our way."
Deeks groaned but quickly followed, closing the door behind him, determined to at least enjoy the quick, and hopefully calming moment, with his ladybird.
-x-x-x-
Eric and Nell had just pulled into the parking lot at the beach to grab a quick bite together when their phones started ringing at the same time. Picking up quickly as the analyst and operator were trained to do, they spoke in hushed voices and with confusion growing in their faces as each second ticked by. After a few minutes, they both hanged up and turned to look at each other with raised eyebrows.
"Sam said Densi are picking us up in an hour…" Eric started.
"And taking us to meet them, somewhere in…" Nell finished.
"The outskirts of town… And to bring…" Eric continued.
"Scotch and some nice cups." Nell concluded.
Analyst and tech laughed at the way they had perfectly completed each other sentences. Something that would have probably annoyed both of them when Nell had just started in NCIS, but which now spoke of the mutual trust and affection for each other. Hand-in-hand, they walked back towards the car and home to prepare what had been asked and wait for their teammates to come get them.
-x-x-x-
After picking up the requested eggplant parmesan, a more regular Hawaiian, the traditional Mulberry Street New York Pizza, and a whole chocolate cake (at Kensi's insistence that dessert was always a necessity) the junior partners parked in front of Nell's apartment and waited for the meerkats to come down. It only took a few minutes for the front door to open, and to the couple's surprise not only the twins came out, but Hetty accompanied them too.
"Hetty?" Kensi inquired as the back doors opened and all three friends stepped into the car.
"Good evening, Miss Blye. Hope one more is not an inconvenience." Hetty smirked as she spoke, and silently thanked the universe again for the fact her team had rescued her and brought her home.
"Never, Hetty." Kensi responded with an honest smile as she put the car in drive and started following the directions in the GPS.
"Callen called, too. And told Hetty to meet us here." Eric decided to offer as an explanation, but it was probably more a silly attempt at filling in the uncomfortable silence in the car and release the stress of having Hetty sitting to his right.
They all laughed at his random comment, and that eventually sparked a nice, flowing conversation that followed the NCIS family all the way to their desire destination.
-x-x-x-
The sound of a car up the rocky driveway and multiple doors being closed, drew Callen, Sam and Jennifer's minds away from their present discussion and prompted them to step outside to welcome their guests.
"Nice of all of you to join us." Callen smirked in way of a greeting and motioned his team to follow him away from the house and into the natural openness that surrounded the house.
"Not much of a choice, eh?" Deeks asked with a laugh, even as he had already started following his team leader.
The walk took around five minutes until the team reached a tall, cherry oak tree located in a hill that overlooked the whole valley.
"And here we are." Sam informed the team when they reached the location where Owen Granger took his last breath.
"Not that I don't have an appreciation for the natural beauty of the City of Angels, but maybe not the night after we just stopped another possible situation of LA blowing up and going down in flames." Eyes shining and a breathless laugh making it obvious that Deeks' words carried no weight, but it was his pre-programmed mechanism to always use humor.
"More than that Deeks." Years of working together had hardened the ex-Navy seal against his younger teammate's constant comments, and now he took it for what it was, instead of getting bothered like he would have done when Deeks first joined the team. "We had a reason to ask all of you here, and at this time."
All eyes then turned to look at the senior partners and Jennifer Kim as all recently arriving members waited expectantly for an explanation.
Motioning his hand to point at the oak tree, then the ground below, and eventually the infinite valley around, Callen took in a breath and spoke in a chocked voice. "We're at the final resting place of Owen Granger." A lone tear escaped the usually unemotional agent as he shared the recently discovered news with the rest of his family.
Gasps could be heard, tears rolled down sad faces, and hands were held, as the words sank in and each team member started realizing the significance of where they stood and what that knowledge meant to each individually. For the next few minutes, the team just stood quietly looking out at the valley, taking in what had been Owen's last view.
"Not a bad place to go." Deeks eventually broke the silence, his voice completely somber and his pale blue eyes reflecting the seriousness of his remark.
"Definitely better than an explosion." Callen agreed as he thought back to the previous day's explosion.
"Or a stabbing." Deeks added remembering his knife fight in the tunnels.
"Or a nuclear missile." Kensi continued, her mind back at the old case in the silos.
"Or in a room with no air." Sam supplemented, as his eyes went to the sky and his heart to the memory of his wife.
"Or in a distant land." Hetty followed, the still vivid memories of Vietnam assaulting her mind.
"Or alone." Nell said in a whisper, hand holding Eric's and tears glazing her eyes.
"Definitely not a bad place to go." Eric finished, wanting to lift the mood and get everyone back to thinking positively.
-x-x-x-
"Why here?" The question had been nagging at Kensi ever since Callen first announced the significance of the area and reason for the visit. And now after having enjoyed their pizza dinner, sitting under the shade the tree provided, she finally decided to put a stop to her curiosity.
The senior partners turned to look at Jennifer, asking for permission, but also prompting her to share her own story.
"Owen spent his last week here… after, he left the hospital. I found him leaning against this tree the morning he finally rested." Jennifer confessed while she devoured her last slice of the much desired eggplant parm, choosing to concentrate on its deliciousness instead of the sentiments the present conversation evoked.
"But, why here?" Kensi repeated, wanting to know the truth she already suspected.
Inhaling sharply and releasing the breath slowly, Jennifer gained the courage she needed. "Owen was my father." She admitted as her eyes turned upwards towards the sky.
"Leave it to Granger to be the father of a North Korean spy." Deeks blurted out without thinking, and groaned as Kensi poked his side and glared at him with a murderous stare. "Sorry…" He apologized shyly, prompting his family to burst out laughing and for the tension to be broken as he had originally intended.
The next few hours were spent sharing memories about the myth that was Owen Granger… From old days and missions in Vietnam, Europe and the Middle East, to a bumping relationship that had ended in a once in a lifetime friendship… From crazy introductions in the boatshed, to surviving together in Afghanistan, gym conversations, names cleared off murder charges, shootings in Mexico, hugs in the bullpen, conversations over Scotch and the family Granger had never wanted or thought he needed… But one he cherished until his last breath, and took with him to heaven.
-x-x-x-
A couple of hours passed in which the team just sat or lay down under the oak tree, first eating their pizza, then the cake, and continuously sharing stories about the man they had come together to pay a final goodbye to.
Now Hetty and Callen worked on serving the Scotch on the nine glasses that had been carefully placed on the most even ground the team had found. Distributing one glass to each, and leaving an untouched one for Granger, each man or woman spoke a final word to the man that had departed this land onto the peace and release he had desperately needed.
"I wish I had gotten more time to know you while you were still here but I will never forget the week we got." Jennifer started with a lone tear managing to escape and her hand pressed over her heart.
"Thanks for always having our backs, both in home soil and abroad, and becoming a member of my family." Callen continued with closed eyes, trying his best to keep his emotions contained.
"I will forever appreciate the help during the Sidorov case, and the extra years with Michelle it bought me." Sam followed, sharing a meaningful look with the only man that understood and then taking a quick look at the darkening sky. "The safe house for my family, too and the fact my kids are, at least, still with me."
"Tell my father I miss him every day, and share with him good stories about Deeks…" Kensi continued as she thought back to both Don and Owen. "I still wish you could have taken my father's place at my wedding." Her voice cracked at the end, and she moved to snuggle into Deeks' side.
"Still happy I was the one that managed to get a hug from the otherwise stern AD." Deeks said with a laugh, but quickly sobered. "And thank you, Granger… for giving me the strength I needed when I doubted my own ability to do a great job… and not fail." A kiss to Kensi's forehead punctuated the statement as he stretched his arm and pulled her close.
"Sorry for all the strange things you heard me say or write in ops, and thank you for never turning me into human resources for that list that one time…" Eric admitted embarrassingly, but glad no else knew what he was talking about.
"I will never forget not to belittle myself or my accomplishments… I deserve and earned the respect I've gotten." Nell spoke proudly as her eyes misted with tears and she inadvertently moved closer to Eric.
"In this life we chose… It's hard making friends… finding a family, but in you, I ultimately got both." The operation's manager began as she remembered old missions, conversations and shared drinks, with her late friend. "None of us will ever forget you, Owen." She continued, lifting her glass towards the heavens, prompting her team to follow. "We raise to you the parting glass, and good night and joy be with you all." Hetty concluded, not surprising anyone at having been the one to reference a 1770s traditional song. After all, she was the master of the universe, and had an affinity for the art of drinking and foreign, distant lands. Secretly the woman also remembered a joined CIA mission in Dublin in the 1980s, lots of Whisky, singing and other events neither Hetty nor Owen ever mentioned again.
Looking up at the starry night, each man and woman spoke a final, silent goodbye as the beverage burned down their throats and their toast was completed. As they all knew, life was not eternal, and everyone, one way or another, will leave this realm someday… All they could do was enjoy the time they had left and never forget the ones that had departed early, hoping to one day meet them again in whatever destination came next in this journey…
Rest in Peace, Miguel. I have wanted to write a tribute to you ever since I started this fanfic adventure last year… I'm glad the day finally came. And thanks to everyone for reading.
*Title of this fic and lyrics Hetty referenced come from the Scottish song "The Parting Glass"; a good friend showed it to me last week and it's been stuck in my head since.*
