A/N – This started out as the wedding story, it really did! Somehow, it morphed into this, but we are getting closer, I promise!

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Chapter 1

"Kens? Baby? You need to make a decision!" Deeks keep his voice calm but he was getting frustrated by her inability to decide and time was getting short.

"Do you think I don't know that? I just don't know what to do!" She wasn't fooled by his tone and she was just as frustrated by her indecisiveness. This wasn't like her, she usually knew what she wanted and went for it. But this? This had her tied up in knots for some reason. Things related to Deeks always seemed to reduce her to this.

"I get it, I do. But the wedding is only two months away and we need to let people know."

"Every time I think I've made up my mind, it comes up with reasons to change it! Granger was one of my dad's oldest friends and has become so important to me, but Callen has always been there for me! How do I decide whose feelings to hurt?" Her voice cracked on the question.

"I know baby." He reached out and pulled her into his arms. "But I need to tell Sam and Callen who's going to be my best man. Once you make your decision, the next one's on me. If Kip or Ray were available, we wouldn't have quite the dilemma we're in right now, but it is what it is." Kip would be at the wedding but was out of town for the next eight weeks for an endorsement deal he'd recently signed and wouldn't be available to do anything but attend. Ray? He didn't even know where Ray was. Wit sec had been adamant that there be no contact between them, as his relationship with his old friend was the most dangerous to the man. Too many people knew about the relationship between Max Gentry and Ray Martindale.

"They're both important to me, I just can't make up my mind!" She sniffled into his chest and mumbled. "I wish my dad was here." He tightened his hold on her, wondering if this was what was keeping her from making a decision. He didn't want to pressure her but they really were running out of time. He wished she could just ask both of them. Wait a minute, why not?

He pulled back a little and voiced his thought. "Kensalina, why not ask both of them? There's no reason why they can't both walk you down the aisle, is there? Granger to represent the past and your dad, Callen to represent the present and the closest thing you have to a brother."

She looked up at him and opened her mouth to immediately say no, but then stopped. Why couldn't she do just that? What Deeks was saying made sense. That would involve both men and leave Sam to be Deeks's best man. Eric wouldn't mind as he'd immediately volunteered to do the videography and couldn't do that and still stand up for Deeks. She grinned as she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. "That's it! That's the answer! I'll ask both of them tomorrow when we get into work." She reached up to kiss him and all thoughts of the wedding fled their minds.

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Kensi was nervous as they entered the Mission. Everyone had given her room to make her decisions but she'd felt them watching her anxiously, waiting for some word, some sign as to who was going to give her away. Nell had already agreed to be her maid of honor. She'd thought briefly about Cat, Mindy, Mandy, Tiffany or Tiffany but they were just too flighty, besides, Nell was the closest thing she had to a best friend these days. She was glad she had, seeing as her organized friend had immediately started making lists and schedules, thinking of things that Kensi never would have. All she had to do was show up at an appointed time and do what Nell told her to. She knew they were much further along with the wedding plans than they would be if she'd try to do it on her own or, god forbid, her mom tried to take over.

She entered the bullpen to find Callen and Sam already there. She put her bag down on her desk and looked from one to the other. Clearing her throat, she decided to go for it. "Callen, can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?"

Callen shot Sam a triumphant look and got up quickly. "Sure Kens, whatever you need." He followed her down the hallway, surprised when she stopped at Granger's office and knocked on the door. She opened it at the gruff command to enter that came from inside and he followed her in, now frowning.

"Callen, Blye, what can I do for you?" While he'd never admit it, he had been hoping Kensi would ask him to take Donny's place in the wedding. He'd like to represent his old friend, to honor him in some way. Plus, Kensi had become important to him, along with her scruffy fiancé. Having Callen with her made him wonder what was going on.

"Granger, Callen, I have a huge favor to ask both of you." She started and then stopped. Both men looked at her encouragingly. She took a deep breath and just put it out there. "I'd like to ask both of you to walk me down the aisle. Granger, I would be so honored if you would represent my dad, I know he trusted you, counted you as a good friend. It was thanks to you that the person responsible for his death was brought to justice. And Callen, you've been there for me so many times, you're the closest thing I have to a brother. It would make me so happy if both of you would agree." She waited, her hands nervously twisting together.

A huge smile formed on both faces as they both answered yes at the same time. Granger stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. "Donny would be so proud of you Kensi! You've turned into an amazing woman. I wish he could've been here to see it and do the honor of giving you away himself. That you've asked me to stand in his stead, is the greatest gift you could have given me. It will be my pleasure." She grinned up at him and pulled him into an awkward hug. He huffed out a rusty laugh and whispered in her ear. "You've been hanging around Deeks too long." He paused and continued softly. "Donny would've liked him." He felt Kensi tremble a little and hugged her a bit harder. He really had changed since joining this eclectic little group.

When she released him, she turned to Callen and hugged him as well. The hug was almost as awkward as the one with Granger but heartfelt all the same. She pulled back and looked up at him, happiness shining in her eyes. He smiled down at her and thought, not for the first time, how lucky he was to have this makeshift family of his, a family that had included Deeks for quite a while, something he'd only fully realized when they'd been undercover together for so long on Skid Row, just weeks ago. "So, what do you need us to do Kens?"

She looked nonplussed for a minute. "Um, talk to Nell?" Both men blinked and then burst out laughing. Their Kensi was all girl but somewhat clueless when it came to organizing anything. Her desk was a long standing testament to that. Put her out in the field, tracking a bad guy? She was the epitome of a well-trained operative. Ask her to organize something personal, and you didn't get much more personal than your own wedding, and she was an unmitigated disaster. Both agreed to talk to Nell at the first opportunity.

Back in the bullpen, Sam waited expectantly as Deeks busied himself at his desk, shuffling papers around, opening files, closing them. He finally looked up at the big man sitting next to him and met amused eyes. "What?"

"You know what, Deeks. Don't give me that."

Deeks lips curled up in his crooked grin. He'd been well aware that Sam was hoping to be best man and, truthfully, it was what he'd wanted all along. Ever since Sidorov and McGonagle, he'd felt closer to Sam than any of his other friends, Kip included. He and Sam shared something that none of his other friends could understand. He'd just put off asking him until Kensi made up her mind so he could use that as pressure to make her do it and he truly didn't want to hurt Callen's feelings. "Not sure what you're talking about, Sam-dawg."

"Don't call me that! You know, if you don't ask soon, I may have too many other things to do."

Deeks raised an amused eyebrow and decided to end the charade. "Well, we can't have that now, can we? Okay, Sam. Would you do me the honor of being my best man?"

Sam got up and hauled Deeks out of his chair, wrapping his arms around him in a hug, squeezing him half to death. "It's about time!" Was all the answer he gave.

He released him when he heard his partner's amused voice. "Would you like us to leave you two alone? Maybe book you a room somewhere?"

"Very funny G. I'll have you know that Deeks has finally seen the wisdom of asking me to be his best man!"

"Well, Kensi has finally seen the wisdom of asking me to give her away!" Callen paused and blinked. "Wait, that didn't come out right." Laughter filled the bullpen, making Hetty smile into her tea as she sat at her desk. Her family was together and happy, she couldn't ask for much more.

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Several hours later, no case on deck and everyone catching up on boring paperwork, Deeks, Kensi and Callen were startled when Sam boomed out. "Vegas!"

Callen was the first to ask. "Okay, I'll bite. Vegas what?"

"For the bachelor party, of course! We can make a weekend of it the week before the wedding!"

"Um, Sam, not sure that's such a good idea." Deeks said weakly.

"Why not? Its close enough we can all drive there, plenty of clubs we can visit, do a little gambling." He looked slyly at Deeks. "Maybe take in a show? A musical perhaps?"

Deeks blushed a little but responded jokingly. "Have you never seen Hangover? I don't want to end up missing some teeth or all tatted up the weekend before my wedding! Don't even get me started on tigers in the bathroom!" Saying the words 'my wedding' sent a chill through him. He'd never expected to be this happy and was still anxious that something would spoil it. A bunch of guys loose in Vegas? That sounded like just the something that could do that. He perked up. "Besides, isn't Beale banned from Vegas?"

"I'm banned from the casinos, they can't ban me from staying there or going to clubs, just not any inside a casino and there are plenty of those!" Eric stood at the bottom of the stairs, eagerly rubbing his hands together, fairly vibrating with the excitement of going back to Vegas, already trying to figure out how he could outsmart the casinos and get in some blackjack while he was there.

Deeks wracked his brains, trying to think of another excuse not to go. He'd spent plenty of time in Vegas before he met Kensi and even a few times after, when he was desperately fighting his growing attraction to her. He sighed. Vegas was a big city with a pretty transient population, maybe it would be fine. He felt a little shiver of anticipation at the fun he could have with his friends and decided, why not. "Okay, if you want it to be Vegas, Vegas it is! Just don't expect me to explain anything to Michelle when we get back. You're all on your own there, buddy!"

Kensi was less than pleased with this turn of events. "And who is going to explain things to me, huh?"

"Kens, baby! There won't be anything to explain. We'll have a nice quiet little weekend, just the guys and we'll be home before you know it." Kensi folded her arms over her chest and stared at him. He wiggled in his chair. "Besides, you'll probably be busy with your bachelorette party! I'm sure Velma has something up her sleeve."

"Don't try to distract me, Deeks! I've seen all the Hangover movies too! You made me watch them."

"You do know those are fiction, right?"

"Of course I do. It's just that I know you! Somehow you'll get into trouble, without meaning to, and I'll get a phone call to come bail you out."

"I'm hurt Fern!"

"That's what I'm afraid of." She replied softly.

He got up and went to her side, pulling her out of her chair and into a hug. Whispering in her ear he said. "I want nothing more than to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. I won't let anything stand in the way of that. I'll always come home to you, no matter what. I promise to be careful and reign the guys in if it seems like things are getting out of hand."

She leaned back in his arms, putting her hands on his chest. "You promise?"

"I do." He said deliberately.

She smiled at him, giving in. She trusted him, she trusted Sam and Callen. Beale? Not so much. But the others would hopefully keep him in check. She knew John Shelton would be going as well, he counted as Deeks's family now, and if anyone could make the others toe the line, it would be the Admiral. "Fine. Go to Vegas and have some fun. All I ask is that you be careful." He smiled in turn and went back to his desk. Once he was seated, she turned her glare on Sam and then on Callen. "No strip joints, you hear me?"

"Awww, Kens!"

"Don't 'awww Kens' me! You heard me!"

"Yes ma'am." Sam crossed his fingers behind his back. While he wanted Deeks to have a good time, it would be fun to make him squirm some too. The shaggy man attracted women like flies to honey but didn't really seem to know what to do with them as they flitted around him. His busy mind was already making plans.

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"No!"

"Come on Kens! It'll be fun!" Nell whined a little.

"Michelle, help me out here?" Kensi turned to the wife of the best man.

"I agree with Nell, I don't really like the idea of the guys out in Vegas, alone."

"Laura?"

"Hey, my husband's going to be out there too. I'm with Nell."

"So you both really think it's a good idea to go 'undercover' and follow the guys on Deeks's bachelor party weekend? Don't you think that smacks of not trusting them?"

"It's not that we don't trust them, it's just that…" Michelle didn't know how to finish the sentence. Kensi tilted her head to the side, trying to figure out what had the three other women in a tizzy about the impending Vegas adventure.

"Then what is it?"

"Kens, don't take this the wrong way, but Deeks attracts women of all sizes, ages and shapes." Nell said tentatively.

"So?"

"So, he's also a bit of a trouble magnet. They'll be away from their home base, without access to the support they're used to getting."

Kensi laughed. "Two highly trained federal agents, one highly trained police detective, a tech genius and a decorated United States Naval Admiral, most of whom have seen action overseas and you're worried about them going to a neighboring state for a fun weekend?"

"Kens, it's Deeks!" Nell answered.

Kensi sobered. Wasn't this exactly what she herself had worried about when Sam first came up with the idea? Not the women, it was the getting into trouble without meaning to. Take a bunch of testosterone fueled men, throw in some clubbing, Deeks, and it could be a recipe for disaster. Making up her mind, she looked at her three friends. "Okay, I'm in."

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Sam looked at his list and counted. Okay, from NCIS there was him, Callen, Eric, Deeks, Granger, Jim Franklin, Charlie Porter and Sam Winston. From LAPD, Stan Wolinsky and Roger Bates. Admiral Shelton and his butler Neal, now that should be interesting. Deeks's friends Chris Peterson, Ken Crosby, Craig Trent and Troy Ashton, all of whom were dating or married to female friends of the groom, all of them introduced to each other by said groom. The list kept getting longer each day. At this point, they had fifteen guys going. If Kip Brigham hadn't been out of town, it would have been sixteen and they'd have had to deal with his fan club while they were at it. Sam had liked Kip the few times they'd met, but couldn't help but be glad the man was unavailable, blaming it on the idea of paparazzi following them around, instead of the niggling doubt that Kip would have been best man instead of him if he'd been available.

He checked his computer, looking at the hotel Eric had recommended as it didn't have a casino but did have a night club. He searched for strip joints in the area and wasn't surprised to see several come up. He called and reserved a block of rooms in the hotel, all on the same floor, trying to reassure the woman on the phone that most of the guests for the bachelor party were law enforcement and that they weren't looking to party all night and disturb other guests. She hadn't seemed that reassured, muttering something about having heard that before, but the rooms were reserved and their adventure was on. He wondered if he should book a bus to take them all there but then decided it would be better if they had a couple of their personal vehicles with them. He'd take Callen, Eric and Deeks in the Challenger, he'd even let Deeks have shotgun as the guest of honor. Granger could take Franklin, Porter and Winston. The others could decide how they'd get there by themselves.

He grinned in anticipation and sent an email to the guest list with a link to the hotel and the information on what name to give. In addition, he included a watered down itinerary which included a jaunt to the strip for some low key gambling for those who wanted to or were allowed to. Responses started coming back almost immediately, everyone on board and looking forward to it. He made another phone call, this time to a talent agency that he'd found by making discreet inquiries. They had someone who matched his description and would be willing to pull a prank on the groom-to-be for a reasonable price. He gave them his credit card number and finalized the arrangements. Satisfied, he headed up to bed and Michelle. This was going to be fun!

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Kensi watched the men milling around outside her home, looking like a bunch of kids heading off to camp. There were fifteen of them and four cars. Bags kept being put into one trunk, only to be taken out and put in another as they played musical cars and argued. She turned and looked at the women with her, there to see their men off, and started to laugh at the bemused looks on most of their faces. "Hard to believe most of those guys are federal agents, LAPD or Navy, isn't it girls?" The burst of laughter from the group of women had all activity out front stop, as every man turned and looked at the women watching them. Frowns furrowed most brows as they suspected it was them being laughed at. The women all tried to compose themselves but it didn't work and a fresh round of laughter broke out. The guys looked at each other and it was Deeks who finally starting laughing with the women, knowing what it was they were laughing at. The others started to join in sheepishly. Eventually, bags were stowed, car assignments agreed on and each man said a final goodbye to their lady.

Deeks hugged Kensi and didn't really want to let her go. Going away to have fun without her didn't seem right, even though he knew the girls would have some fun themselves. "I'll miss you Fern!" He said loudly and then softly continued. "The bed will be cold and lonely tonight."

"Deeks!" She smiled despite her admonishment, happy to know that he wasn't going to just leave without a backwards glance and that he'd miss her. She knew she'd be missing him, at least at night. The rest of the time, she, Michelle, Nell and Laura, along with Cheryl, who'd gotten wind of their plans and wanted in, would have them in their sights at all times. She was still feeling a little guilty about their plans to tail the guys throughout the whole weekend, keeping them under surveillance. She knew it was harmless, in that they weren't doing it because they didn't trust them, they all trusted their men implicitly; they just wanted to keep them out of trouble. Still, it felt a little wrong. "I'll miss you too! I'm glad it's only going to be two nights and you'll be home before we know it. Call me when you get there so I know you're safe? And before you go to bed every night?"

"And every morning when I get up." He bent down and whispered in her ear, making her face blush bright red as she playfully punched him. He smiled and let her go, waving goodbye to the others as he headed to the Challenger, looking forward to his first ride in the shotgun seat of the muscle car his best man drove.

As the cars finally began to pull out, heading towards the highway and Nevada, Nell walked up beside her, Michelle moving into position on the other side, Cheryl beside her. "So, what did Deeks say that had you blushing so hard, Kens?" Nell asked.

"Yeah, Kensi, what was it? Hmmmm?" Michelle teased. Kensi refused to answer, not meeting any of their eyes.

"Can I guess? Can I, can I?" Asked Cheryl. The FBI agent smirked at her friend.

Nell and Michelle exchanged glances and looked to Kensi to see if she'd cave. When no answer was forthcoming, both women nodded at the federal agent. Cheryl leaned in and asked, just softly enough that only the four of them could hear. "I would guess it had something to do with phone sex! Am I right?"

Kensi still refused to answer but knew that the telltale blush that had reappeared was giving her away. Michelle smiled at her. "You two are so cute."

"Michelle!" Kensi exclaimed.

"What, you think you two invented that?"

"Oh my god, I'm never going to be able to look Sam in the eyes again!"

Cheryl laughed and Kensi turned horrified eyes to her. "Noooo…."

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