AN: This just hit me, and I wrote it in less than an hour, so it's a little rough… But I just had to post it! This will, again, be a two-parter. Keep an open mind, and message me/review if you have ideas for part 2 (in Deeks's POV)… Read, review, and enjoy!

Blessings,

bookdiva

"So I was thinking…" Sabatino said, coming to sit beside her. Kensi looked up from absentmindedly playing with her MRE to see the CIA agent sliding in too close for comfort.

In the two and a half months that Kensi had been stationed in Afghanistan, Sabatino had been an annoying familiar face. And sadly—since he was slightly preferable to Granger, and the rest of the team was super closed-off—he was the closest thing to a friend that she had here.

Today, however, Kensi was feeling slightly nauseous. Her back ached, and her stomach felt like it was going to come out her throat. She most definitely didn't feel like subtly avoiding his blatant advances.

"…you know," he continued when she didn't respond. "If we make it back to the states—"

"When we make it back," Kensi corrected, shooting him a fierce glare.

I will come back, Max, she vowed again silently. She really couldn't consider any other option. She'd do her job, she'd return, and they'd…

What? You'll what, exactly? Pick up where you left off? Where exactly was that, again?

She shook her head and turned her glare down to the slop that passed for food at the base.

"Okaaaaay, right," he pressed on, leaning away from her only slightly. "Well when we get back to the states—to Los Angeles—we'll have to go get that drink."

Okay, that's it! Can't this guy take a hint?

"No thank you," she said through clenched teeth. It was taking every last ounce of her energy not to explode at the man.

"C'mon Kensi," he said, leaning his back against the table and catching her gaze. "It could be fun."

"Fun?" she repeated incredulously. She'd officially reached the end of her rope. "No, it would not be fun. Since you obviously cannot take a hint, I'll give it to you straight. I. Am. Not. Interested. Got it?"

"Okay, geeze," he said, standing up and backing away. He held his hands up in surrender. "I didn't realize I'd be risking my life, asking you out. That time of the month, or something?"

He clearly expected more of the homicidal rage she'd been displaying thus far, but his words made Kensi freeze.

Time of the month… she was staggered in realization. I've… I've been here for over two months, and I haven't… Oh god…

She felt all the blood drain from her face as the realization dawned and icy fear flowed immediately into her veins and throughout her body.

"Kensi, are you okay?" Sabatino's genuinely worried voice snapped her out of her shock.

Kensi looked up at him and, pulling on every bit of undercover training she'd ever received, she managed a curt, "I'm fine. Excuse me."

She somehow managed to walk at a semi-normal pace to her bunk where she carefully shut the door, climbed in her bed, and proceeded to freak out.

This cannot be possible, she argued with herself. It was only once! And before that it was….

And that was where she stopped, because it had been months before he'd kissed her—before he'd been tortured—since she'd even been out on a date.

And then she realized that there was no way she was wrong. She'd missed two 'times of the month', and she was well on her way to missing a third—possibly already had, too. That had never happened to her before.

Before she consciously knew what she was doing, she'd pulled the SAT phone out and opened it. Her finger was hovering over the button to call Deeks before common sense overrode her wild emotions. She snapped the phone closed and squeezed her eyes shut.

She needed to process this rationally.

Okay, Kens, she told herself. One thing at a time. Am I… keeping him?

She placed a hand over her still-flat stomach and smiled. She'd answered her own question in the question. Sure, she had no way of knowing, but when she closed her eyes, she could see her little boy: wild blonde hair and eyes as blue as his fathers, but mismatched like hers.

The image began to chase away the icy fear, and in its stead, she felt a warm feeling begin to spread throughout her body, starting underneath the hand that still rested on her abdomen. She felt an intense wave of love flood over her—like nothing she'd ever experienced before—and she knew she'd do whatever it took to protect this new life.

What will Deeks say?

The thought brought back some of the cold fear.

Unbidden, Kensi was assaulted by images—memories—and she let herself drown in them.

She saw him bouncing on the trampoline with a little girl from one of their cases.

"I haven't heard her laugh like that in so long."

"Yeah, he has that effect on people."

Then she pictured him in that ridiculous tennis outfit, dodging balls that the little boy from another case, Sean, was sending his way.

"I wish his father would do things like that with him."

Finally, she saw the conversation between Deeks and Ray that she wasn't supposed to witness.

"I have a chance to be a dad. You know what that means to me."

"I do."

She could still hear the conviction—and the longing—in his voice. It was exactly what she needed to chase away any residual fears.

She pulled out her phone and powered it up. Since she was convinced she'd be leaving soon, she was no longer as concerned about conserving the battery. She pulled up the picture of the team in the gym and again zoomed in on her and Deeks.

She focused on the way his eyes sparkled, and she smiled. Resting her hand over her abdomen, she turned out the lights and looked at her phone.

"Goodnight, Deeks," she whispered, closing her eyes. "Good night, baby Deeks."

Kensi awoke five hours later to a near-silent alarm. For a moment, she stayed completely still, letting her realization from the night before come back to her. In the morning light, the realization was slightly more terrifying. Again, the cold fear played around the edges of her mind. But then she realized that he hand was still protectively over her stomach, and she smiled.

Her dreams had been filled with images of blue eyes—both Deeks's eyes, and their baby boy's. The thought instantly caused her heart rate to even out and the fear to leave her mind.

She took out the SAT phone and dialed.

"I wasn't expecting to hear from you again so soon, Ms. Blye," Hetty answered. Kensi opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out.

"Ms. Blye?" Hetty repeated after a long moment.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm here Hetty," Kensi managed. She took a deep breath. "Do you remember what you said to me before you went to Romania?"

Hetty was silent for a long moment, and Kensi could tell that she'd taken her boss by surprise.

"You said that the true challenge in our lives is to know when to stop," Kensi said when Hetty stayed silent.

"I'm assuming, since you called me on an emergency secured line, that you have more on your mind than a trip down memory lane, Ms. Blye?" Hetty asked after another silent moment.

"Yeah, Hetty," Kensi said, steeling herself. "It's time for me to stop."

Fourteen hours later, Kensi was on a military plane, flying over some ocean. She had a two-hour layover in London, then a direct commercial flight to LAX. She smiled, and as was becoming completely normal to her, placed a hand across her abdomen.

"We're almost home, baby Deeks," she whispered to herself. Out the window, the city lights became visible. "Soon."

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

Hetty had taken the news much better than she'd anticipated. In fact, unless she was going crazy—and Kensi had to acknowledge that, given the circumstances, it was a realistic possibility—it had sounded like Hetty was… overjoyed.

Kensi smiled at that thought and felt herself slip into a light sleep.

She awoke as the wheels touched the runway, and she stretched her legs out in front of her. When they'd taxied to the parking place, the plane's hatched opened and she disembarked. She couldn't wait to get inside.

Once inside the London International Airport, she quickly found her terminal. Looking at her watch, she realized that she had just a little under two hours before her flight departed, so she dropped her things off at the front desk—being a Federal Agent did have its perks—and headed off to the nearest drug store.

She didn't have any doubts that she was pregnant, but when she told Deeks, she wanted to have something physical to show him.

It took her a half hour to find a shop that carried pregnancy tests, and since they only had one brand, the decision was easy. She paid the cashier—who gave her a funny look—in cash, and headed to the nearest bathroom.

She went into the handicap stall in the corner of the—mercifully—empty ladies room, peed on the stick, and then sat in the opposite corner to wait the required ten minutes.

As she waited, she couldn't help but think of Deeks.

I wonder what he's up to right now… she thought. It was early morning in LA. Probably hitting the waves before work.

She smiled as she imagined him teaching their son to surf. She could see the way he'd patiently explain it, over and over, while still making it fun.

He will be a great dad.

She had absolutely no doubts about him. He'd built his life around being everything that his own father hadn't been. While she wasn't so confident in her own ability to be a mother, she did recognize that she already loved her son. And besides, with her partner to help her, she could do anything.

Her phone blared techno, signaling time to look at the test. It was silly—she knew the truth—but somehow, standing up and grabbing that test would make it all real.

She sat on the floor and listened to the whole song—all six minutes of it—before she slid the alarm off, got up, and peered at the plastic stick that would confirm the biggest news of her life.

Her breath caught in her throat at the (+) on the digital screen. A tear slipped unnoticed down her cheek as she hugged that little plastic stick close to her body.

She stood up and exited the ladies room feeling a renewed sense of determination. She swung into another little shop and asked the young boy behind the counter for a box. He'd looked at her strangely, then directed her to a small aisle of gift wrapping.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I just want a small box, plain. Like you ship things in."

Again, the boy looked at her like she was nuts, but he went into the back and came back out with exactly what she was looking for.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed. She tried to pay for it, but the boy waved her off. She left for her terminal with fifteen minutes to spare. She used the time to tape her package shut.

The plane landed at LAX at 0300 hours on January 8, 2014. Three hours into Deeks's 35th birthday.

Perfect.

Being a Federal Agent, she didn't bother with customs or security. Hetty had arranged all of that ahead of time. She simply grabbed her backpack and her box and headed to the taxi cab.

Forty-five minutes later she was standing outside her partner's door, trying to decide what to do. She raised her fist to knock, but decided to pull her SAT phone out instead. Touching the button, she connected to her partner's SAT phone and leaned against the door. She heard a sudden, shrill beeping coming from inside the apartment, and she couldn't help but smile.

He turned the volume all the way up so he wouldn't miss my call, she realized. There was a slight thump from the other side of the door, and them Deeks's sleep-laden voice came over the static of the SAT phone.

"Kens? Is everything okay? Are you okay?" His voice was scratchy and deep from sleep, but he sounded fully attentive to whatever her answer was. Instead of just a verbal reply, she knocked.

"Everything is good, Deeks," she answered his concerned question. "I just need my partner to let me in."

"What?" Deeks asked, sounding really confused. "This again, Kens? I thought you understood. I did say what I meant, and I don't really know what else you—"

"No, Deeks," she interrupted him, chuckling softly. "I literally need you to let me in, or I'll kick down your door."

"You—what—I—huh?"

There were more shuffling noises, a quiet band, and then the door swung open. Suddenly her partner was standing in front of her, his wild blond curls even wilder than usual and his ocean-blue eyes sparkling with joy, surprise, disbelief…

Neither one spoke a word. He reached out his hand slowly, his eyes full of disbelief until his hand reached her cheek. Then his eyes flashed like a blue fire, and before she knew what was happening, she was in his arms, kissing him like her life depended on it.

"Happy birthday, Deeks," she whispered when they finally pulled apart.

He smiled and nuzzled her nose.

"So you remembered this year Fern?" he teased her, pulling her even closer, the box awkwardly squished between them. His eyes left hers for a brief second, then snapped back up. "What's this? Another box?"

"I finally realized, Deeks," she said breathlessly. "I didn't get it right the first time. And I'm sorry. But I swear, I got it right this time, Deeks. This is everything you've ever wanted. I got it right this time."

TBC… :)