I was asked for a sequel to 'Used To Be' where Deeks starts his trek to becoming a lawyer once more. I hope you guys like the new story!

Warning: None as of yet.

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Shaking his head in amusement Callen let his eyes roll over the living room once more. He could feel all the frustration and sadness from work roll off him at the sight. No matter how bad a day he had as soon as he saw his family he felt like it didn't matter.

It was something that he had heard Sam say a lot over the years. Before having kids though he hadn't understood it. He didn't think that there was anyone on the planet that would make him feel better after some of the days he had.

Then he got home and he heard his children call out Papa and it was as if everything was washed away. It still didn't make sense to him how he could love two people as much as he loved Isabelle and Wesley.

Honestly, he had quit trying to look for an answer a long time ago. Even if there was an answer he didn't want to know what it was. Some mysteries in life were better off unsolved. Love was one of them.

Taking out his phone he doubled checked that it was Friday. Between Kensi and Nell saying they were going out dancing and the impromptu movie marathon he should have been sure, but he messed up days of the week more often than he liked to think.

He wasn't surprised that it was. Well, it was Saturday, but two a.m. on Saturday. Did it really count as Saturday if it was two a.m.? Wow, he really needed sleep if he was arguing whether two a.m. was Friday or Saturday.

Shaking his head he looked back at his family taking everything in. Based off of Scooby-Doo playing on the tv it looked like Deeks and the kids had fallen asleep halfway through a movie marathon.

A part of Callen was sad that he had missed out on it, but as the menu music started to play again he felt himself shake his head. He had thought Scooby-Doo was amusing as a kid, but his kids obsession had pushed him over the edge of never wanting to see the Great Dane again.

Still, it wasn't often that he was able to walk in on such a scene. He usually came home when it was dinner time or the household was fast asleep in their own beds. Deeks was rather strict when he came to bedtimes.

Isabelle went with those rules perfectly fine for most part. She tried to get out of them every once in awhile, but she liked sleep. She was usually getting ready to go to bed before either of them even told her to.

It was Wesley that liked to push at the rule. Not in a 'this rule is stupid it so shove it' type of way. More that he was so busy doing what he was doing and he just wanted to finish it before the day came to an end.

Callen hadn't actually realized what was going on when he had first come across it. Wesley had just wanted to finish the chapter he was reading. Most kids didn't read that much so the agent had said it was fine.

Staying up to read a book was a good reason to him. It was something even he did sometimes. Anyway, it was only one chapter. He'd be in bed sleeping without ten minutes and everything would be fine. No big deal.

It wasn't until an hour later when Deeks came walking into their room holding the book that he realized that something had happened. As it turned out Wesley hadn't just finished the chapter he had been reading. Nope, he had finished the next one and was well into a third.

The agent never thought that reading would be a problem. It was just reading. As long as the book was there then they had all the time in the world to go over it. They had even made the deal that if the kids got the book from the library on three separate occasions they'd buy the book for them.

Wesley liked to throw what they knew about children out the window though. If you thought that you needed to go right than there was a good chance that you probably have to go straight up instead. At least that's what Eric said. He wasn't wrong.

It hadn't taken long for him to realize that Wesley was a lot like Deeks. Which was a little odd considering they weren't related by blood. Not that that mattered to any of them. They were a family of choice not of blood.

In truth, he loved the fact that his husband and his son were alike. All intelligence and smiles and sunshine coming out of every single pore on their body. They were both absolutely perfect in his eyes.

Isabelle, on the other hand, was like him. At least according to Deeks she was. As well as Hetty and Michelle and everyone else on the team. He didn't really see it though. Yes, she was like him a bit, but he couldn't see how they were alike.

There were some days the girl was just like him. She was quick with sarcasm and a smirk. She was much more likely to get in a fist fight defending someone she thought was being hurt. She was quiet when everyone around her was loud.

Other times though she was a stranger to him. Especially right after he came home from a case. Suddenly the independent young lady he had left a few days before was clinging to him like a touch-starved octopus.

A part of him knew that that was just because he hadn't been around. She was still the same person. She had just missed him a little. She was such a different person though that it threw him for a bit of a loop every time it happened.

By this point both of his children knew exactly what he did for a living and they both had told him countless times that they were okay with him and his job. The knowledge that they understood helped when he was gone longer than normal.

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. Callen spent more than his fair share of time beating himself down for not being in their lives as often as any of them wanted. It was usually Isabelle that told him to snap out of it when he got that way. Actually, now that he thought about it she was like him.

Shaking his head he looked at his family once more and felt the need to take a picture. That was something else he didn't get until he was a parent. Pictures had always seemed unneeded until he had someone he wanted to always see.

That and the scene was just too precious. Deeks fast asleep on the floor on a pound of spare blankets. Wesley curled up so tightly on his left side that he was practically under him. Isabelle, on the other hand, was on his right side sprawled out like a starfish. It was too good.

A soft noise left Isabelle's lips at the flash causing her to flail around on top of Deeks. The ocean blue eyes blinked open even as he reached out and placed a hand on her to keep her still. A moment later the eyes looked up and locked on Callen.

"Hey, Sunshine," the agent signed moving closer to his family, "Having a slumber party without me?"

Deeks gave a slight shrug making sure not to wake the kids. Smiling Callen bent down and picked up Isabelle. It felt so weird every time he picked her up. Like he was expecting her to be as small as she used to be.

She was always going to be his baby. Both of them were. He just couldn't believe how much they had grown. She was eleven and Wesley was six. When had they grown up? Where was he when that happened?

His attention when down to his daughter as she squirmed in his arms. He made sure to hold her close as he walked through the house. The last thing he wanted was for her to make a sudden movement and have him drop her.

Taking her upstairs he tucked her into bed before staring down at her. When he was single and alone he used to have times when he wondered why he did it. Why he risked his life day in and day out for people he didn't know.

He never questioned it anymore. He knew what he did and why he did it. He knew that there was nothing in the world that he wouldn't do to keep his family safe. To keep all the families safe from everything he could.

Leaning down he placed a kiss to her forehead before brushing her hair from her face. He stood there for a moment longer before he heard his husband walking towards Wesley's room. Brushing his hand through her hair once more he turned and left the room.

Starting towards his and Deeks room he passed D.D. and stopped to scratch her head. She laid in her normal spot at the top of the stairs. In the perfect spot to watch not only the front door but both of the kids rooms as well.

"Hey, girl," Callen muttered before standing up.

Going into the bedroom he stripped off his shirt and went to throw it in the hamper only to have warm arms wrap around his waist. A smile came to his lips as he dropped the shirt to the floor and leaned back against his husband's chest. There was nowhere he'd rather be.

Turning in the arms he cupped the back of Deeks neck and pulled him into a kiss. He couldn't help but feel happy that he could tell the man was still half asleep just from the way he kissed him back.

A sigh fell from his lips as he broke the kiss and stared into the still hazed eyes. Reaching up he brushed the blond curls from his husband's face making the man smile. The eyes fluttered shut for a moment at the movement before locking on his once more.

"What time is it?" Deeks signed with a yawn.

"A little after two," Callen replied pulling away, "I'm sorry I woke you up. I couldn't not take the picture."

"Of course you couldn't. You are a weak, weak man, G Callen."

Scoffing Callen reached down and swatted at the man's behind. A laugh fell from Deeks lips as he pressed himself closer to the agent a second later. With a wiggle of his eyebrows the younger man reached out his hand brushing against the agent's side before stealing the phone from his pocket.

Shaking his head in amusement Callen didn't bother to try to get it back. Instead he watched as the man found the photo. He seemed to soften almost instantly. It was beautiful to see and he couldn't stop himself from pressing close enough to feel the man against him once more.

That was when he noticed that something wasn't quite right with his husband. The man, even at his sleepiest, loved to cuddle. Actually, make that especially at his sleepiest. Him not responding was not like him.

"Hey," Callen started catching the man's attention, "What's wrong?"

"I talked to Hetty today," Deeks signed after placing the phone down.

"So that's where she disappeared to. What did she want?"

"To offer me a job."

"What? What job?"

"Yeah. You met a friend of hers on the case?"

"Alice Quinn. She's a… She's a lawyer. According to Eric she just moved to her own firm. Only has two lawyers and is looking to expand. Hetty wants that to be you."

"She does."

"And you're not happy about that? I thought you loved being a lawyer."

"I was in my early twenties when I was a lawyer. It was a lifetime ago, Callen. Anyway, I don't even know law anymore. My license lapsed years ago.

"So you study and pass the bar again. You passed it on first try the first time around. I'm not seeing why you're not jumping at this. What's wrong, Marty?"

"What's wrong? Tell me. Have you ever met a deaf lawyer? Or even heard of one? How would that work? It's not like I can sit there with an interpreter the whole trial. And me getting up to ask questions? I don't know if you've noticed, but I only talk to our kids."

Seeing the younger man starting to get worked up Callen reached out and pulled him into a hug. It had been awhile since he had seen the man so scared about something. It was a look that he hoped he'd never see again.

Pulling away he pressed a kiss to Deeks lips causing the man to sigh and deflate a little. Not knowing what to do he lead him over to the edge of the bed and had him sit down before kneeling in front of him.

"I don't know how it would work," Callen signed when his was sure he had the man's attention, "But Hetty wouldn't have said anything if there wasn't a way. If she hadn't thought of a way and had already told her friend exactly what she was doing."

"I know that," Deeks replied still looking defeated.

"Then what's the problem? Why are you scared?"

"I'm scared because… G, I know that I was a good lawyer. I studied and I gave my everything on every case. I'm not the same person that I was before. What if… What if I'm not good enough anymore? What if I've lost who I was? I'm already not a cop anymore. I don't know if I could stand not being a lawyer too."

"Sunshine, listen to me carefully because I'm only going to say this once. You're not the man you used to be. You're better. You're smart than he was. You're braver than he was. You're kinder than he was. You care more than he did. That's not because you're deaf. It's because you're older. You've seen more things than that kid could ever dream of. You're not going to be the same lawyer. You're going to be better."

"But I..."

"No. The only thing stopping you is fear. You're better than that."

"Do I have to be? Because I'm good with wallowing in fear for awhile longer."

"Yes. You're a parent. You don't get to wallow."

"Fine, but only because you sound like Isabelle."

"I was just thinking about that earlier. She's a smart girl. You did good."

"We did good."

"You raised her more than I did."

"Maybe, but we used your sperm. Kind of have to give you a bit of credit."