I know, I know, such a long delay… I'm sorry, but, well, school and all. This is easily the busiest semester I've ever had. Plus, I lost the muses for a while. =[

Disclaimer: not mine, never has been, never will be…

Chapter 7: The Family

Kensi walked into the office looking tired. She set her bag down by her desk and glanced around. The floor seemed deserted, but she knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. Sure enough, the subtle sound of footsteps clicking on tile made itself heard in the silence. Kensi turned around just in time to see Hetty making her way over to the bull pen. She took a breath and smiled, making an attempt to hide her state.

Hetty stopped in front of the female agent and sized her up. The young woman looked tired, but happy. She put on a razor sharp smile. "Welcome back, dearie," she said, clutching her hands behind her back.

"Thanks Hetty," Kensi replied, trying not to sound like she was forcing anything.

The operations manager knew her agent was hiding something, but she also knew that whatever it was, it was for Kensi to deal with. She wouldn't worry until she saw a reason to worry.

An increase in noise told both women that the boys had arrived. Sure enough, Callen and Sam came around the corner, shoulder to shoulder, bickering as usual. Callen smiled at his wife as he took a seat at his desk, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head, completely relaxed.

Kensi smiled back, knowing as she did so that Callen knew immediately that something was wrong. Fortunately, he didn't say anything. Indeed, he gave no outward sign besides a slight darkening in his eyes.

"So, how was the honeymoon?" Sam asked, sitting at his own desk and oblivious, or deliberately ignoring, the silent exchange going on between the newlyweds.

Kensi turned to the ex-SEAL. Her smile became more genuine as she replied to the room, noting Nate and Eric join the group. "Very relaxing."

Sam raised his eyebrow. "Relaxing?" He turned to Callen. "I'm not sure…"

"Hey, what goes on in the bedroom, man," Callen interrupted, smiling.

They all chuckled at that.

Hetty cleared her throat, and they all took it as their cue to get to work.


"Tell me what's wrong."

Kensi looked up from her position on the bed and watched Callen lean against the wall. She swallowed harshly and tried to look innocent. "What do you mean?" she asked, wincing at how incredibly far off the mark she was.

Callen shook his head and smirked. "I know you Kenz," he informed her, pushing himself off the wall and moving forward until he was kneeling in front of her. "I know when something's up."

Kensi looked down. This was the time, right? She certainly hoped so, because she had to do it, no matter how scared she was. Avoiding Callen's gaze, she stood up and made her way to the bathroom.

Callen watched her go, confused. He stood up after a moment, and followed his wife.

He found Kensi leaning against the sink, looking down. Immediately concerned, he moved behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders, hugging her gently, and marveling yet again at how wonderfully she fit against him. "Kensi?"

Kensi couldn't look up. She felt him behind her, but she couldn't bring herself to look in the mirror, to see his face as she broke the news. Squeezing the sink tightly, she closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm pregnant."

Silence.

Callen heard the words, but for some reason, they weren't seeping in; he couldn't process the sentence, he couldn't understand it. Finally he managed to unfreeze. His voice was carefully neutral as he asked, "Are you sure?"

Kensi didn't allow herself to breathe just yet. Slowly, without looking, she moved her right hand and opened the small drawer underneath the sink. She pulled out a small white object and held it up.

Wordlessly, Callen took the object, recognizing it as a pregnancy test. He saw the little plus sign, and swallowed harshly. "Well, these things aren't always…" he started shakily, but was interrupted when Kensi passed him another test. He took it just as stiffly, and once again, saw the positive symbol. "But maybe…" he trailed off again as he was handed yet another test.

He finally met Kensi's eyes through the mirror. She raised her eyebrow. "Do you want me to show you the fourth one?" she asked.

Callen shook his head, still processing. He wasn't quite certain how he felt. It was too soon, right?

Looking at the woman staring back at him now, he realized it really wasn't. He loved her, and wanted forever with her. He wanted the family, the white picket fence, the little scrappy dog. It wasn't a dream that he had ever had before, until he had met Kensi. Once he had had her, he had wanted it all. Why couldn't that all start right now?

Finally smiling, the NCIS agent hugged his wife even closer. "This is amazing, Kenz," he said genuinely.

Kensi reached her hand up and grasped the arm that was clasped around her chest. "You're sure?" she questioned, still afraid.

Callen leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the exposed skin above her shirt. Nuzzling lovingly, he whispered into her neck, "Of course I am." Pulling back, he saw some lingering doubt. He turned her around and made sure that she was looking at him, hearing him, understanding him. "I promise you, Kensi," he started, smiling that crooked smile that he knew she loved and could never resist, "I've never been happier." He moved his hand up and tilted her chin so that she couldn't avoid looking him directly in the eye. "I love you," he stated. There was no inflection or passion in the sentance. It was a statement, a fact. And Kensi could feel the emotion that came through those three simple words.

She smiled and leaned forward. "I love you too," she replied, before their lips came crashing together.

They could have easily set the bathroom on fire, but neither would have noticed. Slowly, gently, Callen drew her back to the bedroom, and the two spent the rest of the day, and well into the night, celebrating the news.

I'm so sorry for how long it took me to get this up! I'm very easily distracted, and I've now just gotten into Glee, so that's yet another obsession to add to the mix =]. But it's up now, so please REVIEW!

It's kind of short, but I've got another couple of chapters planned to add to this whole event, and that seemed like a natural place to end it. Plus, I figured, you guys would really like an update, any update!

OK, so I'm going to propose something to my wonderful fans, and let you guys decide. I really want to develop Callen's back story. I have some ideas about his first meeting with Gibbs, and a little bit more into his relationship with Audrey. My question for you is: do you want me to build it into this story, or do you want me to write a sort of prequel? Please review and let me know!