You guys are amazing, as usual. I shouldn't expect anything less:) I'm going out of town for Thanksgiving pretty soon, but I'm still going to try and write as much as I can- I'll definitely wrap up the story while I'm away! :)
-Hazel
Kensi began to wake up around five hours later, squinting both eyes as she heard the most obnoxious sound coming from beside her bed.
"What the...?"
Deeks was no longer holding Olivia, who seemed to be sound asleep in her hospital crib against the wall. Instead, he was just sitting there- a jello cup in hand.
He smiled coyly upon seeing her awake.
"Hello, sunshine."
She narrowed her eyes.
"What are you doing?"
Pointing to the jello cup in his hands, Deeks just chuckled.
"Oh, this? This is called payback, my dear."
Kensi pushed herself up in bed, shaking her head.
"That was almost four years ago."
"Time doesn't heal all wounds, Kensalina."
"It was a jello cup."
"Yes, one that you ate."
"I was hungry."
"And I had just been shot. My wife never learned her manners, apparently."
"You can complain to my mother about that, Deeks. Not my fault."
He just nodded, cramming another spoonful of jello into his mouth.
"Our daughter is going to be far more polite."
She snorted. "And who's gonna teach her that? You?"
"Do not mock, Ferny. Daddy Deeks can be tough when he needs to be."
That nickname was going to be the death of her, and in the very best way possible.
"You are wrapped around her teeny-tiny little finger, so don't even try to deny it."
"I'm not doing anything of the sort! I'm just saying that she will be a very poised young lady."
"Uh-huh," Kensi said, her eyes slightly narrowed and her mouth the tiniest bit ajar.
Deeks sat up tall, keeping true to his original statements.
"And she'll say 'yes sir' and 'yes ma'am,' and it will be adorable."
Kensi was silent for a moment before piping up, a smile tugging at her lips.
"You sure that you're not gonna teach her some surfer lingo?"
"Like what?"
She pondered his question, stroking the bottom of her chin as she looked towards the ceiling.
"I dunno. Rad. Narly. Brah."
He cringed. "We could just let her mix the two. Teach her some proper manners, teach her some surfer slang."
"Right. So she'll say 'yes ma'am, I'm gonna go catch some totes-rad swells out on the bay this mornin?'"
"Hold up." Deeks snorted with laughter, unable to swallow any more jello. "Is that how you think surfers talk?"
She shrugged. "It's how you talk. You're a surfer."
"That is not how I talk. That's how a valley girl talks. Besides, you aren't even using the lingo properly."
"How do you figure?"
"Swell. It's singular, not plural.
"You're no fun."
"Or I'm just grammatically correct."
"Or you're just obnoxious."
He sat up tall, blue eyes wide in a mock state of shock.
"Well that escalated quickly."
"Whatever, Deeks." She ran a hand through her wavy hair, brushing it away from her face. "When's she coming, by the way?"
"Who? A valley girl?" Deeks asked as he continued slurping his jello.
Kensi knew that he was just messing with her, but it was annoying nonetheless. She rolled her eyes, snatching the cup from his hands and taking a bite.
"My mom. It's just the right time for visitors, and I assumed she'd be coming by after the team checked in."
"She's comin' in about-" He checked his watch. "Thirty minutes or so. Eric called her after they left- apparently she sounded kinda upset, but I'm not sure why."
Kensi slowly lowered the jello cup from her lips, eyes wide.
"Upset? Why didn't she just call me?"
"Huh?"
Her expression was frantic as she she looked around to each table in the room.
"Where's my phone?"
"Hm?"
Each one of his vague responses just forced her voice to lower even further.
"Where is my phone?" She asked, practically growling.
Her snappy tone made him alert at one.
"Um... I'm not sure, actually. We didn't come here together, remember?"
How could Kensi forget? She gasped, slamming one hand down on her mattress. "Dammit!"
"What?" He asked, whisper yelling as if to remind her that it was necessary to keep her voice down.
"When we came to the hospital I left my phone at OSP. And my bag. And my keys, and my wallet, and-"
"It's fine," Deeks said, laying one hand on top of her arm. "I'll go get it."
"Really?" She exhaled, her voice breathy.
"Sure. I know how much you looooove your angry birds." Deeks just winked and smiled, dropping a quick kiss to the top of her head. "Love you. I'll be back in a bit."
Kensi nodded with a small grin, but her eyes trailed along his back as he turned to go. There was something more she wanted to say, something that had been lingering on her mind for quite some time.
"Deeks?"
He paused, turning back around. "Yeah?"
She stared at the floor for a moment before lifting her gaze to meet his.
"Why do you always say 'I love you' before you go?" Kensi asked quietly, a slightly mystified look in her eyes. "I'm certainly not complaining… I'm just wondering. You always say it- every single time you leave."
"Well, I, um..." He furrowed both eyebrows, contemplating her question for a moment before replying.
"I guess it's because you never know when you might be seeing someone for the last time," Deeks said, shrugging while his tone emulated a much more serious nature. "And, whenever I die, however many years down the road that might be, I want my last words to you to be that I love you… because I do."
Her lower chin dropped, tears stinging at her eyes.
How could he do that? How could he force her heart up into her throat while simultaneously making her completely loose any previously held train of thought?
"Deeks... I, um-"
"Knock, knock!"
Ugh. Of course.
A nurse appeared in the doorway, immediately walking over towards Olivia.
"I'm just here to check up on your little girl! Carry on!"
Kensi and Deeks both knew that wasn't possible for that particular moment in time- she couldn't really say anything more while someone was lingering nearby.
He just stared at her, a faint smile tugging at his lips before he turned to go.
"I love you."
She nodded, blinking slowly.
"I love you too."
Deeks really didn't want to go. Especially after that short little exchange they'd just shared.
But Olivia was asleep, and Kensi's mom was on her way, so he knew it was the perfect time to sneak back over to OSP.
He pushed through the double doors and checked his watch once he saw that the bullpen was empty. It was nearly six o'clock, and seemed like a rather odd time for the place to be deserted.
Deeks just shrugged it off, walking towards the center of the bullpen.
"What the hell are you doin' here?"
He spun around to find Eric perched over the side of the staircase, grinning down at Deeks.
"I've gotta pick up Kensi's stuff. You?"
Eric pointed one thumb back towards ops. "We got a case about an hour ago. You probably shouldn't be here, though."
Deeks chuckled. "What? You guys planning some sort of a surprise party for me?"
"Nope. But your wife just had a baby, so..."
"She's the one who told me to come, actually."
"You're the whipped husband now?" Eric asked with a smirk.
Deeks nodded slowly, grinning as he looked back down to Kensi's desk.
"Something like that, yeah."
"Well... tell her we said congrats again, okay?"
He smiled. "Will do."
Turning back around he evaluated the items on her desk, trying to remember exactly what it was that Kensi had left. He spotted her bag, which was lying on the floor to the left of her office chair.
There it all was: phone, wallet, and keys. Done.
"Mr. Deeks?"
Hetty suddenly appeared at his side, practically popping up out of thin air. He had no clue how the woman managed to do that, but she still did it all the same, and on a fairly regular basis.
"Hey Hetty," he said, dropping Kensi's bag back down to the top of her desk. It seemed that he wasn't going to escape away just yet.
"Your teammates have informed me that a congratulatory wish is in order!"
Deeks beamed down at her. "Yup- she's a beauty. Seven pounds, twelve ounces."
"Name?"
He puffed his chest out slightly as he spoke. "Olivia Katherine Deeks."
"Beautiful. I see you took her middle name from a... family member?"
He came close to asking her how she knew that, but it would've been a silly question. Hetty knew everything.
Deeks fidgeting with a hangnail, suddenly becoming rather small.
"It seemed fitting."
"I'm sure your mother would be very proud."
He nodded, telling her the exact same thing he'd said to Kensi earlier that day.
"I like to think so."
"Well, just tell your wife I said congratulations as well, alright? I know you're dying to get out of here."
Deeks shrugged with a smile.
"I probably want to be back before Livie wakes up."
Hetty leaned forward slightly and winked. "Probably."
She turned around, walking back towards her desk. He hadn't seen her there before, but it was possible that she'd been sitting there all along.
Hopefully she'd missed the 'whipped husband' comment.
He tossed Kensi's bag over his shoulder, ruffling his hair. But as Deeks began moving forward, something held him back.
His eyes caught on an object in the corner of the room, one that just seemed to stand out to him amongst all of the clutter.
The box.
Deeks smiled, speaking quietly to himself as he came to a dead stop in the center of the room.
"What do we have to lose now?"
