Despite her late night out, Kensi made it to school a little early to work on lesson plans. It had absolutely nothing to do with Marty Deeks. She definitely hadn't spent a good part of the night tossing and turning while contemplating the story he shared with her. Or his blue eyes.

Yawning, Kensi reached for the massive cup of iced coffee on the side of her desk and took a long drink. It was the largest size the local cafe offered and would be her only saving grace today. She groaned, pressing her palms over her eye sockets in an attempt to relieve her exhaustion induced headache.

"Good morning, Kensi!"

She sighed, recognizing the sound of St. Bridget's art teacher's voice, and peeled one eye open. Nell Jones stood a few feet from Kensi's desk, in her typical flowery dress, ankle boots, and sweater that somehow perfect suited her quirky style.

"It's Monday morning, you should not be this happy," Kensi told her uncharitably.

"I see the coffee hasn't kicked in yet," Nell observed, used to her less than enthusiastic responses by now. She levered herself up onto one of the student desks, feet swinging several inches from the floor.

"No, it hasn't. I'm sorry, what do you need?" Kensi tried to inject a little more kindness into her voice, reminding herself that Nell was her friend.

"All the juicy details." At Kensi's blank stare, she added, "Word is you shared a late-night tête-à-tête with Marty Deeks, the resident Hot Dad." Grinning, Nell clapped her hands together, like a kid about to open Christmas presents.

"Ok, first of all, it was dinner at the cafe, and secondly, his son was there. Nothing inappropriate happened. Sorry to disappoint you."

"Uh-huh."

"Also, don't you think it's a little inappropriate to call him hot?" Kensi asked, trying to stall as long as possible. She so did not want to have this conversation.

"Fine, the very nice dad with the blue eyes and gorgeous smile," Nell amended with a roll of her eyes. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic. How did you find out in the first place?"

"Candace. You know she loves to gossip, and the diner was pretty dead all night with the fair going on. She was dying of boredom until you guys came in."

"Damn," Kensi sighed. With her luck, the story of her and Deeks supposed clandestine meeting was common knowledge. "He has baggage, Nell."

Nell rolled her eyes again, dismissing Kensi's concerns. Nothing would stand in the way of the romance she had so clearly built up in her head. "So does everyone. I mean, look at Eric and me."

"Eric is an IT specialist, what kind of baggage can that bring with it?" She couldn't think of anyone less likely to have a troubled past than the almost always smiling and helpful Mr. Beale. Or as the kids called him in private, Eric the Magician.

"The internet can be a dark place," Nell responded, nodding significantly.

"I'm sure it is. Look, I know you are desperate to see me as happy as you are, or at the very least, make the fantasy in your mind come true, but it's not happening with Deeks," Kensi said firmly. "I don't have the time or energy for a normal guy, let alone one with a kid and…other stuff."

"Oh, so it's "Deeks" now. Interesting."

"Oh my god, Nell just stop, please! I have car duty in two minutes."

"Fine, fine, I'll let up for now, but that does not mean that this conversation is officially shelved," Nell relented, hopping off the desk and heading towards the door. Halfway there, she spun back around so the skirts of her dress swirled around her ankles. "Ooh, maybe I should invite him over for dinner sometime."

"Nell Jones, don't you dare," Kensi said as Nell grinned at her.

"What, any good mission involves a certain amount of reconnaissance."

"You suck as a best friend!" Kensi called after her, arming herself with her coffee before heading out into the melee. It was going to be a very long day.


Instead of Deeks, an unfamiliar woman in a blue Chevrolet dropped Caleb off this morning. Kensi heard him call the woman "Miranda", before hopping out of the car with his Captain America backpack and slamming the door shut, but otherwise she couldn't glean any other information about their relationship.

While she hadn't exactly thought Deeks would boast about their dinner for everyone to hear, she'd hadn't expected him to completely blow her off.

It was for the best thought. Like she'd told Nell, the last thing she needed to complicate her life was a guy with a messy ex-marriage. Honestly, she should have expected as much. By the time Kensi made it back to her room, she'd convinced herself that she was much better off without Marty Deeks.


"Daddy, when are you going to take me to school again?" Caleb asked over dinner Friday night. For the last week, Deeks had their regular babysitter drive him to and from school. "Miss Duana said she missed seeing you and I best Miss Blye does too. And we never get to sing songs in the car anymore."

Caleb frowned down at his plate of spaghetti, chasing a noodle around with his fork. Normally it was a favorite, but tonight he was only picking at it. Actually, he hadn't eaten well for a few days now.

"I'm sorry, Kiddo. I promise as soon as I get done with this big job at work, I'll start driving you again," Deeks told him. He brushed off the guilt that nagged at him whenever Caleb brought up this topic. Caleb didn't need to know that his busy work schedule was only the partial truth, and he was actively avoiding running into Kensi Blye.

The truth was, Deeks had an amazing night out with Kensi last weekend. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to spend time with someone who didn't want something from him. Of course, he loved Caleb to death, but talking with Kensi had made him realize he was craving adult conversation beyond that of contracts, work meetings, and school drop offs.

He'd been thinking of Kensi Blye off and on for the last couple weeks since they met at St. Bridget's. She was so pissed off at him for being late despite her efforts to remain polite, and completely unaffected by his charms. Still, he'd managed to get a smile out of her before he left, and that stayed with him.

It surprised him that Kensi sought him out during the fair since he figured she'd want little to do with such an irresponsible guy. Instead, she was warm, even teasing while she successfully drew Caleb into the conversation.

That impressed him more than anything. Despite his overall social nature, Caleb didn't trust easily. A part of Deeks suspected that was a subconscious reaction to his mom leaving, but whatever the cause, he usually took a while to warm up to people. Deeks appreciated that Kensi made to include him and reach him on his level. Plus, it was obvious he adored her.

By the time they were at the diner, Deeks found himself spilling his guts to Kensi. He'd expected derision and a certain level of criticism in response. The few friends at home and his in-laws generally assumed he was responsible for Monica leaving. When she'd reacted with compassion instead, Deeks nearly kissed her right there in the deserted diner with Candace the waitress standing just a few feet away.

It wasn't until the next day that he realized he was looking forward to dropping Caleb off Monday morning for the sole purpose of seeing her again. And then he'd…panicked. There wasn't another good word for it.

Since Monica there hadn't been anyone. It was hard to trust another person with his heart, with Caleb, after what they experienced, and honestly, he didn't trust himself not to screw up again.

So, while convincing himself that it was for the best, he called Miranda. Hopefully a couple weeks without seeing Kensi would get her off his mind.

Rubbing his hands over his eyes, Deeks glanced over to Caleb again. There was just as much food on his plate, but now the spaghetti formed a fairly realistic volcano with a trail of marinara lava leading from the top, and pieces of broccoli took the place of trees. Well, he couldn't fault his creativity.

Deeks rested his chin on his fist, smiling wryly. "Are you about done, Caleb?"

"Uh-huh." Caleb nodded emphatically.

"Ok, why don't you clear your place and then you can watch some TV," Deeks suggested.

"And can I have a snack?" Caleb asked with expert puppy dog eyes. Chucking softly, Deeks rubbed his hands through his hair. It was going to be one of those nights. He probably should just consider the contract a bust until tomorrow.

"Sure. But please, eat a banana or something too, so I don't feel like a complete failure."

"Ok!" Caleb agreed readily. Moving with sudden speed, he carried his plate and silverware to the sink, scurrying onto the small stool by the pantry. Once he retrieved a packet of fruit snacks and two Oreos, as well as the promised banana, he stopped by Deeks' chair to give what he liked to call a drive-by kiss.

"Hey, after two shows, you gotta take a bath," Deeks reminded.

"Why do I always have to take baths?" Caleb groaned, shoulders slumping. "It takes so long."

"It takes like ten minutes. Tops." Deeks swung him up onto his lap, squeezing him extra tight. "And you don't want to turn out like the boy who never took a shower, do you?" He lowered his voice a couple pitches to sound slightly menacingly. That made Caleb pause.

"What boy? What happened to him?"

"He got so, so dirty, and smelly, that all of his toes fell off," Deeks said, lips twitching as he said it.

"That didn't really happen, did it?" Caleb asked, eyes lowered in suspicion even as he looked just a tad worried.

"No, it didn't. But you still need to take a bath."

"Fiiiine." Wriggling out of his grip, Caleb grabbed his snacks, and ran off towards the den, probably with the hope that he wouldn't be forced to commit to anymore "awful" tasks.

After cleaning up a little, Deeks returned to the dreaded contract from Hell, and tried to think of anything but mismatched brown eyes and soft pink lips.