Author's note: I do not own NCIS:LA or its characters

Fatima was already in her pajamas when there was a knock at the front door. She groaned and sat on her bed, knowing her parents were still up and would deal with it.

"Fatima, your partner is here, he wants to see you," her mom called out. Fatima groaned.

"Tell him I'll be there in a minute," she called back. She pulled a pair of sweatpants over her shorts, figuring it would be quick. She grabbed a hoodie off her desk and pulled the hood over her head. She tightened the drawstrings, then slipped out. "Okay, what's up, Rountree?" she asked. Rountree smiled awkwardly.

"Well, you um, you left your tumbler in my car," he said sheepishly. Fatima rolled her eyes.

"Okay, thanks. See you in the morning," she said, setting the tumbler on the table next to the door. She wasn't sure why he bothered coming over, she almost always forgot her tumbler in his car, then collected it in the morning.

"Oh, what's on?" he asked. Fatima shrugged.

"I don't know, I was in my room," Fatima replied, pulling her hoodie tighter around her head. Rountree nodded.

"Oh, do we have anything else on Lao or Jimmy Fang?" he asked.

"No, if we did I would have notified you guys. What are you doing?" she asked, growingly frustrated. She yawned and closed her eyes.

"That's a cute baby, is that you?" he asked, pointing at a small baby picture on the mantle. He refused to admit he was actually scared of Sam's threats.

"Yes. That's me. Okay, look. You know I love spending time with you, but it's late and I'm tired," she whined.

"Cute little bell," Rountree said, completely ignoring her. Somehow, they had made it almost all the way to the hallway.

"Thanks. What are you doing here?" she asked again.

"Did I ever tell you about what happened with the cactus patch?" he asked. Fatima groaned as he led her to the couch.

"No. You did not," she said.

"Okay, so I was supposed to be playing with my little sister, but I didn't want to. There was a cactus patch in the backyard, so I walked her over there, dumped her in, then played with my friends. When my mom found out, she chased me down the street with a broom and made me eat twice as many peas as normal at dinner, because I hate peas," he said softly.

"Well maybe that serves you right!" she snapped at him. Rountree was shocked and hurt.

"Um, what did I do?" he asked innocently.

"Nothing. You're right, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm really tired and I feel like you're trying to keep me from going to bed," she whispered, feeling ashamed at her outburst.

"Can I explain why?" he asked delicately. Fatima nodded.

"Remember what I told you about Sam?" he asked softly. Fatima nodded so he continued. "Well, Sam found out. He said he would destroy me, now I'm kinda scared to go home," he whispered. Fatima laughed.

"He won't actually hurt you, okay? He just wants you to be freaked out enough to realize your mistake and not do it again," she said gently.

"Oh, I won't do it again. But I'm still scared to go home, can I sleep here?" he whispered.

"Where exactly are you planning on sleeping? You can't exactly sleep in here," she replied. Rountree closed his eyes.

"I don't know, Fatima. Just please don't make me leave," he begged. Fatima closed her eyes.

"Let me change real quick. You can sleep with me. But be quiet, if my dad catches you you're gonna wish it's Sam mad at you," she whispered. He nodded. She slipped into the bedroom and changed into just her sweats and hoodie. She put on a basic hijab and moved a few personal items under her bed. She opened the door again. "Bathroom is that door, blankets are in the top drawer. Don't mess with anything else," she said, crawling into the bed. She pulled the blanket over her head and smiled sleepily. Rountree grabbed a baby blue fleece blanket and set it on the bed.

"I'm turning the light off, okay? Anything else you need?" he asked.

"No," Fatima mumbled. Rountree turned off the light and crawled into the bed. Soon, they were snuggled in each others' arms, arguments forgotten. All there was now was the two of them cuddled together.

"So beautiful," he murmured against her once she was asleep.