hey you guys! so meant to finish this chapter yesterday...but i fell asleep XD but i worked hard to finish it today! :] thank you guys so much for all your kind reviews and all your follows/favorites! you guys rock! I know you guys are all extremely anxious for Kensi to find out, and it's coming! i promise!

don't own *deep sigh* obviously if i did we wouldn't have to wait a whole friggin' week for a new episode...i've watched the sneak peeks so many times it's not even funny anymore XD

Chapter 4

Deeks figures that even if he wasn't an early riser due to being a surfer, the little pitter-patter of footsteps would've woken him up anyway.

Apparently his son was also an early riser. The thought made Deeks smile.

The detective listened to his little feet stepping through the hallway, and suddenly four more feet joined in too.

"C'mon, Monty!" Deeks heard Leo say, their footsteps getting closer.

The man smiled and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He felt Monty jump up on the bed and lay down at his feet, and then he felt a slight tugging on the bed covers as the little boy climbed his way up.

Leo crawled over to his dad, one hand petting Monty-the boy's new faithful sidekick-and the other clutching his stuffed lion. He stared at his dad for a moment before he crawled closer and laid next to his dad.

"Is you sweepin'?" Leo whispered.

Deeks fake snored loudly, causing the boy to burst out laughing. Deeks did it again, turning over onto his side and wrapping one arm around Leo.

"Daddy!" Leo laughed happily.

Deeks peeked an eye open at the boy. "Wake up!" Leo grinned.

The man immediately shut his eyes again, rolled over onto his back, and started fake snoring even louder than before. Leo looked at him curiously, thinking that his dad had really gone back to sleep. He wiggled closer to the snoring man and poked his cheek.

Suddenly, Deeks sat up and grabbed the boy, tickling his sides. Once again, Leo erupted into laughter, and his dad joined him. Pulling away with a huge grin on his face, Deeks looked at his son.

"Morning, Peanut." He said, ruffling the little one's hair.
"Mowning Daddy!" Leo smiled, hugging his lion.

"You sleep ok in your new room?" Deeks asked seriously, nervous about the boy's answer.

But Leo just smiled and nodded happily. "Oh yea! I had a dweam dat I was fwying and simmin' wif you, Daddy!" He explained excitedly.

Deeks chuckled and stretched his arms. "Well, I'm not sure about the flying part, but I can take you swimming if you'd like." He told the boy.

"Yea! Yea! Yea! Simmin' Daddy, simmin!" Leo said, standing up and jumping up and down on the bed excitedly.

Deeks chuckled again and rolled out of bed, crossing his arms. "Alright, little man. We'll go swimming. You hungry? Wanna eat before we go?" He inquired.

Leo thought for a moment and shook his head. "No. I no hungee yet. Sim first, den eats." He decided.

"You sure?" Deeks arched an eyebrow at his son.
Uh-huh." Leo nodded.

The detective stood there for a moment, not sure of what to do. He was torn between whether the boy really wasn't hungry, or was just eager to go back to the beach. Then, Deeks decided that he'd bring a few snacks for the boy, just in case.

"Well, ok then, Leo. Let's go get you some trunks on and head on down to the beach." The man smiled.

"YAY!" Leo yelled excitedly, running to his room. Deeks chuckled and followed him.

The two got their trunks on-Deeks deciding against his wet suit since he wouldn't be surfing with Leo-and walked into the living room Deeks opened the door and the bright, LA sunshine rushed inside; hot even though it was only about seven a.m. The man paused and looked at Leo.

"You probably need sun block, little man." He announced, closing the door and walking back inside.

"What's sun 'lock?" Leo asked, following his dad back through the house.

Deeks rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a bottle of spray-on sun block, smiling. He crouched down to Leo's eye level and pulled the little tank top he'd put on him off.

"Well," Deeks started to explain as he sprayed the sun block on, "it keeps the sun from giving you a sun burn-which is where your skin is really hot and red and it hurts pretty bad."

Leo looked thoughtful for a moment. "You gets sunburn too Daddy?" He asked.

Deeks nodded. "Sometimes. Daddy's friends like to make fun of him because he has an ivory complexion and burn a lot easier than they do." He chuckled.

"Take you shirt off, I spay the sun 'lock on you, Daddy." Leo said.
Deeks smiled a bit. "Nah, it's ok, buddy. I'll be alright."

"No Daddy! You'll get the sun burn!" Leo gasped.

Deeks chuckled and gave in, taking his shirt off. Leo furrowed his eyes in concentration as he used both hands to spray the sun block on his dad. It was harder for the little boy to hold the button down, so it mostly just came out in small spots; but it was the thought that touched Deeks more than anything.

"Otay, now you no get the sun burn!" Leo grinned happily, causing his dad to smile back as he put his shirt back on.

"Alright, now we can go swimming." Deeks told the boy.

Walking to the door, it occurred to Deeks that Leo was still a little kid, and could not swim. He turned on his heel and walked into Leo's room to grab the floaties he'd bought yesterday. Deeks paused and thought for a moment.

"Probably should bring him a towel, might get cold." He said, more to himself than anything, as he walked into the bathroom to grab a towel for the boy.

Deeks usually just got up, put on a wetsuit or swimming trunks, and went off. But now, he thought of several different things that his little boy might need.

Thirty minutes after the two had decided to go swimming, Deeks had finally packed a bag with the necessities for Leo.

"Ok, this time I promise we're ready." Deeks laughed as he saw his son sitting bored by the door.

Leo perked up immediately, a smile on his face as he got excited again. Deeks chuckled and looked around for Monty, figuring the dog would want to join them at the beach.

"Monty!" Deeks called.

Strangely, the dog didn't come.

"Monteeee!" Leo called, and suddenly the dog came running towards the boy.

Deeks just stared at the two, not able to fight the smile on his face. "Oh, yea, no, that's fine. Traitor." Deeks grinned.

Monty barked happily as Leo petted him.

After their little trip, Leo and Monty ran into his room to play, and Deeks went into the kitchen to make breakfast. True to his word, Leo hadn't been hungry until they'd spent a few hours and a lot of energy at the beach. Deeks smiled at the thought of how much of a natural Leo is in the water. Deeks was amazed at just how good of a swimmer the little boy was. He, Leo, and Monty had had more fun at the beach than Deeks can ever remember having there himself.

The proud father already had about a hundred pictures of Leo on his phone. Him building a sand castle, standing near the edge of the water, playing with Monty, everything.

Deeks knew that there was only one thing that could've possibly made their little morning outing any better; if Kensi had been there, too.

Standing at the stove, bacon frying and pancakes waiting to be flipped, Deeks sighed deeply.

Kensi.

She was going to hate him when she finds out he didn't tell her he has a son.

He'd had long enough to tell her; it wasn't like Leo just appeared when Rachel brought him to Deeks. Leo was a few months away from turning four years old; truthfully, Deeks could've told her several times by now.

But he didn't; he was pretty sure he knew how she'd react. Deeks figured that the second she found out he was a father, she would compare him to her father; the man she held at the highest esteem and best father ever to exist.

What was Deeks next to that?

The detective didn't know how to explain to the person who's opinion mattered most to him-next to Leo of course-that Deeks merely sent money every month and was lucky to see the boy more than three times in a year.

Not that that was by choice, though. If Deeks had had it his way, he would've been in Leo's life every single day.

Not only was he afraid of Kensi's opinion, it was also one of those things that living the life that they did and having all their demons in their head made you keep close to your chest and not share easily; for Sam it was his relationship with Michelle; for Callen it was everything that he was, most likely the most closed off of all the OSP agents; for Kensi it was Jack and her father.

For Deeks it was Leo.

Flipping over his pancakes, Deeks argued with himself that Kensi had shared about Jack; but then the other side of him argued also that she didn't give that information willingly to him-it had been because of a case. And with her father, she had become a bit more open with talking about him.

Kensi deserved to know that her partner had a son. And Deeks wanted her to know.

As long as she didn't hate him for it.

Sighing, Deeks turned the stove off and placed the food onto plates. He down the hallway into Leo's room, where he and Monty were playing with a ball. Deeks smiled slightly and leaned against the doorframe.

"Hey bud, breakfast is ready." The man announced.

Leo looked up and smiled. "Otay! C'mon Monty!" The boy said, running out of the room with the dog hot on his heels.

Deeks followed the two into the kitchen and saw the refrigerator door open and Leo standing on his tip toes reaching for the big jug of apple juice.

"Here, bud, let me." Deeks said.
"No!" Leo yelled, weakly pushing the man back.

Deeks arched an eyebrow and put his hand on the boy's back, worried he would fall. "Just tryna help, I've got it, little man." He told his son, grabbing the jug.

"No!" Leo squealed, grabbing the jug from his dad. But the jug was heavier than the boy expected and he fell flat on his butt. "I do it!" Leo said firmly.

"Hey, you're gonna make a mess." Deeks told the boy, putting him back on his feet.
"No I not! I do it!" The boy insisted, twisting the cap off.

"Leo, stop it." Deeks said firmly.

The boy looked at the man with the open jug in his hand and sighed. But as he went to hand it to Deeks he tripped and the juice spilt everywhere; especially on Deeks.

"Whoa! Ok, that's cold, very cold. Why is this juice so cold?" Deeks yelped, peeling his now soaking wet shirt off of him.

Leo looked up at is father in horror, and tears pooled in the boys eyes. "I sowwy! I not mean to! I sowwy!" The boy cried.

Monty ran over, barking loudly; he didn't like when his new little human was upset apparently. Leo started crying and Deeks shook his head, crouching down again.

"Hey, hey, it's ok! It's just juice!" Deeks said calmly.

"Bu-but I s-spilled it evwy-where!" Leo cried, obviously expecting some sort of punishment for his accident.

Deeks tried to calm the boy down, but it was hard with Monty barking and jumping everywhere, absolutely throwing a fit. Deeks looked back and forth between the two, and suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Hey, Leo, it's ok. Calm down, buddy." Deeks tried to tell the boy, but it was like Leo didn't hear him.

The doorbell rang again and Deeks looked absolutely frazzled. "I'm gonna go see who's at the door, you dry those tears, alright?" Deeks told him.

The man blew out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding and ran a hand through his hair. Once again the doorbell rang.

"Yea, I'm comin!" Deeks yelled.

He expected it to be Mr. Jason; often times the older man would ask if Deeks would join him for breakfast at the small diner around the corner. If the detective wasn't doing anything he would usually take the man up on his offer.

Deeks was not expecting it to be Kensi.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning and Kensi couldn't sleep anyway, so she decided to go for a run. She wasn't sure where she was going or how long she was going to run, Kensi just started running.

She was still slightly upset that Deeks hadn't answered his phone, and even more so that she spent her Friday night alone. Used to, Kensi could spend entire weekends without taking a single step out of her house or seeing a single familiar face and it wouldn't bother her a bit. She could just hole up with her sugary snacks and be perfectly content.

But not anymore.

Kensi was starting to want more. Started wanting what had always scared her.

A relationship.
A family.

She didn't want to be alone anymore. Kensi had come to realize last night. The silence she had once found comforting and peaceful had become deafening and lonely.

Kensi looked up and realized she'd arrived at Deeks' apartment. Without a second thought she jogged up to his door and rang the bell, figuring that he could join her.

But not that he needed it, with all his muscles. Kensi thought.

Not that she checked him out or anything. Because that definitely didn't happen. Like ever.

She silently wondered if that sounded half as pitiful as she thought it was.

Growing impatient, Kensi rang the doorbell again and again. Finally, the door ripped open and it was not was Kensi was expecting.

Deeks. That she expected. A shirtless and disheveled Deeks she was not. His hair looked like someone's hands had been running through them and the sweatpants he was wearing were slipping a bit lower than they should.

Kensi bit her lip and took a deep breath. She knew what was going on. "Oh." She sighed.

Deeks looked worried, like he was expecting her to show up. "You're not alone, are you?" Kensi asked, hoping it came out as calm and steady as she intended; praying her voice didn't crack or betray the various emotions she was feeling.

"Well...no, but Kens I can explain. This...this isn't what it looks like." Deeks rambled out.

She shook her head. "No, it's ok. I get it. This is why you didn't answer my call last night. It's fine. Don't stress it."

Deeks looked confused. "Call? You called me last night?" He asked.
Kensi let out a humorless laugh. "Yea, good thing I didn't need anything."

"Kens, please, just give me five minutes. Last night was absolutely crazy and-" Deeks started, but she didn't let him finish.

"Oh, ok. No, I don't need you to finish that thought. It's fine Deeks. We're just partners; you're completely allowed to spend your time with whomever you want." Kensi forced a smile. She prayed he couldn't tell.

Deeks looked like he'd been hit. "Just partners?" He repeated coldly.
"Yup." Kensi said firmly.

Suddenly, a noise from behind Deeks drew their attention, and the man looked worried; it sound like something fell. Or someone.

"You should probably go check on her. Sounds like she's a clumsy one." Kensi snapped, turning on her heel.

"Wait a sec, Kens! It's not what you think! Just let me explain! KENS!" Deeks called after her.

Kensi shook her head and put her headphones back in her ears. "Damn it!" She could hear Deeks yell as he slammed his door.

Kensi kept running; away from the man she wanted to spend her time with; away from the feelings she was too scared to accept.

She'd just have to deal with the silence.

Deeks slammed the door, frustrated beyond hell. He ran into the kitchen to see that Leo had slipped in the puddle of juice and fell on his stomach. He immediately dropped to his knees and pulled the crying boy into his arms.

"Hey, you alright? Daddy's got you. It's ok, just breath." Deeks whispered, rocking back and forth.

Leo sniffled and looked up at his dad. "Did Kens leab? I heard you say her name." He asked.

Deeks smiled slightly at the use of one of his many nicknames for his partner. "Yea, yea she did."

"Was it 'cuz of me?" Leo sniffled again.
"No, buddy. She left because Daddy's an idiot and a scaredy-cat." Deeks sighed.

boom! There we go guys, whatcha think? hopefully good! I know, you probably thought ooh, she's gonna met Leo! But despicable me, nope XD mwahaha. we'll get there! leave a review and i might be inclined to make it happen sooner ;] Shout-out to N7sdr93 for editing and plot bunnies! he's pretty cool like that. (even though whilst over shoulder editing i had to explain what SO meant and change it to the actual words XD) more soon lovelies!

chao!

xox