hey guys! I'm so so sorry i haven't updated. last week was crazy; i had prom last night (so fantastic btw 3) and i had dress fittings and nail appointments and a bunch of girly crap i'm not really into that kept me from getting this posted. i'm gonna try to do better this week, i promise!

thank you guys so much for the reviews/follows/favs! i'm completely astounded. I passed 400 reviews last week for only 14 chapters; you guys that's AMAZING. thank you for your continued support of my story and all the positive feedback!

i know you guys are anxious for Deeks to come back! I am too! :] can everyone handle a couple more chapters of Deeks being gone? I sure hope so! i don't own NCIS:LA btw.

some may think this is a bit OOC, but just remember; no matter how sweet a kid is, they've all go a little rebellion in them, and they're not good all the time!

Chapter 15

Kensi woke up smiling; she had slept so peacefully, and the first thing she saw when she woke up was that picture. It was quiet in the apartment, and sunshine was pouring through the windows.

But the peace didn't last long.

Kensi got up and took a shower, using the supplies from her go bag; she refused to use Deeks' stuff in case Sam and Callen noticed that she smelled like him. After her shower, and putting her hair up into a ponytail, Kensi went to wake Leo up.

Which started the small war.

"Leo, honey it's time to get up." Kensi said, gently shaking the boy.

Leo opened his eyes and stared at her for a minute, his eyebrows furrowing and a frown forming on his face when he saw that she wasn't Deeks.

"No." He grumbled, closing his eyes again.
"C'mon, Leo, I need you to get up." She tried again.
"NO!" The boy exclaimed.

"Leo, I'm not kidding." Kensi said.
"You not the boss!" Leo snapped.

Kensi paused; he'd been so easy to deal with yesterday, doing everything she'd told him to without arguing. She wasn't fully prepared for a defiant Leo.

"Um... well it's time. I have to work, and you've gotta come back to the mission with me, ok?" Kensi told him.

"Daddy home?" Leo asked, peeking open one eye.
She frowned. "No, sweetie. Remember, Daddy's gonna be gone for a while."

"I want him home!" Leo exclaimed, turning away from Kensi and pulling the blanket over his head.

"I know you do, and so do I... but, um..." Kensi swallowed, losing her confidence.

"No! I want my daddy! You not my daddy!" Leo yelled, throwing the covers off of him and running out of the room.

Kensi blinked in shock at the normally very calm boy's outburst. The words stung a little; sure, she knew she wasn't Deeks –or as important as Deeks- but Kensi couldn't help but feel hurt. She was trying her best, and she couldn't deny that she wanted Leo to be comfortable with her, and like having her around.

Leo was yelling and running all over the place, and Monty had joined his cause –barking loudly and running back and forth between the kitchen and living room. Kensi jumped up and ran into the living room, where Leo was standing.

In his attempt to make the turn and head back into the living room from the kitchen, Monty slipped and knocked over his food and water bowls, making a huge mess all over the floor.

"Bad Monteee!" Leo yelled, his little face all red.

"Leo, calm down, it's just a bit of a mess I'll clean it up.' Kensi told the boy, gently grabbing him.

"Noo!" Leo exclaimed, trying to wiggle out of her grasp.

"Hey, hey, sweetie, it's alright. Just calm down." She tried again, attempting to calm the boy down even a little.

She was starting to panic; Kensi had never dealt with a tantrum like this before. As much as Kensi tried, Leo just wouldn't calm down. Something had him very upset, and Kensi had no idea what it was.

Leo used his weight and fell backwards, knocking Kensi off balance; she fell on her knees and the boy ran away, yelling for his daddy.

Kensi was so overwhelmed. She had no idea how to handle him. Or any kid for that matter. This is why she didn't want kids; Kensi had no idea how to be a mom, and this was a prime example, the woman thought.

Leo ran into the kitchen and Kensi slowly followed him. He and Monty were sitting in the middle of the floor, the boy crying now and the dog barking loudly.

"Monty, hush. Leo, honey, I need you to calm down, ok?" She told them, her voice cracking a bit.

This only made the two get louder. Kensi sighed and leaned against the refrigerator. Out of the corner of her eye Kensi saw a little note on the side of the refrigerator with her partner's unmistakable handwriting.

If you get overwhelmed, just breathe. It'll be alright. If you need anything, just call someone, ok Fern? –D

Kensi ran her finger over the note, thinking about Deeks and what he would do in this situation.

He'd know what to do, because he's actually a good parent, she thought with a sigh.

It went again Kensi Blye's nature to ask for help, but as she thought about it, she remembered that Leo was counting on her, and so was Deeks.

Before she could change her mind, Kensi dug her phone from her pocket and dialed a phone number.

"Kensi? Everything ok?" Sam answered, his voice full of concern. He wasn't used to getting phone calls from Kensi, so it immediately put him on guard.

"Uh, yea... well, no not really, but no one's hurt or in danger. It's... it's Leo, he's crying and yelling and he's... he's running everywhere. Sam he's not usually like this! Why can't I make him calm down?" Kensi asked, rambling much like her partner did and her voice sounding a bit desperate.

"Kensi, it's ok. Sounds like he's just throwing a tantrum. It's completely normal, he's just a kid." Sam replied calmly.

"But he's usually so good!" Kensi objected. "It's me, it's my fault."

"No, girl, no. It's not your fault, I promise! You're doing just fine; Leo is probably upset that Deeks wasn't home when he woke up." Sam explained.

"So what do I do until Deeks does get home, Sam?" Kensi sighed.

"You gotta be firm, and tell him you're in charge until Deeks comes home. I'm sure he's probably confused as to why his dad is gone, not to mention his mom left and he hasn't seen or heard from her since." The man told her.

"I didn't even think about that..." She admitted, looking over at a slightly calmer Leo.

Sam chuckled. "Well when you're a parent, you start to think about thinks more on their level. They don't understand everything like we do, but they do understand a lot more than we give them credit for."

"I gotta say, this parenting thing is kinda terrifying..." Kensi paused.

"I sense a but in there somewhere." Sam teased.

"But...I can also see where it's pretty rewarding." Kensi finished softly.

She couldn't help but think of all the laughs she'd had with Leo, and how she felt when Leo told her she was a part of his family. Kensi had never thought she could change her mind about kids. But being around Leo –and especially when Deeks was around too- it had actually changed her mind.

If only she could handle the tantrums and know how to handle kids when they weren't being sweet and easy to deal with.

"Wow... The Kensi Blye is no longer a kid hater." Sam chuckled.
"Don't worry, I'm still plenty weary of kids." Kensi laughed lightly.
"Oh that never goes away." The man replied.

"But don't stress, it's gonna be ok. Just sit him down and talk to him. Don't back down, make sure he knows you're in charge, but you guys can still have fun. You call me if you need anything, alright?" Sam said seriously.

"Ok... Thank you, Sam." Kensi replied.
"Anytime. See you at the mission later, Kens." He said.

Hanging up, Kensi steeled her nerves. She told herself if she could deal with threats to national security almost on a daily basis, she could deal with a three year old.

Kensi walked back over and picked up Leo, who was still crying. She set him on the kitchen counter, took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"Leonardo, stop it. Dry those tears alright/ We don't need to be this upset." Kensi told him, her tone soft yet firm.

The boy paused, sniffling slightly. There was always something about hearing your full name that just let you know it just got serious.

"I know you want Daddy here, so do I. But he can't be right now. He'll be back in several days, and once you start having fun with the rest of us, it'll go by in no time at all." She said.

Leo just looked at her, nodding a little and listening.

"But until Daddy is back, you have to listen to me because I'm in charge. Now, I need you to be good so we can get some good clothes on you, teeth brushed, and hair combed. We are going to be late if we don't hustle. If you don't work with me, and be a good boy, there will be consequences." Kensi said, firm at the end.

Leo thought for a moment, and Kensi didn't back down. "Otay..." Leo consented, nodding slightly.

Kensi smiled. "Great. I don't want to be mean, Leo, but you have to listen, ok?"

"I be good." Leo said softly, wrapping his arms around her neck.

Kensi hugged him back, and when she went to pull away Leo tugged her closer.

"I had a dweam my daddy was back, and I woked up and he no here." Leo told her sadly.

It made sense to Kensi now, he'd had his hopes up after that dream and they were quickly shattered. She could understand how disappointing it must've been for the little boy.

"I'm sorry... but he'll be back before you know it." Kensi said quietly.
"I sowwy I was bad." Leo told her.
"I forgive you. Let's try to be good from now on, ok?" She replied, pulling away. "Ok, let's go get ready. You gotta look good for Nell, right?" Kensi teased.

Leo gasped. "My Nelly! I gots to wook pwetty!" he said dramatically, jumping off the counter.

Kensi laughed as the two went to get the little boy ready for the day.
And to see 'his Nelly'.

After their little talk, together they got Leo ready very quickly; Kensi was eager to go to work and not be late, and Leo was eager to make up for being bad and see Nell. They had just enough time for them to have a bowl of Leo's self-described "supah awesome weally yummy cewal"

Traffic had decided to work with Kensi that morning, something she was very grateful for. She turned on her techno station; without Deeks there to tease her or try to change it, maybe she could actually enjoy it in peace for once.

"Dis moo-sic weird." Leo announced.

Kensi had to fight from laughing, but she couldn't stop the huge grin. She shook her head in disbelief as she changed the station. "Like father like son." She mumbled.

She managed to find a station that she liked (even though it wasn't techno) and Leo didn't mind; Kensi even heard him humming to himself. When she pulled into the mission, Leo clapped his hands excitedly and quickly scrambled out of his car seat as Kensi opened the door.

Leo walked in smiling and holding Kensi's hand with his backpack of toys and snacks in the other. Callen and Sam were chatting at their desks, and smiled when they saw the two walk in.

"Morning." The senior agent in charge greeted.

"Mowning!" Leo smiled. "Where Nelly?" He asked.
The adults chuckled. "Everything good?" Sam asked Kensi.

The woman smiled and nodded, leaning against her desk. "We're good. Thank you." She replied honestly.

"I'm glad." Sam smiled back.

Suddenly Nell came rushing into the bullpen, looking nervous. "Nelly!" Leo exclaimed, running to her and wrapping his arms around her legs.

Nell smiled softly at the boy. "Hi sweetie."
"Hi." Leo giggled.

"Ok, Leo, Nell has important things to do and she can't do them if you're wrapped around here!" Kensi chuckled.

Leo pouted before stepping back, but still staying close to the red head.

"What's up, Nell?" Callen inquired.

Nell shifted on her feet and glanced at Kensi. "I um... I think I found what you wanted... or well, I don't think you actually wanted this but... just come up to OPS, Kens." The analyst rambled before turning on her heel and walking back upstairs; leaving a pouting Leo behind.

"Something we should know?" Sam inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

Kensi paused. "I uh... I asked Nell to look up some stuff about a certain someone's case." She explained, glancing at Leo.

"Why?" Callen asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"I was just curious. It seemed odd." Kensi shrugged.

The senior partners glanced at each other. "I'm telling you, she's stuck." Callen smirked.

Kensi rolled her eyes and turned away, hoping she wasn't blushing. She didn't want the guys to think she had feelings for Deeks.

Even though it was true.

"Just watch Leo!" Kensi called over her shoulder, quickly heading up to OPS.

The men laughed and watched as Leo walked over and crawled up into Deeks' chair, placing his backpack on the desk.

"That's a cool backpack." Sam told him kindly.
"Oh tanks!" Leo grinned.

"So do you like living here, hanging at OPS with us and Kens?" Sam inquired, easily striking up a conversation with the boy.

"Oh yea!" The boy giggled, spinning around in the chair.

Callen watched Sam interact with the little Deeks; it was kind of weird, Leo sitting in his father's chair grinning just like hid dad. It was almost as if someone had just shrunk Deeks into a little three year old's body.

Except Leo wasn't a pain in the ass like Deeks, Callen thought with a smirk.

Kensi had walked into OPS with a smile on her face from the guys' teasing, but when she saw the frowns on Nell and Eric's faces, it disappeared.

"What? What is it?" She asked, rushing over to the center console.

"Well, the LAPD didn't appreciate us snooping around in their case that technically has nothing to do with us..." Eric started off.

"But we didn't care." Nell smirked slightly.
"So what'd you find?" Kensi demanded.

"It looks like Deeks is infiltrating a ring within a cartel that's gotten their hands on some stolen weapons. This ring is more of a gang with cartel protection if you will; they fight or do errands for the cartel when needed but other than that the gang's their own." Nell explained.

"These weapons belong to the gang and they're looking to make a big profit from selling it along with some drugs" Eric continued.

"Now it looks like Deeks has dealt with this gang prior to this case and his alias is still intact." The analyst said, shifting on her feet.

"Ok, which is? What's his alias?" Kensi asked, taking in the case information.

Nell glanced at Eric and they grimaced a bit before Eric tapped a few things on his tablet and brought up a small file; small as in only a driver's license with Deeks' face.

"Detective Deeks is undercover as Max Gentry." Nell said, her voice tight and serious.

Kensi closed her eyes and sighed deeply. Deeks' odd attitude about this case –how much Kensi could tell he hated it- was because of Max. It was her partner's most hated alias, being much too close to his own father.

The woman furrowed her eyebrows at the screen. "That's just a license, where's the rest of the file?" Kensi asked.

"That was the rest of the file." Nell told her.
"Wait, wha-"

"Until Nell and I gave him some backstopping." Eric smirked, high fiving his red headed partner.

Kensi breathed a sigh of relief, before it turned to anger. "Why didn't the LAPD backstop him? What if this... this gang involved looked into him and found nothing? That could've completely blown his cover and endangered his life!" She exclaimed.

The two techies blinked at her sudden outburst. "Which... it why we backstopped him." Nell replied with an awkward smile.

Kensi ran a hand through her hair. "Uh... yea, thank you guys. For looking into this for me and for watching out for him." She said sincerely.

"You're welcome." The techies smiled.

"Superman."
"Bah-man."
"Superman."
"Bah-man."

Callen watched, amused, as Sam and Leo argued back and forth. Somehow or another they'd started talking about superheroes, and Sam had announced that he thought Superman was really cool. Leo immediately told him that Batman was better.

Which sparked a debate between a grown Navy Seal and a three year old.

"Superman is the best." Sam told the boy.
"Nuh-uh, Bah-man is the cooolest." Leo replied, shaking his head.

"Oh yea? Superman is from a different planet, has super strength, is practically indestructible, and can fly." The man said, very serious about the conversation.

Callen shook his head at how into the argument Sam was.

Leo slapped his palm to his forehead, causing the senior agents to have to stifle their laughter.

"Supah-man is weak by a wock! A wock!" The boy exclaimed. "And he wears his -his undies on dah outside of his pants!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "It's just a costume. He's still a better hero."
"Bah-man is better-er." Leo glared at the man.

"What's so cool about Batman?" Sam demanded.

"He dribes dah Bah-mobile!" Leo said slowly, as if talking to a dumb person.

Callen and Sam smirked at each other. "That sounds like a Deeks answer." The senior agent in charge chuckled.

"And he gots a cool costume and he beats up the bad guys wiffout powers." Leo added. "Batman is not cooler than Superman." Sam replied firmly.

"What about Robin? I think he's kinda cool." Callen commented.

He was ignored.

"Leo, Batman has no powers, he shouldn't even be classified as a superhero!" Sam exclaimed.

"But he -he no need dem powers. He do good and beat the bad guys wiffout dem; just wike my daddy." Leo said softly.

Sam and Callen raised their eyebrows at the boy, surprised at the sweetness of his response. Small smiles grew on their faces and Sam gently ruffled Leo's hair.

"Yea, little guy, like your daddy." He replied, ending the debate.

They sat in silence for a moment, before Leo spoke up again.

"Kens say-ed dat you tea is a family." He said.
"That's right." Sam nodded, looking over at Callen and giving him a firm look.
"Yea... yea, we are." The lone wolf admitted.

"Is my daddy part of you family too?" The boy asked, swiveling in the chair.

"Of course he is." Sam smiled. The man probably never admit it to Deeks himself, but Sam knew that Deeks was an equal part of their little family. Callen shot a knowing smirk at his partner, who rolled his eyes.

"Does dat mean I can be in you family too?"" Leo asked, his voice small and shy.

The men absolutely melted; they couldn't help it. They knew something was up with the mom, up and leaving her son, but they didn't know all the details; they'd never heard of any other family besides Deeks and Leo's mom, so they assumed all Leo had was his parents.

And now here he was asking to be part of their family.

"You absolutely can." Callen told the boy.

Leo's face immediately lit up and a big grin spread across his lips. "Oh yay! Thank you!" The little boy exclaimed, clapping.

"We can be like your uncles or something." Sam smiled.

"I don't gots a uncle." Leo told him, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's dat?" He inquired.

"Well, uncles are brothers of your mom or dad. They look out for you and they get to be the cool guys you have lots of fun with; they're not usually strict like your dad has to be sometimes." Sam explained.

"Ohh..." Leo nodded. "So you -you guys is my uncles now?" He asked.

"If you want." Callen smiled.
"Oh yea!" Leo nodded happily.
"Well alright then." Sam chuckled.

Leo jumped up and gave Sam a big hug, then ran to Callen and gave him a hug also. "Is Ewic my uncle too?" He asked, standing now in the middle of the bullpen.

"I'm sure he'd really like to be." Callen replied.

"Coool! I gots to go tell my Kens and Nelly I gots uncles!" Leo grinning running up to OPS.

The agents chuckled but stopped, surprised, when a smiling Kensi moved from behind the wall.

"So, Uncle Sam and Uncle Callen, huh?" She smiled.

The men awkwardly looked around before they both got up to move to get coffee. "Yea, yea." Callen said.

"SO that would imply that Deeks is..." Kensi trailed off, grinning.

Sam rubbed a hand across his head and sighed. "I appreciate him a lot more when he's not here."

"So you mean you guys' are-" Kensi teased.
"Don't say it." Sam told her.
"That really you..." She went on.
"Kensi." Callen shot her a look as he poured his coffee.

"That you two think of Deeks as your brother!" Kensi exclaimed.

"Yea, whatever. We don't have to announce that to everyone." Sam told her, grabbing his coffee cup and walking off, Callen close behind.

"You like Deeks! Oh my gosh I never thought it would happen! So that's why you guys are so hard on him, isn't it? You want to make sure he doesn't know you like him, but really you do!" Kensi grinned, following them back into the bullpen.

"You're way to excited about this." Sam replied.
"You have a lot of experience with that, Kens?" Callen smirked.
"What? No!" Kensi snapped defensively.

"Oh, just wait until he gets back and I tell him you guys actually like him." Kensi laughed.

"Yea, and we'll tell him you pouted the whole time he was gone and were completely miserable without him." Callen arched an eyebrow at her.

Kensi's laughter faded instantly and a look of horror came onto her face. "Uh, we don't have to tell him that! No, no, I'll never hear the end of that; it'll boost his ego to incalculable heights! Please no." She begged.

Sam and Callen grinned at each other and got up, heading to the gym. Kensi looked after them, still slightly panicking.

"WE don't have to tell him about this right? Callen? Sam? Hey guys? Wait up!" She called after them, jogging to catch up.

hope you guys liked it! do me a favor a post a nice review? :] i'd love you for it!

side note: did you like the little superhero debate? I kid you not at school one time, this debate went on for TWO WEEKS. we had the entire high school in on it, and it completely divided everyone XD

another side note: i actually wrote something on my profile page! I've had this account for like a year and i just now put something on my profile XD LOL! including my twitter name, if any of you have one and would like to follow me. I tend to tweet about fanfiction among other things!

love you all! i shall see you soon!

xox