A/N: Thank you for all the reviews- they really make my day, even if I don't find the time to reply.

Chapter Seven

Kensi opened the oven, using the oversized mitts and cursed, "Why can't anything go right?"

"Because you used up all your luck getting me for a partner," Deeks answered, walking over to her. "Oh wow," He crinkled his nose. "That's even worse than the chicken."

"Really Deeks?" She said sarcastically, waving the baking dish of perfectly formed charcoal cubes that had formerly been vegetables. "I couldn't tell."

"Hey," Deeks put his hands up, "Calm down Kens. It's all gonna be ok."

"They're going to laugh at us," She hissed, anger making her voice go low.

He shrugged, trying to be positive. "They always laugh at us."

"At you, not me," She corrected with a small huff and put the dish on the coutner. "Oh god, what are we going to do?"

"We," He emphasised the word, "Are going to remember that this isn't the end of the world and that just last week we stopped this entire city from becoming the next Hiroshima. One failed dinner isn't going to change that."

"Except for the fact that it looks like we used plutonium to cook."

"Pretty sure if we did that, then a – we'd be dead from radiation and b- that chicken would be a little more deformed."

Kensi leant over and poked the blackened chicken resting on the counter. Flakes of charcoaled skin broke off at her touch. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Clucky there would have two heads at least."

She chuckled, knowing he was trying to make her smile. "Thanks."

"Anytime fern," He shrugged again and threaded his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans. "So what do we do now?"

"I-"

"Are we going to eat anytime soon?" Eric yelled, cutting her off.

Kensi opened the door and stuck her head into the dining room. "Shouldn't we wiat for Callen to get here?"

"No," Sam replied evenly, swirling around the dark red wine in his glass. "He's doing paperwork; he'll be lucky if he finishes before Christmas."

"It's January," Eric looked at Sam, confused. "How much paperwork does he have?"

"A lot," Sam answered simply, remembering the piles of paper he'd left his partner with.

Nell sipped at her nearly empty glass of wine, "Considering he hasn't filed a completed report in months, a lot is an understatement."

"Okay, well then we'll serve without him," Deeks decided and pulled Kensi by the wrist into the kitchen.

"Thank god," Eric groaned. "Even Nell was looking tasty I was so hungry." Nell looked at Eric strangely then shifted her chair away from him. "Nell!" He exclaimed. "It was a metaphor."

"Still creepy," Sam told him, shaking his head despairingly.

"I'm not a cannibal," The tech huffed, frowning and folding his arms as he leant back in his chair, rocking on its two legs.

Nell giggled at him. "You're gonna-"

He lost his balance and landed on the floor with the chair on top of him. "Ow."

"Fall," She finished, laughing for real now. "Oh Eric."

"Well done," Sam said with a slight chuckle.

"Shut up," He got up slowly, his cheeks a flaming red colour. "Shut up. And don't look at me like that."

"Why are we looking at you?" Kensi glanced at him as she opened the door for Deeks as he carried the baking dish to the dinner table.

Nell sat up straight and craned to look inside, "That looks… lovely." Her green eyes watered at the amount of vinegar they'd poured on top of the blackened vegetables. There was so much vinegar that the vegetables almost floated on top.

"yeah," Deeks nodded almost proudly. "It's the French tradition- la noyade de la mort de legumes."

"Well now I know why French women are thin," Eric looked dubiously at the dish.

"The drowning death of vegetables?" Nell translated, frowning at Deeks. "Really?"

"No, he just made that up," Sam explained, again shaking his head despairingly. "Come on, let's try it."

Kensi smiled at him, slightly surprised that he suggested it. "Thanks Sam."

The burly man shrugged as he used the serving spoons she'd laid out. "Food is food. And I've had army rations before. Can't be worse than that."

"How are army rations worse than marine rations?" Deeks quiered, taking the spoon after Sam had finished.

"They're army," Kensi and Sam answered in union.

"Wow," Eric glanced between them. "That was totally a borg moment."

"A what moment?" Sam asked, not understanding.

Eric looked to Nell, aghast. "How can he not know who the borg are?"

She shrugged, "He didn't know who Sauron was either."

"We, my friend, need to work on your pop culture exposure," Eric clapped Sam on the shoulder.

Sam removed his hand and gave it back to him. "I've been exposed enough, thanks."

Deeks waited until everyone had been served, "Okay so on three we eat. Everyone should try this together, make it an experience. One, two, three." On three five faces immediately contorted into various expressions of disgust. "Oh my god," Deeks spat out his mouthful. "So much vinegar."

"I told you that was a bad idea," Kensi hissed at him.

"I thought it would have disguised the charcoal taste," He replied, upset that his idea didn't work.

"You do realise, we would have been able to see that the food is black, right?" Nell asked as she put down her knife and fork, signalling that she wasn't going to eat anymore. "And black means burnt."

"Not necessarily," Deeks argued. "All of those genetically modified stuff are all different colours. Carrots are purple now for crying out loud."

"What idiot scientist would make black vegetables?" Eric asked. "They wouldn't sell at all."

"Well, forgive me for having an imagination," Deeks retorted harshly. He'd never been able to take criticism from friends well, especially when he was stressed. "At least I tried to do something."

Eric frowned, hearing the accusing tone imply something. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We tried to cook but you haven't even tried."

Sam chuckled, "Oh he's tried."

"He definitely tried," Kensi agreed, nodding with a small smile on her face.

"I put gave Nate food poisoning and he almost ended up in hospital," Eric said with too much pride.

"That was you?" Nell asked, wide eyed. "And why are you so happy about it?"

"It got Nate out of a conference he didn't want to go to," He shrugged. "Nate was happy about it too. After a day or so."

"I work with crazy people," Deeks shook his head.

Kensi looked at her partner, "We're crazy?" She gestured to her and the others. "Then what does that make you?"

"Practically perfect in every way," He retorted as the front door opened and slammed shut.

"So," Callen drawled, tossing his jacket on a spare chair as he walked in. "Has the CDC been called yet?"