None of these characters are mine. I don't want that much responsibility anyway.
"So do you think this guy is really Callen's father?" Kensi asks of her partner. They are sitting in the bullpen, Deeks at his desk and Kensi at Sam's. It's a little unusual but easier to work like this for now.
Deeks maintains his concentration on his work but responds quietly. "I hope so."
"Really?" Kensi is torn on the subject. She just hopes the outcome of this case turns out to be whatever is in the best interest for her friend and coworker. "I mean, Callen has been looking for answers to his past for years. Wouldn't it be a slap in the face to know they've been right here in this city for all these years?"
He stops looking through his paperwork but doesn't look at his partner. "Closure."
"Closure?"
"Yes, closure."
"You know, you and Callen have a few things in common."
She's not going to stop talking about this, he thinks. Finally turning to face his partner, he questions her. "Like what?"
"You both had to grow up too fast," she responds seriously.
"A lot of people do. If I befriended everybody with a difficult childhood I'd be in the Guinness Book of World Records for most Facebook friends," Deeks tries to lighten the mood. Kensi isn't backing down though, staring at him grimly. He sighs. "Maybe neither of us really want to talk about it."
"Yeah, that's definitely a problem of yours."
"Really? Really. Hello pot, meet kettle." Deeks is starting to get aggravated. Work has completely been disregarded for now. "Because there are plenty of things WE," he gestures between the two of them, "just don't. talk. about." He breathes in deeply and tilts his head at his partner, daring her to respond.
Kensi breaks the eye contact and starts looking through her papers again. There are a lot of things he needs to talk about. There are a lot of things THEY need to talk about. "Well, I guess you two will talk about it when you're both ready."
Huffing in disgust, Deeks returns to his papers as well. Several minutes pass before he says quietly, "There's a big difference between me and Callen. I can close my eyes any time I want and see my mom's face on Christmas morning. Or I can picture my dad during the good times, when he wasn't drinking. Nobody can ever take that away from me, and I can see it whenever I want without seeing any of the bad things." He exhales a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. "All Callen has is a mosaic of different families he wasn't good enough for. He deserves to find something he can remember and smile about."
Kensi fights the urge to reach out to her partner and hug him. Instead she gently rubs the top of his hand that's closest to her. "You're right. Let's get back to work."