AN: Okay, so here's my take on the recently posted sneak peeks. Yeah, maybe different than most of you were expecting… but I really hope you like it! OhBuddy66 assured me it was alright to post, so… ;) Leave a review, if you can find the kindness in your heart :)

Blessings,

bookdiva

"So you really didn't forget Valentine's Day?"

The words were out of my mouth before I could fully think them through. Deeks looked over at me, clearly startled at my sudden outburst. We'd been spending the night as we usually did—on one or our couches with some form of bad take out (tonight it was Yummy Yummy Heart Attack), watching terrible, trashy reality TV—with me curled up into what I'd never admit was my favorite place on Earth. Deeks had been in the middle of a rant about the chewing out he'd gotten from Callen for LAPD's earlier interference when I spoke.

"What?" Deeks finally asked, looking adorably confused. I sighed.

"I mean…" I trailed off. Damn it, Kensi, I berated myself. Communicate. "You really… celebrate all holidays… days after the actual holiday?"

It wasn't elegant, but at least I got the question out. He cocked his head to the side, his eyes wide and innocent. For once, there wasn't even a hint of mischief in them.

"That's… what I told you," he said, still confused. "Did you think I… lied?"

"No!" I responded immediately, shaking my head emphatically and pulling away slightly to better look at him. "You'd never lie to me."

He looked away from me, and I held in a sigh. I knew he hated that part of the job, just like I knew that whatever was going on with Internal Affairs was bothering him more than he was willing to admit to me.

"Hey," I said, reaching out and guiding his face towards me. "I'm not talking about that. I'm not pushing, I'm just here when you're ready to talk." He nodded, and I gave him a smile. "What I was trying to communicate," I said, changing the subject and successfully eliciting a smile from Deeks, "was curiosity. Why do you celebrate holidays after the actual day?"

"Like I told you—"

"And don't give me that line about saving money, because we both know that's a load of bull," I interrupted him.

He laughed at that.

"Yeah," he admitted, shaking his head at me. "Yeah, it kinda is."

He stayed silent, and I just looked at him expectantly. He raised his eyebrows at me in question, and I finally broke the silence.

"Why do you do that?" I burst out, sounding more desperate than I meant to. Deeks chuckled at that. He looked away uncomfortably, and I realized that maybe I was pushing too far. "I'm… I'm sorry, Deeks. You don't have to tell me if you don't wa—"

"Growing up," he cut me off. He wasn't looking at me, and his words were literally tripping out of his mouth. "Growing up, we, uh… we didn't have much."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. He didn't talk about his past much—and he talked about his childhood even less—so this beginning was most definitely unexpected.

"Deeks?" I prompted when he'd grown silent.

He straightened up, but he still didn't look at me.

"Mom… she, uh, did the best that she… could," he pushed out. His words were anything but elegant, but he had my complete attention. I'd never heard him mention his mom before. "But, uh… my, uh… Gordon loved actual holidays. He drank and drank, and then he'd get roaring mad. Holidays and the day after were usually spent, uh, either hiding or, uh, recovering from his… anger," Deeks continued, and I simply nodded, not wanting to interrupt him with unnecessary words. "But two days after a holiday, Gordon was usually nursing a nasty hangover, which meant he would sleep for most—if not all—of the day, and mom and I would go out." He smiled. "Those were the real holidays for me."

"Deeks…" I trailed off, not really sure how to respond to all of that.

"All through undergrad, law school and even on the force, I guess it just… stuck," he continued, shrugging it off. "I could work for the guys who had families to celebrate with, and a few days later, I still got to celebrate on my own."

He smiled at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. I couldn't help but pull him close, still at a loss for how to respond.

"That's beautiful," I whispered. There were so many other things I wanted to say, but none of them seemed quite right. "You know…" I said, running my hands up his arms, skimming past his broad shoulders and into his hair, "Easter is coming up. Maybe," I suggested, bringing my lips to his ear, "we could volunteer to work the actual day, and then take a few… other days off. Just you and me."

I grinned when I felt him shiver beneath me. He pulled me closer, the take out and TV now long forgotten.

"Now that sounds like something to celebrate, Fern."