Hey guys =) I know it has been some time since I've updated, but I blame my final exams for that. BUT they are over now and I have enough time to write again, before I move to the US :) Totally excited!

Anyway I hop you like it.

It was Friday night and as every Friday the team had come over for some family dinner.

"Grandma can you tell me a bedtime story this time?" Sophia asked sleepily from her place on Nell's lap.

"Of course my dear."

Sophia climbed off of Nell's lap and ran to Deeks hugging him.

"Good night daddy. Love you." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Good night princess. Love you too."

He smiled at her and put a kiss on her forehead. Sophia ran to each family member and said them good night. The team heard Sophia ask Hetty if she could tell her the story in which Deeks and Kensi went undercover as a married couple.

That was of course before they 'married' in real life. Deeks still felt guilty sometimes that they pretended that he and Kensi actually got married. But he always believed that Kensi would want them to act in Sophia's best interests.

And that was what they did. By faking thir marriage Hetty made sure that he and Sophia have enough support from NCIS.

Deeks got up and started to gather dirty plates. Refusing help form anyone, saying they can just relax in the living room, he started to put the dishes in the dishwasher and to clean the kitchen a bit.

Before returning to the living room re opened the fridge and took some beers out. When he entered the living room Hetty was surrounded by the others. They were reading something and didn't even bother to look up when he placed the beer on the coffee table.

Hetty was the first one to look at him.

"When were you planning on telling us?"

Deeks was confused. He took a look at the paper that the others still read. Recognizing Sophias scrawl he looked back at Hetty. It was Sophia's essay about her hero.

"Uh...well.. I don't know but I would have told you someday..." He mumbled quietly.

"It is so cute and sad at the same time." Nell sniffed.

"I know. I'm gonna keep it in that box with all her presents and pictures that she has drawn."

The next morning he took Sophia and Monty to the beach for a long walk. He wanted to talk about them moving into a new house.

"NO WAY DADDY! I don't want to move, mom once lived there and she used all the stuff. It was moms apartment. I wanna stay there, it makes me feel closer to her knowing that she once went the same path that we do everyday when we go from the kitchen to the living room. Please daddy!"

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. It broke his heart to see her like this. He didn't meant to hurt her. Heck, he never knew that Kensi's apartment meant so much to his little princess.

"Hey princess come here." He held his arms out and she flung herself at him. "Shhh, it's okay. We won't move if you don't want to." Deeks stroked her back. "I just thought that maybe your nightmares would vanish in a new house."

Sophia looked up at him with big eyes. "I don't mind the nightmares as long as we stay."

"Okay honey. We'll stay." He kissed her forehead.

She was exhausted. Mark was gone again and she has spent the whole day working out in the garden. She was getting stronger and it got more difficult to let Mark think otherwise.

Wherever she was, it was getting colder now. Colder than it would have been in LA. So she figured that she must be somewhere in the North.

After a hot shower she made herself some dinner. While eating she thought about her family. She wondered, not for the first time, who was Deeks new partner. Was she pretty? Had they a 'thing'? Maybe it wasn't even a she, but she was still jealous and angry.

It was dark night by now and as she looked out in the night she swore that she would escape soon.

He dropped Sophia off at school and continued to drive to work. He would get a new partner...again!

Deeks didn't know why Hetty bothered to give him a new one. All the other ones resigned after a couple of weeks. He did do his job to look out for them, but he wasn't exactly friendly to them nor did he offer to spent time outside of work with them to get to know them better.

Callen and Sam tried to make the first couple of Agents understand his situation. Maybe they thought they would stay longer then, but they didn't.

He didn't want another partner. His one and only partner was gone and even though he knew that he needed someone to look out for him he didn't want it. Some of the Agents even tried to hit on
him. He totally lost it every time. That's why he started to wear the wedding band. And it worked.

"Hey guys." He said as he trotted into the bullpen. "My new partner here yet?"

"Nope." Sam answered without looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

Deeks just sat down when a tall blond woman walked in and looked at them.

"Hi. I'm Agent Dearing and I'm your new team member."

Next chapter will be Kensi's attempt to escape =)
Hope you liked this one,
Linds