A/N: For those who are Americans, I hope you had a great 4th of July. To those of you who are not American, I hope you had a great Thursday!
Deeks didn't sleep that night.
Instead he lay on the uncomfortable cot, soothing and comforting the little boy that he considered his eldest son, and watched over his girlfriend like a starving vulture.
He watched for any sign of stirring or waking, and when she finally did wake hours later, he was on his feet in seconds, smoothing her hair back behind her ear, their eyes locked as he pressed the call button. Once the nurse had checked her over and left the room again, Deeks lulled Kensi back to sleep with the gentle and rhythmic soothing of his fingers ghosting over her cheek, her ear and through her hair.
The night continued that way. When Kensi would wake he would be at her side, soothing her back to sleep only to then return to Will and do the same, for the little boy would wake up every time that Deeks left the cot. He would insist on seeing Kensi and would cling to her hand with both of his smaller ones until Deeks would coax him back to bed.
Morning came slowly, accompanied by more nurses coming in and out of the room to check on Kensi who was grudgingly waking up and mumbling answers to all the questions asked of her. Deeks watched in mild amusement and very carefully extracted himself from William so that he could stand by Kensi's bed, one of his hands grasping hers.
"Will…" Kensi sleepily asked and squeezed Deeks hand.
"He's okay, he's sleeping right now." Deeks reassured her and sat on the edge of her bed. "You're both going to be okay."
"Where are Elijah and Isla?" Kensi asked, sitting up slowly and grimacing at the throbbing in her temples.
"Callen is taking care of them for now." Deeks explained and got a raised eyebrow from her.
"Callen is caring for the kids? How did that happen?" She lightly teased.
"I have no idea." Deeks shook his head. His face then went from teasing to serious in less than five seconds when his eyes fell onto the deep bruise of her forehead.
"I'm okay Marty." Kensi said, startling him slightly with the use of his first name.
"I know." He nodded and ghosted his fingers over the bruise. "Kens if…If you had…"
"Hey, I'm here." Kensi stated and firmly grasped his hand.
"I know." He repeated and looked over at Will who was still asleep.
Kensi watched him ponder something for a while before she nudged him gently, bringing his eyes back up to hers.
"What's on your mind?" She questioned.
Deeks rubbed a hand against his beard and looked back to Will. "This accident has made me consider a lot actually."
"Like what?" Kensi asked, a strange feeling settled into her stomach.
"If you had…" He trailed off and swallowed around a lump in his throat. "If you had died, then the kids would go to foster care since the only one of us that has legal custody of them is you."
"I haven't really thought about that." Kensi admitted.
"Neither did I until last night." Deeks said. "Look Kensi, I can help you raise these kids and I can act as a surrogate father to them, but I have no legal rights over them. So what I'm saying is…I think that we should consider adopting them."
Kensi thought about it for a moment and bit her bottom lip. "Deeks, if we adopted them then there would be no turning back. If we broke up, you would still be responsible for them."
Deeks let a small smile spread on his face, his hand going to cup her cheek while he gently shook his head. "Don't you understand Fern?" He lightly asked and brushed his thumb against her cheek. "I have no plans on leaving you or the kids."
Deeks…"
"No." He cut her off and rested his forehead carefully against her own. "I'm not going to leave. I love you Kensi."
Kensi sucked in a small breath and brushed her nose against his as she leaned into him, their lips just a centimeter apart. "I love you too." She said and closed the small space between them.
The kiss stayed soft, Deeks ever mindful of Kensi's injuries. The two of them pulled apart seconds later and shared a smile before they both looked over at the cot to see Will watching them.
"Good morning buddy." Kensi said and pat the spot next to her.
Will quickly got up and made his way over, and with Deeks help, he settled in between them.
"Are you okay?" William asked, oblivious to the adults previous conversation.
Kensi smiled at him and tickled his sides lightly before she answered. "You bet I am."
Will giggled and leaned into her, his eyes seeking Deeks for further reassurance.
"Kensi needs to stay here in the hospital for a bit longer, but then she will come home with us." Deeks nodded and saw confusion cross his son's face. "Kensi hit her head really hard and the doctors just want to make sure that everything is okay before she can go home."
Seemingly content, Will curled into Kensi's side and fell back asleep, having not slept much the night before. It was then that Kensi looked between the two and noticed the dark circles under Deeks eyes.
"Did you sleep?" She asked and grasped his hand before she got a mildly sheepish look as an answer.
She didn't have much time to ask anything else though as the voices of the other two kids could be hard bouncing down the hall just seconds before Callen walked in with them hoisted in his arms.
"Good you are both awake." Callen said, looking slightly frazzled and very out of his element.
He quickly deposited the children onto Kensi's bed and took the plastic chair next to it, noticing with a smile, the cot that had been brought in.
"How were they last night?" Deeks asked while Isla climbed into his lap.
Callen looked at how at ease Deeks was with the little girl and felt a small smile tease at the corners of his mouth.
"They didn't sleep much." He admitted and saw Kensi's face cloud over with concern. "They were worried about you and Will."
"We are going to be just fine." Kensi said.
"Yes you are." Hetty's voice came into the room followed by the woman in question and the rest of the team all of whom gave Kensi and Will a once over to ensure themselves that everything was alright with them.
"How are you feeling?" Nell asked and leaned against the wall.
"I'm okay, what about you Will?" Kensi looked at the little boy who shrugged his eyes on the thick cast that had been placed on his broken arm.
"You know what Will, I brought something today that might make that cast a bit better." Nell said brightly.
Will looked up at her with curiosity and smiled when she pulled out a series of different colored markers.
"Can we all sign your cast?" Nell then asked.
"Cool!" Will said and held his arm out for everyone to sign.
Each of them took turns with the colorful markers, writing their names down and creating drawings that the little boy looked at with joy and awe. It was Eric's drawing that impressed him the most and that frankly surprised everyone with the skill that was presented in it. The geeky tech had drawn a vibrant picture of a dragon near the top of the cast that was battling a little boy wearing a cape and crown and wielding a sword.
"Who's that?" Will pointed to the boy.
"Well his name is William Andrews of course." Eric stated matter-of-fact and got a beaming smile from Will.
The team stayed for a while before Hetty noticed Kensi's eyes start to droop and Deeks starting to nod of himself.
"I think we should probably leave them alone to rest." Hetty stated, stopping all conversation almost instantly and in a way that was slightly eerie.
"How about I take the kids for a bit and you can get them later?" Sam offered, looking at Deeks who looked reluctant to leave Kensi.
"Are you sure?" He asked, feeling both hope at staying with Kensi and quilt for passing the kids onto someone else.
Sam saw the look in Deeks eyes and nodded. "Yeah I'm sure. You both look beat and I have kids so I know what to do to keep them busy."
"Thanks Sam." Kensi said and touched Deeks hand to draw his attention to her and away from any argument that he might have put up. "Will, Elijah and Isla, the three of you are going to go with Sam for now but we'll see you later."
Will bit his bottom lip and let his gaze drift between Kensi and Sam before he nodded and slid off the bed. His siblings took his queue and did the same. After a few sleepy goodbyes and promises to see them later, Sam shuffled the kids out of the room and was soon followed by everyone else, leaving Kensi and Deeks alone in the room.
"You should get some sleep." Kensi said and cupped Deeks cheek, her thumb running over the slightly puffy skin under his left eye.
"I'm not the one that got into a car accident." He pointed out and got a one shoulder shrug from her.
"I'm fine Marty." Kensi said and wrapped her arms around his neck, welcoming his arms around her in return.
"I really do love you." Deeks said just loud enough for her to hear.
"I love you too." Kensi said and pulled back and scooted over on the bed to make room for him.
He looked at the spot briefly and carefully lay down beside her, welcoming her head on his shoulder as she adjusted so that she was lying with her left leg over his and her arm resting on his chest. It was a position that they had become used to after months of sharing a bed, and one that they were both comfortable with.
Deeks gently pulled her into his arms and allowed his eyes to close, quickly falling asleep.