It was only at Kensi's adamant insistence that Deeks pick up the kids and go home that he eventually caved and left her alone in the hospital. She had reasoned that she had several nurses and doctors to keep an eye on her and the kids would need him to instill a bit of normalcy by having him around for the night. He saw her logic and grudgingly agreed after making her promise to call him for any reason at all or if she needed him to bring her anything. They both knew she wouldn't call because of her stubbornness, but he insisted that she promise regardless. When Deeks pulled up to Sam's house everything appeared to be quiet and peaceful and he stole a moment to take a deep breath before he made his way to the front door. This was his first time with just him and the kids for more than just an hour or two while Kensi showered or ran an errand or two and he now fully understood how Kensi must have felt her first day with the kids at the house. After a minute he finally climbed out of his car and made his way to the door. Once he rang the doorbell it was like chaos had exploded behind the door and childlike screams could be heard through the thick wooden door followed by the stampeding of several children.
"Everyone settle down!" Sam's voice could be heard through the door and Deeks couldn't fight the grin on his face. Clearly Sam wasn't having the easiest time with 5 children at once, but he couldn't really blame the guy anyway. When ex-Seal came to the door Deeks was surprised to see him looking a little worn down and just a little frazzled. "Thank God you're here."
"They weren't bad were they?" Deeks asked, already dreading the talk he would have to have with the kids if they had misbehaved.
"No, but it's like between the five of them they could produce a city's worth of energy off each other with all the running and bouncing off the walls," Sam sighed. "I think they should sleep for ages tonight."
"That's great," Deeks smiled ruefully.
"How's Kensi doing?" Sam asked as he let the detective into the house.
"She's doing much better. Much more alert and aware and ready to bust out of there," Deeks chuckled. "I should be able to pick her tomorrow around lunch but I think she's gonna be on desk duty for the remainder of the week."
Sam nodded. "We'll make sure to keep her supplied with donuts and coffee to appease her some."
"Deeeeeeee!" Came a small squeal as Isla ran as fast as she could at him, wrapping her arms around his knees.
"Hey squirt, how's it going?" Deeks smiled down at the girl and ruffled her dark curls.
"Where Ken-i?" She asked, looking around his legs.
"She's coming home tomorrow, but I thought we could go home now," Deeks said solemnly but tried to keep a small smile on his face so she wouldn't get more worried.
"O'tay," she sighed. At the time both boys had finally slowed down enough to see that he had arrived and they bolted over.
"Deeks!" They both shouted and joined their sister in wrapping their arms around his legs.
"It's gonna be awfully hard to go home with three kids wrapped around my legs…" Deeks sighed dramatically before the kids chuckled and let go of his legs. "Alright, everyone say 'thank you Sam' and let's get going."
There was a chorus of thank yous and Deeks gave one last wave to his coworker before they all headed to the car and he got them all in car seats and buckled in. The drive went pretty smoothly with Isla and Elijah half napping and half talking while Will remained silent for the car trip. When he pulled into the driveway he had to carry in a half asleep Isla while Will and Elijah trudged along behind him. Once inside, Monty pounced on the arriving family which woke Isla and drew giggles from the boys who had to contend with the dog's licks of greeting.
"Easy Monty," Deeks shook his head at the dog in mirth as the animal herded the boys inside. "Hey Will, can you check to see if Monty's food and water dishes are full for me?"
"Yeah," the boy readily agreed and went to check the dog's dishes while Deeks got Elijah and Isla propped up on the couch and turned some cartoons on for them. He could hear Will scooping up more food for Monty as he made his way to the kitchen to browse for quick meal ideas.
"How does everyone feel about spaghettios and grilled cheese?" Deeks half shouted so all three kids could hear him.
A general response of "yeahs" and "okays" could be heard so Deeks got to work with the easy meal. When Will wandered into the kitchen, Deeks paused and knelt before him, knowing that something was bothering the eldest boy.
"Are you sure Kensi's okay?" He asked, his lower lip wobbled a little, betraying his emotional state and he combed a hand through the boy's hair.
"Yeah, bud. She's gonna be just fine and she's coming home tomorrow," Deeks assured the boy.
"She's not mad at me or anything? For getting into the accident?" Tears welled in the boys eyes and started to in Deeks' as well at his words.
"Of course not," Deeks held his arms out and Will surged forward into his arms and cried his anguish out into his shirt. "The accident was not your fault or even Kensi's fault. Someone else just wasn't paying attention."
"B-but what if I'm bad luck and you and Kensi die too and it would be all my fault!" Will sobbed and Deeks tightened his hold on the boy and rubbed his back in slow circles.
"You are not bad luck, Will," Deeks said firmly. "You and your brother and sister are the best thing to happen in mine and Kensi's life in a long time. We both love you so much and we wouldn't trade you or your brother or sister for anyone else in the world. I can't promise you that bad things won't happen, but I do know that as long as we're a family we're going to make it."
Will nodded and finally pulled back some to look into Deeks' eyes.
"Now why don't you go check on your brother and sister and watch some cartoons while I finish up here," Deeks said, swallowing past the emotion in his throat.
Will nodded again before giving him one last tight hug and then racing off to the living room. Deeks finished making dinner for them all and brought everything to the table while the kids were distracted.
"Alright kids, dinner is served!" Deeks announced from behind them and they all leapt up off their seats and raced to the dining room. After turning the TV off, Deeks hoisted Isla into her highchair and tucked in the other boys' seats before they each dove into their food. When everyone was finished, Deeks ushered the youngest two to the living room where they played with a few of their toys and Will eagerly helped clean up after their dinner until it was all done. "Thanks Will." Deeks gave the boy a solid pat on the shoulder and they both made their way back to the living room.
"Can we play the matching game?" Will asked Deeks as they entered in and Elijah perked up at the suggestion.
"Sure!" Deeks agreed, not quite sure what he was getting himself into.
"It's just a game where you flip over two cards and have to match the animals," Will explained at the perplexed look.
"That sounds like fun," Deeks shrugged. "Why don't you go get it while Elijah and I clean up these toys?"
Will nodded and raced off while they tidied the living room up some. When he returned both boys eagerly opened the box and began setting the squares up in some semblance of rows and columns while Deeks and Isla watched on warily. After a quick tutorial, Elijah went first, then Will, and then it was Deeks turn.
"I think I'm gonna need some girl power to play this game… Isla, will you help me?" Deeks asked the toddler seriously and she leapt into his lap to face the game. After a little direct instruction she picked a couple squares to turn over and they all took their turns again. They ended up playing two games with Will winning both before they were all yawning. "I'm calling bath and then bed time!" He declared and received halfhearted whining in return. "I'm thinking lady first and then you boys are next!"
Isla went easily enough and after he set her in her crib he returned to hustle the boys up the stairs and got them both into the bath at the same time to save himself an extra one. The whole process took close to an hour and he had to carry Elijah into bed as he had fallen asleep mid-pajama dressing. Deeks practically had to drag himself into his and Kensi's newly shared bedroom and he barely got down to his boxers before he just collapsed into bed face first.
The next morning was a rush as Deeks had accidently slept in and it took several trips to finally remember everything they all needed for the day. By the time they hit the road both Isla and Elijah were screaming bloody murder while Will was covering his ears and cringing at the high pitched sounds emanating from his siblings. Deeks tried his best to talk them down from whatever it was they were screaming about, but when they pulled up to Will's school he eagerly climbed out for a minute to give the oldest boy a hug and a promise to bring Kensi with him at pick up. With a deep breath he was about to just open the back door and talk with the other two when the long line of other adults coming to drop their kids honked their car horns at him until he grudgingly climbed back into the driver's seat and drove off. By the time he arrived at OPS both kids were beginning to tire out from their spontaneous tantrum and Deeks' head was throbbing in agony. He knew Kensi was great with kids and definitely carried her share of taking care of the kids, but he was so worn out he wasn't sure how he was going to stay awake until later that night. Hoisting both kids into his arms while they rapped their arms tight around his neck with small sniffles he managed to get them inside and down the hall to the daycare with only a couple raised eyebrows from Sam and Callen.
It was clearly going to be a long day.