I don't own NCIS Los Angeles! My native language is Dutch and I'm dyslectic so sorry for any mistakes. Thank you for the reviews, alerts and favorites!

Because of the little push of secretxlittlexdarling, another chapter ^^ I hope you all like it!

Chapter 24

'Do you think this is appropriate?' Kensi asked as she turned in front of the mirror, checking her clothes. 'Does it say 'proper mother'?' Deeks looked around the corner and smiled reassuringly.

'You look fine, Kens,' he said to her and he walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her. 'Besides, clothes won't matter. It's how we behave and take care of Narah…and we have been doing that just fine, right?' Kensi signed and looked in the mirror once again.

'An image of two parents?' she asked him and he nodded. He let her go when the door opened and Narah came walking in. She sat down on the bed.

'Who are you talking to at the agency?' she asked, trying to sound uninterested but failing pretty badly. Kensi glanced at Deeks, who shrugged and he went looking for the piece of paper.

'Miss Rooney,' he finally answered after searching for some name on the paper.

'Ah,' Narah said.

'Ah?' Kensi repeated. '"Ah" doesn't sound good…do you know her?' Narah nodded.

'She has been the one picking all my crappy homes for me,' she explained. 'I can say we hate each other after all the time we spent together. I really made her work for her money and in return I got the crappy homes. So yeah…I know her…' Deeks sat down next to Narah.

'Well this time she will be the one making your current home the permanent one,' he assured her and he stroked her hair.

'Yeah, whatever,' Narah said while she jumped up. 'We need to go if you want to drop me off at Julia before the appointment.' Kensi looked hurried at the clock and grabbed her heels.

'I'm ready,' she said, grabbing her bag as well. 'We can go.'

'We're always happy to see children being adopted by their foster parents,' Miss Rooney said with a smile on her face. 'It means the foster parents love the child and that the child is happy staying with them.' Deeks and Kensi smiled at each other. 'However, we can't let you adopt Narah just like that. There is of course a procedure we have to follow. With a child we can never be too sure.'

'We understand,' Deeks told the woman. 'We only want the best for Narah.'

'You have been taking good care of her,' Miss Rooney replied. 'But there are still some concerns, especially when it comes to school. Narah still missed a lot of school the last couple of weeks...'

'It has been an emotional rollercoaster to say at least,' Kensi explained. 'Narah became our foster daughter primarily for protection against a local gang. Friends of her had been murdered and a period of grieve comes along with that. Also Narah been through so much before she came to live with us…That is why she missed some school, but the principle also told us Narah has skipped less school and works harder. Her grades went up.'

'I have seen the reports,' Miss Rooney answered coolly. 'But you understand I have to look into all of it, in Narah's well-being of course. For your adoption application we will need get some information like references from employers or other people who know you well, your incomes to see if you keep meet the costs that come with raising a child and we will conduct a background check.' Deeks and Kensi glanced nervously at each other and Miss Rooney looked surprised. 'Will there be a problem with that?'

'Well, our records aren't accessible for people without the right clearance,' Deeks explained. 'It's our line of work.'

'But we will request the right clearance for your agency,' Kensi quickly added.

'Sounds acceptable,' Miss Rooney replied. 'Once we received all the necessary information for the application, there will be conducted a home study. This means interviews with you and Narah, getting to know everything about your education, your job, your background, your daily routine, your parenting experiences, your home and neighborhood, finding out if you're both ready to adopt plus your reasons to adopt. This phase is lengthily, between three to six months, and can be stressful. But you have been Narah's foster parents for some while now so we already have some information. As your caseworker I will be open for any questions or concerns.' Miss Rooney grabbed a brochure and handed it to Deeks and Kensi. 'In the brochure you can find all that I just told you. Take your time reading it and come to me if you have any questions.'

'Thank you,' Kensi smiled.

'This is going to be harder than I thought,' Deeks said when they were driving home. 'They are going to check my criminal record…who will approve adoption when they read I shot my father?'

'You did not kill him, Deeks,' Kensi said. 'And it was defense. You said it yourself: he would have killed your mother if you hadn't shot him. The brochure says being honest and open is important…if you just express your concern and explain it all…'

'Well, I am sorry if that's the reason we can't adopt Narah,' he said and she kissed him quickly on the cheek. Julia's house appeared in their sight and both felt nervous again. Nervous to face Narah and explain the procedure to her.

'Did it go well?' Julia immediately asked when she opened the door.

'Well we might have some trouble because of our line of work,' Kensi answered. 'Not all the information they need is accessible so we need to arrange the clearance…'

'…and my criminal record might become a problem,' Deeks added and Julia looked confused at him. 'I shot my father when I was eleven.'

'But it was self defense and you did not kill him,' Kensi said as she walked passed him, looking for Narah. 'Did everything go okay with Narah?'

'Yes, it went great,' Julia answered. 'She is sitting outside…drawing I believe. She has some talent for it. But can you tell more about the procedure that will take place?' Kensi took a breath.

'First something to drink maybe?' she asked carefully. 'We need to let everything sink in…and we brought brochures.' Julia nodded understanding and Deeks and Kensi walked into the garden where Narah was lying in the grass with a piece of paper in front of her. When she saw them walking towards her, she jumped up.

'Rooney sucked, didn't she?' she asked worried, making Deeks and Kensi laugh.

'No, she was actually nice, Narah,' Deeks told her. 'She told us some important things we need to know and she said we could always call her if we needed answers. Only your school skipping isn't a good sign…she even called it a concern.'

'I hardly skip school anymore!' Narah replied offended.

'Well the days we kept you home also count,' Kensi said. 'And there have been quite a few days like that lately. But we get a chance to explain it all and principle Plumford knows why we kept you at home. He will back-up our stories. Don't worry about it.' Narah slowly nodded and Julia came walking out with drinks.

Just when Deeks and Kensi needed to speak with Hetty, their boss wasn't in her office. So they sat nervously behind their desks waiting for Hetty to return. Callen and Sam seemed to notice their nervosity.

'So what did you do to get in trouble this time?' Sam asked jokily at Deeks, who immediately glanced at Kensi.

'I didn't do anything this time,' he answered as Kensi nodded. 'Besides, I don't get called into Hetty's office that often. I'm not like Callen...' He smiled at Callen. 'Kensi and I want to speak to Hetty, not the other way around...'

'Then what are you waiting for, Mister Deeks?' Hetty asked, appearing once again out of nowhere and making Deeks jump in his seat. He held his hand on his chest and smiled at Hetty.

'You sure make me realize how a heart attack might feel,' he said.

'You wanted to talk, mister Deeks?' Hetty asked and Deeks nodded. Hetty turned around and walked towards her office. Deeks and Kensi got up and followed her. Hetty had already three cups of tea ready. 'Do either one of you want some tea?'

'No, thank you, Hetty,' Kensi declined and she sat down. 'The reason we want to talk to you is because we have come to the decision to adopt Narah.'

'That is wonderful news, Miss Blye,' Hetty smiled.

'But in order for us to be able to adopt Narah, we need to go through some procedures,' Deeks told her. 'Information which may be hard to get because of our job...'

'Don't worry about it,' Hetty said. 'I will make sure they get the information they need and nothing more. Eric and Nell will take care of it. Just let your caseworker call me.'

'Thank you, Hetty,' Kensi replied and Hetty simply nodded.

'Is there anything we need to know about the rules concerning coworkers having children together?' Deeks asked a little worried. 'Or to be precise partners?' Kensi glanced worried at Deeks, not having thought about that at all.

'As long as it doesn't conflict in work it will be fine,' Hetty assured him. 'You can still be partners once you adopt Narah. Don't worry too much and concentrate on your daughter.' Deeks and Kensi smiled. They liked the sound of that. 'Anything else you want to know, Mister Deeks and Miss Blye?'

'No, we have all we need,' Deeks answered and Hetty nodded contently.

'Then I suggest you join Mister Callen and Hanna in finishing the paperwork,' she told them and Deeks and Kensi got up. 'And congratulations, you will make a great family.'

'Well you got what you wanted,' Ivan mumbled softly as he and Narah were lying on the bed. 'Only a little different...' Narah smiled weakly.

'"Only a little different"' she repeated. 'Ivan, I get completely different family from what I wanted...from what I dreamed of. I do not get my father and mother! I get Deeks and Kensi. I get a new life...do you realize that? Nothing will be the same.'

'Of course it will be the same,' Ivan said. 'You're still you...' Narah sat up.

'You really think I will be the same?' she asked. 'Now that I get this new family and life...I won't have to keep up walls...I can become one of those emotional freaks!' Ivan began to laugh loudly.

'You, an emotional freak?' he laughed. 'Never! You can't cry over stupid little things. For that, you been through too much...but maybe you should talk to some other kids who got adopted...get to know a little more about what might happen...'

'Maybe that's a good idea,' Narah said. 'I could ask...Beanie...he got adopted right?'

'Yeah, and now he goes by his real name: Alfred,' Ivan answered and Narah laughed.

'I would have stick with Beany,' she replied and Ivan nodded. 'But anyway, I can ask Alfred about how it was for him.' She lay back down and looked up at the ceiling in silence.

'Nah...?' Ivan asked carefully and Narah turned her head to face him. He looked very serious and she got a little worried. 'How does your mother fit into this? I mean you spent quite some time trying to find her...' Narah just kept looking at him. How did her mother fit into this? Did her mother fit into this? It was a new start but her mother could have the answers she needed.

'I don't know,' she answered honestly and Ivan pulled her closer.

'You will figure it out,' he whispered softly. 'You always do.' Narah took a deep breath and closed her eyes. For a moment she did not have to think. But the questions were haunting her and the answers were needed. Her mother had to fit in somewhere.

TBC.