A/N: Thanks to everyone who has taken interest in this story, including my guest reviewers. To guest reviewer Terrence: Yes, Caleb is the name of a relative, so it is very dear to me, and why I reuse it so frequently for Kensi and Deeks' children in their various iterations. Thanks as always for your comments!

"And then Ava said that she wasn't going to Marco's party anymore because he knocked down her tower. Even though it was an accident. So then Marco started crying and then Miss Blye said play time was over," Caleb explained, sucking in a deep breath after a 15 minute monologue describing the intricate social system of his kindergarten class.

From his current position under the kitchen sink, Deeks could just see Caleb's feet dangling off a chair. He'd finished his homework for the day and now was coloring a picture of Captain America.

"But Marco was still crying so I gave him my snack to make him feel better," Caleb added. Deeks paused in the middle of working at the nut above the tailpipe to slide out far enough to see his face.

"That was a really nice thing to do for your friend, Kiddo. Did you have enough to eat though?" Deeks asked, knowing that under certain circumstances, Caleb would readily give up his whole lunch without complaint.

"Uh-huh. I just was extra hungry at lunch, so I ate everything. Even the carrots." He threw Deeks a quick toothy grin before returning to his picture, wiggling in his seat. Some days it felt like he barely stopped moving.

Smiling to himself, Deeks crawled back under the sink and resumed battling the pipe.

"C'mon," he muttered, muscles straining as he struggled with the rusted hardware. When his realtor had promoted this house as a work in progress, he'd thought she was referring to bad decor or a few minor repairs. He hadn't anticipated that every pipe in the place leaked and squeaked, and the upstairs bathroom floor was one step away from caving in.

When he'd packed up and moved to LA two months ago, with a job offer at a good law firm, and little else in place, this was one of the first houses on the market that didn't cost roughly a million. So, he'd snapped it up. Maybe, once he was better established, had a little extra cash, and…well, for now, he was testing the limits of his handyman skills.

He gave the pipe a twist, grimacing when more water spurted out. Wiping at his face, he quickly twisted the other way, and decided it was time to call a plumber. He slid back out and mopped up the puddles of water as much as he could, sticking an old strawberry bucket directly under the leak.

"Did you fix it, Daddy?" Caleb asked, hopping down from the table. Without asking, he started piling tools back into the box and wiped up a few stray drops of water.

"Nope," Deeks answered cheerfully. "But it's getting late, and I bet you're hungry again."

"I'm starving!"

"Ok, you want chicken or pizza today."

"Chicken. Can I have a cookie?" he requested, leaning into Deeks with a pleading look.

"After dinner."

"But I might get so hungry I'll fall over and then I can't go to school tomorrow. And the Miss Blye will get mad because I'm not there."

Deeks narrowly concealed a snort as a cough, mildly impressed as always by Caleb's thought processes. Although his logic sometimes fell through, he was a master debater. He supposed it was the likely outcome from having a lawyer for a dad.

"Yeah, I saw you eat two cookies when you got back from school," Deeks said, grabbing Caleb under the armpits and swinging him around the room, making him giggle. "I'm surprised you haven't turned into a cookie yet. I'll have to start calling you "Cookie Monster Caleb"."

"Dad, you're silly," Caleb gasped, even as he continued to giggle, kicking his legs in the air. Drawing to a stop, Deeks loudly kissed the top of his head, which started a whole new round of laughter, and set him back down on the floor.

"Ok, Kiddo, you sure you got all your homework finished?"

"Uh-huh. Oh, but Miss Blye said I need to bring in something for tomorrow's show and tell. There's a paper about it in my backpack."

"Crap, I forgot about that," Deeks hissed, rubbing his forehead again. "Ok, we'll think of something while we eat." He was pretty sure he'd gotten on Kensi Blye's bad side during their first meeting last week. He hated that he was now one of the "irresponsible parents" in her eyes and had been working to redeem himself.

"Maybe I can bring your gun and special badge from your old job," Caleb suggested, hanging onto Deeks' arm.

"Yeah, that would definitely get me in your teacher's good graces. How about something a little less likely to get both of us expelled?"

"Fiiine. Then my Captain America shield."

"Much better choice."

"And the stuffed ladybug mom brought me last time she visited," he added.

"The other kids will love it," Deeks said and Caleb nodded, a little distracted now as he toyed with Deeks' sleeve.

"Daddy, when's mommy coming to see us again?"

"I don't know," he told him honestly. It was a question Deeks had wondered himself since his now ex-wife left two and a half years ago. "Why don't you go watch some TV while I get dinner ready?"

"Ok. Love you," Caleb said, jumping up to kiss Deeks' shoulder before he ran off for the family room.

As soon as Caleb was out of sight, Deeks braced his hand on the table, letting his true exhaustion show for the first time. He didn't like to hide things from Caleb as a general rule, but right now he didn't need the extra worry while he was still settling in.

Aside from dinner, there was a stack of client files he had to prep for tomorrow and he knew it would be another extremely late night. It was worth it though. For the chance to start over new and for every time Caleb smiled.

A/N: I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the first part of this little story. I promise it won't be super angsty. But just a touch.