Kensi stayed for dinner and while Deeks cleaned up. Over the course of the evening, Caleb slowly opened up a little more, even breaking a couple of smiles.

Deeks thought at least a part of his continued reserved behavior came down to embarrassment. While Deeks appreciated that Caleb recognized what he did was wrong, he also didn't want him to wallow in guilt.

When he had finished cleaning the few dishes used for the pizza, and packed up the half-finished meal he'd started, Deeks made his way into the den. He found Kensi and Caleb with their backs to the door, bent over a book. He stayed in the doorway watching them interact, and listened to the rise and fall of Kensi's voice more than the words.

"Wait, did you forget to read the fine print!" Kensi exclaimed.

"They ate spicy salsa on accident and now it's going to make them breathe fire," Caleb announced in between giggles. "And then the whole house is gonna burn down."

Deeks smiled as he recognized one of Caleb's most favorite books. Even if it had been a crappy couple of days, he had a lot to be grateful for. Mainly the two people crouched over a book about dragons. He waited for them to finish before interrupting with a gentle clearing of this throat.

"Hey kiddo, it's getting close to bedtime," he said, and both Kensi and Caleb's heads swiveled towards him.

"We were having so much fun, we completely lost track of time," Kensi said, nudging Caleb with her knee. "I better get home. Have good night, ok?"

"Ok. Thanks for reading with me, Kensi." He dipped his head, peeking up from under his bangs. "Can I hug you?"

"Of course." Leaning forward, he wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around Kensi, clinging to her for several long moments. When he let go, Kensi brushed his hair back with a fond smile that made Deeks' chest ache in a way that wasn't physical. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Kensi," he said.

"I'll walk you out," Deeks offered. "I'll be back in a couple, buddy."

Caleb nodded, turning back to the small pile of books and trains scattered nearby.

"Ugh." Deeks rubbed his palms over his face as he and Kensi reached the front door. "This is not how I imagined today going."

"Hey, we're all going to have bad days. Compared to some of my other relationships, this is actually not that bad.

"Very reassuring." Holding out his hand, Deeks waited for Kensi to thread her fingers through his. "I should have told you about Monica sooner," he added.

"Yeah," Kensi agreed. "But I also understand why you didn't." She sighed, her smile a little melancholy. "Exes are hard. Especially when there are kids involved." She tugged lightly on his hand. "Let me know if you need anything. Talk, yell, cry. I'm here and I promise not to judge." She nodded. "Well, not too much."

Deeks chuckled, and shook his head. "I love you."

"Love you too," she told him, leaning in for a brief kiss. "Good luck with your talk."

Deeks shut the door behind Kensi, dragging both hands through his hair. He'd been thinking about how to approach this conversation all evening, and still wasn't settled on what to say. He walked back to the den; Caleb had cleaned up everything, with more care than usual.

"I'm ready to go to bed," Caleb announced.

"Come here for a minute," Deeks said, sitting in one of the chairs, and Caleb hung his head, shuffling over reluctantly. He stopped with his still lowered, which just made Deeks want to wrap him up in a big hug. He pulled Caleb onto his lap, settling him on one knee.

"Kensi said you told her you were upset about mom and that's why you got mad and threw the block. Is that true?"

Caleb shrugged once, and then gave a single jerk of his head, still not looking up. Deeks gently tipped his chin up. The were the sheen of tears in his eyes.

"Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"I don't know." Another shrug.

"You know you can tell me anything," Deeks reminded him. Caleb didn't respond, so he prompted. "Why are you upset about mom coming to visit?"

"Because you always get sad when she does," Caleb answered, with a hint of sadness and bitterness, which had no place in a five-year old's voice. "I like it when we're happy. And I like having Kensi here, and I don't want it to change."

Deeks blinked at him in shock for a moment as he processed everything Caleb had just revealed. He'd tried to conceal his true feelings about Monica, but apparently he hadn't been as successful as he thought.

"Hey, first of all, you do not have to worry about how I'm feeling, Caleb. That's not your job, ok? If you wanna see mom, then that's what we're going to do. It doesn't matter how it makes me feel." He tapped Caleb's chin, until he made eye contact again.

"Secondly, mom coming back isn't going to change anything with Kensi," he said.

"You promise?" Caleb whispered hopefully.

"Yeah, I do." He let that sink in for a few seconds. "So, what do you think about mom visiting again while she's here?"

Caleb considered the question with a tilt of his head. "I don't know. I have to think about it."

"That's fine. It's always good to think about things before you make a decision," Deeks said approvingly. As they talked, Caleb had slowly melted into his chest. He could tell he was fading fast.

"Hey, one more thing." Deeks rested his hand on Caleb's back. "I know you weren't feeling like yourself when you threw that toy today at school, but that can't happen again, ok?"

Caleb nodded into his chest, sniffling a little.

"It's never ok to hurt people, even when we have really big feelings. If you feel like you did today again, you come talk to me, or Kensi, or another grown up," he told him.

"Ok. I'm sorry, daddy."

"I forgive you. We still gotta make it right though, so tomorrow I want you to apologize to your friend, and Kensi."

"That's all?" Caleb asked in surprise.

"First time offender," Deeks joked, hugging Caleb tighter. "It happens again though, there's gonna be more consequences. Like losing privileges."

"Ok," Caleb whispered again, curling his fingers into Deeks' shirt.

"Love you, kiddo." Kissing the top of his head, Deeks held him closer. A few minutes more wouldn't hurt.

A/N: And of course, the book referenced in this chapter is the wonderful "Dragons Love Tacos" by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri. It's been a staple for me ever since Eric read it during one of his story time videos.