A/N: Set shortly after Rosa moves in with Kensi and Deeks.
Thanks so much for all the lovely comments on recent chapters! I'm glad you're enjoying my vision for the Deeks-Blye family.
The first few weeks with Rosa were admittedly a little rough. Not because of Rosa herself, but adjusting to a third person into the house, a scarily close to adulthood person, took time.
Every day, they learned some new detail about Rosa or discovered a new facet of her personality. For example, Deeks had inadvertently found out she hated Brussel sprouts only after she forced her way through last night's dinner. That had led to an in-depth discussion about vegetables, which further revealed Rosa only liked cauliflowers raw, loved potatoes, and had never tried eggplant.
"I feel like we're failing her," Kensi lamented one night as they got ready for bed. She plopped onto their bed, rubbing both hands over her face. "I know nothing about raising a sixteen-year-old. What about when she starts school in the fall? I'm not sure I can help her if she needs it."
Deeks had the same worries. How could he not? They'd planned as much as they could, but nothing could quite prepare them for the reality of adopting a teenager.
Sitting next to her, Deeks took her hand. "Hey, this is not going to be easy and we're for sure going to make a ton of mistakes, but that doesn't make you a bad parent." She nodded, not looking like she actually believed him. "We're going to get through this. It's going to be really hard for all of us, but we will be here for her, whatever that's means. And we'll ask for help if we don't have the answers ourselves."
"You really think so?" Kensi murmured, and her uncertainty and vulnerability nearly killed him.
"I know it." He pressed his forehead to hers, breathed in with her. "We're going to be ok."
Despite his best attempts to reassure Kensi, Deeks started to have his own doubts a few days later when he found Rosa sitting in her room, curled up on the bed, her hunched shoulders the image of sadness. He'd noticed that she was careful to cause as few disruptions as possible.
She tried to wash the dishes after every meal, insisted on washing her own clothes, and kept to herself unless directly invited into an activity by Kensi or Deeks. She was naturally shy, but this seemed excessive, even given everything she'd gone through.
Deeks almost walked by, but at the last second, knocked on the door jamb. Rosa immediately straightened, and offered him a weak smile.
"Hey, mind if I come in?"
"Of course. Is everything alright?" she asked, and his heart squeezed painfully at the realization that she automatically thought the worst.
"Yeah, no. Everything's fine. I just wanted to check on you," Deeks said softly. He joined her, sitting on the end of the bed. "You're been, uh, pretty quiet, so I wanted to make sure you didn't need anything."
"You've already given me everything." She glanced over the room, decorated with her reluctant help.
"Well, I wasn't necessarily talking about things. Though if there is anything else you need, or want, we can talk about that too." He paused, giving her time to respond. When she remained silently, fiddling with a button on the cut of her jacket, he continued. "Kensi and I want you here—"
"I know that," she interrupted quickly, nervously. She muttered under her breath in Spanish, and Deeks' eyes widened.
"Whoa, Rosa, you don't have to feel grateful for any of this."
Her mouth dropped open slightly, and then she closed her eyes, looking chagrined. "I keep forgetting you understand Spanish."
"Yeah, most people do," he agreed. "Why do you think you have to be grateful?"
Rosa shrugged. "You gave me a home, kept me from staying in refugee housing or worse. I would be an orphan without you and Kensi," she explained softly. "I should appreciate it."
"Oh sweetheart." Deeks opened his arms, and to his surprise, she leaned into him. He blinked back tears, trying to find the right words to silence her fears. "We've done all of this because we care about you. You could shout and leave dirty dishes all over your room, and that wouldn't change."
"Really?" Rosa let out a shuddery breath.
"Absolutely. Kensi'll tell you the same thing," he said, hugging her closer. "And, one more thing. This is your home too. You're allowed to go wherever you want, use what you want, eat whatever and whenever. Hell, you can make messes if you want. It's not like I'll notice with Kensi's stray cheese sticks laying around."
Rosa giggled, sniffing a few times, and pulled back. "I just don't want to make it inconvenient," she told him.
"You won't," he promised. He gave her another squeeze. "Ok."
She nodded, and he smiled. "C'mon, I hear there's some chocolate cake without names on it."
Later that week, Deeks found a book Rosa had been reading next to a plate with the remnants of a sandwich on the coffee table. He smiled as he carried the plate to the kitchen. It was a start.