A/N: Thanks again for all your support for this story!
Deeks had put off on calling Roberta. Not because he didn't want her to know, but he expected her typical histrionics and dreaded the added drama. Since she'd moved closer this year, she'd been much more involved in their lives, which came with many cons and pros.
Tuesday morning, Deeks couldn't leave it any longer, so with the kids scheduled to arrive in a couple hours, he and Kensi sat down and made the call.
"Hey kiddo, what's up?" Roberta answered. "I was just getting ready to go to my yoga class. You know, the one with the cute instructor."
"Hi Mama."
"Hi Roberta, sorry to interrupt your plans," Kensi said.
"That's ok. Jacob is pretty understanding."
"I need you to do me a really big favor and not freak out, because I have some news," Deeks began.
"One of you got shot again, didn't you?"
"No, mama—"
"It's been too good for too long."
Scratching his eyebrow, Deeks sighed and waited for her to run down. He shot Kensi a look, and she rubbed his shoulder, commiserating.
"And then you'll both lose your jobs. You should have gotten out after Kensi ended up in a coma. Or when you were hurt in Mexico. Which I still don't know everything about because you refuse to tell me. This is why I told you to take that job with the rich lawyer. But no, don't listen to your mother." Roberta drew in a long breath, followed by a significant pause.
"Are you done?" Deeks asked patiently. As if they had all the time in the world. He'd expected this, and understood it to a certain extent.
"For now," Roberta allowed. "Are you going to tell me what's really going on this time?"
"Yes, mama." He hesitated. Somehow, this was significantly harder than telling any of the team. Kensi took his hand and gave it a squeeze, nodding encouragingly.
He exhaled slowly. "You know how we've been trying to foster for a while. Well, Saturday we were matched with three siblings and we accepted, which I fully recognize is completely crazy. And they're coming today," he said, getting it all out in a rush.
"Why would you scare me like that?" Roberta exclaimed. "That's great news, although it's pretty ambitious to start out with three. Hell, I could barely keep track of you half the time."
Deeks let himself relax a tiny bit; he'd been fairly certain his mom would respond positively, but she could be unpredictable. Kensi gave his hand a squeeze, her smile understanding.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, mom," he joked. "But, uh, we are excited and nervous. It's definitely going to be a change.
"Emphasis on nervous," Kensi added.
"You'll be fine."
"Thanks, Roberta."
"So, what do the kids need? I can go to the mall and be back in no time," Roberta said. "I bet they'd like some of your old toys, Marty."
"That sounds amazing, mom, but the kids have been through a lot of change and our social worker said we should limit the number of people we introduce them to at first. Just to let them adjust more easily."
Technically, she'd said to limit the number of visitors for the first week at least, but caregivers were fine. He and Kensi had agreed barring any emergencies, not to bring any additional people into the house for at least three days. As well-meaning as everyone would be, Deeks remembered how overwhelming his short stint in foster care had been. Meeting a bunch of friends and extra family would have only made it worse.
"For how long?"
Deeks glanced to Kensi and she answered,
"Three days?"
Roberta sighed. "The closest I come to having grandchildren, and you make me wait to meet them. I suppose I can manage for three days. I'm holding you to that, though."
"I wouldn't expect anything less," Deeks said. "Thank you, mama. We love you."
"Love you too. Give those babies an extra hug for me."
"We will."
Hanging up, Deeks pressed the phone to his forehead briefly, then held it out towards Kensi. "You want to call your mom now?"
"Might as well," she sighed.
"Oh come on. After my mom, this will be a breeze. It'll be a palate cleanser," he said, and she inclined her head.
"That's true. Mmm. Maybe I can leave her a voicemail."
Kensi and Deeks spent the last bit of time straightening up and making sure the guest rooms were ready. They were just stashing away cardboard boxes from some of the bigger purchases when the doorbell rang.
They were here. The last-minute rushing around had kept his mind off the impending arrival. Now all the feelings of anticipation, fear, and inadequacy came flooding back. What did he know about taking care of kids?
Kensi grasped his hands, pulling out of his spiral with a firm squeeze.
"Hey, we can do this," she said. "Just like you keep telling me."
"You're right." He rested his forehead on hers, mirroring the day they got the call. "We should probably answer the door, right?"
"That would be a good idea."
Anita was indeed waiting at the door, the kids right behind her. Deeks noticed they each had backpacks, but no other luggage.
"Hi, come on in."
"Thank you. I hope you're doing well," Anita said, ushering the kids inside. "And sorry we're running late. It took a little longer to get everything together."
"Don't worry about it," Kensi assured her.
"Well, let me introduce everyone. This is Caleb." Anita gestured to the tallest of the three children. He had sandy blonde hair to just below his ears and hazel eyes. He hovered in front of his siblings, clearly protective, gaze constantly shifting around the room.
"This is Jesse."
Jesse came up to about Caleb's shoulder, his hair a little lighter and curlier. At first glance, he seemed more at ease.
"And this is little Maria."
Maria was indeed incredibly tiny, her dark hair back in two pigtails and a Barbie doll under one arm. She leaned into Caleb's legs, peeking out at Kensi and Deeks occasionally. When she caught Deeks looking back, she quickly hid her face again.
"Hi, I'm Kensi. We're so glad to meet you," Kensi said, smiling nervously.
"And I'm Marty."
"Hi," Caleb said quietly, nodding to each of them in a way that seemed far too mature for a ten-year-old. It instantly made Deeks' heart squeeze in sympathy. A kid shouldn't have to put up with that kind of responsibility.
"Hello!" Jesse said brightly, holding his hand out towards Deeks. After the slightest of hesitations, Deeks shook his hand. "Marty is a weird name and your hair is long."
Caleb shot his brother a look, which Deeks interpreted as a silent plea to shut up. Jesse was either oblivious or chose to ignore Caleb, because he happily gazed up at Deeks.
"Yeah, yeah it is," Deeks agreed with a relieved smile. One out of three wasn't bad, even if his first observations included roasting Deeks' appearance. "Nice to meet you, Jesse."
"I like it," Jesse decided, moving on to shake Kensi's hand. "You're really pretty."
"Thank you, Jesse."
"Say 'hi'," Caleb told Maria, but she shook her head, continuing to stick close to him and Jesse.
"Maybe you can show the children their rooms," Anita prompted, politely but with a hint of trying to move the show along.
"Sure, yeah. They're this way," Deeks said.
Jesse looked to Caleb, who gave him a subtle nod, and as one, the siblings followed Kensi and Deeks, Anita trailing a few feet behind. Deeks went to the boys' room first; they'd gone with a Marvel theme for the decorations and various shades of white and blue for the bedding and furniture.
"Ms. Gonzales said you boys like superheroes, but we can change it," Deeks told them, stepping to the side so they could explore. Caleb took a quick look around before nodding in apparent approvals, but Jesse took his to examine the large mourned Avengers print across from the beds.
"I like Captain America. Hulk is ok too, but I don't really prefer Iron Man," he said bluntly. "It's good for now. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"It's very nice," Caleb added more softly. "You didn't have to do all of this."
Deeks didn't know if Caleb's comment came from believing he didn't deserve any of this or because he didn't plan on staying long enough for it to be worthwhile. Either way, Deeks didn't know how to respond.
"Do you want to see your room, Maria?" Kensi asked, smoothing over the uncomfortable moment.
Maria shrugged, finally detaching herself from Caleb's side to walk across the hallway. She lingered in the doorway, arms hugging her Barbie tight to her chest. Then her eyes widened and she gasped softly.
"Elsa and Peppa Pig!" she exclaimed, running into the room and making a beeline for the toys they'd left out on small table next to the toy box. Sitting down on the floor, she immediately began setting up little pigs and rabbits in various arrangements.
"Boys, why don't you play with your sister while I talk with Marty and Kensi?" Anita suggested. They dutifully did as she said, sitting on either side of Marie.
"Now that they're occupied, there is some final paperwork we need to go over." Heading back into the living room, Anita removed three Manila envelopes from her bag and shook out a variety of papers and documents. "These are your letters proving you have guardianship, documentation for any medical services, and forms to indicate you have taken guardianship and accept any and all responsibility for the duration of their stay with you."
They filled out the paperwork as directed, carefully tucking away each paper and card for later while Anita gave further information. If they intended to have relative caregivers, each individual would need to complete their own trainings and on it went.
"What about visitations?" Deeks asked.
"Well, those are on hold for the moment since their mother is currently in jail," Anita said reluctantly.
"Oh my god," Kensi murmured, looking over her shoulder. "Do they know?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. They haven't said anything directly, but the boys know she's "away". I can't really tell you any more than that."
Deeks had a pretty good idea Caleb knew. Just a few minutes of knowing him, and Deeks could tell Caleb was the kind of kid who listened to everything and knew more than he should have to deal with.
"You'll notify us when they do start though."
"Yes. Of course." Anita packed up the rest of the papers, neatly tucking them away. Unfortunately, I do need to leave now. I have another meeting and I'm already running late," Anita told them apologetically. To her credit, she did look regretful. "Will you be ok?"
Deeks' anxiety spiked at the thought of being left all alone with these three kids they'd only just met. They'd be responsible for Caleb, Jesse, and Marie from now on, he reminded himself; an extra hour with Anita acting as a buffer wouldn't make or break things.
"Of course, yeah. We'll be fine."
"We appreciate everything you've done," Kensi added.
"It doesn't seem like nearly enough." She offered them each a smile. "Call if you need anything. I find it's usually a smoother transition if I don't make a big deal out of leaving."
"Right."
They said their goodbyes, Anita leaving quietly, and then it was just the two of them.
"I guess we should go check on our kids," Deeks said, shaking his head.
They found Caleb, Jesse, and Maria exactly where they'd left them. Maria was walking Peppa across the carpet, narrating a scenario involving going to an ice cream shop. Playing his part, Jesse had his little rabbit character ask for vanilla ice cream in a high-pitched voice.
Deeks smiled at the obvious love and bond between the three.
"Dat's not the right voice," Maria corrected him with a sigh. She looked up, gesturing to Deeks. "Can you do Webecca?"
"Uh, I'm not sure. I don't think I've caught that one. You'll have to show me. But I can do a pretty good Scooby Doo."
She sighed in disappointment, then tilted her head to the side.
"Do you have a treehouse? The last house had one. And the mommy there gave me 'nacks and juice."
"Most houses don't have treehouses," Jesse informed her. "I think they're kind of dangerous."
Maria's shoulder sagged, and Caleb gave her a comforting pat.
Getting down on the floor with them, Kensi sat down cross-legged.
"I'm sorry, Maria, we don't have a treehouse," Kensi said. "We do have lots of snacks and juice boxes though."
"Apple juice?" Maria asked.
"Mm-hmm."
"And can I have a cookie?" Maria followed up hid a smile, seeing how easily she'd have them both wrapped around her little finger. And he wouldn't care at all.
"How about a cheese stick first?"
"Or I could have gold fish first."
Standing up, Kensi held out her hand, and Maria took it, happily leaving in the pursuit of snacks.
"Are you guys hungry?" Deeks asked as Caleb and Jesse started cleaning up the toys.
"I'm always hungry," Jesse informed Deeks, then very seriously added. "But not if there's squash, meatballs, or mushrooms."
"I think we can handle that. Come on, let's go raid the snack drawers."
Jesse got up, hurrying out of the room, but Caleb lingered behind.
"You can come too." Deeks waited a few seconds, and Caleb shrugged.
"I'm not really hungry."
"Ok. Well, you don't have to stay in here unless you want to," Deeks said, not wanting to push too hard. Leaving the room, Deeks sighed. It was only the first hour, of the first day. It would come.