FIC Small Blessings
6/9/13 14:37![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shanachie_quillTitle: Small Blessings
Characters: Marty Deeks/Kensi Blye, Lara Blye
Fandom: NCIS: Los Angeles
Series: An Unlikely Family
Written For:
Prompt:
Summary: Deeks and Kensi build a family with Lara.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For the rest of the series
Warnings: Deeks is protective, Lara is Kensi’s child, Deeks as a daddy!
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this.
Author's Note: So aeidailgirl over on AO3 asked me if I had any more parts to this story which got me remembering that I’d written but never posted these vignettes. So since I don’t intend to work on this again for the moment, I figured I’d put them up so everyone could enjoy them.
Lara at just a few hours old
Kensi blinked sleepily, rolling her head to the side, and opening her eyes to find Deeks sprawled in the chair next to her bed. He jerked in his sleep as she cleared her throat, then straightened up, rubbing at his eyes. “Hey,” he said, his voice muzzy from sleep. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good, considering. Where is everyone?” she replied.
“Went home. Figured you needed your rest.” He rubbed his hands across his face before stretching his arms above his head. “You need anything?”
“I’m good. Where’s Lara?” She struggled into a sitting position, waving Deeks off when he started to get up to help her. “I’m fine. What are you doing here?”
Deeks motioned to the bassinet on the other side of the bed. “She’s sleeping. I just thought you might like a hand and…” he trailed off.
She grinned at him. “You didn’t want to leave the baby. That’s adorable.”
“No. It wasn’t that. I just. I thought you might…” He glared at her as she continued to grin at him. “Fine. Whatever.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it, Deeks. It’s not a problem. And it lets me talk to you anyway.”
He leaned forward, handing her the glass she’d been reaching for. “What about?”
“I want to go back to work. To the field,” she explained. “And don’t look at me like that. You had to figure I wasn’t going to stay tied to a desk forever.”
“Frankly I’m impressed you managed to make it through your pregnancy,” he answered.
She leveled a look at him, but didn’t bother responding to that dig, instead telling him, “I know there are decisions that are going to have to be made before all is said and done and before I’m cleared for active duty, but one of the decisions that needs to be made is who’s going to take care of Lara if something happens to me.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you, Kensi,” Deeks hastened to reassure her.
“You can’t be certain of that, D, you can’t promise me that. And I just. I don’t want to trust anything to chance. So I want to ask you something. Please say no if it makes you uncomfortable, but after everything you’ve already done and I think Lara’s already stolen your heart.” She stopped as if unsure how to go on.
He waited, but she didn’t continue. “Hey, I can’t say no if you don’t ask me.”
“I want to put your name on her birth certificate,” she said in a rush. “It doesn’t have to be anything more than that, but if something happens. I want you to take her.”
“Hey, Kensi, slow down.” Deeks leaned forward, taking her hand in his. “Are you asking me to be part of Lara’s life? To be more than just…I don’t even know what exactly…”
“I’m saying I want to put you down as the father. I would like it, if you don’t mind, if you were willing. I mean at some point we’re going to have to tell her that you aren’t her biological father, but in every other way, I think you want to be.”
He sat back, running a hand through his hair. “I do. Kensi, you don’t know how much I want this, but are you sure?”
She leveled a glare at him. “Have you ever known me to ask you to do something I wasn’t sure about? You’ve already more than stepped up. If you don’t want to though, I understand.”
“No.” His blue eyes widened as he realized she was giving him plenty of room to back out. “No, I want this. I didn’t realize how much until…yeah. Yeah, Kensi, I want this.”
“Okay then. When the nurse comes back, we’ll let her know.”
“Yeah?” He smiled down at her. “Okay then,” he repeated her words. “Okay.”
Kensi smiled back at the almost shell-shocked look on his face. “You gonna start breathing again?”
“Yeah. Just give me a few,” he answered. “Just…” He turned as Lara started to stir. “I’ll get her.” He was out of the chair before she could respond and bending over the bassinet, cooing softly to Lara as he lifted her up. Kensi’s smile softened as the sight told her she’d made the right decision.
Lara at 4 months
Kensi shut the door softly, kicking off her shoes before padding across the floor to where Deeks was sprawled across the couch; Lara clutched against his chest. It had felt weird to breach without Deeks covering her back, but they hadn’t yet figured out the logistics of watching Lara and working. So Deeks had remained at home this time and she’d gone in. It wasn’t comfortable for either of them, but it was doable for the moment.
He opened his blue eyes and stretched, smiling lazily up at her. “Hey,” he murmured.
“Hi,” she answered. Bending down, she kissed Lara softly on the head before pressing a kiss to Deeks’s lips and shaking her head as his grin widened. “Why isn’t the baby in bed?”
“We were comfortable,” Deeks replied. “And since she was sleeping, I didn’t feel the need to move her. Besides I had a bit of trouble settling her down. She must have missed her mommy. I know I did.”
Kensi rolled her eyes as she slipped her hands under Lara, easily lifting her off Deeks’s chest. “Really? I didn’t miss that tonight.”
“But you missed me? Right?” When she didn’t respond, but simply walked away, he called, “Kensi? You missed me, right?”
“If you wake Lara, you’ll be the one staying up with her,” Kensi replied as she started up the stairs.
Deeks got up, quickly checking to be sure Kensi had locked up behind her, before following the two most important girls in his life up the stairs. Kensi was just laying Lara in her crib when he reached the nursery and he paused in the doorway, leaning against the jam as he watched her. She moved confidently around the room, checking things over before heading towards the door and Deeks.
He caught her around the waist as she started to go out the door, sliding one hand up and under her hair. “Did you catch the bad guys?” he asked softly.
“Yeah, we got them. It went fine,” she answered, shivering slightly under his touch.
Deeks rubbed her neck gently, leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers. “I’m glad. I…I was glad when you walked through the door tonight.”
“Were you worried about me?” she teased. “I took care of myself before I partnered with you.”
“Yeah, but you got a reason to come home now,” he pointed out.
“Just one?” she asked.
“More than one if you want it,” he whispered before he closed the last few centimeters between them and covered her lips with his.
Kensi dug her fingers into his hips, letting him control the kiss for a few minutes, before she pulled away. “Deeks, not here.”
“Really? You can’t even call me ‘Marty’ now?” he asked even as he let her push him down the hall.
She shook her head as she guided him into the master bedroom. “I don’t know, it’s just. I’m sorry, but I cannot say ‘Marty’ with a straight face.”
“Oh, so now my name makes you laugh?” he asked. “And why Marty and not Deeks?”
She pulled his head towards her, nipping at his lips. “Because Deeks is you.”
“That…actually makes sense,” he replied. He grinned as her hands slipped under his t-shirt; her nails scrapping across his abs. Drawing her closer, he cupped her ass with his hands, slipping one hand up and under her shirt. Spreading his hand across her back, he let her set the pace as she pressed closer to him. He groaned as she opened her mouth under his and allowed him entrance.
“Yes,” she whispered to him when they parted to breath. For a minute he wasn’t sure what question she was answering, but then he understood.
“Yeah. Okay,” he breathed in response. “I…I gotta. Damn it. Kens, I left Lara’s monitor downstairs. Just. Hold that thought, okay?”
Backing away from him, she pulled her shirt up and over her head, dropping it to the floor and leaving herself clad only in a black lace bra and tight jeans that molded to her frame. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear she’d never had a baby. “I’ll be right here,” she told him.
“Right.” He swallowed heavily as he backed out of the room, almost tripping over his feet. “Right. I’ll be. Right back. That is not. Not playing fair, Kensi. Responsible parent. I am. I am a responsible parent. I’ll…” He turned and almost ran into the wall before hurrying down the stairs.
Kensi bit back a laugh at his reaction, amused at seeing the normally suave Deeks losing his compose just because she’d taken her shirt off. She debated for a minute, then quickly stripped off her jeans and slid into bed, rolling onto her side so she was facing the door and would see Deeks returning.
When Deeks returned a few minutes later, Kensi’s brown eyes were closed and her breathing was deep and even. He paused at the edge of the bed, looking down at her. He couldn’t really be upset, she was worn out and needed her rest, but he had to admit he was disappointed. Sighing, he set the monitor on his nightstand and quickly shed his clothes. Slipping into the bed, he gathered Kensi into his arms, smiling as she snuggled up against him. Pressing a kiss against her hair, he closed his own eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Lara at age 4
“Daddy, look at me!”
Deeks waved in response, trying not to wince. “I see you, Buttercup,” he called. He knew better than to add ‘be careful’ because she was just like her mother and would take the admonishment as an instruction to climb higher or run farther. Instead, he settled back on the bench and tried not to run to her unwanted aide.
For a moment she hung from the top of the jungle gym and his heart caught in his throat, even though he knew she was as safe as she could be. Then she scrambled down, her fingers finding grips without looking and she ran towards him; haphazard braids streaming out behind her. He was sure those had been tied tightly when they left the house a few hours ago, but her hair never stayed neat no matter what he or Kensi did. She clambered into his lap, throwing her arms around his neck, and squeezing tightly. “What was that for?” he asked with a grin as she pulled back.
“I felt like it,” she informed him. “Do we have to go now?”
He wiggled his arm out from underneath her, eliciting some giggles as he twisted her this way and that, and checked his watch. “You have about five more minutes before we need to go meet Mommy. I think you have time for the slide.”
“Come with me?” she requested.
He started to tell her yes, but then the man who’d been watching her caught his eye again. “Not today.” Setting her on the ground, he kissed the top of her head. “Go slide, Lara, and I’ll come get you in a moment. Don’t leave the slide, all right?”
She nodded before running off in the direction of the curving slide that he’d pointed her towards. Deeks watched her for a few minutes to make sure she was well on her way up the ladder before picking up her backpack. Skirting around the edges of the playground, he kept the man in his sight as he circled around until he came up behind the shorter man. “The only reason I’m not calling in a predator warning right this minute is because I figure you have a damn good reason for stalking my daughter and me,” he said.
The man tensed, but obviously figured he wouldn’t make it far if he tried to run. “She’s not your daughter,” he replied.
“She’s more mine than yours. Walk away. Walk away now like you did before she was born.”
“I made a mistake,” he answered. “I shouldn’t have rejected…”
“You made your choice,” Deeks replied. “Kensi didn’t want anything from you. She simply wanted you to know about the baby, but you called her names. You rejected an innocent, someone who had done nothing to harm you. So you forfeited the right to ever, ever be a part of her life without crawling on your knees and begging her forgiveness. And guess what? She can’t give it to you yet because she doesn’t know you need it. So. Walk. Away.”
“You don’t have the right to take my daughter away from me,” he responded.
Deeks let a bit of one of his alter-egos out to play; allowing Max’s grin to spread across his face. “Yes, I do. Your name isn’t on her birth certificate. Mine is. And I’m the one that tucks her in at night and the one who answers when she cries ‘Daddy’. You have. No. Rights. We made sure of it.”
“You can’t do that,” he protested.
“We can and we have,” Deeks responded. “Last chance. Walk. Away.”
For a moment the man glared at him. “I’ll fight you on this,” he started to threaten.
Deeks stepped close to him, pleased to note that he was a couple inches taller, and lowered his voice, “Please. Don’t bother. Because you clearly don’t give a shit if it took you this long to find her. She’s got a daddy. One that couldn’t love her more if he gave her half her DNA. So go ahead and try to fight for her, you won’t gain anything, but bills.” He stepped back as he caught sight of Lara out of the corner of his eye, she’d dropped down from the slide and was looking around for him. The last thing he wanted to do was scare his little girl and he moved away from the man that had given him one of the most important things in his life, pausing to get in one last parting shot, “You have no idea what you gave up. No idea at all.”
Striding across the rubber shavings that formed the basis of the playground, he reached Lara just before she opened her mouth to scream for him. Scooping her up, he balanced her on his hip. “Hey, Buttercup,” he greeted her. “How about we go home and meet Mommy?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder, and he breathed in the sunshine scent of her as he squeezed her tightly. “Yeah,” she told him tiredly. “I want Mommy.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I want Mommy, too.” As he carried her out of the park, he tried to figure out how he was going to tell Kensi what had happened. This wasn’t going to be a short conversation. Not a short one at all.
Lara at age 5
“Daddy!”
Deeks turned at the sound of his little girl’s yell, just in time to catch her as she catapulted herself at him. “Hey, Buttercup, how was school today?” he asked as he swung her up into his arms and settled her on his hip.
For a minute he let her sweet chatter wash over him as she prattled about her day absentmindedly answering her as she told him everything that had happened, but then something she said caught his attention. “Wait, Lara, what?” he prompted her. “Repeat that for Daddy, please?”
“Tommy says I’m not yours.” She frowned at him. “How am I not yours?”
“Of course you’re mine,” Deeks assured her. “Don’t listen to Tommy. He’s a dork. Who taught you how to climb a rock wall?”
“Uncle Sam,” she answered him.
“Huh. You’re right. Well, who taught you how to open a door with no keys?”
“Mommy,” she said giggling now.
He tickled her. “Oh yeah? And who tells you stories?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Uncle G does!”
He made a face at her. “Well, what do I do? I know I do something. I must do something.”
“Make me ‘pagetti and hug me,” she told him. She squeezed him tightly.
“Oh is that all?” he asked. “Is that what a daddy does?”
She considered it for a few minutes, then nodded. “Yes.”
“All right then. Glad we got that settled.” He scooped up her backpack from where she’d dropped it. “Come on; let’s go see what your mom is up to.”
“Why don’t I have your name though?” she asked as he started to walk away.
“Because your mother is a stubborn woman,” he replied.
He’d taken three steps when he heard, “Mr. Deeks?”
He stopped, swinging around to the sound of Lara’s giggles. Her teacher was hurrying to catch up with them. “Yes, Mrs. Long?” he asked once the woman was close enough that he didn’t need to shout.
“I need to talk to you for a moment about Lara,” she said stopping in front of them.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, shifting Lara to a more comfortable position.
“She told a…story today that was…frankly inappropriate for school. I’m not sure where she heard it, but she said it was from her uncle. I don’t know who’s decision it was to let this man have contact with your daughter, but…”
Deeks ran a hand through his hair before looking at Lara. “Did you tell one of Uncle G’s stories?”
Lara ducked her head. “Maybe?” she whispered.
“Okay. We’ll discuss this with your mom later.” He set her down on the ground and pointed at his Baja. “Car. Now. Straight there and buckle yourself in please.” Waiting until he saw she was on her way and almost inside, he turned his attention to the teacher. “Sorry. G has a very active imagination and likes to share it with Lara. We’ve both discussed with her that his stories are made-up and she shouldn’t share them. And I’ve told him he should write them down instead of being a bum, but he just likes to torment us all. I apologize for the issues she caused.”
“Are you sure those stories are appropriate for a little girl?” she asked in return.
“Mrs. Long, I’m a cop. My little girl is well aware of the horrors of the world, no matter how much I try to shield her. I trust G with my life. I certainly trust him with my daughter. I’ll make sure she understands she shouldn’t be sharing them with her classmates.” He crossed his arms. “And speaking of her classmates. Why is one of them telling her I’m not her father?”
“Well. I. I. I had no idea,” she stammered.
“Yeah. You might want to look into that,” Deeks said. “Seems to me you should be just as concerned about that. Lara says his name is Tommy. I’ll talk to her, but I do not want to have her come home crying because this keeps up.” He slipped his aviator shades on. “Have a good evening, Mrs. Long.” Turning on his heel, he stalked off towards the car.
Characters: Marty Deeks/Kensi Blye, Lara Blye
Fandom: NCIS: Los Angeles
Series: An Unlikely Family
Written For:
Prompt:
Summary: Deeks and Kensi build a family with Lara.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For the rest of the series
Warnings: Deeks is protective, Lara is Kensi’s child, Deeks as a daddy!
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this.
Author's Note: So aeidailgirl over on AO3 asked me if I had any more parts to this story which got me remembering that I’d written but never posted these vignettes. So since I don’t intend to work on this again for the moment, I figured I’d put them up so everyone could enjoy them.
Lara at just a few hours old
Kensi blinked sleepily, rolling her head to the side, and opening her eyes to find Deeks sprawled in the chair next to her bed. He jerked in his sleep as she cleared her throat, then straightened up, rubbing at his eyes. “Hey,” he said, his voice muzzy from sleep. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good, considering. Where is everyone?” she replied.
“Went home. Figured you needed your rest.” He rubbed his hands across his face before stretching his arms above his head. “You need anything?”
“I’m good. Where’s Lara?” She struggled into a sitting position, waving Deeks off when he started to get up to help her. “I’m fine. What are you doing here?”
Deeks motioned to the bassinet on the other side of the bed. “She’s sleeping. I just thought you might like a hand and…” he trailed off.
She grinned at him. “You didn’t want to leave the baby. That’s adorable.”
“No. It wasn’t that. I just. I thought you might…” He glared at her as she continued to grin at him. “Fine. Whatever.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it, Deeks. It’s not a problem. And it lets me talk to you anyway.”
He leaned forward, handing her the glass she’d been reaching for. “What about?”
“I want to go back to work. To the field,” she explained. “And don’t look at me like that. You had to figure I wasn’t going to stay tied to a desk forever.”
“Frankly I’m impressed you managed to make it through your pregnancy,” he answered.
She leveled a look at him, but didn’t bother responding to that dig, instead telling him, “I know there are decisions that are going to have to be made before all is said and done and before I’m cleared for active duty, but one of the decisions that needs to be made is who’s going to take care of Lara if something happens to me.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you, Kensi,” Deeks hastened to reassure her.
“You can’t be certain of that, D, you can’t promise me that. And I just. I don’t want to trust anything to chance. So I want to ask you something. Please say no if it makes you uncomfortable, but after everything you’ve already done and I think Lara’s already stolen your heart.” She stopped as if unsure how to go on.
He waited, but she didn’t continue. “Hey, I can’t say no if you don’t ask me.”
“I want to put your name on her birth certificate,” she said in a rush. “It doesn’t have to be anything more than that, but if something happens. I want you to take her.”
“Hey, Kensi, slow down.” Deeks leaned forward, taking her hand in his. “Are you asking me to be part of Lara’s life? To be more than just…I don’t even know what exactly…”
“I’m saying I want to put you down as the father. I would like it, if you don’t mind, if you were willing. I mean at some point we’re going to have to tell her that you aren’t her biological father, but in every other way, I think you want to be.”
He sat back, running a hand through his hair. “I do. Kensi, you don’t know how much I want this, but are you sure?”
She leveled a glare at him. “Have you ever known me to ask you to do something I wasn’t sure about? You’ve already more than stepped up. If you don’t want to though, I understand.”
“No.” His blue eyes widened as he realized she was giving him plenty of room to back out. “No, I want this. I didn’t realize how much until…yeah. Yeah, Kensi, I want this.”
“Okay then. When the nurse comes back, we’ll let her know.”
“Yeah?” He smiled down at her. “Okay then,” he repeated her words. “Okay.”
Kensi smiled back at the almost shell-shocked look on his face. “You gonna start breathing again?”
“Yeah. Just give me a few,” he answered. “Just…” He turned as Lara started to stir. “I’ll get her.” He was out of the chair before she could respond and bending over the bassinet, cooing softly to Lara as he lifted her up. Kensi’s smile softened as the sight told her she’d made the right decision.
Lara at 4 months
Kensi shut the door softly, kicking off her shoes before padding across the floor to where Deeks was sprawled across the couch; Lara clutched against his chest. It had felt weird to breach without Deeks covering her back, but they hadn’t yet figured out the logistics of watching Lara and working. So Deeks had remained at home this time and she’d gone in. It wasn’t comfortable for either of them, but it was doable for the moment.
He opened his blue eyes and stretched, smiling lazily up at her. “Hey,” he murmured.
“Hi,” she answered. Bending down, she kissed Lara softly on the head before pressing a kiss to Deeks’s lips and shaking her head as his grin widened. “Why isn’t the baby in bed?”
“We were comfortable,” Deeks replied. “And since she was sleeping, I didn’t feel the need to move her. Besides I had a bit of trouble settling her down. She must have missed her mommy. I know I did.”
Kensi rolled her eyes as she slipped her hands under Lara, easily lifting her off Deeks’s chest. “Really? I didn’t miss that tonight.”
“But you missed me? Right?” When she didn’t respond, but simply walked away, he called, “Kensi? You missed me, right?”
“If you wake Lara, you’ll be the one staying up with her,” Kensi replied as she started up the stairs.
Deeks got up, quickly checking to be sure Kensi had locked up behind her, before following the two most important girls in his life up the stairs. Kensi was just laying Lara in her crib when he reached the nursery and he paused in the doorway, leaning against the jam as he watched her. She moved confidently around the room, checking things over before heading towards the door and Deeks.
He caught her around the waist as she started to go out the door, sliding one hand up and under her hair. “Did you catch the bad guys?” he asked softly.
“Yeah, we got them. It went fine,” she answered, shivering slightly under his touch.
Deeks rubbed her neck gently, leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers. “I’m glad. I…I was glad when you walked through the door tonight.”
“Were you worried about me?” she teased. “I took care of myself before I partnered with you.”
“Yeah, but you got a reason to come home now,” he pointed out.
“Just one?” she asked.
“More than one if you want it,” he whispered before he closed the last few centimeters between them and covered her lips with his.
Kensi dug her fingers into his hips, letting him control the kiss for a few minutes, before she pulled away. “Deeks, not here.”
“Really? You can’t even call me ‘Marty’ now?” he asked even as he let her push him down the hall.
She shook her head as she guided him into the master bedroom. “I don’t know, it’s just. I’m sorry, but I cannot say ‘Marty’ with a straight face.”
“Oh, so now my name makes you laugh?” he asked. “And why Marty and not Deeks?”
She pulled his head towards her, nipping at his lips. “Because Deeks is you.”
“That…actually makes sense,” he replied. He grinned as her hands slipped under his t-shirt; her nails scrapping across his abs. Drawing her closer, he cupped her ass with his hands, slipping one hand up and under her shirt. Spreading his hand across her back, he let her set the pace as she pressed closer to him. He groaned as she opened her mouth under his and allowed him entrance.
“Yes,” she whispered to him when they parted to breath. For a minute he wasn’t sure what question she was answering, but then he understood.
“Yeah. Okay,” he breathed in response. “I…I gotta. Damn it. Kens, I left Lara’s monitor downstairs. Just. Hold that thought, okay?”
Backing away from him, she pulled her shirt up and over her head, dropping it to the floor and leaving herself clad only in a black lace bra and tight jeans that molded to her frame. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear she’d never had a baby. “I’ll be right here,” she told him.
“Right.” He swallowed heavily as he backed out of the room, almost tripping over his feet. “Right. I’ll be. Right back. That is not. Not playing fair, Kensi. Responsible parent. I am. I am a responsible parent. I’ll…” He turned and almost ran into the wall before hurrying down the stairs.
Kensi bit back a laugh at his reaction, amused at seeing the normally suave Deeks losing his compose just because she’d taken her shirt off. She debated for a minute, then quickly stripped off her jeans and slid into bed, rolling onto her side so she was facing the door and would see Deeks returning.
When Deeks returned a few minutes later, Kensi’s brown eyes were closed and her breathing was deep and even. He paused at the edge of the bed, looking down at her. He couldn’t really be upset, she was worn out and needed her rest, but he had to admit he was disappointed. Sighing, he set the monitor on his nightstand and quickly shed his clothes. Slipping into the bed, he gathered Kensi into his arms, smiling as she snuggled up against him. Pressing a kiss against her hair, he closed his own eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Lara at age 4
“Daddy, look at me!”
Deeks waved in response, trying not to wince. “I see you, Buttercup,” he called. He knew better than to add ‘be careful’ because she was just like her mother and would take the admonishment as an instruction to climb higher or run farther. Instead, he settled back on the bench and tried not to run to her unwanted aide.
For a moment she hung from the top of the jungle gym and his heart caught in his throat, even though he knew she was as safe as she could be. Then she scrambled down, her fingers finding grips without looking and she ran towards him; haphazard braids streaming out behind her. He was sure those had been tied tightly when they left the house a few hours ago, but her hair never stayed neat no matter what he or Kensi did. She clambered into his lap, throwing her arms around his neck, and squeezing tightly. “What was that for?” he asked with a grin as she pulled back.
“I felt like it,” she informed him. “Do we have to go now?”
He wiggled his arm out from underneath her, eliciting some giggles as he twisted her this way and that, and checked his watch. “You have about five more minutes before we need to go meet Mommy. I think you have time for the slide.”
“Come with me?” she requested.
He started to tell her yes, but then the man who’d been watching her caught his eye again. “Not today.” Setting her on the ground, he kissed the top of her head. “Go slide, Lara, and I’ll come get you in a moment. Don’t leave the slide, all right?”
She nodded before running off in the direction of the curving slide that he’d pointed her towards. Deeks watched her for a few minutes to make sure she was well on her way up the ladder before picking up her backpack. Skirting around the edges of the playground, he kept the man in his sight as he circled around until he came up behind the shorter man. “The only reason I’m not calling in a predator warning right this minute is because I figure you have a damn good reason for stalking my daughter and me,” he said.
The man tensed, but obviously figured he wouldn’t make it far if he tried to run. “She’s not your daughter,” he replied.
“She’s more mine than yours. Walk away. Walk away now like you did before she was born.”
“I made a mistake,” he answered. “I shouldn’t have rejected…”
“You made your choice,” Deeks replied. “Kensi didn’t want anything from you. She simply wanted you to know about the baby, but you called her names. You rejected an innocent, someone who had done nothing to harm you. So you forfeited the right to ever, ever be a part of her life without crawling on your knees and begging her forgiveness. And guess what? She can’t give it to you yet because she doesn’t know you need it. So. Walk. Away.”
“You don’t have the right to take my daughter away from me,” he responded.
Deeks let a bit of one of his alter-egos out to play; allowing Max’s grin to spread across his face. “Yes, I do. Your name isn’t on her birth certificate. Mine is. And I’m the one that tucks her in at night and the one who answers when she cries ‘Daddy’. You have. No. Rights. We made sure of it.”
“You can’t do that,” he protested.
“We can and we have,” Deeks responded. “Last chance. Walk. Away.”
For a moment the man glared at him. “I’ll fight you on this,” he started to threaten.
Deeks stepped close to him, pleased to note that he was a couple inches taller, and lowered his voice, “Please. Don’t bother. Because you clearly don’t give a shit if it took you this long to find her. She’s got a daddy. One that couldn’t love her more if he gave her half her DNA. So go ahead and try to fight for her, you won’t gain anything, but bills.” He stepped back as he caught sight of Lara out of the corner of his eye, she’d dropped down from the slide and was looking around for him. The last thing he wanted to do was scare his little girl and he moved away from the man that had given him one of the most important things in his life, pausing to get in one last parting shot, “You have no idea what you gave up. No idea at all.”
Striding across the rubber shavings that formed the basis of the playground, he reached Lara just before she opened her mouth to scream for him. Scooping her up, he balanced her on his hip. “Hey, Buttercup,” he greeted her. “How about we go home and meet Mommy?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder, and he breathed in the sunshine scent of her as he squeezed her tightly. “Yeah,” she told him tiredly. “I want Mommy.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I want Mommy, too.” As he carried her out of the park, he tried to figure out how he was going to tell Kensi what had happened. This wasn’t going to be a short conversation. Not a short one at all.
Lara at age 5
“Daddy!”
Deeks turned at the sound of his little girl’s yell, just in time to catch her as she catapulted herself at him. “Hey, Buttercup, how was school today?” he asked as he swung her up into his arms and settled her on his hip.
For a minute he let her sweet chatter wash over him as she prattled about her day absentmindedly answering her as she told him everything that had happened, but then something she said caught his attention. “Wait, Lara, what?” he prompted her. “Repeat that for Daddy, please?”
“Tommy says I’m not yours.” She frowned at him. “How am I not yours?”
“Of course you’re mine,” Deeks assured her. “Don’t listen to Tommy. He’s a dork. Who taught you how to climb a rock wall?”
“Uncle Sam,” she answered him.
“Huh. You’re right. Well, who taught you how to open a door with no keys?”
“Mommy,” she said giggling now.
He tickled her. “Oh yeah? And who tells you stories?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Uncle G does!”
He made a face at her. “Well, what do I do? I know I do something. I must do something.”
“Make me ‘pagetti and hug me,” she told him. She squeezed him tightly.
“Oh is that all?” he asked. “Is that what a daddy does?”
She considered it for a few minutes, then nodded. “Yes.”
“All right then. Glad we got that settled.” He scooped up her backpack from where she’d dropped it. “Come on; let’s go see what your mom is up to.”
“Why don’t I have your name though?” she asked as he started to walk away.
“Because your mother is a stubborn woman,” he replied.
He’d taken three steps when he heard, “Mr. Deeks?”
He stopped, swinging around to the sound of Lara’s giggles. Her teacher was hurrying to catch up with them. “Yes, Mrs. Long?” he asked once the woman was close enough that he didn’t need to shout.
“I need to talk to you for a moment about Lara,” she said stopping in front of them.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, shifting Lara to a more comfortable position.
“She told a…story today that was…frankly inappropriate for school. I’m not sure where she heard it, but she said it was from her uncle. I don’t know who’s decision it was to let this man have contact with your daughter, but…”
Deeks ran a hand through his hair before looking at Lara. “Did you tell one of Uncle G’s stories?”
Lara ducked her head. “Maybe?” she whispered.
“Okay. We’ll discuss this with your mom later.” He set her down on the ground and pointed at his Baja. “Car. Now. Straight there and buckle yourself in please.” Waiting until he saw she was on her way and almost inside, he turned his attention to the teacher. “Sorry. G has a very active imagination and likes to share it with Lara. We’ve both discussed with her that his stories are made-up and she shouldn’t share them. And I’ve told him he should write them down instead of being a bum, but he just likes to torment us all. I apologize for the issues she caused.”
“Are you sure those stories are appropriate for a little girl?” she asked in return.
“Mrs. Long, I’m a cop. My little girl is well aware of the horrors of the world, no matter how much I try to shield her. I trust G with my life. I certainly trust him with my daughter. I’ll make sure she understands she shouldn’t be sharing them with her classmates.” He crossed his arms. “And speaking of her classmates. Why is one of them telling her I’m not her father?”
“Well. I. I. I had no idea,” she stammered.
“Yeah. You might want to look into that,” Deeks said. “Seems to me you should be just as concerned about that. Lara says his name is Tommy. I’ll talk to her, but I do not want to have her come home crying because this keeps up.” He slipped his aviator shades on. “Have a good evening, Mrs. Long.” Turning on his heel, he stalked off towards the car.
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