I've no idea what I'm doing. =D

NCIS: LA and Densi stuff mostly. I'm really bad about tagging things. Don't look at my blog for reposts of all show related stuff, I only do if I have something to add conversationally. Occasional giffer and sometimes writer - check me out on ffnet and Ao3 as Phnxgirl. 30s

[mashmaiden]

In case anyone missed it, Dani and Eric were just announced yesterday to join in on this convention in Rhode Island in November. But it looks like we've got a fair amount of NCISverse happening there too!!

Why does Rhode Island have to be so far away from me? 😭😭

https://www.ricomiccon.com/celebrities for the full list of people, there are some big names on this list!

Wouldn't it be fun to get a whole group of us together to go?! 😍😍

[typingtess]

"Are you Mr. Beale?" the receptionist asked as Eric was buzzed into a rather nondescript office in a nondescript downtown Los Angeles office tower.

"I am," Eric said.  "I have an appointment with a Ms. Lange."  Eric took the messenger bag off his shoulder, trying to present a more professional look.

"Follow me, please," the receptionist used a biometric iris scanner to open a door Eric barely noticed.  The receptionist took Eric to a small conference room with a really small table and a remarkable view of the office tower next door. He sat on the chair facing the door.

After about two minutes, the door opened.  A small woman walked in, "Mr. Beale?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," Eric stood up and put out his hand. 

The woman shook his hand and motioned for Eric to sit down.  "I am Hetty Lange, operations manager for NCIS's Office of Special Projects.  Thank you for coming today."

As Eric sat, he opened his messenger bag and took out his resume.

"No need, Mr. Beale, I have your resume as well as your Identity History Summary," Hetty sat across for Eric.  "I see you graduated Caltech summa cum laude.  Why did you chose Caltech over MIT?"

"I visited MIT in the summer between junior and senior year of high school.  It was great.  Nice campus, smart students…"

"But…"

"My mother suggested visiting over Martin Luther King weekend in January.  We took cab from Logan to our hotel room and never left the hotel room.  I'm not a fan of snow and cold."

"MIT provides that and then some."

"Also it got really dark early in the day and the sun rose late in the morning.  Add in the cold and snow and the vibes weren't for me."

"Were the vibes the reason you turned down offers to join the CIA and the DoD?"

"It is a little warmer and a little lighter outside in the winter in the DMV but I like to surf, I like the sun."

"Not the image of the typical computer specialist."

"Oh, I enjoy a long coding session lit by the screen of my computer as much as my fellow tech enthusiast but I like going to trivia night with my friends, I like travel and as I mentioned, I like to surf."

Hetty nodded.  "You entered a white hat hacking contest for the Pentagon while at Caltech."

"I got my Dad's Acura in my parents' divorce.  The transmission died and I learned I really wasn't a bike or public transportation person.   The contest paid $50,000…"

"To the winner, second place was $1,000."

"Honestly Ms. Lange, I wasn't hacking for second place."

"I like the confidence.  And it's Miss, not Ms.  And I prefer Hetty."

"Ok Hetty, I'm Eric."

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you do with the $50,000?"

"Well, the transmission and a few other problems with the Acura made it easier to trade it in and buy a gently used Jeep Wrangler for ten-grand.  I still drive it.  It has a cloth roof, so that wasn’t going to work in Washington either."

"The rest?"

"Upgraded my laptop.  Traveled a little.  Bought some clothes for interviews."

Hetty nodded.  "The position in our agency required extended work hours.  It also requires absolute discretion in all matters.  Your trivia night friends need to think you work for the LA offices of a Silicon Valley company.  With the type of work the Office of Special Projects performs, security, discretion and intelligence in the moment are paramount concerns."

"That's understood and honestly, my friends wouldn't be thrilled I was working for 'the man' – not to be gender offensive."

"No offense taken," Hetty said with a smile.  "If you were offered the position, when could you begin."

"I'm currently coding for a buddy working at a video games company."

"David Thompson at GameMix."

Eric was a little surprised.  "Yes, he's doing a 'Lord of the Rings'-style video game.  I make a quality elf."

"Good to know.  About starting…"

"I would need a day or two but I'm available immediately."

"Again, good to know," Hetty said as she stood.  "Thank you for coming in, Mr. Beale.  We will be making a decision presently."

"Great, and really it's Eric."  Eric offered his hand again and Hetty shook it.

The receptionist showed up at the door out of nowhere.  Eric wasn't sure how she knew the interview was over but there she was.  The receptionist offered him a bottle of water as they got to the office door.  Eric took it, figuring if nothing else, he got something out of the interview.  He'd give NCIS a week and then see if any other LA based government agency need him. 

Plus, he if traffic was reasonable, he could be at the beach by lunchtime.

[ejzah]

A/N: The cookies are finally done! I managed to write this small fic in between.

***

Stolen Moments

Kensi crept through the house, moving carefully so she wouldn’t step on any of the squeaky spots in the floor. Deeks had taken Sophia and Caleb to get ready for bed about half an hour ago, so she assumed they were either asleep or were bargaining for more books.

She poked her head through the doorway and spied Deeks sitting up in the rocking chair, a twin cuddled in each arm. Their knees met in the middle, but Caleb and Sophia didn’t seem to mind.

“Hey, you look cosy.”

“Hey.”

Kensi noticed his looked pensive, one of his hands stroking through Sophia’s curls. In the last six months, both twins had gone through several growth spurts, including their hair.

“What’s with the sad face?” Kensi asked, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

“I don’t know. I was just thinking about how big these two are getting. Before we know it, they’re not gonna take naps as often or want to snuggle this anymore,” he said with a shrug.

“Oh, baby.” Nudging his leg, Kensi squeezed in next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “Sometimes it seems like they were just born and I can’t believe that we’ll have three year olds in a few months.”

“It’s not that I don’t want them to get older,” Deeks murmured. “I just…sometimes there isn’t enough time in the day to appreciate each beautiful, fragile stage. It feels like I’m wasting that precious time.

“Which is why we take every opportunity to snuggle them now while we can,” Kensi said soothingly.

[ejzah]

A/N: Have another small dialogue drabble.

***

Kilbride: Where the hell have you two been?

Kensi, calmly: Do you really want to know the answer to thar, Sir?

Kilbride, after a moment of consideration: No, I do not.

Deeks: Plausible deniability. Excellent choice.

Kilbride: This is why I drink at night.

Deeks, helpfully: You should try some melatonin. Maybe a little ashwagandha. I hear it helps with stress.

Kensi, nudging his shoulder: We should send him a bottle of good bourbon.

[ejzah]

A/N: It’s birthday cookie making time again, so I bring you a small dialogue drabble. I’m not sure if I’ll have to write much until Friday.

***

*Sam has just brought the twins back from a visit*

Deeks, grinning: Hey, guys! Did you have fun with Uncle Sam?

Sophia, hugging Deeks’ legs: Uh-huh. Hold me, daddy.

Caleb, reaching up: I wanna a hug too.

Deeks: I missed you. Were you good for Sam?

Sam, watching with a fond smile: They were angels. We went to the park, got tacos, and then played at my house.

Deeks, squeezing Caleb and Sophia playfully: That sounds like an amazing day. Thanks for watching them.

Sam: Anytime. It was fun.

Caleb, snuggling against Deeks: We made you pictures.

Sam, grabbing a paper bag and pulling out several pieces of construction paper: I almost forgot. Here are their masterpieces.

Deeks, eyes widening: Wait, what is that? Did you bring glitter into my house, Sam Hanna

Sam, shrugging: Glitter is fun. I thought you’d be completely on board for it.

Deeks: Glitter is the evil sibling of sand. I’m gonna be vacuuming for weeks.

Sophia, tilting her head: You don’t like it, daddy?

Deeks, quickly: Oh no, sweetheart, I love your picture.

Sam, taking advantage of the distraction: I’m just gonna leave now.

Deeks: This isn’t over!

[ejzah]

The Healing Powers of Ice Cream, Part 2

***

Deeks and Rosa drove to their favorite local ice cream shops. Surprisingly, the only other patron was a young woman with a baby sitting on the other side of the shop. Rosa grabbed a table for them while Deeks ordered their ice cream.

“One triple scoop sundae with dark caramel river, mint chocolate chip, and peanut s’more.” Deeks slid a very full dish in front of Rosa.

“That is way too much,” she said even as she scooped out a large spoonful. “Thank you.”

“Sometimes a giant bowl of ice cream is the only thing that will drown your sorrows,” he quipped. Rosa didn’t say anything to that, but sighed heavily enough he knew this would take more than dessert to fix.

He waited until some of the tension eased from Rosa’s shoulders before he initiated conversation again.

“What’s Steven doing today?”

“He has that interview with the financial aid department for his work study job,” she answered shortly.

“Nice. He’ll make a good student advisor,” Deeks said. Rosa nodded distractedly, then let out a prolonged sigh.

“I’m struggling with my statistics class. All the homework takes so much time, I don’t have energy for anything else,” she explained, head lowered over her ice cream. “Math has never been a strength, but I didn’t think I was this bad at it. I’m not sure I’ll pass the final.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Deeks said softly. “You know we’d be happy to help you. Or better yet, find a tutor who can actually explain the calculations.”

“No one else in the program needs a tutor. Most of my friends are taking classes and working too, but they’re not two seconds away from failing.” Rosa finally looked up, her face heartbreakingly vulnerable. “It’s embarrassing.”

Deeks wanted to hug her more than anything, but he didn’t think she was quite ready for that. He settled for squeezing her hand.

“Rosa, I don’t want to invalidate how you’re feeling, but I do have a few things to tell you,” he started. “First of all, you’re doing an amazing job and I’m so proud of you.”

Rosa made a noise of disbelief, but he didn’t let that derail him.

“Secondly, you are allowed to make mistakes. Everyone does. I guarantee your classmates and friends are feeling just the way you do, even if they don’t show it. I know it’s incredibly hard when you’re in the middle of it, but you are not a failure for struggling. Even if you fail every class, you still won’t be a failure. You are an amazing smart, kind, and caring person.

“You say that no matter what I do,” Rosa pointed out.

“Exactly. Because your worth is not tied to what you can or can’t do and what you accomplish.”

Rosa smiled softly to herself and murmured something in Spanish.

“What was that?” Deeks asked, only catching a few words.

“It’s something my father used to say. ‘You can’t fail if you try.’”

“That’s beautiful. And very true.”

Letting the silence linger between them, Rosa stirred the melted remains of her ice cream, her brows furrowed in thought.

“I think I going to ask to reduce my hours at work,” she said eventually, and Deeks knew how much the concession meant. “That say I can focus on my classes more.” She gave Deeks a shy smile. “And I might take you up on help with statistics. You and mom got me through high school geometry after all.”

“Any time, Rosalie. We always have time for you, no matter what,” he promised.

“Thanks, dad,” Rosa said, leaning over the table to hug him.

***

A/N: Sometimes you just need a chat with your dad.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had Rosa refer to Kensi and Deeks as mom/dad. I figure by this point, she’d feel comfortable calling them mom and dad and would refer to her biological parents as mother/father (in English at least).

[dct239394cvvd098dffgggp]

:D

[cryptile]

Something my dear friend said to me that i think fits

[ejzah]

A/N: I did not manage my time wisely, so have a dialogue drabble.

***

Callen and Sam are at Kensi and Deeks house*

Caleb, sitting next to Sam: Uncle Hamma, I got new Leggos.

Sam, chuckling and then speaking slowly: I love leggos. Also, I’m Uncle Hanna, not Hamma, Caleb.

Caleb, frowning: Dat’s what I said.

Sophia, hanging off Sam’s shoulder: You got ham in you, Uncle Sam? Like a sandwich. *Sam glares at Callen, who is silently laughing*

Callen, breathlessly: I like their version better. Yes, he is made entirely of ham.

Deeks, helpfully: And Swiss cheese.

Kensi: With a little bit of mustard and mayonnaise.

Caleb, looking at Sam and back to the others in concern: Really?

Deeks, nodding: Absolutely, kiddo.

Sam: You are not helping.

Callen, shrugging: To be fair, we weren’t trying.

Sophia: Are you made of lettuce too? Cause I don’t like it so much.

[densi-mber]

Densi-mber Day 2: Densi and the Moms

[ejzah]

A/N: A lightly spicy dialogue drabble.

***

Deeks, walking into the bedroom: The Pastry Twins are officially asleep and mama said she—whoa, what—what are you wearing?

Kensi, lounging on the bed in teal lingerie: Oh, I just found this lying around. I can change if you don’t like it.

Deeks, quickly: No, I uh, I love it. It’s, heh, you look amazing. You just surprised me. *he slides onto the bed next to her* Did I mention how hot you are?

Kensi, tangling a hand in his hair: The twins are finally sleeping through the night, Rosa’s staying with Tay, and your mom’s out of town so I figured we should take advantage of the privacy. *her other hand creeps up his shirt*

Deeks, kissing along her jaw: We’d be fools not to.

Kensi: Mmm. Now take off your pants.

[ejzah]

A/N: A lightly spicy dialogue drabble.

***

Deeks, walking into the bedroom: The Pastry Twins are officially asleep and mama said she—whoa, what—what are you wearing?

Kensi, lounging on the bed in teal lingerie: Oh, I just found this lying around. I can change if you don’t like it.

Deeks, quickly: No, I uh, I love it. It’s, heh, you look amazing. You just surprised me. *he slides onto the bed next to her* Did I mention how hot you are?

Kensi, tangling a hand in his hair: The twins are finally sleeping through the night, Rosa’s staying with Tay, and your mom’s out of town so I figured we should take advantage of the privacy. *her other hand creeps up his shirt*

Deeks, kissing along her jaw: We’d be fools not to.

Kensi: Mmm. Now take off your pants.

[hmione]

Julia Stiles as Kat Stratford 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) | dir. Gil Junger

[ejzah]

On a Wave’s Edge, Part 10

***

Kensi left Deeks with a combination of regret and embarrassment. She’d worked with a lot of civilians in the past, and she’d never almost kissed one before. There was just something so compelling about Deeks that made him hard to resist. Of course, most of the m weren’t nearly as charming, or attractive, as Deeks.

Her heart sped up slightly as she thought of Deeks’ smile. God, she was hopeless.

When she walked into the bullpen, everyone was waiting for her. She hadn’t replaced her comm when she changed, so none of the team had a front row seat to her lapse in judgment. Thank god.

“How did it go?” Sam asked, getting them back on track. “I assume the surfer didn’t cause too much trouble since you didn’t call for back up.”

“Deeks was fine.” Kensi tried to keep her appreciation out of her voice, because she knew they’d jump on it in a second. “Very professional. As far as Branston goes, he’s definitely a creep and thinks he’s God’s gift to women. But I didn’t get any proof of his financial crimes.”

“You mean he didn’t immediately reveal his evil plans to you? Gotta admit, Kens, that’s disappointing.”

“Tell you what, next time you can flirt with the jerk and I’ll provide backup,” Kensi offered pleasantly. “What about on your end? Did you find anything new?”

“We traced some of the money stolen from Taylor Moore to an offshore account, but it wasn’t the full amount and so far, there’s no clear connection between it and Meyers,” Eric explained regretfully. “We think there are multiple accounts involved at this point.”

“He’s gotta be working with someone,” Nell added. “Unless he’s a really good actor, he does not seem smart to pull off the tech aspect on his own.”

“That’s for sure,” Kensi muttered, thinking of Branston’s complete lack of self-awareness.

“You didn’t say if he took the bait,” Sam pointed out.

“He seemed interested, but didn’t immediately try to sweep me off my feet. Of course, that was after I spent the minutes praising his sense of humor and surfing skills.” Kensi rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure he won’t put up too much of a fight if we have a couple more lessons together.”

“Good. Now you have a connection and that’s what counts. At your next lesson, do whatever you need to make him drop everything for you,” Callen said.

“I was afraid you’d say that,” Kensi said, making a face. “He already knows I have a decent job. What if we add a nice little inheritance to the mix?” she suggested. “I can casually drop it into conversation.”

“I’ll create a fake account.” Nell tapped a stylus against her tablet.

“Do you need any help?” Eric asked.

“No, I got it handled.”

“Alright. Beale, you keep working on tracking the money,” Callen said. “Kensi run through everything Meyers told you.”

***

After Kensi finished debriefing Callen and Sam, she headed upstairs to check in with Nell.

“Hey, Lady. I’m almost finished with your faux account,” Nell said without turning away from her desk. “What’s up?”

“I figured—wait, is that Deeks’ Facebook page?” Kensi asked, cutting herself off mid-sentence as she noticed the site populating the big screen.

“Yeah,” Nell confirmed without shame. “It seemed prudent to know more about the civilian who’s basically your partner for this case.” She spun around and swiped up on her tablet, pausing on a picture at random. “Plus, he’s really cute.”

Despite her outrage, Kensi couldn’t help but look at the picture of Deeks holding a medium-sized, shaggy dog. Deeks smiled at the camera, playfully holding up one of the dog’s paws.

“The dog’s name is Monty. Deeks adopted him after he was retired from a K-9 unit,” Nell informed Kensi with a confidential air. “He even takes him surfing sometimes.”

Damn him. Why did he have to be so charming and nice?

Kensi arched an eyebrow at Nell and crossed her arms. “I’m sure knowing all about his rescue dog was necessary to the case.”

“Absolutely. These are from one of his volunteer groups.” Nell sat down again and navigated to a new picture which featured Deeks laughing amongst a group of kids on the beach. “Aww, look. One of the parents tagged him. ‘Charity loved learning to surf with you, Mr. Deeks. She can’t wait for the next class.’ I bet you would never con women out of their money, would you?”

“Ok, enough talking to his picture,” Kensi interrupted, feeling a hint of irritation.

Scooting her chair closer, Nell rested her chin on her fists, mimicking a child settling in for story time. “Fine. Tell me all about your lesson. Was he charming? How does he look in a wetsuit? Don’t leave out any details.”

Biting back a smile, Kensi pulled up a chair and happily indulged Nell’s request.

***

A/N: No matter the story or scenario, Nell will always appreciate Deeks. For a change, she isn’t messing with Kensi. Or is she?

Also, this is a very unserious fic. Just in case I didn’t make that obvious before. 😊

[typingtess]

(late season seven)

Deeks was about half-way through his workout when Callen walked into the gym.  "You're in early," Callen said as he put his briefcase on the weightlifting bench before sitting next to it.

Slowing down a little on the exercise bike, Deeks said, "I went to surf this morning but there was the police had everything cordoned off."

"What happened?"

"Two bodies washed up.  Young girls – teenagers probably.  Offered to help but wearing my wetsuit probably didn't give the 'I'm here to work vibe' the officer in charge as looking for."

"Did they have any ideas about the bodies?"

"Seems some social media thing is going on to go to marinas and take out some wave runners or jet skis for a joyride.  Stupid in the daytime but at night...nobody realizes how dark it is at night on the water until they are out there."

"That's terrible."

"I told LAPD if they needed anything and we could help, give me a call.  So far, no call."

"Things seem better between you and LAPD," Callen noted.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Cleaning up your old squad probably didn't hurt."

"Yeah, Steadman, Quinn and Flynn weren't poster boys for LAPD recruiting efforts."

"You think about going back?"

"Should I be thinking about going back?" Deeks answered a question with a question.

"If Hetty wants you here, you're here."

"And if you don't want me here?   I mean, we had a conversation after I came back from all of my unauthorized Russian dental work and you seemed not so on board."

"You weren't ready to be back in the field."

Deeks stopped peddling the stationary bike.  "Hetty popped up in my apartment – literally, she was hiding in the curtains – and said I was ready to return to work.  I returned to work."

"You should have been eased in."

"Probably but here we are.  So, should I be looking to return to LAPD?"

"No, but you have a record of changing careers every few years."

"I've been LAPD for over ten-years."

"A couple of years in vice, a couple of years with the undercover unit, a couple of years with us.   Before that, it was the public defenders office then the DA's office."

"You had a few stops before making it here."

"True."

"Not going anywhere voluntarily, Callen."

Callen nodded his head.  "I always thought Hetty would offer you a fulltime position."

"She did.  About a year after I got here.  She did all the paperwork, all I had to do was sign."

"When did she do this?"

"Right before our springtime visit to Romania."

"Getting her ducks in a row," Callen mumbled.  "If she filled out all the paperwork, why aren't you NCIS?"

"I said no."

Callen's eyebrows shot up.  "Brave man.  How did she react?"

"I'm still here so I guess she was fine with it.  I have the paperwork in my desk."

"Why did you say no?"

"I like being LAPD.  It's where I belong."

"As long as you're not actually there with them."

"I think of it as a long distance marriage.  We show up together for big events, hang around from time to time, talk on the phone a lot but they have their lives, I have mine and everyone is happy."

Callen chuckled as he stood.  "Well, if you plan to move back in together, or you decide to move on to something else, I'd like a head's up."

"Sure, can I ask where this all came from?"

"I'm thinking Sam may have to take a step back to be with his family.  I need to know the status of team if he's gone for any significant time.  Plus, you showed up about six-years ago, wanted to make sure you weren't getting antsy."

"Not antsy. And I'll be showing up for a while longer," Deeks said as he started pedaling again.

"Good to know."

[ejzah]

A/N: Loosely related to a Threads post I saw. I instantly thought of Densi and the twins.

***

Sophia, stretching on her tiptoes: I can’t reats it.

Deeks, getting the book she’s aiming for: Here you go, Miss Sophie.

Sophia, offhandedly: Tanks, baby!

Deeks: Baby? I think you mean “daddy”.

Sophia, firmly: Your name is baby. Yes, it is.

Kensi, chuckling: Sweetheart, only mommy calls dad “baby”. That’s my special nickname for him.

Caleb, shaking his head: No, he’s not your baby. Daddy’s my baby.

Sophia, hugging Deeks’ knees: I love you, baby.

Kensi, sighing: I might actually have to call you by your first name for a while.

Deeks, in disgust: That’s gonna be so weird.

[gaiabamman]

Using the appropriate vocabulary in your novel

It is very important that the language in your novel reflects the time and place in which the story is set.

For example, my story is set in Italy. My characters would never “ride shotgun”, a term coined in US in the early 1900s referring to riding alongside the driver with a shotgun to gun bandits. 

Do your research! A free tool that I found to be very useful is Ngram Viewer. 

You can type any word and see when it started appearing in books. For example…one of my characters was going to say “gazillion” (I write YA) in 1994. Was “gazillion” used back then?

And the answer is…YES! It started trending in 1988 and was quite popular in 1994.

Enjoy ^_^

[storiesintheashes]

This is really important, especially because language can change in very unexpected ways. 

For example, did you know that before 1986 people never said “I need to”?Instead, they were far more likely to say “I ought to”, “I have to”, “I must”, or “I should”.

Don’t believe me?

Anyway, most people won’t notice subtle changes like that. But your reader will notice and be confused when characters in your medieval world use metaphors involving railroads and rockets.

One of the things you can do besides use Google Ngrams is to read books or watch movies written in the time period you want to set your story. The key here is that they can’t just be set in that time period, they have to have been made in that time period.

Also, there’s a Lexicon Valley episode on this very topic which I highly recommend. It’s called Capturing the Past. 

[still-intrepid]

SEE ALSO Etymonline.  Word origins and when they’re first recorded. So, say I wanted to find out when a “coffee break” became a thing – around the 1950s, as seen in magazine adverts – or characters might talk about more genrallly “taking a break” from the 1860s…

[villainous-queer-deactivated202]

reblogging for etymonline. I can’t tell you how much I use it for period-appropriate erotic language….

[ejzah]

@mashmaiden pointed out that Rosa had been a little absent, so I thought I’d rectify that. She’s been busy.

***

The Healing Powers of Ice Cream

Deeks came home to a fairly quiet house, which wasn’t completely unusual for the summer. What was unusual was Rosa’s car parked in the driveway before five on a weekday

When he walked inside, he found Rosa slumped on the couch, one hand thrown over her forehead. Usually, she had class until four on Thursdays and then either work or study sessions.

“Hey, you’re home early,” he said, setting his work bag to the side before he leaned over the couch to kiss the top of Rosa’s head.

“Hi. My last class was cancelled because the instructor is sick,” she explained. “Mom, Sophie, and Caleb are in your bedroom.”

Deeks paused at the lack of inflection in her voice.

“You doing ok, Rosalie?”

Rosa sighed and slid down a tiny bit more. “I meant to sit down for just a few minutes, but now it’s really hard to get back up,” she admitted.

“Well, I don’t know why,” Deeks teased. “You’re only taking two classes, working, watching the twins so much, and somehow still finding time for a boyfriend and friends.” He nudged her leg and sat next to her.

“It didn’t sound like so much when I was planning everything this spring.” She made a slightly dispirited sound. “I feel like I’m failing at everything.”

“You are definitely not failing.”

“Then why does it feel as if I’m just barely keeping up? All of my friends and classmates are busy too, but they don’t look like they’re going to fall over every day,” she said tightly.

Deeks understood that feeling well enough and now disheartening it could be.

“You wanna get some ice cream? It’ll be good for you to get out of the house for something that isn’t school or work,” he suggested.

“I really should work on my paper.”

“We won’t be gone that long,” Deeks promised.

“Ok. That would be nice,” she agreed softly.

While Rosa grabbed her phone, Deeks popped his head in their bedroom. Kensi was in the middle giving the twins a bath.

“Hey, baby.” She got up and greeted him with a kiss and the twins offered him soapy grins. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Hey Kens, Rosa and I are gonna go out for a little bit for I.C. Are you ok with the kiddos for an hour or so? I know you wanted to work on that presentation tonight.”

“Of course. Is everything ok? Emergency I.C. trips are usually reserved for extreme circumstances,” she joked.

“I think she’s just feeling a little overwhelmed and I thought a break might help. We can wait if you want to come with,” he said.

Kensi’s face softened. “No, you go. I think she could use some one-on-one dad time. We’ll be fine here. Right, guys?” She directed the last part to the twins.

“I made a ducky, mommy,” Caleb responded, showing off a handful of soap suds.

“I’ll make a couple of pizzas for when you get back.”

“Best wife ever,” Deeks told her with a grin. “We’ll bring you back some mint chip.”

“Double scoop for me please.” Leaning in, Kensi kissed him again. “You’re a good dad,” she murmured softly, then gave him as light shove towards the door.

***

A/N: When I was very young, my parents would abbreviate ice cream to I.C. It was pretty effective until I started learning to spell.