Dad Mode: An NCISLA FanFic

An after episode fanfic for “Best Seller”

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“Do we know him?”

“Deeks.”

“No, seriously, Kens. Who is this guy?”

“Steven is that cute boy Rosa pointed out at the school open house a couple of months ago,” she replied patiently. “Come on, baby. You know the one. She got all shy and giggly when she talked about him.”

“I kinda remember…I think…” he responded, arching an eyebrow. “There was a lot going on. Mama had Rosa’s teacher backed into a corner, so I had to rescue her before she got Rosa kicked out of school.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My mom put me through some very harrowing parent teacher conferences. It wasn’t pretty, especially for my teachers,” he explained. “So this Steven guy… is he the kid whose dad looks like a serial killer?”

“Deeks. Steven’s dad does not look like a serial killer. You are being ridiculous.”

“Am I? What do we really know about this Steven other than our Rosa has a crush on him ‘cause he’s cute?” Deeks questioned. “What if he takes after his father, and…and…”

“And what? Goes out at night with his dad and attacks people with a chainsaw?” she asked, getting exasperated with him. “This is crazy even for you, Deeks. He’s a school friend who our daughter likes. You had to know this was going to happen at some point. They’re teenagers.”

“So was I once.” His eyes deep in reflection. “I know how teenage boys talk about teenage girls… and what they’re thinking.”

“Deeks… do you trust your daughter?”

“I do, but I don’t trust a teenage boy whose dad may or may not be a serial killer.”

“Have you forgotten what she went through to get here?” Kensi asked gently. “Rosa is tough, Deeks. You know that.”

“I agree. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t protect her.”

“Of course not. We both want to protect her,” Kensi replied as she wrapped her arms around him. “Come on, baby. Loosen up a little.”

“You come on, Kens. You’re loose enough for the both of us.”

She took a step away from him. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means you act differently when you’re with her. You get all warm and gooey… you giggle… you give in to whatever she wants… you…”

“Stop right there, Deeks,” she said, her anger adding an edge to her voice. “I want her to be happy. And it makes me happy to see her happy. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, Kens. Nothing at all,” he said, reaching for her. “I’m sorry, sugar bear. I didn’t mean to make you mad. It’s just that sometimes I get scared… that this… having Rosa… the family we both wanted… is too good to be true. It’s hard for me not to think something bad is going to happen to take it all away. If something were to happen to her…”

“Like a teenage serial killer?”

“With a serial killer dad.”

“Deeks… we need to protect her, but we need to enjoy being with her too.”

“Yeah, no… I do… we do, but…”

“But, you want to run the dad’s name through the CODIS database to make sure he’s not a serial killer,” Kensi said, smiling in resignation.

“It wouldn’t hurt.”

“It might hurt Rosa.”

“Only if you tell her.”

“So, you don’t want her know her father is a lunatic?”

“She might already know that.”

“She might, but she also knows you love her, Deeks.”

“Does she?”

“Trust me, Deeks. She does. We both do.”

He smiled and pulled her into a hug. “I’m still running his name.”

“I know.”