A/N: Thank you very much to yoursmilelaugheverything and hermionesmydawg for your encouragement and insight on this story :)

Also, I still own nothing.

Kensi sighed as she sat down on the couch next to Deeks. "Wow. That was chaos."

"That? After the week we had, a little girl's birthday party should be nothing."

"Yeah, but didn't you see all those kids going crazy for the cake and waving their wands around? Someone was gonna get hurt."

Deeks laughed. "Always the responsible adult, making sure no one pokes an eye out."

"One of us had to act like an adult."

"I wonder why you don't get invited to more parties."

Kensi took a sip of her beer. "Seriously, I have to applaud Sam and Michelle. They're such good parents for doing this. I'm sure it wasn't easy, considering everything else that's going on with them."

"I imagine it's hard to give your child a normal life when you're both undercover trying to retrieve nukes from a Russian arms dealer."

"They're doing it though. I don't think I've ever seen a happier kid in my whole life."

"What are you talking about? She was way happier when she was lucky enough to hang out with me the other night."

"I don't know, Deeks. She definitely had fun giving you a manicure and I certainly had fun watching her give you a manicure, but I think today trumps that."

"I guess I can't compete with Harry Potter."

"It's amazing though, isn't it? I mean, I know it's difficult for Sam and he doesn't always get to be there when he wants, but he's got a great family and you can tell how happy they make him."

"Sometimes I wonder how I manage to take care of Monty. I don't know how I could do what Sam does."

"I don't know..." Kensi gave him a soft smile. "I think you would be a good dad."

Deeks laughed. "You think so?"

"Yes, I do."

"Okay, now I'm curious. Why do you say that?"

"Because you're a big kid yourself."

Deeks smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. "I didn't exactly have the best example."

"Even more reason why you'd be great. You know what it's like to not have a good dad. I could see you trying your hardest to be the best one possible because of that. That's just who you are."

"Thanks, partner. I think you'll be a good mom one day."

She laughed. "How can you say that? I'm so awkward around kids. Even the other night, if you weren't there helping me, I don't know what I would have done. And then today, with all the yelling and running around... I've never been good with kids. I never thought I'd have any of my own."

"Really? Not even when you were with Jack?"

"Well... I don't know. Maybe. We didn't really make it that far where we made any definite plans. Plus, I was more optimistic then... before he left."

"I don't know. I think you'd be good at it."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because, you throw yourself into everything you do and family is important to you."

"Thanks, Deeks. I think you might still be wrong about this, but thank you."

"So, it's really too bad that we'd make such amazing parents... seeing as though we have no significant others to share our genes with."

"Yeah, too bad."

"I think we'd have some pretty amazing kids together."

"Deeks..."

"I'm serious! They would have my hair and eyes and winning personality."

"And what would I contribute?"

"Survival skills and an insatiable sweet tooth?"

"Thanks a lot."

"Hey, I saw how much birthday cake you ate. Don't even try to deny it."

"Well, this whole thing about you and me having a kid together is ridiculous. I don't know why you keep bringing it up."

"You know... if Nell didn't interrupt us the other day... who knows what would have happened?"

His usual light demeanor was changing into something else. She couldn't look away from his intense gaze. Heat was rising in her face. She unsuccessfully fought a smile as she remembered being Deeks' wife for the second time. She had pretended to be annoyed, but playing around with him in that hotel room was fun. Before she realized it, things had escalated and she had Deeks trapped between her legs. She surprised herself by how much she enjoyed it, by where her imagination was taking her. It was just like them to take things farther than they should really go. She was a federal agent working a case with high stakes and here she was wrestling with her partner on a bed in a hotel room. It both thrilled and terrified her. When Nell walked in, she couldn't decide for the life of her whether she was disappointed or relieved.

Kensi tried to steer things to a more comfortable place. "She stopped you from getting yourself hurt. That's what would have happened."

"Probably... but maybe it would have been something much more fun."

"With Sam and Callen listening?"

A mischievous smile spread across his face. "You know... it seems to me that you're saying Sam and Callen and Nell were all that was stopping us?"

She couldn't hold his gaze anymore. She looked down and shook her head. "That's not what I'm saying at all." She really wished that she sounded more convincing.

Deeks knew how far he could push Kensi before she became really uncomfortable. He knew he had a little ways to go before she'd completely shut down this conversation. But even though he loved pushing her buttons, he stopped.

Kensi finished the last of her beer and set the bottle down. "Well, I think I should go."

Deeks stood up with her and walked to the door. Before opening it, he gave her a sincere smile. "I meant what I said before."

"Since I have your vote of confidence, maybe I shouldn't totally write off kids for my future." She was trying to sound sarcastic, but his words really did mean a lot to her.

"Yeah, maybe."

Kensi shook her head and smiled. "To be honest, you have made me change my mind about a lot since we've been partners."

"Like what?"

"Like that it's possible to work with someone and trust them and be better at my job because of them."

"And like how you hated me at first and now you can't live without me?"

She rolled eyes. "Good night, Deeks."

"Good night."

Kensi climbed into the drivers seat of her SRX. She took a deep breath, trying to make sense of what just happened.

She was finding it more and more difficult to push Deeks from her mind. Their talk about being parents, about being interrupted and what may have happened if the situation was different... it had been unsettling. And she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

She smiled as she remembered the hotel room. It was fun putting him in his place. He deserved what he got for starting it. But then her thoughts had changed from simply wanting to teach him a lesson to something else. She found herself wondering if his mouth was good at anything else besides just talking. She found herself wondering how the scruff from his face would feel against her naked thighs. How would things have escalated if Nell hadn't walked in... if Sam and Callen weren't listening... if they weren't in the middle of an undercover operation... if they were more than just partners.

Even their conversation felt heated. Most of the time she could just dismiss it as a part of their normal banter and one-upping each other. But there were times like this, when she couldn't stop her imagination from taking it further. She wasn't sure what to make of him sometimes. His suggestion that something may have happened between them mixed with his genuine encouragement that she would be a good mom one day left her wondering what the future really held for her. For them.

She wondered if one day it would be her and Deeks throwing a birthday party for their son or daughter.

She shook her head and finally turned the key. He was certainly changing her mind about a lot of things. Some of them, she wasn't sure she was ready for just yet. Maybe one day she would be. Maybe even with him.

Deeks rinsed out the empty bottles and set them next to the sink. He leaned against the counter and ran his fingers through his hair.

When did things with Kensi get like this?

It was one thing to tease her about ninja assassins or "Little Martys" running around. It was another to imply that he might seriously want to have a family and that he might want her to be a part of it.

He thought back to the party, to Sam and Michelle. Their lives were far from normal. But yet, they were in it together. They understood what it took to get a job done. They also understood how to be honest with each other. They were by each other's sides, no matter what. They were partners in every sense of the word.

Until he could be that honest with Kensi, he could tease and flirt all he wanted, but it could never go farther than that. Realizing this hurt because what Sam and Michelle had was what he wanted more than anything in the world.

Twice he had gone undercover with Kensi as her husband. Both times had given him a taste of what that life could be like. Both times he found himself liking it more than he thought he should. Sharing a bed with her, kissing her, carrying her over the threshold, wrestling with her. And now he's imagining what it would be like to actually have a family with her. To have what Sam and Michelle have.

He felt guilty for their entire conversation. He knew she wasn't as resistant as she wanted him to believe. He could see curiosity mixed in with her denials. All that they were talking about... he can't have any of it until he could be completely honest with her. He hated Granger for the assignment he was given. He hated that there's something that he's keeping from his partner. He hated that there's another woman who he's lying to at the moment.

Until this was over, he can't possibly have a future with Kensi, beyond their partnership. And even then, when all of this comes to light, she may not want anything to do with him at all.

He prayed that she still would.