Oh, I've loved you from the start
In every single way
And more each passing day
You are brighter than the stars
Believe me when I say
It's not about your scars
It's all about your heart

"Hey, Chloe, Jason! Make sure your brother doesn't get left out," Kensi called out as their three children ran across the park to where a group of neighborhood kids were playing an impromptu game of dodge ball. At this point, it was a mostly unnecessary reminder; Chloe and Jason automatically looked out for Matthew most of the time.

She felt Deeks come up behind her and rest his hand on the small of her back, rubbing it gently. Kensi leaned back into his touch with a sigh.

"Everything ok?" he asked and she nodded, turning to look back at him

"Yeah, I'm just a little worried about Mattie. Most the other kids are so much faster, I keep thinking he's going to get over looked. Or hurt." It was a constant worry for both of them, but somehow Deeks had an easier time of letting Mattie work things out for himself than she did. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it ended in bruises or tears of frustration.

"He's doing great, baby. Just look at him. He's having the time of his life." Deeks gestured back towards the park. From this distance it looked like Mattie was laughing and joining right in. He wasn't exactly following the rules per se, kicking the ball rather than throwing it, but no one around him seemed to mind.

Mattie saw her watching and waved, his small hand a blur of motion. He started running over a second later, shouting,

"Mommy, I pay a bid tis!" Kensi braced herself for impact as he ran straight into her without slowing down. She remembered a time when even stringing two words together took painstaking effort. Smiling at his excitement, she hugged him back.

"I saw, you're doing such a good job," Mattie grinned up at her and shoved his glasses back on the small bridge of his nose. Strands of his thick blonde hair were plastered to his forehead and the sides of his head and he was panting in between words.

"Daddy, you see?" He turned to Deeks who hefted him under the arms and onto his shoulders with a groan.

"I did, buddy. You having fun?"

"Yeah, bu' a not get goaw," Mattie said, his slanted blue eyes narrowing in sudden disappointment. He stuck out his bottom lip, adopting the puppy dog look he'd perfected years ago. Kensi swore he'd learned it from Deeks and when he turned it on no one could resist him. "You help me, Da'?"

"Of course I will. We'll make the best goal anyone has ever seen in the entire history of goals." Deeks proclaimed loudly, eliciting a giggle from Matthew.

"You do realize that they're not playing soccer, right?" Kensi asked, amused by her boys' antics. Deeks hefted Matthew a little higher on his shoulder and said,

"We are now. I mean who could resist these faces?" Kensi rolled her eyes as Deeks set Mattie back down and they started walking back towards the game, talking boisterously the whole way. Jason and Chloe met them halfway and from what she could tell they seemed to be trying to teach Mattie the difference between soccer and dodge ball.

Six years ago, she hadn't known how much her life could change in a single day. Most days it was far from easy, but it was never boring and she wouldn't change it for the world. Not a single thing.

A/N: So…this idea just popped into my head randomly. It occurred to me that I always write Densi with kids that are pretty 'typical' for lack of a better word. That's how this little drabble was born.

If you weren't able to tell from my description, Mattie has Down syndrome. The physical characteristics and speech/language errors I used are mostly based off my own sister who has Down syndrome. That being said, I'm not saying this is what an individual with DS typically sounds or looks like.

Lyrics and title are from the song "All About Your Heart" by Mindy Glendhill.