Hello there! It's been a very long time. As some of you may know, I haven't had much time to write lately, and my Callen/Kensi muse completely vanished for a while. So this is a short little story to try to get my muse going again. It's not meant to be anything spectacular, but if you like Callen/Kensi (I'm hoping a few of us still do?), I hope you'll like it. Thanks for reading, and please do leave a review!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

-I-

Once upon a time...

"Hand me that half-inch socket wrench, would you, baby girl?"

Twelve-year-old Kensi Blye picked up a wrench from the toolbox and handed it underneath the car to her father.

"You have fun over at Anna's today?" he asked.

Kensi could hear him spinning the wrench around one of the bolts. "Yeah, Anna was all excited because we saw Jack and Chris at the basketball court."

"You guys play a pickup game?"

"Um, sort of."

"Kensi..." came the suspicious voice from beneath the car.

"I'm fine, Dad."

"How about the other guy?"

Kensi heard a loud pop as the mechanism that her dad was tightening fell into place. Satisfied with his work, he slid out from under the car and stood up to grab the drink that rested on the nearby workbench.

As soon as his back was turned, Kensi peered curiously under the hood.

"Kensi Marie, don't you touch that carburetor."

Kensi froze. She looked over at her father and saw him grinning as he took a sip of his beer. She tried to smile, too, but instead winced in pain.

Her father took a step forward and gently touched his daughter's bruised face. He sighed. He didn't have to ask for any further details.

"What did I tell you about watching that temper, baby girl?" he warned. "How many times am I gonna hear from the other parents that my daughter has beaten up yet another boy?"

Kensi rolled her eyes. "But Dad, they're so mean to me. Especially Jack. He doesn't pick on Anna...just me. And Chris just laughs, because he likes Anna."

"Well, maybe Jack likes you."

Kensi was appalled by her father's suggestion. "He does not!" she insisted. "He makes fun of me, and he calls me names, and—" She pointed to her black eye. "And he did this."

"Sounds like Prince Charming, if you ask me." He tossed his daughter a beer can. "Here, put this on that shiner."

"He is not Prince Charming."

At the disgusted look on his daughter's face, with a cold beer can pressed against her black eye, Kensi's father could not help but laugh. He leaned back against the workbench, his arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head in amusement. "Baby girl, some day you are going to find your prince. And he's gonna come sweep you off your feet and take you away to his castle...but not if you beat him up first."

"Dad, no prince is gonna come sweep me off my feet and take me away to any castle," Kensi muttered.

"Yeah?" Her dad raised his eyebrows mischievously. "What if he picks you up in a sweet little sports car?"

Kensi grinned. "Well, now you're talking."

Her father held up the key. "Wanna see how she runs?"

Kensi's eyes lit up with delight. She eagerly grabbed the key and bounded into the front seat.

And when she inserted the key in the ignition, the car's engine roared smoothly to life.

"You bring doughnuts?"

Callen obediently held up the paper bag.

Kensi grinned and slid into the passenger seat next to him in the sleek silver Aston Martin.

"How was Hawaii?"

"It was fine," Kensi replied, taking a large bite out of the sweet, powdered treat. "Mmmm, Deeks could so learn from you…what was it this time?"

"He was detained."

"Detained?"

"By Hetty."

"Oh, God."

"Something about being 'woefully behind' on his professional development."

"So she sent you to pick me up instead?"

"Why? You disappointed?"

"No, I—" Kensi stopped, and her voice suddenly softened. "No, not at all."

Kensi felt a small flutter in her stomach, and she didn't think it had to do with the doughnut she was eating. Trying to escape the odd, unsettled feeling, she turned to gaze out the window, and she and Callen fell into a companionable silence as he drove away from LAX and she munched thoughtfully on her doughnut.

As Callen turned onto the freeway, Kensi watched him slip on his sunglasses and accelerate the Aston Martin to a speed that was most definitely pushing the limit.

"Thanks for picking me up at the airport," she finally said.

It was only a quick glance from him, hidden behind his shades, but Kensi could still feel the intensity in his eyes, and it sent a warm, unfamiliar flush racing through her body.

"Any time, Kenz."