I don't own NCIS Los Angeles! My native language is Dutch and I'm dyslectic so sorry for any mistakes.

I know I started another story first and that I said I would rewrite it. But I couldn't figure out what to do next, so I'm still toying with it. Also this story came up and took all the time away. So I hope you like the story and I'll continue rewriting the other story.

Chapter 1

'Since when do you get in on time?' Kensi joked as she saw her partner already sitting behind his desk when she walked into the bullpen.

'Well, my girlfriend decided that she wanted to spend some time alone,' Deeks answered her. 'So I had nothing else to do than come in early…Since you are a girl…what do you think she meant by 'spending time alone'?' Kensi laughed and she walked over to him until she stood in front of him. She leaned forward.

'She probably meant this,' she said and she kissed Deeks. She felt him smile against her lips and she was pulled onto his lap. Laughing she broke the kiss off, slapping him against his chest. 'We're at work! So keep your hands to yourself.' She got off his lap and smiled at Deeks who stared at her.

'I just missed my girlfriend,' he then smiled as well. 'My bed was very lonely this night. And now my girlfriend didn't even bring me some coffee.' Kensi laughed and she sat down behind her own desk.

'It's Sam's turn to bring the coffee,' she told him. 'And at work I'm not your girlfriend. Don't forget that, or your bed will get another lonely night.' Deeks' face immediately turned serious, with a little twinkle in his eyes, and he glanced at his paperwork.

'Lonely night?' Callen asked Deeks when he walked in. Deeks shot up.

'Why does everyone think I had a lonely night?' he asked. 'Just because I get into work this one time?'

'Yes, you are never on time,' Sam answered and he put a coffee on Deeks' desk. 'You're always late because you had to catch some more waves or because your girlfriend kept you up late.' Sam glanced at Kensi, who was smiling.

'So maybe I had a lonely night,' Deeks said. 'But you should all be happy with it: I was here on time.'

'No, we're not used to that,' Callen said. 'Now we can't talk about you.'

'You…you talk about me when I'm not around?' Deeks asked, sitting up straight.

'Of course, what else is there to talk about?' Sam replied. 'No one else is late enough so that we can talk all about him.' Deeks grimaced but never had a change to reply as Eric and Nell appeared at the stairs.

'We have a case,' Eric announced.

The team didn't spend much time in the Ops Center and went to the crime scene. It was a bloody one. A young man lay on his stomach in the middle of a room of which the walls were covered in colorful drawings and artwork. He was shot in his back, four times. His blood covered several chairs and tables, ruining some of the drawings lying on the table. At the entrance of the room were people standing. Adults, but children as well. All had gone here for a nice day, but ran into the horrible scene.

Nell had told them that the victim was the twenty-five year old Matt Gordons, who was a volunteer at the youth center the team was standing in. Matt had grown up in foster family that used to beat him. He had discovered art as a way to escape that abuse. And with his love for art he had found his place at the youth center, where he had never left.

'Four in the back…that is a painful way to die,' Deeks noted looking at the body.

'Who found him?' Kensi asked Callen, who pointed at a young woman who was crying in a man's arms.

'Katya Joefkov,' Callen answered. 'She found him when she wanted to open the youth center for the early children. And the man who she is with, is the owner of the youth center Paul Maltino.'

'A volunteer at a youth center,' Sam mumbled. 'Why kill him? A youth center usually does something good for the kids from the neighborhood, keeping them on the right track.'

'Kensi and Deeks, see if anyone outside saw something,' Callen said and Deeks and Kensi nodded. 'Sam and I will see what Maltino can tell us about our victim.' Kensi glanced at the children who were standing outside.

'How many have seen the body?' she wondered out loud.

'Probably not something they never saw before,' Deeks answered her.

'I ain't telling you squad,' said a boy who introduced himself as Tiny. 'Look, I liked the dude. He was nice. But I don't know anything about the one who killed him. And I'm not stupid enough to know something.' The boy looked in the direction of the room. 'Can I go now? I have school.' Deeks gestured a LAPD officer to come over.

'Give him your details,' he told Tiny. 'Then you're free to go to school.' Tiny shrugged and turned to the officer. Deeks shook his head as he walked over to Kensi, who just finished talking to another boy.

'This kids haven't seen anything,' she told him and she sighed.

'Which is probably the wisest thing,' Deeks replied. He pointed at a girl sitting against a tree on the other side of the street. 'Have you talked to her yet?' Kensi shook her head.

'She was next.' Deeks nodded and they crossed to street, walking towards the girl.

'Hey, I'm LAPD detective Marty Deeks,' Deeks said and he showed the girl his badge. 'And this is NCIS Agent Kensi Blye.' The girl's eyes turned scared and she stuffed her book into her bag.

'I have nothing to tell you,' she told them and she stood up.

'Wait a minute,' Kensi said as the girl wanted to walk away. 'What's your name?' The girl seemed to doubt what to answer. 'You can't go without giving us your name.'

'My name is Narah,' the girl said. 'But look, Matt is dead and no one saw something. So neither did I.'

'You knew Matt?' Deeks asked and Narah nodded.

'Of course, he was at the center every day,' she told him. 'We played some ball every now and then, or he would draw. He was trying to convince me to do some drawing, even though I suck at drawing. He was nice…a little like a big brother…' Suddenly Narah seemed to realize who she was talking to. 'But anyways, he is dead now.' She glanced around before looking at Deeks and Kensi again

'Narah, you did see something, right?' Kensi tried carefully.

'No!' Narah immediately replied and she sounded scared. 'Look, no one will tell you anything. Not if they want to survive another day. Life is already hard enough without some cops asking all kinds of questions. So please, let me go.'

'We just need your details, like where you live,' Deeks said.

'I live all over the place,' Narah answered. 'LA is my home. Are you happy now? I'm already late for school.' Without waiting another minute Narah walked away.

'These kids sure like to go to school,' Deeks sighed.

'People were too scared to talk,' Deeks told the others when he and Kensi were back in the Ops Center after interviewing everyone. 'They know they will get killed if they talk. Someone is ruling that area. A gang of some kind.'

'True,' Nell answered. 'The Fratres Armis are very active in the area. They deal in drugs and arms and are not scared to kill the ones who are in their way, like Matt Gordons. Or the youth center. The center had some trouble before with the gang. Fratres Armis is losing children against the youth center.'

'Maltino told us that Matt was one of the few the children completely trusted,' Callen said. 'Matt seemed to know where these kids were coming from. What scared them. He found a way to connect with them. Maltino said that he was blessed to have volunteers like Matt.'

'Have we found any family?' Sam asked.

'Family that would care about his death,' Deeks added bitterly. Kensi put her hand on his arm and he smiled weakly and shortly at her.

'Matt did have a brother,' Eric answered. 'Once called Andrew Gordons, but he was adopted by a foster family and there is no trace of him now.'

'A girl said that Matt drew,' Kensi said. 'Have we found his drawings? He drew to escape…maybe he drew something that could locate his brother, or something that would help us with his murder.'

'You sound like Nate,' Callen smiled.

'We can ask LAPD to collect and send the drawings,' Eric said.

'A kiss for your thoughts,' Deeks whispered into Kensi's ear as they were hanging on her couch, later that evening. Kensi smiled and she leaned into him.

'Just thinking about those kids,' she told him. 'Who have lost so many already and only have to lose even more. All because of some gang that wants to keep power.' Deeks kissed her neck.

'Not everything in live is easy.' Kensi sighed. As if didn't know that. But she never experience that when she was a child. She had had a relative happy childhood. She had her dad who took care of her. Who showed her that she was loved. These children at the youth center didn't seem to have someone like that. As she looked at Deeks she wondered if he ever had someone like that.

'Did you have someone in your life who took care of you?' she asked him and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

'Yeah I had. I was one of the lucky ones. I had Ray, my mom at some times…and Josephine.' He smiled as he said her name. Kensi stroked his arm.

'Who is Josephine?'

'Josephine is the woman who makes the best apple pie in Los Angeles, if not the entire world. Her pie is to die for. And her hugs are the ones who take all the pain and hurt away.' He looked down at her. 'I'll take you to see her some day. You will love her, just like everyone does. And her apple pie. You will definitely love her pie…so maybe it's better I never take you there as you might never want to leave again.' Kensi laughed and she punched him playfully against his arm. Then she looked him in his blue eyes.

'I'm glad you had someone like Josephine in your life,' she whispered at him and she leaned in to kiss him. He returned the kiss and ran his hand through her hair.

'And now I have you,' he told her.

To be continued?

What do you think? Did I get your interest? Or should I just stop right now?
Anything I can/need improve?