Became aware of couple holding hands, surrounded by offspring (6)
I believe the answer is:
sensed
'became aware of' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'holding hands surrounded by offspring' is the wordplay.
'holding hands' becomes 'ns' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'surrounded by' is an insertion indicator.
'offspring' becomes 'seed' (I've seen this in another clue).
'ns' put into 'seed' is 'SENSED'.
'couple' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sensed that I've seen before include "Became aware through mental perception or intuition" , "Felt, had mental impression" , "'Felt, perceived (6)'" , "Became vaguely aware of (something)" , "Felt, tasted, etc" .)