AN: Okay, I'm a couple weeks late, I know, but this story just came to me out of the blue today and then I realized that so many people had asked for a sequel to my short story from Mother's Day last year, so I decided to tie them together. I believe this is only going to be 4 or 5 chapters; I only have the first two actually written at this point. Anyway, if you haven't read 'Happy Mother's Day', you might want to do so first, just to clarify a few things. Otherwise, enjoy! And please, let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. Or Brad Paisley.
Chapter One
"Yeah, yeah, Jay, I got it. Don't worry about it. Take your time." Derek kicked the door to the small apartment closed as he dropped his go-bag on the ground and headed into the kitchen. "Jay, I promise. It's fine." He shook his head as he quickly began digging around the cabinets for pots and pans. "Okay, yeah, I'll see you when you get here. I love you, too."
After he heard the 'click' on the other end of the phone, signaling that JJ had hung up on her end, he dropped his phone from his shoulder and placed it on the counter before continuing the task before him. It'd be a year since he surprised JJ on Mother's Day and he was planning another surprise tonight.
Once he had the water heating up, he turned and flipped the switch on the small radio JJ had placed in the corner, filling the room with the sound of the local country station. He chuckled when he realized that JJ must have been listening to it last, since country clearly wasn't his first choice. Deciding to leave it as it was, he turned back to the stove. Dinner was going to be simple; JJ loved simple. While he knew that JJ had a lot of paperwork to finish up, he also knew that it wasn't going to take her as long as she thought it would, so he didn't have that much time to get everything together.
Tossing some pasta into the boiling water, he turned the burner down low and pulled out a jar of sauce out of the cabinet above his head. As he stirred the pasta, he absentmindedly hummed along to a familiar song on the radio. He vaguely remembered JJ singing along to this song a couple mornings prior on their drive to work.
As he continued stirring the pasta and sauce, he began to think back over the last year of his life. It was a well-known fact that Derek Morgan was a ladies man. His many flings and girlfriends were always a common topic within the office gossip mill. That all changed though, once he got up the nerve to ask JJ out. He was so nervous that night; planning the dinner on Mother's Day, making sure Hotch was okay with the relationship (which he obviously was), and hoping that Penelope knew what she was talking about when she mentioned JJ's feelings towards him.
Flashback (One Year Ago)
Derek heard the door unlock and watched it open slowly, revealing a very confused media liaison in the doorway.
"What…?" She had struggled to form a coherent sentence, as she was clearly trying to wrap her mind the scene in front of her. "Derek?"
Taking a deep breath as he approached her, Derek lifted JJ's chin with his index finger and pressed his lips to hers, pulling back slightly after a second to meet her eyes. "Happy Mother's Day, JJ."
"But… what?" She had asked, still completely and utterly confused.
"It seems you and I managed to let our little secrets slip to Penelope and she took it upon herself to do what she does best." He chuckled. "I know you're completely confused and probably pretty overwhelmed right now so why don't you go upstairs, wash up, and we can talk over dinner?"
"Um, yeah, okay. I'll be back in a few minutes." She nodded, turning slowly before suddenly rushing up the stairs.
Not even five minutes later, she came back down the stairs, still clad in her work pants but she had changed into a less formal top and run a brush through her long hair. Derek rose to his feet when she walked back into the room, rushing to her side of the table to pull her chair out for her, smiling as she took the seat and took in the large pile of pasta on the plate in front of her.
"I didn't know you cooked." She stated, trying to break the ice.
"My mother taught me when I was younger. She said it was necessary for a man to know how to cook for his wife." He replied easily, feeling his nerves lessen the longer they were sat at the table.
"So… you wanted to talk?"
Derek smiled again. "Yeah, I, uh, I don't know… I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm just goin' to come right and say it. I, I care about you, Jay, a lot. And, and I know, I know my, uh, reputation precedes me but I don't want that anymore. I don't want any more flings, I don't want to go out and pick up girls. I want you, I want us. And I know it sounds scary because God, I'd scared out of my mind right now but knowing, knowing that you might just want the same thing…"
"Derek." JJ interrupted, standing up from her seat and slowly crossing to his side of the table. "Stop talking." She leaned down and kissed his cheek quickly. "Just, stop talking." She whispered, slowly lowering herself onto his lap before crushing her lips against his.
