There was nothing, nothing at all, like the feeling of seeing the front door of his Virginia brownstone after a hard case. Seeing it from down the street as he drove up, Derek could already feel his shoulders relaxing. It had been a hard case, a sad case. There wasn't really a bad guy here, just a great many broken people. He could only hope those boys they took from that camp still had a chance at a normal life. Perhaps their parents would all take this as a moment of enlightenment when it came to their sons' sexuality. Derek doubted it very much, but for now, it was a thought he had to cling to. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel of his car as he sped up slightly for the last block and a half to his front driveway.

Walking through his front door, Derek took a deep sigh of relief, even as he felt the shadows of the case swinging around his neck. He would dream tonight, and they would be dark dreams, dreams that crawled out of the deepest part of the abyss he stared into day after day. But for now, at least, he was home, and that was enough. Glancing around his darkened foyer, Derek let out a low whistle, wondering where Clooney was. His German shepherd was usually so excited for him to be home that Derek would see him looking out the front window as he pulled into the drive.

The soft, but rapid clicking of nails on hardwood brought the tiniest ghost of a smile to Derek's face as he watched Clooney appear from his place in the Living Room. "Hey there buddy." He murmured, reaching down to scratch the big ears that Clooney never really managed to grow into as he allowed the dog to slather his hand with his tongue. "Tea actually managed to wear you out huh? You're usually waiting up for me ain't ya buddy?" Derek asked, his eyes softening slightly as he thought of his current girlfriend, a writer he had been seeing for about a year now. It still amazed him a little that she hadn't moved on by now, that she hadn't yet grown completely sick of his job interfering in their relationship. It had happened so many times before this, but still, Teagan hung on.

Shaking his head, Derek chuckled softly. "I'm hungry Clooney. What do you say we grab some dinner before hittin' the sack?" Clooney's expression didn't really change. His tongue just lolled out of the side of his mouth as Derek continued to idly scratch his ears while kicking off his boots. The two made their way to the kitchen where Derek was surprised to see Clooney's food bowl filled with kibble and the light on his range hood glowing gently to greet him with small note folded on his stove, his name scrawled across the front in some very familiar chicken scratch.

Derek frowned slightly, setting his go-bag on the kitchen table before giving in to his curiosity. Picking up the note, he couldn't help but smile just a little as he read it.

Hey Derek,

Sorry I didn't pick up when you called; I had my headphones in and didn't hear the phone. I tried calling you back when I realized, but you must have already been in the air, 'cause your phone was off.

Clooney's been fed and we went for a pretty long run tonight so he should be pretty worn out. I filled his water bowl up earlier, but he may have drunk through that already, so you might want to check before you crash.

I threw together some pasta with some of the stuff you had in your pantry. There's a plate for you in the fridge if you're home early enough to be hungry. I've got an early meeting with my publisher downtown so I hope you don't mind, but I figured it might be easier if I crashed here tonight. I might not be awake by the time you get home, so leave me a note if you want me to whip up something in the morning.

We missed you handsome,

Tea

Derek couldn't help the slight smile that tugged at his lips as he made his way across the kitchen to his fridge, pulling it open to reveal a heaping bowl of shrimp linguini. Tea had found the recipe a few months ago on some website and it had quickly become one of his favorites. He immediately set about making himself a plate, grabbing himself a beer to go with it, taking a long pull as the microwave hummed softly. He had to smirked slightly as Clooney's eyes watched him while he moved about the kitchen. The dog had been well trained not to beg, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't do everything just before the line. Settling down at his table, Derek enjoyed his first home cooked meal in over two weeks as he recalled the day he had met Teagan.

It had been a gorgeous day, but bitterly cold, the kind of day where you stayed indoors if you could help it. But he couldn't help it. He had been on case after case, leaving what little was left in his cupboards well past its expiry date and forcing him out into the cold. It had been the kind of day that made him thankful his local grocery had a coffee shop inside so that he could warm up a little. The only problem was that it appeared that every person who had been crazy enough to leave their home that day all seemed to have the same idea that he did, leaving only one seat available in the far corner of the cafe next to this woman all bundled up in a black leather jacket and snow boots, looking almost as though she planned to brave a blizzard in the next five minutes rather than finish the book she was reading.

"Excuse me miss," he said, starting a little at the shockingly green pair of eyes that met his. "Would you mind if I join you? There don't seem to be any seats available."

"Then by all means, please sit down." She said, a soft English lilt betraying some time spent abroad. "This weather is horrible enough with one's daily dose of caffeine; you might as well be relatively comfortable drinking it."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Derek replied, slipping into the chair and taking a long sip from his cup, sighing as the liquid warmth spread through his chest. "What are you reading?" He asked, smirking a little at her surprised glance. "I have a friend who's always looking for a new book to read."

"Oh, well, if he's interested in drama and fantasy, then he might enjoy it." She said, slipping a bookmark between the pages before showing him the cover. "It's a new one called 'Between the Willows'. It's a story about an old family in New Orleans and their lives together. So far I'm enjoying it and early reviews have been favorable."

"Oh yeah? I'll have to see if Spencer's heard of it." Derek smirked as he sipped at his coffee. "He goes through so many books in a week; I wouldn't be surprised if he's already got it on his list."

"Well you'll have to let me know what he thinks about it." She said, smirking softly. "Oh, but where are my manners, I'm Teagan McAdams." She kept the cover of the book facing out as she held out her hand to him.

Derek frowned slightly as he reached out to clasp her hand. "Derek Morgan." He replied, as his eyes glanced down, his brow arching slightly as he took in the name on the cover of the book. "I can see now why you would like his opinion." He said, smirking slightly. "So I suppose I should find some of those early reviews you mentioned, since you're clearly biased."

Thankfully, Teagan apparently had enough of a sense of humor to laugh slightly. "I suppose I am, though I've always considered myself to be one of my own greatest critics." Setting the book down, Teagan took a sip from her own mug. "It took me about a year to finish this one; I got so picky with it."

"Have you ever been down to New Orleans?"

"Once to visit an old friend. That's actually where the inspiration for the book came from. But I didn't spend anywhere near enough time down there, so I turned to her for a lot of help with my research."

Their conversation had been long and winding, to the point where the two actually ended up doing their shopping together once he had finished his coffee and she, her tea. They had exchanged numbers at the end of it, with Derek claiming that he needed some way to get a-hold of her so he could tell her what Spencer thought of her book, before he headed out and bought the book himself. He had been interested in her description of it and the summary she had let him read from the back. Initially looking at her, a person could probably be forgiven for pegging her as a romance writer, but as he had continued to chip away at her book he came to realize just how incorrect that assumption was. Chipping away at it where he could (On the jet, before bed, when a case was starting to take him over), he found himself truly enjoying the dramatic story she wove. Even Spencer had been impressed once Derek had finally loaned him the book. Now Derek had an entire shelf dedicated to Teagan's books and while he had to admit that there were a few he hadn't really related to and one he particularly hadn't cared for, all told, he found her to be an insightful and interesting author. He had told her so on their third date, and he could still remember how vibrantly that blush colored her cheeks as he said it.

Rubbing his eyes, Derek couldn't help the massive yawn that pulled him from his nostalgia. He needed sleep or he was not going to be pleasant tomorrow. So, setting his dishes in the sink, he left his go bag where it was and slowly trudged up the stairs; the exhaustion from the case finally making itself known. But as he stepped into his master bedroom, he couldn't help the first real smile that tugged at his lips as the sight that met his eyes. Red hair flung over a pillow, curled up dangerously close to the edge of the bed with a leg dangling off the mattress while her arm hung limply in space. "How on earth do you sleep like that, darlin'?" Derek muttered, before silently moving into his bathroom.

Completing his nightly routine didn't take long and soon he was slumping into the bed beside his lady, his arm reaching out to curl around her waist and pull her closer to him. Mentally he told himself that is was to keep her from falling out of bed in the middle of the night, but deep down, he knew better. The case had been hard on him, and he could still feel the demons clinging to the fringes of his thoughts and right now, he just needed to hold Tea and remember that someone out there loved someone.

He felt her move under his arms and cringed a little. He hadn't meant to wake her. "Mmm… Hey babe." She murmured; her voice thick with sleep. "D'you just get home?"

"Yeah." He whispered, loosening his arms slightly so Tea could turn over to face him. "'m sorry I woke you."

"S'ok, d'you catch the bad guys?" He eyes, still half-hooded with sleep, still had the ability to make Derek feel like he'd been socked in the gut.

"I guess you could say that." He said, pressing a gentle kiss to her shoulder. He really didn't want to talk about it right now.

"Mmmm, bad one?" Derek could only nod into her shoulder. "Ok, m'ere." Turning fully towards him, Derek felt her arms curling around him as she seemed to mould herself into his side. It was not a position she took often, preferring to sleep on her other side, but she knew what he needed right now and he appreciated it. He was a pretty typical tough guy; it took a lot for him to ask to be cuddled. He was thankful that Teagan knew him well enough now that he generally didn't even have to ask. "We'll talk about it tomorrow if you want. For now, we both need some sleep." Teagan closed her eyes again as she snuggled her face into the crook of his neck. "G'night babe."

Smiling softly, Derek pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Night Tea." He whispered as her breath evened out. She was out even before the words were fully out of his mouth, and Derek could feel his own weariness finally catch up with him. As sleep slowly began to overtake him, Derek realized just how much he enjoyed having someone to come home to, and resolved that tomorrow, after Teagan got home from her meeting, he would ask her if she wanted to move in with him. They had discussed the idea briefly every now and then, but now, he understood that this was something he wanted.

Tightening his grip on her, Derek smiled as sleep finally pulled him under. He had no intention of ever missing out on this again.