AN: So the inspiration for this struck me at random the other night. At midnight. When I should have been sleeping since my alarm was set for 6am. I managed to jot down the entire thing without being able to come up with a name. So the credit for that goes to JenJen. Also, this is technically a sequel to my older fic "Peach Cobbler" but it can be read as a stand alone with an assumption of an established Garcia/Morgan relationship. This inspiration for this fic came loosley from the song "When You Say You Love Me" by Josh Groban. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, the characters, Josh Groban, or the song "When You Say You Love Me". All of this makes me sad. I do own the ideas below.
It still takes me by surprise each and every time, and, after all of these years, that's surprising in itself. But it happens, and I couldn't control it if I wanted to. Hell, I'm usually doing good if I can manage to remind myself to breathe.
But, each and every time you say you love me you ease the chaos and the noise. And for one blissful moment, there is no one, nothing else but us. You and me together in the silence.
It's been this way for so very long. You've been my solace for longer than you've known. You've been my home since before I was willing to admit it.
And each and every time you say you love me, you lighten my load. You give me a respite from the pain, the panic, the pressure.
We started so very far from here. The journey was a long one, longer than it probably should have been. And it wasn't always easy. But I wouldn't trade a single moment spent with you for anything in the world.
Each and every time you say you love me, it's everything I need. It's my reason for living, my reason for working, my reason for pushing myself forward. And that will never change.
And from here on out, each and every time you say you love me, I hope you're reminded how much I love you because there are no words good enough to tell you.
"Hey, what are you still doing here? It's late." Hotch's voice brought his focus off the paper on his desk and back to reality.
Derek set down his pen and smiled at his boss. "Just finishing up. Wanted to get my paperwork caught up on before I took off and somehow, as I was signing twelve reports back to back, inspiration struck.
Hotch's eyebrows flew up. "Wait, are you telling me that you just now finished? You said you were almost there two weeks ago!"
He couldn't help but chuckle as he stood, pulling his jacket from the back of his chair. "I was. I was almost convinced I was going to have to find something on the internet two weeks ago."
"You were really going to plagiarize your marriage vows two days before your wedding? You know Garcia would have killed you, right?"
"I know, but as long as she said 'I do' before she did, I'd die a happy man. I didn't expect it to be so hard. I mean, I can, and do, go on and on about that woman, but somehow nothing I could come up with was fitting." Derek grabbed his bag and started putting things in and pulling things out. He was going to be gone for almost two weeks so he didn't want to forget anything.
"Well, I feel it's my duty as your friend and boss to make sure she isn't going to kill you. May I?"
He shrugged and continued packing up as Hotch retrieved the piece of paper from the blotter. Derek zipped his bag and slung it over his shoulder, turning toward his friend. The other man was still staring at the piece of paper in his hand and Derek's stomach knotted. "Oh no, it's a disaster, isn't it?"
Hotch shook his head. "No. It's...if there is any way to put words to what you and Garcia have, this is it. She's going to love it. And then, she's going to kill you for outdoing her."
They laughed as they exited his office, Derek pausing to turn off the light and close the door before striding down the hall toward the elevator with his boss. "Like I said, if she says 'I do' first, she can do whatever else she wants to me. Keep that safe for me until Saturday?"
Hotch nodded and carefully folded the paper still in his hand, sliding it into his inside jacket pocket.
The elevator arrived at the same time his phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket as they stepped inside. He sighed as he slid his finger to answer the call as he brought the phone to his ear. "Hi Mama. Yes, I know. I'm leaving now. I had to finish clearing my in box. Sure. Okay. Okay. Okay. Goodbye Mom."
"Are you at all ashamed that your mother just called you to scold you for breaking curfew?"
"Nope. Not ashamed to admit that I'm still scared of her either, which is why I didn't argue about stopping at the store to get another pack of sticks for the hot glue gun at nine pm." They shared another chuckle as they exited the elevator into the parking structure.
They paused when they reached the point where they needed to part ways. "So, I'll be at your place about six tomorrow?"
Hotch nodded. "Sounds good. Will is picking up Jack from school and Cruz has promised we can all be out of the office by three so Reid, Dave, and I should be there by four if you need to escape your house before then. I still think you are crazy for staying in the same house with your fiance, your mother, and both of your sisters this week."
Derek grinned and shrugged. "What can I say? If we're not out catching the bad guy, there is no where I'd rather be than right there with them, even if I did spend my evening yesterday tying ribbons to favor boxes."
"Remind me to move up your annual psych eval after your honey moon."
They parted, each moving toward their own car as Derek replied. "If we don't decide to stay in Jamaica, I'll get right on that."