Thanks for your wonderful reviews, guys! They have motivated me to do what I have NEVER done before~ A multi-chapter fic! Everything else I've ever written have been drabbles. SO EXCITING. I have a plot worked out and everything. Hopefully I will not disappoint~ I do not beg for reviews, so if you want to write one, awesome! If not, then no biggie. I'll keep writing this until it's done, reviews or not.

Thank you SOSOSOSOSOSO much to my wonderful beta RJ!

We somehow made it into Derek's apartment; I had fallen asleep at some point and woken up to him shaking my shoulder gently.

"Hey, pretty boy, wake up," he whispered. I blinked my eyes open groggily with a soft groan. My eyes had that strange soreness that only seemed to occur after a long bout of crying and when I went to rub them, my cheeks felt a bit rough from the dried tears. Taking hold of my arm and helping me out of the car, Derek assisted me to the door of the complex, having the night security buzz him in. The security woman raised an eyebrow as we walked in, but I was too tired to care, leaning on Derek heavily and almost drifting off again in the elevator.

By the time we actually made it in the door, I was about really to pass out. "You take the bed tonight, okay?" I barely heard him, my head so tantalizingly close to the pillow. I had enough energy to kick off my shoes and crawl under the comforter, curling in on myself and falling asleep almost instantly.

[MORNING]

It took me a few seconds to process where I was, and it startled me greatly when it finally dawned on me what exactly had transpired to get me into this extremely awkward situation. Sliding out of the bed, I smoothed out the blanket and tried my best not to stumble in my half-wakened state down the hall and into the living room.

"You hungry?" Mor-Derek's voice called out from my left. But… when did we get on a first-name basis? Not that I really minded at this point.

"Ye-yeah," My voice was rough with sleep and still a bit raw from the night before. The smell of coffee and bacon reached me and I perked up immediately. Coffee made everything better when sugar was added. Bacon? Yes, that added to it. I peeked into the kitchen, then decided leaning in the doorway was a bit more dignified.

"How ya feeling? I made sure I had extra sugar for your coffee, and bacon and eggs are pretty much the only breakfast food I've mastered, so…" Derek trailed off with a small smile and a shrug, going back to poking the bacon around the pan. It smelled like it was almost done, but I was never really one for cooking, so I couldn't really be sure.

"A little tired," I started, not knowing if I really wanted to talk about it right then. Well, what was there really to talk about? A lot, I realized; a hell of a lot. I had broken down and Morgan hadn't freaked out. Quite the opposite, really. Kissing my forehead was… what did that even mean? Did he actually…? Oh god… If he liked me, then…? I had never really thought about it before. Me? In a relationship? A strange little brain tickler, even to me. But me in a relationship with Derek? Unheard of. Right? To keep my brain from overloading, I decided a change of subject was in order. "It smells great!"

Derek laughed quietly as he plated the food and set it on the dining room table. "Thanks, let's hope it tastes as good, yeah?" Nodding, I sat down and almost inhaled the eggs, not being able to remember the last time I had eaten a home-cooked breakfast that didn't consist of burnt toast and cereal. "Whoa, there. We don't have to be at work for another hour and a half. Chill." I paused and checked the clock. Six thirty. Funny, it felt like so much later.

After Derek had finished eating, he started cleaning the table, telling me not to get up. I protested, wanting to help, but he just ruffled my hair with a smile, so I stayed put. Now didn't seem like the best time to talk about last night...

A little while later, we pulled up in front of my building and I ran inside to change into some clean clothes and make myself look presentable. The ride to work was awkwardly silent. Well, we were stuck in traffic together, so may as well bring it up now.

"I'm… sorry about last night. I don't know what came over me, and I apologize," My voice seemed strong, but my hands were shaking the littlest bit and I hoped Derek wouldn't notice.

"I told you not to worry about it, didn't I?" He glanced over just long enough to see me nod and look back down at my lap. I couldn't help but worry, and after knowing him this long, he knew it, too. That's all we said to each other the rest of the drive.

I've started the next chapter, so hopefully it and the other two I'm writing will be up soonish. :D