Chapter 3

AN: Thanks again for the reviews. Keeps me typing like a mad woman! :).....

The third weekend after they moved in was exactly how Derek wanted it to be. There wasn't a lot of unpacking to do. They did that during the two weeks prior. Most of the stuff was already unboxed and set where they planned. This weekend was going to be a rest weekend, planning basically nothing.

Derek started Friday night, doing exactly what he planned on doing for a long time. He came home from work, had a dinner of some tasty rice thing P made. After, they played cards; she completely trounced him. This was not a problem in his book; he wasn't competitive in those sorts of things. They took a shower, made love and slept.

He found it really remarkable he slept so well with Penelope. He was a habitual insomniac until she came into his life. In the beginning, he used to think it was because he was tired out from making love. They would make love all damn night, then literally pass out. He was wasted but very happy the next day.

She'd go home on Sunday and his insomnia would come back. During the week, he'd be up, trying to get some rest. He failed miserably, until Friday rolled around. The weekends she was there, he slept like the dead, regardless if they made love or not. She called herself his miracle sleeping pill. She even felt so bad for him, she would come over in the middle of the week, just so he could get some sleep.

Now she was there every night and he slept like a rock. He averaged six hours a night. That was absolutely unheard of before she came around. There was just something about holding his woman that did it for him. He was content, relaxed, happy. And today, he did something he never did.

He slept in.

He woke up in the empty bed and sat up. He was a little disoriented. The bright sunlight was streaming in, nearly blinding him with the intensity. He looked at the clock. It was noon.

"Damn," he muttered, rubbing his eyes and crawling out of bed. He slept twelve hours. No wonder Pen left him in bed. He shook his head, heading towards the shower.

He felt much better after he was showered and dressed. Nothing woke him up more than a shower and coffee. Coffee wasn't going to cut it this morning. His stomach was growling; after last night's activities, he seriously needed some food. He stopped in the kitchen, poured himself a massive bowl of cereal, then went investigating to find Penelope and see what her plan was for the rest of the day.

It didn't take long to find her. Derek heard the distinct sound of typing coming from the other room. It was a rather loud, thundering typing. When his baby girl was getting into whatever she was doing, she did it with gusto. He wandered in and watched over her shoulder.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Ah!" she said, turning and raising her eyebrows over her red frames. "Sleeping beauty has decided to join the living."

He scowled and took a big bite of his corn flakes.

She giggled, then pursed her lips for a kiss. He complied, then she smiled. "It's Wondoorworld. It's an on-line fantasy game. That's me."

She pointed to an elf with blonde hair, brown eyes, wearing a colorful pink outfit.

Derek made a face. "She doesn't look anything like you."

Pen pouted. "She pretty, and she-"

"You're prettier," he said, then added with a devilish grin, "and she has no rack and no ass at all. That is not my baby girl."

She blushed with pleasure. Of course he'd notice that on her avatar. Being with him for nearly four months, she learned quickly Derek liked curves. Really liked curves. In particular, he liked breasts…large, perfect, round breasts. He'd go on and on about them.

"How I managed to be around you in low cut shirts for five years and not do a damn thing was a miracle," he said, his eyes darkening. "Drove me to distraction so many times."

"You drove me crazy, too, you beautifully sculpted person, you," she said, smiling. "Anyway, I have too much in the curves department."

"Uh-uh," he said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Soft, sweet curves in all the right places."

She smiled and started to type again.

He was scowling at the screen. "Who the hell is that guy?"

Another elf with green skin and long blonde hair like Legolas in Lord of the Rings was offering her character flowers.

Flowers for m'lady? The words on the screen asked.

She was excited; this was big points in this game. "Oh! That is so sweet. This is wonderful." She was getting ready to type her response.

"Tell him to take his flowers and shove them up his green ass."

She looked over her shoulder where her lover was standing. He looked irritated. She giggled. "Honey, it's a computer player, not a hunky elf. Probably some nerd in Japan who looks nothing like that."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "You think he's cute?"

She grinned. "You jealous?"

He scoffed. "Please. Like that blonde fruitcake has anything on me."

She smiled at him; he wasn't admitting it, but he was jealous. She turned back to the keyboard. She was going to lose major points, but she didn't care. It was going to be worth it.

Kind sir, take said flowers and sticketh them where the sun does not shineth.

Derek burst out laughing, she logged off the computer, and they spent the rest of the day, just hanging out.

Sunday evening, Derek was on the phone while Penelope was painting her toenails on the couch. He was talking to his mother. It was funny. Derek's mom called every Sunday, and he would walk around the kitchen, answering mostly "Yep" and "Nope" to a barrage of questions Fran would ask. He would graze the whole time, opening cabinets and the fridge to find something to nosh on.

It was a nervous habit. She knew that right away. She didn't know why he'd be nervous talking to his mother. She was the nicest woman on the planet. She would always talk to Derek first for a good long time, then she'd speak to Penelope after. It was coming around to the time when he would hand her the phone.

"Penelope," he said, as if on cue. "It's Momma."

Derek handed her the phone and made a beeline to the gym in the basement. She figured he had to burn off the ten thousand calories he ate while on the phone. He would be doomed if she called every night.

"Hi there," she said brightly.

"Penelope, sweetheart, how are you? Is that son of mine treating you right?"

"Of course, I wouldn't let him treat me any other way."

"Well, he can be a hard head, sometimes," Fran said in a leading fashion.

Penelope didn't want to get in the middle of his relationship with his mother. Still, she needed to answer truthfully. "Yes, he can be stubborn."

It was all the leeway his mother needed. "For instance, I want him to come to Chicago this summer, but he wants to stay there."

She sounded so despondent and she was such a nice lady. Pen didn't think she could let her down. "How about I talk to him and maybe we'll both be there this summer?"

Fran squealed with glee. There was no doubt; squealed was the right word. "I can't wait! Oh, I am so excited. I have to set up-"

Penelope laughed at her exuberance. "Hold on; I still have to ask!"

"You're persuasive. My son would deny you nothing." Fran giggled. "At least he better not, if he knows what's good for him."

"True," she said. "It's pretty much a done deal. I'll talk to him, okay?"

"That's good. Love you, dear," she said, hanging up the phone.

It was remarkable how well received she was by Derek's family. She met his sister Sarah when she flew into town a month ago and they hit it off like fast friends. His mother ended every phone conversation that way, saying she loved her. She had no doubt of the other woman's sincerity, and she'd never even met her in person yet.

She was a touch nervous now after she was done with the conversation. She pretty much promised the woman she hoped would be her mother-in-law someday they would be heading to Chicago this summer. She hoped Derek wouldn't be too mad; it was presumptuous of her, but she couldn't help trying to make it better.

She headed to the basement to tell Derek about their travel plans. She opened the door to the exercise room. There she found her boyfriend hanging upside down on a bar like a bat in a cave. He was doing some sort of curl up stomach exercise that made her tummy hurt just looking at it. It was fun to watch him, though. He wasn't wearing a shirt; she simply loved to watch his muscles move….

Snap out of it, she told herself. You have work to do.

"Derek," she said.

He swung down from the bar to stand near her. He grinned at her, but that ended quickly when he looked at her face. "What's the matter, angel?"

"Your mom wants you to go to Chicago this summer. I think you should go." She wasn't lying. She did think he needed to go visit his mom. He did every year; it was only fair.

"Okay," he said, looking somewhat confused. "Why do you look so worried about it?"

"Because I kind of invited myself and kind of told her we'd be going."

"You better have invited yourself," he said with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere without you this summer."

She felt relieved. "You're okay with this?"

"Of course," he stated; there was obviously no question in his mind. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I kind of made the decision without even asking you."

He gave her a teasing grin. "No kind of about it, honey. You did."

"Chicago is nice," she said softly, changing the subject.

"Yeah," he said with that same grin, then started walking back to his bar. "But so is Hawaii or Barbados or Puerto Rico or-"

She gaped at him, then was rather irritated. "You were making those kind of plans and you didn't tell me? Derek, you have to tell me. If I would've known-"

Her voice trailed off because he was absolutely beaming at her.

She realized she was just set up. "Fine… Fine. I will refrain from setting up any plans in the future." She turned to leave the room, but he caught her around her waist, pulling her into his arms.

"Honey, plan away. Honestly. You should know; you are my plans for the foreseeable future," he said, touching the tip of her nose. "That's all that really matters."

He started kissing her and soon all thoughts of leaving and his workout were completely forgotten.