Back to You

Chapter 6

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Derek pulled the pillow off of the top of his head and groaned. He tried his best to ignore the pounding at his hotel room door, but the person on the other side was not giving up. He haphazardly tossed the pillow next to him on the bed before pushing back the covers and sliding out of bed.

The black man stretched as he started towards the pounding; the door was no match for the pounding in his head. "Who is it?" he called out groggily. He groaned as he made his way towards the banging.

He sighed as he bent over to pick up the hotel receipt. He scanned his eyes over the page quickly; his eyes reread the memo line at the bottom. "It's JJ. Time for breakfast."

He ignored the voice at the door as he scanned the bill for a third time. "Yeah, I'll meet you down there," he called out to the blonde.

One more pound at the door let him know that she was not taking that as an answer. He rolled his eyes and unlocked the door to his hotel room. "Jesus," she said with a laugh as she took in his appearance. He was shirtless as he rested against the door frame. "I thought Alvez said you stayed back here last night."

His eye brow rose in his best friend's direction. "I did," he confirmed. He braced himself; JJ would never pass up an opportunity to get the details directly from the source.

"Please tell me you did not follow her around the hotel," she warned in a harsh whisper. Derek smirked at her motherly instinct. His smirk slowly turned in to a sheepish grin, causing the blonde to shake her head. "Why, Derek?"

He sighed; there was no getting out of this conversation now, and it was better to have without the rest of the team getting involved. "I'm the innocent party here," he began. JJ placed a hand to her hip and she gave him a pointed look. He raised his hands in mock defense. "I was down at the bar and she came down after me."

"Sure," JJ answered. She did not believe a word he said. She could see how he looked at her last night. She only knew some of their sordid history, but the chemistry between the two was palpable in the ballroom. "I saw her follow you out of the hall."

Derek narrowed his eyes in her direction. "You were on the dance floor," he argued. Derek scoffed. "What – are you keeping tabs on me now?"

She shook her head before tucking a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Don't flatter yourself," she said with a laugh. He was her best friend, but he was still a pain in the ass as far as Jennifer Jareau was concerned. "I noticed you stepped away from the table. I figured you were off for another round – until I saw her follow you. Are you stupid?"

"Depends," he answered smugly.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't start shit, Derek," the blonde warned as she waved a finger in his direction. "He works in the same building as we do."

He could not help the laugh escaping his lips. JJ was always one to get the dirt on everyone. New hires were her specialty. "Why's he in Quantico?" Derek asked softly.

JJ shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't get that far," she answered. She held her hands up when she could feel Derek's eyes on her. "I was trying to make nice with the wives," she conceded. "It's a new JTTF team, as far as I can tell."

Derek nodded. "I figured the same," he replied. When JJ lifted a brow in his direction he shrugged. "He was sittin' at the same table as Xander Evans and Collin McGrath. That could only mean one thing."

The blonde exhaled. "Oh well, it's not our concern," she urged her best friend to drop the subject. "Let the counter-terrorism teams do their thing while we do ours." He nodded as he read between the lines; stay away from the team and more importantly their wives. The JTTF teams were known for being overprotective with their wives and girlfriends. "Ten minutes and I'll meet you downstairs."

Derek rolled his eyes as he slid back in to his hotel room. He shut the door behind him; he knew JJ was off to make her rounds to anyone who did not answer their cell phones. When that woman was hungry, it meant someone better get their ass in gear to go grab a bite with her.

He opened the hotel bill once more and pulled at the business card that was stapled to the top corner. Breanna Carmichael, Executive Manager, Piedmont Rehabilitation Center, it read in bold letters.

Carmichael. He liked seeing her maiden name on the card. He slid the card in to his back pocket and brought his attention back to the memo section. "Drinks on you next time. B."

The bar tab from the night before had been paid, and he was certain of which little brunette had paid it off. She must have snuck out of the hotel room early enough to pay it off before the front desk charged it.

Two words in her note stuck out to him – next time. He smiled at he read it once more. He had been worried that after their talk, she would keep her distance from him. But it seemed that she had other things in mind.

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"Did you down a carafe of coffee on your way in here?" JJ asked with a smirk crossing her lips. The same man she had spoken to over ten minutes before was walking with a pep in his step as he stepped off of the elevator.

He shook his head. "Nah," he answered with a smirk of his own. "I just got a good message this morning."

JJ rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'm not going to tell you what to do," she said as she stood from her seat on the bench.

"Good," he answered as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips to take a sip. Hotel room coffee always sucked, but the morning was starting to shape up after all. Derek threw an arm around JJ's shoulder as the two started towards the hotel restaurant. His eyes lingered on the bar just next door, specifically the two seats they had occupied the night before.

"Food," JJ demanded as she dragged him by the side of his tee shirt in to the restaurant. She smiled politely at the hostess before pointing to the tables where their team was already seated.

Derek tossed his coffee cup in to a trash barrel on his way by. JJ must have gotten downstairs early to reserve two tables with a view of the front lot. "Morning," Emily offered from her seat next to the vacant one Derek placed his hand on the back of. "How do you not look like you got run over by a MAC truck?"

He smirked as he took in his unit chief's appearance. Her dark brown locks were pulled away from her face in an un-Emily like ponytail. He knew they all enjoyed being together but not having to be dressed up for work or social events. Except the kid – he was always dressed professionally. One of his mannerisms Morgan had realized years before.

"You were hell bent on getting through that bottle of Captain last night," Derek teased Emily. Social events like the annual Gala were not her cup of tea, and the team knew it. She was quick to dash downstairs for a drink after the event was over – evening gown and all. "No wonder you look like hell."

The wink he sent in her direction let her know he was joking. She jokingly flipped him off before standing from her seat and heading back towards the breakfast buffet. "Hey handsome," he heard from behind.

In all of her multi-colored glory, Penelope strode away from the buffet line and made her way towards their tables. "Hey yourself, baby girl," he shot back. The wine had done her in the night before, and he could tell she was well rested after a good night's sleep.

"I know that twinkle in your eye, Derek Morgan," she warned as she slid in to the seat next to him. Penelope placed her plate on the table in front of her and swatted at Derek's hand when he reached for a slice of bacon. She lifted a brow in his direction, only to receive a charming smile in return. "What's her name, and where did you meet her?"

Derek fought the smirk tingling at his lips. He was going to take JJ's advice and keep his mouth shut about it. That was what the blonde meant, right? "Classified," he said with a laugh. Penelope folded her arms in front of her but kept her eyes on Derek.

"Bull," she said with a straight face. She was trying her best to not crack under his intense gaze. "Give me details," she urged. "I need details. I can't breathe without details." She took a bite from her plate before returning her eyes to the man next to her.

Derek shook his head. "No details to give, PG," he replied softly. He smiled as the waitress made her way around their table to fill the coffee cups. Penelope's watch did not falter. "I swear. You'll be the first to know," he said as he placed a hand to her arm.

"I better," she replied before thanking the waitress for the coffee. He watched as the bubbly blonde went to work concocting her perfect cup of coffee. A dash of milk and a sugar was plenty for him, but it was always fun to watch Penelope at work.

He tuned out the conversations about how they were returning to work the next morning. That was his main issue with the Gala – he gave up an entire weekend for bureaucratic bullshit. Weekends off of the road were his time.

Derek glanced up from his cup of joe and caught a glimpse of Breezy walking through the front foyer of the hotel. She struggled with her duffle bag on one shoulder and a garment bag lifted in the air to keep it from touching the floor.

He took a sip as he watched to see if any one was following her through the hallway. Derek excused himself from the table when he saw she was alone. "Derek," JJ warned quietly as he pushed his seat back.

She assumed most people at the table expected him to head off towards the buffet, but she was not the least bit surprised when he started out of the restaurant. The blonde found herself immersed in her cup of coffee when Penelope glanced back and forth between Derek's retreating form and the only person at the table who knew where he was going.

Derek stepped through the bar they spent time in the night before and cleared his throat a little louder than usual. Breezy glanced over her shoulder and groaned as her motion caused the garment bag to hit her in the back. Derek assumed her heels were at the bottom of the bag.

Her lips parted as she saw him starting out around the partitioned wall of the bar. She tilted her head just enough towards the front desk and shook her head. Derek slowly removed his eyes from the brunette and took in the form of her fiancé as he stood at the front desk waiting for her.

Eddie had been in deep conversation with the clerk behind the desk. Her fiance's actions did not go unnoticed by Derek as the blonde behind the desk twirled the ends of her hair as she batted her eyelashes in his direction. Derek gripped the side of the wall to stop himself from walking out in to the clear.

Breezy offered a tight lipped smile, but Derek caught the hand gesture she sent him. She made a mock phone in her hand; he nodded. "Tomorrow," she lipped across the hallway to him. He nodded once more. Derek threw himself down in one of the oversized chairs in the bar and brought out his cell phone.

He would casually look up towards the front desk. Eddie had finally taken the garment bag from Bree after watching her struggle to keep it upright. The roll of his eyes caused Derek to purse his lips together; he should have offered to take it from her the second he left their hotel room.

Derek could tell the smile on Breezy's face was forced. Her genuine smile was always just a little crooked, but perfect. He smirked as a text message came across his screen. "Casanova, breakfast is over here."

JJ was always looking out for him. She probably saw that Bree's fiancé was in the lobby before he did, but she let him go after Breezy anyway. She could talk him out of a lot of things, but he was not sure she could talk him out of this.

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Author's Note: Are you guys liking this one? Should I stick with Take Two? Drop some love and let me know either way. xo