A/N: Hello, all you CM M/R lovers! Sorry to take so long to get this posted, this has just been a busy time for me. Hopefully, I'll be back on track now. FYI, this chapter is about Derek and Spencer's first time to spend the night together. It's not explicit, but, you know-they're not exactly sitting around playing Scrabble or something. Just so you know.

Please review, loves!

At the top of the stairs, Derek stopped to give Spencer a quick kiss, then took the lead and strode down the hallway. He opened a door and gestured for Spencer to go inside. Spencer smiled and tentatively poked his head in before taking the plunge and walking into Derek's bedchamber.

The master bedroom was a large airy space dominated by a huge bed covered with a gray silk bedspread, lots of pillows, and topped by a substantial wrought-iron headboard. Heavy matching curtains adorned a pair of tall windows on either side of French doors that opened onto a balcony. A bistro table and two chairs were positioned by the railing, overlooking the lavishly landscaped pool area. In the distance, the lights of Hollywood twinkled cheerily, as if to make up for the total absence of stars in the slate-black sky.

"Wow..." Spencer took in the opulent room, ignoring the fact that Derek had already slipped out of his shoes and was beginning to unbutton his shirt. He went out on the balcony, stood by the rail, and took in the nighttime view. Derek followed and slipped his arms around him from behind. Spencer leaned back against him and Derek nuzzled him under his ear.

"Hey, now. Don't get distracted, bed's in there." He didn't bother to move his mouth away from Spencer's skin and the soft movement of his lips tickled the golden hairs on the young professor's neck. He shivered.

"Don't worry, I'm very focused. But, this is so beautiful. Can we have breakfast out here in the morning?"

"Absolutely. Anything you want, babe."

"'Babe?' I guess I've been promoted from 'kid?'" He shot an amused look back at Derek.

"Aw, you'll always be 'kid' to me. But, tonight..." He turned Spencer to face him and pulled him in for a deep kiss. Spencer wrapped his arms around him and eagerly returned the attention. His warm tongue made hot little shocks of desire travel through Derek's entire nervous system, and a moan came up from his throat. Then he pulled away and looked into Spencer's eyes. "Damn. Just... damn." His voice was low and raspy and Spencer could see the need in his eyes.

He pulled away and went back inside.

He stopped in front of the bed, his arms clasped across his chest. He suddenly felt uncertain. The vast expanse of silky gray fabric hid the soft sheets that he knew he would soon be lying on-next to Derek Morgan's sculpted, naked body. The body that he would, eventually, be... under.

What the hell had he gotten himself into? What was he thinking? He wasn't ready for this-

Derek came up and put his hands on his shoulders and squeezed. Spencer was holding his body like a tightly wound guitar string, and Derek could feel the tension across the muscles of his back. He slid his arms around the lanky frame and whispered, "Second thoughts?"

"No... it's just... Derek, I'm not very good at this."

Derek chuckled. "I disagree." He ran his hands over Spencer's chest and belly, then went lower. "I think you're doing just fine."

"No, I mean... I mean, it's been a long time since... since I've been with someone. I guess I'm just, you know-nervous." He turned and looked at Derek with a worried expression.

Derek smiled, and the look in his eyes calmed Spencer. It wasn't an "I wish you'd quit freaking out and get naked already" look, nor was it a "Why the heck am I wasting my time with an emotional wreck?" look. There was only kindness and patience, and-adoration. It was a "We've got all the time in the world, and I'm not going anywhere" look, an "I'm where I want to be" look. Spencer slowly smiled back. Derek brushed a thatch of hair away from Spencer's eyes, then gathered him into a bear-like embrace.

"It's okay. I'm in no hurry. In fact, the longer this night lasts, the better. If it were up to me, I'd make it last forever." They stood there, swaying slightly as if the music from their dance were still in their ears, until Spencer pulled out of Derek's arms. He took a deep breath, caressed Derek's face, then bent down to untie his shoes. He straightened and slowly began to undress.

Derek pulled back the covers on the bed before taking off his clothes. They slipped in, with no words between them, each welcoming the feel of cool sheets, taking in the scent of fresh laundry. They were each alone on one side of the big bed, still miles apart. Derek turned out the lights and scooted in Spencer's direction. Spencer wriggled over toward Derek. They were reaching for one another, trying to contain a swell of excitement at the thought of touching-completely touching-the other's hot, bare skin.

They met somewhere in the middle.

The next morning...

Spencer sighed. This was so good. Waking up in Derek's arms, his back wedged in against the muscular chest, breathing in his scent, feeling the warmth and strength of him as he was held tightly and securely-he'd never felt like this before in his life.

And, the night before...

So much better than he'd ever imagined it could be-and, he'd spent quite a bit of time imagining. Their first time together had wrecked every notion the young man had had about what physical pleasure could be. Derek had been gentle, but demanding. He'd used his mouth to tease and tickle at first, then he'd sent Spencer into a state of bliss he'd forgotten even existed. Derek's hands had touched Spencer in all of the best possible places, in all of the best possible ways.

And, when Spencer explored Derek's body with his own hands, he'd felt the raw power harnessed within those taut, strapping muscles, and then, later, he'd felt that power exploding inside himself.

It hadn't been easy for Derek, but he'd taken it slow. He'd been determined not to rush Spencer, to not bring that anxious set to his mouth and that worried look into his eyes. And he hadn't, not once. Instead, he got a soft laugh when his tongue trailed past Spencer's belly button, and low moans when he nipped and lapped at velvety skin over hard flesh.

In return, he got warm fingers reading his skin like Braille, and Spencer's mouth on his neck, his nipples. When Spencer had lain back, offering himself to him, he'd felt the overtaking of every bit of lust and desire that he'd been forcing himself to ignore for so long. But, more than that, he'd felt-joy. And, when they began to move together, their bodies engaged in that most basic, animal-like act, he'd been amazed to find how quickly they transcended it. Been amazed to find a moment of pure light and heat that washed away everything but the other.

And, afterwards, when their first time was over, they'd kissed and clung to each other and talked in whispers, and they thought that maybe they would soon slip off to sleep.

But, instead, they'd discovered that they had just been resting, getting ready for the delicious pleasure of their second time...

Spencer lay contentedly in Derek's arms, replaying the night, careful to lie still and quiet so as not to disturb the man beside him. He wished he and Derek could stay snuggled in that big comfy bed forever.

He also wondered how much longer he could get away with staying in bed without having to get up to pee.

Derek felt Spencer wake up. He could feel the rhythm of his breathing change, then he felt the warm body arch and stretch against him as he yawned into consciousness. A huge grin crossed Derek's face. He made himself open his eyes, and he took in the tousled hair and the bare shoulder peeking out from under the covers. He instantly tightened his grip on his lover, making Spencer giggle as he futilely tried to turn over.

"Hey, leggo..."

"Never."

"Aw, come on, Derek. I want to look at you."

"All right, but you're not getting away from me-"

"Not trying to." Spencer flipped over so that he could snuggle into Derek's neck, and then he gave him a lazy kiss. "You have to get up soon, don't you?"

"Nope, they told us it'd be a late start today. Something about that meeting yesterday, Gideon's supposed to call me when it's time to come in."

"Mm. Excellent." He planted another drowsy kiss under Derek's jaw and cuddled in. They almost managed to fall back to sleep, but nature called, and they ended up in the shower together.

Later, Gloria brought up a tray with warm buttered croissants, jam, eggs, fruit and coffee, and Derek, clad in a terry-cloth robe, took it from her at the door and carried it out to the balcony. He'd given Spencer a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, and he followed his lover outside to join him at the table.

"Come here." Derek pulled Spencer into a long pre-breakfast kiss and whispered, "Last night was incredible."

'Mm. Yes, it was. You're-amazing." Spencer grinned at him, then ducked his head shyly. "I've never... You made me feel so... Damn it, Derek, why didn't you tell me you were such a genius in bed? Not to mention, in the shower... I can't believe you let me wait so long to discover this!" He laughed and Derek laughed, too.

"Hey, come on. You obviously wouldn't have believed me, you'd of thought I was just bragging. I had to let you get to this point on your own, right?"

"I guess so..." Spencer hugged him, then turned to the breakfast table. He grimaced as he eased himself onto one of the cast-iron chairs, then gratefully took a cup of coffee and sipped it reverently. "Apparently, I'm going to think of you every time I sit down for the next couple of days." He had a rueful smirk on his face and Derek took his seat and reached for Spencer's hand.

"Not my fault-I warned you to let me take my shower alone, but you didn't listen, did you?"

"No, and I'm not sorry-that was wonderful. Look, we have months of self-denial to make up for, or, in my case, years. What's a little discomfort? Last night was the best night of my life. It was... perfect." He entwined his fingers with Derek's, and Derek felt something welling up, big, too big, in his chest. He squeezed Spencer's hand and almost said something he wasn't sure it was yet time to say, when he heard his cell phone ringing on his nightstand.

"Damn it! Excuse me, babe, I better go see about that." He threw his napkin on the table, strode into the bedroom and picked up his phone.

It was Garcia.

"Hey, baby girl."

"Hey-what took you so long to answer?"

"Uh... I was just about to eat breakfast."

"Breakfast? It's seven-thirty in the morning on your morning off. Why are you awake?"

"Uh-"

"Oh, my God. You're with someone, aren't you? It better be Amber. Is it Amber?"

"Uh-"

"It's not, is it? Wait a minute... Is it that, that boy?"

"Uh-"

"Oh, my God! It is, isn't it? I knew it. I could tell by the way you looked at him that you couldn't keep it in your pants for an entire shoot. God, Derek-it's going to be all over the papers-Action Star Derek Morgan in Gay Scandal-we're going to be living under a bridge in Encino..."

"Now, calm down, Pen. I've been super-careful, no one knows anything about it."

"Oh, sure-somebody always does. Look, never mind, this is the least of our worries right now."

"What do you mean?"

"We're shut down."

"Shut down? What do you mean, shut down?"

"The gaffers went on strike."

"Huh?"

"The gaffers, the gaffers. We're going to be shut down until the big-shots and the union work this out, and there's always the chance the camera operators will join in sympathy, then before you know it, the writers'll walk off, then SAG will go along, and then this whole town will be one big fat load of unemployed crap for weeks, maybe months."

"Oh, man-you mean, we don't get paid?"

"Well, as long as your union doesn't strike, you will. I made sure to negotiate that into your contract, because I'm awesome like that. But, if it does, that's all she wrote, paycheck-wise, until they get it resolved."

"Damn. Back to peanut butter and crackers for us, huh, gorgeous?"

"You can live on your looks for a while, choco-hunk. But, you better hope your little professor likes his boy-toy enough to keep you in groceries until the strike ends."

"Ha ha. Uh-oh, now Gideon's calling. I'll talk to you later, sugar."

"Yeah, yeah-just keep Doc Reid under wraps, will you, please? Strike or no strike, no one's going to want to buy Derek Morgan action figures if they come with a tu-tu."

"You really are cold, woman."

"I know. Love you, babe."

Derek clicked over to Gideon's call and received the same bad news about the gaffers. Until further notice, he was out of work.

"You know, this is actually kind of great." Spencer finished spreading strawberry jam on his croissant with a flourish, and licked a buttery fleck of crust from his fingers. "I'm off for a whole week, too-we could go somewhere together."

"I don't know, babe. Garcia just got finished tearing me a new one about being careful not to be seen with you. I think she might have a heart attack if we were caught buying airline tickets together."

"Well, we could go by car. You have that stunningly effective disguise of yours-"

"Hey, now, it works just fine, it's all in the attitude-"

"-and we could go somewhere where you wouldn't be noticed."

"Not trying to sound big-headed, but where, exactly, would that be?"

Spencer grinned. "My dad has a cabin in Idaho. It's in the woods, really remote. It's about a fifteen hour drive. We could pack up a bunch of provisions ahead of time, only stop for gas, and once we got there, no one would even know we'd come in. What do you think?"

Derek frowned. "I'm not exactly a wilderness cabin kind of guy. I like my electricity and wi-fi, know what I'm sayin'?"

"Oh, there's electricity, we have a generator. And, I think you could live without the internet for a few days, don't you? I-" Just then, inside the bedroom, Spencer's cell phone went off. He frowned, puzzled. No one he knew called him this early unless it was an emergency. "Who could that be. Let me go see-think about the cabin, okay?"

Spencer went to prowl through his discarded clothes to find his phone and checked the number. It was his mother.

"Hi, Mom."

"Good morning, Spencer."

Silence. She sounded stiff and distant, and Spencer suddenly felt scared.

"Mom, what's wrong-are you okay?"

"Yes, at the moment. But-I really need you to come home."

"Home? Wow. I'm, uh, kind of in the middle of, you know-some things, right now. What's going on?"

"Are you with that actor fellow?"

"Oh... uh, yeah, I am."

He heard a sigh. "Well, bring him with you. I'd like to meet him, since you're so enamored of him."

"Mom, actually, we were kind of planning a little vacation out at the cabin. It would be the first time we've had a chance to get away together, and-"

"Spencer, your father is out of town, out of the country, in fact. I really have no one else to turn to. Please, son-bring your boyfriend and come home. I really need you."

"But, why? What's wrong?"

"I know you're not going to believe me, but this is no joke. Spencer-someone is trying to kill me."