Disclaimer: I own nothing...
A/N:Sorry for no update yesterday, I had work and I was beyond tired when I finally got home and just ended up chilling out... BUT I hope this makes up for it =)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Rhythm Of Love -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Penelope lay with a sleepy smile on her face, after becoming even more uncomfortable with the pregnancy, she found herself relaxing more and more in bed.
Each time with Derek by her side.
This time, unlike the others, the evening rolled in slowly, the sun set, and the street lights took precedence of natural lighting and she found herself laying on the bed, getting more and more tired as she just waited for Derek to come back to her.
As much as she loved being pregnant, the watching of her stomach growing, the feeling of her daughter move within her, the motherly love she felt consume her, she was beginning to just want her body back, she wanted her daughter in public view so she could show her off, not hidden away waiting for the right moment.
She must've been dosing because in the moments she felt the dip, she felt a hand go to her stomach and started to lure her out of her sleep in the gentle circles being made. She groaned softly, stretching a little under the feather light movement as Derek ran his hand over her stomach.
"Little bit more?" Penelope asked him as she looked to her right at him.
"It's been 3 hours, Baby; Mom wants us down for something to eat."
Penelope nodded at him sleepily and closed her eyes again, "I just wanna lie here a moment longer, I'm beyond comfortable." She whispered as her tone lost the constraints of sleep and she woke up a little more.
"I don't think she's gonna complain if you've finally gotten comfy, Princess." He settled and watched Penelope smile; he just lay there and watched her for a moment.
"Mmm, your hands are nice on my tummy, Handsome." She said in a tone full of ease, "I think your little princess likes it too."
"That's because I know what both my Princesses like." He told her, his tone low, full of sexy vibes and Penelope felt his hand slip under her top, his palm touching the skin of her bulging stomach, pushing any slight pain, tingle, sensation away, leaving behind the calm that his one hand had caused.
"I'm more of a queen." Penelope dropped in, making Derek laugh, nodding his head in slick agreement.
Penelope opened her eyes in that moment looked at Derek as he just watched her stomach, his eyes full of awe, the still lingering disbelief at what they had made, the absolute unadulterated lust that filled his eyes to the extreme.
"We created that," he said, his tone so full of amazement, "I still can't quite get my head around it. I mean, I saw Sarah when she was pregnant, and JJ, and a couple of family friend's but this..." He stopped, took a breath and looked up at Penelope's watchable gaze, "This is completely unreal," He smiled at her, "and so absolutely beautiful."
"You really know how to use those sweet, sweet sugar lips to talk a woman into loving you more, Hot Stuff." Penelope teased as she put her arm on his and smiled brightly, whatever her body was doing, however much she was irritable, she could never ever be kept down for long with Derek around.
One of his many best attributes was his ability to make her feel so much better when all seemed to be the complete opposite in her world.
Just like the day he turned back up after six months, her world, that had become so dark and scary, seemed to be eclipsed and the brightest of sun's burst through in just his existence in the room. Even if the following moments did lead to him fleeing the room and leaving her feeling like her heart might break if this was the moment she had wanted for. It didn't matter, all the negative feelings she had just wouldn't completely burst and she guessed that was down to the fact that she trusted Derek and the love they had shared for those few hours that one night.
It didn't matter if she was pregnant or not when he got back, they were due their reunion and they were due their happily ever after.
"Pen?" Derek's vice penetrated her thought, "Pen-nel-lope..." He called and watched Penelope's glazed over expression leave her eyes and look at him after a quick shake of her head, "where did you go Baby?" He asked, "And without me..." He added and pouted playfully at her.
Penelope laughed, "Oh you were there okay, Stud Muffin," she teased him delicately and tilted her head slightly, "I was thinking about how much you love me."
Derek went to defend himself.
"And I realised that it didn't matter if I was pregnant or just me, you'd have still came home that day and claimed me." She finished off, showing him she knew how much she loved him. "I knew that when you got home I was going to bleed my heart dry to you, give you everything I had left so that I couldn't regret a thing any longer."
"I'm so glad I came back and claimed you." Derek said as he pushed himself towards her, his lips nearing hers, "I am so, so glad you're all mine."He then kissed her, releasing his absolute gratitude for what she had given him over the space of a couple of months.
They settled back apart, just waiting in the silence of one another.
Just watching.
No words were needed for the moment, just them being with one another. Being an almost complete family.
Then Derek broke the silence.
"I remember one morning, I went to get coffee and there was a girl in the queue," he watched the shadow of doubt cast upon Penelope's expression, "she tried everything to get my attention and I just looked at her, smiled, and so calmly went 'I've got a girl waiting at home', she attempted to tell me she could prove me that I hadn't had the best and I remember just leaning, luring her in and going 'you've obviously not met the best' and left her to it," He said with a cheeky grin, his attention fully on her, "I didn't get any coffee that morning."
"Uh oh, grouchy bear made it into work then." Penelope teased him, her eyes showing how touched she was by that one little tale.
"Is that any way to treat a man who just said he had the best of the best waiting for him at home?" He asked her playfully, "you were alllll the way here, while I was alllll the there, defending you to a stranger and that's all I get?"
Penelope leant forward the best she could.
"How many women did you bat off in my honour?"
"About 472," he dropped in jokingly, smirked a little, his eyes illuminated with his playfulness, "what can I say, when I've got my perfect woman everyone can literally get lost. Why have them, when my world's back in Quantico?"
Penelope didn't think her smile could get any bigger as it was at that moment, but it did and she had never, ever felt so consumed wholeheartedly in one man in her entire life.
"You know, I like being one man's entire world."
"Get used to it, Baby Girl, because you're mine for eternity." He told her and then sat up properly, giving her another power kiss, "Now I want to get my wife and child fed."
"Oh wife?" She asked him, "I like that so much, my Love."
"Good thing it's legally correct then." He finalised and got off the bed, walking to her side of the bed, helping her up and off of the bed, aiding her properly, holding her right, giving her the independency she still loved having.
It was as she followed him that she realised how they had come to be as they were, married, and loving life to the extreme, it wasn't until she sat down at the table though that she remembered a couple of day's previous when she'd met a new Morgan friend, one who'd allowed Penelope and Derek to become lawfully wedded.
She smiled as she looked down at her newest ring on her finger and smiled, she knew it was memories like those that would subsidise the pain of labour and make the time pass quickly, moving the world around her swiftly as she waited to hold her child.
The last thought she had as she was finally taken back to bed was of how bright her future was looking from where she was in the present.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Rhythm Of Love -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Penelope awoke from her dream, it wasn't like the ones she'd had the previous week, this one was the labour itself. She could feel the contractions hitting her in waves, taking control of her body again like they had with the Braxton Hicks, but instead of them wearing off after a couple of rounds they got worse, and worse until she was rendered paralysed to the spot with the ferocity of pain.
She remembered bits of the dream, but like others forgot most of it, she remember minor details like Derek holding her hand as she squeezed it to such an enormity she could've broke it, she remember doctors and nurses, too many doctors and nurses for her common sense knowledge on delivering babies and she remembered all too well the screaming voice in her head that professed this was nothing like the TV shows made it looked.
She lay in the darkness, not prepared to move and wake herself up entirely, so she lay so still, Derek's hand still on her stomach, his body facing her, his snores filling the air, letting her know entirely that she wasn't alone.
She stiffened as a pain erupted in her stomach, the tightening of muscles, the waves of new contractions.
She moved the easiest she could to get out of bed, to walk off the cascading sensation, but the moment she stood she knew she needed Derek.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Rhythm Of Love -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
A/N: Who wants more after that?
And I have a name picked out, you'll probably know in the next chapter ;)