A/N: I know that chapter three has the same title, it was intentional to mark the change in Derek and Peyton's feelings and bond. Enjoy!

Secret

Chapter Twenty

-Daddy's Little Girl-

Peyton laughed of joy looking at the abyss at her feet. She liked the feeling, fear mixed with excitement, and knowing she could die if she took just a small step forward.

"Peyton!" Derek was approaching her fast, scared she might fall. "Peyton Shepherd, step back! Do you hear me? You could fall! The ground could crumble under your weight!"

"It's not that dangerous, Dad." the girl answered him cheerfully, but she stepped back anyway. Then she realized how she had called him, and she stopped in her tracks, glancing at Derek with half a smile and a hint of embarrassment.

Derek smiled at his daughter, feeling closer to her than ever before. "What about we get to the next mountain dew and have something to drink?" he suggested, knowing every little word about the father-daughter topic could destroy the precarious balance he and Peyton had.

"Sure. We can talk about it, anyway. I'm becoming pretty comfortable thinking about it."

"About what? Me being in your life properly?"

"Mhmm. And Meredith and Roxie as my family."

"I'm happy to hear you say it."

They walked in silence for a while.

"Why did you choose Canada?" Derek asked curiously. When Peyton asked if he would take her wherever she wanted, he had expected her to say Hawaii or Paris or maybe even Portugal or Greece, but not Canada. It was cold!

"I was gonna come to Canada." Peyton explained. "With school. Three weeks before leaving Daniel's cancer came back and I never got to go."

"I'll always take you where you want to go." Derek told her, knowing he was finally getting the chance to fix things with Peyton for real. "I'd do everything for you."

"I don't think I need much right now. The things I want, I can't have."

Derek knew she was talking about her twin brother.

"Sabrina." Peyton talked again, switching to another topic.

"Who?"
"The name for the baby. I really like it."

"I do too."

"I know it could be a boy, you don't need to say it. I just can't face the possibility yet."

"It's alright, Pey. I have a feeling it's a girl."

"Me too. Hey, there's the hut."

"We should call your mom." Derek said after they sat at the table and ordered.

The girl sighed. "I could manage without her anxiety for a few more hours."

"Parents are supposed to worry about their children, Pey. But we can wait half an hour." he winked at her.

"What are we doing tonight?" Peyton asked as she sipped her cocoa.

"Whatever you want."

"A girl I met at the hotel told me there are a lot of DVDs in a room near the hall. There are couches and a fireplace and a TV. I'd like to watch a movie, if no one else is in there."

"Sounds perfect." Derek smiled.

x

Peyton woke up sweating after an unpleasant dream. It wasn't scary, but at some point Daniel appeared and he wanted to take their mother away with him; then the scenery changed and he was holding the baby, who was a girl but had Daniel's teen boy face. The baby was looking at her creepily, and Daniel turned into some kind of angel, a mean one though. Then she woke up.

Sitting up in bed, Peyton looked at her father on the other bed, finding him awake with his iPad.

He heard her irregular breaths and glanced up. "Hey, sweetie. Are you alright?"

"Yeah." she said, pushing back the blankets. "I woke up. What are you doing?"

Derek patted on the bed beside him. She tiptoed towards him, shivering when her bare feet touched the cold floor.

"I'm writing an email to Meredith."

Peyton looked at the screen and smiled. "You wrote that we both like Sabrina! And that we'll definitely call the baby that. Are you sure she won't mind?"

"She won't." Derek promised. "It's a beautiful name, and we chose it together. You came up with it. She loves you, you know."

"I know."

"Can I ask you something?" Derek asked after a few minutes of silence during which he had added some more sentences to his email.

"Go ahead."

"Is your mother happy?"

Peyton looked at him surprised. Usually Derek's questions were about Daniel, or her feelings, or occasionally Paul (Derek hated Paul), but not Addison.

"The guilt I feel will never go away." Derek explained when he saw her face. "I did something of utterly horrible and unforgivable, and it haunts me at times. I can't fix it with your brother, and you're slowly forgiving me somehow, but I can't stop worrying about your mother. Despite the way I acted and the things I did, I loved your mother deeply, and I will always care for her. Thinking that she might never fully recover kills me inside. I need to hear aloud that she's happy, from time to time."

"She is." Peyton simply said. "She and Mark have loved each other for as long as I can remember, I always knew they did, but now that they're actually together it's like they gained a new lease of life. We're all still mourning Daniel, but I see Mom happy... especially when I'm home though. She worries when I'm not."

Derek didn't answer; he silently sent the email to Meredith, and typed something on google.

"What...? Seriously?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I guess. But..."

"I'll talk to Meredith, Peyton. I'm just looking through prices."

Peyton watched as he looked for houses in New York. "It will be so cool. I could see Roxie and Sabrina every day. I'd call her Bri, by the way."

"Nice nickname." Derek commented. "Let's see if I can manage to find something near your house. Any neighbor who's put their house up for sale? Though I'm not so sure your mom will jump of joy."

"She'll be happy for me. And she likes Roxie. And maybe that way you can make it up to her and be sure that she's happy."

"I like this house." he said, pointed at the screen. Peyton rested her head on his shoulder as they read the description together. It did look perfect.

x

"Hey, Peyton!"

"Uncle Mark!" the girl said cheerfully on the phone. She had expected her mom to answer, but she was happy to hear her uncle's voice.

"Your mother is busy talking to your aunt right now. We're at your grandmother's house for Nancy's birthday."

"Wish her the best birthday of her life from me."

"I will, Princess. How are you doing there?"

"I love Canada, Uncle Mark. And Dad and I are getting along pretty well. Did you hear I called him dad?"

"I sure did, kiddo. I take it you're happy to be there."

"I didn't think it'd go so well. I thought we'd constantly fight, but we're good instead. And don't tell Mom yet, because Dad gas to talk to Meredith first, but Dad wants to move close to us."

"To New York?" Mark sounded surprised.

"Yep, he wants to. I hope Meredith will agree. Well, can I talk to Mom now? We have to go have dinner in a while, and I want to hear her voice."

"Missing home?" he teased her.

"Maybe."

"Here's your mom, honey. I love you. Bye."

"Love you too. Bye."

"Pey?"

"Mom! Are you okay? I'm having so much fun here, you can't imagine! I love it!"

"I'm glad you're liking it, baby. And is Derek okay?"

"Yeah, we're good. We're talking."

"Good. I miss you, Peyton."

"Me too, Mom. I'll be home in a few days."

"I know. I have a surprise for you."

"What is it? Tell me."

"I can't tell you, Peyton." Addison chuckled, thinking about the puppy she had finally bought after eight years of begging. "It's a surprise."

"Fine." the teenager sighed dramatically. "I have to go now, Mom. I'll call you tomorrow. Oh, and I have a surprise for you too!" she announced evilly, referring to her father's house-hunting. With that, she ended the call and ran to Derek, feeling – finally – daddy's little girl.