Author's Note. Okay, another chapter. Since this story will skip ahead in time, sometimes large stretches of time, I thought it would be important to see the very beginning of Derek and Sam's relationship. I did not want you to have to read a chapter and have them be in the middle of dating without any context whatsoever. Just be warned, the following chapter will be very mushy and hopefully I have been able to do it some justice. Thank you to everyone following this story and taking the time to leave reviews. I appreciate any and all feedback provided. Enjoy.

The drive home from the homecoming dance was quiet. Derek was driving while Sam sat in the front passenger seat, wearing Derek's jacket to help keep her warm. Derek concentrated on his driving while Sam was in deep concentration thinking about Derek. Carly and Freddie were only thinking about each other; ever since entering Derek's car they had remained glued together at the mouth, their hands roaming each other with abandon.

Sam kept thinking about what Derek had said at the end of the dance, "You don't have to be alone anymore." It had been everything Sam could do to not cry when he had told her those words. Sam hated being alone and one of her biggest fears was that she would wind up alone like her mother; seeking comfort from any man who would give it, even if only for an evening. After Melanie had left for boarding school Sam had begun spending more and more time at the Shay's. With a mother who was inattentive on her best days and mildly abusive on her worst, Sam craved positive attention. Both Carly and Spencer had provided that attention, but it had been lost since Carly's illness. Without it Sam found herself floundering emotionally.

Since breaking up with Freddie, Sam had become prone to bouts of depression which had been growing deeper. What made her depression worse in her eyes was that nobody seemed to notice. This wasn't surprising to her; she knew her mother wouldn't care and the Shays, along with Freddie, were too busy caring for Carly's own mental illness. Without her closest friends and family Sam had never felt so isolated and she was too ashamed to seek help on her own. Sam had felt a little better since her talk with Carly earlier that week, but she did not know if it would help lift her out of the depths of her negative feelings.

Sam felt sure now that Derek had been the only person who had sensed how down she had been feeling and was the only person willing to try and reach her. The dance, she now realized, had given him the opportunity he needed to connect with her on an emotional level that she would not have allowed normally. A few tears escaped her eyes as she thought about what he had told her, "You don't have to be alone anymore." Some guys might have meant that as a cheap pickup line; Sam knew that was not the case with Derek at all, but she also knew that Derek could not know how much of an impact those seven words had on her. To Sam Puckett those words spoke to what troubled her very soul the most.

She was dabbing her eyes with a tissue when Derek pulled up in front of Bushwell Plaza. Derek had to clear his throat twice to get Freddie and Carly to stop their amorous activities so he could announce they were home. "Ok lovebirds end of the line. I don't have to shampoo back there, do I?"

Both Carly and Freddie laughed and assured him he would not. Freddie then suggested they go up to his apartment since his mother had gone back to work and was working second shift that night. As they got out of the car Freddie asked, "What about you Sam? Will you get home ok?"

Sam looked at Freddie and Carly, then back to Derek, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Neither Freddie nor Carly needed any more encouragement and scurried into Bushwell Plaza as fast as they could manage. That left Sam alone with Derek in his car. Before Derek could put the car in gear and pull away, Sam spoke up, "Wait a sec. I need to ask you something important."

Derek felt a little nervous, but kept his voice calm. "Sure, anything."

"I really mean it Derek. I need an honest answer, no BS."

"I promise Sam, no BS whatsoever."

Sam hesitated and exhaled, she felt as if she was about to cross the Rubicon, a point of no return. "What you told me at the dance, what you whispered into my ear as the song ended…did you mean it? Did you truly mean what you said?"

Derek now knew he had struck a nerve with Sam, her tone of voice was almost pleading. He had of course meant it but he could now see that what he said had touched a particular chord with her. Derek shifted in the driver's seat to face Sam while she did the same to face him. He took her smaller hands in both of his and brought them up to his lips. He gently kissed her hands and with all the sincerity he could put into his voice answered her, "Sam, I meant every single word I said."

Sam started to cry softly; for a second Derek thought his attempt at being sincere and romantic had backfired in spectacular fashion. Sam shook her head at his question, "It's ok, I'm not upset, I'm just….overcome. Can we go talk somewhere alone?"

Derek nodded his assent and quickly put his car in gear and pulled away from Bushwell Plaza. Sam had no idea where Derek was taking them, but put her faith in him and did not ask as to their destination. Eventually they came to a gated community; Derek slowed as the car approached the front gate. The gate opened on its own as the vehicle approached and Derek slowly pulled through. Just inside Derek pulled over to the side and got out of the vehicle, instructing Sam to stay put. He walked over to the security guard and Sam could see him give Derek a warm and friendly smile. The guard entered his small post and returned after a minute and handed something to Derek. Sam couldn't tell for sure from her vantage point what he handed Derek, but it looked like it might have been a key.

Derek got back into the car, "We're in luck. Just one more quick stop and we'll be there soon."

Sam examined the houses of this neighborhood as Derek pulled away. They were all large and seemed quite luxurious to her; she knew Derek's family had some money but did not realize it was quite that much. Derek had made offhand remarks about the country club to which his family belonged, but never went into any details. Now that she thought about it, it occurred to her that Derek never talked about his family much and they never gathered at his house. They tended to always get together at the Shay's loft or the Groovy Smoothie.

Derek eventually pulled into a large circular driveway in front of a large house. Derek's Camry seemed oddly out of place next to the Mercedes sedan parked outside. "Ok, I'll just be a sec. I promise." Derek quickly ran into the house, leaving the car running so Sam would not get cold. Sam waited in the car and thought about what she was doing. It was obvious to her Derek's family moved in far higher social circles than her own. Puckett's were never seen in a gated community such as this, or at any sort of country club. She wondered if she was making a big mistake and thought about asking him to take her home when he came hurrying out of his house, or at least she assumed this was his house. He was smiling and when Sam saw his smile any desire to go home evaporated.

He carried a blanket and a cooler under one arm which he deposited into the back seat. He quickly got into the driver's seat and smiled at Sam. "Ready?

"Sure, where are we going?"

"Someplace we can talk. Someplace quiet…and romantic."

It was dark in the car but Derek could see Sam's cheeks begin to blush. He smiled inwardly and pulled out of his driveway. A few minutes, and a few turns, later they parked outside of what appeared to be a clubhouse of sorts. It was set some distance from any of the houses in the community and appeared to be deserted. "This is a nine-hole golf course," he answered Sam's unasked question. "Don't worry, the guard gave me the key and turned off the alarm. We will have plenty of privacy."

Derek grabbed the blanket and cooler from the back seat and hurried around to the other side and, like a proper gentleman, helped Sam out of the car. Sam was still not entirely used to getting around in the clothes and shoes she was wearing and was actually thankful for his help. Once safely out of the car and on her feet, Derek led Sam by the hand up the walkway to the front door of the building. He set the cooler and blanket down and fiddled with the keys the security guard had given him until the door was unlocked. Sam held the door open as Derek scooped up his belongings and they made their way inside. Derek knew where he was going and again took Sam by the hand. They walked down a short hallway and up a flight of steps.

At the top of the steps they found themselves in a large dining room with a bar at one end and on the opposite a glass wall. Derek led them through a door in the glass wall and out onto a sundeck. "Are you too cold? We can go back inside?"

Sam shook her head, "No, this is fine."

Derek pushed a pair of reclining deck chairs together and helped Sam down into one of them. He took the other and offered Sam something to drink from the cooler.

"Root beer?" Sam was pleasantly surprised.

"Isn't it your favorite?"

Sam smiled, "You know me too well."

"I'd like to Sam."

Nothing was said for a bit. Derek and Sam sipped their root beer quietly and stared up at the stars which were clear and full of unlimited potential on this night. Derek was willing to wait Sam out; he did not want her to be uncomfortable. His patience was rewarded when Sam finally said, "You really meant it didn't you?"
Sam did not specify what "it" exactly was, but Derek knew anyway. He took Sam's right hand in his left one, "Yes, I really meant every word. I don't ever want you to be lonely again."

Sam wasn't sure how to react. She was hopeful yet scared all at once. This felt different than with anybody else she had ever dated, including Freddie, even though that probably shouldn't count. Sam squeezed Derek's hand a little harder, "You really want to go out with me?"

"Yeah Sam, I really do. It took me a little while to figure that out, but yes, I want to be with you."

Sam's heart was threatening to burst out of her chest. "Why me?"

Derek's answer was quick and direct, "Why not you?"

"Should I make you a list? I'm rude, aggressive and have poor table manners. Now why would you want to be with me?"

Derek grinned as he looked up at the stars, "because you're rude, aggressive and have poor table manners."

They both laughed at his retort. "You know I don't have a great track record dating guys. Jonah made a move on Carly, Shane got sick of me and Carly fighting over him and Pete…." Sam began to cry a little bit.

Derek sat up on his chair facing Sam, concern in his voice, "What is it Sam? What about Pete?"

Sam fought back more tears. "I changed myself so much to be with Pete. We went out twice and then a cheerleader flirted with him once and he dumped me without a second thought. I haven't dated or opened up at all to anyone since then except for Freddie briefly this summer. You know how that worked out."

"I'm sorry Pete was such a jerk Sam. You know what, though, I'm not Pete."

"I know you're not, you're a million times better than Pete, but I'm still me. I'm still Sam."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know that I project a certain image that I never show any weakness and I'm always so strong and confident. The truth is I'm just compensating because…I'm not so strong and confident. I don't have any reason to be confident."

"Sam, sit up for me, please." Sam hesitated until Derek held out his hand; she took it and he helped her sit up while she swung her legs over the side of the chair. Derek scooted over and sat next to her. He took Sam into an embrace and whispered into her ear, "Don't ever talk about yourself like that. You are so special I can't even put it into words; you have every reason to be confident in yourself. Please don't beat yourself up."

Sam nodded her head and her crying stopped. "I'm sorry, it's just I haven't been feeling too good about myself lately."

"I know Sam, but I want to help you. If you'll let me I'd like to continue taking care of you."

"Continue?"

"Well, I've been bringing you lunch every day for the past month or so."

"Ha, I knew it. I thought you were too smart to be leaving food unattended around me. But why?"

"Because I like seeing you happy. Trust me, it was worth it just to see you smile."

"You really do like me, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"How long? I mean how long have you been feeling like this?"

"At least a month or so. Remember the scary movie night we had at Carly's?" Sam nodded. "I wanted to talk to you after everyone had left, I thought you were depressed and I wanted to see if I could help. Well, you fell asleep on their couch before I could talk to you. I….forget about it, you'll find it creepy."

"What? Now you gotta tell me, I promise I won't be creeped out."

Derek paused; Sam was amused at the fact that he was starting to blush. "I put the dishes away after everyone had left. I wanted to talk to you but you had already fallen asleep on the couch. Well, you were lying on your side with your head on top of your hands and you looked…well to me you looked like an angel. You looked so innocent and beautiful, it was like you were an angel sent from heaven. I think maybe I just stared at you for about five minutes. It's possible maybe I fell in love with you a little right there. It was all I could do to keep from taking you into my arms and trying to protect you from the world. I know, it sounds really corny, I'm sorry."

Sam grinned, "It does sound a little corny, but you know what, it also sounds sweet. Trust me, nobody has ever compared me to an angel before. Thank you." Sam leaned in and kissed Derek chastely on the lips. Even though the kiss was brief it sent jolts of electricity through her body.

Derek smiled, he gently stroked Sam's left cheek, "Sam I want to be with you so bad. I have to ask, I have to make sure; do you want to be with me?"

Sam looked Derek directly in his green eyes and without any hesitation answered, "Yes. Oh god yes. I don't know when, I'm pretty good at denying my feelings, but seeing you dance with those other girls tonight really got to me. I know I'm not good at showing my feelings, but trust me, they're there."

"I know Sam. You're like a crab with a tough outer shell, but soft and gooey on the inside." Derek smiled; it was the best metaphor he could come up with off the top of his head.

"A crab? A CRAB? That's the best you could do? You're lucky you're really hot Derek." Sam leaned in again and this time kissed Derek much more passionately than the first time. Derek returned her kiss and they found themselves deeply tongue kissing. Sam threw her arms around Derek's neck; he wrapped his hands around the small of her back and pulled Sam on top of him in the adjacent lounge chairs. As their respective mouths and tongues fought for position, Derek's hands wandered over Sam's body. As she came up for a breath Sam whispered that Derek could wander "below the equator" if he wanted. As their make out session continued, Derek did just that.

An indeterminate amount of time later Sam was laying on top of Derek in the chair with her head resting on his chest. Suddenly she found herself hungry. "You know Derek, I'm kind of hungry."

Derek stroked Sam's hair. "Good thing I planned ahead. Let me get the cooler."

Sam stood up and let Derek reach the cooler. He opened it to reveal a small picnic. Cubed cheese, salami, even a fancy imported Italian ham. Sam was impressed. "Wow, you really are excellent boyfriend material."

"Come on, I'm really going to try and romance Sam Puckett and not bring food with me?"

Sam spread the blanket out on the floor and lied down on her side, her head propped up on her hand. "You're a smart man Derek Chambers."

Derek joined her on the blanket and fed Sam a piece of ham. Sam accepted the piece of food and kissed Derek's finger, suggestively licking her lips. She took a piece of cheese and held it between her lips; she then kissed Derek feeding him the cheese at the same time. They enjoyed their first informal date together, feeding each other pieces of food and trying to come up with cute nicknames for each other. Sam didn't come up with a good one for Derek, but he decided that he would call her "Pork Chop". If anybody else in the world had decided to call her that she would have beaten them senseless. Coming from Derek, however, it actually sounded adorable and made her feel good about herself. Making up with Carly earlier in the week was a good start, but being with Derek truly made her feel good about her life for the first time in several months.

Sam was lying in bed trying to go to sleep, but having no success. After their picnic Derek had driven Sam home and walked her to her front door, ever the gentleman. After kissing her goodnight she had watched him drive off, an aching feeling in her heart. Even though they were going to go on a real first date Sunday night, she found she couldn't wait and longed for his presence.

That had been two hours prior and it was now a little after 1:00a.m. She had been tossing and turning ever since she had crawled into bed, unable to sleep. As she was fidgeting on the bed Sam spied Derek's jacket; he had let Sam wear it on the way home and had forgotten about it when he left. Sam had a thought; she got up and retrieved the jacket, then lied back down in the bed and cuddled with it. It still had his scent and even his presence, Sam thought. She sighed, reveling in this little reminder of him.

Sam noticed her cell phone charging on her nightstand. She picked up the phone and quickly texted Derek: I luv U, can't wait for tomorrow. Derek must not have been sleeping either, she thought, since he replied to her text almost immediately. I luv U 2. Can't wait either.

Sam smiled and lied back down in her bed on her side, cuddling Derek's jacket close. She quickly fell into a deep sleep, the most peaceful sleep she had experienced in several months.