Take Two

Chapter 91

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Whitney stopped in her tracks to admire the rows of trees ready to be purchased and brought home for Christmas. It had been years since the last time she was in a tree lot. In LA, they only had a small tree that she barely decorated because of Mason's disinterest.

On her shopping trip with Piper the weekend before, she grabbed a few holiday decorations to put up around the house. That morning at breakfast, Derek pointed out how nice the house had looked with a bit of holiday cheer; that was all she needed to fill her shopping lists with more décor for the house.

When he mentioned how he wanted to go pick up a tree for the house, Whitney broke in to a bright smile. She fully expected him to pull in to a department store to buy a fake tree, but she was thrown for another loop when he asked that she bring a jacket with them.

The blonde slid her hands in to the pockets of her winter jacket as she took in her surroundings. The smell of the trees brought back memories of growing up; even with limited income, her brother always made sure there was a tree in their house by Christmas Eve. And then when they moved to Cambridge with Phil, the house was always decorated with vibrant reds and greens.

"What do you think of this one?" She turned to the voice behind her. Derek's smile was infectious. He lifted the tree away from where it rested to let it stand tall.

Whitney smirked as she watched him fluff out a few branches. "First pick is definitely a good one," she answered. Truth was, it was a beautiful tree – and would look beautiful in their living room – but she wanted to extend this afternoon. It was less often that they got time together recently and she was in no rush to hurry it up.

"But," he urged, noting the look on her face. "You want to look at more." She nodded.

Derek slowly placed the tree back against the fence. He could not wipe the smile off of his face as he watched the blonde walk around the lot. Every few seconds, her hand would jut out of her pocket to touch the trees she passed but ultimately decided they were not 'the one'.

She was wrapped tight in a black jacket; if you did not know, most people would not assume she was pregnant thanks to the padding of the jacket. Her ensemble was topped off with a black and red buffalo plaid hat and scarf.

But it was the glimmer in her eye that made Derek's heart beat faster. From the second he offered to go pick out a tree today, to pointing out the few decorations she had put up, Whitney was in the stellar mood.

Even after spending most of the night catching up after he returned from a case, she was still a happy woman waking up in his arms. Being with him was her safe space, and it was nice to be able to relax with him that morning.

"Derek," she called, causing him to look away from the row he was currently searching. He spotted the petite blonde around the corner checking out a different rack. "Can you hold this one up?"

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth as she waited for her boyfriend to join her in the aisle. "That may be a winner, Whit," he urged before pulling it from the holder. He held it up and let a few of the branches fall. "What do you think?"

He didn't even need her to answer; the way her eyes lit up gave him all the words he needed. Derek could see the wheels turning in her head as she tilted it to the side. Blonde locks spilled out over her shoulder as she pondered what she could do with the tree. "Perfect," she sighed upon deciding it would be their tree for the year.

"Sooner we get this home, sooner we get to Rossi's," Derek said with a chuckle. Dave Rossi's annual Yankee Swap was one of his favorite days on the calendar; catered dinner and drinks mixed with a usually hilarious Yankee Swap was just what he looked forward to at the holidays. And now he was excited to share it with Whitney.

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Derek glanced up from the whiskey in his glass and grinned when he caught Whitney's eye from across the room. From his perch at Dave's kitchen island, he was able to steal peeks at the blonde seated on the oversized couch in the living room.

In between conversation with Penelope and JJ, Whitney would look for the black man in the room. She knew he wasn't going anywhere, but it always reassured her when she would hear his laugh or catch a glimpse of him.

Derek turned as he felt a hand clap over his shoulder. "What's going on, Rossi?" he asked as the Italian man sidled up to his side of the kitchen island.

"It's a good look on you," he started as he placed his wine glass on the counter next to Derek's discarded whiskey glass. Derek furrowed his brows as he turned to his mentor. "Happiness, kid."

The Chicago native smiled and nodded. "Feels better," he shot back with a laugh. "I don't know what it is about that woman, Rossi, but she's something I've never met before."

"She's a saint," the Italian retorted before the pair broke down in laughter. Derek could not disagree; the way she handled his crazy work schedule with her own, and put their relationship first always amazed him. "Do you ever think to yourself, 'where was she four or five years ago'?"

Derek nodded as he relaxed back in his seat. His hand gripped the glass on the counter as his shoulder slugged in a relaxed position. "Every day," he admitted. He let a deep breath out of his pursed lips as he thought about Dave's words. "I would have given anything to meet her before Savannah."

His voice was low and clipped, but Rossi heard it all perfectly clear. From the seldom few times Rossi met with Derek's ex-girlfriend, he was not thoroughly impressed with the doctor.

The older agent could not put his finger on what it was, but he knew it was not the person Derek Morgan should ultimately be with. Rossi was able to talk him out of the relationship when Derek explained that they were talking about moving in together and getting married.

Rossi could sense something change in Morgan that made the younger agent question his relationship. And then when he found out Savannah had cheated, Dave Rossi was the shoulder Derek needed to lean upon.

"We all do," Rossi agreed. "She's good for you."

The Italian watched as Whitney's conversation with the female agents grew more animated. Penelope was standing up in the middle of conversation, and Whitney and JJ were leaning back against the couch cushions with laughter spilling from their lips.

"She's better than good, Dave," Derek replied simply. Derek rested back in his high back chair and sighed. "I still can't believe we're going to be parents in a few months."

Rossi laughed before taking a hearty sip of his wine. "Neither can the rest of us," he assured his protégé. "When I first met you," Dave began and shook his head. "You were such a ladies man. Never spent the night with the same woman twice."

Derek narrowed his eyes in the Italian's direction. He knew where he was going with this conversation, but he liked to think he was a reformed ladies man. He was a one-woman-man now.

"But over the past few months, we've noticed a change. And it's different than that change in you a few years ago." Derek took a pull from his whiskey glass and rolled the ball of ice around in it. "We have Whitney to thank for that change."

Dave lifted his wine glass in the direction of the blonde stepping up to the pair from behind her boyfriend. "No thanks needed," she said with a laugh. Whitney slipped an arm across Derek's shoulders and grinned when he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"The parents to be," Dave offered before draining his glass of wine. "Just a few more months."

Whitney nodded as she rested against Derek. "Not soon enough," she sighed before running a hand over her belly. "Only fourteen more weeks."

Dave could only smirk at the smile crossing Derek's face. It was a welcome change in her demeanor. It was the first year his protégé had attended with somebody.

The black agent had been keeping a watchful eye on the blonde next to him all night. It was not obvious unless his co-workers were watching where Derek's eyes flickered to often.

He liked keeping her around and it was obvious to Dave. Whitney brought out the better parts of Derek. Rossi was happy to see the agent he had known for over a decade start to become the man he knew Derek was capable of becoming.

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