Savior

Chapter 7

-xx-

Cate rested her chin on her hand as it was propped up on the table. She smiled as she watched the man sitting across the table from her type away on his cell phone.

After their eventful morning, the pair decided to head out to grab coffee and breakfast.

The two were obviously work-a-holics; Derek was currently sending a follow up to a report that he had sent in before he left Ohio with JJ the day before and Cate's phone was going off with clients asking about a house that just popped up.

As he placed his phone face down onto the table, he grinned at her. She was wearing one of his zip-up sweatshirts over the dress she had worn the night before. Her hair was piled in a messy bun on the top of her head and she was bare of any makeup. Her pale pink lips caught his attention every time he looked at her.

The brunette cradled her cup of coffee, her eyes locked on Derek's. No matter what she did, she could not hide the smile taking over her face. She normally wasn't one to have sex early in a relationship but Derek was different than any past relationship. They may have only been back in each other's lives for one week, but it felt like much longer.

She would never spend a night, let alone a weekend, with a man so quickly in her life, but being with Derek made her feel safe and comfortable. They fell in step with each other perfectly. It didn't seem like eight days since she saw him across the bar from her.

"So," she started as she placed her coffee cup back to the table. "I have a gala event next weekend." Derek smirked. She grinned. "It's our yearly awards banquet, and they make it into a charity dinner dance kind of thing." Cate ran her fingers around the rim of her mug. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

Derek smiled, "I'd love to."

She laughed. "You answered that way too quickly. You obviously don't know what you're getting into," she joked. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear before continuing. "Hours of speeches, and donations, and dealing with assholes." Her blue eyes rolled at the thought. "But I am being recognized this year."

"Being recognized for what exactly?" He was sincere and didn't jump to the conclusion of her being rewarded to continuing to work as if nothing had happened to her on the job.

She smiled a true smile that lit her eyes up, "I'm number four in the district for sales over the past year." Cate was damn proud of her accomplishments. "$12.5 million in twelve months isn't too shabby."

Derek let out a light whistle. "Damn, baby," he grinned. "You are amazing in all facets of your life." He reached across the small table to take her hand in his, "and I would love to accompany you next weekend." She blushed.

"I cannot wait to see you all dressed up," she beamed at the thought. Jeans did him just well, so she could not wait to see him in a suit. "I have an appointment later this afternoon with a friend of my mom's. She runs a boutique that I frequent for events like this. I have no need for gowns to take up my closet, so I borrow them from her shop."

Derek rubbed his fingers over her knuckles as he held her hand. "I'll join you if you'd like," he offered. She tilted her head, a look of shock taking over her face. "What? I can't watch my lady try on dresses?" Derek joked.

"If that is how you want to spend your day, then you're on." Catherine had never met a man in her life that wanted anything to do with shopping or watching her try on clothing. But it was the way that he said my lady that made her heart skip a beat.

"And maybe while we're out, you can grab some stuff to leave at my place," he offered before raising his coffee mug to his lips. Cate's eyebrow rose. "Whatever you want to have there. It beats having to go from your place to mine, and you won't have to re-wear a dress the next morning," the blush rose in Cate's cheeks at the comment. "Not that I'm complaining," he added.

Cate pursed her lips together to fight the school girl grin that was dying to escape. "Do I get my own drawer," she asked jokingly.

He nodded, "You can have whatever you want." Derek's eyes eased as the sincerity dripped from his voice.

The brunette buried herself further into his sweatshirt. "But I enjoy stealing your clothes so much more," she joked, referring to the t-shirt he had given her the night before and the sweatshirt she swiped on the way out the door for breakfast.

"They do look good on you," he replied, noting the pink rising in her cheeks. "For real, Cate, I want you to be comfortable at my place, too."

Cate nodded. "Deal," she began, "if you don't live out of your Go Bag at mine." He grinned.

Derek reached for her hand again and lifted it to his lips. "Deal," he replied as his phone went off with a text message alert. Rolling his eyes, he flipped his phone over on the table and swiped the screen to open it.

Cate tried to busy herself as he checked his text, and took one last sip of her coffee.

As she started sorting the plates on the table for the waitress to clear out, Derek finished his reply and placed his phone back down. "Garcia," he started as he gestured to the phone, "She talked Rossi into having a Family Dinner at his place tomorrow night." He smiled. "It's not that hard for her to convince him of anything, though."

The brunette laughed. "That sounds like fun. Do you guys get together out of the office a lot?"

He shrugged. "Dinner at Rossi's is a monthly thing, it seems. Penelope doesn't get to see us all too often when we're on the road, so she tries to put something together when we've been away for a while."

Cate smiled, "She sounds great."

"She is," he started, a smile taking over face, "She definitely keeps our team together." Derek handed the check off to their waitress as she was walking by. She thanked him and walked off when he explained it was all set.

"That'll be good for you to get to see them all outside of work. It must be relaxing."

Derek shook his head, "Not always. Rossi loves to teach us how to cook authentic Italian," Derek smirked. "It doesn't always work so well, but he enjoys it, and we enjoy the wine." He enjoyed the laugh that escaped Cate's mouth. "Would you like to join me at Rossi's?"

Cate pursed her lips together, "I wouldn't want to intrude on your team," she started.

"Family night is every one," he offered as he stood from the table. He took Cate's hand as she stood. "JJ brings her husband and kids. Hotch always brings his son, Jack, and sometimes his girlfriend joins. Reid has brought his mom a few times." The two started to walk out of the small café, Derek being sure to hold the door open for her. "I would really like if you came with me."

His enthusiasm warmed her heart. "Sure," she replied. If he was willing to go to a Gala with her next weekend, the least she could do was accompany him to dinner with his team.

-xx-

Derek threw his legs up on the coffee table as Cate finished hanging a few pieces in the spare closet in Derek's master bedroom. She placed a pair of sneakers and a pair of flip flops on the floor of the closet, as well as necessities in the drawer Derek cleaned out for her. She was only kidding with him when she asked about her own drawer, but he made it his mission to clean one out for her.

Cate included the black man as much as possible when she was picking things out to have at his house. She shook her head, thinking how crazy it was to be leaving things at his house. But she felt appreciated as she put away her underwear, knowing how big of a step it was for any man to give up their own space.

When everything was put away, she walked into the living room to find Derek sprawled on the couch watching ESPN.

She walked to the couch and sat down, straddling his lap. She placed a hand to either side of his face and kissed him.

Derek could not contain the smirk on his face when the two pulled apart. "What did I do to deserve that?" he pondered.

She shrugged. "You spoil me, so I wanted to repay the favor a bit."

Cate went to move off of his lap, but he placed a hand to each side of her waist and held her where she was. "You're not going anywhere," he replied. Derek grabbed the remote and turned the volume down on the TV. He watched the emotions play through her eyes. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

Cate looked down for a moment, until Derek's fingers lifted her chin. "This is fast," she admitted. The brunette released a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. As she nibbled on her lip, her fingers fiddled with the string hanging from his hooded sweatshirt. "It's not a bad thing," she continued, not able to meet his eyes, "In fact, it's amazing."

Derek placed his hand to her cheek. She leaned into the touch and licked her lips. "What's the matter, baby?"

A smile danced on her lips at the nickname. "For once in my life, I feel like I'm exactly where I belong when I'm with you." The honesty in her voice caused him to adjust to sit up straight with her on his lap. "How is it possible to feel this strongly for someone after one week?" she mused, the sentence not truly directed at him.

He kissed her softly. "If it helps, you're not the only one feeling that way." Cate's eyes moved to his dark brown orbs, taking in every speck of color in them. Derek's arms wrapped under her cardigan and around her waist. "I am definitely falling for you, Catherine Johnson."

It was the perfect thing she could hear at that moment in time. Cate slipped her arms around his neck and planted another kiss to his lips. "Right back at ya, Derek Morgan."

-xx-