Savior
Chapter 73
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"He never calls me," Cate began, and closed her eyes when the exhaustion took over her body. "Catherine."
JJ pursed her lips as she sat next to Cate on the bed. "He'll be back here shortly," the blonde assured. She took Cate's hand in her two. Jennifer Jareau fought to remain positive; she was trying her best to keep Cate's mind off of everything to let her rest.
"He better," Cate said with a sigh. Her eyes were getting heavy again. She adjusted the thin blanket over her shoulders.
JJ helped her get the blanket up to her chin. She ran a comforting hand over Cate's shoulder, trying to help her fight the chills. It was a sign that the drugs were slowly starting to leave her system, but watching her try to curl tighter into a ball was pulling at JJ's heartstrings.
The blonde lifted her head towards the doorway when she heard familiar boots against the tile. Years in the field together, she knew those boots from anywhere.
Derek paused in the doorway and released a deep breath. JJ stood from her spot next to Cate; blue opens slowly opened as she felt the bed shift. "I'll be back," JJ promised with a smile as she started towards the doorway.
Derek stepped around the bed to climb on behind his fiancée. He gently positioned himself against her in the bed, and wrapped his arm around her the best he could, while keeping his head up with his other hand. "I hope you weren't missing this," he muttered against her shoulder as he unveiled her ring in his hand.
Through heavy eyelids, Cate forced herself to turn towards his hand. She gasped when she saw her diamond in his palm. "How?" she asked meekly.
She immediately tried to lift her own hand and caught sight of her bruised knuckles and broken nails. "It's back where it belongs, baby." Cate reached up to take the ring from him and slowly slid it back on to her left ring finger. She sighed softly at the perfect fit. "I'm so sorry, Catie."
The brunette tried her best to nod. "Don't ever," she stopped to take a deep breath.
"I promise," he cut her off. "I'm not going anywhere. I need you to relax."
She snuggled back against him the best she could. Every ounce of movement winded her quickly. "I want to go home," she begged.
"Soon," he replied as he kissed the side of her head, careful to not touch the fresh stitches in the back of her head. He felt her relax in his arms and could only imagine that she fell back to sleep.
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"I can walk," she muttered against his shoulder. "Let me walk."
Derek shook his head. "I've got you, baby," he answered back with a smirk. He continued on his way down the hallway from the elevator with his fiancée in his arms. Cate slowly rested her head against his shoulder and sighed. "You good?"
She nodded with a tight lipped smile taking over her face. "I just want a shower, and our bed,"
"No washing your hair," he reminded her. He could not help the smile that took over his face when she grunted. "It's only for a few days. They didn't need to put too many stitches up there."
She rolled her eyes as Derek placed her feet gently to the floor before unlocking their apartment door. He pushed the door open for his fiancée and let her walk inside first. She reached out for the light switch for the living room, before getting aggravated that her coordination was working against her.
Cate released a groan before stepping in to the darkened living room. Lack of coordination matched with the darkness caused her to catch her foot on the leg of the coffee table. She braced herself before landing flat on her bottom.
The brunette situated herself against the bottom of the couch and pulled her knees to chest as sobs took over her body. "Catie," Derek began as he flicked on the lights and strode towards her sitting on the floor. He knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his. "Let's get you to bed."
She shook her head. "Everything hurts," she cried. "And all I feel are," she began, and released a deep breath as she looked away from the caring brown eyes in front of her, "are another man's hands on me." She choked out one more sob as her words hung in the air. "I need a shower."
She tried not to bring attention to Derek's hands clenching around hers, or the fact that she could hear him grind his teeth in frustration. But she was desperate to wash her body and change into something comfortable. Emily was nice enough to leave an outfit from her go bag for Cate to wear home, but all she wanted was her own clothes – or even a t-shirt of Derek's to make her feel better.
"Let me help you," he offered, snapping himself out of his reverie. "C'mon," he said as he stood from his knees. He held his hand out, hoping to help her off of the floor.
"Okay," she muttered, knowing full well she was too tired to do it by herself anyways.
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Derek peeked in from the balcony to check on Cate; she was situated on the couch wearing a slouchy cardigan over a tank top and yoga pants. She held her coffee cup between both hands in her lap, but Derek was fairly certain she had barely touched it.
He smiled fondly at the memory after he helped Cate in the shower; she fumbled repeatedly with putting her hair in a low braid. With the help of a YouTube video, he was able to braid her hair into a simple braid down her back. JJ would love that story – the infamous Derek Morgan learned how to braid his wife-to-be's hair.
"That sounds good, Jackie. Thanks," he answered in to the phone pressed to his ear. "And book her for Tuesday to come to the salon. She has to go a few days without washing her hair because of the stitches, and she's already freaking out."
He grinned at the words coming through the other end of the call. "I'll make sure she's there," he answered. He nodded at her requests, "I will let you know if we need anything. Thanks Jackie."
Derek hung up the phone and slid the device into the pocket of his sweatpants. "Hey," she mustered up as he walked into the living room. "What's up with Jacks?"
He smiled in spite of himself; she was starting to come around. She was able to make full sentences without getting tired in the middle of them. "She's booking you a nail appointment for tomorrow, and scheduling for you to see her in the salon on Tuesday."
Cate turned to watch him walk towards the couch and take a seat next to her. She then looked down at her hands around the mug and cringed. "I can't go out like this," she said softly.
Derek situated himself on the couch to face her as she sat facing the television. "Like what?" he asked genuinely.
"I feel like a disaster right now." She leant forward to place her coffee mug on the counter and pulled her legs up against her chest. "I can't remember," she began and then pursed her lips together.
Derek scooted towards her and wrapped her in his arms. "We'll get through this, Catie."
She shrugged in his arms. "This should be the happiest time of our lives. We're planning a wedding, and today that house is officially ours." She swallowed the growing lump in her throat as she shook her head. "It's not fair."
"I know, baby," he whispered softly to her as he placed a kiss to the side of her head.
"The last thing I remember," she muttered, "was picking my wedding dress." She released a shaky breath. "And now that memory is tarnished."
Derek inhaled sharply. She was right; none of this was fair. "Do you want to move it back to June?"
She turned to face him head on, her blue eyes screaming with emotion. "No," she stated. "They're not taking that from me. I refuse to let them take you from me."
Those eyes he loved brimmed with tears. Derek placed a hand to her cheek and wiped away the stray tear that fell with his thumb. "I'm not going anywhere, Cate. I don't care what anyone does." The justification in his voice caused her to pull her lower lip between her teeth. "I vow to you, right now, Catherine, that I am not going anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, you're already my wife, and I take those vows very seriously."
Through the tears fighting to escape, she broke out in a bright smile. Derek moved both arms to slide around her waist under her cardigan and pulled her on to his lap. She rested her head against his chest, concentrating on his heartbeat.
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