Savior
Chapter 86
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"What are you doing?" Cate asked with a laugh as Derek killed the ignition to their rental car. She placed her coffee cup back into the cup holder and lifted an eyebrow. "Aren't we supposed to be heading to the airport?"
Derek nodded as he slipped off his sunglasses and let them hang from his shirt. "We'll get there," he commented as he opened the driver side door. He stepped around to open Cate's door for her. "I made a little comment the last time we were here and I never followed through," he began as Cate took his hand and stood from her seat. "I promised to show you where I grew up."
Cate smiled and nodded. "We hit most of your favorite places this weekend," she reminded him. Her eyebrow rose as they walked hand in hand towards the football field. "What is so special about this place?"
"Well," he started as they stopped at the fence surrounding the field. "This field changed my life." He rested back against the fence and pulled Cate in front of him so he could place a hand to her hips. "After my Pops died, I spent a lot of time at the youth center," he said as he gestured down the street to the building he had pointed out previously. "And it was through the center that I got into football."
Cate smiled as she rested her arms on his shoulders; one hand wrapped up to the base of his neck. She watched as his jaw jutted out as he processed the words he wanted to use in his mind.
"Carl Buford took me in at the youth center, and he taught me a lot," he said as he focused on something over Cate's shoulder. "A lot about sports, mainly, but a lot about life, too." Cate pursed her lips together as she waited for Derek to continue. "He's the reason I'm in the BAU."
"Why?" was all that Cate could ask. She licked her suddenly dry lips as Derek slowly bent his head down.
He swallowed the growing lump in his throat as he continued, "To put men like him away," he said softly. "He, uh," he stuttered. He would purse his lips together as he tried to get his words to come out correctly. "I was molested when I was a kid."
Cate's eyes shot open; those cerulean blues showed everything he feared. Derek dared to slowly look up towards her. "Derek," she cooed softly. She sighed when she was unable to follow up his name.
"I'm not telling you this for sympathy, Cate," he said simply. "You deserve to know about my past." She nodded slowly.
"You don't need to go into detail, Derek," she replied.
His pursed lips formed into a tight smile. "I threw myself into football," he continued, "And I ended up getting a scholarship to Northwestern because of it. I used what Carl did to push myself to the FBI." Cate could not help the shy smile taking over her face as Derek finally lifted his head all the way. "This is the field where all of that happened. I made something of myself right out there."
He turned from her and pointed towards the 50 yard line. "There's more to you than what this man did to you," Cate said softly. "You are so much more than that."
Derek slowly turned back to his fiancée and smiled. "I chose my job because I want to get rid of as many men like Carl Buford as I can." Cate let a soft sigh escape her lips as she remembered their conversation from before they left for Chicago. "I've been able to help a number of boys who were just like me."
She slowly slid her hand from the base of his neck to his cheek and smiled when he rested his face in the palm of her hand. "I would never tell you to give up your job."
"I know," he answered. "But I need you to know why I do this. I need you to know why I willingly put myself in harms way." Derek matched her by moving a hand from her hip to cupping her cheek. "I will always come home you to, Catie. I promise you that." His other hand slipped to the small of her back to push her closer to him. "But I need to do this job."
"You're too good at it, anyways," she said with a laugh. "But you make a difference, D. Every single day – every person you save."
He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I never thought –" he struggled with his wording. "When I busted into that condo, Cate, I never expected we would be standing here right now."
She took a deep breath as she felt the tears start to prick her eyes. "Me neither," she admitted. "I honestly never expected to make it past that day."
Derek's hand shot up to wipe the tear that escaped her eye. "When you coded in the ambulance, I thought I lost a victim," he said quietly. "But I knew you were a warrior when they were able to bring you back." He watched the emotion play over Cate's face. "I couldn't stay away from you, Catie." He could see her biting the inside of her lip. "And then when I got the second chance – in that bar – I wasn't letting you slip away again."
Cate had to tear her eyes from him and look out towards the field to keep her emotions at bay. Her hand dropped from his cheek back to his shoulder.
"So when I tell you I'll be back to you, that is a promise, Cate," he said softly. "After everything the two of us have been through, we deserve this. We deserve to be happy."
"Nothing makes me happier than knowing I'm going to be your wife," she confided as she slowly turned back towards him. Her lips slowly turned up into a smile. "I count down every single day until I get to call you my husband. Derek Morgan, you don't understand how excited I am."
"I think I do," he argued, "because I cannot wait until they pronounce us man and wife." She grinned as he leant in to claim her lips with his. "If we did not have a plane to catch, I would be dragging you behind those bleachers right now."
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