A/N: This whole fic was born from a single image I had of Derek and Karen together.

1 MONTH LATER (3 MONTHS PREGNANT)

Derek had been her rock for the last month. A very long month. He had held her hand, rubbed her back, and helped her with getting Jimmy's things arranged. Kyle had the bigger burden, but Karen simply couldn't walk away. Derek teasingly blamed her Iowa roots.

But here they were, Karen, Derek, Ana, and Kyle, in Brooklyn. After receiving the ashes, it had taken Kyle awhile to determine the perfect location to spread them. At first, he thought some place musical would be appropriate but the only place Jimmy loved specifically was a piano. It didn't seem like the best idea to put the ashes inside a random piano for some random person to discover at a later date. Jimmy might have gotten a kick out of it, but Kyle couldn't bring himself to do it. They finally settled on a spot overlooking the city that Jimmy had loved. It was hard to come up with words but Kyle knew exactly what to say.

"He was my brother, he saved me, and I will never forget him," Kyle said as he flung the ashes over the spot. Ana escorted him away while Derek and Karen remained. She was having a hard time wrapping her head around the whole situation. Jimmy was dead, she was pregnant, and Derek Wills was being a saint. Hell must have frozen over at some point.

"You alright darling?" Derek asked.

"I will be," she answered and took his hand. Together they walked back to the car to return home.

2 MONTHS LATER (5 MONTHS PREGNANT)

If someone had tried to tell her a year ago what her current situation would be, she would have told them they were insane.

She was in bed, with Derek, fully clothed while he rubbed her pregnant belly. Life really was insane.

This had been their habit for the last few months. They went to work on Hit List, he was still the director but she was now coaching the lead as well as helping the ensemble with vocals. They ate lunch together and sometimes dinner. Other times he had to go out or do work but either way, he was back to her apartment by 8 PM on the dot. She would be exhausted by 9 at night and he would crawl into bed behind her. She was sure he hadn't spent a night in his own apartment for the last 2 months. Surprisingly, nothing sexual had happened, which Karen hadn't expected.

At first she didn't question it. He had somehow become her rock, even more so than her parents. Eventually though, Ana had asked what was going on. But not in a nosy way, just needing to know if she should start buying more supplies. Karen had replied that she didn't know what the hell was happening. Then Ana did something very insightful, she reminded Karen that she had a child on the way and that she better figure it out soon otherwise the child would probably be sleeping on the floor, since she didn't even have a crib yet.

"Derek?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Hmm...?" was his only response, as he was on the verge of sleep.

"We can't keep doing this," Karen said.

"What? Sleeping?" he asked very confused.

"No, this. You and me," she said.

"Do we have to have this discussion now?" he asked. "How about in the morning, when I'm coherent?" he pleaded.

"Derek, I really need to talk about this now," she said.

"Mhhmmm...alright," he said in agreement. He was willing to have the conversation, but he remained lying with his arm around her waist.

"We can't keep doing this. Acting like we are in a relationship when we aren't," she admitted.

"We aren't in a relationship?" he asked.

"I mean we haven't gone on a date or kissed. Sex hasn't even happened," she said.

"Well, we could do that last one right now if you want," he baited.

"Derek..." she said while lightly slapping at the arm around her. He only chuckled at her response.

"Karen Cartwright," he said. "Will you go on a date with me?"

"Yes," she replied, not even a heartbeat later.

"Good, now can we go back to sleep?" he asked.

"Not yet," she responded. She shifted and turned to face him. Her belly was getting bigger, but she pressed her body as close to his as possible. Her hands moved up to his face and she gently stroked his cheeks.

"Feels good," he murmured.

"Hopefully this will be even better," she said while leaning her head closer until their lips touched. She increased the pressure and he pulled her just that little bit closer with his hands on her waist.

After a few moments she pulled away and he let out a breath he was holding in.

"That was a whole lot better," he joked softly.

"Excellent," she said, and stared into his green eyes. In this moment, she had never seen him so open. "I'm scared," she admitted.

"Why?" he asked, bewildered.

"I know your history," she disclosed. "I worry that you'll leave once the baby is born."

Instead of reassuring her with words, he decided to let his actions speak.

He first kissed her forehead, then her mouth, and then moved down to her heart. His final stop was her stomach. He placed several soft warm kisses all over her slightly swollen stomach. She was slightly ticklish and squirmed a bit. He let his eyes connect with hers before speaking to her unborn child.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. His voice was deep and this gesture expunged her doubts. He moved back up her body to capture her gaze. "Nowhere else I would rather be," he admitted.

"Me neither," she whispered in agreement.

"Superb," he said. "Now can we go to sleep?" he asked in jest.

"Yes," she said as she placed a kiss on his cheek.