AN:Thanks again for reviewing and reading this...here is a smidgen of awareness, just for the heck of it! Kricket

Sitting in a traditional London pub just a block from their hotel, Penelope was enjoying a hot beef sandwich and mashed potatoes, while Derek had a hamburger.

He smirked over at her. "Real international, this cuisine we're having."

She smiled. "It is good. That's all that matters." She took a sip of her official English ale and grimaced.

He burst out laughing. "You don't like beer at home. Why the hell are you drinking it here?"

"Because that is what you are supposed to drink in a pub," she stated flatly. She'd forced herself to drink half of it.

He shook his head, and took a swig of his, then grinned again. "This, Baby Girl, is wonderful."

"No, it isn't."

Derek reached for her ale and put in front of himself, then signaled for the server. "She'd like a Captain Morgan and Coke, extra tall with lots of ice."

"And cherries," she added. She noted Derek's raised eyebrows, and said, "Well, if I am going to be unofficial, I am going to do it my way."

"Wouldn't want it any other way," he said, as the server put the drink in front of her. He smiled, raising his glass to her. "Here's to my beautiful Baby, having it her way."

"Cheers," she said, taking a big sip of the glorious drink.

Two more drinks away, they started talking about all sorts of things, the weather, sports, shopping. All the usual things they BS'd about back home.

She took a big slurp of her drink, making the noise in the ice that happens after all the liquid is gone. She pouted. "Another one bites the dust."

"Like Lynch, right?" Morgan asked. He hadn't discussed it with her since it happened, but she knew he knew. "He bit the dust, too."

"Yeah, but I'm not pouting over him." She put the drink forward on the table. She'd definitely had enough.

"What are you looking for in a man now, P?" he questioned, taking yet another swig of ale. Derek loved beer; she wondered how he didn't get a pot belly.

"I don't know," she said honestly. She hadn't really thought about it. "What do you want in a woman?"

"Oh," he began, a big beaming smile across his face, "I have a lot of specifications."

"I bet you do!" She snickered, thinking. "Tall, blonde, long legs, big boobs, flexible…"

He ignored her. "I want someone who is adventurous, who is willing to try anything with me. I want someone who isn't afraid to laugh out loud or cry on my shoulder. I want someone who is as beautiful inside as she is outside. I want someone who wants to dance and love out in the open, who will care for me as I care for her."

She gaped at him. "Wow, D. I… I wasn't expecting that."

"... and she has to love sex," he added with a snicker.

She laughed, too, and slapped his arm.

"What can I say?" he said, his eyes growing dark. "I love sex."

Penelope snickered. "That's a given with you."

"Oh, Baby Girl. That's only part of it."

Something shifted in that moment. Derek's glassy eyes smoldered over his ale. He leaned closer, so close she could feel his words vibrate off her cheek, his warmth radiating off his body.

She leaned back a little, to look him in the eyes. His warm ale scented breath fanned lightly on her lips. She licked her lips and swallowed hard, then whispered, "What's the other part?"

"It's not just the sex. She has to love it like I do. Truly love it," he murmured, holding her eyes captive with his. "All the different positions, all the playful experimenting, and above all, all the kissing."

She simply blinked at him. She couldn't talk even if she wanted to.

It didn't matter; he continued talking. " Deep, slow, hot kisses that take your breath away and make you want more..." he paused a moment, smiling sensuously. "Mmmmm, baby, I love kissing as much as the main event. There is nothing better in this world than an awesome kiss."

She nodded her agreement to that, and found that she was staring at his lips. Her heart was pounding and that tingling warmth, the beginning stirs of desire was growing in her belly. It shocked her; she wasn't ready for this. She looked back up, quickly... and noticed he was looking at her lips, too.

A second later, he hiccupped, snapping her completely out of the area she was a moment later. They looked at each other again, and then started to laugh.

"I guess it's time to head back to our rooms," she said. A second later, she burped, daintily covering her mouth. "Ooh! Damned beer. That is why I never drink it."

Standing, Derek belched, loudly. "That's why I always drink it."

She wrinkled her nose at him in disgust. "Eww."

He grinned again, his handsome, boyish, million dollar smile.

Derek slung his arm around her shoulders, she looped her arm around his waist, and they staggered down the street back to their hotel off Hyde Park for the night.