[Sorry for the delay guys, but here you go, this is probably the last chapter (in Derek's POV), but I might do one in Emily's POV too... Not sure yet. Enjoy (:]

"Love isn't finding a perfect person. It's seeing an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

Derek just stood there, on his own doorstep, waiting for her to say something.

He didn't think she'd show up. Honestly, he was surprised that she did. Of course, he would always offer her his shoulder to lean on, but she had never taken it – well, not directly at least.

It would always end up with them 'accidentally' meeting somewhere. She would let out all that she needed to and he would listen. Then, they would walk away and pretend like it never happened.

But she would never actually come to his house to talk. That just wasn't what Emily did.

So the first thought that came to his mind when he saw her standing outside his house was that something was wrong.

But then, he opened the door, and just stood there. Both of them did.

What seemed like an eternity later, Emily finally cleared her throat.

"You said you were here if I wanted to talk?", she said, her voice breaking a little on the last word.

All Derek could do was nod as he stepped aside and let her in, watching as she greeted Clooney. The dog wagged his tail and licked her hand – he'd missed her, just like Derek had.

Clooney had grown accustomed to having her around the last two months. At first, he was wary, mostly because he didn't do so well with females. But eventually, he had come to love her.

"Hey buddy.", she muttered, scratching his ear.

Derek just watched for a second, smiling contently.

"Do you want coffee, anything?", he said.

She half-laughed, looking up at him. "Morgan, I practically free-loaded off of you here for two months, you don't have to treat me like a guest."

He smiled at her comment and went to sit on the couch. Emily just walked around the room, looking at the surroundings, as if looking to see what had changed. But Derek knew she was just trying to put off the conversation at hand as long as possible. But honestly, so was he.

"Hey Em, I recorded The Godfather yesterday.", he tried to lighten the mood, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You didn't!", she turned around and was on the couch in seconds.

"I haven't seen this in ages!", she added as he turned the TV on.

He couldn't help but smile – these were the moments he'd missed with her. Not the awkward conversations and stupid late night phone calls. He'd missed this – just hanging out with her, watching movies and seeing her relaxed and happy.

"And I know you've got a little thing for Al Pacino, Princess."

She laughed, but looked at him pointedly. "Hey, hey don't judge.", she said as the opening credits rolled across the screen.

Somehow, by the middle of the movie when Clooney started barking, they were both laying down, her head resting contently on his chest.

She, of course, hearing the noise, moved immediately and the warmth pressed up against Derek's body disappeared. He tore his eyes away from the screen and looked over to her. She wasn't watching either.

"You were right, this is definitely Marlon Brando's best movie.", Derek said, trying desperately to lighten the mood again.

But Emily didn't respond – she just kept staring out the window.

"Em?"

She turned towards him slowly, her eyes locking on his.

"Derek; this, us, I don't know where it's going and I... I need to know.", she almost sputtered out.

He just rubbed his hands over his head, looking at the floor.

What was he supposed to say? He could say what he was really feeling – he could tell her that he needed her and that he desperately wanted to start something with her. But he didn't know how she would react. He was afraid she would just shut down and he would lose all the progress he had made.

Or he could say the right thing – that they needed to stop, that they had to be professional.

But he didn't want to do that either. He couldn't. And some part of him wondered if maybe she was here because she wanted this too.

But, cowardly as it was, he didn't answer. He left it up to her.

"Where do you want this to be going?"

Emily bit her lip and looked down, as if contemplating something.

After a couple seconds, she looked up again, her eyes glazed with tears.

Shit, he had made her cry. He had never made her cry before, and he wasn't about to start.

"Emily, look -", he started, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand, already getting up and starting for the door.

"No, let me finish.", he said. Anything to stop her from walking out again.

She turned around, taking a shaky breath in.

"I want this, Emily. This, us. When you – when you were gone, I didn't sleep. I couldn't close my eyes without seeing you in that warehouse, dying. It haunted me everyday."

He attempted to ignore her hurt expression and carried on. "And then, when you came back, I had all these feelings that I had no idea how to deal with. But the one thing I knew was that I couldn't let you out of my sight. I was scared it would happen again- that I would lose you again. So I kept you close for two months, and honestly, it was the best two months I've had in a long time. So when you moved out, I felt like a huge chunk of me was missing. It wasn't the same, and I had this feeling in my chest – this need to protect you and know where you are. And I didn't know what it was, I was trying to figure it out, but I think I just did... I'm in love with you Emily. And I want this to work, I want you to give this a chance.", he finished, searching her face desperately for some kind of sign.

Just seconds later, it came, in the form of tears rolling down her cheeks.

Immediately, he started on his apology. All the sorry's and regrets almost came rolling off his tongue, but she stopped them with a wave of her hand.

"No, Derek, I- I'm not- I want this too, I think.", she said, looking around, as if the answer would magically jump out at her.

Derek had never seen her so confused. She was always so confident as to what would come next, to what she needed to do. Seeing her so lost threw him off balance more than he already was.

She breathed out, trying to compose herself. "I want this, us, at least I think I do... But I'm not sure I can make this work... Every time you touch me, there's still that sense of paralyzing fear that it's Ian, and I just can't seem to shake that. Even though he's gone, I'm still terrified of him, I'm still his. I don't think I'm ready for anything... and you deserve someone better Derek."

He just stared at her for a moment. This was what her hesitation was about? She thought she wasn't good enough for him?

"Emily, listen to me. You are good enough. For me, and for any man. What that bastard did to you was not your fault, you did your job and you put him behind bars. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

She looked up at him with shining eyes, and her mouth twitched into a little half smile. But Derek could see the disbelief hidden in her dark eyes.

"And if you're not ready, I'll wait. If you want this, I'll wait."

"Really?", she said, hopefully. Like she was surprised anyone cared enough to wait. But Derek did. He always had.

"As long as it takes.", he responded, with absolution in his voice.

She fell into his arms then, whispering a thank you into his chest, and he hugged her tight.

He would wait, forever, if that's what it took. This was enough for him, for now.

She was his drug, and he wasn't planning on quitting anytime soon.

[Tell me what you thought! I know it wasn't really a perfect happily ever after, but perfect's so unrealistic...

Reviews make my day!]