Emily spent time watching Derek while she puttied the small holes over the finishing nails in the baseboard. He was efficient, the cuts on the baseboard where perfect, and he seemed to be enjoying himself. He got to the end of the last strip and reached over to turn off the air compressor he'd rented from the small hardware store in town. He smiled when he noticed Emily staring at him.

"You could do this for a job," she said.

"I know. I do enjoy it, but I'm not sure it would be fulfilling if that's all I did."

Emily shrugged with a smile, "Maybe we could think about ways you could make it fulfilling."

He nodded and smiled back, "I'll think about it. I'm going to run this air compressor back to the store before it closes so we don't have to think about it in the morning." He stood up and grabbed the keys to Emily's rental car.

"Hey, Derek? How did you get around before?"

"Walked or ran. The hardware stored delivered the things I couldn't carry home myself." He paused in the doorway. "Em? I know I'm going to need to talk to someone when I get home, besides you. But for now I was thinking we could finish this up, and then I would love to have an evening where we tried to be us without talking about anything heavy. Maybe a night with more laughter than tears."

Her smile was dazzling. "Absolutely."

Emily finished the puttying and started in on the small bits of touch-up paint, only leaving one last strip where the putty wasn't dry. They could do that in the morning. She grabbed a change of clothes from her bag and headed to the bathroom for a shower, smiling and looking forward to their evening. She'd held herself back from cheating and looking at her phone, but she had a pretty good feeling about lights in the sky tonight. She was so happy they were going home together she was pretty certain she could put on her own light show in the sky if Aurora Borealis didn't make an appearance.

She was startled from her happy thoughts when Derek came in the bathroom. He looked at her appreciatively through the glass shower door, took off his t-shirt and started shaving, just like he had hundreds of times over the years. And Emily thought about all of the hurt and sadness over the past couple of months and realized this probably went how it all needed to go, even though it both despaired and angered her at the time, that he'd run from her. She imagined all of the tension and anger and sadness in their home around the kids, and she doubted they would have been at this place two months later if Derek had stayed. They would have gotten here eventually, but there would likely have been even higher emotional costs to pay for it all.

Derek was trying for normal right now and she knew he didn't want to go home feeling like they were walking on eggshells around each other. So Emily gave him normal. She turned off the water and reached for a towel, dried herself and wrapped the towel around her. She stepped out on the mat and reached for her brush on the counter.

"Where are we eating?"

"The pub a little ways down the street. It's really the only place I know. The food's good and it's comfortable."

Emily smirked, "I think I know the owner. He was the one who told me where to find you when I got to town."

Derek shook his head at her, laughing lightly, "I still can't believe you came here because of a dream, with no calls and no confirmation that I was here."

"I didn't have a doubt," she told him seriously.

"I would have called you soon. I wasn't going to make it much longer. But you probably still would have had to come get me. Your way was far more amazing," he said with a grin. He reached his hand up and placed it behind her neck, drawing her in for a kiss. And with nerves she tried very much to hide, and with hope, she placed her hands on his chest, really touching his skin for the first time in almost two months.

Derek pulled away from her lips after a minute and pressed a kiss on her forehead. He walked to the shower and started the water again. And then she saw just a little bit of a hesitation, but he shook it off. He undid the button on his jeans and pushed his remaining clothes off him, stepping in the shower without meeting her eye at first, but giving her a look through the glass door a second later, assessing her, worried. Emily realized he was still concerned that she saw him differently now.

She dropped her towel and walked to the shower door, letting herself in. His eyes were wide and she smiled softly and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him and placing a kiss on his chest, right over his heart. He was breathing heavy and his heart was hammering under his skin; when she looked in his eyes, she knew it wasn't that he was being transported back to that cave, it was that he was very much afraid she was in her mind. The sparkle was still there, but shame and worry were right under the surface.

Emily reached her hand up and touched his cheek. "I'm right here with you, in this moment."

She reached and grabbed the soap, lathering up her hands and slowly started washing his body, the body she knew every inch of and loved completely. She made sure to continually catch his eye so he could see that she was still looking at him the same as she always did. And she caught the moment on his face when he actually started believing it, and she smiled at him.

He gathered her in his arms and pulled her against him tightly. "I love you, Em." And then his lips were on hers and his hands started making a slow paths across her skin. When he cupped her breasts in his hands and ran his thumbs over her nipples, Emily moaned softly in his mouth. He stopped the kiss and looked at her face and she could see surprise there, that she was still reacting to him like this.

Derek reached behind him and turned off the water before opening the shower door. He kept her gathered close, kissing her face and neck and slowly walking their dripping wet bodies out of the bathroom and towards the bed. Emily's legs hit the back of the bed, she sat, scooting back, keeping her arm around him and pulling him down on top of her. She sighed in contentment when his body was fully pressed against hers. She could feel him trembling slightly. She linked her fingers with his, bringing their arms up so he could still rest on his on his elbows. She wanted them fully linked, but wanted him to still have the leverage to look in her eyes. Emily adjusted her hips and legs. He was just looking at her, unsure.

"Just keep your eyes on mine, Derek. You'll see everything you need to see."

Never breaking eye contact, he slowly pushed inside her. As they moved together, she conjured up that first time of them together and played a chronological movie in her head of every beautiful memory she had with this man, so he could see it playing out in her eyes. She saw him watching her for several minutes as he slowly moved his hips, saw his eyes brim with tears. They weren't sad tears, they were tears of amazement and relief and joy. Emily let go of his fingers and moved her hands to cup his cheeks, brushing the tears away with her thumbs. He smiled at her and turned his head to kiss the inside of her palm, and then his lips were on hers again and he moved his hand to her thigh to hitch her leg up higher and started moving faster. And Emily was flying, pressing her hands against his back tightly, shaking around him, moaning out her release in his mouth.

He pulled his lips from hers and looked into her eyes again, in awe. But as he continued to move, Emily knew this wasn't a situation where he was trying to hang on in order to drive her crazy. He seemed stuck right on the edge, like he couldn't quite allow himself this.

"Baby, let go. I'm here," she whispered.

He moved his arms under her shoulders and squeezed her tightly to him, burying his head in her neck. She whispered, "I am so in love with you, Derek Morgan," in his ear and he let go, moaning softly, gripping her against him.

Emily kept her legs wrapped around his so he knew she didn't want him to move yet. He relaxed on top of her and she ran her hands slowly up and down his back, a smile on her face.

Derek lifted his head to look at her and returned the smile. Then he let out a quiet, joyful laugh. "Where on earth did you come from?"

She laughed as well, feeling whole herself for the first time in what felt like forever.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The pub owner's name was Brian, and he came right over to their table as soon as he saw them, looking happily at both Derek and Emily. "It's good to see you, Sky Man. And it's brilliant to see this lovely lady with you."

Derek grinned and stuck his hand out, "My real name is Derek, and this is my wife Emily."

Brian shook hands with both of them and then looked at Emily, "I figured, because of your wedding ring and the look in your eyes. I've been in this place for thirty years and have had people come looking for someone from time to time, but I always didn't want to get into the business of others. You were different." He winked at her. "You got here just in time, I think."

Brian turned towards Derek, "G4 solar storm, an eight on the KP index. Should be a show in the sky tonight like we haven't seen around these parts in awhile."

Derek and Emily grinned excitedly at each other and Brian gave Derek a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Order what you'd like. It's on the house."

They enjoyed their meal and beers and Brian came around the table from time to time to talk to them. He told them funny stories about his life owning a pub and they laughed a lot. He learned they lived in Virginia and would be heading home tomorrow. Brian told Derek to drop the house keys with him and he'd see they got to the family who owned the place.

They got back to the cottage around ten o'clock and Derek threw open the french doors and said, "You up for a little heavy lifting?"

Emily laughed and helped him carry the twin bed outside, settling it on a large flat rock near the edge of the bluff. Derek ran back inside to turn all the lights off and then returned. They kicked their shoes off and Emily settled herself under the covers, laying on her side, facing north. Derek spooned up right behind her and pulled the covers tightly around them, then reached his hand under her t-shirt and sweater, settling his hand on the skin of her stomach. It felt like it was just the two of them in the world, with the crashing ocean beneath them and the sky all around.

They didn't have to wait long before the lights started dancing in the skies, sweeping arches and flowing movements that went on and on. Emily had happy tears in her eyes, and she new Derek did, too. They didn't talk, but every few seconds, Derek would press a kiss to her cheek. After about ten minutes of watching, Emily turned in Derek's arms and looked at his face, his hand propped up on his elbows.

"Don't you want to watch anymore?" he asked.

"Watching your face watching those lights is a better show," she replied with a smile.

"Still not the most amazing sight around, though," he grinned, remember that conversation from so many years before.

"How about we call it a tie?"

Derek chuckled, "Deal."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, they awoke early and Emily took the bedding and towels into the laundromat in town. They belonged to the owners of the house who set Derek up with the bed and a few things in the kitchen when he started working for them. Derek stayed at the house, putting on the last touches of paint, putting tools away in the shed and cleaning up.

When Emily returned, she found her bag next to the door, his clothes stuffed inside it as well, and the house clean and ready to go. Derek had moved the bed back to one of the bedrooms and was staring our the french doors at another clear day. She set the bag of clean linens down.

"Hey, Em," he said, turning towards her with a grin on his face. "I bought this in Aberdeen before I took the bus up here that first day."

He tossed something at her in a high, gentle arch and she caught it. A labradorite stone. She looked back up at him with bright eyes.

"You pretty much outdid yourself with this one, my brave warrior," said Derek.

He stepped towards her, wrapped his arm around her waist and bent his head to give her a quick kiss. "Let's go home, Em."