Hello! I'm back! Here's the new chapter. Tell me what you think.
The rest of the weekend was spent unpacking and shopping for all the things Bella would need for school. By Sunday, Bella was having a nervous breakdown on account of starting at a new school in the morning, so Derek decided to plan a little surprise for her. He went out and bought all the ingredients to make Bella her favorite dinner-chicken pot pie. While Bella showered, he got to work mixing and baking, determined to make a feast kit for a king. Or a princess, in this case.
-:-
Half an hour later Bella stepped out of her bathroom, freshly dressed in her PJs and towel dying her hair. She immediately was overwhelmed by the smell of something…burning?
"Derek?" She called, getting no response. She dropped her towel on the ground and ran down the hall. She followed the smell all the way to kitchen only to find Derek, dressed in an apron and oven mitts, frantically fanning an unidentifiable black something in a pan that was emitting thick, dark smoke.
"What happened?" She demanded, alarmed.
"No time to explain, just help! There's an extinguisher underneath the sink!" He explained, still fanning.
Bella ripped open the under-sink cabinet and grabbed the extinguisher. She pulled out the little metal pin, pointed the nozzle towards the mess and squeezed the handle. White foam poured from the hose and covered the pan, counter, and even Derek's upper body. The smoke however, stopped. Bella sighed and dropped the red tank to the floor.
"What in the world?" She asked, looking up at her foamy, exhausted uncle.
Derek saw the puzzled looked on his niece's face and sighed. He glanced at the sticky mess on the counter and began his explanation. "I…I knew you were nervous about tomorrow and I wanted to make you something to help you feel little less scared, so I tried to cook you some chicken pot pie, just like mom does. But unfortunately, my baking skills only go as far a baked goods and pancakes. I don't get it, everything was going so well. I doubled the recipe so I figured I should double the bake time, but I guess that's not how that works…"
All of a sudden, he felt two little arms wrapped around his mid-section, foam and all. He glanced down to see Bella hugging him tightly.
He chuckled. "Did I do something right?" He asked, confused.
Bella pulled back. "Yes. Everything. You're the best."
"But it didn't even work…" Derek pointed out.
"I know. But still, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." She admitted. "Even if you failed miserably."
"Thanks, Bells. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" Morgan began.
"Shh. Don't even worry about it." She reassured. "Okay?"
He nodded. "We gotta clean this up. And figure out what to have for dinner…" He added, embarrassedly.
"Pizza?" Isabella offered, smirking.
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Morgan said, rubbing his head.
By the time the gooey kitchen mess was cleaned, and the pizza was consumed, it was pretty late. They decided to quickly wash the dishes and call it a night.
"Do you have everything you need for tomorrow?" Derek asked, scraping leftover pizza off of a plate and into the trash. "Your assignments, your schedule, your uniform?"
"Yep." Bella replied. "I've got everything."
"What about the I.D. to get into the BAU?" He checked, while scrubbing the dish in his hand.
"Are you kidding? Of course I have it! Visiting the BAU is the only part of tomorrow I'm looking forward to!" Bella exclaimed.
"Really?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow and handing Bella wet dish.
"Well, yeah. Starting at a new school is never fun. Going anywhere new, where you don't know anyone is never fun…" She stated, looking down at the dish she was drying.
"You know Andrew. You two seem to get along pretty well." Derek said, turning off the water and searching her face for any indication of….well, anything.
"Um, yeah. I guess…" She said, still not taking her eyes off of the plate, even though it was completely dry.
Derek plucked the dish from her hand and placed it into a cabinet. "Okay, then…" He responded, slightly awkwardly. It was odd. He and Bella had never really had awkward pauses in their conversations. But then again, Bella and him never really discussed…boys or anything along those lines, but now that he was her legal guardian, he figured he would have to eventually. He would deal with that when it came, he decided, hoping that it wouldn't be anytime soon.
"Well, it's late and you've got a big day ahead of you. Night, Bella." He said, planting a kiss on her forehead.
She smiled. "Goodnight, Master Chef."
He cringed. "Oh, about that…Can you maybe…not mention that to any of the team tomorrow?" He asked cautiously, hoping for the best. But seeing the tiny half-smile on Bella's lips, he knew it was a lost cause. "You're going to tell everyone, aren't you?"
"Oh, definitely." She confirmed, grinning.
"I would expect nothing less, baby girl. Sleep tight." He answered, chuckling, before heading off to bed.
-:-
"Urggg…" Bella grumbled, as the alarm on her phone went off, indicating it was 7:00 AM. Time to wake up.
She pulled herself out of her bed and disabled the alarm. Yawning, she padded into the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face, still half asleep. It was when she went into the closet to retrieve her brand new uniform that the realization hit her. She was starting over. Again. Immediately, her stomach tied itself into a big knot and a sense of loneliness washed over her. Here we go…
She stripped off her PJs and slid on the pair of black tights she was forced to wear. She pulled on the unflattering navy skirt and white wife beater. Next, she put on her white button up and black tie. Glancing in the mirror, she determined she looked like a frumpy business lady, not to mention, she was burning up. She rolled up the sleeves of her button up and undid the top couple of buttons. Not enough to look like a slut, but enough to not look like a nun. She loosened the tie and rolled up the skirt twice so it hit mid-thigh. She looked back in the mirror. Not terrible…She concluded, satisfied. Then, she pushed the navy school headband through her shiny black waves. Last, she put on the tiniest bit of makeup. Grandma Fran always said less was more. Mascara, eyeliner, powder, done. She was ready.
Sighing, she gathered all her books, pencils and her phone and dropped them into her bag. She made her way down the hallway, praying that some kind of catastrophe would occur, preventing her from going to school.
Her prayers weren't answered because she made it to the kitchen where Derek was waiting with a bagel and a hug.
"Don't you worry. I don't know a single person who is more prone to making friends as you. You'll fit right in, I'm sure." He said wrapping his arms around her. He pulled back. "I was supposed to leave earlier, but I wanted to see you off. So, I've got to go, but I made you a bagel (with no fire, might I add), and Michael, your driver will be here in…" He glanced at his watch. "About 15 minutes. Okay?"
Bella nodded.
"Good. Have a stunning first day, baby girl. Love you!" He said, kissing her cheek and heading out the door.
"Love you, too." She called after him, feeling better.
She ate her bagel and walked around the house aimlessly until she heard a car pull up. She grabbed her bag and headed out the front door, locking it on her way out. Outside was a big black SUV, with tinted windows. A man in a cab hat got out of the drivers seat and walked around the side. She saw he had a tag hanging around his neck, verifying his identity and job. He opened backseat door. "Good morning, Ms. Morgan." He greeted, smiling.
"Hi." She responded, blown away. This is so cool! She thought, glancing inside the car. It had two rows of back seat, a TV, speakers, a mini-fridge and a screen to separate the front seats from the back.
She slid in and Michael closed the door behind her. As she watched Michael make his way back around the car to the front, she felt a hand grab her shoulder from behind.
She screamed. Maybe her prayers were answered.
So, that was that. Reviews, please? :] I might post a new chapter our of guilt tonight, because I was gone for a while! Oh, and thanks for the people who PM'ed me. It made my day!