Chapter Five

Nine months. He waited nine months for that perfect moment. It had almost happened before tonight but he had changed his mind, knowing that there was definitely going to be a better moment. A moment that he could plan out and make sure everything was ready for. That night though… he was so close…

Flashback

It was just a regular Tuesday night; nothing special had happened or was going to happen that night. It was about four months ago; eight months into their relationship. They had come home from work together, planning on ordering takeout, watching a movie, and heading to bed together. JJ had asked him to spend the night; she wouldn't admit it to her team but she was feeling a little discouraged after their last case. It had involved popular high school girls being stalked and kidnapped by a serial rapist in a small town in Oregon. Needless to say, JJ had found herself slightly too close to the situation and needed to step back briefly before continuing and that had bothered her. So when she asked Derek to stay with her tonight, he hadn't hesitated.

They had stopped to pick up a pizza and beer before heading to her townhouse to watching some romantic comedy that she had picked out. He agreed to the ridiculous movie knowing that it was actually what she needed to get her mind off the case.

Once the pizza had been finished, JJ had settled herself into Derek's side and pulled a blanket over the two of them before turning the movie on. While the previews were playing, she had simply leaned up and placed a small kiss just behind his ear, whispered 'thank you', and easily settled back into his arms. That moment… that was the precursor to Derek deciding that he was going to propose that night. So while JJ watched the movie, he planned it out in his head.

So engrossed in his planning, he failed to realize that JJ had gotten extremely quiet halfway through the movie so when he glanced down to say something to her, he was surprised to see her sleeping, her face buried into his chest.

He did however realize that his arm was asleep moments later and cringed. Glancing down at the blonde once again, he sighed. There was no way he was going to wake her up now. She had run herself ragged on the case and needed all the sleep she could get. And she just looked so perfect there…

So instead of following through with his plans, he stretched for the remote control, turned the television off, and managed to maneuver himself into a lying position with her still cradled against him before closing his eyes for the night.

When she's layin' on my shoulder on the sofa in the dark
And about the time she falls asleep so does my right arm
And I want so bad to move it 'cause it's tinglin' and it's numb
But she looks so much like an angel that I don't wanna wake her up
Yeah I live for little moments

Sure, Derek had been a little disappointed that he didn't get to pop the question that night but he got the spend the night with her in his arms so it wasn't all bad. Besides, he knew that he would have another chance, when the timing was better, and when JJ wasn't so burnt out and they could fully enjoy the moment.