"What?"
"I said, I'm pregnant." This so could not be happening right now.
"No, no, no. That's not possible. I know that, that's not possible." He knew it couldn't be. They had always used protection, and beside that point, they had only had sex like twice. Once when she went to Pennsylvania and he was on a consult there, and the other time was when she got home. After that they had become so busy.....that could only mean it wasn't his. "I mean, I know we never discussed being exclusive or anything, but I thought-" Her eyes flared.
"Excuse me? Exclusive? Don't even go there Derek."
"You really didn't have to come down and tell me this. An effing email would have been fine."
"Email? What do you think I am- some kind of slut? ...Around." He ignored the shot. The restaurant was too hot. This could not be happening to him. He was careful. He was deliberate. Yes, he might have the rap of a player but he never dated or slept with more than one girl at a time.
"I have to get back to work." He needed to get out of this restaurant.
"That's it? You have to get back to work." She fumed.
"Well, what do you want me to say?"
"I don't know!" Her voice rose. He made for the door. "I can't deal with your drama Lex."
"My drama? Are you seriously telling me that you don't think you're the-"
"Yes. No. I don't know. I can't do this right now." They walked out into the parking lot.
"Oh my god. You are so-"
"What? Finish that sentence why don't you? Why you even down here? Why drop that bomb on me now? I have a life."
"You have a life? Right. How much of that life do you spend talking to me?" She yelled at him as he got in his car. She continued.
"Fine. Alright then. You go and live your damn life then." She stalked back to her car. Derek felt so sick. Half of himself was telling him, convincing him it wasn't his. The other half instinctively knew it was. He listened to the former. No way. No way in hell. This so was not happening.
*~*
He was still torn when he got back to his desk. Shoving all his thoughts aside he picked up the nearest case file and tried desperately to work through it. But every thought somehow turned back to Lexi. Her curly black hair, brown eyes, impish grin. She was average in a lot of ways, but there was something about her when she smiled like that. Like she knew something special about you. She was so great. He usually didn't see the woman he dated during the day or morning, but Lexi would get up right early in the morning to go rock climbing or other outdoorsy things. He loved having a girl to do that with.
She was more of a friend then a girlfriend. Just a friend who had gorgeous legs, gorgeous hips, a gorgeous a-but her telling him she was pregnant just could not work into his brain. They never talked of that kind of stuff...what ifs' and what not. They simply had fun together. The best fun he had had in a long time. Damn why did she have to screw this up!
"Life still getting better today?" Emily teased him. He shot her a look.
Everyone pretty much left him alone after that. They must have sensed (or Emily told them) that Derek wanted to be left alone. But thoughts of Lexi would not leave him alone. His internal argument lasted hours. On his way home, taking Clooney for a walk, drinking a beer, going to bed. It would not let him sleep.
Finally he just had to know. At 2 am he ripped open the calendar from his dresser and counted the days back. Christ, he thought. It fit. He was the damn father.
*~*
Two days passed before he went to find Lexi. Before he got up the courage to see her. She must be furious with him. After his initial denial, he knew, he always knew the truth. Lexi just wasn't like that. She put off sleeping with him for the longest time it seemed. And he really hadn't minded. It was just great being with her.
But now was the hard part. As a good guy, he always tried to do the right thing, but admitting he was wrong and screwing up was always hard. And he majorly screwed up this time. Now there was a child involved. If she was keeping it (which he was she would, but there was always a possibility).
The BAU was unnaturally boring and quiet. Which was good because he had to figure out what to say to her. He even wrote it down. He tried calling her cell phone and got no answer. Her office phone, again no answer. He left the BAU early and drove by her house. No car. So he drove all the way into Maryland.
Lexi Chellos worked at the University of Maryland in College Park. He had found out early on that she actually wasn't a geologist. She had a degree in geology (a PHD to be exact) but she was part of a research team employed by the university and other universities. He wasn't quite sure all of what she did, she did travel, but mostly she was on campus. And sure enough he spotted her car in her parking space. He just hoped she wasn't busy. And would be forgiving.
*~*
"Can I help you?" A receptionist finally asked him. He pretty much had been wandering the halls, waiting for Lexi to get back from wherever she was. She wasn't in her office and the longer he waited the more nervous he got.
"I'm looking for Alexia Chellos. Faculty research assistant."
The receptionist made a few key strokes. She reminded him of a much older Garcia.
"She's been in meetings all day. I saw her leave about a half hour ago. She should be back soon. You can just wait up there if you like. Or you could leave a message."
"Nah. Thanks. I'll wait." He doubted she would return a call. He went back to wandering. He was reading a campus map when he saw her and someone else out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey." She just rolled her eyes and continued walking.
"Hi." Her friend answered. "Who are you?" She asked.
"Derek Morgan."
"Ohhh." She raised her eyebrows in recognition. "Casey Lebel." They shook hands while Lexi let herself into her office.
"Lex- Can we talk? You know, privately."
"We were about to eat."
"Well this is important. I want to apologize."
"You can apologize all you want, it still doesn't make up for what you did." Casey said behind him.
"Could you leave us alone?" He asked. Casey looked to Lexi. Lexi did nothing. Great. Now he had to deal with a righteously annoying best friend. "Lexi, I am so sorry for the way I reacted to your—news. It just came completely from left field; I never expected this to happen. I know I must have hurt you, but please let me make it up to you. I was just shocked." He thought it was a pretty good apology.
"It's shocking to really see someone's true colors."
"What?" Maybe it wasn't so good after all.
"Case get out." Casey promptly jumped out of her seat and out the door. So much for best friends. "Do you know anything? How dare you try to come up here and think it's just that easy to apologize and—"
"No, I want to make it up to you—"
"There is no making up! You—you accused me of sleeping around! Clearly you do not know me at all and after what? Like Four months! I am not some trashy slut—"
"I never said you were—"
"You implied it." They were at a standoff.
"If I could take it back I would."
"Well you can't." She sat down at desk, pulled open a drawer, took out a photo and gave it to him . It was generally black with a few gray lines in it.
"This is a-"
"Sonogram. 8 weeks."
"Oh." He really didn't see anything. But he wasn't going to tell her that.
"It's yours to keep if you want it." Did she mean that figuratively or literally?
"So what are we gonna do?"
"I don't know." She ran her fingers through her curly black hair.
"Are we...together then?"
"I don't know."
"What do you know." He desperately wanted everything to go back to the way it was. If he hadn't freaked out things would be so different and he wouldn't be feeling like scum. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?
He watched her, his profiler senses switched into high gear. From the outside she looked tired and angry. Yet he knew that she must have been holding back a multitude of emotions. "I think you should leave." He didn't want to leave. Because if he left then he might never get back in again.
"Don't do this." Now she just looked tired.
"Just leave me alone Derek." He swallowed heavily.
"Lex." Please, please don't do this to me, he begged silently. She didn't answer him, just continued staring at her computer. He didn't want to leave without a resolution, a sign that things would be okay.
"Will you call me tomorrow at least?" She shrugged. "You have to give me something. An answer. We have to talk about this sometime." She looked at him straight in the eyes and said,
"Not right now." He still stayed. "Look, I'll call you.....by the end of next week alright? I'm very busy right now."
"End of this week?"
"Fine. Please just go."
"Right." That looked like the best he would get. "Bye then."
"Good-bye." Her computer had her full attention again. He left silently. Even though he still felt like scum, which her friend Casey reminded him on his way out, it still was a step in the right direction. Whatever that direction was.
*~*
Don't forget to review! If you want me to continue.......
I especially want to know if I'm getting Morgan's character right. Let me know alright?