a/n here's another derek centric one! enjoy!

Dress Code

It was one of the hottest days of the year. It had to be like ninety something outside. I threw on a low cut tee shirt and some short shorts and brushed my hair. My hair was being very nice to me this morning, and actually looked pretty good. He was wavy and it framed my face nicely. It was turning out to be a pretty good day so far. I walked down stairs and to the kitchen to find Derek and Emily sitting there.

"Morning, princess," Derek said.

"I thought I was princess!" Emily said hitting him.

"You were, but now that we're dating you can be," He said and then whispered something in Emily's ear.

"Derek!" She exclaimed.

"What? She didn't hear that!" He exclaimed. I laughed at the two of them.

"Hey, uh, Kaitlin," Derek began slowly, as he looked over my outfit, looking all of a sudden sort of serious and father like.

"Yeah? What's up?" I asked.

"Can you…do me a favor?" He asked.

"Sure, anything," I said nodding.

"Can you put on a shirt that's five inches higher and shorts that are two feet longer?" He asked. He wasn't saying in a nasty way, but in a caring/ concerned father way, which I appreciated.

"Derek!" Emily said, hitting him in the arm once again, "Kaitlin, you're fine if you want to wear that," Emily said, equally seriously.

"No, no, it's fine. I can change. It's not a big deal," I said nodding. I was a little confused. Why were they acting so strangely.

"She's right, Kaitlin, you can wear whatever you want. Sorry I uh, over reacted," Derek said apologizing.

"You don't need to be sorry," I said shrugging, "I'll just change. It's okay," I said nodding.

"Well, if you came down stairs like this at your home, what would your father have said about it?" Derek asked. I sighed.

"He would have uhm, "I began slowly, trying to make something up.

"What?" Derek asked, urging me to continue.

"My dad wouldn't have given me the time of day. He was always working anyways…and my mom…she didn't really care. She paid a little bit more attention to me and my brother, but she was working a lot too," I said shrugging. I brushed off the painful memories and slowly turned to go upstairs and change. I walked up the stairs, leaving Derek and Emily without anything to say, I guess.

I put on a higher tee shirt, and some jean shorts that came up a little bit above my knees. Changing wasn't a problem. I walked back down stairs.

"Kaitlin, honestly, the only reason I asked you to change is because…well, after what we see every day at the BAU, it makes us a little paranoid. I never cared if I saw a kid dressed like that before, but when it's you… I care because…you're like a daughter to me. And I wouldn't want anything to happen to you," Derek explained. I ran up to him and gave him a hug.

"I appreciate that. A lot," I said truthfully. Derek was going to be a great dad for me. I knew it.