Everyone congregated on the wrap around porch for apple pie after their dinner on the grill. Derek wrapped his arm around Ivy's shoulder as they sat on the porch swing together. He studied Ivy all afternoon as she told him Lynn's life story as a print model, giving him a full tour of the house.

"I'm going to spend more time here after Tony season is complete," Ivy sighed, leaning her head on Derek's shoulder.

"Just make it till June," Derek urged.

"I'd like get my driver's license," Ivy mused, closing her eyes.

"You don't have your license?"

Ivy shook her head. "My mom and I came here together. I have a learner's permit, but never actually got my full license."

Derek finished a morsel of pie. "Why didn't you get your license?"

Ivy opened her eyes. "Well…"

"She can't parallel park," Alyson chimed in, from the railing.

"Al!" Ivy said sharply.

"Well you can't, honey," Robert pointed out.

"Lots of people struggle with parallel parking," Ivy scoffed.

Derek patted Ivy's arm in solidarity. "Of course."

"Derek, would you like to know how Ivy's first attempt at parallel parking went?" Alyson smirked.

"Derek doesn't have to learn everything about me this weekend," Ivy pointed out. "There's still some mystery left."

"The hot dog vendor was very understanding," Leigh explained.

"Hot dog vendor?" Derek snorted, unable to contain a laugh.

Ivy lightly jabbed Derek in the chest. "Yes, I clipped a hot dog vendor while practicing, developed stage fright and couldn't complete the procedure," she grumbled. "Happy?" Ivy hissed.

"Actually yes," Derek whispered in a voice so low only she could hear.

A small smile formed on Ivy's mouth. "You owe me a story about you after all of that," she insisted.

"We'll talk over hotdogs," Derek countered, eliciting a giggle from Ivy in response.

Lynn watched Derek and Ivy over her glass of ice tea. "I believe I am ready to retire for the evening."

Alyson and Evan called for Stacie who was running in the yard in an effort to catch lightning bugs in a jar to bring inside. Robert, Harold, and Leigh helped Lynn inside, biding a quick goodnight to Derek and Ivy, the final two people on the porch.

"I'm not quite ready to go in yet," Ivy admitted, looking up at the night sky.

"I'm in no rush," Derek agreed. "You don't get these views in New York."

Ivy looked up at Derek. "No you don't," she admitted. "The city is very…busy," she finished in a slow drawl.

"It is that." Derek brushed a lock of hair out of Ivy's eyes. "It's nice to spend a little time with you away from the theatre."

"Well I do have other interests. When I was a little girl, here with grandma and grandpa, I dreamed of being an equestrian."

"Horses?" Derek stifled another laugh.

"You're laughing at me," Ivy chided, pulling away slightly.

"No." Derek reached for Ivy's arm, causing the swing to nearly tip over. Derek gripped Ivy with one arm, trying to stabilize the swing with the other.

Ivy looked at Derek's contorted expression and couldn't help but laugh.

"Now who's laughing at whom?" Derek grumbled, attempting to recover.

Ivy shook her head, her eyes shining. "Always so serious."

"I just couldn't picture you on a horse," Derek said, taking in a deep breath.

"You're forgiven," Ivy nodded.

"Did I apologize?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ivy met him with a stare of her own, causing them both to laugh together. "Maybe now is a good time to go inside."

Derek stood up, offering a hand to Ivy, who stood in one graceful motion. "Do you still ride?"

"Haven't been on a horse in nearly thirteen years. I suppose I could always try again."

Derek opened the door for Ivy. "Some things are better the second go around."

"Anything special you're referring to there?"

Derek paused on the front step of the house. "Horseback riding of course."

Ivy waited a beat, wanting to know if he would say anything else. "Of course," she murmured, leading the way to the stairs. "I hope you don't mind sharing a room." Stepping once more into her childhood room at her grandmother's home, Ivy became flooded with memories.

"That arm chair looks comfortable enough for a night," Derek evaluated, taking off his shoes.

Ivy blinked, sitting on her rose colored bedspread. "Derek."

"Hmm?" Derek asked, removing his belt.

Ivy patted the bed with her right hand. "Please?" she pleaded.

Derek crossed over, placing one hand on Ivy's. "Are you sure?"

Ivy nodded, locking her eyes with his. "Please."

Derek nodded, stroking the back of Ivy's hair.

Ivy leaned into Derek's chest. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right out." Ivy grabbed a nightgown from her dresser drawer and went into the adjoining bathroom. All of her beauty products from her last visit were exactly where she left them. Some things don't change, she reminded herself gratefully. Ivy unpinned her hair, allowing it to flow freely over her shoulders.

Derek pulled his phone out to review notifications from the day. There was another text from Daisy.

Tick tock goes the clock. Time is running out.

Derek groaned, slipping his phone back into his pants pocket. He had been stalling with Daisy for the past week and didn't know how much longer he could keep her at bay.

"Is everything alright?" Ivy asked, entering in a lavender negligee.

Derek blinked, looking at Ivy.

"If you need to leave now, I can explain to everyone."

"No," Derek said quickly. "Everything is good."

"Good," Ivy agreed, sliding into bed. "The bathroom is all yours."

"Thanks," Derek said quickly. "Won't be long."

Ivy crawled under the covers, leaving the right side of the bed for Derek; it had been their usual pattern when they were together.

"Tired?" Derek asked, coming to the bed.

"Exhausted," Ivy murmured.

"You've been working nonstop for months," Derek observed.

"You didn't seem to mind when you were the one directing," Ivy said with a tired smile.

"I was able to keep an eye on you."

"We both know you had more than an eye on me," Ivy smirked.

"Promise me you won't push yourself too hard," Derek requested.

Ivy propped herself on her shoulder. "I didn't know you cared that much."

"I know I have a reputation as a work horse but…"

"About me," Ivy cut in. "I didn't know you cared that much about me," she clarified. "Seeing you here today, giving up a day's worth of work, being by my side." Ivy bridged the gap between them, her arms moving to his chest, her face angling above us.

Derek placed his hand on Ivy's. "Ivy, I don't…"

"Don't want me?" Ivy asked, a feeling of hurt creeping into her voice. "Have I misread everything from today?" She pulled the blanket around her, feeling suddenly exposed.

"No, you haven't misread anything," Derek insisted. "I don't want you doing something that you'll regret in the morning." Ivy waited for Derek to continue. "You should know that you are my most treasured friend, held higher than all of the others. The minute I heard about what happened, there was only one place I could be."

"Most treasured friend," Ivy repeated. "You may be mine as well. We've known each other for two years, fought, made up, fought again, and we're still in each other's lives. Maybe that means something." Derek waited for Ivy to continue. "Would you hold me, just for tonight at least? We can get into everything else when we get back to the city but tonight…" Ivy trailed off.

"You just need someone?" Derek suggested.

"You, you're the one that I need," Ivy insisted. Ivy slid into Derek's arms.

"I need you too," he whispered in a voice so low that only she could hear. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent, close enough to feel her body shake with tears. "Love," he breathed into her ear, wiping her tears with the bedsheet.

Ivy looked up and saw the same tenderness from earlier that afternoon.

"Love," he repeated again, his voice catching in his throat.

Ivy had heard Derek call her and several other woman, 'love', attributing it to his English culture. But it felt different now, less perfunctory and more personal. Ivy settled into his embrace, the safest she had felt all month.