"Why are you here, Artemis?"

"Why am I here? I'm here for my son."

Charles and Lydia exchanged confused looks before turning back toward their friend. Artemis seemed lost in his own thoughts as he glanced toward the hall that led to the nursery.

"I loved her, you know," he began again.

"We all loved her," Lydia added.

"No, no you don't understand. I was in love with her."

"She was your goddaughter, Artemis!" Charles insisted.

"We'd lost contact; besides birthdays and Christmas gifts we didn't communicate much with school and careers..."

"...Artemis..." Lydia began.

Then Artemis slowly walked toward the sofa and sat down. His mind was a million miles away.

"We ran into each other four years ago at a conference in San Diego. She was so beautiful nothing like the cute little girl I remembered."

"...what are you saying?" Charles asked.

"We stayed in touch after that, seeing each other when we could."

"As godfather and goddaughter, right?" Lydia asked.

"We loved each other! I know you don't understand but we fell in love!"

"Oh my god!" Lydia gasped.

"You sick son-of-a-bitch! You're old enough to be her father! Hell, you're family!" Charles yelled.

"We didn't plan it; any of it!"

"What about Clara? Even though we didn't approve of Savannah's marriage to Derek, our daughter was committed to making things work with him," Lydia insisted.

"She was too good for him! Besides, she loved me! For the life of me I couldn't understand why she stayed in that hopeless marriage, especially after..."

"...after what?" Charles asked fearing the worst.

Temporary Home of Derek Morgan – Late Evening –

It had gotten late, and everyone had left; all except Penelope. Derek had asked her to stay and of course she said, yes. He'd give her his bed and he'd take the couch. He wanted more but it was too soon, and he needed to convince her that she was worth the pursuit. With all that was going on in his life he didn't want to hurt her. He loved her more than he'd ever loved anyone; his priority was to make her believe that and to keep her safe.

"Fran left the leftovers in the fridge for you and Hank."

Derek took her hand and gently pulled her down next to him.

"Thanks, Baby Girl."

"No thanks needed, Handsome," then squeezing his hand, "so are you ready for tomorrow?"

"I'm more than ready. I just want my son back, you know?"

"Yes, I know, I know."

"You know what else I'm ready for?"

"What?" She asked puzzled.

"I'm ready for us. I want you in my life; not just as a friend but as the love of my life."

"Derek, Savannah just died and with this custody..."

"...Hey, hey, hey, I'm willing to take it as slow as you want. You're right my life is upside down right now and I don't want to put you in the middle of my mess."

"Derek, I just want you to be sure; I love you, but I don't want you to wake up one day and realize you made a mistake."

"You are not a mistake. My mistake was not telling you how I felt years ago. Trust me Baby Girl, I don't want to make that mistake again."

Clarion Hotel –

"Hank was supposed to be the symbol of our love," Artemis began.

"No!" Lydia gasped.

"You beast!" Charles added.

"It was her chance to leave that puffed up loser; our chance to be together," he continued, "she loved me; me not him!"

Lydia stopped at the window her hand clamped over her mouth as tears poured down her face. Suddenly the world seemed odd and small; the people coming and going on the street below were unaware that her life had exploded again. Then her eyes widen when the patrol cars pulled up and stopped in the roundabout in front of the hotel.

Charles pushed the man back down on the couch, his fist clinched by his side as he fought with his emotions. Lydia began pacing the room while Charles approached Artemis and angrily pulled him back on his feet.

"You were family for heaven's sake! We were brothers! Savannah was my child and you betrayed us and your wife!"

"I begged her, I-I pleaded...but she still wouldn't leave that bastard! She said she didn't love me after all, and she was going to tell Derek about us and beg his forgiveness!"

"Artemis, did you hurt Savannah; did you kill my daughter?" Charles asked.

"She couldn't take it back! You can't love somebody and then take it back; don't you get it?"

"DID YOU KILL MY DAUGHTER?" Charles asked again as Artemis reached inside his jacket.

"The police are back!" Lydia shouted from the window.

Artemis jumped to his feet and pushed past Charles nearly knocking him down. Just before leaving he turned toward the couple.

"You can't take it back! Hank is my son, not Derek's and I will be back for him! This isn't over!"

Charles and Lydia watched in utter shock as their former friend rushed out the door. Neither of them realized just how close they'd come to not only losing their grandson but also their lives. Artemis managed to slip past the police by taking the stairs that led to a service elevator that led to the food service loading dock.

Det. Baines had ordered one of his detectives to stay behind. He had a gut feeling that the attorney would eventually show up at the hotel and just as he suspected, he received a call, and he was hopeful that he would be bringing the man in and closing this case; unfortunately, he was wrong, and Artemis Maker was now in the wind.

Temporary Home of Derek Morgan –

Derek watched Penelope as she slept. Even though it was late, they'd tried with all their might to watch a movie; they were not quite ready to be released from each other's arms. She fit perfectly against his ribs. She was made for him and he for her; how could he have been so stupid to not have claimed her sooner.

Artemis Maker was in the business of winning; he couldn't remember the last time that he hadn't gotten his way. That's what made Savannah's change of heart so hard to take and to make things worse, it had started a chain reaction of anger and desperation. But this wasn't over not by a long shot. Savannah had learned the hard way. Now so would Derek.

The doorbell rang. Derek checked his watch and frowned. He thought about not answering but his curiosity got the best of him. The bell rang again; quickly he rushed toward the door and peered through the peephole. It was the last person he ever expected to see.