Marla walked in to the police station in St. Paul Minnesota several days later and walked to the front desk.

"Can I help you miss?" asked the sergeant sitting there

"Yes, I'm Marla Rossi and I'm looking for Detective Derek Morgan. He answered a call the other day when my donut shop was broken into and I brought him some as a thank you."

"That was really nice of you Miss Rossi," the sergeant said.

"I appreciate him coming, just because he was in the area and he helped out the two officers that responded. I just thought I'd say thank you by bringing you guys some free donuts."

The desk sergeant called Detective Morgan and Marla was soon on her way back to his office.

Marla left the desk sergeant munching on one of her delicious donuts.

"Come in," Derek called once Marla knocked on his door.

"I brought you some donuts Detective Morgan, as a thank you for your help the other day," Marla announced.

"Thanks but there was no need," Derek said.

"I wanted to," Marla told him. "You didn't have to answer the call, just because you were in the area, which is above and beyond the call of duty. You're welcome to eat all of them or share them with your squad mates, whichever one you prefer. The desk sergeant did eat one when I offered it to him."

What Marla didn't say was that she had baked her magic into the donuts she had done in her kitchen and the thoughts on her mind that went into her magic when she had was that Derek Morgan wouldn't overreact when told about immortality and magic.

"I'm not surprised that Sergeant Galli ate one, as he loves donuts, but then most cops do," Derek said.

"It's a stereotype for a reason," Marla agreed. "My whole family loves the fact that my mother is such a good baker and she can do anything desert wise, though the her donuts aren't as good as mine. All of us have to exercise if we eat what she makes at all frequently."

"I bet your father is a very happy, contented man, especially if your mother cooks as well as she bakes," Derek said.

"My mother is a good cook too, it's just not as good as her dessert items," Marla said. "Still, you're right, my dad is very contented man and not just because my mother is such a good cook. The two get along great and have ever since they met, so there are very few arguments between them and they've been married a long time."

When Marla said a long time she literally meant centuries in this case, but Derek didn't know that and wouldn't at least for awhile.

"So Miss Rossi if you're not married or seeing anyone what about dinner?" Derek offered feeling bold for some reason.

"Sounds great," Marla immediately agreed thrilled that Derek had actually asked her and she hadn't had to do was she had planned to by asking him out instead. He hadn't even eaten a doughnut yet, which meant he really, really liked her. "No I'm not married, nor do I have a boyfriend at the moment. I've been busy running my business. So have you discovered why my place was broken into?"

"Not yet though we do have a video of someone outside your shop, but that person has not yet been identified."

"Hopefully, he'll be identified soon," Marla said.

"He appears drunk," Derek said, "or maybe on drugs."

"I had already figured that as why else would someone break into a donut shop? I'm not a high cash business and what cash I do get goes to the bank after I close," Marla said. "It just doesn't make any sense any other way. I mean there is a pawnshop only a few doors down that would've been a better bet, as I told you and the officers when you responded to my call, though I don't see old Mr. Lindy leaving a lot of cash in his register either."

"There would've been plenty of things to steal and sell though, certainly more then in a donut shop," Derek said and Marla nodded in agreement.

"I know that's why Hidden Treasures makes more sense for a break in then my place," Marla said.

"We'll just have to ask the guy who broke into your place that question when we catch him," Derek said.

"If you would let me know what he says whenever you catch him I would appreciate it," Marla said and Derek nodded.

"I will," Derek promised. "There's no guarantees we'll ever catch the guy unless he has a record."

"I would think with all the advanced technology now that it would be so hard to catch one criminal," Marla said.

"It probably won't be, as he doesn't seem too intelligent like some of them can be, just that it's possible he won't be caught," Derek said.

"I'm looking forward to our date tonight. You can call me with the details," Marla offered. "Nowhere fancy where I have to buy a new outfit, as I just don't have time to do that before tonight. Casual will be fine at least for right now."

"It'll be entirely casual," Derek promised. "I promise to give you at least a few days warning if we're going anywhere fancy so that you have to buy a new outfit."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Marla said grateful. She wanted to kiss Derek on the cheek but knew that it was way too soon for such a bold move. "I'll let you get back to work Detective Morgan.

"You can call me Derek or Morgan if you prefer," Derek offered.

"I'm Marla," Marla said smiling.

"That sure is a pretty name," Derek said complimenting her.

"Thank you, my parents agree with you," Marla said smiling before turning to leave. "Make sure you try one of those and don't give them all away you'll miss out on a treat if you do."

"I'll be happy to try one," Derek said. "You went to the trouble to make them for me after all."

"I'm glad to see you're not a total health nut," Marla said pleased. "I've known some people in the past that won't eat anything that's bad for them, even just every once in awhile. They miss out on a lot of good food that way."

"That's true, as I've known a few people like that to," Derek agreed.

Derek watched as Marla left his office heading towards the front doors and then she was out of sight.

Derek went back to work, but he couldn't help thinking of the very pretty woman that had just left his office. Derek opened the donut box and looked at what Marla had brought and then chose one chomping on it even as he did the paperwork that was on his computer screen.

Paperwork what a pain in the butt, Derek thought.

Soon his desk was littered with donut crumbs.

~~~Derek and Marla~~~

"This is really nice Derek," Marla said, as the two of them had ice cream. Marla had gotten a banana split, as she had always loved them while Derek had gotten a sundae with vanilla and chocolate ice cream hot fudge, whip cream and nuts. There was also a cherry on top of each scoop.

"I thought you might like it, since you do own a donut shop, which means you have nothing against sweets," Derek said.

"I know what you're getting at," Marla agreed. "So many women deny themselves just so they won't gain weight, instead of just exercising and eating sensibly."

"Exactly," Derek agreed.

"Yes, I understand not liking exercise, as some people are that way or they could have some kind of medical condition to where they can't exercise like they should because it might send them into a heart attack or a stroke. As for me, I couldn't possibly have anything against sweets, as my mother is a terrific baker as I mentioned earlier and I eat her stuff all the time. If I did have something against sweets, my parents would probably think there was something wrong with me if I didn't indulge in one of my mother's desserts occasionally."

"I'm really going to have to try your mother's bakery," Derek said.

"You would have to go all the way to Raleigh in North Carolina to do that, as that's where my parents live," Marla said. "I go up to visit them every few weeks."

"That's too bad that they live in another state entirely," Derek said.

"I suppose, I could live in Raleigh, but I made my life here," Marla said.

"Didn't want to stay close to home?" Derek asked. "I suppose, I don't have a right to say anything, as I have a mother and two sisters who live in Chicago. Also, an aunt and female cousin."

"See, I'm not the only one that moved across the country, even if that's for different reasons," Marla said.

"True," Derek admitted. "I go up to visit my family a few times a year."

"So do I, as I love my parents," Marla agreed.

"So what are their names," Derek asked.

"David and Jazzlyn," Marla explained. "They go by Dave and Jazz though. So same question you said you had a mother and two sisters oh and an aunt and cousin."

"My mother is Francine, but she goes by Fran since she dislikes her given name," Derek said. "I am in the middle of my sisters who are Sarah and Desirée. Sarah is older and Desirée younger. My aunt is Yvonne Burns and my cousin in Cindi."

"That's really nice and I would love to meet them sometime," Marla said. "What about your father?"

"My father was Hank and he was a cop like me. I'm afraid he died in a convenience store robbery when I was young. He was just picking up some milk and bread for my mother when these guys held the place up. He was shot just doing his job. He had called for backup but they didn't get there in time."

"I'm so sorry that happened to you and while I've had some friends die, I've never lost a family member," Marla said. "Of course, to be fair none of them are in dangerous professions either."

"So you mentioned parents that are both still alive any siblings?" Derek asked.

"Three," Marla answered smiling. "And also, numerous cousins. I have two brothers and a sister and five cousins. Most of them haven't settled down, except for my cousin Perry, Hotchner is the last name, as he met this lovely lady Dr. Alex Blake."

"Well sounds like you have a fairly large family," Derek said.

"I do and I love every single one of them, even if they can annoy me sometimes," Marla said.

"I think everybody with close family says that it one time or another," Derek chuckled, as he finished his sundae.

"Probably true," Marla chuckled as well. "Just so you know those cousins aren't technically related to my family."

"What do you mean by that?" Derek asked.

"Just that my mother and their mother have been best friends all their lives so we grew up together. We just automatically call them our cousins. It helps that Shonda is the godmother for my mom's children and her husband Aaron is the godfather. The reverse is also true. My mother and Aunt Shonda are basically sisters, even though technically they're not related. While mom has three siblings, my Aunt Shonda was an only child."

"I see what you mean," Derek said. "When you've been best friends since childhood, you of course would consider each other family."

"When and if you meet them you'll notice they don't look a thing alike and that's because technically they don't share blood. I get my black skin from my mother while Aunt Shonda is white, a redhead with freckles across her nose. She also has green eyes while my mother's are gray like mine."

"So what does your aunt do for a living?" Derek asked.

"She owns an antique store that's been in her family for generations," Marla explained. "It's known as Walters Antiques. My aunt sells mostly smaller items, but she also sells some furniture and all of it is considered real antiques, not tourist junk. She's become quite wealthy as she's quite good at finding things that are considered antique. It's one of those professions where the market changes all the time so you really have to have a certain instinct for it."

"It's not like owning a donut shop or being a cop as the case might be you have to have that knack to be any good at it. Her father Michael Walters turned it over to her back when she was in her 20s. She promised him she'd keep it running for a very long time. Mike Walters was very ill you see and died not long after she and my Uncle Aaron met and their first son was born."

"That's rather interesting," Derek admitted.

"I'm glad you think so," Marla told him with a smile. "Our two families are so close that I consider their children my cousins, even if we're not technically related. Also, there are plenty of cousins, from the Rossi side of the family that I am related to."

"I don't know why it matters really," Derek shrugged. "If I had a friend like that I would probably consider them a brother to, especially since I only have two sisters and my one cousin is female.

The two continued to talk for sometime after finishing the snacks and then heading out.

~~~Derek and Marla~~~