"I think it's time you met my family," Marla offered over nine months later. "At least my parents and my aunt and uncle."
"So are they coming here to St. Paul?" Derek asked.
"I thought we could go up there for the weekend if you can get a couple of days off," Marla said. "My mom is a great cook and so is my dad. We'll be missing a treat if we ask them to come here to meet you. My Aunt Shonda is also a very good cook as well."
What Marla didn't say was that they'd have absolute privacy as her parents had a large house. Most apartments had thin walls where sounds and sometimes voices could be heard so it was just better if they discussed immortality and magic at her parents house. Marla only hoped that Derek accepted it, but she had come to love this gentle man. At least he was gentle with her, but not with criminals of course. He didn't let the frustrations of his job affect his personal life at least so far. She should've had soundproofing installed years ago, but just never bothered because mostly her neighbors weren't the type to make a lot of noise on a regular basis. Still, it would've been useful at times like this where they were going to be talking about delicate subjects.
"I suppose I could cook the meal and that way you can meet them at my apartment if that would be better for you," Marla said. "I know as a cop you're often called in, even when you're supposed to be off duty."
"I could take a couple of vacation days," Derek said. "I haven't had a vacation, since I went to visit my family in Chicago way back in early December last year for my mother's birthday. I certainly have the time coming."
"I need to meet your mother," Marla mentioned. "Have you mentioned me at all? As I've certainly mentioned you to my parents as well as my aunt and uncle. They really want to meet you."
Marla didn't bother to tell Derek why they wanted to meet him just let him assume that it was because they loved her and wanted to meet her very serious boyfriend. It was perfectly normal to introduce a boyfriend to your family when it was serious or you at least believed you were in love. That love may fade after awhile, but she knew she didn't have to fear that happening with her since Derek was her mate.
"I have and she really wants to meet you too, especially since I didn't mention you at first as I wasn't entirely sure how long our relationship was going to last. So many women don't get the cops get called in a lot and so they start to feel neglected. I didn't want to get her all excited that I might finally be settling down giving her grandchildren."
"I understand that. I also know your job isn't exactly 9 to 5, but then neither is mine," Marla said. "I have to get up in what most people consider the middle of the night, just so I can make donuts for my customers and if you think former boyfriends have understood that..."
"I can guess," Derek said. "They probably didn't like it at all. Probably believed that you should cater to their every whim. I know very well many people have unrealistic expectations for their significant other."
"Which is why you never married," Marla guessed.
"I've dated plenty, but most of my former girlfriends didn't understand my job and didn't bother to try," Derek said. "They didn't like it when I got called sometimes in the middle of the night. You've been different in that regard since the beginning and don't complain, when I have to leave at midnight or 3 AM."
"We all do what we have to do to make a living," Marla said. "I've always been an early morning person, as I take after my mother in that way. I won't say I wouldn't appreciate being able to sleep late occasionally, but I love what I do. I love coming up with new donuts for the customers."
"That reminds me, the guys wanted me to thank you for the steady stream of doughnuts you've been supplying free of charge. You've gotten them addicted you know, to fresh donuts every few days. Even Aveyard appreciates your donuts and says that yours are better than any he's ever had and of course they are, because they're fresh not made the night before."
Derek rolled his eyes saying without words that he thought Aveyard was naïve when it came to people who had jobs like baking for a living.
Marla giggled at that. "A lot of people don't realize that some professions require you to be up in the middle of the night, even if it's, just because you have the night shift at some 24 hour restaurant. They just don't think about it. I was thinking Aveyard wouldn't be so naïve considering I'm sure he's had to work the nightshift at least a few times."
"Most people don't think about that though," Derek said. "About people who have jobs that require them to be up at a very early hour. You would think he would understand that considering a lot of cops get called in the middle of the night or work the early morning shift."
"It doesn't really matter," Marla said. "So am I inviting my parents here to meet you or are we going up to Raleigh, North Carolina?"
"I guess we can head up to Raleigh," Derek said. "And maybe in a few weeks I can take you to meet my family in Chicago."
"I'll be happy to," Marla said as calmly as possible, but inside she was cheering. Derek wasn't the type that would suggest meeting his family unless he was going to propose at some point. "You talk about your family so affectionately that it's clear you love them, just as much as I love mine."
Marla doubted very much that his mother or his sisters had met very many of Derek's former girlfriends. Not unless they had been visiting him here in St. Paul Minnesota. She doubted that Derek had ever suggested to any of his girlfriends that they go up to Chicago to meet his mother and sisters.
"I would love to meet your mother and your sisters and also your aunt and cousin while we're up there," Marla said.
"Mom really wants to meet you too," Derek said smiling a little. "I usually don't talk about my girlfriends with her, but then, most of them I only dated for a few weeks possibly, a few months before we broke up."
"It is really difficult to find someone to settle down with," Marla agreed wholeheartedly. "Dating is a minefield filled with those landmines that if you step on them they explode in your face."
"I definitely agree with that," Derek agreed, which wasn't really surprising as he and Marla got along great and thought the same way on a lot of subjects. "Those type of land mines you are talking about are obsolete, but still I get your meaning."
"Yeah, they are," Marla agreed smiling.
"You can still find those being used though by those countries like Afghanistan," Derek added.
"And some militia groups have stockpiled them," Marla added.
"That's true and I'm actually surprised if most of them don't turn out to be duds just because they're so old and the people arrested that have them use them to escape the authorities or for some other illegal reason," Derek said. "That doesn't mean though that some of them don't work and cause considerable damage to either property or people if they happen to encounter them."
"We both know that there will always be those that just want to cause as much trouble as they can," Marla said.
"You know that's one reason I like you Marla, as you're not naïve about people or the world. You don't think that everyone's a good person," Derek said. "Some people are still so naïve and not just women, even in this advanced time. Some people just don't pay attention to the world around them and ignore everything not in their cipher."
"I've met some people like that," Marla said.
"I dated this woman was that was so innocent and gullible that I broke up with her fairly quickly. I just don't have time to try to teach somebody that the world is a dangerous place. Really, Sandra needed a keeper someone to keep her out of trouble, but I wasn't that person."
"She doesn't sound too smart," Marla said.
"She wasn't stupid, she had just never had anything happen to her that made her see the world in a different light, to shed her naïveté," Derek shrugged. "She is in my past though and I never dated anyone so naïve again."
~~~Derek and Marla~~~
"So when do you want to go up and visit my family?" Marla asked Derek several days later.
"I guess we need to get that done," Derek said. "I know we talked about it and everything, but I wasn't sure when we were going so I can put in for leave time. I suppose this weekend would be a good. The force can do without me for a few days."
"I'm glad to see you're not putting it off," Marla said.
"I know it needs to be done, just like you need to meet my family and I've never been wishy-washy when it comes to necessary decisions," Derek said.
"No, that's not your style," Marla smiling. "What's your favorite dessert?"
"Well, those donuts you've been sending have been great," Derek said "Why do you ask?"
"Because mom is a baker remember and we always have dessert after dinner when I was growing up, so she'll make whatever you say your favorite is just for you."
"That's really nice of your mother," Derek said.
"All mom wants is for her children to settle down," Marla explained being completely truthful. "I am the first that is on the verge of doing so. She would like to encourage it I'm sure, because I know she and dad want grandchildren."
"I think it's too soon to talk about that," Derek said.
"Probably is. I'm just telling you what my parents want," Marla said.
Marla didn't bother to tell him that her parents had grandchildren galore, but not for her generation, so she spoke the truth when she said she was the first to come close to settling down because she was.
"They'll want to encourage the relationship I promise you," Marla added. "So long as you treat me well, they're not going to object and in fact be very happy to meet you. You'll like my parents I'm sure."
"Probably," Derek decided looking forward to meeting the parents of the woman he loved though he had yet to tell her.
"I'll call my parents and tell them we are coming and they will have a terrific meal prepared for dinner when we get there," Marla said.
"You did happen to mention back when we first met that both your parents can cook and cook well," Derek said.
"That's true they can," Marla agreed. "Uncle Aaron is the only one that can't cook, but then my parents invite him and Shonda over for a meal all the time and that's only if my aunt doesn't cook for him and herself. The Hotchners also invite the Rossis over for a meal and conversation on the regular."
"No children at home?" Derek asked and Marla shook her head.
"They had five kids including Perry that I told you about, but they're all grown up now just like me and my siblings are.
"I'm surprised nothing happened between you and one of their boy children since you're so close to them and you're not technically related," Derek said.
"I could never think of Perry or his brothers that way," Marla said winkling her nose in disgust at that thought. "They were like my siblings, as our families are simply that close. We all know each other too well for there to be anything romantic between us."
While what Marla said was very true, she didn't tell Derek what the real reason was that nothing romantic had ever happened between her and Perry or his brothers. Derek would find out the real reason when they went up to Raleigh North Carolina to visit her family and hopefully, he would come to understand why nothing romantic had ever happened with any of the Hotchner sons. Derek wasn't stupid and in fact he was very intelligent, which is how he had made detective at a relatively young age and why he had such a good record of catching criminals.
"While our parents wouldn't have minded if that had happened since their families are close they also didn't force the issue," Marla said.
She didn't bother to tell Derek exactly why either her parents or her godparents had never even thought of her getting together with one of the Hotchner sons or vice versa. If two of the Rossi or Hotchner children had been mates it would be a totally different situation and they would've been happy, but that had never happened and it probably never would. "They basically left us alone to choose our own spouses when the time came."
"I know I'm going to like your family a lot, as so many parents if they have close ties to another family try to force their children to be together romantically instead of letting those children go their own way," Derek said.
"That's true," Marla agreed. "Luckily, my family's not like that."
~~~Derek and Marla~~~