Lia had ended up spending the night tangled up in Derek's arms, which was -in her opinion- the safest place to be. And after slowly waking up, they decided to go out for coffee before they both had to go to work.
"One coffee, extra creamer, extra sugar for ma'lady." Derek said, placing the coffee, in a to go cup on the table in front of Lia.
"Thank you kind sir." She said, playing along with his act. "Thank you for not pushing me to talk last night."
"You never need an excuse to crash at mine, and I'll never complain. But if you do want to talk about it I'm only a phone call away, whether I'm on a case or not." He said, placing his hand on top of hers.
The conversation flowed freely as they discussed random things that came to mind, often going off on a tangent before drifting back to the original topic. Until they were interrupted by Derek's phone ringing.
"Hey Baby girl." Derek said, looking knowingly at Lia as they both knew what was coming. "I'm on my way sweet-cheeks." He placed his phone down on the table and looked at Lia who was trying not to laugh. "What's so funny?" He asked curiously.
"The way you talk to Penny. You're so flirtatious with her but so charming with me. It's like two different people." She explained.
"I can be more like that if you want Doll face."
"I'll pass thanks. Plus don't you need to go?"
"I'll call you tonight?" Derek said as he stood up.
"Yep, I'm gonna leave in a minute anyway."
After Derek left, a woman about her age approached Lia.
"Hi, was that Derek Morgan?" She asked, the suddenness making Lia jump.
"It was."
"Can I give you some advice?" She asked, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Sure." Lia said, knowing she would receive the advice no matter what she said.
"Be careful with him, he told me when we first got together his longest ever relationship didn't even make it past six months and we were no exception."
"What are you trying to get at?" Lia asked, playing dumb to see how far this random girl would go.
"All I'm saying is, be careful. Don't get too attached, Derek gets bored easily."
"Excuse me?"
"You seem like a sweet girl, I just don't want you getting hurt."
"No offense, but I like to form my own opinions on people, not base them on the words of a stranger." Lia said, her blunt tone surprising the blonde. "Plus, Derek and I have been together for almost six months and we're going pretty strong."
"Okay then." The girl said, not knowing what else to say. "I wish you the best of luck."
Lia took a few minutes to gather her thoughts before getting her stuff together and going to the school.
---------
Lia found herself looking forward to talking to Derek throughout the day and once she got home she made herself as busy as possible by doing laundry as her mother used to always say time passed quicker when you're distracted.
After that was finished, she sat on the floor in front of her coffee table in the living room and started the surprisingly painful task of sticking colourful stickers saying 'Well done!' or 'WOW!' onto the last piece of work her class had done.
As soon as her phone started ringing, she answered and put it on speaker so she could continue her task. "Hi!"
"Hey." Derek said, laughing slightly at her eagerness. "Where are you?"
"You've got three guesses. No, that's too easy. Two." She rambled.
"On the floor?" He questioned, knowing it was her favourite place to sit.
"Yep."
"You've got at least six seats in your apartment, use one!" He teased.
"The floor's comfier, plus it gives me more space to work." Lia said, getting frustrated at a sticker that wouldn't peel. "Do you know how annoying it is sticking thirty stickers on thirty pieces of work? Very!"
"Would you rather profile a disorganised psychopath?"
"Is that what the case is?"
"Yeah, we're pulling an all nighter in Pittsburgh."
"You could've just text me!" Lia scorned, not letting him know how much she had been looking forward to their daily call. "Does Aaron know you've snuck off? Or does he think you're calling Penny?"
"He knows I'm calling you. It was his idea actually." Derek said, wanting Lia to tell him about her potential stalker by her own accord.
"Why? Are Jack and Jessica okay?" Lia asked, stopping her work to give him her full attention.
"They're fine, he was more worried about you."
"Oh, right. The thing with Clara's dad yesterday." Lia said, running a hand through her hair. "I've not seen him today, her mum picked her up."
"What happened yesterday?" Derek asked.
Lia explained the bare minimum before adding that he had asked her out a few times.
"Do I need to show up at the school to show him that you're mine?" Derek asked possessively before realising he might have come across too strong and scared a probably already anxious Lia.
"I don't think that'll be necessary." Lia said, her airy laugh instantly removing his worries. They fell into silence for a few seconds as they both sunk deeper into their thoughts, Derek's being about Lia's new confidence and how quickly a stalker would destroy it whilst Lia was thinking about the stranger in the coffee shop.
"Am I different?" She asked, regretting the words as soon as they left her lips.
"What do you mean?"
"This woman came up to me after you left this morning to warn me about you, about how you get bored easily and not to get attached." Lia explained, knowing their was no way to backtrack. "And I mean, I've seen the way you are with Penny, and I heard stories about you before we met and that Derek seems completely different to the one that I know."
"That's because I changed. You changed me. I used to struggle to see myself ever settling down, getting married, having kids but now I can. So to answer your question, yes, you are different."
YOU ARE READING
A Little Too Much | CM
Fanfiction*UPDATED 18/05/23* Amelia LaMontagne was born and raised in New Orleans alongside her older brother Will by their single father after the death of their mother. Will became a detective and fell in love with a federal agent. Lia became a teacher and...
