Mental Health x Criminal Minds

ED- D.M

You were laying in your bed waiting for Derek to get home. After today's case you just wanted a laugh and cuddles, both of which he was good at supplying.

You clicked through several different channels not seeming to find a good show to watch. You kept seeing commercials that showed food and you immediately clicked away. Every time they showed up a pit in your stomach formed. Quite frankly, it disgusted you.

After all, why shouldn't it? You bet all the models didn't eat those foods shown on tv. Why should you?

You scrolled through a few more channels until you heard the door unlock and someone walk in. Derek kicked his shoes off and made his way to your bedroom.

"Hey baby." You smiled but it quickly faded when he held up a bag of food he picked up. He hadn't mentioned he was bringing food home.

Derek knew you hadn't been eating as much. You stopped working out with him after work and you cut your meals into smaller portions. You fell asleep a lot more and you were always exhausted. It didn't take a profiler to notice.

He didn't know how to approach the subject without you leaving the room so he tried to "go with the flow" he told himself.

He took his watch off and made his way to join you in bed. He sat next to you and set the bag between you both. Your eyes fell and you tried to look away from the food he started pulling out. How could you leave without making it awkward?

"I missed you princess." He whispered. "I hope you didn't eat when you got home." He held out a wrapped sandwich and you hesitantly took it.

"Baby, your hand is shaking. Are you okay?" You nodded but he didn't believe you. "What did you eat last? When did you eat last?" He questioned. By his tone, he wasn't angry or disappointed, he was just worried.

Your body went stiff. You knew the answer but you couldn't bring yourself to say it. He caught on and you dropped your hands into your lap and started crying. He softened his face and pushed the sandwich away, taking your head and pulling it to his chest.

"Please don't cry princess. It's okay." His voice cracked. "You can't be skipping meals, things will only get worse."

"I'm sorry.." You muttered.

"Babe, look at me. Hey, look at me." He hooked his finger under your chin and tilted your head to face him.

"This isn't something you need to apologize for. For the record, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid my eyes on. Don't compare yourself to others because no one can compare to you." You lowered your head and bit your lip. He stored the food back into the bag and instead, brought out the fries.

He grabbed one and gave it to you. You were so embarrassed that you couldn't eat this one thing, let alone in front of Derek. You looked at it for a long time before he spoke.

"I know you can do it sweetheart. Look." He took a fry for himself and slowly ate it. He had a goofy grin and moved his hand to your thigh. He looked into your sad eyes. "Now your turn."

You nodded and slowly brought the fry to your mouth and copied him. As you swallowed, you didn't really taste the food. You thought it was stupid and that one fry alone would make you gain weight. You already hated the way you looked in the mirror and you didn't quite understand how Derek Morgan; flirty, funny, confident, hot Derek Morgan, wanted you.

You never saw yourself as the girl who gets noticed out of a crowd. You never wore revealing clothing so people couldn't see what you were so ashamed to show.

Your chin started to shake and he rubbed soothing circles on your thigh.

"See? I'm so proud of you, you know that?" He reached into the bag again and gave you another. "Again." You both ate the fries, him going first. He smiled at you.

He was surprised you had followed after him. In all honesty he would've asked Garcia for help but he didn't want to share something so personal that wasn't his. If anything you most likely would've pushed him and the team away even farther and things would've gotten a lot much worse.

But we can't do everything on our own. We need people around us, to support us.

"Come on, lets go watch a movie hm?" He asked. You nodded and he pulled you into the living room. He dimmed the lights and gathered a bunch of pillows and blankets to make a makeshift bed on the couch. He remembered how much you loved to have a "sleepover" on the couch.

He pulled out the leg rest and sat first. He extended his hand and brought you into his lap. You got settled in and he pulled the blanket over your bodies. He kissed the back of your head every so often while you both searched for a movie.

When the movie started he pulled out the fries again and throughout the movie he occasionally handed you one. One of Reid's rambles he remembered had been about distracting the mind. He thought that by distracting your mind he could easily sneak you a fry and get you to eat without noticing.

By the end of the movie, the large container of fries had been finished. You had even grabbed the last few and ate them by yourself. After eating so many you could finally taste them again. And god how you missed it. You felt good and your stomach wasn't empty.

Derek turned the tv off and squeezed you tightly. "I love you baby." He closed his eyes.

"Thank you Derek." He opened them and you turned to face him.

"That was all you babygirl. You did the hard part." He leaned down and kissed you. "I'm so proud of you."

You nuzzled your head into his chest and fell asleep in his embrace. You smiled for the first time in awhile.

After that night every time breakfast, lunch, and dinner came, he would eat with you. He made sure your portions were smaller at first and then gradually added more food. If you went too quickly you ended up throwing it right back up.

You told him about all the models you wanted to look like and he practically told you to be quiet-but in a nice way.

"You're the only girl I have my eyes on. You make my mind race and my chest tighten when I'm around you. You're my world y/n."

Those words repeated very often in your head. Derek made you feel better and reminded you why you should eat. You gained a healthy amount of weight and enjoyed your meals thoroughly, eventually returning to the old foods you loved. You never felt sick after eating and you started working out with him and messing around in the gym.

You grew to love your body and your confidence soared.

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"Self confidence is the most attractive quality a person can have. How can anyone see how great you are if you can't see it yourself?"

-Ritu Ghatourey