L A Y L A ' S   P O V

I feel like Betty Crocker right now.

I'm baking a pumpkin pie to bring over to Rossi's later because he's hosting thanksgiving for everyone. The cinnamon and nutmeg smell floats around the kitchen as I sprinkle it into the mixture.

Me baking or cooking is always a lucky dip. It could be amazing or it could taste disgusting. There is no in between.

I pour the pie filling into the pastry tin before I sweep my finger through the mixture left in the bowl. "Fuck yeah," I groan, tasting the filling from my finger. "I'm good."

I pick the dish up and turn to the oven and I almost jump out of my skin when I see Derek standing in the doorway, one shoulder resting against the frame while he watches me with a smile on his face. It's his house so I shouldn't be surprised to see him, but I thought he was in the garage.

I place the pie in the preheated oven. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Derek shakes his head like he didn't even realise he was staring. "Just like having you here."

I think like might be an understatement. Since he first brought me to his house, I don't think I've been back to my apartment for more than the sake of grabbing some clothes.

Speaking of clothes, Derek's in a pair of work trousers and a simple white T-shirt. There's grease stains on his shirt, he's sweaty and his hands are dirty. I give him a once over. "This look is really working for me right now."

The birth control I'm on has me horny twenty four seven. Who am I kidding? I was like that before. Can't blame that on the pill.

Derek chuckles, pushing off the door frame before he makes his way over to me. "I just finished up with your car."

I had mentioned I was going to take my car into the garage for a routine oil change and Derek's exact words were 'fuck that. Why would you pay for it when I can do it for free?'.

Speaking of things being free, Derek also said it was time to get winter tyres on my car and that he'd change them too. I pulled into his garage and guess what was waiting for me? Four new winter tyres. He won't let me pay him back. I've tried multiple times. We've been in a silent battle all week, me sneaking the money into his wallet and him putting it back in my purse before I even notice. He says that knowing I'll be safe is more than enough payback.

If I'm being honest, I've noticed he likes spoiling me and I love being spoiled.

After I spend the next five minutes showing him all my gratitude in kisses, I focus on cleaning the kitchen. I never quite got the tidy as you go memo, so it looks like a bomb went off in here. There's flour all over the countertops and a stack of dishes as tall as me in the sink.

One second I'm about to start the dishes, then the next I'm thrown over Derek's shoulder and the messy kitchen is upside down while I laugh. "What the fuck?"

Derek slaps his hand to my ass. "You're coming to shower with me."

I slap his ass back. "What if I don't want to?" I do.

I'm only wearing a big T-shirt and panties so when Derek's hand reaches between my thighs, he easily finds my panties soaked. "Don't want to," He mumbles. "Yeah, okay."

-

"Your pie is a little..burnt."

I snort at Emily's comment when I slide my pie onto the kitchen island. It's on the crisper side but I'm sure it will still taste okay. Actually, I'm not so sure. I picked up a pre made one from the store on the way over here just in case.

Surprisingly, Emily and I were the first ones to arrive at Rossi's. He refused our offers to help with dinner, ushered a glass of red wine into both our hands and told us to just look pretty while we watch him work.

"Yeah," I chuckle. My legs were around Derek's shoulders so honestly, I'm not even mad about the burnt pie. "I got distracted when it was in the oven."

Emily laughs and nudges my arm. "That hickey on your neck explains the distraction."

My hand shoots up to my neck and a nervous laugh escapes my lips. "What? No I don't."

I'm going to kill Derek. I have one rule. Don't leave hickeys in places people can see. One simple rule and he can't follow it even though I gave him free reign on everywhere else. Boobs? Completely covered in them. Hips? Covered. Thighs? Covered.

Emily raises an amused eyebrow, swirling her wine glass around slowly. "You're right, you don't have a hickey there. But you still checked."

"I—" My mouth snaps shut and my eyes narrow. "Touché."

"Stop teasing her," Rossi laughs, swatting Emily with his dish towel. He looks over his shoulder out the kitchen window as the sound of more cars pull up. "And pour some more wine."

Pretty soon the room is filled with noise as everyone starts to arrive. JJ and Henry, Spencer, Averie and Aidan, Hotch and Jack, and Penelope and Derek.

Rossi's is still floating around the kitchen between us all as we hug and say happy thanksgiving to one another and when Derek makes it to me, his hand presses into my lower back before he kisses my cheek, says happy thanksgiving and smiles sweetly as if he wasn't balls deep in me an hour ago.

I jab him in the side when his hand slides a few inches south of there and he tries to cop a sneaky feel.

"Uncle Derek?" Henry calls from across the room and Derek's hand shoots up to behind his neck. Henry holds up a football. "Can we play a game before dinner?"

"Sure," Derek chuckles, making his way over to him. "You pick teams."

There's some shouting and some protesting because Henry, Jack and Aidan all want to be on Derek team, so they eventually decide the four of them will go against Spencer and Hotch.

Averie and I follow behind them out to the backyard while Penelope, Emily and JJ stay in the kitchen to help Rossi.

When Averie and I sit down on the patio couch, Spencer leans over and presses a quick kiss to her lips. "Going to watch me struggle?"

Averie grins widely. "And enjoy every second of it."

When he's out of ear shot, I turn to Averie. "Did the honeymoon period ever ware off?"

I don't know if that's what you would call it, but I love whatever stage Derek and I are in now. Experiencing the fun of getting to know each other and building a relationship. The excitement of staying up until two am just because we don't want to stop talking to each other, getting milkshakes and going on late night drives with no destination. Sleepy morning sex, tearing each other's clothes off I need you now sex, exploring each other's bodies and falling asleep in each other's arms.

"I wouldn't say it wares off but more so it slows down." Averie says, her eyes tracking Spencer across the yard. "Of course, life gets in the way and you can't live in that bubble of just you two anymore, but what you're left with is a bond of emotional intimacy that's more permanent than any honeymoon phase." Her eyes drift back to me. "Why do you ask?"

Honestly.. that sounds just as appealing. I've never had that before but isn't that all anyone wants? To be able to trust someone completely and without limitations, to have someone who's always in your corner and will choose you every single day.

"Oh, no reason," I say with a dismal wave of my hand. "Just curious."

The suspicion only grows in her eyes. "Are you dating someone?"

Until Derek and I work out how we're going to deal with the us and work situation, it's best we keep it a complete secret so I just shrug and say, "No. But I want what you guys have someday."

"You'll get it," She smiles, patting her hand to mine. Her smile soon turns teasing. "I'm praying for that guy though, he's in for a tough time with you."

Emily, JJ and Penelope soon join us on the patio, sinking into the couch beside us. "What are we taking about?" Penelope asks, sipping from her wine glass.

"Just this—" I gesture to the yard. "Mess."

Rather than the football they were meant to be playing, Hotch is laying on the ground with a dog pile of his son, Henry and Aidan all on his back and Spencer looks so proud that he finally caught the ball, until his face pales when he sees Derek coming straight for him and he throws the ball away like a hot potato.

"Anyone else notice Derek has been really happy these past few months?"

My stomach flips at JJ's observation and my eyes tentatively gaze over to find all the girls nodding in agreement.

Abort conversation. I need a distraction. "You know what's more important.." I turn to Averie who is the only one without a wine glass. "Why aren't you drinking?"

Averie's shoulders pop in a shrug. "I don't feel like drinking today."

The girls and I share a look because it's not like her to pass on a glass of wine. "Are you pregnant?"

"No," Averie says with a dismissive wave of her hand. She pauses, looking like she's trying to figure out something. "Well, I don't think. I haven't missed my period."

"That was exhausting," Spencer says when he approaches, swiping his hand across his forehead.

Derek chuckles, sinking into his seat with a sigh. "That was nothing."

"Do you miss it?" Hotch asks Derek, nudging his head over to the yard. "Playing football?"

"A little," Derek sighs, shrugging his shoulders. "I love what I'm doing now but if I would have known my last game was my last, I would have appreciated it more. I'd love to be out on the field one more time."

With the longing look in his eyes and his slightly dampened tone at the mention of playing, an idea sparks my mind that I'm tucking away for a later date.

Rossi soon calls us all in for dinner and his larger than life dinning table is filled with a perfectly set out place for each of us, all the sides you could imagine and a turkey the size of half the table.

"We know that we're all thankful for each other and this food bla bla bla," Rossi laughs, carving into the turkey. "I want to hear something silly you're thankful for."

We go around the table, all saying a funny thing we're thankful for and some of the honourable mentions are Emily saying she's thankful for Rossi's extensive wine selection, Aidan saying he's thankful for spoons because he needs them for his cereal, and Averie saying she's thankful for being a stay at home milf.

Derek said he was thankful for baby making practice and with three sets of little ears at the table who wanted to question what that meant, the conversation was shut down immediately and he got quite a few kicks underneath the table from their parents.

Once we're all full and our dishes are cleared away, we all stay seated around the table when Penelope suggests we all play a game of monopoly. Of course she's the banker and of course she brought extra handmade cute little pieces because she knew there wasn't going to be enough for everyone. She gave me a little purse, Derek got a truck, Spencer got a book and Rossi got a little frying pan.

"You landed on mine," Emily says, curling her fingers into her palm at me. "Pay up, bitch."

"That was a bad word," Aidan grins, mirroring her gimme expression. "Pay up."

Emily laughs when she slaps a real dollar into his, Henry and Jacks hands. The game continues and Hotch, Spencer and JJ are all very strategic about their moves. Averie, Rossi, me and Jack are all stuck in jail and Derek blows on the dice before he throws them down, groaning when he lands on a property with a hotel that JJ owns.

Derek hangs his head. "What do I owe you?"

JJ grins. "Two thousand even."

After Derek regretfully slides the cash over to her, we all laugh when he's left with only three dollar bills. Once the game picks back up, I nudge Derek's foot underneath the table before I sneakily slide him over a couple hundred. If he won't let me pay him back in real money, this will have to suffice for now.

Derek's hand lingers on mine underneath the table while he takes the money from me, smiling and shooting me a subtle wink before his touch disappears.

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling when my eyes dart around the table, making sure no one saw that. We're in the clear—fuck.

Averie is staring directly at me.

What the hell was that? She mouths to me across the table, her eyes wide.

What? I mouth back, keeping my innocent expression.

Her eyes dart around the table and when she finds no one paying attention to us, she nudges her head to the side and mouths kitchen, now.

I drain my wine glass before I follow behind her, wondering how the fuck I'm going to talk my way around this one. I have one option. Deny, deny, deny.

She's on me the second the kitchen door closes behind me. "Explain."

"So what? I helped him cheat. Monopoly is not that serious." I say through nervous laughter, dancing around the topic.

Averie raises a challenging eyebrow. "I don't care about the cheating, I want to know what that look I saw between you two was."

"Look?" I deflect through more nervous laughter. "You're crazy. There was no look." There was totally a look.

Averie's arms that were pinned across her chest lift into the air with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "Oh, okay, you're playing dumb. Let me clarify, I saw him give you the look that he wants to see you naked or he already has."

"No he didn't." He totally did. I grab the bottle of open wine and fill my glass as a way to avoid eye contact because she's completely right. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Is this.." Averie's voice lowers and she leans into me. "Is this why you were asking about the relationship stuff earlier?"

I harshly swallow a mouthful of wine. "No."

Yeah, she doesn't believe me one bit. "Can I just say something?" She asks. I open my mouth to protest and she scoffs, pumping her fingers in air quotes. "Even though nothing is going on?"

When I nod, she lowers her voice to a whisper. "Derek is amazing. One of the best people I know, but don't tell him I said that though or I'll never hear the end of it," She laughs quietly before her expression turns a little more serious. "But I know you're not the just hooking up type. And he is. And if you two are just having fun that's great, but I don't want to see you get hurt."

She's not lying. I'm not the just hooking up type and everything she knows about Derek is that he is that type.

When she's done speaking, I nod. "I promise there's nothing going on."

"Really?" She asks, looking like she's second guessing herself. "Damn," She mutters, shaking her head. "Maybe I am pregnant. I'm really off my game today."

I get Averie's concern, and as much as I don't want that concern to resonate with me, it does.

I'm still thinking about it all through the rest of the game of monopoly and dessert, when we all say goodbye for the night, and the whole drive back to Derek's house.

I'm washing my makeup off in the bathroom sink when I hear Derek walk into the room and step in behind me. His hands slide around my body and his hips press into mine when he leans over me and brushes a kiss between my shoulder blades. "Hey."

I splash my face with water once more before I grab a towel to pat my face dry. "Hey."

Derek eyes me cautiously and his hands pause on rubbing my hips, giving them a slight squeeze. "What's wrong?"

He can clearly sense something is wrong with my tone and I suppose there's no other way to approach this topic other than just coming out with it.

I catch his eyes through the mirror when I reach to tie my hair up. "Are you serious about us?"

Derek pauses in the middle of unclasping my necklace for me. "What?"

"Are you all in? because I'm all in." Not only do I think I'm past the point where I want to date someone for fun, but I've felt more for Derek in a couple weeks than I have for anyone. Ever. "I'm not saying I need more than what we are right now, but I need to know we could potentially be more someday."

Derek takes my face in his hands and releases a slow, steady breath. "Layla.. i've never felt this way for anyone before. This.." He gently rests his forehead to mine. "This is what I've been waiting for and fuck, I'm so scared.. but I'm all in with you."

The relief I feel at those words is unmatched. I'm so grateful it's me he's taking this chance with. When I listen to my heart, there's a feeling that's hard to ignore. This, us, is going to work.

Derek brushes a sweet kiss to my smiling lips. "I'll prove to you how serious I am."

A laugh escapes my lips. "If you're getting down on one knee you better have a huge rock."

Derek snorts at my comment but my eyes widen when he reaches over and grabs my tweezers from the bathroom counter.

"Really?" This is so much better. I've been trying to get him to let me pluck his eyebrows for weeks but he was being a little bitch about it. "I can do it?"

"You can do it." Derek says, placing the tweezers in my waiting hands. When I bring them to his face, he visibly winces and screws his eyes shut. "Please don't hurt me."

"It doesn't hurt," I laugh, closing the tweezers on an out of place eyebrow hair. "3..2..1.."

"Son of a bitch!"

-

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :) I think we're going to have a small time jump to Christmas to Derek and Layla's road trip to Chicago/ Derek's Christmas present to Layla in the next chapter:)