without you¹ | derek morgan. ✓

32 | persuasion

charlotte's pov.

"Derek..." I mumble in a raspy tone.

I catch Derek's attention almost immediately. He looks up, his sad and longing eyes meeting my puffy eyes, holding my gaze.

A small smile dances on my lips, "Y-You prayed for me." I state in a raspy tone.

Derek sits there with his jaw dropped slightly, his facial expression showing that he's stunned, "Y-You're awake." He states.

I nod, giggling softly at his shock, "It seems that way, huckleberry." I state.

Tears stream down his cheeks as he lets out a heavy sigh, followed by a sob.

My brow furrows, "Oh, huckleberry. Why are you crying?" I ask in a concerned tone.

Derek shakes his head, "You're awake." He states, repeating his previous sentence.

I arch my brow a bit in confusion, "Am I not supposed to be awake? I'll go back to sleep if you want me to." I offer, giving my shoulders a little shrug as I readjust my pillow to a more comfortable situation.

Derek jolts out of the chair at my bedside, stopping me from lying back down to go back to sleep, "No! No more sleeping, please." He pleads, his tone practically begging me to stay awake.

His eyes meet mine, our faces inches apart. I let out a small exhale, a small smile dancing on my lips.

Derek lets out a small sigh, scratching the back of his neck, "I, uh, I just- you really fucking scared me, and I'm scared to let you go back to sleep." He admits.

I nod, giggling softly, "I can tell. You were talking a lot, huckleberry. You're talking woke me up." I state.

Derek lets out a breathy chuckle, "Yeah, uh, how much of that did you hear?" He asks.

I shrug my shoulders a bit, "Not too much of it, just a couple of parts." I lie, smiling softly.

Derek nods, taking a step back away from my hospital bed. He scratches the back of his neck, pacing a couple of times as his brow furrows--he's thinking or concentrating.

He sighs again as he stops pacing, "I, uh, I have to tell Dr. Kepner and Dr. Shepherd that you're awake now." He states.

"Shouldn't you be on bed rest?" I ask, my brow arching slightly.

He shakes his head, shrugging a bit, "I have broken a lot of rules today, so, I really don't think that the doctors will mind." He states, chuckling lightly.

I giggle, "Ah, Derek Morgan, the absolute badass who breaks every rule." I tease.

Derek chuckles again, "Haha, very funny, newbie. You're quite full of yourself. How many doses of medication did they put you on?" He asks, curiously.

I shake my head lightly, "You're just mad because I constantly beat you at this whole teasing thing we got going on here." I state, shrugging my shoulders a bit.

Derek hums in response to my words, "Is that so?" He asks, jolting out of his seat and tackling me onto the bed.

I giggle breathlessly as Derek tickles my sides. Our laughter fills the room, making me feel like I'm in my safe haven again.

•••

time lapse: a week later.

It's been a week since Derek and I both got released from the hospital--I haven't seen or talked to him since. I've been doing minimal work, and I was put on a temporary leave of absence for work because the doctor said I had to talk it easy.