Gold Blood (Criminal Minds, Derek Morgan x OC Fanfiction)

Derek Begins

[Third Person’s Point of View]

Derek had never wanted a woman as much as he did Elizabeth Dawson.

At first he theorized that it was because she was his friend, therefore, she was a forbidden fruit, and anything forbidden always have some kind of gravity about them–something wrong yet feel so right.

But then again, Penelope Garcia was also his best friend. Prentiss and JJ were his friends too, and he never wanted them–especially not the way he wanted Liz. There were times when Derek thought he wanted Elizabeth because of how sweet she looked to him: redhead, hazel eyes, petite and soft mannered–so he dated and slept with a bunch of redheads, specifically with the ones that shared similar figure and physical characteristics as Elizabeth. But the relief from the sex, offered only temporary fix and never really satisfied him. Come Monday, he’d see Elizabeth again, flirted casually with her again for the thousandth time, yet deep down, he would still secretly longing for her; not just sexually, but more.

So much more than he’d like to admit.

Derek could easily ask her out years ago, but two things held him back. One, sleeping with her would mean dooming their friendship, the one he couldn’t afford to lose. God knows how much he valued her  presence in his life, and he preferred to keep her close to him. Two, Elizabeth either feared men or the thought of having romantic relationship with one, or both, and recently he finally knew why.

In the midst of the darkest side of humanity that he witnessed everyday, Elizabeth was a safe place, the very person that reminded him that the job was something worth doing. Out there, in the world, with every unsub that they caught, they were keeping good, innocent people like Liz safe.

Being around her felt almost therapeutic for Derek, even when she was being quiet and that there was nothing being said between them. There was something exquisitely simple about Elizabeth Dawson, despite how complicated the woman actually was. Even being present in a moment as simple as when he was watching her fold her laundry in her small living room, with the sound of her tv on the background, was enough to make him feel at peace. It made him feel miles away from Quantico.

In other words, she felt like home.

Every time he had a bad day, she was always the first one he would come to for solace. He’d selfishly want to get her alone just to be with her and hear her talk about anything and everything, distracting him with her soft spoken words. When things were particularly bad, she would eventually find out, even on those rare times when Derek chose to face it alone. In that case, she’d always make an exception for him–she’d initiate a touch: a hug, hand holding, resting her chin on his shoulder–any physical touch that Derek would, on any other occasion, initiate first by nature.

Elizabeth Dawson was his God-given solace.

In return, Derek offered his protection and care–no questions asked.

He never asked why she would take advantage and heavily returned his flirtatious behavior towards her when there were other men present who seemed to be taking interest in her. He never asked why she looked like a deer in headlights whenever a man other than the ones in the team would stand too close to her. In that case, he would, without being asked, step up and find excuses to pull her to him and save her. He never asked why she used him like a shield, but never seemed to want more from him. There were moments when the thought annoyed Derek to no end, but as soon as he saw another man trying to get close to his baby, he was more than eager to sort of claim her.

Eventually, it became their unspoken thing, and Derek would use those moments to his advantage. He would openly named her his 'girl' whenever they sat across some FBI trainees at a table in a club the team frequent. While she was saying that she and Derek were friends, he would let his platonic kiss linger on her temple a little too long, and stared at the stupid young men with a look that say: