You couldn't recall ever being happier for a case to end. The BAU had been called in to assist in finding a kidnapper and the little boy he'd snatched. And find them you did, the confrontation ending with you putting a bullet in the kidnapper's heart. The child was still alive but in the ICU. You and the rest of the team were on the jet heading home.

The case had exhausted you and you leaned your head next to the window. You closed your eyes hoping to get a little sleep. Instead, your memory played back over the kidnapper's final moments. You knew he was not a good person. He had taken that boy and beaten him. That didn't make the fact that you killed him any easier to deal with.

"Hey," the deep voice came from beside you.

You opened your eyes and turned your head to find Derek Morgan in the seat beside yours, your heart raced a little before you could stop it. "Hey, yourself."

His gaze ran over you, studying you. "You doing okay?"

You shrugged and straightened in your seat. "I've had better days."

"I hear you. You're tough, you'll get through it." Derek patted your knee. "You let me know if you need anything, got it?"

"Got it," you assured with a nod of your head.

His phone rang and he stood as he answered it. "Hey, baby girl. Tell me something happy," he said with a big grin and you instantly knew Garcia was the caller. You followed him with your eyes as he moved back to his original seat on the other side of the plane, your heart breaking a little.

Truth was, you'd had a thing for Derek since the first time you met him. His easy-going nature and intense personality continued to win you over. Before long, you were completely in love. As far as you could tell, not only did he not feel that way for you, he barely even liked you.

Not that he was ever rude to you or anything like that. No, that wasn't Derek's style. In fact, he was always friendly and polite. And that was precisely the problem. Derek was a flirt. He would flash that grin and sweet talk and the girl would melt into a puddle at his feet. Once you noticed he wasn't like that with you, you attempted to initiate the flirting. He'd cleared his throat and excused himself to refill his coffee.

You sighed and turned your attention back to the window beside you. "That was not a happy sigh. Are you all right, Y/N?" Aaron Hotchner, your boss, took the seat Derek had vacated minutes before.

Knowing he wasn't remotely interested in your love life, or the lack thereof, you forced yourself to smile. "I'll be okay. He wasn't the first asshole I've shot and I doubt he'll be the last. I just wish we'd found him sooner."

"We all do. Garcia said the doctors think the boy will be fine."

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath for the first time since you pulled the trigger. "That's fantastic."

"That was all you, Y/N. You're the one that found his location." He shifted in his seat so he was turned more toward you. "You did fantastic work on this one."

Heat flooded your face. "Thanks, Hotch, but we all worked it together. It's a win for all of us."

He smiled. "You wouldn't be you if you thought any different. Still, good work."

You couldn't wipe the grin off your face as Hotch moved over to talk to Reid. Your boss was good at what he did, one of the best in fact, but he was stingy with the praise. It meant a lot that he'd gone out of his way to compliment your work. A glance around the cabin had your gaze falling on Derek as usual.

He had a scowl on his face as his eyes darted between you and Hotch. When he noticed you watching he turned his attention to his phone. Your good mood faded and you waited impatiently for the plane to land.

***

When you arrived back at the office, you dumped your files on your desk. The others were talking about the Bureau dinner the next night. It came around every year and gave you the chance to dress up and rub elbows with the higherups.

"What about you, Y/N? Are you going?" You turned in surprise to see JJ smiling at you.

You shook your head. "I don't think so. Not this year."

"Oh, you have to go," Penelope Garcia piped up, sounding so disappointed it made you smile. Her frown only made you grin wider.

"I love you, Garcia," you told her with a laugh.

"Hey, quit moving in on my woman," Derek teased, throwing his arm around Garcia's shoulders.

You swallowed your disappointment that you weren't his woman and turned back to your desk. You knew that there was nothing romantic between the two of them, but that didn't seem to matter to your heart. "Sorry. I have a date with my two favorite men tomorrow."

"Two?" Reid piped up.

You glanced at him with a smirk. "Ben and Jerry."

Hotch cleared his throat and you all turned to look at him expectantly. "Y/N I'd like to see you in my office for a minute. The rest of you go home and get some sleep."

You followed your boss into his office. He shut the door before sitting at his desk. He gestured to one of the chairs across from him. "Have a seat."

"What's up?"

"I need a favor. It's perfectly fine for you to say no so don't feel pressured."

Well, that was intriguing. "What do you need, Hotch?"

"I heard you telling the others you weren't going to the dinner tomorrow. I was wondering if I could change your mind about that." He held up a hand to stave off your protest as you opened your mouth to argue. "I'd like you to go with me."

That certainly wasn't what you were expecting. "Like a date?" you asked hesitantly. Your boss was an attractive man, but you weren't interested in him like that.

He smiled. "In a manner of speaking. The truth is, these things are a meat market. My attendance is mandatory I'm afraid and I'd prefer to have a date."

"So, I would be your shield?" Your lips twitched in amusement.

"That's one way to put it."

Your immediate impulse was to tell him no. To stay home with Netflix and ice cream as you had planned. The whole reason you weren't going was you had no desire to see Derek with whomever he decided to bring with him. You had to get past this and move on. And what better way to start than a platonic date with your boss. "It would be my honor, Hotch."

***

Everyone was meeting at the office and leaving together from there. Most of them had ducked out early to change but you'd brought your things with you. Your apartment was far from convenient and this was just easier. Not wanting to change in the restroom, you kicked Rossi out of his office and he happily vacated as he'd already gotten ready.

You slid into the dress you'd bought last year on closeout and hadn't gotten a chance to wear yet. The thick straps rested comfortably on your shoulders, leading to a delicately beaded bodice. The chiffon skirt had a slit in the side and it almost swam around you when you moved. But your favorite part was the back. It was entirely open from the hips up. You'd gotten it at 75% off and in your favorite color even. At least now it wouldn't go to waste.

You fixed your hair quickly, attempting to make it look slightly more elegant than normal. You put in your earrings and slid into the shoes that matched the beading on your dress. A grimace crossed your face as you glanced at the time. Everyone was supposed to meet in two minutes. You grabbed your clutch and tossed in your lipstick after you freshened up. Your phone and ID followed. Straightening your shoulders, you took a deep breath and opened the door.

Hotch was the first one to notice you as he'd been waiting for you to make your appearance. His eyes went wide as he took you in and he hurried over to the stairs to meet you. The others were drawn by the movement and their conversation died down.

"You look stunning," Hotch said as he offered you a hand.

"Thanks." You still felt awkward but his words helped considerably.

He led you over to the rest of the group and you gave them a little wave.

"You look amazing," JJ told you.

You bowed your head slightly. "Thank you. You look pretty snazzy yourself."

"I thought you weren't coming?" Derek's voice sounded almost harsh and you turned to meet the gaze you'd been avoiding since you came out of Rossi's office. His expression was hard.

"I received an offer I couldn't refuse." At your words, your date stood beside you and placed a hand on your back.

Derek looked at the two of you before huffing a laugh. "Of course," he muttered. Garcia smacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand and he grunted before glaring at her.

"Do we have a problem here, Morgan?"

He shook his head though his jaw was still tight. "No problem, Hotch. Just surprised is all."

They called up to say the car was there and everyone moved toward the elevator. Once you were all inside, you stopped the door just before it closed. "I forgot my wrap. You all go on. I'll be down in a minute."

You grabbed the wrap from your desk and turned, jumping when you realized you weren't alone. Derek's dark eyes were watching you as he waited by the door. "Do you think it's a good idea to date your boss?"

You bit back the snarky remark that sat on the tip of your tongue. "A date does not equal dating, Derek. Besides, I'm just doing him a favor. He didn't want to go alone."

"Whatever you gotta tell yourself." He smashed the button to call the elevator.

Tears burned the back of your eyes and you hated it, hated feeling this way. Gathering all the courage you possessed, you turned to your fellow agent, arms crossed over your chest. "Have I done something to you?"

He glanced at you with an arched brow. "What?"

"Have I done something to anger you in some way? To make you dislike me?"

He frowned and ignored the elevator when it opened. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you flirt with every female you encounter. Except me. With everyone else on the team you're fun and happy. With me, you're proper and polite. And now you're pissed I'm going to the dinner tonight when I don't see why it should matter to you at all." You shook your head and turned your back to him. "I understand if you don't care about me like I do you, but I don't understand why we can't at least be friends."

There was a stretch of silence. "You're right. I don't want to be friends with you, Y/N. I never have."

You started to turn to protest, but a warm hand on your arm stopped you.

"Don't turn around. Just let me say this."

He sounded...nervous? No, that couldn't be right. Derek Morgan was never nervous about anything.

"I'm polite with you because I have no idea how to act around you. I don't flirt because I'm afraid it would mean more to me than to you. And I'm thrilled you're going to the dinner. I'm just pissed you're going with Hotch."

"Are you saying..." you trailed off, afraid of what the answer to your question might be.

He turned you to face him with a hand on your elbow. His other hand wrapped around the side of your neck. "I'm saying I never wanted to be your friend because I fell head over heels the minute Hotch introduced you to the rest of us." His thumb brushed across your cheek.

"You talk to women all the time, Derek. It's what you do."

He grinned and your knees went a little weak. "Because they don't matter, sweetheart. You do."

"Damn it, Morgan." You shoved him back a step. "I was even getting jealous of Garcia."

His brows lifted. "Garcia?"

"I know you guys aren't like that, but you're so easy with her. I envied that. I just wanted a glimpse of what it could look like."

Your confession caused him to grin again. He closed the distance between the two of you and settled his hands on your hips. "I can give you a hell of a lot more than a glimpse if you'll let me."

When you thought back on this moment later, you could never be sure who moved first. Maybe you met in the middle. It wasn't important. All that mattered was that you were finally kissing the man you'd been in love with for months. And he was finally kissing the woman that took his breath away every time she walked into a room. Your arms wrapped around his neck to pull him closer and his hands moved to the bare skin of your back. You had no idea how long the two of you were lost in each other before the clearing of a throat caught your attention.

You pulled away from Derek and turned to see Hotch smirking at the two of you from the elevator. Remembering you were supposed to be his date, you wiped your fingers across your lips. "Oh, Hotch. I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be. I'm just glad tonight finally broke him. We were all running out of ideas."

You blinked in stunned silence until Derek started laughing beside you, the fingers of the hand still on your back pressing into your skin. His laughter was contagious and you joined in, burying your head against his side.

"Are you two coming?" your boss asked.

Any desire to go to the dinner had left you, but you glanced up at Derek, ready to follow his lead.

He smiled down at you before shaking his head at Hotch. "No. My girl and I have other plans."