Derek

"What do you say we get out of here?" I said, holding a Cam tightly against my chest as we laid in bed tangled up together. Last night, after our conversation, she fell asleep in my arms and we stayed that way until morning. We both slept solidly and had only woken up a few minutes ago.

"Here like bed?" Cam asked, glancing up at me. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying the night before, but she had the cutest little playful smile on her lips. I knew it hadn't been easy for her to tell me all of that, but I could already tell it didn't feel so heavy on her this morning.

"Here like New York." I kissed her forehead. "I have no intention of getting out of this bed today."

"Mmm." She snuggled deeper into me. "Staying in bed all day sounds great, but I don't think Riley will go for that."

"Already taken care of. Kate and Cole are taking the girls to Coney Island today and Riley is going to tagalong. In fact, I'm betting Cole already picked her up. That's why it's so quiet around here."

"You just think of everything, don't you?"

"Well, this was purely selfish. I need some time with you to myself." I smirked, tilting her chin up and pressing my lips to hers. I knew after what she experienced, Cam probably wasn't ready to be intimate yet. But I was happy right here. Just holding her in my arms and talking. I would never take the little things like this for granted again.

"But I'm serious. Pick a place and we'll get away for a few weeks. Maybe even months. Whatever you want."

"Don't you have to work?" She was skeptical.

"I'm not going to be working for a while." I said. "Will and I have decided that we're going to go completely legitimate with the company and cut all ties with organized crime."

"Wow. Really?" She sat up a bit, leaning on her elbow.

I nodded. "I have a family now. It's not worth the risk. And that means I can work anywhere."

Cam's face lit up. "How about San Diego?"

"Perfect."

"Or Seattle."

"Even better."

"Or we could just go back to Vancouver. Riley really loved it there."

"I love it there too." I smiled. "We'll go where ever you want. New York is nice, but it's bogged down with a lot of bad memories, and I think we all could use a fresh start."

"I think a fresh start sounds great."

Camryn

Derek's phone started to ring, and he rolled his eyes as he reached for it. "Hello?"

I couldn't tell who was on the other end, but Derek seemed irritated.

"Oh." He said suddenly, his eyes widening. "OK, that's great, thanks!"

"Who was that?" I asked as he hung up.

"Will." He said. "He's bringing something up. Would you mind getting the door?"

I arched my eyebrow at him in confusion. "Why can't you?"

"Because I don't have any clothes on."

"Neither do I." I let out a sharp laugh. Why was he acting so strange?

"Yeah, but it's easier for you to get dressed. It'll just take a minute." He said, trying to hide his grin. Something was definitely going on.

"I thought I was supposed to be resting?"

"It's better if you get your exercise. Keep your strength up."

"You hardly wanted me to walk from the couch to bed last night."

"Would you stop being a pain in the ass and just get the damn door?" He laughed, shaking his head.

I rolled my eyes, climbing out of bed and putting some sweats on.. "You're acting highly suspicious, Mr. Bennett."

"Chop, chop!" He shooed me out of the room and towards the front door.

He definitely had something up his sleeve. I just wasn't sure what yet. Maybe flowers being delivered or something like that?

I open the door, expecting to find a delivery man, but instead, my dad was there.

"Dad?" I was in complete shock. Was this really happening? I hadn't seen my dad in years.

"It's really you." His eyes filled up with tears as he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. Neither One of us seemed to want to let go just in case this wasn't real.

Finally, we broke apart. "Look at you." My dad sighed heavily, eyeing the bruising and cuts in my face. It had healed quite a bit the last few days, but I'm sure it still looked awful to him.

"I'm okay. Robby is gone for good." I assured him. "Why don't you come inside?"

I shut the door behind us and led my dad into the living room. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. How in the world did Derek pull this off?

"Have you been here the whole time? Since you left him?" My dad asked, looking around the enormous apartment as he sat down.

"No, we were mostly up in Vancouver. Derek has a few safe houses there."

"Derek."

I nodded. "He's..."

"Hi Mr. Sullivan. It's nice to finally meet you." Derek appeared from the bedroom, smiling gently.

"It's nice to finally put a face to the man who saved my girls." My dad smiled, still very emotional, and shook Derek's hand.

"You two have been talking?" I asked, completely blindsided.

Derek nodded. "I called him when you were in the hospital and we made arrangements for him to come and see you."

"And to finally meet my granddaughter." My dad said.

That was all I had ever wanted. It was so surreal that he was standing here now, talking to Derek and with me in person. I shoved him away for so long trying to keep the peace in my relationship, but I didn't have to do that anymore. Derek was the one who brought him here.

"Riley is with my brother and nieces for a while today because I thought you two could use a little time to talk." Derek said. "But she'll be back this evening."

"How about some water, dad?" I asked, needing some myself. This was all so overwhelming.

"That would be great." He smiled, sitting down on the couch.

Derek followed me into the kitchen. "I hope this is okay."

"Of course it's okay." I threw my arms around his neck and kissing him. "How did you pull this off?"

"I knew it was important to you." He smiled. "I'm going to go downstairs for a while and work with Will, so you guys have some time to catch up."

"You are so incredible. Thank you." I bit my lip. How did I even deserve Derek? He was so kind and conscientious and always thinking of Riley and I. It was almost unfathomable after what I'd experienced with Robby. I didn't even know how to properly thank him or be appreciative. It would never be enough.

"Don't thank me, just enjoy your time with your dad." He kisses me again. "By the way, he'll be here a few days, but he's staying downstairs in case, you know... things get noisy." He winked seductively.

I knew exactly where his head was at and laughed. "Ill keep that in mind, thanks."

"Bye babe." He spot me a smile and disappeared.

I got two glasses of water and headed back into the living room.

"So you are planning to live here with him..."

I smiled, knowing exactly what my dad was wondering. "Yes. He really loves us, dad, and we love him too. He's amazing. So sweet to Riley and already way more of a father to her than Robby ever was. He's saved my life many times, and I never would have gotten the courage to be able to leave if it hadn't been for him. And he would die before ever hurting either of us."

My dad smiled, tears welling in his eyes again. "You know, you've never talked about Robby that way. Every time you used to talk about him, it seemed like it was what you thought you should be doing. Not because you loved him or he was a good guy. I'm not crazy about the idea of you jumping right back into a relationship, but I can tell it's already different with Derek than it ever was with Robby."

"We're taking it slow, I promise. I'm not jumping back in to anything. Derek is very intentional about taking things at my speed."

"He seems like a really great guy." My dad nodded. "I've gotten to talk to him the last few days, and he talks about you the same way you talk about him. I can tell how much he cares about both you and Riley."

"He does." I agreed. "I'm so sorry, dad. I never should have let Robby keep me away from you guys. I feel sick about it."

"All that matters is that we're here together now, Cam." He reached over, squeezing my hand tightly.

He was right. The only thing that mattered was right here and now. Derek. Riley. My dad. Our future. For the first time, I was feeling like maybe I could leave the part in the past. I couldn't let it ruin anything else, and I would do whatever I had to do to be sure it didn't.