"wake up, wake up,"

y/n whispered with her lips brushing derek's cheek,

where she then planted a quick kiss to his jawline.

derek stirred awake with a smile,

but kept his eyes closed and began wrapping y/n in his arms to bring her to his chest.

"mm, it's too early."

"i know it is. but you've got breakfast to make."

she giggled and kissed his adam's apple.

"why? i'm not hungry."

"ha ha, you're so funny."

"thank you, love."

"now, when you're done making jokes, i'll be waiting for the breakfast made by the love of my life."

derek opened his eyes to meet with y/n's gaze,

and let a grin dance across his lips.

"love of your life, huh?"

"precisely,"

she whispered then laid a quick kiss to his lips.

y/n then skipped out of the bed and into the bathroom,

leaving derek to sit back against the headboard in admiration.

he had never been so content with his life until now.

y/n was a woman after his own heart,

and he knew he would never love another like her.

he got up and began to do as y/n wished,

which was making her breakfast,

and never let the smile against his lips falter.

y/n soon came up from behind derek and wrapped her arms around his waist.

derek turned himself around to embrace y/n in his arms,

"have i ever told you how much i love you?"

"no, i don't think so. maybe you should say it again."

"i love you."

he laid a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose,

where she scrunched it up instinctively,

then met derek in the middle for a loving kiss.

"i think you're burning the food, lover boy."

derek and y/n laughed as one while he hurried to save their breakfast.

"you distracted me,"

he defended.

"i'm sorry, i couldn't help myself."

he smiled down at her and placed the plate in front of her,

where he began to fill it with the prepared food.

"you didn't make any for yourself, love?"

"nah. i should head into work early."

"awh, come on. enjoy some breakfast with your girlfriend."

derek laughed and took a piece of the fruit on her plate,

"relax, mama, you still get me for about fifteen minutes."

"and then you'll be gone for days,"

she sighed dramatically with a giggle,

letting the tips of her fingers trace his cheek.

he kissed the inside of her palm before speaking,

"you know i don't want to be."

"i do know. but, i also know you're the best profiler, and that you're out saving lives."

"yeah? the best, huh?"

"oh, yeah. my own superhero. i'm forever proud of you, derek morgan."

y/n smiled and reached across the table to join derek in another sweet, tender kiss that filled his body up with bliss.

"thank you,"

he whispered just above a breath,

where he could feel y/n's smile growing against his lips.

"i love you,"

she spoke in the same quiet tone derek did.

but she soon sat back in her chair and continued eating,

"so, how do you feel about you and i going to dinner and a movie?"

"a movie? what just came out?"

"no, no, i mean the old theater."

"where they play all the black and white movies? babe, come on,"

derek laughed and leaned against the counter.

y/n scoffed playfully,

"hey, you've never actually seen one. they're so good, derek. you'll love them."

"uh...anything for you, love."

"see? you're learning!"

the two of them laughed together again like they had always done before he pressed a kiss to her cheek and walked into their room to get ready.

as he bounced around from the bathroom to the closet,

he'd find little tokens of their love lying around:

notes she'd write and place in his lunch,

pictures of them from all their years as lovers,

letters he had written to her when away.

the smile against his lips was genuine,

and he had never felt happier.

when he walked out to the living room again,

he found y/n laid asleep on the couch.

he chuckled,

knowing y/n hated mornings,

and kneeled to her level.

derek brushed a strand of hair from her eyes,

and let the pad of his thumb caress her cheek,

"hey, i've got to go."

her eyes fluttered open,

and a smile was immediate to her lips.

she sat up and cupped her hand around his cheek,

"have a good day, my love. be safe, okay?"

"i will. you, too. call me when you get home from work."

she nodded and let their lips come together as one,

where they relished in the sweet peace they brought to one another.

y/n sat at her work desk,

letting her fingers swiftly type against the keyboard to complete the necessary paperwork.

her phone began to ring inside of her pocket,

where she found a call coming through from an unfamiliar number.

she quickly excused herself and walked out of the building,

"hello?"

"hello? is this y/n l/n?"

"yes, who is this?"

"this is doctor jameson. i'm calling you in regards of derek morgan, he's been severely injured on the job and told me to call you as soon as i could."

"oh my god...is-is he okay?"

"..i hope so. i've sent a car to pick you up and bring you here to see him at his request."

"o-okay. thank you."

y/n hurried to clock out and ran back outside of the building to await for her car.

she instantly called penelope garcia,

but had her call go to voicemail.

"hey, garcia, it's y/n. i just got the call derek is in the hospital and i'm assuming you're already there. they just sent a car out for me so i'll be there soon, please call me back when you can."

a car stopped in front of her,

where the window then rolled down,

"y/n l/n?"

y/n, without missing a beat, got inside of the car and began to writhe in anticipation.

but it wasn't until the doors locked that she realized something seemed off.

"what...what hospital is derek at?"

"uh..naval health clinic."

y/n shook her head,

"no...that's not his hospital...please pull over and let me out."

when she turned to meet the man driving,

everything suddenly went black.

"hey, derek, have you talked to y/n?"

penelope asked.

"not since this morning. why? is she inviting you to that old theater tonight?"

"no, no. she left an odd voicemail, like, thirty minutes ago. said you were in the hospital or something?"

"what?"

derek got to his feet and looked over her shoulder down at her phone,

and there y/n's message replayed for the whole office to hear,

"hey, garcia, it's y/n. i just got the call derek is in the hospital and i'm assuming you're already there. they just sent a car out for me so i'll be there soon, please call me back when you can."

"did you call her back?"

"y-yeah, like five times but she never picked up."

"garcia, find out who she talked to before she called you."

derek's heart was racing now,

and his mouth was beginning to run dry.

"do you think somethings wrong?"

spencer asked.

derek could only nod his head,

"..she got into someone's car, reid."

derek, with shaky hands, pulled his phone out and began to call y/n.

after a few rings,

he was sent to voicemail too.

so he tried again,

only to receive nothing.

"i'll-i'll get hotch."

spencer hurried off to find hotch,

but derek only paced the floor.

y/n woke up with a certain ringing to her ears,

and a throbbing head.

"oh, damn,"

she groaned out,

letting her eyes slowly open to reveal the unfamiliar room.

"derek?"

she called out hoarsely,

though she knew it was a long shot.

when she tried to move,

she realized her hands and feet were tied.

panic settled within her,

and she suddenly realized she had been taken hostage.

she struggled against the rope that bonded her to the chair,

but only found it digging deeper into her skin.

a man stepped inside the room and came as no familiarity to y/n.

"well, derek morgan sure does have taste,"

he chuckled darkly,

letting his fingers caress her cheek.

"what do you want from me?"

"it's not what i want from you, but what i want from derek. how far do you think he's willing to go for his helpless, idiotic girlfriend? hm?"

"so, what? you're going to kill me?"

"...eventually, yes. but for now,"

the man, with an evil glint in his eye, placed the tip

of the hot knife against her skin,

where a piercing scream erupted from her throat.

hours had passed by them now,

and derek had never been so on edge.

this morning had been one of the best mornings spent with y/n,

and now it was ripped beneath him before he could truly realize.

he walked out of the room in a hurry and into the bathroom,

where he allowed his heavy breathing to become shorter by the second.

losing y/n would be life's cruelest joke.

and in losing her,

he's lose a piece of himself too.

derek lowered his head,

"please...let her live,"

he begged beneath his breath to the gods above,

"punish me, not her. please...just don't let this happen."

he let the cool water splash across his face,

then recollected himself to try and find y/n.

when he walked out of the bathroom,

he was met with jj.

"hey...you okay?"

"i'm okay as one can be in this situation."

jj quickly pulled derek into a hug,

"we'll find her, morgan. god as my witness."

jj pulled back to meet derek with teary eyes.

"hey, hey, not you too,"

he chuckled as best he could,

wiping away her stray tears.

"i know...she's just family too, you know?"

"i know."

"let's go find this son of a bitch."

y/n shook her head and let a string of cries leave past her lips.

"stop...please,"

she whispered with her head hanging low.

"hurts, doesn't it?"

"please...let me go..."

her body ached with different types of pain:

burns, sores, cuts.

she lifted her head and faced him,

"he'll...kill you..."

"before i kill you?"

derek nearly took the door of its hinges when he busted inside.

him and his team searched around the house,

but came up empty.

until the piercing scream erupted throughout the house that sent the wrong kind of chills down derek's spine.

he hurried down to the source of her scream,

and came up to the basement door.

he kicked it open and pointed his gun directly at the man,

who, too, had y/n held at gunpoint.

"one step closer and your girlfriend is gone."

derek was quick to stick his hands up in surrender,

"let her go. what happened is between you and i, not her."

"isn't it, though? you took everything away from me!"

"i was only doing my job...let her go."

"you-you ruined my life, agent morgan. isn't it only fair i ruin yours?"

a gunshot rang throughout the air,

and the man who took y/n fell to his feet.

jj remained from behind them,

and was soon putting her weapon away.

y/n fell to the floor as well,

her body shaking with sobs and aches.

derek rushed to her,

"hey..hey, love, i'm here."

he held her in his arms,

noticing the clothes she wore were soaked with blood.

she gasped,

"derek?"

the faint smile was evident against her lips.

derek felt his eyes pool with tears,

"yeah, it's me."

"i love you."

her breathing was shallow,

and she soon fell limp in his arms.

***

when y/n woke up again,

she was in the comfort of a hospital bed.

she wondered if the events that had occurred were some sick, twisted dream from a coma she might have been in,

but it was only confirmed with the slightest movement.

her body ached and screamed with pain as she adjusted herself.

she pulled her shirt up to reveal a long, now stitched, cut.

"y/n,"

derek whispered,

rushing to the side of her bed with a worried look.

she smiled despite the soreness,

"hey, you."

"please tell me you're okay."

"..fine. this is gonna scar pretty bad, huh?"

"yeah...yeah, it will."

y/n looked at him to see the guilt etched in his expression.

she sighed,

"do not go blaming yourself, derek morgan. you hear me? what happened was my fault. what idiot gets inside a strangers car?"

she snickered darkly,

then winced from the abdominal pain.

derek laced their hands together and pressed the softness of the back of her hand to his lips.

he let it linger there for a moment,

and allowed her natural scent to engrain his lungs.

"i'll never take you for granted again, y/n. i'll-i'll go to any movie theater you want, eat wherever you want, buy you whatever you want. as long as you're here with me."

this declaration of love sent y/n's heart to melt.

"thank you for saving me. my own superhero."

"i'll fight for you until the day i die."