Nathan p.o.v

I had no idea what to feel when Rose dropped the bomb on me that she missed Derek. That she actually, like really missed Derek. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard those words being spoken, leaving her mouth like... like it was nothing. 

I had to keep my cool in front of her. And to be completely honest, I again had no fucking clue as to why I reacted so immensely strongly to Rose missing Derek. 

Was I afraid she might not know what she was feeling and made the wrong choice of wanting to be with Derek again? Yes, absolutely yes. But, Rose never said she want to be with Derek again. She just said she missed him. 

Was I afraid Rose might end up hurt again by Derek? Yes, yes, just YES! But, Derek missed her too and he wouldn't fuck things up again, right? And still, if he does I would be there to intervene, to help her, to be there for her. So, Rose was going to be totally fine. 

Oh my god! 

I felt like a protective mother or something, this was insane. I am so stressed and excited at the same time because there was a part of me that I wanted for both of them to end up together. 

But was it too soon? 

I didn't know, that's why I was kept going with the questions. I needed to know how she really felt. Rose was a person that didn't completely understand feelings and emotions. She would act on what she felt right at that moment, I had noticed. Especially if she was little. 

Wait. 

Was she in her little space right now? 

I moved my eyes up towards the rearview mirror. I saw my gorgeous boy and the lovely girl, Rose, sitting next to each other. Max was busying himself with his Cars toy and Rose was absentmindedly stroking her stuffie, her reindeer she had called Aurora. 

I couldn't really tell if she was, but I didn't think so. 

Her calm aura made me convince otherwise. Rose in little space meant little talks from time to time. She would point at something that interested her, talk about it for some decent minutes, and went back to being quiet again. 

Big Rose was a very shy and silent person. I would almost say next to that she was quite depressed. Never was there a smile being found on her face whenever she was big, Rose was quiet all the time and even with my new rule, she would talk the bare minimum.

This was one of the many reasons why I wanted Rose to end up with Derek because even though he was a jackass to her. He did make her feel loved, safe, and most importantly happy. 

Rose, was like the name she carried, blooming next to Derek, it was almost like he was her sunshine.  

I felt such a rush when I was driving the little ducks to Derek's place. I had to calm myself down. Nothing was wrong, everything was fine. Everything is fine.

I had texted Derek just before we left. I was slightly impressed that I didn't forget to do that while all these protective and stressed feelings were swarming through me. 

I just hope Rose will not regret her choice of seeing Derek now. 

Rose p.o.v

Nathan looked tensed when we were in the car. I had already noticed when I told him that I missed Derek he had quite a strong reaction, but I couldn't really pinpoint why he reacted the way he did. 

When we were all ready to go and the car was already roaring, Max shouted to stop the car to Nathan. 

I had expected Nathan to give his signature glare toward Max and growl lowly about why he shouldn't shout while he would drive the car. But he just asked Max to lower his voice and asked what was wrong. 

"I forgot my toy Daddy. Can I please get it, please, please, please?" He clasped his hands in front of him, begging Nathan to leave the car to get his toy. 

 Nathan gave his permission and we were on the road about some five minutes later. 

I was excited to visit Derek. All I really wanted was to snuggle up into his side and feel safe again like I did last time. I had such a peaceful nap then. No nightmares, no weird dreams, no nothing. Just peace. 

We arrived pretty quickly at Derek's house. I had thought I would have bad memories popping up in my head. Like me running away when Derek choose Olivia over me. That memory did give me a sharp aching feeling in my chest. 

They broke up, they broke up, they broke up, I kept on chanting in my head. 

I just didn't want to see Derek as the bad guy anymore. He was my savior, he was the first person who actually cared for me. He was the one who taught me so many things and the most important thing was that he never judged me for who I was and am. 

I wasn't the smartest, prettiest, or easiest person, but he took me in. And most importantly he made me feel like me. When I was sitting next to him in the park, I felt more like myself again. That whole that I felt in me felt filled up when I was near him. 

It was then that I realized that I missed Derek. 

Max was being nice to me as well. I think he was indeed jealous and when he heard I missed Derek, he knew there was nothing to be worried about. 

I felt bad that I made him feel like I was interested in Nathan, but I tried to keep my distance and give them space, even though I felt alone, to keep that from happening. 

We drove on his driveway when I saw Derek already waiting on the doorstep of his huge house. Still to this day I was impressed by its size. I couldn't wait until I could finally get my seatbelt of off me. 

So the moment I couldn't hear the engine anymore I did just that and within seconds I was outside walking on the driveway towards Derek. I couldn't help myself and sped up my walking which quickly turned into running. 

I ran straight into his arms, hugging him tightly. I was still puzzled by my own feelings. How could I have missed someone so much as this guy, the guy that was so mean to me? The guy that made me feel not welcome anymore. The guy that didn't care for me anymore. 

I didn't know why and I couldn't understand it, but all I did know was that I wanted to be close to this man. 

Derek stumbled a few steps backward, startled by my actions. "Wow there, sweetheart. Hello to you too," he chuckled. 

I mumbled a hello and kept nuzzling my face into his chest, drenching myself with his comfortable smell. How I missed it. 

Gently Derek put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back a bit. "There you are. Heard you missed me." I nodded my head. 

"Well," he started as he crouched down, "I missed you too Rose... I missed you too." A small smile settled on his lips. 

Derek stood up when he heard Nathan and Max coming up to us from behind me. "Hey guys, what a nice surprise!" 

"Hey, uncle Derek! Do you have ice cream?" 

"Max," Nathan scolded. "Not now." 

The scolding and glare didn't faze Max much as he shrugged his shoulders. "How about we all go inside?" Derek suggested. 

"Lovely idea," Nathan sighed. 

A/N: I am back, I hope. I will try to keep the updates, but if Wednesday doesn't work out I will only upload on Saturdays. I am quite busy which doesn't give me lots of space to think about my stories. 

If you want you can keep reading further on my Patreon (see bio for link), chapter 42 is uploaded there. 

Please let me know what you think. 

Thanks for reading and have a nice day!