Is This Forever?

Late Night Conversations

June 1st, 2025

It was now 3 a.m. and Derek couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned but couldn't get in a good rhythm. So, he decided to call Tommy, you know? Take her up on her offer.

He knew she was asleep but he wanted to hear her voice since they were not sleeping together at the moment.

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Tommy heard her phone vibrate on her nightstand and quickly grabbed it. She had been awake for ten minutes but her voice was still groggy. So when she answered the phone, it seemed to Derek that she had just woken up.

"Hello?" she said turning on her back. "Hey, my love. Sorry to wake you I just needed to hear your voice." He said as he smiled. "What's wrong? Were your mom and aunt arguing again?" She said putting the phone on speaker and putting it on the pillow next to her.

"They behaved like adults tonight I was kind of surprised." He laughed. "If they were being good tonight. What made you want to call me?" She asked. "I missed you. I'm still used to you being right under me when I sleep, you know?" He informed.

"Maybe this weekend we can have a sleepover like we used to." She smiled. "That sounds good. But Tommy you haven't wanted to spend the night with me since I woke up. I mean yeah, after your shift when I woke up you came to the hospital and stayed with me all night but since then I haven't been able to hold you in the way that I want to." He said talking with his hands.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't even realize that I was distancing myself from you like that." She apologized. "No, I didn't want you to feel bad I was just throwing my thoughts out but anyway." He paused. "What if we went out to dinner this weekend as well? Like a sushi restaurant or your favorite Thai food place." He said throwing some ideas out there.

"I don't care where we go as long as we're doing it together." She said getting up from her bed and walking to the couch in her room. "Ok then. I'll surprise you." He said sitting up against his headboard. "Ok. It sounds like a plan." She smiled once again.

They both sat in comfortable silence for a while in the comfort of their rooms. Tommy's smelled of clean linen, But Derek's had a strong Cedar smell. Sometimes they would switch it up so that their homes would smell like each other.

"The doctor said that I could go back to work soon. He told me not to stress over the little things because that could put a strain on my heart." He informed. "Well, that's great love. I know you're ready to go back." She congratulated. "Well I am but I've barely gotten to see you since I got out of the hospital." He said picking at his comforter.

"I know. But we'll have two consecutive days to spend with each other so we'll make them last." She said.

On the other end, it sounded like Derek had just remembered something. "Tommy!" He said. "Yeah?" She replied. "I think my friends like you more than they like me." He laughed. "I doubt that's true." She also laughed. "No it is. So they're supposed to be leaving next Sunday and they wanted to go to dinner. They asked me if I wanted to go then took back their offer before I could say yes. They told me if you weren't coming I shouldn't bother." He ranted and Tommy couldn't help but laugh.
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As they talked on the phone all Tommy was thinking about was how she should be with him right now. She felt bad that he thought she wasn't expressing her feelings outright. She loves him and she should show it.

Derek was thinking differently. He knows that she's having a hard time coming to terms with her infidelity. But one, well two kisses weren't going to stop the love he had for her. Was it considered cheating? Yes. But would he ever think about leaving her? No. He loved her more than life itself and nothing was going to change that.

"Tommy I love you." He confessed. She fidgeted with her curls as he said this, like a boy-obsessed teenager. "I love you too." She smiled.

But before he said anything Tommy whispered, "Can I call you back?" Derek was confused and didn't say anything. So when she hung up he looked at the phone in shock.

He waited for about 30 minutes for her to call back but when she didn't he decided to try to go back to sleep.

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Right when he closed his eyes his phone, then started to ring. It was Tommy.

"Hello?" He said a bit annoyed. "Hey sorry I took so long but I have a surprise for you." She said. "What is it?" He said, the annoyance slowly creeping away. "Well, I need you to get out of bed and open your front door." She said and he could hear the smile in her voice.

Knowing what she was doing he hung up, got out of bed, and ran out of his room. When he opened the door he had been right about what she did. He propped the door open wider and picked her up. He kissed her as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as they were still in the hallway of his building. "You said you wanted to have a sleepover and I felt kind of guilty about you having to wait two days so I'm staying the night. It was also supposed to be a surprise that I took a week's worth of vacation time so wherever, whenever." She said.

"Okay. I can do that." He said as he put her down and grabbed her hand. They walked into the house together they didn't go far before Derek turned back around and locked the door.

Taking his place back on her side. He brought his finger to his lips in a shushing manner as they snuck past the couch, his mom was sleeping on.

They were sneaking around his home like it wasn't his and like they were once again in their 20s.

When they arrived to his room Tommy had smelt the candle that was burning in the corner of his room. "Is that a new candle because it smells really good." She admired. "When my aunt went to the mall the other day she picked it out for me." He said looking over at her. "You should let her pick out your candles more often." She whispered.

"You just got here and you're coming at me already?" He joked. "Why are we still whispering?" She asked changing her tone of voice midway through her sentence. He shrugged.

For some reason, they were also still standing by the door as if they were looking over his room. They started to walk further into the room when Tommy saw a picture on his dresser that wasn't there the last time she was there. The picture was Derek taking the picture, Barbra looking at the camera at the end, and Tommy in between them smiling.

Yes, she remembered when the picture was taken. But she didn't remember her ever seeing how the picture turned out. She took the picture from where it was sitting to get a better look. She was deep in thought when Derek came behind her kissing her on her shoulder, placing his hands on her waist. "The two most important women in my life." He said and she smiled.

"It's 5 o'clock in the morning. Can we go to bed?" He asked. She put the picture back down a followed him to his bed.

Once they got comfortable they turned to face each other. Tommy placed her hand on the side of his face and Derek pulled her in closer by her waist. "I love you, Tommy Vega." He said just above a whisper. "I love you too." She said as she closed the gap in-between them.

Before going to sleep Tommy turned around so that her back was facing him. She scooted back into him and he held her before they did eventually fall asleep.

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That night they both had the best sleep they'd had in months. It's been a while since they've held each other in that way. This was all that they wanted and all that they needed.

This was them being better.

TBC

(A/N) I just wanted to clarify that the "I love you, Tommy Vega" wasn't paying homage to the ending scene of 4x14 but a parallel to the 17th chapter of my book titled, "Am I Ready".