Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise

For Em, for the Drabble Game

EmilyDerek - "Red bull gives you wings, you know?"

Word Count - 1103

Rated for mild sexual innuendo.

Insomnia

Emily was tired.

Not that that was anything new, she suffered with insomnia on and off. They all did, it was a hazard of the job. Not that that was helping her at the moment.

"Red Bull gives you wings, you know? Drink anymore of that and you won't need the jet to get home."

Emily flipped Derek off, groaning when he confiscated her half empty can.

"Why are you being so cruel?" she asked him, looking up to meet his eyes.

"You need sleep, Princess, not more caffeine and sugar and whatever other crap they put into these drinks. Besides, Hotch just said wheels are up in an hour, and the airport is half an hour away, so we gotta go."

Emily sighed deeply but nodded, dragging herself up from the chair and grabbing her briefcase. "Come on then. Hopefully by the time we get home, I'll actually be able to sleep."

"How long has it been?" Derek asked, his arm going around her shoulders. With his free hand, he took her briefcase from her.

"I don't even know," she complained. "I feel like I've forgotten what a good night's sleep even is."

Derek nodded, but she could practically feel his concern in the way his arm tightened around her as he led her out to the car.

She was surprised when he settled himself into the seat beside her. They all had their rituals for the place ride home after a case, and Derek's was normally to settle into an empty set of seats with his headphones in to decompress.

The lights were dimmed before take off, and once they were in the air, dimmer even further, just light enough for those that wanted to look over case files or read during the flight.

Emily could feel her eyes dropping, the length between blinks getting longer and longer. Her head rolled to the side, coming into contact with something hard, shocking her back upright.

Derek was watching her, and he raised his arm in invitation. It was only a momentary hesitation before she gave in, falling into his side with her head on his chest.

It was seconds before she gave into sleep.

She slept solidly until Derek was waking her up to disembark the plane.

…

"Not sleeping again?"

Emily sighed, looking up from her file. They'd had a quiet few weeks at the BAU, but even being in her own bed every night wasn't helping her insomnia.

She shrugged. "It is what it is. Everyone has problems with sleep, Derek. Mine are just… showing up a little more, these days."

"Are you having nightmares?"

"You have to actually sleep to have nightmares," she quipped.

Derek stared at her for a long moment before he turned his attention back to the files on his own desk.

At the end of the work day, when they exited the lift to walk to their cars, Derek silently put his hands on Emily's shoulders and steered her towards his own car instead of hers.

"What are you -"

"You need to sleep. And you slept when you were with me on the plane. So we're going to give that a whirl again."

Emily blinked. "Huh. And I get no say in this?"

"Nope," he replied, popping the P and giving her a charming smile.

She was too tired to fight him on the matter.

And, to her disgust, he was right. She slept for a solid ten hours, feeling safe and secure in his arms.

Emily was pissed.

…

They followed that pattern for weeks. Emily wearing herself into the ground before Derek decided to kidnap her and force her to sleep beside him on his comfortable mattress in his muscled arms that made her feel safe.

Emily hated herself for enjoying it.

She hated herself for not being strong enough to deal with her insomnia alone.

It wasn't like she didn't try and sleep. Green tea, hot chocolate, reading paper books instead of her ebook, switching off all screens and electronics early, sound machines… she'd tried everything.

What she hated (and loved) about Derek commandeering her, was that she had to deal with the mornings when she was awake and alert. The nights, she was too tired to care, she just fell against him and let sleep take her.

But in the morning, she could smell him, with his musty sent that left her with a warm feeling inside. She could feel his strong arms wrapped around her. She could hear his even breathing, and later his teasing comments as he fed her breakfast and made her coffee.

She could feel herself falling.

And she hated that there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it, because part of her, a part that was growing bigger all the time, wanted to fall.

…

She woke suddenly, her breathing fast, wetness on her cheeks from tears. Derek was blinking blearily at her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"You're safe, baby," he murmured. "Calm, even breaths."

She nodded, the nightmare already fading from her mind as she concentrated on evening out her breathing.

Derek cautiously wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"You… you just called me baby," Emily murmured after a long pause. "Why… why?"

"Because… because I love you. And because I'm half asleep, and it's hard to remember that I should behave myself when you're in my arms."

Emily turned and pulled her head back to look at him. "You. Really?"

He grinned, looking more awake. "Really really. But… hey, if you don't… I don't want you to feel weird about… this," he murmured, gesturing between them and then to the bed. "I genuinely just want to help you get some sleep."

Emily smiled, leaning up to press her lips against his.

"I know. I never wouldn't thought otherwise. You're a good man, Derek Morgan."

He licked her nose. "I can be a bad man too though."

Looming over her, he moved his hand, and suddenly, the room was alive with the sound of Emily's raucous laughter as he tickled her sides, unerringly finding her most ticklish spots.

Nightmare quickly forgotten, Emily returned the gesture, and when they were both laughed out, they ended up sprawled on the bed, cover on the floor, panting heavily.

"We're supposed to be sleeping," Derek chastised.

She could hear the amusement in his voice and she snorted. Turning into his side, she kissed his chest.

"I can think of much more fun things to do than sleep. Besides… the bed's already messed up."