A/N: Here's the final chapter! Thanks for the feedback. Enjoy!

Avery refused to look at Derek altogether. She turned the dial on the radio so the music wasn't as loud. "Alright," she said softly. "Say whatever you need to say."

He looked at her out of his peripheral vision. Now that he was paying attention, Avery did seem older. More mature than he'd realized before. She was poised behind the steering wheel, like an experienced driver would be, and turned to look at him expectedly.

"Are you being safe?" Derek asked. "Or were you?"

She nodded slowly. "Of course," she said. "Mom told me everything that I needed to know. Alex and I were always careful. I promise."

Silence fell between them then. Derek could feel the awkward tension, and it bothered him greatly. This was his daughter, yet she felt like a stranger. He only felt this awkward when talking to a superior or a difficult unsub. This was Avery though.

Why did he feel this way? He didn't like it at all. Had Derek been so preoccupied with himself and his other kids that he hadn't been paying attention to Avery? He barely recognized her.

Apparently she had been right before. There were a lot of things Derek hadn't noticed. She had broken up with Alex for one. She'd highlighted her hair too now that he was peering at her closer. Was that a new piercing, or had she had it for a while?

It seemed Derek had some catching up to do with his daughter.

"What happened?" he asked. "With you and Alex?"

Avery waited a few seconds before answering. "We decided that we wanted different things out of a relationship," she said carefully. "I wanted something more serious. He wanted something a little...much, uh, physical."

"Did he pressure you into anything?" Derek demanded to know. He would kill the kid if he had. "Nothing happened that you didn't want to, did it?"

"No, no," she said. "Everything was consensual. Alex was always a gentleman with me."

"Good," Derek mumbled, the awkwardness taking over again. Then: "I'm sorry," he said. "I should've let you speak before. And I should've listened."

"You're only human, Daddy," she said. "I forgive you. Besides, I'm touched that you care so much for me."

"Thanks," Derek said. "I'm still bothered about what you said about Alex though. I did like him, Av. A father can really only like the guy his daughter brings home so much though. I respected him. He treated you right. I thought he was a good kid."

"Me too," Avery said. "We're friends. We still mean a great deal to one another, together or not together. That's why we still talk sometimes."

Damn, Derek thought. That's really adult of them. Even more so than Penelope and me have been with our exes.

He had never really kept in contact with an ex after breaking up with them. Keeping a friendship was usually out of the question. His last girlfriend, Savannah, hated his guts. That was mainly because he left her for Penelope, but Savannah still refused to even be in the same room as Derek. Almost twenty years had passed too.

Yet here was his daughter, not even eighteen, and she was already able to stay amicable with an ex-boyfriend. Her and Alex were still friends. Derek had never stayed friends with anyone like that. His breakups usually involved long fights and broken objects.

"When did you get so wise?" Derek asked with a grin. "You sound like you're forty."

She laughed a little. "I learned from the best," she replied. "You and Mom always told us to be with someone who made us happier than we knew we could be. Alex didn't make me feel that way anymore. All we did was disagree, so we decided we're better off as friends."

"Well," Derek said. "If you're happy, I'm happy. You definitely handled the situation better than I would have."

Avery shut the car off then. Turning to look at him, she asked: "Aren't you going to go fix things with Mom? She was pretty ticked at you for yelling at me."

He winced. "I suppose I should, shouldn't I? I was an ass to her."

"Maybe you should make a trip to the florist first," she said. "Mom's always more forgiving when you get her flowers."

"True," Derek said. Then, nodding at the steering wheel: "Do you care to drive me?"

She gave him a lopsided grin. "Not at all, Dad," she said and started the car.

It seemed all was right with his daughter again. They were talking and laughing and things didn't seem as awkward anymore. He was finally getting to know Avery. She wasn't just that mysterious teen that lived in his house anymore. She was an interesting young lady.

Derek couldn't be more proud of her.

A half hour later, Avery and Derek pulled into the Morgan driveway. He was holding a bouquet of roses on his lap, while Avery carefully wedged her Jetta between his SUV and Penelope's vintage car.

He hadn't wanted to go so fancy with flowers, but Avery had insisted. "C'mon," she said. "You haven't gotten her roses since you two dated. That was eons ago!"

It had been a while, Derek realized as he walked into the house. He usually didn't buy Penelope flowers for anniversaries and holidays. The kids were always picking daffodils out in the yard, so he usually tried to be more creative with his gifts. Until today anyway.

Avery, taking her cue, ushered Sebastian and Kylie upstairs to play a board game with her. Chloe still wasn't home, so Derek and Penelope had their privacy to talk.

He found Penelope in the kitchen. She was stirring something on the stove and humming a showtune to herself. He instantly wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her blonde hair.

"I'm sorry Baby Girl," he said. "I've been an idiot today. Can you ever forgive me?"

She turned in his arms, surprising him with a kiss. "Of course I forgive you," Penelope said. "You and Avery seemed like you had a lot of fun." Then, squealing at the sight of the roses: "Are those for me?"

"You know it Mama," he said and handed them over.

She dramatically put a hand over her heart. "You know how to flatter a woman," Penelope said. "Thanks."

She rummaged through a cabinet for a vase. Finding one, she filled it with water. Derek leaned against the counter while she arranged the roses to fit.

"There we go," she said. "Now it's perfect." Then, turning to him: "How did things go with Avery? Is everything between you two alright now?"

"Never better," Derek said. "Everything's water under the bridge now. I trust her completely. She's really grown up on us, Pen."

There was something in his tone that caught her attention. She gave him a small smile. "I told you she was practically an adult," she said. "You didn't believe me."

"Avery's definitely more mature than I was at seventeen," Derek admitted. "I was a player back then. Even worse than my FBI streak with the ladies."

"Seriously?" Penelope asked, tasting what she was making on the stove. She offered him a sip of the soup. Then: "I barely remember being seventeen. I was just always goofing off, you know? Sneaking out, skipping class. I was even smoking."

"What?" he cried. "You smoked? My lovely tech genius and beautiful wife damaged her lungs with smoke once upon a time?"

She nodded sadly. "It wasn't my finest moment," she said. "When my parents died, I quit cold turkey. I haven't touched the stuff since."

Derek only shook his head at her. "Avery is miles beyond us," he said. "Our little middle aged teenager."

"I'm proud of her," Penelope said. "She's turning into a fantastic young woman."

"I'm proud of her too," Derek replied with a grin. "She's perfect."

A/N: Thanks for reading!