Did someone say picnic basket? I11DT

[Chloe Grant]

When Derek got done with his shift, he'd find Chloe sitting in the lobby, holding a picnic basket on her lap.

[Derek Scott]

Derek looked... well, exhausted. And stressed. And... well, basically he'd seen better days. Or weeks. Or months. "Hey, Chloe," he said tiredly when he saw her.

[Chloe Grant]

"Lets go have some lunch." Chloe said.

[Derek Scott]

"I..." he sighed. "All right. Let's get lunch," he said, not having reason or inclination to turn her down.

[Chloe Grant]

"Long day, babe?" Chloe said, kissing him on the cheek.

[Derek Scott]

"I... Yeah," he sighed, "They're all long."

[Chloe Grant]

"Well, lets get outside and get a bite to eat and enjoy the rest of the day." Chloe said

[Derek Scott]

"Please. Let's," he sighed. He hesitated, then he took her hand as they headed out of the infirmary

[Chloe Grant]

Chloe squeezed his hand "Have you talked to your mom?"

[Derek Scott]

Derek sighed. "Yeah, I have. She's... doing all right. Staying with her sister now while she's getting ready for her treatments."

[Chloe Grant]

Chloe hugged him "See? Its going to be ok."

[Derek Scott]

Derek sighed. "Yeah, I guess so... I just... Last time she went through this, Dad made sure she had one of us there every day. Now he's dead and I'm over here. It's just not right."

[Chloe Grant]

"She has her sister to take care of her, and you can talk to her on Skype and stuff."

[Derek Scott]

"Yeah, but..." He sighed. "I hate this."

[Chloe Grant]

"I thought you'd like a picnic." Chloe said, confused.

[Derek Scott]

"What? Oh, no, no, not that. Love the picnic. Hate the 'should I be doing this, am I being a shitheaded horrible son' questions and the 'is mom going to be okay' and the 'will I be able to get home in time if things go bad' questions. I fucking hate questions period, I think."

[Chloe Grant]

"No, Maybe, and Yes." Chloe said, hugging him.