He Was A Vital Part Of Their Family
Joy ended up thinking about it a lot as the summer progressed and the three of them continued acting like a family. Her best friend was surprisingly sentimental underneath all his gruffness.
Seeing him like this made her wonder just how well she knew him after all. She knew more about his pain than anyone else but not what made him happy. Until the revelation that SHE made him happy. She really hadn't expected that.
She was glad she did though. That came as a relief. Derek deserved to be happy more than pretty much anyone else she knew because he had spent so much of his life miserable.
Was there more Joy could do for him though? He had said there wasn't but he had also seemed terribly embarrassed when she asked.