Derek couldn't help but smile Mitch's way at the sentiment and answered, "thank god for the women in our life, huh? I know they keep me sane." He gave a small smile, "I didn't know my mate until I got to this place, but she's sure as hell become one of the most important people I know," he said of Kitty. "So, are you worried that you're not important to her, or that it's too hard to make sense of here?" Derek asked, wondering what his feelings meant.
Oh, he knew the feeling far better than he cared to. The first year of Paige's death had been a marathon of 'the first one without Paige', as had ever bereavement since. Though hers and his mother's hurt the most. "I know this is fucking hard," Derek said, "and I also know this is right off the 'with sympathy' cards, but it's also true. If Katrina loved you, she would want you to be happy. However you were able," and that was no small thing.
"Yeah," he answered with a nod, not even wanting to go into details about Kate and that relationship. It hurt too much. "It's the thing I cling to at night," he said with a small smile towards Mitch, "that Cora ran and was safe. I'm glad of it," though he wished they'd grown up closer. They had time.
"I don't really remember my father," Derek answered with a shrug. "He was killed before Cora was born," and he remembered the confusion and the chaos at the time, but not the face of the man. "I'm really sorry about your parents too," he said giving his shoulder a squeeze of understanding. "Makes you grow up real fast, huh?" he said with a bitter smile.