Penelope held her breath as she woke the next morning, keeping her eyes closed as she allowed her brain to wake. She took stock of what she could feel and smell. She could smell Derek, but she’d been able to smell him the morning after That Night too and he hadn’t been there. However, there was something different. She could feel weight across her side and a warm hand on her stomach over her pyjama top. Slowly, hoping that she wasn’t still dreaming, she let her eyes flutter open into the morning sunshine. Then she looked down at her stomach and the breath she’d been holding whooshed out of her lungs. There was definitely a dark-skinned hand resting across her body.
He’d stayed.
Penelope’s heart started beating faster in her chest at the notion. He’d spent the entire night waiting on her every whim and barely looked twice at the other woman floating around the bar. Even when the team was there with them, he always had a hand on her, his shoulder always brushing hers, his hand running through her blond curls at every opportunity. Penelope had felt special, the same way he’d made her feel three days before on their date.
In the large book of possible dates, there was nothing special about what they’d done, nor was there anything unique. In fact, it was so boring, it had been quite fun. It had been a long time since Penelope had been treated to dinner and a movie a la high school, but with Derek, it just seemed not only to come easy, but to work. What had surprised her the most was the way he didn’t try to sweep her off her feet. He’d kept it very simple and without any sort of pressure on her and it was probably what had made the date such a rousing success.
She’d been more than nervous when he’d arrived at her door with flowers. But they weren’t roses, like she’d expected from Ladies Man Derek Morgan. Instead, he’d obviously gone to the florist to pick out the pansy and Queen Anne’s Lace bouquet. She’d blushed as she nervously invited him in, setting about putting the flowers in water. She let him make small talk about their day about how boring the office got when they didn’t have a case before they left.
Dinner had been first. Penelope, if she was honest with herself, fully expected him to pull out all the stops, so she’d mentally prepped herself for a nice dinner at a business-casual restaurant, low lighting… the usual Derek MO. But that wasn’t what had happened. On the contrary, the restaurant had been simple and while softly-lit, elegant in it’s own right. It was the perfect place for her, somewhere that was date-worthy, while not being overly pricey. It didn’t put any pressure on her either. She was often self-conscious of her pregnancy, probably more out of habit than anything else. It was odd for her, someone so used to keeping it quiet, to actually be able to sit across the table from Peanut’s father in a low-key restaurant and feel like she didn’t have a care in the world.
And Derek had been beyond sweet. She’d been almost overwhelmed with how easy it was to talk to him. In fact, there had been a few times on the date she’d actually outright forgotten they were on one. Conversation flowed easily and he’d opened up to her in ways he never had before. He’d actually talked about his childhood, mentioned his father and talked about his sisters with affection. He’d made her laugh until tears sprung to her eyes and he’d made her feel like the only important woman in the room. It had been a daunting experience.
She couldn’t remember the movie, and it wasn’t because she was making out with Derek in the back of the theatre. On the contrary, he was a complete gentleman about the whole experience. But between the feeling of him beside her, the odd dream-like feeling it was and her own exhaustion “ brought on by the third trimester, Emily had said “ Penelope had not paid attention, then fallen asleep on his shoulder. Instead of teasing her about it like she’d expected, Derek woke her up at the end of the movie and asked if she was feeling alright. And he hadn’t done anything other than kiss her at the front door.
Penelope sighed, snuggling further into the warmth the blankets and his body provided for her. She’d been really surprised with how closely he watched her now that he knew. He often brought her juice and water through the day and he hadn’t known about Peanut for more than a week. For now, it was sweet, but she was sure she was going to have to have a conversation with him about her ability to take care of herself. She felt his breathing change against her back, and rolled over carefully.
“’Morning Hot Stuff.” Good Lord we was gorgeous all sleep rumpled.
“Mmm, ‘morning yourself, Gorgeous.”
Penelope shivered as his hand stroked over her stomach, fingertips dancing over fabric. Her hand came up to cup his cheek, fingers fluttering over his skin. This couldn’t be real.
“It is,” he murmured. “It is real.”
“I hadn’t realized I said it out loud,” she said laughing slightly.
“Why wouldn’t this be real?” he asked quietly, as if anything louder would disturb the tranquility of the morning.
She chuckled, trying to make light of the serious topic. “Because you’re Derek Morgan.”
“And you’re Penelope Garcia,” he replied. The only evidence of his confusion in the slight wrinkle of his forehead.
“Mmhmm,” she said with a smile. “Exactly my point.”
“Beautiful, you haven’t made a point.”
She was still half asleep, warm and comfortable, cocooned between him and her blankets so her candidness was slightly involuntary. “Honey, you could have whoever you wanted.”
“I don’t want just anybody, Pen,” he told her, his hands stroking up her arms.
“Yeah, but you don’t want me.”
Her smile was sad and Derek was absolutely floored by the acceptance in her eyes. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want you.”
“Mmm, wait until Peanut’s born. There’s a lot of responsibility involved in raising a baby.”
He leaned up on his elbow, his hand supporting his head. “You don’t think I can do it.”
“I think you will be a fantastic father, Derek,” Penelope argued. “But I think there will come a time you’ll realize that there’s more to life than us.”
Derek sighed, removing his hands from her body completely and pulling away from her. “I’ve tried to explain this to you, Penelope. I don’t want anyone other than you.”
“You say that now.”
“I’ve said that for years.”
Penelope froze, eyes wide. “What?”
Derek ran a hand over his head. He hadn’t actually meant to admit that. He’d meant to take his time with her, to show her slowly how much he adored her. But on the other hand he was sick of her pessimism. “Pen, did it ever occur to you I could have said no?”
“To what?” Penelope asked, confused.
“That night, after the Tucson case. I could have told you no, Pen. I could have said that it wasn’t appropriate, that I wasn’t going to take advantage of you, that I didn’t want you.”
“You were as vulnerable,” she argued, pushing herself until she was sitting up, resting against her headboard.
“I still had full control of my mind. Pen, if I was looking for someone to… well… it wouldn’t have been you.”
Penelope started. “What?”
“If I was looking for sex that night, I wouldn’t have turned to you. You mean too much to me to use you like that.”
She blinked. It hadn’t even crossed her mind to think of things like that. He’d always done anything for her. He’d left dates for her when she was having a tough time. He’d always felt pain when she was having a difficult time dealing with cases. But it was still surreal for her to think that she was special to him.
“I don’t know why you can’t see how fantastic you are, Pen. How compassionate, how loving, how cheerful… This child, Pen… This kid is the luckiest kid on earth because you are it’s mother.”
Penelope blushed. “Derek, you don’t have to say that. You don’t have to sweet talk me.”
He sighed, pushing himself out of bed. He grabbed his jeans from the floor, having slept in his t-shirt and boxers, and pulled them on. “Pen, look, I want to be with you. I don’t want to leave you behind, I don’t want to break your heart and I don’t want you to doubt me. Let me know when that time comes.”
Penelope was so stunned, she let Derek walk out of her apartment without stopping him.
Emily let herself back into Aaron’s house with a heavy sigh. She’d spent the large majority of her night with JJ and up with JJ, listening to her friend. She dropped onto the couch, her hand reaching for her head, rubbing at her temples. She loved JJ and she was upset that she and Reid had ended their relationship, but she was frustrated at the same time. And she hated it when her nights with Aaron were interrupted.
She groaned in bliss as the smell of coffee assaulted her nostrils. She opened her eyes, looking up at Aaron with a thankful smile. He sat beside her with his own cup coffee.
“Everything okay?”
Emily leaned her head back against the couch. “JJ and Reid broke up.”
“They were heading towards it,” he replied, trying for rationality. He leaned back against the cushions, making sure his shoulder brushed hers.
“Yeah.”
“How late were you up?” he asked, trailing his fingers up and down the inside of her arm.
Emily relaxed, turning her palm up to encourage the touch. “Late,” she said with a sigh. “I’m tired.”
Aaron chuckled. “You’re a good friend.”
“I don’t feel like one,” Emily admitted with a sigh. “There was nothing I could do to make her feel better or worse.”
“Honey, don’t take it hard.” He kissed her temple.
“I just don’t like it,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I really don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it,” he pointed out. Her entire body was relaxing against him, leaning on his side. A few more minutes and she’d probably be in the perfect mood to watch Sunday Morning Cartoons.
“I think they made a mistake.”
“Then let them handle it. This isn’t your problem.”
“I hate it when you’re right,” she murmured, tilting her head for a kiss. “I really hate it when you’re right.”