Unexpected - Part 2
Title: Unexpected - part 2
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Morgan/Garcia
Prompt for 30_forbidden fruits: #22 Happy
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to CBS. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time. The idea for this story, including all chapters, is entirely mine, though.
Summary: Part 30/30 of the “Love and Prejudice”-series. Yep, happy ending. ;)
warnings: none
AN: Hey there again! First of all, I wanted to thank everyone of you who reviewed for my postings or put them on their favorites’ list. Actually, that was what finally got my old self out of my little shell and write again.
Recently, I read some stuff about the first signs of depression and I realized I might be on my best way into one. I simply didn’t want to write anymore because it wasn’t fun anymore - at least not the way it used to be. Problem was, I didn’t have another hobby, either, that simply was more fun. Most of the time, I was just…lacking in motivation, for anything really.
But all your wonderful reviews made me realize two things. First of all, it is a motivation to know that people actually like what comes out of your crazy little mind. ;) And secondly that this is not only about me. It’s also about everyone I keep waiting for an update. So I decided to kick myself and start writing again. And I really hope I’ll manage to update at least two more chapters of my other stories before 2015.
This little piece, however, is finished. Thank you so much for reading it - and for hanging in there with me no matter how long it took me to finally got myself to update again. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
It was amazing how natural it felt to be with Derek, to tease him - be teased by him - and to wake up in his arms in the morning. She felt the warmth radiating from his body, heard his steady heartbeat, and a feeling started to rise somewhere deep in her stomach. A feeling she had almost forgotten about.
She was happy.
When Derek wrapped his arms tighter around her, Penelope smiled and mumbled a good morning.
She was still half asleep, so it took her brain a while to realize that he had asked her how she was feeling. “Wonderful,” she answered, her voice barely above a whisper, “and exhausted and happy.”
“It’s probably time to get up,” Derek told her.
She moved unwillingly. She’d rather spend the rest of her life snuggled up as close against him as humanly possible.
She wasn’t sure how to address what was really on her mind right now. What would they do once they got back to Quantico? Coworkers weren’t allowed to date - meaning that if anyone ever found out about them, one of them would have to leave the BAU.
Penelope didn’t realize she’d actually asked the question out loud until Derek suggested staying in bed for the next fifty years.
“I’m serious,” she insisted. “We can’t go back and pretend nothing ever happened.”
She could see the confusion in his eyes when he asked, “Is that really what you think I want to do?”
“I’m just saying…” she continued, telling him that she knew they couldn’t shout it from the rooftops but that she just wasn’t sure how to behave around him.
“You do realize that we can just behave like a couple, right? No one will notice any difference,” Derek replied with a chuckle.
Frowning, Penelope slapped his chest. “That’s not funny.”
In no time at all, she found herself lying flat on her back again, Derek first tickling her to make her laugh and then letting his hand roam her body.
Her eyes fluttered shut. She couldn’t believe they still weren’t able to leave the bed after having slept so little because they’d been busy doing so much nicer things the night before. She simply couldn’t get enough of him - and judging from the fact that he had started this, he obviously couldn’t get enough of her either.
She growled with disappointment when a knock on the door interrupted them.
Derek answered it, and Penelope used the time to get dressed, knowing that if she didn’t, they would also miss the later plane. She only heard half of the conversation but caught that their plane had been delayed and the company wanted to know if they wanted to take the flight at two p.m.
“You call the airport. I’ll call Hotch,” Penelope told Derek, already rummaging through her purse for her cell phone.
Penelope wasn’t even able to talk with Hotch, telling him they were arriving four hours later, before Derek started to undress her again. That was it… They would surely miss the plane if he kept doing that.
The hours flew by, and Penelope was amazed how much energy they both had left. She felt like she was on drugs. She needed more and more and couldn’t stop, no matter how much her body protested…and her drug was Derek. She was sure they weren’t going to get much sleep that night, either. She wondered if they’d even make it into his bed.
Their plans were thwarted by the team waiting for them outside of Derek’s apartment. Penelope could tell from the look on Derek’s face that he wasn’t all that thrilled to see their friends there - even though he seemed a little happy to see them at all.
Butterflies rose in Penelope’s stomach when she thought about what Derek really had intended to do once they were back at his place.
The evening was fun, though, until JJ had to start asking Derek about any new hook-ups. Derek tried to talk his way out of it, but JJ and Emily seemed to sense that he was just evading their questioning.
Penelope nervously wriggled about on her chair. That wasn’t going to end well. They were busted; she knew it. JJ and Emily wouldn’t just stop asking about Derek’s latest score - and it surely wouldn’t take them long to put two and two together.
But it didn’t even seem to occur to JJ or Emily that Derek’s latest hook-up could be Penelope. Was it really that unimaginable? Penelope wasn’t sure if she should be hurt by the fact that obviously none of their friends could imagine that she and Derek might be an item.
On the other hand, they’d known each other for such a long time now, and nothing had ever happened between Derek and her. Besides, if Kevin hadn’t told them, JJ and Emily certainly didn’t even know she’d broken up with him. They did know, however, that Penelope would never cheat on anyone. There was no way they could possibly assume she’d started…
What? Seeing Derek? Dating him? Sleeping with him? Penelope wasn’t even sure what to call it.
She hadn’t really followed the conversation, seeing that her mind had been busy processing other things. However, she did hear JJ announcing that Derek was in love - and Derek ushering the girls out of his apartment as a reply.
Did that mean he wasn’t in love with her? He’d said he was… No, he was probably just trying to get rid of them finally…
“Pen, can I give you a lift?” she heard JJ ask.
Damn!
“No, thanks. I…I’ll call a cab,” Penelope hurried to reply. There was no way she was going to let JJ take her home. It would mean she had to come back and they would lose precious time. Time they could spend in a much more pleasant way then driving around.
“It’s no bother,” JJ insisted.
Damn, damn, double damn! How was she supposed to get out of this? Groceries! Yeah, right, everyone needed groceries…
“You really don’t need to make a detour. I need to stop at the store and buy some groceries anyway.”
“Okay,” JJ said, even though she didn’t seem entirely convinced.
It didn’t matter, though. The girls left…and she was finally alone with Derek.
“You know, for a minute there, I really thought we were busted,” Penelope said, basically to say something at all. The situation still seemed a bit awkward for her whenever she was alone with Derek. She was happy, sure. But she couldn't stop feeling guilty. If she hadn’t been so…untouchable, he wouldn’t have been shot. But if he hadn’t been shot…
Derek starting to nibble her neck and telling her how glad he was they were finally alone made all thoughts disappear from her head, though.
“You’re oversexed, you know that?” she gasped rather than said.
“You have no idea,” was the reply. And before Penelope knew what was happening, Derek had lifted her up and was carrying her toward the bedroom.
MGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMG
It was crazy, maybe even ridiculous, how addicted she was to him. She didn’t want to spend even a minute without him anymore. So from now on, every time she had to deliver any news, she delivered it to Derek, stealing a few hidden touches from him. And every time they were close, she felt the butterflies multiplying in her stomach. Yeah, she was happy.
They spent every night and most of the day together, went for lunch and dinner together, arrived and left together, and Derek spent most of the day in her office, where - fortunately - they had some time for themselves to make out a little.
Much to Penelope’s surprise, no one seemed to care that they spent even more time together than they had before Derek had been shot. No one seemed to care that they drove home together every night, even though they didn’t really live close to each other.
Derek had been right. No one noticed any difference.
Penelope couldn’t help but wonder if they’d really always been that…obvious. Had they really behaved like a couple all along? No wonder Kevin had known about her feelings for Derek.
But she didn’t want to feel guilty about Kevin, too. She just wanted to be happy.
And she was. Until one phone call she’d never in a billion years expected to get shattered her whole life into pieces.
She stared at her computer screen without really seeing whether she’d already booted her babies or not. Her mind was too busy processing what she’d just heard. She was screwed. They both were.
It was over.
Far away, she heard a familiar voice calling her by her favorite nickname. Derek? It was certainly him. No one else ever used that nickname.
Did it matter anymore? It was over anyway. Except…
She needed to talk to Hotch. Now.
She felt her chair turning around and then looked into Derek’s puzzled eyes.
“I need to talk to Hotch,” she told him and, without further explanation, rushed out of her office and into her boss’s, almost forgetting to knock.
Hotch looked up from his paperwork and raised an eyebrow at her. “What can I do for you?” His face was stern, showing no sign of any emotion whatsoever, not even surprise.
“Sir…I…I know it probably isn’t the right time - even though I doubt that there is a right time for this at all - but I really need to talk to you about something,” she blurted out.
Slowly, Hotch closed the file he’d been working on and folded his hands above the folder, his face still showing no emotion.
“After Derek was shot, you broke up with Kevin, and once the former got better, you started seeing each other,” Hotch said, easily summing up the past events in Penelope’s life. “And now you’re pregnant, which is why you need to share the news. And you certainly need permission to go on dating, which is hereby granted.”
Penelope opened her mouth to say something but shut it again since she absolutely didn’t know what to say to that.
“How did I know?” Hotch asked, still no sign of emotion on his face.
How the hell did he do that?
“There’s a reason I’m paid as much as I am for this job,” he explained.
Penelope blinked. Had that been a joke?
Hotch went back to his file. “It might have escaped the others’ notice that you and Derek spent a lot more time together the past few months. Maybe they also didn’t notice that you’ve been arriving and leaving together, but I’m paid to notice,” he told her. “Besides, I haven’t seen Lynch in quite a while.”
“But…how did you…” Penelope stuttered, not sure she really wanted to ask the question.
He looked up again, his eyebrow raised ever so slightly. “…know you were pregnant?” He shrugged. “You’re here, you’re upset, you wanted to tell me about you and Derek. That could only mean one thing.”
Once again, Penelope just moved her jaw without getting her mouth to say anything.
“Is there anything else?” Hotch asked.
All she could do was shake her head no.
“Then you’re dismissed,” he told her. “And don’t worry about everyone else. They’ll find out soon enough.”
As she turned to make her way out of the office, still stunned, he said, “Oh, and Garcia?”
She turned back to him, swallowing and waiting for him to give her a piece of his mind for trying to keep this a secret.
Much to her surprise, he said, “Congratulations.”
And she could have sworn she saw the corners of his mouth move up a tiny bit.
She stared at him, blinking, and then turned on her heel and walked out of his office again. She could swear she felt him grinning behind her back. This whole talk had been a hell of a lot easier than she’d imagined it to be.
Seeing Derek standing in front of her office, she grinned at him. “That man is just amazing,” she told him, hugging him right in front of everyone else. She didn’t care anymore whether they noticed anything or not.
“We’re officially allowed to keep dating,” she whispered into Derek’s ear, “which is important because soon enough, my baby bump will be pretty telling.”
She felt him freeze and then grin against her skin. He was happy about her being pregnant.
And she was happier than ever.
THE END