Chessie sighed as she put her elbows on the table, then her chin in her hands. "I can't wait for my daddy to get home."
"I bet," Penelope said as she put a spoonful of peas into her mouth. She almost gagged as she began to chew, but she had to set a good example for the little girls. She tried her best not to make any faces as she swallowed. She hated peas.
"He's been gone for a very long time," Millie chimed in.
Penelope grinned at the other little girl. "I know it seems like it. But it's only been two days. He's been gone longer than this before."
Millie sighed. "Yes, but I've never missed him this much," she said dramatically.
"Hello!" they heard from the front door.
Both girls jumped down from their chairs at the kitchen table and ran for the living room. "Daddy!" they screeched in unison. They did a lot of things like that.
"How're my girls?" Derek asked as he dropped his ready bag by the front door.
"I missed you!" Chessie told him as she came racing up to him. He lifted her as she jumped into his arms.
"I missed you more," Millie said, hot on her sisters' heels. They were forever competing with each other.
Derek bent down and put his nose on Millies, then moved it back and forth. "You missed me the same amount," he informed her. "And I missed you two, too."
"How long are you home for this time?" Chessie asked.
"At least for three nights," Derek said as he scooped his other daughter up and made his way into the kitchen, a little girl on each hip. "It smells good in here," he said appreciatively.
"Sick of take out?" Penelope asked in amusement.
He nodded. "Yep. What'd you make?"
"Shake 'n Bake pork chops, mashed potatoes, and peas," she answered.
"Sounds good."
She shrugged. "It was OK," she said, putting her plate in the dishwasher.
"Stop," he said as he put the girls down.
"What?" she asked.
"You've been watching my kids for three days. Don't do my dishes, too."
"Sorry," she said with a laugh as she closed the dishwasher door. "Habit."
He grinned at her. "I promise I'm in the process of hiring a housekeeper," he told her.
"Do I look worried about it?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"All right," she said. "I am off."
"Hot date?" he asked, grabbing a clean plate from the cabinet. He looked at the plastic princess plates on the table. "You guys need to finish supper," he said to his daughters.
They climbed up into their chairs without argument—unusual for them.
"Yeah. Max is waiting for me at home. With dessert," she said with a grin.
"He's a lucky, lucky man, Garcia," he said in a teasing tone.
"So you keep telling me," she shot back. She went over to Millie and kissed her on the forehead, then did the same to Chessie. "See you girls next time," she said.
"Bye, Penelope!" they said in unison.
She grinned at them over her shoulder.
"Thanks, Garcia," Derek yelled to her.
"No problem," she returned.
___
"So..." Max said with a grin. "What do you think about a vacation?"
"I think it sounds amazing," Penelope said longingly.
"I was hoping you would say that." He reached for the drawer of the nightstand beside her bed and pulled two tickets out. "I got us tickets to Cancun."
Penelope gasped and grabbed them from his hand. "Cancun!" She looked at the date and her face fell. "These are for two weeks away," she said.
He nodded. "I know. The sooner, the better."
"I can't just go to Cancun in two weeks," she told him.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Well, Derek isn't gonna be able to find someone to watch the girls on such short notice if the team gets called away," she told him.
"That's not your problem," Max argued.
Penelope's eyes widened in disbelief. "Well, it kind of is," she argued.
"How?"
"Because I've been watching them for him for a while now. I couldn't just desert him like that."
"So, let me get this straight. You can't go on vacation because Derek might need you?"
"Yes," she muttered.
"That is pretty fucked up," Max said angrily
"Are you jealous of two three year old little girls?" Penelope asked.
Max scowled. "Jealous? No. Fed up with? Yes."
"Max, they don't have a mother. She deserted them, remember? I can't do that, too."
"I'm asking you to go away with me for ten days," he told her. "I'm not asking you to desert them."
"I…" Penelope sighed. "I can't do it. Derek's my friend, Max. And he needs me. So do the girls."
"Is it gonna be like this all the time?" Max asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, what if I get promoted after we're married and we have to move for my job?" he asked.
"We'll discuss that if it happens," she told him.
"We're discussing it now," he told her.
"I…" Penelope was at a loss for words. "I…wouldn't be…able to leave the girls," she said quietly.
"And what happens if Derek meets someone and gets remarried?" Max asked.
Penelope shrugged. "Then he probably wouldn't need me anymore."
"And you're just gonna put your life on hold until then," he said irritated.
"My life isn't on hold," she argued. "I'm engaged to you and…I thought we were happy. I'm living my life. It's just a little…out of the ordinary right now."
Max shook his head. "That's not good enough for me, Penelope."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You can put your life on hold if you want to. But I'm not gonna do that."
"Are you breaking up with me?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. I guess I am."
"But you knew that they were a part of my life when we got together!"
"Yes, but I though your priorities might change once we got engaged and then married. Clearly that's not gonna happen," Max deduced.
"Max, look, I'm sorry if—"
"You're doing a good thing, Penelope," he said softly. "But I'm not willing to share you with Derek and his kids."