"So, who all is coming with me?" Penelope asked as she looked around at her friends. "I mean, this is a cultural event. It has been twenty years since I saw it in theaters!" She grinned, hoping some of them would catch her enthusiasm. "Please?"
"You know you can count me in, Baby Girl. I just wish I had a sweet little honey to take with me, for the scary parts." She shook her head, wrapping her arm a little tighter around Sam's waist as he laughed a little at her best friend.
Hotch nodded slightly and she bit her lip as she made eye contact with Jayje, seeing the tiniest of dips in her chin. "Well, that makes five of us. What about you, Rossi?"
"No, Blake and I are going to get a cup of coffee and unwind after this last case. Sorry."
Reid nodded hesitantly, smiling at Penelope. "Count me in. The last time I saw this movie, I was thirteen."
"Great! This is going to be so much fun! We can all fit into Hotch's SUV, so let's get going!" She tugged Sam out of the room and out to the elevators. As she looked down the hall, she met Erin's eye, and sighed a little, seeing her watching Rossi and Blake interact. Unable to stop herself, she beckoned the woman over, smiling sweetly. "Hey, we're all heading out to see Jurassic Park at the IMAX. Would you like to join us?" She used her most wheedling voice, wanting to guilt the woman into agreeing, and she let out a little sigh of relief when Erin nodded.
"I haven't seen that movie since my children were little. I think that would be a most pleasant divergence. Is, is David coming?"
Penelope shook her head. "No, he and Blake are going out for coffee. How boring!" She threaded her arm through Erin's, tugging her into the elevator with Sam and Derek. "Did Jayje and Hotch sneak down before us?"
"No, I think they said that they'd be along shortly. I did get the keys, though." Derek dangled them in front of her, and she grinned. "I see Penelope twisted your arm into coming with us, Ma'am."
"It will be nice to have a diversion this afternoon. And please, you know that you can call me Erin." A sad smile crossed her face and it pleased Penelope to see Derek sling his arm familiarly around her waist. Erin stiffened a little at first before relaxing against him, a chuffed sigh escaping her lips.
"I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you, Erin. I'm Sam, Penelope's boyfriend." Her boyfriend held out his hand to Erin and she shook it strongly, a wider smile on her lips. "Does she often steamroll people?"
Erin shook her head. "No, she's just really persistent. It's one of her better qualities." Penelope couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face at the compliment, never expecting something like that to come from the woman's lips.
The elevator doors opened, and Derek led them over to Hotch's SUV. "We'll take the back, Baby Girl," Derek said as he helped Erin into the vehicle. Passing the keys up to her, he settled in next to Erin. Penelope noticed that Derek settled his arm across her shoulders, something she was surprised that Erin would allow.
A few minutes later, the other three joined them, and Reid took the seat next to Sam, letting JJ sit up front. Penelope couldn't help but giggle when Hotch turned his vehicle on and pop music came blasting out of the speakers. "I'm sorry, this is what Jack was listening to on the way to Jessica's this morning," he muttered as he quickly turned the radio down.
"Sure, Hotch, we'll pretend that you don't know all the words to TiK ToK," Derek teased, and a soft giggle popped out of Erin's mouth. It was adorable and thoroughly humanized the woman to Penelope. "See, even Erin agrees with me."
Hotch paused in surprise, his hand hovering above the steering wheel as he looked back at them in the rearview mirror. Penelope gave him her best smile, and he just shook his head, backing out of his space and then pulling out into traffic. The drive to the theater didn't take long, and he managed to find a decent parking spot.
Penelope noticed that Derek and Erin hung back a little from the group, and she wondered what was going on between them. She knew that they occasionally talked, had done so ever since she had gotten back from rehab, but this seemed like something deeper than friendship, at this point.
Hotch held the door for them all, and Penelope made a beeline for the ticket stand, buying the seven tickets needed and claiming the back row for them. "Here we go!" she sang out as she approached them again, letting Sam pull her close to him. "So, who wants to sit next to whom?"
"We'll decide that when we get to the theater. Are we going to get any snacks?" Derek asked, looking only at Erin, who shook her head. "All right, Erin and I will go to the theater and claim our seats if you all want to get food."
Penelope nodded and handed over two tickets and the seven pairs of glasses to them, watching them walk off. Hotch came up to her side and she looked up at him. "What is going on between them?" she asked lowly, not wanting Jayje or Reid to overhear her question.
"Rossi tried to hurt Erin, and Derek walked in on it happening. Since then, she's used us as a buffer between the two of them."
"What? Rossi would never hurt a woman, it's not in him. Strauss has to be lying," she protested.
"Erin didn't tell me what happened, Derek did. Otherwise, I would have had a hard time believing it myself. All I know is that they got in an intense argument about the Replicator case and when she went to leave, he grabbed onto her arm and tried to wrench her back to him."
"And my boo doesn't like it when someone is abusive," she whispered, staring after them. "Do you think she's going to be okay?"
"She's strong, stronger than she was a year ago. But, she's going to need another friendly face in the office besides Derek." Penelope heard the order in his voice, and she smiled brilliantly up at him.
"I can do that, Hotch, no need to worry there." He nodded and pulled JJ aside, conferring with her about what they should split. Reid was already in line, a bunch of candy in his hands. Shaking her head, she went up to Sam and held his hand. "What do you want to get?"
"Do you just want to split a soda? I'm still full from lunch."
"That would be fine with me. I'll go get us a large one." Getting in line, she soon had her cup and filled it with root beer, knowing they both liked that. The others rejoined her shortly after that and together they went over to the right room.
Glancing up to the top of the stairs, Penelope saw Derek and Erin sitting together, the armrest between them raised up so that he could rest his arm comfortably around her. The sweet intimacy between them suddenly made so much sense, and she smiled softly as she led the way.
Erin looked up at her nervously as she sat down, almost seeming to shrink into Derek. It hurt to think that the woman had been so traumatized in life that she would expect to be rejected by everyone around her. Sighing, she sat down next to her, smiling sweetly. "I didn't expect it to be so warm in here today."
"I know, usually movie theaters are cooler than this," Erin replied, still hunkered up close to Derek. "Thankfully I didn't wear anything too heavy today." A tentative smile spread across her lips as Penelope nodded, reaching out to pat her arm.
"Just to warn you, Derek mentioned that he wanted someone to hold onto during the movie, for when he gets scared," she teased, winking at her best friend.
"Hey! I said no such thing! I said that I wanted a sweet friend to sit next to me, knowing they could grab my arm if they got startled. Much different." He narrowed his eyes at her as Erin laughed lowly, a genuine smile breaking out on her face.
"That's okay, Penelope. I think we both know the truth." She was surprised to hear the teasing tone creep into Erin's voice, and she giggled as she nodded. The lights came down a few moments later and Erin passed down the other glasses before putting hers on. After she was ready, she settled back into Derek's arms, and Penelope couldn't stop the sigh that escaped her lips. "What?"
"Nothing," she replied, copying Erin's pose with Sam. As the previews played, she let herself become more comfortable in Sam's arms, watching Derek and Erin from the corner of her eye. She saw the woman smile at something Derek whispered in her ear before turning her cheek up so that he could kiss it. "So adorable," she said underneath her breath.
The movie got underway, and she turned her focus on the screen, falling back in love with the movie as it played out before her. The time seemed to go by so quickly, and then the credits were running and the lights were coming back up. Erin was sleeping in Derek's arms, her hand curled in the fabric of his shirt.
"Go on ahead of us, Baby Girl. I'll call us a cab home." She nodded and followed the others out into the foyer.
"So, Morgan and Strauss, huh? That was not a pairing I saw coming," Jayje said, smiling up at Hotch. "Then again, I never saw us getting together, either. As long as he's happy…"
"They are both very happy," Hotch said shortly, and Penelope knew that he was trying to quash any rumors then and there. "And none of you are to breathe a word of it around the office. Understood?"
"Yes, Hotch," she said with a grumble, taking hold of Sam's hand. "But you can't keep my heart from singing."
"There is that, I suppose." He smiled at her and she shrugged a little before grinning widely at him. "All right, let's get back to work. We'll leave the two lovebirds here, to their own devices."
Penelope couldn't keep from giggling, knowing that he was just as happy with this turn of events as she was. "So, we should make this a monthly thing. And maybe someday we'll get Rossi and Blake in on it, too. After he's apologized, of course."
"Awesome idea, Garcia! Can I pick the next picture?" Reid asked excitedly. She nodded and he smiled widely at her as they all went out into the parking lot. "I have something perfect in mind, and I think you'll all like it."
Penelope sighed as she walked hand in hand with Sam out to the car. This had been a great idea, and a new tradition of midday movies had been made. There could be nothing better in her life at the moment.