Penelope tried to stop the tears that were falling rapidly from her eyes. It was never a good thing to cry at work. Derek had proposed to his girlfriend last night, and she was trying to feel happy for him, but she just couldn't find it in her heart.
A soft knock on her office door had her stiffening in embarrassment, and she hurriedly wiped her eyes free from tears. "Come in!" she called out, cursing her voice for sounding so shaky to her ears.
She didn't turn around, even as she heard heavy footfalls cross the floor and stop behind her. "Is everything all right, Garcia?"
Penelope bowed her head as she heard Hotch's voice behind her. He wouldn't leave until he had found out a reason for her sadness, and she didn't want to be a burden on him, not after he had so recently broken things off with Beth, having found out that she was cheating on him with his own brother. Without turning to look at him, she nodded and hoped that he would just take her words at face value and leave her alone to wallow in her misery.
Instead, he was ever the gentleman, turning her chair so that she would face him before crouching down to look into her eyes. "Please, tell me what's wrong." He reached out and touched her cheek softly, and she couldn't help but lean into the touch.
"Derek's getting married, but not to me." Her voice was low, and she avoided meeting his eye, knowing that he would be looking at her in concern. "He sounded so excited, but I had to fake it."
Hotch gently pulled her up and led her over to her couch. Together, they sat down and he pulled her tightly against him, letting her cry on his chest as he rubbed her back in soft circles. "I didn't realize that he and Julia were quite that close. When did that happen?"
"When I wasn't looking. I mean, I should have known something was up, he started calling me less and less frequently. And he calls me by name more often now. I guess my heart just didn't want to see the truth before my eyes." She sighed and instinctively snuggled in closer to him. "I shouldn't really be dumping this on you, though, you just broke up with Beth and don't need an emotional me dumping all over you."
"That's all right, I rather like being the knight in shining armor," he teased and she gasped a little.
"I am never going to live that one down, am I?" He shook his head and she rolled her eyes. "I am grateful that you are such a standup guy. Will this hurt ever end?"
"You're asking the wrong person that question, Penelope. I've not had much luck with my relationships." His voice sounded pained and she tightened her arms around his waist, seeking to comfort him. "Haley did the same thing to me, you know. Well, not with the same person, but she decided that vows were not worth keeping. She was the love of my life, and she couldn't stay faithful to me."
The pain in his voice hurt her to hear and she tilted her head up to kiss his jaw softly. "I'm sorry that they couldn't see that you are a man worth staying faithful to. That you are a real life Superman who does anything to protect his family."
A warm feeling of affection swept over her heart, and so, when he bent his head and kissed her gently, she didn't mind. And when she tugged him down on top of her, letting his body cover hers on the couch as they continued to kiss, she found that she liked his heavy weight anchoring her there to the moment. "This is madness," he said through heavy breaths when they took a brief pause in making out.
"Maybe. But this is also the type of madness I'm accustomed to. I thought I knew what I wanted in life, but this little surprise is good, too. Unless you don't like kissing me…"
Her words were broken off by Hotch claiming her lips once more and she giggled against his mouth before moaning as he deepened the kiss, his hand coming up to cup her breast. They would have stayed like that, she was sure of it, if her door had not opened once more. "Kitten, are you in here? Erin wants to know if you want to come to…Oh, hello."
She could practically hear the smarm oozing out of his voice as she frantically pushed Hotch away, not wanting to further encourage Rossi's fantasies. "Hey, yeah, I'd love to head to lunch. Can, can Aaron come, too?" she asked, trying to calm her breathing a little.
"I don't see why not. I'll let you kids have a few moments to calm down. Meet us out by the elevators in five."
Hotch nodded and Rossi sauntered out of the room. Penelope was certain that he was wearing that cocky grin he always got when he witnessed something particularly naught happening in the building. "Well, this has been a most unexpectedly pleasant day."
Penelope met Hotch's gaze and felt her eyes widen in happiness. "Really?"
"Really." He helped her to sit up and she tugged at her clothes, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. "Though I don't know how we're going to look Dave in the eye after this."
"Well, you could always casually mention that I let you see the tape."
He cocked an eyebrow as they stood and she shrugged. "What have you done now?"
"It should actually be more like what haven't I done now, Aaron. Remember when Erin came visiting last week and they holed up in his office for a very long time? And everyone thought they were screwing like rabbits in there, but when they finally came out, everything looked normal? Yeah, they're that good. And I'm not going to lie, the little bit that I watched was hot. But we are not going to take risks like that in our relationship, all right? I rather like having a job, even if I do fantasize about things like that."
He laughed and nodded, settling his arm around her waist as they left the bullpen together. "There are other ways to fulfill fantasies, Penelope," he whispered in her ear and she giggled as they went to join their friends.
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