Disclaimer: Alas, nothing belongs to me. Sadly. :( If you're offering, though, I'll take one Derek Morgan, preferably naked ;p

A/N: This was supposed to be a short one parter. Yeh...

…...

Setting her bright pink, overstuffed purse gently down on the floor, Penelope Garcia kicked her beautiful, albeit painful platforms from her overworked feet and made her way into the small kitchenette of her bright apartment, pressing the blinking button on her answer machine and glaring at it as she pulled a bottle of rose from the fridge.

It was all his damn fault, she thought venomously. His fault her poor feet felt like they were about to drop off, his fault she wanted to down the whole bottle of exquisite wine, sans glass, and then have a second one for dessert. Him and his stupid damn hero-complex.

She spun on her heel and made her way towards the comfy couch which resided in the middle of the living room, slamming both the bottle and the now full glass down onto the coffee table and resolutely refusing to acknowledge the pleading voice echoing out of the machine, well onto the fifth message now.

'Baby giiiirl, come on, you can't ignore me forever. It's been a week!'

'Princess, I said I was sorry, and I am. Pick up the phone and give me some sweetness.'

'Come on, doll. I miss you, ok? Just talk to me. You promised you wouldn't stop, remember?'

Eventually, she grew irritated with his voice, and her natural reaction to his pleading, which was to call him straight back and beg him to come over, so she slammed her brightly polished finger onto the mute button and flipped the TV on instead, her fury so great that even now, a week after 'the incident', as she was referring to it from here on out, she was still yelling at the top of her voice to Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as they chased after the bad guy all willy nilly, no backup in sight.

'Hmpf. Baby girl my ass!' She huffed and took a large gulp of her wine, her furious thoughts now directed at the two cops as they shot their way through heavy traffic. 'See! You, Mike Lowry, you're just like him! Ohhh, look at my gun, it's so big!' She sneered again at the TV as she poured herself another healthy measure of wine, scowling at the door as heavy knocking began. She'd know that knocking anywhere.

'If I was you, Agent Morgan, I'd leave right now. Trust me, you do not want to be in here with me!'

Too late, she registered the sound of a key turning in the lock, and shot up from her perch as he swung the door open, stepping inside and slamming it behind him before she'd had time to move an inch.

She crossed her arms over her ample bosom as she glared at him. 'Get out of my apartment.'

He tsked under his breath, shaking his head while his eyes made their usual first sweep of her body, the one that always made her feel as if she was standing before him naked. His voice was deceptively quiet. 'You're wrong. Ok? You're wrong. There's no where on earth I want to be but in here, with you. Baby girl, you haven't spoken to me for a week. You didn't even ignore me for that long when that whole thing with...'

Her eyes blazed furiously, daring him to finish his sentence and bring up his 'other woman', his secret, when they, or rather she, was just getting over it. It wasn't, she told herself, because there was a woman in his life, she wanted him to be happy, it was that the woman in question was obviously important enough for him to jeopardise his career for, and to lie to her for, and she'd selfishly thought that she'd be more important to him than any of his girls, many and varied as they were. She still couldn't get her head around it, he'd lied to her, surely the woman wasn't just a passing fancy like the rest. She had to mean something to him. Sure, she'd had Kevin at one point, but she'd never lied to her Hot Stuff about it, had never kept any of it a secret from him, in fact, he'd been her closest confidant, whether he'd wanted to be or not, and surely he had to know that she was holding back. She was a girl, after all, and when a beefcake like him had flirted his way into her fantasies, she'd struggled to find a way to push the 'what ifs' out of her treacherous mind, and focus on her new, albeit slightly lacking relationship. Nobody wanted to be lonely, and she couldn't wait for him to get his shit together forever, but he had to know Kevin had been a crutch, a convenient, lovable crutch, who gave her the only thing in their relationship that Derek never had. Sex.

He wisely chose to keep silent on the subject. 'Sweetheart, you know I can't...this, damnit, Penelope, I need you to be there, to...'

She spun away from him in disgust, frantically trying to get her anger under control. 'You need me to be there?! For what?! For your fun fix every morning? To prop you all up while you're out on a case, hundreds of miles away? For a good flirt when you need a pick me up?!'

He erupted, his hand flying unhindered in exasperation. 'I need you to be there for strength, for comfort, for my damn sanity! To make me smile when I feel like I can't, to make me laugh when I want to break down. I need you to be there, to be the light that I crawl towards, every single fucking time I have to get deep down into those psychos minds and find out what makes them tick!'

The muscle in his strong jaw ticked as his teeth clenched together. He had to get her to understand, he had to...there was no other choice. She...she was his solace, his precious, treasured solace, and he couldn't lose her. If he did, well, he'd be saying goodbye to himself, too.

Her breathing calmed, although anger still raged in her blue eyes. 'Tell me something, Derek, while I'm back here, being your strength and your comfort and your sanity, do you give me a second damn thought before you go storming through another door, guns blazing? I had to sit in that office, by myself, and listen to everything that happened in that house! You went in, with no back up, and I had to listen while...all I could here were gunshots, Morgan. And you didn't...I called for you but you didn't...you didn't answer, and all I could think was that I'd lost you.'

His eyes softened, and he approached her cautiously, taking her into his arms and wrapping her in his tight embrace when she didn't resist. 'You, princess? You're the only image I have in my head everytime I go into one of those places. Your big baby blues staring into my soul, telling me they love me even when your lips can't. And I know it's selfish, I can't stop being who I am, darlin', I can't stop wanting to help people, and I can't stop myself jumping straight in when I know someone could be hurtin', but I can't lose you either, so I'm asking you, even though I know it tears you apart, to keep being here, keep being my light, baby girl. Shout and scream, damn, hit me if you want, but don't do this, I can't stand not talking to you, honey. I need to know you've always gonna be there for me to come home to.'

Her tears overflowed and she sobbed in his arms. His eyes closed briefly, hurt at causing her pain shuddering through him, before he regained his senses and lifted her, gently settling them both back onto the couch, resting her safely on his lap as she cried into his neck. He rubbed her back soothingly, whispering nonsense into her ear until long moments later, her crying stopped, and then all he could feel was her soft, warm breath teasing his skin.

His eyelids flickered as she wriggled against him, arousing him in a way he was all too familiar with. They promptly snapped open again as he felt her smooth tongue dart out to taste his skin. He stayed stock still, although his body was screaming at him to grip her head close. Once she'd satisfied herself that he wasn't going anywhere, she stuck her tongue out again, this time taking a long, slow, leisurely lick up his throat to the lobe of his ear, and then nipping said lobe gently with her teeth, causing his eyes to roll back in pleasure and his hands to grip her hips, yanking her closer until there was barely room for a sheet of paper between them.

She moaned and pushed herself closer still, pressing hot kisses to his chiselled jaw, the stubble tickling her cheeks. His patience had worn thin, his instincts taking over as he gripped her chin in his strong hand, pulling her face up so he could look into her eyes, before he groaned at the heat he found there and took her lips in a punishing kiss, sliding his tongue past her gasping lips and flicking gently upwards, starved for the taste of her after 9 long years of wanting. She tasted like coffee, wine, and something that he could only identify as Penelope, sweet and salty at the same time, it was a perfect combination.

And then, just like that, she found herself unceremoniously dumped, albeit softly, on the couch as he paced back and forth in front of her, his nervousness palpable. She couldn't stop herself bringing a hand up to her swollen lips, touching them gently as she felt him all over again, and noticed how his eyes focused right where her fingertips rested, his pupils darkening.

'Baby girl, what are we doing? You're not...you're not thinking straight. You're upset, you don't want this, and I can't force you when you're so vulnerable.'

She laughed, half in painful need, and half in actual humour. 'You think I'm confused, stud? I know what I want. Question is, do you? Because I can't keep doing this. If I'm supposed to sit at home being the little woman, waiting on you to come home safe and keeping the light on, you can damn well give me something to make it worth my while. Unless of course, that's not what you want. That little display we just put on tells me it is, but if it isn't...'

He blushed as she eyed his crotch appreciatively, licking her lips in anticipation. 'You can't keep doing this? What are you saying, doll? Either we do this or what, I lose you?'

She shook her head in disappointment. 'No, baby boy, that's not what I'm saying. It's been 9 years. We've both had our freedoms, we've both used other people for the only thing we don't give each other. I love you. And I know you know how I mean it. I love you. I want you. I think you want me too. I hope so. If not, well, you won't lose me, Derek. I'll always be here for you, but I can't keep waiting for you. I'm 35 damn years old and I know what I want from my life. We either need to get our shit together or...or we need to stop this merry go round before we can't anymore. Your choice.'

He licked his suddenly dry lips, turning to face the wall as he contemplated his options. He could either take her now, take them both to heaven, but risk damning them both with his demons at the same time, or he could walk straight out of there, and return to work tomorrow pretending nothing had happened, but then he'd know that she wasn't waiting for him anymore, she wasn't his. And although they'd danced around each other for years, he'd always known she was his, if he could grow a pair of balls and claim her. Could he live with being on the fringes of her life, always looking in but never truly a part of it again? Could he live with watching her with a man who might one day become her husband, always knowing that whoever he was, he could never be good enough for her?

Either way, his life was never going to be the same again, that much he was sure of. He was a player, he'd never been ashamed of that, except with her. She made him wish he could be the kind of man she deserved, the kind who looked after her, who loved her and made love to her, who shared her laughter and her sadness...the kind of man who made her dreams come true. The kind of man who stepped up and took care of her.

And who said he couldn't be that man?

He was 38 years old. He'd spent a lifetime with a different woman every weekend, coming and going as he pleased, but she'd been the one constant, the only one who ever meant anything to him. She'd been there to listen to his worries, to give her opinion, to love him unconditionally and to take care of him in every way that had ever mattered.

Besides that, she was sexy as all hell, with a mouth and a mind that made him blush, and then made him hard as a rock just imagining half of the things she came up with.

A slow smirk spread across his face. Decision made. She was his. And that was how it was going to stay.

And just as he was basking in that delicious knowledge, he felt her gentle hands gliding up his back, pulling his coat down his arms and letting it drop to the floor before resting her chin on one broad shoulder.

His eyes turned positively black with desire as she blinked up at him, her enticing mouth pouting in invitation, still glistening with the evidence of their kiss.

'What's wrong, lover? Is it such a hard decision? Need some help?'

Before he'd had a chance to respond, she slid her hand around to his chest, raking her nails across his skin as she moved downwards, finding the part of him that was always crying out for her attention and rubbing him firmly through his jeans.

'Mmm, fuck.'

She kissed his neck gently, giggling as his head dropped back and his eyelids drifted closed. 'You see, baby boy, there are certain parts of you that already know what they want.' Her voice dropped to a whisper. 'When are you going to admit that this is what you want, what you need? I know it, even if you don't. I belong to you Derek, aren't you going to take me?'

Her heart was pounding in her chest, for all of her front, she was terrified that she was so far off of the mark when it came to him. What if he really didn't want her? He was a God-like superhero to whom women flocked like flies, and while she knew she was beautiful in her own right, he could have his pick. Her confident portrayal hid her inner struggle as she contemplated the fact that she could be risking their entire relationship because she couldn't wait for him anymore. But better that, she assured herself as she regathered her emotions, than risking their entire lives because neither of them was brave enough to come out and admit what they thought.

Thankfully, he didn't leave her guessing for long. He spun around, seizing her roaming hand in his and pressing a kiss to the knuckle, his eyes holding hers as she bit her bottom lip in anticipation, eyes flashing mischievously.

He groaned, his thumb gently tugging her lip away from her teeth and bending slightly at the knee to capture her full mouth, gripping her hips in his hands and pulling her closer.

She gripped the soft material of his shirt in her hands as she gave herself up to him, allowing herself to be dominated by him as she was rendered utterly boneless under his talented mouth.

'Take you? Hell, yes, I'm gonna take you. I've been thinking about this for years.'

She sighed in contentment, gripping him harder in an effort to get closer, but only succeeded in making him chuckle.

'Want something, baby?'

She mock growled at him, her lips doing that inviting pouty thing again that made him want to devour her. 'You know damn well what I want, stud. Don't be mean.'

He kissed her softly again, his big, masculine hands going to the back of her knees and slowly moving upwards. The air between them was suddenly thick again, all traces of humour gone as her breath came in fierce pants.

'This what you want, sugar? Hmm? Or maybe this is what you want.' Suddenly her panties were gone, and his long fingers were ghosting over the heated core of her womanhood. Her head dropped back as she let out a long moan, her eyelids drifting closer in excitement. She was positively dripping wet for him, her body sending shockwaves through her, the likes of which she'd never experienced before.

She was so far gone, she wanted to jump on him and ride him like a bucking bronco, but anytime her hands got anywhere near the fly of his pants, he tsked at her and pulled them back up.

She almost screamed in ecstasy when he slid first one, then two fingers deep inside of her, angling them in just the right spot to make her jerk and shudder in his arms. She was so hot for him, she came apart in minutes, her teeth biting into one strong shoulder to muffle her shouts.

He could barely contain himself from merely pulling his pants down and plunging inside of her like he so desperately wanted. He'd, they'd, waited so long for this, he wanted it to be perfect. He wanted her so far gone for him that she forgot everything but his name and the feel of him inside of her. He wanted her writhing, wriggling underneath him as he took her and made her his in every way.

And most of all, instead of merely taking his own pleasure, he wanted her to enjoy it. Not only enjoy it, he wanted her delirious. Perhaps it was the caveman inside of him, but he wanted to give her more pleasure than she'd ever had before. Wanted to prove to her that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him, wanted her begging him to fill her up even as she begged him to stop, to let her rest.

And so, he utilised every ounce of the knowledge he'd gained in over 25 years of pleasing women, and gathered up every bit of his control, and set about blowing her mind.

Her eyes had finally fluttered open, and she was sheepishly rubbing her thumb gently over the bite mark in his shoulder. 'I, um, I'm sorry, I've never been that crazy before.'

He let out a throaty, sexy chuckle, wagging his index finger in front of her lips. 'Don't you apologise for that, gorgeous. I like you out of control. And usually, my body art comes in the form of tattoos, but if that's how you choose to mark me, momma, count me in.'

He gave her a lavicious wink before taking a step back and pulling his t-shirt up and over his head. She licked her lips, her blood pressure rising again at the sight of his rippled muscles, her hands itching to run across his smooth, dark skin and make him melt just as he'd done to her.

She moved to do just that, running her hands up from his sculpted stomach to his biceps and back again. His eyes darkened with lust and impatience, and he cupped his hands under her firm ass, lifting her clear off of the floor and carrying her through the beaded curtain that led to her bedroom.

He tossed her gently to the bed, yanking her pretty dress up and off and taking her bra with it. In front of him, her dream man, her midnight fantasy for what felt like forever, she should've felt self-conscious, but she couldn't seem to find it. How could she feel self-conscious when he was looking at her like he wanted to eat her up?

Wrong word choice, she thought to herself, as he kissed her calves, giving them both the same amount of attention before moving to her suddenly sensitive knees, and then up her thighs. His intentions were clear as he shot her a cheeky grin, before gently pulling her legs apart and dipping his head down.

She sighed happily, her entire body throbbing with want again as his tongue flicked once, twice over her clit, and then flicked into her channel, making love to her as he wanted to do with another part of his anatomy.

She'd never had any man make her so hot in such a short space of time. His talented tongue teased her for long, achy minutes before her hips were bucking off of the bed, his head clutched in her hands as she jerked again in his arms.

He licked his lips in satisfaction, a self satisfied smirk on his face as he pulled himself upright, standing by her bed. He crocked a finger teasingly. 'C'm 'ere, baby, and take these off for me.'

He gestured to his pants. This time, it was she who licked her lips, fully intending to take advantage of the situation. Rising to her knees on the mattress, she smiled angelically up and him before taking the zipper of his jeans between her teeth. It took some tugging, but she finally got it open, looking up to see him watching her with dark, hooded eyes.

His voice was soft as he murmured, 'tease.'

She ignored him as she focused her attention to the button, releasing it before slowly dragging his pants and boxers down his lean thighs. She didn't bother pulling them all the way off, leaving them half way down his legs as she leant closer and blew cool breath on his striking erection.

He hissed out a breath, intent on pulling her away and having his wicked way with her, but she was relentless, slapping his hands away and enveloping the head of his cock in her scaldingly hot mouth.

'Mmm, fuck, baaaby.'

She groaned in enjoyment, and the vibrations made him temporarily lose control of himself, his hips thrusting towards her as his control shattered. He tangled his fingers into her hair as her mouth slid down further on him, her tongue flicking at the sensitive skin there as she brought her hands up, one joining her mouth moving on his dick, and one cupping his balls, causing him to groan again and forcefully pull away from her, even as she groaned in disappointment and reached for him again.

His eyes were wild as he gently pushed her back onto the bed, crawling over to join her. 'Naughty girl, anymore of that and tonight will be over far too soon. Oh, well, hello.'

Now that his face was practically buried in her cleavage, he could appreciate just how magnificent her breasts were, and he took one rosy, puckered nipple into his mouth, his tongue flicking over it before he hollowed his cheeks and sucked.

She screeched then, clutching his head to her bosum as her back arched. He pulled away grinning, but not before giving her other breast the same attention.

'Ohh, I see, my princess likes that, huh?'

Instead of giving him a vocal answer, she pulled him just slightly so that he was resting fully over her, their bodies pressed tightly together.

The humour left his voice as he met her eyes, his fingers moving across the soft skin of her forehead to push a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. 'I love you, Penelope Garcia. I'll never hurt you if I can help it, I'll take care of you always. I can't promise that I'm gonna be around forever, but I can promise you that I'll love you with every breath in my body. And you're always gonna be mine, cos I'm never gonna let you go.'

An unwanted tear snuck out of the corner of her eye, but she paid it no mind, her voice a whisper. 'I love you too, Derek. So, so much. I think I've always loved you. And I want to be yours more than I want anything else on the planet. Make love to me, hot stuff. Make me yours.'

Sliding a hand underneath one soft thigh, he lifted her leg to accommodate him, and then slid inside of her in one smooth thrust.

'Yes, baby girl, you feel so fucking good around me.'

She shuddered again, unable to believe how full she felt as he began to move, their pleasure sneaking up on them as their lips met again, slow, passionate kisses being shared as they found completion.

Finally, temporarily satisfied, they collapsed onto the bed. He pulled her into his arms as they drifted into a restful sleep.

The princess in the arms of her prince. Finally.