"Good hit Hunter!" Derek claps in applause. "Now run it in."
The 8 year old nods his head in approval and begins to run the bases around the baseball diamond.
It's mid July so the weather outside is a sticky hot with high humidity. Penelope sits on the nearest bench of the small neighborhood park watching her boys practice. In her opinion, it's too damn hot to be out here running around, getting sweaty, but the heat between her legs is becoming on fire from the sight of her hunk-a-licious Derek Morgan sweating bullets down his beautiful body from his bald head, to his strong neck and onto his white T that was now just about drenched. What she would do to be able to lick that bead of sweat that currently trailed down his face disappearing at his collar. Yes from where she was sitting she could see it. She just had to squint a little extra hard, but she saw it, and appreciated it. It made her feel hotter than she already was from the sun, if that were possible. She never understood a man's comfort with sweating. It was just downright ick feeling, but the way it looked on Derek Morgan made it look deliciously refreshing.
"Go Hunter, go!" Little Sasha cheered from the dugout area, looking up momentarily from playing with her dolls.
Penelope was pulled out of her lusty daze and couldn't help but to giggle at the hazel eyed mocha colored skin beautiful baby girl. Derek had given Penelope the trademark "Baby Girl" nickname years ago, but four years ago when Sasha ReAnn Morgan came into his life, she definitely took the crown.
Derek attempted to foul Hunter out before he could make it to home base, but the boy slid in.
"Safe!" Derek called out.
Pen scoffed at the move hating this part of the game or in this moment practice the most, because no matter how much bleach she used in the wash, the dirt stain just wouldn't completely come out!
"Hunter!" She whined in annoyance and Derek had to let out a chuckle at Pens non understanding.
Turning around and smiling sheepishly he says, "Baby it's a part of the game! When are you gonna get that through your hard head!"
"Oh you hush mister! You don't have to do his laundry, I do!" She barked.
Derek waved her off and turned back around to face Hunter who stood right in front of him with a coy smile on his face, which indeed indicated that he was very proud of his slide and getting dirty knowing it worked his mother's nerves.
"Good play! You keep that up and we'll be on our way to the championship game this year for sure." Derek said while bumping fists with the boy who gladly returned the gesture.
As if to trample on the parade, Savannah comes walking across the grassed area of the field towards the baseball diamond. She spots Derek first, standing behind Hunter helping him into a baseball glove showing him the correct angle of his arm for certain catches. Looking to her right, she spots her little love bug playing. Where her eyes land next, flare up her jealousy. She watched as Penelope stared memorize at her man. Savannah stops walking and folds her arms to the scene before her. What was it with this woman that she didn't get it through her thick skull that Derek was hers. Savannah huffed in annoyance and was about to make her appearance known when her daughter beat her to it.
"Mommy!" Sasha squealed in excitement as she threw her dolls down and ran over to her mother jumping into her open arms.
Penelope once again was pulled from her lust filled thoughts and wiped the sweat from her chin that probably was drool.
Derek watched the ladies from the corner of his eye and turned his body some so he could be earshot of their conversation. Penelope was his best friend and Savannah was his wife, but hearing from both sides in private about their dislike for one another and witnessing them exchange a few nasty words between each other in the past, has told him that they definitely weren't very fond of each other.
"Penelope, hi." Savannah greeted her sweetly as she finished her walk over to the computer tech with Sasha cuddled comfortably in her arms.
Unsure of herself, and feeling a bit caught, Penelope cleared her throat before responding and giving Savannah an awkward wave. "Hey Savannah."
"Mommy," Sasha interrupts. "Auntie P bought me a new Dollie today. Her name is Sasha! Just like me!" The little girls says happily which makes Savannah plaster a fake smile to her face to not ruin her daughter's excitement knowing damn well she felt a pang of irritation begin to boil. To think that once again Penelope was doing small gestures through her daughter to keep a smile on Derek's face.
Savannah wasn't stupid. She knew Penelope's game.
"That's wonderful sweetie, so wonderful that maybe we should leave the doll here, so every time you return to the park you have a toy to play with." Savannah said with sass hinting to Penelope that her toy was nothing but trash and didn't deserve to be in their home.
Derek rushed over at that moment hearing the tone in his wife's voice and pulls her into a side hug. "Hey baby, you're early." He checks his wrist watch then connects eyes with her.
Savannah softens some at the touch of her husband before responding. "I finished my rounds early. Couldn't wait to get home to my family until I saw the note you left on the fridge." She frowned before standing directly in front of Derek, looking up at him with innocent eyes. "Can we go home now, please?"
Derek eyes Savannah with a warning look briefly before relaxing and nodding his head. Stepping around her to go and grabs his bag, he see's that Hunter is already of help by shoving baseballs into it for him.
"Thanks bud." Derek says as he ruffens up the boys hair, messing up his blond locks.
Penelope waves goodbye while Savannah stares at her as if she's invisible.
"Ok, let's go" Derek calls out to his wife as he slings his bag over his shoulder.
Savannah turns to leave without saying a word and Derek takes a chance by pausing next to Penelope. He watches his wife for a moment before turning to Pen and gives her an apologetic look. Penelope shakes her head to silently tell Derek 'no worries, it's not your fault.' He sighs in defeat then leans in to give her a kiss on the forehead. He quickly jogs off to catch up to his now waiting wife who shoots daggers at Penelope.
Hand in hand Derek and Savannah leave the park with their daughter sitting on top of Derek's shoulders.
Penelope stands next to her son and rests her hand on his shoulder as they both watch The Morgan's in what seemed to be a mixture of 'Aw' and jealousy for entirely different reasons.
Hunter loves Derek and wishes he were truly his father, since he's been the only father figure around for the past two years.
Penelope on the other hand, loves Derek too. Yeah he's her best friend, but lately she can't help but to wish he was more. The chemistry between them at work or during their down time outside of work was smoking hot and just a simple touch from Derek in any way made Penelope feels like her whole body was going up in flames.
Once the Morgan's were no longer in sight, Penelope patted her son's shoulder and said, "Come on buddy, let's go get some ice cream."
That got a small smile from her son which helped her smile too. Hunter reached for his mother's purse. "Can I drive?" He asked as he took out her keys.
Penelope gave her son a 'you can't be serious' look and laughed as she took the keys from him and directed him up the path to their car.
Later that night after dinner, Derek was upstairs in the bathroom giving his little princess a bubble bath.
"Rub a dub dub, splashing in the tub." Sasha and Derek sang happily together being silly, while Sasha splashes on cue to the song getting her father all wet.
Not upset but all smiles, Derek reaches into the water and splashes his daughter right back while laughing.
"Daddy! My hair." Sasha giggles.
She knows her mother will have a heart attack if her hair gets wet simply because her hair will curl right back up into tight coursed knots, and Sasha Morgan hates having her hair combed.
"My bad." Derek apologizes with a smirk.
Savannah had just made her way upstairs and heard Sasha being cautious of her hair. It made Savannah proud. Her little girl really did pay attention when she told her rules about certain things. Unlike her father who constantly let her words go in one ear and out the other.
Phone vibrating in her pocket grabbing her attention, Savannah's heart skipped a beat. She pulls out her phone and see's that it's just a number on the screen, not a saved contact.
"Are you still coming?" It read.
She listens to hear if Derek and Sasha are still occupied before she makes her decision to respond.
"No. Another night." She pressed send.
A few short moments later, "But he made you mad. I can make you feel good." Read the next text.
Savannah hears Derek remove Sasha from the tub and the sound of the water being drained is heard. Panicking a little, she texts the person back quickly.
"Don't reply. Goodnight." She presses send again for the last time and pushes the phone back into her pocket. She appears in the doorway to the bathroom while Derek is toweling off their daughter.
Derek is always good with Sasha. With their relationship being so close, he's always careful not to overstep boundaries. Because he was molested as a child and has witnessed so many molestation cases at work, he never wants to be mistaken for someone like that, or let it happen. So after every bath, Derek helps his daughter out of the tub and has her change into her underwear before he dries her body off with a towel.
When Sasha was a newborn he refused to change diapers, but Savannah let him know that it was okay and that she trusted him. So he agreed to changing her if he was the last resort and Savannah respected his feeling towards the matter.
"Daddy can you tell me the story about you running down the street naked again." Sasha asks innocently knowing her dad will more than likely say no because he's told her that story over a billion times, making her laugh hysterically each time.
Derek folds his arms and laughs at her. "Sasha baby, again? Aren't you tired of hearing that one?"
"Noo daddy, I can never get tired of that one." She giggles as she pulls up her Doc McStuffins pajama bottoms.
Derek was going to respond but Savannah stepped in and intervened. "Okay you two, it's that time. Sasha no stories tonight. It's past your bedtime and you need to get into bed now." She helped her little one button up her matching pajama top.
Derek gritted his teeth with a wiggled shake of the head being silly towards his daughter as he mocked his wife. Sasha did her best at holding in her laugh so they wouldn't be caught by mommy.
"Remember to say your prayers." Savannah said in a sing song voice.
Sasha nodded in response and started her walk out the bathroom with Derek right behind her.
"Tell your mother goodnight."
"Goodnight mommy. Love you." Sasha smiles and blows her a kiss before disappearing into her room.
Savannah laughs at her daughter's cuteness and goes to brush her teeth in her and Derek's master bathroom.
Derek tucks his daughter into bed and kisses her forehead goodnight before leaving her room. Closing her door, he leans against it for a moment to collect his thoughts of the day. He knew Savannah was mad at him for spending "un discussed" time with Penelope once again. She was his best friend before Savannah was even in the picture so whatever insecurity she has is her problem.
Finally making his way into their master bedroom, Derek see's Savannah laying under the comforter but on top of the sheet. That says two things to him, either she wants to have sex, or she really doesn't wanna lay with him tonight. Pushing the mixed signals out of his mind he padded his way to the bed crawling on.
Once he gets near his wife, he leans in to kiss her, but Savannah puts up her hand to stop him. "Derek, no."
Damn.
Letting his head hang for a second Derek sighs for what's about to come. "What did I do this time Savannah?"
Like he spoke a foreign language Savannah stares at Derek in shock. "Are you serious? A note. You leave me a got damn note saying that you're out at the park with that woman."
"Hey! I didn't have to do nothing at all." He raises his voice.
"Derek you know I don't trust her! So why do you keep putting yourself around her when I'm not there to watch?"
Now resting back on his knees, Derek positions his hands into a prayer and eases his voice. "Savannah, baby. You do realize how crazy you sound right now right? Not there to 'watch us'" he quotes. "Baby, it's not that serious. We're just frie-"
"Don't you dare!" She points with an accusing finger. "I've heard that lie too many times before and honestly Derek I don't believe it one bit!"
Derek was taken aback. Savannah has always made it clear that she doesn't trust Penelope because she's caught the stares she gives him or doesn't agree with their flirting banter. At first he didn't see the wrong in it but after a few convos with his mother and friends he agreed to fall back and refrain from that a bit and just stick to calling her baby girl or pretty mama rather than the more sexual heated banter they use to have so freely. But right now for Savannah to call him a liar when it comes to their friendship speaks volumes. Does she truly think he is cheating on her with Penelope?
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" He spat, raised up on fours now hovering over her.
Savannah closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. It's not that she didn't wanna face Derek but she didn't mean for it to slip like that.
"Derek I-"
"No no no, I think you were implying that you don't trust me. Forget Penelope, this is about me. I don't know what the hell I did to make you think I'm stepping out on us but I'm not. So check yourself before you throw out assumptions." Derek finishes and moves to get off the bed but Savannah grabs him by his shoulders and pulls him down onto her.
She presses her lips to his and let's the moment linger waiting for a response from her husband. She didn't wanna argue anymore so she needed to distract him.
Derek cups her chin and pulls back from the kiss. They have a stare down for a minute searching in each other's eyes for unspoken answers before resuming the kiss. Pulling off her nightgown and kissing a trail of light kisses down her body, Derek goes down on Savannah eager to taste her and to remind her that he is her man, no one else's.
Savannah lays still and tries to focus on the moment, but her mind is elsewhere so she stares blankly at the ceiling unhappy and ready for this to be over.
Penelope lays on her side on her living room couch while she watches a re run of the game show; The Family Feud on the Tv. She's exhausted from the hot sun earlier and feels like a prune. Scratching at her arm from the on coming sunburned spot, she hears the loud thud sound coming from her son's feet down the hallway.
"Did you brush your teeth?" She asks him as she swings her legs over the side of the couch so she can sit up.
Coming into view, Hunter nods his head then yawns. It was a big yawn too getting a smile out of Pen.
"It's bedtime mister."
Hunter sighs. "I know." He leans on the top of the couch from standing behind it. "One of these days I'll get to stay up super late and not go to sleep til the sun comes up." He said proudly.
Penelope shakes her head and clicks the tv off. Turning around in her seat to face her son, she smiles. "Oh yeah, well it isn't anytime soon, now scoot." She shoo's him with her hands.
Standing upright in defeat, Hunter walks around to the front of the couch and gives his mother a hug.
"Night mom. See ya tomorrow." He says as he heads towards his room slowly.
"Goodnight baby." Penelope says softly.
Just when she thinks her son is in his room, she hears his voice again. "I miss telling dad goodnight too." He frowns and closes his door.
Those words give Penelope a sinking feeling. She leans back on the couch and tries to relax. Eager to shut down her mind she tries to remember the days when her ex husband was home, jubilant, helpful, and sane. Brian Wilkerson was a troubled man, but finding Penelope turned his life around for the better. A heroine addict who had lost his way, until the day he stumbled into Penelope Garcia, literally while she was leaving out of the gas stations mini mart.
Their relationship didn't spark up immediately seeing the condition he was in but finding out they grew up in the same neighborhood of her hometown city of San Francisco opened her heart to getting him help to end his addiction. A few years later during an anniversary of him being clean for three years, he asked her if they could consider this night an official date, and within another year later they were engaged.
Like most relationships, there were ups and downs, but Brian steered clear of drugs. Around Hunters 6th birthday, Brian's beloved mother had fallen ill with Cancer and died six months later putting Brian into a depression, causing a strain on the family. Months after that is when Penelope noticed her husband's spiral which morphed into him using again. Trying to stay positive and keep watch on her husband from going down that road once again, she was to no success. Though Hunter never witnessed his father shooting up, he witnessed the manic depression, in and out of conscious, and frequent arguments between his parents. Finally came hunters 6th birthday where Brian was clean but studdered like a loon causing sympathetic glimpse from her team mates who profiled his symptoms. The birthday party at the local pizza parlor went great and ended with laughter between the three of them until Hunter fell asleep. Brian gave his son a sincere kiss on the head as well as whispering to him how much he loved him and how he was his greatest accomplishment and just like that, Penelope knew. She knew that this man who's she's spent her life with for the past 10 years was leaving.
A stray tear fell down Penelope's cheek and she didn't even bother to wipe it as she rose from her spot on the couch and walked down the hall to her bedroom. She crawled into bed and hugged herself to sleep as she cried silently into the night.