Title: Lone Wolf no More
Author: Trista Groulx aka dustytiger
Rating: T (same as show to be safe)
Disclaimer: Sadly I am still poor and don't own Criminal minds. It belongs to all the wonderful people network, creators, writers, actors and actresses who bring it to life weekly. Darn.
Summary: Penelope Garcia gets a big surprise and must come clean about her relationship with David Rossi.
Notes: This one came to me while helping a friend with her fic. I suggested the nickname of mon loup (French for my wolf) and now it's in my head and it's gonna stick. This one is going to stay as a stand-alone. I couldn't find a song title to fit this time. It's set after "Derek" sometime in the time jump.

"Oh no! Oh no! This is not good. No! Stop saying that!" he heard her yelling through the bathroom door.

"Kitten what's going on in there?" he asked.

"I- dropped my phone. I thought it was gone but she is now well and fully revived," she told him. "Gotta go!"

He stood there perplexed. He had planned on making breakfast since they had over an hour before they needed to leave. He knew that they couldn't show up at work together, but they still had more time before they needed to leave. He had learned shortly after they had met not to try and figure out why she did the things she did.

When she got in she saw that there were files opened on Spencer Reid's desk, she knew that meant he had come in early. He was often there before everyone to avoid having to stand on the metro. She knew he was likely looking to refill his coffee cup and went into the break room. Sure enough he was there and she hoped they could talk.

"Reid, I need to talk to you," Penelope Garcia told him.

"All right, sure, what's going on?" he asked.

"Not here, the walls have ears."

"Um, okay, I was just working on some paperwork, but we can go for breakfast if you'd like."

"Yeah, that's good, let's go."

They left and went to a restaurant not far away he knew they both enjoyed. They sat down and Garcia swirled her tea in the mug it was in. Reid watched her he had seen her frazzled before, but it was never this bad before. He sometimes wondered why she would confide in him instead of Morgan.

"What's going on?" Reid asked.

"I took a couple of tests, they all came up positive," she explained trying to keep herself from crying. "I'm pregnant and I don't know what to do."

"I think you need to tell Rossi first," he told her.

Her head popped up and she stared at him. "How?"

"Small things I've noticed. Before you ask I haven't told anyone, and they don't suspect it."

"I don't know what to do."

"You need to tell him."

"But we never talked about it. He has a grown daughter and a grandson. He doesn't need this."

"If you haven't talked about it you don't know what he wants."

"I know you're right but I'm still scared."

"I think that's perfectly normal," he assured her.

The server came over and set their meals down. Garcia smiled at her and they both thanked her. She pushed her food around on the plate a little. Reid looked at her, she knew without him having to say a word that she needed to eat. She hadn't been sick much yet so she couldn't use that excuse. She certainly didn't want to hear the mountain of facts he would start to tell her about how important proper nutrition is during pregnancy.

"What if he doesn't want this?" she asked him after taking a few bites of her breakfast.

"You are a strong enough person to go it alone," he assured her, "but I highly doubt that's going to happen."

"Spencer Reid you always know just what to say."

"It's the truth."

She smiled at him. "I guess I'm being silly."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "You can blame it all on the hormones."

She laughed, knowing he was right but her mind still racing about what might happen after she told Rossi the truth. After they had eaten they headed back to the building. When they got there they were shocked to see Emily Prentiss sitting at Reid's desk. Garcia went over and hugged her tightly.

"What's going on?" asked Reid.

"Your unsub started in London, they thought I'm the best person to send to work with you so here I am, until we catch this guy," explained Prentiss.

"Everyone else is already in the conference room. PG everything's loaded for you."

"Well thank you EP, I guess we should get this started."

They all went into the conference room and Rossi slipped in last and sat down. He could tell that she was avoiding eye contact with him. He wondered what could possibly have upset her so much. The night before had been like any other. He got in from the case and they had stayed at her place, they would go to his cabin on weekends or if they knew they could go in late to work.

After the briefing Garcia scurried quickly back into her lair and stayed there until she was sure the plane had taken off. She then went into the hallway and was heading to the breakroom when she heard a very familiar voice call her and she squeaked a little and froze staring at him.

"I thought you were on the plane," she told him.

"I was supposed to be," he told her. "I said I wasn't feeling well they have an extra body and I can contribute from here."

"Oh- um- why'd you do that?"

"Because something isn't right, my kitten doesn't run away."

"I'm not running I'm working and you are supposed to be too."

"Penelope, stop. You ran out so fast this morning I was expecting a Penelope shaped hole in the door followed by a smoke trail."

"You're being silly I remembered I had a breakfast date with Reid, and I didn't want him to start asking me questions."

"You need to talk to me. I know when you're lying."

"I hate profilers," she sighed.

"This isn't a profiler thing, it's a man knowing the woman he loves."

She looked down at the floor, tears in her eyes. "The thing is that in a few months I'm going to have a sweet little angel there's a very decent she won't have my porcelain skin and blonde locks," she whispered.

"So why are you running away from me? I know you fear change and I don't want another marriage. That isn't a valid reason to abort a pregnancy."

"Abort? No I could never…"

"I didn't think you would but the way you've but the way you reacted I had to wonder."

"We've never talked about it. Plus you already have Joy and Kai."

"I didn't get to see her grow up, and we don't see each other often. Believe it or not I do want this Penelope."

"Really?"

"Of course, this is a good thing."

"I want it to be," she whispered. "But that means that everything's changing and everyone is gonna know."

"I know, but you have to admit it will be nice to stop lying to our family."

"That'll be nice, I have hated keeping this from them. What about you, mon loup, there are rules?"

"I have a move that I've kept hidden if I want to stay with the unit."

"There's an if here?"

He laughed. "I'm not sure how the director would feel about having a baby crawling around your lair, kitten."

"What exactly is floating around in that head of yours?" she asked wrapping her arms around him despite herself.

"I could write a few chapters during nap time."

She smiled. "As much as a part of me loves the idea of stay at home daddy, you are not a man who can stay out of the field."

"I'm just letting you know we do have options, Penelope."

"All right, but can we tell the easy people first?"

He nodded. "I'll talk to Aaron."

"Oh Jinkies, I wasn't even thinking about Hotch yet!"

"I just wish I could be a fly on the wall when Lynch hears the news through the grapevine."

"There's a part of you that's twisted."

"You told me last week you liked that side of me."

"I never said I didn't."

"There's also a side of me that's still daring," he told her brushing his lips against hers.

She relaxed into the embrace for a moment then pulled away from him. "I – we can't here."

"They'll know soon enough kitten, relax it's not like I'm asking you to have sex in your lair."

Her cheeks flushed. "Oh, mon loup that's not going to happen not ever."

"She says as if she can't reroute the security cameras."

"That's not my problem with it."

"Okay," he assured her, he then kissed her again.

"We really shouldn't do that here."

"My kitten just told me we're going to have a baby I can't help it."

She smiled at him. "It sounds so good to hear you say it mon loup."

He kissed her forehead. "We should get back to work."

She nodded and she left with a mug of tea, and went back to her lair. The case was a hard one but in the end they had been able to catch the unsub. Garcia was nervously excited about telling everyone the truth. The first person she wanted to tell was Morgan, so she went to greet him, and they went into his office.

"There's something I need to tell you but you have to promise me you're not going freak out," Garcia warned him.

"I'll try. What is going on woman?" Morgan asked.

"The reason my head's not really been in the game the last couple days is that I've been wondering if baby Morgan or baby Garcia-Rossi is gonna be plucked from the heavens first."

"Baby Garcia… Rossi?"

She nodded. "Um, yeah."

"As in David Rossi?" he asked in disbelief.

She nodded. "It just kind of happened."

"Angel Face, I hate to break this to you but babies don't just happen there's a very specific action that make them happen."

"I know about the birds and the bees, Hot Stuff. I mean the whole thing with Dave just kind of happened. He makes me happy."

"So my two favourite girls are going to be radiant with that baby glow at the same time. I'm happy for you Baby Girl."

She hugged him. "Thank you. I guess we'll have to face the hard part soon."

"Sorry sweet lady, this isn't gonna be something you can keep hidden for much longer. They're gonna figure it out the second they see that baby. Italian genes run strong. I just hope the kid gets your beautiful eyes and heart."

"You are too sweet."

"No such thing, Baby Girl Mama, now I gotta go see my baby mama."

"And I need to talk to JJ and Emily."

"What about pretty boy?" he looked at her reaction. "Wait why'd you tell him before me?"

"He's my softer place to land when my head's in a tizzy."

"Gotcha, go on before they leave."

She nodded and went over to JJ and Prentiss who were chatting by JJ's desk. Mostly talking about how much the boys had grown and how much they missed each other. Everyone knew that Prentiss loved her new job but missed her family.

"Do we have time for a tea before you head out?" she asked them.

"Always PG," Prentiss assured her. "It's no fun staring at hotel walls and dodging my mother's calls."

"Henry and Michael are with Nana tonight and I think Will can wait another hour or two."

"Great."

The three of them all went to the café they usually went to. They ordered their drinks and Gracia joined them with a small plate with brownies on it. The two women looked at Garcia knowing there had to be something big going on.

"All right Penelope, you only buy us sweets when there's something on your mind. What's going on?" JJ asked.

"I liked you better when you weren't a profiler," Garcia sighed. "Well I kind of have some news, but you need to promise me you won't freak out and get mad at me for not telling you sooner."

"What have you been hiding?" Prentiss asked.

"Well I kinda sorta have been dating someone and I'm pregnant," Garcia explained.

"It this a someone we know?" asked JJ.

Garcia nodded slowly stirring her tea in the cup. "Um, yeah, you totally do. Please just don't freak out, okay? I mean sometimes things just kind of happen and it doesn't make sense but you're so happy. And I am happy, and he's happy too, and he wants this, I didn't think he would but he does. And now we're going to have a baby," she rambled.

"Out with it," Prentiss told her.

"It's Rossi," she whispered.

"How did I miss that?" asked JJ.

"We had to be discreet, you both know about his past, but he's really not like that anymore. I was upset and he invited me to his cabin. He was so sweet, on the Saturday we were in the hot tub and something changed. And I kissed him or he kissed me or we both went for the same thing at the same time but it just happened and it felt good."

"I used to date a guy with a beard," Prentiss explained. "He was very easy on the eyes but not worth the rash on my face."

"Oh, no, no, Dave's beard so super soft, he uses conditioner or something, I don't really know, but no icky red rashes for this girl."

"So you and Rossi?" asked JJ shaking her head. "I don't think I ever would have guessed that one in a million years."

"So does he live up to the hype?" asked Prentiss.

"Do you really want to know the answer to that?" asked JJ.

"Okay I might kiss and tell but that's as far is it goes," Garcia told them. "He really does make me happy. I know that a lot of people see the age thing as a huge deal, but it just- happened. Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. Clearly the universe is on the same page if we're gonna have a baby."

The two women smiled shaking their heads as they sat with their tea and brownies. It felt like old times even though everything was different.

Meanwhile Rossi had gone into Aaron Hotchner's office. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation. He knew telling Hotch would be hardest. He was the person who knew his past best. None of that mattered anymore. His past was in the past and he had reconciled it both with himself and with the person it mattered most to.

"We need to talk," Rossi told Hotch, sitting down in the chair across from the section chief's desk.

"Sure, what's going on?" asked Hotch.

"Penelope is pregnant.

"You'd think she'd be the one who would need to tell me that, unless there's more to it than that," Hotch sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, hoping that this was going a different direction than he was imagining.

"It's mine."

"You can't be serious. You know the rules. She might be a tech but she works exclusively with us. Not to mention the age difference."

"I'm not asking you for your blessing or approval, Aaron," Rossi told him. "I'm telling you because you're the unit chief and I didn't want you to hear from someone higher up the food chain."

"She's almost the same age as your daughter, doesn't that bother you?"

"Don't go there."

"You're going to have to get used to, and strangers asking you if you're the baby's grandfather."

"All right, this is where it's going. Sometimes it just happens. I never thought anything would end like it did when I invited her to the cabin for a weekend away, but it did, and it felt good. There are not many people who have a heart like hers. We didn't plan on having a baby, but it is happening and there are no good reasons why we shouldn't raise that child together. I know there's going to be wild rumours flying around the building, and I'm constantly going to have to explain to people that the baby is, in fact, mine but I thought that my friends would see past that because she makes me happy."

"You've said that before."

"She is the only person I need to justify my past to. You can think this another of my mistakes if you want to. You can even break it down and profile it, but I don't give a damn I know what I have in her and I am not going to let it go until I take my final breath."

"You know there are rules."

"I do, and if the hammer drops we've discussed our options and we'll decide what's best for us. I can't undo any of it, and to be perfectly honest I don't want to."

He was frustrated and left Hotch's office. He went into his own, taking a few things. He drove past the café he knew she'd be at. She was smiling as she spoke with her friends. He didn't want to interrupt them. While he was pulled over he sent her a text letting her know he was heading to her apartment and wanted to get up to his cabin if the night didn't run too long.

Rossi smiled when the door to the apartment opened. She smiled back at him and sat down next him. He pulled her close and she curled up into him. He kissed her softly and she ran her hand along her cheek. She pulled away a moment later laying her head on his chest.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Good," she told him, not wanting to ask the burning question.

"Not so good on my end. We both still have jobs though."

"Good, everyone else got a surprise but they're happy we're happy."

"I wouldn't change any of this, you know that right?"

She nodded, wiping a few tears away. "I do."

"Oh, Kitten."

"I'm just a little emotional. I'll be okay."

"I knew going into this that things might have to change once the truth came out, but you're the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you more than I thought I could love anyone. You're the one who is always talking about the universe making thing happen. I believe the universe made us happen, made this baby happen so that we will have a commitment to each other without having to have a big ceremony to show other people who we feel about each other."

"All right, mon loup, I think I understand."

He cupped her cheek and used his thumb to wipe her tears. "I love you Penelope Garcia, and I know I'm going to love that baby who's growing inside of you even more. We might not have planned this, but I couldn't be happier."

"I love you back," she whispered after and kissed his lips softly. "Thank you. You always know just what to say."

"Do you want things to change between us?"

She laughed. "Do you mean do I now want a ring on my finger and a big fancy ceremony?"

"I just want to be sure."

"I don't need all of that and I honestly don't want it. I'm still good with the way things are. Everything changing to make room for our new little wolf kitten is more than enough change for me to deal with."

"Wolf kitten?" he asked shaking his head.

"That's what I said."

"If that's what makes you happy. How about I get you tucked into bed, I'm sure you haven't slept well for the last few nights."

"I kind of had something on my mind."

"I know you did."

They both went into the bedroom and before long they were curled up in the bed together.

"I guess we'll be talking baby names before we know it," he told her.

"I think it's a girl," she assured him.

"Let me guess, you already have a few names in mind."

"I do I want her to have both our mother's names, Isabella Jane Rossi, we could call her Bella."

"Kitten she can't have my mom's name without your last name."

She shook her head. "That's what I want our little baby Bella, mon loup. I don't want her to have to explain Garcia like I do. Besides I'm the one who is going to go through labour and it's what I want and you can't argue with me."

"All right, Kitten if it makes you happy if she's a girl that's what we'll name her."

"Thank you, je t'aime mon loup."

"Two can play that game, ti amo."

He then took her hand and they went into the bedroom. They both knew there was a lot to do before the baby was born, but none of it needed to addressed in that exact moment. All they wanted was a good night's sleep before they went into planning mode.

The End

Notes: The last bit of dialogue is them saying they love each other in French and Italian. I hope you enjoyed this little fic. I had hoped to get it up before yesterday but my muse just wasn't quite happy. Let me know what you think hearts and hugs all!