(Hello and Happy New Year! Hope this finds everyone reading safe and warm and enjoying the first few days of 2013! I know it's been some time since I have posted a "Criminal Minds" story, but hopefully this will still be a welcome offering! One note: This completely ignores the absence of Emily Prentiss on the team, as well as her faked death and short return before leaving again. In this story, she is there and part of the team, just like she always was before season six. I miss her, and I wanted her in the story, so hopefully that doesn't cause too much confusion. As always, I do not own them and am only writing this for fun.)

**New Year's Magic**

By : TutorGirlml

Chapter One

No matter how many Christmases she celebrated to the hilt, or how many New Year's Eve parties she enjoyed, even if she ended up leaving alone – without a kiss at midnight – Penelope Garcia never got over the sad, hollow feeling of letdown she felt as the New Year began. She was upbeat and optimistic on the surface, as always, but inside she felt her constant brightness falter. Each year, as she delivered cookies, wrapped presents for friends, made plans for caroling, and sat up late into the night with hot chocolate, seeing the lights twinkle on her tree, she vowed that next year would be different; she would have someone sitting there with her, someone to wrap presents for, with whom she would finally find her own family again. Next year would be different – and she wouldn't be starting another year alone.

Granted, she knew she had her friends on the team. She was grateful for them and loved them with all of her heart. She had adopted them as surrogate relatives for herself and truly got a lot of joy from drawing them out of themselves and their depressing, nightmarish jobs whenever she could. They were the closest connections she had enjoyed since her parents' death, but even they were not the same as family. She wanted someone who was there for her to snuggle with when she wanted to watch Christmas movies, who would hold her tight and calm her fears when she couldn't sleep at night, or when she woke from bad dreams, and she wanted someone who would appreciate and love her for her eccentricities – not in spite of them. She wanted someone who would be all hers, and Penelope knew that she had been dreaming of him and waiting for him for so long that he had reached almost superhuman proportions in her mind – an ideal hero whom no mortal men she met could live up to.

There had only been one man who had ever come close. He was still in her life, but she had long ago shoved that possibility away, not able to dare hoping he would choose to love her as she desired in reality. Instead, she was his friend, his confidante, and there for him when he needed a date to some event on short notice or a listening ear, and she had learned to be content with that. Almost – almost – she didn't even think about her secret wish that he could be that one man for her anymore.

As she had returned to her apartment from work about an hour ago, she had known she was on a tight schedule. She had to be back at the Bureau's New Year's Banquet and Ball by 8:00. The FBI bigwigs held the yearly gathering for awards, commendations, drinks, and dancing each year for agents and their families or dates. Penelope had nearly chosen not to attend at all this year; her mood was not right, but Emily and JJ had cajoled her into it and were coming at 7:00 to put finishing touches on their hair and makeup with her and go to the party together. Garcia had relented, thinking that, if nothing else, the three of them might be able to have some fun downtime together. She knew that the party itself was just an excuse for the Bureau to hand out trophies and pat itself on the back, and for the more beautiful and powerful people to dress up, mingle, and flaunt, but if she could spend the evening with her girls and they wanted her there, then she would go and manage to rustle up someone enthusiasm for it.

Stepping out of her huge, antique bathtub set up on clawed feet, she toweled herself dry, watching water run out of the tub and thinking about how thrilled she had been when she found it hidden beneath other trinkets and trash at a flea market, and how silly she had felt calling up Morgan to help her get it home. He'd had a little fun teasing her and chuckling when he saw what she had found, but then he had been happy to help transport it to her apartment, and she had displayed her find proudly in the very center of her bathroom ever since. It was unusual and had character, as many of her things did, and its large basin made it the perfect place to relax and escape, where she could lie soaking and sloughing off her cares at the end of a long day. Sometimes, she even took a romance novel or Japanese anime edition in with her and read in warmth and quiet until her skin went all prune-y and the water turned cold.

Penelope dabbed on some perfume – a fragrance she knew he liked, he had commented on it before – and then scolded herself for walking right into disappointment. Why had she bothered to catalogue what he liked, or let herself be fooled into hoping he would notice her effort tonight? Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Garcia turned and lifted the dress hanging on the back of the door from its hanger and over her head.

It was a ridiculous dress too, she thought mutinously as she turned to look at her reflection in the mirror when she had it smoothed down over her generous curves. For one thing, it was much more luxurious, traditional, and formal than she was used to. Emily had picked it out when she went to get her own gown for the event, and would accept no arguments from Penelope when she had given it to her. She claimed it was a terribly belated Christmas present thanking Penelope for her friendship in the past year, and that she knew Penelope would look stunning in it. "Just because I don't flaunt my money or swan around at all of my mother's snooty gatherings, does not mean I didn't inherit some of her impeccable taste," Emily had said, winking as she forced the dress into Penelope's hands a few days back and waltzing out before Penelope could refuse. "Trust me."

Penelope felt it was too tight over her slightly rounded, soft stomach and hips, that her breasts were pushed up and on display, and that it was a much too provocative shade of deep blood-red for her to avoid attention at this high-powered shindig. This wasn't her office at the BAU, where she liked to quirkily stand out. These were her bosses and superiors she would mingle with tonight, and she felt exposed. Though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, she did register that the feel of the silk chiffon material slid deliciously over her skin, caressing her as it fit like a glove. She couldn't help feeling just a bit sexy too – even as she worried that she looked inappropriate.

She had painted on a deep ruby lipstick that matched her dress and had her full lips looking luscious and kissable, even if that seemed pitiful in her own estimation. She had also made a fair attempt at smoky, mysterious eye makeup and was puzzling over what to do with her mussed hair when JJ and Emily arrived. Still barefoot, she hustled out to meet them at the door, ready to tell Emily that she had known she wouldn't look right in the dress and to beg JJ to do something with her hair.

They came in together, Emily laughing heartily at something JJ was telling her amid giggles of her own, "Yeah, Will and Henry went to go pick up Spence, and the three of them will meet us there. Can't you just see them sitting there fidgeting waiting for us? Will has no more ability to schmooze and mingle than Reid does. Everyone will be gathering around them wanting to see Henry and make small talk, and neither of them will know what to do with themselves. When we show up, just wait and see how glad they are to see us!"

It was then that they both turned to see Garcia standing before them, and their laughter stopped while their mouths dropped open. Of course, both of them looked stunning: Emily in a long, silky, royal blue gown with spaghetti straps, clinging to her lithe form just enough, all the way down to where it fanned out in a slight flare at her ankles, a sapphire necklace hanging at her throat delicately and her hair swept up on one side in a sapphire-studded barrette; JJ in a knee-length black cocktail dress making her look adorably, beautifully retro as pearl earrings, a pearl necklace, and her hair in an elegant French twist completed her impeccable look. However, they both seemed speechlessly stunned by her, which Penelope found just plain silly.

"What?!" she demanded, feeling sorely tempted to put her hands on her hips and stomp her foot. There was no need for them to gape at her like that; she had done the best she could with what she had to work with.

"Penelope Garcia!" JJ exclaimed, stepping forward to examine her friend's look more closely. "You look AMAZING!"

"Yeah, you do," Emily added, looking altogether too pleased with herself and happy with the outcome. "I knew you would. That dress is great on you."

"I highly doubt that," Garcia replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes at their effusive compliments. "I feel completely stuffed into this thing."

"Um…that's kinda the idea," Emily rejoined playfully. "I can think of at least one male profiler who may really enjoy the view."

She and JJ winked at each other knowingly, and it made Penelope want to scream in frustration. They were certainly not helping matters, and they were making it even harder to deal with this whole situation. She tried to give them a glare that would stifle their ridiculous comments, but instead she found herself chuckling with them. It was nice to get dressed up and let off some steam with her girls, and it was wonderful to see JJ and Emily in such gleeful high spirits when they were normally so serious and tense. For the good of their evening out, she could go along with the charade and humor them. "If you say so," she snorted doubtfully. "Now, can one of you please make yourself useful and do something with my hair?"

Emily volunteered enthusiastically, grabbed her hand, and pulled her back towards the bathroom with its large mirror and all of Penelope's hair supplies. JJ followed them, eagerly offering ideas, and Garcia found that she was soon caught up in their cheer and exuberance, as if it were contagious.

By the time they slipped out of her front door a short time later, Penelope felt her hair had never looked as sleek and elegant as it did in the 40s noir style waves Emily had managed to produce almost magically; one side even tantalizingly hid part of her face in a way reminiscent of Veronica Lake's old-Hollywood glamour.

"Let's go, girls," JJ prodded excitedly, leading the way with her keys jingling in hand.

Penelope Garcia looked up to the stars twinkling above her for just an instant as she followed. The very lightest of snows had just barely begun to drift down while they were inside, and as one light flake landed on her cheek, she pushed aside her earlier misgivings to wonder curiously just what the New Year might have in store…