Author's note: My thanks to my all of my facebook lovelies, you all know who you are :). A huge thank you goes to Bren Gail for the beta and for keeping my muse well guarded. Also to Herky Illiniwek for posting the picture that inspired this story in the first place. As always, I own nothing, not even a season of Criminal Minds on DVD. I appreciate your constructive criticism but will not tolerate hate-mongering and any flames of any other author will be promptly reported to the administration of this website.
It had been a hellish week for all of them. The case hadn't ended badly per se; there were just a half dozen more victims they hadn't known about, which overshadowed saving the last victim. Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner sat on the BAU jet, wondering how local authorities hadn't noticed six blond haired, blue eyed, curvaceous young women. The fact that it had taken them until Traci Phelps, the seventh victim they knew of to go missing before they called was bad enough. To find that the UnSub's actual grand total was actually fourteen was unconscionable.
It didn't help that all of the victims bore a striking resemblance to someone they all held dear. When the case came across his desk 10 days ago he decided to present it himself, hoping to shield his technical analyst from the trauma of seeing women who looked so much like her after they had been butchered. Unfortunately Penelope beat him to the conference room and saw the crime scene photos before he could stop her. Her anguished cry cut him to the core and he vowed right then to make sure this UnSub was swiftly brought to justice.
"Garcia, I'll handle this," he told her brusquely, hoping no one was able to hear the tightness in his voice when he spoke to her. He and Penelope had quietly been seeing each other outside work for a couple of months. He knew they worked with profilers and as such, the rest of the team probably knew of their relationship, but they hadn't gone further than dinner and holding hands so he wasn't sure if it could even be classified as such at this point.
He knew he cared about her deeply. He knew he wanted the relationship to progress. The more he got to know the enigma that was Penelope Garcia, the more he wanted to know. Each time he said good night to her after they had dinner, it grew more difficult to deny the desire to pull her into his arms and never let her go. They had talked about it, and both wanted to take things slowly. She had just come out of the relationship with Kevin. Hotch had only ever dated Haley and Beth, the latter finally having admitted she couldn't tolerate the separations caused by his job any better than the former had, so they decided to remain friends and running buddies.
The night Beth broke it off ended up being his first "date" with Penelope. He went back to the office since he had a sitter and nowhere to be. He worked on a few reports and as he was leaving, decided to take some paperwork down the hall to Penelope's office. Through the slightly open door he spied his tech analyst asleep on her keyboard and he was enchanted by how lovely and innocent she looked. Knowing he couldn't leave her there, he gently awoke her and tried to send her home.
"What are you doing here, Bossman?" she asked him with a yawn. Since Hotch had been seeing Beth, he had been working hard to send everyone home at a decent hour. That was why she always tried to be in the bathroom or away from her desk when he made his nightly rounds, so he wouldn't know how late she was staying, dreading going home alone to her empty apartment.
She wasn't sorry that her relationship with Kevin had ended. She had known since before JJ and Emily came back to their little family that it wasn't going to work with him. But he was comfortable, like an old beat up pair of tennis shoes that you've had forever. You know they don't fit anymore but you just can't make yourself get rid of them. She just hated going home alone. It was so much easier to cook for two than for one, so she had taken to staying at the office until really late, then grabbing take out which she usually ate on the way home and finally collapsing into bed, too exhausted to stay away and dwell on the fact that she was once again alone.
She was shocked to see Hotch back at the office. He was supposed to be out with Beth. By her count, this should have been date number 10 for them, often a crucial point in many relationships, the one where you find it out if the chemistry outside the bedroom carried over. She hoped they hadn't caught a case and had their date put on hold once again.
"I thought you and Beth had a date?" She was a little embarrassed at being caught napping so she tried to keep the subject off herself and on her boss and the attractive brunette he'd been seeing for a while.
"What are you still doing here, Garcia?" Hotch asked at the same time she asked about his date with Beth. Of anyone one the team, she would be the first one to notice something different about him personally, so in a rare moment, he decided to open up to her a bit.
"She broke things off tonight. She said she thought at first she could handle the absences and aborted plans, but as time went on and the cases got longer and the ruined dinners added up, she realized she couldn't do it and she wanted us to not hate each other."
"You want me to mess up her credit a little?" Hotch heard Penelope murmur softly and he smiled. Heaven help anyone who did caused real or perceived harm to someone she cared about. Fiercely protective and loyal were two qualities he valued and Ms. Garcia had them in spades.
"That won't be necessary, Garcia. But I appreciate the thought," he joked drily. "Nice try, changing the subject by the way. I'll ask again, what are you still doing here, it's almost 8PM."
He knew she thought he hadn't noticed her being conveniently away from her desk during his evening rounds more often than not lately, but he had. He suspected it had something to do with her break up with Lynch but was loathe to pry into her personal business. As much of an extrovert as she appeared to be, he knew she valued her privacy just a highly as he or Rossi, so he left it alone.
"Have you been staying late since you and Lynch broke up, Penelope?" Hotch asked on a hunch. He had done the same after Haley left him and there were many nights that the situation had been reversed and it was the pretty blonde who found him bent over his desk burning the midnight oil in order to avoid an empty house.
His heart clinched a little when she quietly answered in the affirmative. As he was unwilling to explore that reaction, he instead studied her more closely than he had in some time. He noted that her clothes fit differently than normal, not really loose but not the impeccable tailoring he was used to seeing. He also saw that her normally perfectly if outrageously coifed hair was a little less than perfect. His final observation was what led him to do something completely out of character, though. As he was looking her over, her stomach rumbled loudly and she blushed a vibrant shade of pink, from her cheeks all the way down to her ample chest.
"Have dinner with me," he asked her suddenly, knowing she couldn't plead no appetite given her body's involuntary reaction just a moment ago.
"Oh! Hotch…I don't know…it's late and I'm..."
He interrupted swiftly, "I have reservations at Restaurant Nora that are going to go to waste. Come with me."
"Restaurant Nora? It takes AGES to get reservations there."
"I know. I had to call in a favor from Rossi," he remarked with a smirk. Not like Rossi had objected. Anything to get you laid was his actual remark.
"Well, we can't let the Super Agent's connections go to waste, now can we?" she had said with a smile.
He remembered that smile as he sat there on the plane and he mirrored it when he heard Morgan's iPad beep with an incoming Skype call from the woman he'd been lost in thought about as the plane streaked home from the horrific case.
"Hello my doves! I'm call bearing good news. The director just sent us all an email thanking us for our hard work on that case, especially since you were all away over Easter. From the time you touch down at the airfield, we are all on stand down for a week. So finish up those reports on the plane lovelies and I'll see you when get back. Garcia out!"
There was a general sigh of relief from the plane's occupants at the message Penelope had just conveyed. As he glanced around at his team, he heard the alert that he had an incoming Face Time call from Penelope. He accepted the call even though he was with the team, as she had been known to take Jack to the park and call him so they could see each other while he was away. As it happened, she was alone this time but he was so glad to see her safe and sound that he allowed himself the luxury of talking to her briefly.
"Aaron, you look exhausted! Did you sleep at all in the last week?" Penelope scolded him gently. Since then had been seeing each other outside work, she had been calling him by his given name. He liked the way it sounded when she said it, like he was special to her.
Hotch sighed, he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He had promised he would always be honest with her, but he didn't want to upset her needlessly. "Not a lot, Pen. The victims….they all…well you saw what they looked like. Every time I closed my eyes at night, all I could see was you."
He saw a range of emotions play across her face as she processed what he had just admitted. "You can't do that, Aaron. You know you have to sleep sometime. You haven't shaved since you left either, have you? That tears it; I'll be at the airfield when you land. I'm taking you home and taking care of you."
"Penelope, if you pick me up, the team is going to know there is something going on…"
"It's time for them to find out, Aaron. This isn't just two friends having dinner anymore, for either of us, is it?" She asked her question softly. He knew that meant she was hoping for a particular answer but wasn't sure she was going to get it.
"No, Penelope, it isn't. I think they probably all know but have all had the discretion not to say anything."
"Alright then, I'll pick up Jack from Jessica's and we will see you when you get home. Stay safe until then, my sweet."
"Penelope…you are amazing, thank you. I'll see you when we land."
"Aww, that's why you love me, Bossman. Garcia out!"
Just as she was closing the connection he said quietly, "That isn't the only reason" but he wasn't sure if she'd heard him or not as he settled into his seat to finish up the reports that needed to be turned in before he could relax. Just minutes before the pilot announced that they would be landing soon, he transmitted his final report, breathing a sigh of relief that he was done would be able to concentrate on Jack and Penelope for the next week.
Hotch gathered his briefcase and go bag while they were still taxiing to a stop. He was trying to disguise his anxiousness by moving purposefully but not quickly, but thanks to Rossi's eagle eye, he was unsuccessful.
"In a bit of a hurry to get off the plane there, Aaron?" his entirely too observant friend asked with a knowing grin.
"No more than normal, Dave."
"It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain blonde tech bombshell, would it?"
Knowing he was busted, Hotch gave Rossi a rare smile. "It just might. Now let me get off this plane before I shoot you and create more paperwork for myself."
Rossi wisely stepped out of his way and he quickly disembarked the jet, his eyes scanning the surrounding area looking for Esther, Penelope's vintage orange Cadillac. It was early enough in the spring that it was still cold after the sun went down and he knew she would keep Jack in the car to stay warm until they saw him descending the steps. Spying the car just as the passenger door flew open and Jack tumbled out screaming "Daddy, Daddy! Me and Aunt Penelope are here to get you!"
He heard Penelope correct Jack's grammar automatically but gently from inside the car and the walls around his heart tumbled a down a little further. His long strides carried him across the tarmac in no time and dropping his bags; he scooped Jack up and hugged him tightly to his chest.
"I see that Buddy! What do you say we thank Aunt Penelope with a pizza and ice cream when we get home?"
"Yeah! Can we get one with pepperoni for us and one with just cheese for Aunt Penelope 'cause she's a veterinarian?"
Hotch set his son down on the ground with a laugh as he corrected him, "That's vegetarian, Jack; and yes, we can get Penelope anything she wants on her pizza."
He turned to see that Penelope had climbed out of the car during his exchange with Jack. She was swaying nervously, obviously unsure how she should act towards him now that they had decided to open up to the team about their growing relationship. He took the initiative and pulled her into his arms, holding her close and burying his face in her hair, just savoring that fact that she was here, safe and with him. He pulled back slightly and bent to kiss her when he felt a hand on his chest, holding him back.
"No offense Bossman, but those lips aren't coming anywhere close to mine until you get that stuff off your face!"
Behind him he heard laughter and applause from the team, as well as several muttered comments of "It's about time".
Laughing lightly, he pulled her to his side as they turned back to the car. "Let's go get that pizza and head home. I'm starving and I can't wait to get a clean, close shave."