Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, and I'm not making any profit off of this story.
A/N: This was written for the CCOAC Christmas challenge. My assigned pairing was Morgan/Garcia, and my prompts were: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas; cocoa with a candy cane in it; getting snowed in; someone wearing a Grinch sweatshirt or sweater.
When I saw the name of the Author I was supposed to be writing this for, I had to do a double take. Fanatical Writer is one of my favorite Criminal Minds writers; seriously she is in my top three. So I was like 'Yeah I get to do a fic for Fanatical Writer!' and then a few seconds later 'Ah! I have to do a fic for Fanatical Writer!' I don't know how to measure up to her stories, but I did my best. I know she likes AU's so I decided to try something new, I hope it turns out alright.
Summary: Only hours before Penelope, Emily and Spencer are supposed to be making their way to Emily's parents Chalet in Whistler BC, for their Christmas Vacation, Emily informs Penelope that Derek is coming too. Penelope is less than excited upon hearing this news, as she and Derek Morgan have never gotten along.
Rating: T for now, might end up being M depnding on what readers want.
Please R&R
Enjoy!
…
Penelope stepped off the elevator wearing a white dress covered in a red maple leaf print. Her cherry red heels clicked on the floor as she stepped out, wheeling her matching red suitcase behind her.
A smile spread across her face as the elevator doors closed behind her and she saw Emily walk out of the bullpen.
She watched as Emily's eyes widened when she saw her friend, and quickly hurried over to her.
"You sure went all out" Emily said with a laugh.
"Well of course, I couldn't go visiting Canada for the first time without the proper outfit, that would be un-Garcia of me" Penelope supplied.
Emily shook her head "Only you Pen…"
Penelope just smirked "So is everything ready for our Super Special Holiday Getaway?" she asked.
Emily's smile disappeared and she bit her lip, looking worriedly at Penelope.
"Oh no! Please don't say Boss Man is reneging on our week off and we have to go on a brutal, icky case instead!" Penelope pleaded; voicing the biggest fear she had had since finding out they had the week of Christmas off a month ago.
"No," Emily said "It's nothing like that; we'll still be able to go."
Penelope let out a deep breath "Thank Goodness!" she said.
But Emily still looked slightly uncomfortable and Penelope knew whatever her friend was going to tell her, did not bode well for their Christmas Vacation.
"Okay," Penelope said "Just tell me, I can't take not knowing!"
"Right," Emily said, taking a deep breath "well I was in the break room this morning, getting my morning coffee, when Spencer walked in. Derek was already there, he had just finished pouring his own coffee when I came in. Spencer grinned at me and said…"
"Hey Em, I've got everything ready to go for after work, are we still planning to leave for the airport at five?"
"Yep," Emily said taking a sip of her coffee "I have my bags in my office and I've already called an airport taxi so that it will be waiting for us out front."
"An airport taxi?" Derek questioned, giving his team mates a questioning look "Where are you guys going?"
Before Emily could say anything Spencer piped up "We're going to Emily's parent's Chalet in Whistler BC, for our week away!"
"Together, by yourselves?" Derek asked.
"Oh no," Spencer said "Garcia is coming too. Emily sent out an e-mail asking if anyone else would like to come, Neither Hotch nor JJ could make it because they are spending Christmas with their families, and Rossi said he doesn't do snow at Christmas if he can help it. Didn't you get the email?"
"No, I didn't," Derek said, his gaze moving swiftly to Emily.
"Really? I sent it to you," Emily lied swiftly, trying to be convincing. Truthfully she hadn't invited Derek. It wasn't that she had anything against him but she knew that Penelope would kill her if she invited him too. The two just had never gotten along.
Derek frowned and shook his head "Not that I know of."
Emily got the distinct feeling that he knew she was lying.
Trying to make things better she quickly blurted "Oh…Well maybe I typed your email incorrectly or something, sorry! But you can still come if you like. I mean I know it is short notice and all, but the invitation is there, as long as you can get a flight booked."
Derek considered the offer for a moment. "Hmm…it would definitely be more fun than what I had planned on doing for the week."
Emily nodded "Yeah, it's going to be loads of fun. The Chalet is quite large, so there's plenty of room, and there's a lot to do. There's skiing or snowboarding, lots of bars and restaurants, and cool shops. I can guarantee you'll never be bored."
"Yeah, that sounds great; I'm just going to work on that flight issue…" Derek said, grinning at Emily and walking out of the room.
Emily watched him go "Oh Penelope is not going to be happy about this."
"What?" Spencer asked "Why?"
Emily gave him a 'You've got to be kidding me look' then shook her head and walked away, leaving a very confused Spencer standing alone in the break room.
Penelope gaped at her friend.
"You did what?"
"Listen I'm sorry, I know you and Derek don't always get along but…."
"Don't always get along? We're like arch-enemies!"
Emily shook her head "Well maybe you'll be able to get to know him better on this trip, Then you could be best buddies."
"Like that's going to happen" Penelope said rolling her eyes.
"Well I can't just uninvited him" Emily said.
"Why did you invite them in the first place?" Penelope asked, hands on hips.
Emily glared at her "I couldn't just tell him that he was the only one on the team purposely uninvited. I know you don't like Derek but that doesn't mean I want to jeopardize my relationship with him. We're friends, and a team, I don't want some stupid holiday messing that up."
Penelope pouted, she knew Emily was right, it wasn't fair of her to ask her friend to uninvited Morgan, but that didn't mean she had to like it.
"Well there's still hope he won't get a flight, right?" Penelope asked, cheering up a bit "I mean it's the week of Christmas, it's impossible to get flights now."
"Actually, he already booked one" Emily stated.
"What…?" Penelope asked, that just couldn't be possible.
"Apparently he has some connections at the airport and he's already planning to run home at lunch and quickly pack a bag for the week." Emily explained.
"That's just…typical Morgan…" Penelope grumbled "I bet he just used some of his 'charm' and all the ladies swooned, coming to his every beck and call. With the amount of woman Morgan has dated, I wouldn't be surprised if more than one of them worked at the airport."
"Pen, don't you think that's a little farfetched?" Emily asked.
"For Morgan, not a chance" Penelope said.
"So, do you not want to go anymore?" Emily asked.
Penelope took a moment but then shook her head, however she didn't look happy "No, I still want to go, I already paid for the ticket, and I'm not gonna be out $700 just because Morgan decided to tag along like an annoying parasite, attaching itself to an unsuspecting victim"
"That's…kind of the spirit," Emily said "besides I bet we'll barely even see him, the resort is huge."
Penelope sighed, she didn't see how their vacation could possibly be as good as she had planned it to be for the last two weeks, now that Morgan was coming but she was determined to not allow the likes of Derek Morgan to ruin her Holiday.