I own nothing, Disclaimer.
A/N: Thanks for the brilliant response to the first chapter! Love that you all have faith in a good ending =P
Let's hope this doesn't disappoint!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In A Girl's Dream-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Penelope downed a shot of vodka and turned back towards the table. She looked to see Derek leaving with the blonde and her mind finally realised that however single she got, Derek Morgan was not going to come along and declare his love for her. Derek Morgan had his woman fix for the night and, again, it wasn't her.
She went back to the table and sat down. She didn't even pay any such attention to Emily and JJ as they came up behind her from the dance floor. She just put her head down and tried her hardest to stop the new spell of tears as they coursed down her cheeks.
She hated herself for falling in love with a man that was too far from her league. She hadn't herself for being the wrong type of woman that Derek went for. She hated love for yet another moment in her life.
She finally looked at the concerned faces of her two best girl friends and tried to smile but failed immediately. "What's wrong with me?" She asked them feebly and broke down completely. She put her elbow to the table and ran her hand into her hair as she closed her eyes to halt the tears again.
JJ leant forward and took her hand in hers, she squeezed it and Penelope didn't look up, she tried again. Penelope still looked down, this time her shoulders began to jump with each new cry.
Emily saw the men coming back and stood and went over to them, she stopped them and looked back at Penelope before looking back at them. "Maybe now's not the right time to sit back down."
"Is she okay?" Hotch asked, he knew all about the deceit Kevin had caused. How he'd had a string of women trailing behind him from midnight pickups. His excuse was he was making up for what Penelope neglected.
"She saw Derek leaving. I could kill Kevin, or Derek. I really don't know how much more she's going to keep this up."
"She's going to be hard headed. We've tried to get her to tell Morgan, but she's not having any of it at all." Hotch said looking around towards the door. Trying to find Derek on the sidewalk outside.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In A Girl's Dream-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Derek was looking at the blonde as she searched for the closest cab, he sighed and looked back in, straight through the crowd and saw Penelope sitting there crying with JJ and Emily. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked. It wasn't crying due to laughter, or a little water shed, it was full blown sobs.
She definitely hadn't got lucky and if he found out some guy had tried something and made her like this, he would make him pay for hurting his baby girl.
"I see one! I'm good at flagging them down." The blonde said confidently and hailed the cab. She turned around appeased with her ability and tugged on Derek's top. "C'mon, party's waiting on us."
"I can't." He finally spoke to her and she frowned. "I can't go home with you."
"Why the hell not?" She asked agitatedly.
"Because I'm needed here more." He told her and left her and went back into the bar. All Derek knew was that he wanted to stop the tears from pouring from Penelope's eyes, he wanted to get her out of her little black spot and he was willing to do the one thing he'd held off doing for too long.
He knew that her and Kevin had left it on a big sour note, but he never probed her. Penelope was much like him, the more you push the more she'd shut down. Little did he know was that if she was to be questioned by anyone, she would freely tell him all in a quick burst.
Penelope's heart was entrusted with Derek's care after all.
Derek navigated his way through the crowd, making Penelope his one and only target. He passed Hotch, Rossi and Reid, ignoring them as he went. He was fed up with waiting. He was tired of seeing Penelope's broken look be masked each and every day.
Derek Morgan was about to do one thing that scared him most in the world.
When he finally reached the table, he heard her cries and saw Emily and JJ sit up straight and watch as he walked slightly around to Penelope's front and gently grabbed her hands and pulled her up and pulled her close to him.
No moment was wasted her, he just captured her lips on his, tasting the sweet taste of alcohol as it mingled with the tears that were still streaming. He pulled away after the fiercest kiss he had ever experienced and cupped Penelope's face in his hands, wiping each new falling tear mid descent. Catching them all.
"Don't do this if you don't mean it. Please." Penelope near enough begged him and Derek's heart clenched at her words. "I can't have you do the same."
"I will never do whatever Kevin did. I'm not Kevin, Baby Girl, I'm not him." He told her honestly and Penelope looked into his eyes, searching him for a lie or a dishonest vibe. She came up completely empty. "I don't want you to be hurting anymore. I can't keep what I feel for you at arm's length anymore. I've stood by the side for too long. I can't live with dreams and lies anymore."
Penelope's eyes widened at one of those words. "Dreams?" She asked him in a gasped. Her mind rallied in the perfection that was her earlier dream.
"There's only one opportunity in life to meet your one, and I met mine 6 years ago. I just didn't really realise it until I got too close to losing her. I can't lose you Penelope, I can't and I wish, so badly do I wish, that I'd just had the courage to tell you." Derek told Penelope, his heart bleeding pure, raw emotions into each of those words.
Penelope sniffed and smiled some. "I- I never thought I was right for you. I thought tonight proved that again. Derek don't start something with me for it to turn into what's already happened to me."
"What has already happened to you?" Derek asked her, holding her in place, not caring about the people watching.
"Kevin..." Penelope dropped her gaze as she felt stuck for words.
"C'mon Sweet Thing, tell me."
"He'd been sleeping around." Penelope felt Derek's hands tense and held a low growl; she looked up at him, her big brown eyes watering again. "With 13 other women."
"I can promise you now, Baby Girl, I am not Kevin, I am not going to waste a perfectly good thing and I sure as hell am never, ever going to break your heart." He kissed her lips quickly before looking ready to fight. "I've dreamt for too long about having you, about holding you in my arms, about having you all to myself, about kissing you however many times I wanna in a day. I've dreamt to the stars and back about finally having you as mine and when I say I'll make you mine, I will make you mine for a lifetime, Honey."
Penelope began to cry more, yet as the tears fell her hands looped his neck and she pulled him down and kissed him greedily, kissed him like she'd yearned to, kissed him exactly how she had in the dream. She pulled away, kissing his lips with pecks and she looked up at him.
"I've loved you for longer than I can remember. I just never thought I stood a..."
"Never, ever think that those girls are my type. You've never known my type, because I never told anyone." Penelope watched his eyes glisten at her and she had to smile. "Until now." He said and brought her closer to him. "My type is curvy and shorter than me," he teased her with a smirk, "and she has curls that look good blonde or red, she's got the most infectious laugh and the most radiant smile that just brightens everything up, and she has this big heart that she will give to anyone, no matter what. My type of girl is a Penelope Garcia type of girl and I know they're on short supply of those." Derek leant in, ready to kiss her, their breaths mingling. "I'm ready to take the one and only model off the shelf permanently."
"Do it." Penelope said and he finally kissed her longingly.
Penelope closed her eyes and responded to the kiss through and through, she didn't hold up on the rush of emotions and she didn't let her mind believe for one moment this was dream. When the kiss ended she looked at Derek and smiled. "If this is a dream, don't for anything, wake me up, Handsome."
"I won't I promise, Baby." He told her and as they were kissing he pinched her on the arm. She pulled away a little with an ouch and raised an eyebrow at her. "Just giving you proof, Sweat heart, just giving you proof."
Penelope didn't need telling twice, that was enough.
For once, the most perfect moment of her life was not all in a girl's dream.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In A Girl's Dream-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
A/N: Didn't think I end it with a sad non HEA now did you?
I'm sorry, but if Lynch was off the scene, there's only one way Penelope Garcia can really go... and we all know where that is? =P
I wasn't really liking this chapter... so hope it wasn't too much of a flop!
Hope you liked!
