[a/n: so, for anyone who may have missed it, the song in this story is actually from the end of the episode, "Proof". it's playing while Rossi shows the team how to properly cook spaghetti. garcia's italian is merely conversational, which means she only knows enough right now to have light chit-chat. also, the middle bit of this chappy is a re-write. previously, i had garcia flipping out on emily and dave coming in later on, but it jarred the flow of the story and took it in a completely different direction. peace~]

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS OR ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL HERE IN.. i merely shake it like a polaroid picture sometimes...

It had been nearly three months since that faithful cooking, and what surprisingly turned out to be, dancing lesson. The team was all together again, after solving a particularly nasty string of murders, in their favorite bar/hang out. Everyone was enjoying themselves- Reid was challenging poor, unsuspecting patrons to trivia drinking games, J.J. was kicking Hotch and Emily's asses at darts, Derek was surrounded by young honeys desperately trying to compete for his attention, and Garcia was making idle chit-chat with the only remaining member of the group, one Agent Rossi.

Not long after the bar flies began getting wise to his act, Reid saw fit to slink back to the group's table and hide behind a pint. It took him a few moments to realize the conversation between his two oddly matched co-workers, which he thought had been carried out in english, wasn't in fact english at all.

"Guys.. Are you speaking italian?", Reid asked, genuinely curious as to how this event had come about. Lord knew, Garcia tried, but her forte was french, and she had stayed firmly within those boundaries for the past fifteen or so years of her life, as far as Reid could guess.

Garcia turned her head lazily towards her substitute BFF, and drawled, "Dovremmo spiegare il nostro gioco?" (should we explain our game?)

"E più divertente se non facciamo", Rossi answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. (it is more fun if we do not.)

"Guys", Reid smirked self-indulgently, "I taught myself italian so I could read 'Dante's Inferno'. I can understand every word you're saying."

"Looks like the jig is up, kitten", Rossi sighed, shrugging off the lose.

Penelope frowned, and pouted. "Awww, and I was so looking forward to talking about him behind his back.."

Reid made an unimpressed face at Penelope and she giggled wickedly.

"Perhaps some other time, si?", she chuckled, grinning teasingly at Rossi.

"Oh, for sure", Rossi nodded with a hidden wink, taking a sip of his whiskey on the rocks, "I just love to hear you gush about Reid's cute butt.."

Penelope nearly showered the poor junior g-man with her mouthful of gemstone martini. She chocked back the gulp of alcohol slush before rounding on her former friend turned traitor. "It wouldn't surprise me, you swish-ass turn-coat!", she sputtered and coughed, glaring daggers.

"So quickly you forget how this swish-ass persuaded you to face your fears, miss high-and-mighty", Rossi retorted. "If I'd only known how little thanks I'd receive in return, I might never have offered my services.."

Penelope relented and decided to take the higher road. "I suppose you are correct, I never did thank you properly for all of that, so I hope you'll accept this as an apology instead."

Rossi nodded his approval in mock-disdain.

"And besides..", she grinned, fixing her mischievous, glittering eyes on the gorgeous bit of grey matter sitting across from her, "Your butt is cute.."

Garcia snickered darkly as she watched a flustered Reid try and come up with a change of subject.

"Morgan-", Reid squeaked, then cleared his throat and continued in a less ear-splitting manner, "Morgan looks to be attracting quite the crowd."

Penelope turned to look over her left shoulder at her muscle bound sweetness and the toothpicks with questionable morals falling all over him. She felt slightly bored and surprisingly disgusted by this particular display. "He does seem to be having the most fun out of all of us", Penelope sighed, turning her back on the gyrations and stirring her martini with her tiny straw. Damn, it had to be bad when her straw had more of a figure then the majority of the girl's in the bar..

Rossi noticed how morose Garcia looked, sitting hunched over her drink, stirring it listlessly. He had also noticed that Morgan didn't even bother asking 'his baby girl' If she wanted to dance anymore, more than likely because he had giving up waiting for her to cave and say yes. Rossi could see she was missing Kevin really bad right now, and that just wouldn't do at all. Not that the kid had been a bad seed by any stretch, but the guy was half way around the world and she'd dumped him. After all of the time and effort he had put in to build up this wonderful woman's confidence, he could now see it crumbling before his eyes, and he decided right then and there that it was too much of a shame to let it all go to waste. He hesitated a moment, thinking carefully. He toyed with the edge of his glass, making the ice cubes swirl slightly in the amber liquid.

"Hey, kitten..?", he asked softly, planning on making sure he had her attention.

"Yeah?", Penelope sighed, turning her head and unsuccessfully trying to force a smile, her eyes drooping.

"What'd you say you and I get a little.. revenge on 'lover boy' over there?", Rossi proposed casually.

Penelope did a double-take and then realized what the crazy italian was suggesting. She blanched and shook her head, staring at the man wide-eyed. "No..", she breathed, old fears taking hold.

"Yes", Rossi countered, trying to be as calm, collected and confident about the situation as it allowed.

"No", Penelope replied more firmly.

"Yes", Rossi countered for the second time in as many minutes.

"No!", Penelope bellowed at him in a strained whisper.

"It'll be just like we practised, only there will be other people present", Rossi tried to assure her, but to no avail; clearly he had a battle ahead of him.

"That was different!", she half growled, half hissed, "We were in your living room and all the curtains were drawn!"

Reid was thoroughly confused with the pair's heated discussion, and due to his scant experience, the possible double connotations were lost on him.

"What were you doing in Rossi's living room with the curtains closed?", Reid asked, frowning in befuddlement.

"Say what?", JJ asked, choosing the worst moment possible to pass the group's table on her way to the bar.

"None of your business!", Penelope snapped at Reid, not even noticing JJ, intrenched as she was in her war of wills, turning back for a renewed assault. "I thought we agreed to baby steps! This is akin to one giant leap for man kind!"

"Here's what's going to happen", Rossi stated, matching her glare with a cool, impassive stare, giving her his ultimatum, "I'm going over to that nice man I would assume to be the DJ. I'm going to politely suggest a song for him to play. When the aforementioned tune begins to play, I will ask you to dance, and you will say yes, because if you don't.." and here he lowered his voice so only she could hear him, "..you will forever be that wall-flower that he never looks twice at, and you will continue being that girl mooning over a boy named Kevin Lynch when her heart hurts too much to moon over her best friend anymore, because he chooses to dance to a different beat then her with girls that don't meet his expectations, because how could anything else compare to the goddess in his heart?, So he'll keep on dancing with those bleached, plucked chickens until the end of his days, because he never found anyone quite like her and she never had the courage to show him she could be free."

It was like her thoughts had formed a novel and he had opened it to the exact page she was on and read what was written there, word for word.

Rossi stood and left her staring after him in stunned silence as he strode purposefully towards the skinny DJ with his overly large headphones, who was currently bobbing his head to his own music.

Penelope watched in suspended terror as David Rossi managed to catch the young DJ's attention, and began explaining his request with avid hand gestures.

"What's Dave up to?", came Aaron Hotchner's amused tone, wandering over with Emily to figure out why JJ hadn't returned to their third round of darts like she had previously promised.

"Apparently, he thinks Garcia is going to dance with him", JJ replied, shrugging as she was unable to come up with a better explanation.

"Yeah, and purple unicorns will fly outta my ass", Emily joked, not realizing the chain reaction she had initiated deep within her edgy geek friend's brain, "If 'chocolate mountain' over there can't manage so much as a shuffle out of her, what makes Rossi think he has a chance?"

Penelope turned sharply towards Emily, her eyes narrowing dangerously, preparing to tell her what-for, but Dave arrived just in time.

"So, peaches..", he beamed, drawing her attention away from the rest of the team, and extending his hand out to her in a gentlemanly gesture, "Looks like they're gonna play our song. What'd ya say we make like the wind, and dance?" He'd said the same thing about an month ago and it had made her bust a gut laughing. He knew she would remember. He was counting on it.

All previous hurt feelings seemed to be banished from her body to be replaced by a firey joy. "Do you think you can keep up?", she jibbed with a playful smirk, accepting the offered hand.

"Oh, I think I'll manage..", he prodded right back, helping her rise from her seat and out towards the dance floor.

JJ, Hotch, Emily, and Reid stared after the pair in wide-eyed shock.

"How in the hell-?", Emily wondered aloud, voicing the common thought on all of their minds, just as the DJ's voice came over the speakers.

"Up next, we have a special treat for you", the DJ practically purred into the microphone, which made him sound slightly cheesy rather then suave. "I hope you all like it a little spicy sometimes, 'cause you're about to mambo italiano.."

A boy went back to Napoli, because he missed the scenery
the native dances and the charming songs
But wait a minute! something's wrong..
'cause now it's...

Hey mambo!, mambo Italiano-

The minute Rossi and Penelope started to move, their astonished spectators had no doubts left in their minds about the pair's ability to dance; They could dance. They could dance very, very well.

-hey hey mambo, mambo Italiano
Go go go!, you mixed up a'Siciliano
All you Calabrese do the mambo like-a crazy with the

Hey mambo!, don't wanna tarantella
Hey mambo!, no more mozzarella
Hey mambo!, mambo Italiano try an enchilada with a fish baccala..

One of the girls Derek was currently dancing with exclaimed something he couldn't hear over the noise of the music, but she seemed to be pointing in the direction of two people dancing on the other side of the room. He followed the line of sight the girl had indicated, and what he beheld made him stop dead in his tracks.

Hey goomba, I love how you dance the rumba..
But take'a some advice, paisano, learn-a how to mambo
If you're gonna be a square you ain't-a goin' anywhere-

Penelope couldn't help but feel that Rossi had been right, as he twirled her around in circles and she slid around him gracefully, this was just way too much fun to ever let fear get in the way again.

The groupies at derek's side had pulled him off the dance floor out of concern that people might start running into him, and kept up a constant barrage of questions inquiring into his state of mind and well-being. He ignored them all, and just kept staring and staring, each spin and step only drawing him further into his trace.

-Hey mambo!, mambo Italiano, hey hey mambo!, mambo Italiano
Go go Joe!, shake like a tiavanna
E lo che se dice you get happy in the pizza when you
Mambo Italiano!..

The BAU girls had begun to cheer on their crazy friends with the mad dancing skills by this point, and clap and laugh amongst each other.

"Did you see Morgan's face?", JJ snickered wickedly in Emily's ear.

"Yeah, She should have just slapped him, I think it would have come as less of a surprise."

The two cackled happily, keeping an eye on the stricken Derek Morgan and the intrepid dancing duo at the same time, not wanting to miss a minute.

"I guess we know what they were doing with the curtains closed now", Reid joked lightly.

Hotch shook his head in amusement at the boy genius, and decided not to bother commenting just yet.

Hey chadrool, you don't-a have to go to school
Just make it with a big bambino
It's like vino
Kid you good-a looking but you don't-a know what's cooking 'til you
Hey mambo!, mambo Italiano
Hey hey mambo!, mambo Italiano
Ho ho ho!, you mixed up a'Siciliano
E lo che se dice you get happy in the pizza when you
Mambo Italiano!-

Derek had left his flock of skirts behind him and had reunited with the rest of the BAU team on the other side of the bar.

"Since when does she-?", he asked the group at large.

"We think Rossi's been teaching her", Emily giggled, unable to help herself now that Derek's expressions were more easily read because he was in closer proximity. "At least.. they've been doing 'something' in Rossi's living room with the curtains drawn..", Emily teased to get a rise out of him.

Derek shot Emily dark glare. "Not funny, em.."

"Oh, yes it is", JJ smiled up at him, patting his arm as if to say 'there, there'.

On one of her spins, Penelope had noticed her team standing all together back at the main table and bubbled happily in Rossi's ear when he brought her back towards himself that she didn't mind being watched anymore because the look on Morgan's face was priceless.

Rossi laughed heartily, still keeping step, and decided to show off a little when the song came to it's close.

Hey chadrool you don't-a have to go to school
Just make it with a big bambino
It's like vino
Kid you good-a looking but you don't-a know what's cooking 'til you
Hey mambo!, mambo Italiano
Hey hey mambo!, mambo Italiano
Ho ho ho!, you mixed up Siciliano
E lo che se dice you get happy in the pizza when you
Mambo Italiano!

Penelope knew what David was going to do only seconds before it actually happened, and she barely had time to brace herself before he moved forward and dipped her.

Rossi knew very well that he shouldn't be dipping anyone at his age anymore, but the dancing lessons had put faith in his heart and a slight spring in his back muscles, so if it helped seal the deal for his kitten, who was he to deny it? He noticed Penelope had gone rosy and wide-eyed when he managed to bring her out of the dip without too much difficulty. He just laughed and bowed like a proper gentleman.

Penelope smiled sheepishly and did a quick curtsy, feeling so grateful, and happy, and proud of herself.

The two returned to the team's table to a uproarious amount of cat-calls and clapping.

Penelope chuckled shyly as many congratulations were offered her way, and she thanked her friends humbly.

"Baby girl?", Derek asked, causing the group to go quiet.

"Yeah, hot stuff?", Penelope answered nervously.

"Could you maybe teach me how to dance sometime?"

Penelope's face lit up brighter then a ballroom. "I don't know..", she teased in false indecision, turning to her own teacher. "Do you think he might be able to handle it?"

"Not as well as me", Rossi jibbed, taking a sip of his whiskey, and placing his left arm around her shoulders possessively, "but I'm sure having you as his teacher may help some." He winked at her good-naturedly and she nearly doubled over in laughter before leaning and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Rossi and Derek maintained their staring contest, before Derek conceded temporary defeat and headed to the bar to order himself a beer.

Penelope smirked smugly. So this is what freedom felt like. How lovely.

[a/n: thank you all for your reviews! you know how much i love them! and, i do infact have a second version of this story that ended rather.. differently. i may post it later. i have no problem writing different ships, although morgan and garcia are still my favorite. that's all for now! love y'all! peace!]