Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

--------------------------------------

She walked into the bull pen after work and went to his desk, seeing him still working on some paper work she slid onto an empty space and waited for him to finish writing. When he finished he put his pen down and placed a hand on her leg, she immediately put her hand onto of it.

'You off home baby girl?'

'That I am handsome.'

'I'll get some food, and be at yours in about an hour.' He smiled at her; he was actually excited about the evening's arrangements. 'You okay there Pen?'

'Yeah, my heads all over the place about that photo. I remember it was a boy.'

'Well we will discuss it when I get to yours, yeah?'

'Okay, handsome. See you later.' She leant in and kissed his forehead and then she got up and left. Not realising he watched every step of hers until she was out of sight.

--------------------------------------

He let himself in with his key, shopping bag in one hand, take away in the other. He smiled when he saw the couch pushed back and cushions, pillows, blanks and quilts lying on the floor. He heard humming coming from the bath. He placed the bags down and went to the bathroom.

Tapping lightly. 'Princess, your prince is here with food and surprises.' He said with a smile.

'Come in if you dare.' She giggled when he didn't hesitate. 'You are eager handsome.'

'Only for you baby girl.' He said as he sat on the toilet seat.

'So surprises eh?'

'Yeah one that will shock the hell out of you, it did me.' He saw her raise an eyebrow. 'Come on foods going to get cold.'

'Okay pass me that towel and I'll be out.' He passed her the towel, giving her a quick kiss before leaving to set out the food.

A couple of minutes later she walked out, in his sweats that he had given her and a simple yellow top. He couldn't believe how good she looked. She shook her hair out of the loose bun and took a seat at the table. Every curl perfect, her makeup perfect, her smile perfect.

'You look good in my sweats.'

She smiled. 'They're really comfortable and remind me of you.'

He smiled at her sentiment. 'I like that fact a lot.'

When dinner was over, they helped each other with the washing up and then took drinks down to the new bed on the floor. She took a sip of her wine and placed it on the coffee table before grabbing the box. She placed her hand on the torn photo and sighed.

'Oh baby girl, I think this might help.' She again raised her eyebrow as he passed her an envelope, she pulled out a photo.

'How the hell can this be?'

'I was thinking about when I went to San Diego, I met this blonde haired girl, pretty, witty and I felt comfortable around her.'

She looked at him in disbelief. 'You mean?' She felt the tears beginning to prick in her eyes. 'You are the boy!'

'That I am baby girl, can you believe it? We've met before and didn't realise. That's why I felt so close and comfortable to you... Hey don't cry gorgeous.'

She wiped her eyes. 'I'm sorry, I can't believe this. You felt so familiar to me when I 'first' met you. It's because we spent two whole weeks together, playing, laughing, talking. My first boyfriend.' She laughed at the memory. 'Bet I'm not what you expected when we used to talk about the future. Hey handsome?'

'No, you're better than what I expected. When I saw the picture of you, in that little white flowery dress, those curls, that smile. The year, the place, I don't know exactly but something kind of clicked and then it hit me just before you came in to say you were leaving to go home. I knew I had a photo of it because it was one of my favourite times.' He looked her and smiled. 'I also knew why I recognised you dad when you showed me the video on your super 8 after you were shot. The man looked familiar; I just couldn't place where I had seen him before. I remember their kindness baby girl. Their friendliness. I also remember seeing how your brothers treated you.'

'Oh God don't remind me.' She said and laughed. 'I can't believe it was you! You're right this was a shocker but a bloody good one.' She sat staring at the photo, tracing the childhood them with her finger, memories swirling around her head at how that little boy looked for her in the mornings by the pool, how he had said hello on their first encounter. The way he made her feel to be with him. She didn't care if she had white skin and he had black, he made her feel complete, like nothing anyone said mattered. 'You were a stud back then handsome, destined to be hot stuff.'

'You were destined to be a goddess, baby girl.' He lay down and laughed, completely in shock still after realising. 'This has got to be the best day of my life.' He looked at the now confused Penelope. 'Pen, I love you. I never lost love for that girl, the one girl that treated me equal, didn't care what her brothers said; she wanted to spend time with me.'

'I still don't care about what they think you of, wait until they find out this you. And Derek, I love you too, always have. Now I understand why I did from when I met you all those years ago.' She picked up the ripped photo. 'My brother ripped this after we had an argument when I was about 16. I still had it on my wall, one of the best times in my life. I cried so hard when he did it. All I had left of Derek Morgan from years ago. Who would've thought it, hey; we were temporary best friends before we knew it and now look at us.' She laughed.

'You think it's a sign?'

'Of?'

'Us. To be together, I realised a couple of months ago what you mean to me, and now I am definitely sure about it. Penelope will you be my girlfriend?' She asked with the smile she loved too much.

'Stupid question! Yes!' She leant across and hugged him. He drew her down so they were hugging on the floor. 'Now I know why I wanted you for so long.' She giggled sheepishly.

'In a good way I hope! I want this work; forget about my infidelity, you are the only woman I actually get excited about seeing. When you were shot, it scared the living daylights out of me, the thought of losing you. Woman everything about you scares me. I drop my guard around you. I lose all control of myself when you're around. Your wit, your laugh, your smile and even you smell, drives me crazy. I want this to work for definite.'

'I think together it can. I have the man of my dreams, but come on am I your type?'

'There's only one woman that fits my type. All those woman before, my mother was right, they were trophies trying to fill a hole and now Penelope Garcia has finally achieved that.'

'Aw handsome, that is the sweetest thing said to me since San Diego 1986.' She laughed as she sat up. 'Right, for the rest of the box.' She got all the little boxes out and searched through them, making a pile of one's she wanted to put up. Derek smiled at some, looking at how Penelope had grown up in the years they were parted. He finally felt like the future was good and his past seemed better too, knowing it was her he had spent with for those two weeks. He smiled the whole night.

'I don't feel good about this.' Garcia said putting her hand on some books.

'Why?'

'It's my mum's journals.' She said pulling them out. 'Isn't it still a bit like an invasion of privacy?'

'I think it would good for you to read them.'

'Only if I can read them with you.' She bit her lip. 'Sorry, stupid request.'

'Pen, if you want to read them to me or with me you do so, I don't mind. I just think either way it would be good for you.'

She placed them down with the photos. 'Okay, reading them with someone will help. I'd probably chicken out otherwise.'

'I bet you would too.'

She laughed as she pulled a thick envelope of the box. Written on the front in her mother's swirly handwriting, My Dearest Daughter Penelope, she placed it on the books.

'You not going to read it?'

'In a minute I want to get through the rest of the box before I start to go in depth with stuff.' She pulled out a wooden box and opened it. Inside was more jewellery, all her favourite pieces and there in the bottom, her mother's wedding rings. 'Oh dear God. I think I deserve an explanation for this.' She said as she raised the ring to read the inscription. Forever thine, Forever mine, Forever ours. 'I always wanted a love like this.'

'Well I'm going to try and give you it goddess.' He said taking the rings as she passed it to him so he could read. 'I already think our love is on that level baby girl, I really do.'

'Really? I would have to agree with you there.' They both smiled, happy to find what they had both been looking for, for years. 'Last box.' She opened it and pulled out ballet shoes. 'Again oh my God. I don't think I can keep these.'

'Why not baby girl?' Derek said as he sat up.

'They were on their way to a performance when they had the crash. I stopped dancing that night.' She said as she relieved the night. 'I knew something was wrong when I started and they weren't in the audience.' She looked up to see Derek next to her.

'Baby girl. I'm really sorry, you lost them both. I wish I had been around to help you through that part in your life.'

'I have you back now, handsome. Plus you lost your dad, so you help in ways you know.' She leant in, taking comfort in him. 'I could get use to this, shame about work.' She said sadly.

'Let me talk to Hotch on Monday. If need be I'll move. Now I have you I am not letting you go.' He smiled and got up. 'Second surprise for you Miss Garcia.' He walked into the kitchen and looked at him pulling ice cream, one they had shared on that holiday.

She said completely gob smacked. 'How the hell did you remember that?'

'I remember a lot from those two weeks.' He laughed bringing over two spoons and sat back down. 'Let's pack away everything we aren't going to need for mean time.'

'Okay handsome.' She said as she put the spoon down and began to pack away the photos. Derek was sorting the ballet shoes away and when it was all done all that was left were some photos, the journals and the extremely thick letter. Lying on their bellies with the things in front of them including the ice cream, she took a scoop and picked the envelope up. It was now or never.