A/N: Thank you for all your reviews! You have no idea how important they are to me! I also want to say thanks forgiving my newest story a chance. I hope it lives up to all your expectations!
The bar was packed, as had been expected. There was hardly a bar in the area that was empty on a Friday night, but this particular bar was popular and always filled to the brim with people. It was one of the things Penelope loved about coming to this bar. Sitting everyday alone in her office could get lonely and seeing what she saw, hearing what she heard could easily make her lose hope of humanity. Coming to a jam packed bar made her feel good, alive and happy again. The bar's popularity stemmed from the great live music constantly filing the room and Penelope couldn't help but start moving the second the music reached their ears.
As usual, as soon as they walked through the door, eyes swiveled towards Derek. He looked good in his t-shirt and tight dark jeans. Most guys couldn't pull tight jeans off without looking sad and pathetic but Derek made them look good. Then again, Derek could make footie pajamas look good. Penelope was filled was the familiar sense of pride that she was walking in with arguably the most attractive man in the bar. Even though they were just friends, Penelope couldn't help but bask in the jealousy she saw in the eyes of many of the women in the bar. It felt good to be the girl all the other girls wanted to be for once.
The only downfall to the bar being so packed was that there was the inevitable pushing and knocking against other people. To keep from getting separated, Derek took Penelope's hand as he led her into a throng of people to get closer to the bar and set of tables strewn about the room.
Much to her great relief Derek recognized some friends who had a table and led her over to join them. When the bar got as packed as it was now, it could sometimes be impossible to find an empty table.
As Derek made his rounds saying hi to everyone at the table, Penelope heard her name called. She turned and one of the men at the table who she recognized pulled her into a hug as he said, "Haven't seen you in months."
She smiled as she pulled away, "Hey Jones." She'd first met the young man about two years ago. He was the younger brother of a college friend of Derek's. And he was attractive, as in drop dead gorgeous attractive. He looked like a younger version of Derek, only a bit less toned and muscled. Penelope thought the sexiest part about him was his shoulder length dreads. Nothing made her heart twitter like originality.
"I haven't been out in months," she explained. It was true. The last time she had gone out drinking with Derek had been before she broke up with Kevin. She used to go out with him at least twice a month but she had been trying to spend less time with Derek in an attempt to salvage her relationship with Kevin. It obviously hadn't worked. In fact, spending all that time with Kevin without the release of complaining to Derek had driven her crazy and probably contributed to the break up.
Jones' eyes flashed with enthusiasm. "I think that's a reason for a celebratory shot."
Derek's arm slinked around Penelope's waist as he came back from greeting his friends around the table. "Did I just hear that we're doing shots?" he said, his smile wide on his face. There were few things he enjoyed more than drinking with his friends.
"In celebration of Penelope finally coming out with you again," Jones answered, his smile matching Derek's.
"I'll drink to that." Derek chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "I've missed you coming out, baby girl." Penelope smiled gratefully and kissed his cheek; Derek really was sweet. He could have his pick of all the women in the world and he always made time for her, always made time to make her feel special.
"Because it's a drink to you, Penelope," Jones said with a sexy smile, "drinks are on me."
Derek rolled his eyes as he shook his head and Penelope playfully elbowed him. "Thanks."
They both watched as Jones went to the bar to order shots for them. Derek turned back to Penelope. "You know he's had the hots for you for years now, right?"
She laughed; as sexy as she thought Jones was there was no way any was ever going to develop between them. "He's like ten years younger than me," she said. "I'm not really into the whole cougar thing."
He shrugged with a smile. "A lot of women are going after younger men these days, baby girl."
Penelope winked wickedly as she said, "I prefer older men. You know, the ones pushing forty."
"Ouch, mama." He placed his hand playfully over his heart. "Forty ain't that old."
She didn't answer, instead opting for a coy smile as Jones returned with their shots and beers for each of them. They each took one. Penelope held her up to cheers before downing it. She instantly recognized the harsh burn of cheap whisky. She fought to hold back a cough. It had been awhile since she had done a shot and almost immediately she could feel the alcohol coursing through her veins. It felt nice.
"This is just what I needed," Penelope said with a smile.
Derek's eyebrows rose critically. "Yea? Why do you say that?"
"The usual. Stress at work. The break up. You know." She took a swig from her beer, aware that Derek would be profiling her as she answered the question. In spite of the fact that he had promised to never profile her, he still did constantly.
"Is that all?" he pushed.
She flashed him a smile. "Well that plus the fact that I didn't get my dose of Derek Morgan this week." The BAU team had been in Maine for the past week and half and had just arrived home late Thursday night.
Derek chuckled. "That's why were here. For you to get your weekly Derek Morgan fix." He took another sip of his beer, waiting for Jones to be engrossed in a conversation with a pretty girl before looking at her again. "Nothing else bothering you?" he asked quietly. Penelope raised her eyebrow curiously. It wasn't like Derek to push her this hard. He noticed her reaction and shrugged in response. "You've seemed…" He paused as he searched for a word. "Distracted," he said finally.
Penelope chuckled nervously. She had been distracted since the lilies started appearing and deservedly so. She prided herself on not letting her personal life impact her work, but this past week, she'd been a mess. The case in Maine had involved women being stalked and murdered by a group of men. As she had worked on the case, her mind had wondered often to the lilies and what they meant. She suddenly realized Derek was waiting for her response. "I'm on a hunt for a new man," she said with a smile. "Finding a good one takes a lot of time and energy."
"I can't say I'm surprised." He didn't push her any longer.
"Why do you say that?" Penelope nursed her beer as she waited for his response.
"You spend all your time with me. It's going to be nearly impossible to find someone to live up to this expectation," he said with a laugh.
She let out a short burst of laughter before kissing his cheek and saying, "You always know how to make me feel better."
Two shots and several beers later, Penelope was feeling a lot better about everything. The stress of work had melted away as the alcohol coursed through her veins. She was no longer worried about the mysterious lilies. Two beers back she had entirely forgotten about them. She suddenly let out a loud hiccup, interrupting Derek's conversation with a friend of his.
He turned to her, suddenly realizing how much she had to drink. "Baby girl, I think its time to take you home," he said.
Penelope was about to protest but when she opened her mouth, her head started spinning. She suddenly realized that she must be much drunker than she thought. She didn't remember having all that many drinks, but she hadn't been drinking at all lately. She turned to Derek and nodded, "I think that's a good idea."
Derek said a quick good bye to his friends and led her out of the bar. "I'm sorry," Penelope said. "I didn't mean to drink this much."
He wrapped his arm tighter around her waist and leaned her closer to him. "It's my fault, sweetheart. I should have been paying more attention."
Penelope decided to ignore him and concentrate on walking and keeping the spinning in her head under control.
As they came into view of Derek's car, a flash of white against the black SUV caught her eye. All of her worries and fears that had been washed away by the alcohol suddenly came rushing back. Her pulse began to race as fear ran rampant through her veins. No, she thought. It couldn't be. As she looked again, she swore that it looked like a white flower. No, she thought again. Not here. It was impossible. It was probably just a flyer and in the distance, it looked like one. Penelope shook her head. She was drunk; it was obviously just a figment of her imagination.
Derek led her closer to the car, not noticing Penelope's fearful reaction. The car came closer and closer into view. With each step, her stomach fluttered nervously. Penelope closed her eyes, not wanting to see it. Not wanting to know if whoever it was had followed her here.
When they finally reached the car, she heard Derek say, "What's this?" She slowly opened her eyes. When her gaze resting on the item in his hand, she blanched. A white lily. Exactly the same as the others. As the realization of what this meant hit her, she turned to the side and puked.