A/N: Ta-da, the next installment, I would have liked to have it up last night but it wasn't really ready then. Not sure how many more chapters will follow. I don't want to drag this out longer than necessary, but also don't want to just write one more chapter and then say 'THE END' with all of you feeling as if it was rushed. With the next poll I'll probabl let you choose the rating as far as the plot goes. =) Also, my fanfiction account apparently decided to not like me and seemed to have switched all my email notifications to 'disable' which means I'll only be able to answer last chapter's reviews with a PM.


She knew. Before he even knocked she knew he was outside her apartment. She couldn't say how, she certainly hadn't heard him coming, neither had she spent much time at the windows of her place to see if she'd seen his car parked somewhere. She just knew. And for a moment there was worry. She had hoped it wouldn't be so soon that they'd see each other again. She had hoped to have at least until Monday to have to face him again.

The thing is she wasn't entirely sure how to explain last night. There always had been an incredible amount of chemistry between them, sexual tension as well, but neither ever acted on it. Until last night when her hormones took over and told her to go after what she wanted. And that was him. Secretly she had always wanted him. Ever since the day she laid first eyes on him. But somehow she never wanted to push things, and neither did he. You certainly couldn't say there weren't opportunities. Oh, there were plenty, but maybe it was never supposed to be. And now, that she was single again, maybe now was the right time. Or not. She had enough friends out there who had been in love with their best friends, and when they acted finally on all the promise that was there things changed. Mostly to the worst. In the beginning things were good, they had great relationships, because they knew each other for so long. But after a while things didn't work out anymore and when the love somehow died and they parted nothing was left. It was impossible to go back to best friends, so they ended single and alone.

Penelope didn't want that to happen to her and Morgan. And maybe that was the reason all those years that she didn't act on anything. Because she had seen enough examples of failure. And maybe Morgan didn't want to go that way anyway.

When opened the door, ready to leave, hoping that by a miracle they'd miss each other somehow she found the man himself right in front of her, hand raised to knock. He looked at her for a moment, a bit surprised and after he took her in certainly even more surprised.

He seemed nervous. And in all the years she had known him he never was nervous. Derek was someone who always seemed in control: of things, situations, emotions.

"I wanted to see whether we are cool," she heard him asking after one or two tries.

She nodded, wanted to make sure he knew they were good, although deep inside her she knew things had changed, she had screwed up. Big time. But now was neither the place nor the time to discuss this. But then again Monday wasn't any better.

He wanted to walk her down, to the waiting cab and for a moment it felt like them. it was something he always did with her, as if he was worried during the short moment bit took to get from her place to the cab outside something might happen.

When they reached the cab, Penelope just meant to turn around quickly, letting him know they'd talk soon, but all of a sudden she felt his lips pressing against hers. At first she didn't realize what was happening. She was surprised by Derek's lips on hers to say the least. That she certainly hadn't seen coming. She never had thought she actually ever get to feel those lips on hers again, especially not that soon after the initial first time. It wasn't one of these kisses dreams were made of, there certainly was a lack of romance, but she expected this wasn't about either. By the feel of his lips again hers, his way of kissing her, she knew he wanted to make a point, a statement. Whether that statement was in regards of her, him or them she wasn't really sure. Maybe he woke up this morning and didn't like the way that she had left already and this was just him now getting the last word in.

From all his stories over the years Penelope knew that usually he was the one leaving. And it certainly wasn't planned or on intention that she'd turn the tables on him, that he'd be the one waking up alone. It just … happened like that. Come to think of it she found it actually rather amusing that of all the woman Derek Morgan had lured into his bed over the years it would be her, who would do the luring and then also be the one who'd leave in early hours of the 'morning after'.

When his lips left hers again there was a moment silence. He smiled at her rather awkwardly, probably having this moment pictured differently.

"Love, I don't have all day," she all of a sudden heard the cab driver saying towards her. Seeing that she was the one paying him for waiting she didn't understand what he was complaining about.

"Whatever it is you are planning to go to…" she heard Morgan saying and then stop for a moment, his voice soft and quiet. "Don't," he finished the sentence in what came out like a plea.

"This is… kind of… important," she argued softly, feeling bad the moment she said it, making it sound like her and Morgan weren't. "Not that… we aren't. I mean, we are. It's just …. I…, " she started, stumbling over her own words and was finally effectively cut off by Morgan's lips on hers again.

This time it was soft, sweet, gentle kiss, the complete opposite of the one before. He took his time, let his hands roam through her hair, pull her in a bit more. For a moment she had forgotten about where they were actually and if it hadn't been for the cab driver that would have remained a while longer the case. But his honking made both of them jump and break contact. She heard Morgan curse under his breath and a moment later she heard the rather annoyed sounding voice of the cab driver again.

"Lady, if you don't need a cab, just say so. I've got better things to do with my time then waiting for you to part from your boyfriend…" For a moment she was thinking of telling the guy that Morgan wasn't her boyfriend, but then decided to let it go. And one look at Morgan told her that maybe that was a good decision.

She saw him look at her with an odd mix of hope and expectancy as well as worry. And just like that she knew that she could go out tonight, but she wouldn't be able to relax and just have some fun, not as long as this was between them.

She slammed the door shut, the cab drove off and she somehow knew that she'd probably had some explaining to do. Her brother would probably want an explanation as of why she decided last minute to not show up, but then again, some things were just more important. Even more important than seeing your brother who you'd last have seen two years ago.

"I'm all yours," she said towards Morgan and realized too late how that might have sounded. She hoped he got what she meant, but judging by the wicked grin on his handsome face he'd taken it the completely wrong way.


post-A/N: After each chapter I'll put a poll up on my profile where you can vote for what happens next. And I try to write a chapter with the answer that got the most votes. The poll will be up for five days, but if there is a certain trend very strongly presented I might go ahead and write a chapter before already. So basically I give you control of the story. You pick the storyline and it's development - and I write it (hopefully). So, let's see how that will work out. And thank you in advance. I'll try to give you as many 'logical' options as possible, but if any of you guys have an idea that they think should be included with the options PM me and I certainly can include it in the poll when i can see it being written somehow...