Caught in a Storm
Chapter Four
A/N - I feel that it is only polite to thank each person who takes the time to comment on my story or add it to their alerts or favourites because it means a lot so I will continue to show my appreciation at the beginning of each chapter. Thank You and Enjoy!
Penelope was unsure what time it was when she awoke, she just knew she felt unusually warm and cosy and with her eyes still shut she smiled to herself, it was one of the best night's sleeps she'd had in a long time. It wasn't until she slowly opened her eyes that she realised the source of her warmth, her cheek was glued to a beautifully defined torso which was the epitome of perfection. Morgan had his arm firmly around her and appeared to still be asleep, she groaned silently, 'how embarrassing' she thought 'this is exactly why I didn't want to share a bed!'. Not wanting to wake him she closed her eyes again and didn't move.
"I know you're awake" Morgan smiled down at her with his eyebrows raised in amusement.
She immediately sat up blushing furiously "I wanted to let you sleep" she protested.
He winced as he adjusted himself to get comfortable "thank you Baby but I've been watching you sleep for about half an hour now"
Penelope blushed again suddenly feeling rather self-concious "you should've woken me up"
"Now why would I do that when you look so peaceful and beautiful when you sleep?" he asked leaning towards her slightly propping himself up with his elbow.
This was becoming too much for her to handle and she quickly stood up and grabbed her bag, "I know you are truly irresistible Hot Stuff but I am sorry for invading your space" she said confidently though still embarrassed about the situation.
He shook his head "Baby Girl, you have no reason to apologise, I slept all the better knowing you were beside me"
Penelope smiled in acknowledgement not knowing what to say and hastily excused herself to get ready in the bathroom. She sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror, how was she going to interpret that? Was he just being overly friendly as usual? Just wanting her company? Or was it more than that?
"Come on!" Derek called from outside leaning against the pickup truck the owner of the lodge let him borrow for the day, since catching their serial killer the locals were more than accommodating towards the FBI agents. Penelope rushed out of the door clutching a travel mug, she was wearing a thick, bright orange skiing jacket with yellow pants, red snow boots and matching hand-knitted woollen scarf, hat and gloves which incorporated all three colours.
He raised his eyebrows at her "I wouldn't expect any less" he said with a smile.
"Good!" she replied taking a sip of the steaming hot chocolate in the plastic cup before they both entered the old truck, it was certainly a model for the practicality of driving across the snowy landscape, not for appearance.
The lodge owner had given him directions to a hilly area that would be perfect for Morgan to take his best friend sledging, it only took 5 minutes in the car but it saved them walking in the cold, bitter air.
The white fluff was up to their knees and covered the rural area around them as the exited their vehicle. Penelope smiled as she surveyed her surroundings, she thought it looked like a Christmas card, it was a world away from Quantico.
Morgan began to lift the sledges out of the back before giving a grunt in pain, Penelope quickly went to assist him whilst giving him a disapproving look, which he deliberately ignored. Picking up the string attached to one of the two sledges by their feet he began dragging it behind, Penelope picked up the other and walked beside him, noticing the occasional wince as they trekked up the hill.
"Are you sure you're well enough for this? The snow will still be here tomorrow you know"
He stopped in his tracks as they reached the top "that is not guaranteed, just as us being here is not guaranteed. We have been given priority, as soon as that blizzard has passed we're outta here, and I made you a promise Baby Girl and I will never let you down!"
She frowned and put her hands on her hips, the way she does when she is beginning to get annoyed "you will be letting me down if you injure yourself further by doing these stupid activities"
"Ah but they will be stupid activities that will make you happy" he smiled playful tapping her on the nose.
She let out a frustrated cry "I will not be happy when you can't come home because you're damaged goods!"
Morgan shook his head and mounted his sledge, ignoring her comments. He looked up at her "either you get on or I'm going to ride down this hill without you, your choice"
Reluctantly, Penelope sat on the wooden contraption and grasped hold of the rope tightly.
"On the count of three, 1...2...3!". With power and speed the two grown adults were racing across the Alaskan countryside, laughing as they had great difficultly controlling their mode of transport. After what seemed like hours of feeling complete freedom as they flew through the snow, Penelope's sledge clipped the edge of a rock and she tumbled across the soft snow until she found herself on her back staring up at the white sky. She grinned broadly as she outstretched her arms and legs before moving them up and down in a synchronised motion.
After seeing his friend fall off her sledge panic immediately struck for Morgan, and he quickly dug his heels into the ground allowing him to gain control and eventually stop. By the time he returned to where his friend had capsized, Penelope had created a series of snow angels and had already begun creating a large sphere so to make the base of their snowman. He smiled to himself, his worries began to subside as they were overtaken by the joy he felt seeing her so happy. She interrupted his thought process by waving him over to help her finish the snow creation.
Half an hour later, he put his arm around her as they admired their work. Their snowman had the usual three stages but with a lack of resources in the middle of nowhere he had twig for hair as well as for his arms and stones for facial features.
"Not too bad!" Morgan said
Penelope nodded her head in agreement, "oh wait" she took off her scarf, hat and gloves and placed them onto their snow sculpture "there, now he's complete"
"Yes, but now you're going to get cold" he pointed out
She shook her head and smiled as she pulled out a new set of woollen garments from her pocket, all in bright red.
Morgan could not help but laugh "Baby Girl, you have far too much spare time on your hands if you can knit all this!"
She smiled sneakily and bent down collecting snow in her hands "just because I find knitting therapeutic and I am particularly skilled at winter accessories does not mean I have lots of free time Derek Morgan!" she cried throwing the ball of snow at him hitting him square in the chest.
He stared at her bewildered before laughing "oh it's on!" he replied gathering up his own snow and throwing it with great power and speed towards her, however Garcia side-stepped at the last second and it landed on the ground.
After a while they had to stop as they were laughing too much for them to be able to concentrate on catapulting the snow, Morgan loved seeing his best friend so happy and made himself a promise to take her somewhere with a similar climate. After getting her breath back Penelope paused and held her hands out as she felt the snow begin to fall once again.
Morgan looked up at the sky, "it looks like it's going to come down heavy, grab your sledge and follow me"
Despite his pain he grabbed her hand and they trudged through the snow until they found a small cave area that they could shelter in.
"Tha-that was luc-lucky" Penelope stuttered as her teeth chattered due to the cold. Morgan reacted quickly by lighting a small fire in the centre from debris from inside the cave and then took off his cold coat so to warm up faster.
"Take your coat off P" he instructed holding his hands out to assist her but she shook her head firmly "trust me, you'll warm up quicker"
The words 'trust me' rang in her ears because she did trust him, more than anyone else in the world. Hesitantly, she removed her coat to reveal a bright red polo neck jumper underneath. Once he had laid the coats out near the fire to dry them off Morgan sat behind Penelope and wrapped his arms around her.
"Body heat" he explained as she turned to look at him, she looked closer, deep into his eyes and she saw the love and warmth that was there, the chemistry and romantic tension between them was unbearable, she couldn't be the only one to feel it.
And then it happened.
That first kiss. Neither of them could say who instigated the first move, but soon Penelope had her arms looped around his neck as they kissed furiously, they were experiencing love and passion that they had never felt before.
That moment could have lasted forever, what they had both been missing had finally been fulfilled but rationale soon came into her head and she broke apart. It was only as she leant back and looked around worriedly that she realised how romantic the set up was. She went to stand up shakily but Morgan grabbed her wrist and shook his head.
"No words can describe how incredible that was, how long I have waited-"
"-no Derek" she interrupted quickly pulling away "you don't know what you're saying, that was just a stupid heat of the moment thing, thank you for a lovely day but the snow seems to be clearing and I better get back before it gets dark". Penelope's speech and the truth could not have contrasted more, how she wished she could stay, continue what had been one of the most magical experiences of her life, what she had always dreamed about didn't disappoint. But it had to end now, before he realised what a terrible mistake he'd made and she ended up brokenhearted. Garcia had to preserve their friendship, and her dignity.
He stared at her bewildered, she could not be serious, of course he knew what he was saying, he had never been so clear minded in his life. He stood up slowly as she was already putting her coat on "Baby Girl-" he began.
"We need time to think" she stated turning her back on him and walking out into the snowy wilderness.
Morgan had never expected such a rejection and he was stunned, once he had snapped out of it his best friend had vanished, he ran out of the cave determined to show her how genuine he was, but she had gone. He stood as the cold air blew against him and thought desperately, he had to do something, make her see the truth, and fast.