A/N: Hope you guys love! The drama will definitely be heating up!
Derek and Fran walked out of the airport then. She linked her arm with his, talking his ear off the whole way to the car.
"Penelope is lovely," his mother was saying. "Absolutely wonderful. She's quite a catch if I do say so myself."
"Thanks," Derek replied. "We're only friends though."
"Are you sure about that?"
Here comes the third degree, he thought to himself before answering. "Of course," he said. "We've both just recently ended our serious relationships. Neither of us are looking for anything but friendship. Especially not with each other."
Fran, knowing not to push her son, accepted his answer. She didn't want Derek to know her ulterior motive yet. Besides, she still had a few tricks up her sleeve to get the two together. She just needed to enlist Rossi's help first.
Either that or talk to Penelope about how she felt.
They found the car in the last row of the lot. Derek slid into the passenger seat, not saying much to his mom. Fran was content to be alone with her thoughts.
It was obvious that the tech cared deeply for Derek. Her actions screamed it. The concern in her eyes, the way she squeezed his hand before leaving with Rossi… Fran knew that Penelope was in love with Derek too.
So why weren't either of them doing anything about it?
Maybe Penelope is scared of his response, Fran reasoned, slowing at the door of the airport. She put the car in park, and Rossi and Penelope put the bags in the trunk. Then they slid into the backseat.
Breaking the awkward tension, Fran smiled and said: "Sorry for the wait. Derek wanted to be the overprotective son for a while."
Derek grinned at her. "Don't act like you don't love it," he said. "You've been smiling since we left."
"I've been caught," she said and held her hands up. Then to Penelope: "So, how are you liking Chicago so far, Penelope? Does it live up to San Francisco in the slightest?"
"Almost," she said, looking out of the car window as she spoke. "I like it so far though."
Chicago was gorgeous. The bustle of city life kept Penelope energized and on the edge of her seat. She loved it. Tourists seemed to be everywhere, and locals too.
"What's on the agenda for tonight?" she asked.
"Well," Fran started. "Sarah and Desiree are finishing up dinner as we speak. They'll probably want to talk. Derek's told them so much about you. It'll be nice for them to put a face to a name."
"Mom," Derek said in a warning tone. Penelope certainly didn't need to know how much his family already knew about her. Especially his nosy sisters who had bribed the information from them time and time again. They thought his crush was adorable.
Fran giggled under her breath. She could tell he was embarrassed, but a glance at the backseat confirmed her suspicion.
Penelope had no idea how much Derek loved her.
Sarah and Desiree were sitting at the table trying to make sense of what they'd found.
"Maybe there's a reasonable explanation for this," Sarah said. "Let's not jump to conclusions."
Desiree snorted, knowing there was only one conclusion to draw from these papers. "What else are we supposed to think?" she asked. "That Mom just happened to print these off?"
"We need to talk to her ."
"No," Desiree said. "We can't. If we do, she'll know we were going through her stuff."
Sarah looked back through the papers again, hoping this was some type of mistake. Surely their mother really wasn't that interested in Penelope.
Apparently she was.
According to the papers, Fran had hired a private investigator to look into Penelope's life. It was only an email from the PI and contained nothing they didn't already know, but it was odd. Why did their Mom want to background check Penelope? And, more importantly, did anyone know?
"They're here," Sarah said, peeking out the window at the sound of a car door. "Put that up. You know Mom will be mad if she sees you with it"
Desiree slid the paper into the drawer. She followed Sarah into the living room, and they ran to hug Derek on the porch.
"I missed you, baby brother!" Desiree squealed. "Welcome home!"
Penelope was right behind him, and she offered the two women a small smile. "Hi," she said. "I'm Penelope."
Sarah and Desiree instantly introduced themselves to the blonde, grinning sideways at Derek all the while. It had been a long time since their brother brought a woman home with him.
"C'mon," Desiree said when introductions were done. "Dinner's ready."
The four of them headed into the kitchen, where the table was set and the candles lit.
Derek gave a low whistle. "You two really went all out, didn't you?"
Sarah shrugged. "It was nothing," she said. "Mom had everything sitting out already. I think she wanted the dinner a little nicer than usual for you and Penelope."
As soon as the sentence left her mouth, Sarah locked eyes with Desiree across the table. It seemed like Sarah had figured out her mother's intentions after all. She was trying to set Derek and Penelope up together.
Maybe that's why Fran hired the PI.
"Who's Ben Lawson?" Rossi asked. He was leaning against the porch post, watching as Fran searched through her purse for her phone.
Fran turned at the sound of the name, trying to hide her expression. "No one," she replied. "Just a friend."
Rossi raised his eyebrows at her. They were still standing on the front porch. The others were inside, probably waiting for them, but Rossi wanted the truth from Fran first.
While he and Penelope were waiting, someone by the name of Ben Lawson had called Fran. Rossi knew because he'd been holding her phone. Apparently the caller was a PI.
"A friend who is a private investigator?" he asked, handing the phone to the woman. "You told me to hold it while you were talking with Derek.
"Look," she started. "I'm not in any trouble. I'm not digging up dirt on an enemy. Can we just let this go?"
"I can't," Rossi said simply. "Not until you tell me just who it is you're investigating. I'm supposed to be protecting you, Fran. I can't do that if you're not honest with me."
The woman looked away from his fierce expression, knowing that coming clean was her only option. Rossi wouldn't allow a secret of this magnitude to be kept private.
"I need your help," she said finally. "I should've asked for it in the first place, but I didn't. I wanted to see what I dug up on my own first. Or what Ben could dig up, anyway."
Rossi didn't say anything. He knew that Fran would get to the point quick enough without his prodding.
"I had Penelope investigated."
"Why?" he exclaimed.
"Because I know that Derek loves her," she said. "And I wanted to see for myself that she is who she says she is. You and I both know that Savannah did a number on him. He can't go through that type of pain again."
"Isn't hiring a private investigator going a little far?" Rossi asked. "You could've just asked me about her. Besides, she's a tech genius and an FBI agent. No one could find much about her that she didn't want them to know."
"I know," Fran replied. "The PI had never seen anything like it. Then again, she was the first FBI agent Ben ever looked up. All he found was the basics, which I already knew from Derek and Facebook."
She looked up at the sky, irritation getting the best of her. "Now I'm back to where I'm started," she grumbled. "I'm just guessing in the dark."
He started laughing. The Italian could hardly control himself. He turned away to regain his composure while Fran stared at him in confusion.
"I'm sorry," Rossi said, trying to catch his breath. "I just don't know who the more overprotective is when it comes to a significant other. You or Derek."
She gave him a look, making Rossi laugh harder. "And your angry face is nearly the same too."
"David Rossi," Fran warned. "Sometimes you make me crazy, you know that?" Then: "Will you help me? Please?"
"With Derek and Penelope?" he asked and she nodded. "Yeah. Besides, I have an idea. Follow my lead."
With that, Fran followed him inside. They found Sarah, Desiree, Derek, and Penelope at the table. They had started dinner without them.
"What were you guys doing?" Derek joked. "I thought you were going to spend the night on the porch."
Rossi glanced at the clock, shocked their conservation lasted that long. It seemed only five minutes had passed.
"Well," Rossi said. "We were discussing sleeping arrangements for the night. It looks like there won't be enough room for you and Penelope to stay here with us. You'll have to get a hotel."
Sarah's mouth fell open in surprise. Knowing this was her cue, Fran ducked out of the room, taking her phone with her. Derek and Penelope didn't notice though. They were focused on Rossi.
"The guest room is open, isn't it?" Derek asked.
"I'm already in it," Desiree piped up, not missing a beat. "I'm staying here for the week. My apartment is being repainted, and the fumes give me bad headaches."
"Seriously? Nice timing, Des."
"I can't help it!" she cried. "A girl can only live with white walls for so long."
"Amen to that," Penelope said and clinked glasses with her. "I completely understand that struggle."
Rossi hid a smile, while Derek inhaled deeply. "Alright," he said. "I'll look into it."
"No need," Fran said, reentering the kitchen. "I just took care of it. You'll be staying at the Holiday Inn two blocks over. Don't worry about cost. Rossi and I are covering it."
Derek looked surprised. "Thank you," he said. "That's very nice."
"It's our pleasure," she replied and pulled Rossi closer to her. "David and I just want you and Penelope comfortable while you're here."
"I appreciate it, Mama."
"There's only one problem," she said. "Since it's Memorial Day Weekend, most of the rooms were already booked there. All but one."
"Which one was that?"
"The honeymoon suite," Fran said, barely able to keep a straight face. "I'm sorry."
Sarah and Desiree stifled laughter into their napkins at Derek's expression. Was it shock? Anger? Disbelief? Poor Penelope could hardly hide her excitement. A room with the man of her dreams? She'd take it.
Knowing she wouldn't get caught, Desiree gave her Mom a thumbs up. Her plan seemed to be working perfectly. So far, so good.
The rest was up to Derek and Penelope now.
A/N: Hope you liked the update. The drama isn't over with Derek and Rossi. And of course the next chapter will be ten shades of goodness with Derek and Penelope as well. Please review!