Destiny Turns On A Dime

Chapter Four

May 2004

Derek strolled through the fifth floor, which was a unit full of analysts who worked on cases for all of the other units. Their nickname was The Pool- a shortened version of tech pool. He felt eyes on him and waited till he spotted a name on a door of a tech guy he had worked with before.

Rapping on the door he heard "Welcome to the jungle," and shook his head. Tech people could be a breed of their own, that was for sure.

Sticking his head inside he said "Hey, Harris, you know where I can find Penelope Garcia? Blonde. Fine as hell. Hasn't worked here that long."

"The Oracle. Sure. Go to the end of the hall, turn left, down to the end again and you'll run smack dab into her. But be careful. She's particular about who gets in her door if you aren't brass."

"I don't think that'll be a problem. Thanks, man."

The tech guy had never stopped typing as he spoke to Derek. He just made a sound as an answer and then Derek left.

Soon he was in front of Penelope's door. He could feel his nerves kick in. He was about to see her again and that made this a very good moment indeed. He didn't know what it was but something about their chemistry was blowing him away. He loved it. Loved the fire starting between them. Loved the back and forth banter that was hotter than he'd ever known before. Loved her sparkling brown eyes and those cheeks that turned pink when she was a little too turned on or embarrassed.

Mmm. Yeah, he was loving getting to know this hot blonde. Too, too much. It was dangerous to love something like this so quick. Love the connection. He didn't wanna screw up and fall in love with her.

But then again he wasn't about to turn around and leave this hallway without going inside her office. Even if that meant he was risking it all. She felt like a siren to him. Luring him back to her side over and over, and he came running with a big smile on his face and his pants just a little tighter than they should be in public.

He rapped on the door.

She called out "You've reached the Oracle. You may enter at your own risk."

He smiled and walked inside. "Hey there, baby girl."

She spun around. "You are far from the BAU, sug," she purred.

"Not that far." He crossed his arms over his chest. "How you doing this afternoon?"

"Pretty fair. The view in here just certainly improved one hundred fold."

"Go ahead and take a good long look cause....I caught a case. Sorry, sweetie, but I won't be at the coffee shop in the morning."

Her face fell a little but then she gave him a graceful smile and said "That's okay. Go out and save the world, superhero. Thank you for letting me know in person, though, that I won't be seeing your handsome self anywhere but in my wicked, dirty daydreams tomorrow."

"Hmmm, care to share?"

"Oh, sug, they would make you lightheaded. I don't think its wise to risk you taking a fall in my lair. How would we ever explain it?"

He chuckled at that and looked around her office. It was decorated in a very funky style. "You do know you work at the F.B. I, right? Is that a troll doll on your desk? And what's that a picture of over there? Babies on a cloud?"

"Yeppers."

"Interesting choices."

"My pretties remind me the world is a good place even when everything on my screen says it's a very ugly one."

"I hear ya." After a moment his eyes fell on her again. Her smile was angelic. He could stare at her for hours but he didn't have the time for that right now. "Well, I gotta take off. We're wheel's up in..." he looked at his watch "Crap. I really gotta go." He walked backwards toward the door. Waggling his head at her he said "I will see you later, beautiful."

"Not if I see you first, Hot Stuff."

Smiling, he shook his head at her silliness, turned toward the door and walked out. Derek knew that while he was working this case in Oregon some of his mind would be back here in Virginia. And that had never happened to him before.

It felt good to have someone to miss.

XXXXXXXXX

Penelope was in her office a few days later, working away like a fiend, when her phone rang. She had on headphones. Taking the call she answered "You've reached the Oracle. Let me make all your cyber dreams come true."

She heard a deep, sexy chuckle and her heart raced. She sat up a little straighter and asked "Derek?"

"Its me. Hey, I could really use your help."

"Speak to me, handsome."

He explained how the tech they were assigned in the BAU had left a while back and now they had a rotating group of replacements. The one working with them today couldn't seem to find any information on the unsub they suspected.

Derek then said "Maybe there is nothing out there but I just thought you could run his name and see if you get anywhere. Anything, at this point, would really help us out. Will you give it a try for me, baby girl?"

Since he had said the name during his explanation she had already started working on it. "Done. Oh, he is good. He tried to erase himself in 1989. No credit cards. No bank account. No mortgage or rental agreements."

"So there is nothing, huh?"

"Oh, don't despair so quickly. I said he's good. I'm absolutely amazing. All right, give me a moment,......his brother's social security number is being used in Portland. Only thing is dear old brother has been dead for three months. I've got your phone number on my screen. I'm sending you the address of the employer and the apartment that matches the social."

"You are a Goddess!"

She laughed. "Thank you for noticing."

"Thank you very much for being awesome. Gotta run, sweetie."

"Go save the world and be quick about it."

His laugh was the last thing she heard before there was a click, indicating he had disconnected the call. Penelope sat there with a big smile on her face. She had shown him her skills and that felt damn good.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyday when she walked into the coffee shop now she scanned it to see if Derek was there. She had no idea when he would get back from Oregon. She was disappointed that it hadn't been the day after she gave him what she thought was information to break his case.

Another day passed.

It was now Friday. If she didn't see him today then she'd have to wait two more days. Why did that suddenly seem like torture?

Penelope strolled inside the shop and glanced around. It was crowded. She scanned faces and, as each one turned out not to be him, a frown started to form on her lips. She turned to look around the line of people at some more tables, as she tried to be not that obvious about what she was doing, until finally...blissfully...her eyes landed on him.

He sat at a table with two coffees in front of him. His stool was facing the door. It was clear from his eyes that he had been watching her every move since she came in. He gave her a cocky smirk.

She decided to get in the line and ignore him, just because he was too damn confident for his own good. After a moment or two, he bounded off his stool and stalked over to her. "Morning, princess."

"Hmpf."

He gave her big eyes. "What did I do? I haven't even seen you in days."

"Who said you did anything? All I am doing is getting my coffee."

"Baby doll, didn't I tell you I'd have your coffee waiting the next time we met here?"

"Maybe I prefer to drink alone this morning." Her tone was frosty and for a moment he tensed up but then she looked up at him and her eyes danced with teasing.

Derek relaxed and said "Woman, don't you mess with me!" Taking her hand he tugged her behind him, weaving through the crowd, and back to his table.

The feel of her hand in his felt more than right to Penelope. It felt heavenly. This sexy man was turning into the best thing to happen to her since she moved to Virginia.

.