*AN – In the words of someone else and I quote "Not my sandbox but I'm still gonna play in it" ~MM*
Chapter 7
The team was able to clear the Minneapolis case quickly. Thanks to an observant witness and Penelope's skills they were able to use cameras all over the city to track the movements of a street pastor who claimed to preach tolerance but in reality practiced anything but. The jet ride home Friday afternoon was quiet, everyone was trying to finish up their paperwork so that when they landed they would be free to go home instead of staying at the office. Being Friday, there was even talk of going out as a team to grab a few drinks.
They all ended up at down the street at O'Malley's that night. Amid the laughing, dancing, and darts Sam and Penelope found themselves sitting at the table alone. Sam finally gathered her courage and addressed the other woman. "Penelope, I was wondering if you could help me with something?"
Garcia turned to look at her newest team member. "Who do you need me to digitally annihilate sugar?"
Sam laughed. "Nothing so simple, actually. I need your help finding a dress."
Penelope was surprised. "Not that I mind shopping but what kind of a dress are we talking about here? Hopefully something in the little and black category."
Sam glanced around quickly, making sure that all of their teammates were distracted. "I need a formal dress. My Uncle is a Marine Corps Officer and he needs me to go as his plus one to the Navy and Marine Corps Ball next Friday."
"Gumdrop," Garcia squealed. "I would love to help. Oh, we can go tomorrow, I know just the place to start and if they don't have it then we can look at this cute little boutique and then we can…"
Sam cut her off. "Thank you Garcia, but can you also keep this quiet?"
Penelope looked at her coworker in surprise. "Why? You are going with your uncle to a formal event supporting our military. Why would you be upset about the team knowing about that?"
"Maybe because I am still trying to find my place on this team and I don't do the girly thing well at all."
"My lips are sealed. See you tomorrow at ten am. I'll pick you up at your place and we'll grab brunch. Then we shop!"
Morgan and Reid walked back to the table after having been beaten badly in darts by JJ and Rossi. "What you shopping for Baby Girl?" was Morgan's question to Garcia
"Girl stuff Hot Stuff. Stuff that would totally bore you boys to even hear about."
Sam shot Penelope a grateful look before draining her beer and getting up to grab another.
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The next morning Sam took Warrick for a quick run as the sun rose before grabbing a shower and getting ready for a girl's day out. She was sitting on her front porch nursing a cup of coffee when Penelope pulled up in an orange Cadillac convertible. Laughing she began to walk towards the car.
"Meet Esther." was Penelope's immediate declaration.
"Esther, huh? Where did you find her?" was punctuated by the sound of a shut car door.
Penelope slid into reverse and began to drive. "She called to me from a corner car lot. Only had 150,000 miles on her and came in this color. I knew she was perfect for me from the moment I drove by her."
Sam just laughed. Penelope was one of a kind. They pulled up to a small café and got out. Penelope led the way in and they slid into a corner booth. They ordered and Penelope pulled out a tablet while they waited and began to grill Sam on just what kind of a dress they were looking for.
Sam was unsure. "Well, formal so long. Nothing too revealing; I'm going to be with family so something classy? And something that I can hide my gun in."
Penelope laughed. "You know, not very many women consider the concealed weapons factor when shopping for a dress."
"Told you I sucked at this girly thing."
"Nonsense, now that I know what we are shopping for I know what store to start at. So now we focus on far juicier things. Tell me all about that Eric of yours."
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Brunch was quickly over. They headed into a dress boutique and Penelope began to pull dress after dress off the racks before pushing them into Sam's arms and pushing her into the dressing rooms. "Just start at the top of the pile and come out and let me see what they look like. I need to see exactly what style is going to look good before we can find 'the dress.'" came the order worthy of a drill sergeant.
Sam rolled her eyes. "You realize this is just a night out with family? I go, I dance, I provide the requisite escort for a man I care about before I come home, change into sweats, and have a beer, right?"
"Shoo" was the reply from the tech kitten motioning with her hands to hurry up already. As soon as Sam disappeared behind the dressing room entrance Penelope pulled out her cell and hit speed dial.
"Morgan." was the slightly out of breath answer.
"Oh, my Hot Chocolate, did I catch you all hot and sweaty working out?"
"Sorry Mama, I'm knocking down a wall on one of my properties. I thought you were having a girl's day today? What are you doing on the phone with me?"
Penelope chuckled. "I am. I just shoved Sam into the dressing rooms and I am dying for her to come out and let me see. But, I just wanted to double check a few things with you. Your favorite color is dark blue, right?"
"Yes, but you know that. Where are you going with this?" was the hesitant reply.
"Oh Derek, stop being so suspicious. Just because I am having a girl's day doesn't mean I can't see something and think of you."
"Sorry Baby, it's the profiler in me. You know me Mama, just trust your instincts."
"I will. Bye." was purred into the phone as Sam appeared from behind the curtain.
She grinned sheepishly at Penelope before stopping in front of her. "I feel like a nun."
Penelope surveyed the dress. Indeed, the black and white maxi style with the sharp lines and square cut did nothing but swallow the woman in front of her. "Nope, next." was the simple order as she waved her hand in the direction of the dressing room.
Dresses two, three, and four were better. Sam's shape was beginning to show and Penelope became more dedicated to the hunt. She obtained the assistance of a salesperson at the shop and had another pile waiting for Sam as she came out in a strapless number that had a flamenco skirt.
"Nuh uhh Garcia. I feel like I am about to be strangled by ruffles. Not to mention, white is just not my color."
Penelope nodded. The second round of dresses were mostly in rich jewel tones. "All right, give those back and try these."
Sam quickly brought back the original armful before dutifully going off to try on some more. She came out in an ankle length sheath that was a rich green. Penelope nodded encouragingly. "All right, the color tone is right and you certainly have the figure for it."
"Sorry Pen, I cannot hide a gun in this dress. I can't even hide it on a thigh holster because of this slit that goes almost up to my hip. We keep looking Penelope."
Pen tried to hide her disappointment. "All right, next." was the simple reply.
Sam came out in a black strapless cocktail dress. "I feel like I will fall out of this if I bend over Pen."
Penelope walked around her with a critical eye. "I see your point. Keep trying them on, if you find one you like yell, I am gonna take one more walk through the store."
Sam stood with arms akimbo. "You're abandoning me?" came out almost desperately.
"Fear not sugarplum, I'm a yell away." she threw over her shoulder as she headed for the back of the store. Pulling out her cell when she was out of earshot she again hit speed dial.
"All right Goddess, now what's up?"
"I need a man's perspective and Kevin will be clueless so I called my Chocolate Adonis for input." was Garcia's reply.
"You know Mama, it kinda removes the point of a girl's day if you keep calling a man, but fire away."
'Here goes' thought Pen. "I found a dress, but it's a long dress and I'm not sure about it. You know I usually go for short and sassy. So, as a man, what do you like about long dresses and what do you hate?"
Morgan was silent for a minute. "All right, I can see why you didn't call Kevin. He would just tell you that anything you like is fine with him so let me speak for the rest of the men out there. We like short skirts because they tease us. You can see a woman in heels and follow her legs all the way up. If the dress is long and you want to keep our interest it has to tease as well. It has to move when you move, it has to hint at your shape, it is hiding our view so it has to make up for it in other ways. That being said, a long dress is almost sexier because we get to unwrap you at the end of the night and see if our imagination was right or if it so much better than what we even imagined. And girl believe me, Kevin will be imaging just pushing that skirt out of the way at least once the night you wear it for him. Now, does that help my Baby Girl?"
"Yes my prince, it does. Thank you." Penelope replied. "See you on Monday." she added before ending the call and walking through the store with new purpose. In the corner on a rack she saw it. It was a dark midnight blue, made of soft satin, and it was the only one there. Checking the tag she saw it was even the right size. Picking it up she hurried back to the dressing rooms before exclaiming "I found it!"
Sam looked bored to tears. She was back in her street clothes sitting in one of the chairs beside a rack full of rejected dresses. Penelope held up the dress and it caught Sam's interest. "Last one Pen." was her hesitant reply.
Penelope waited on pins and needles outside the dressing room. Sam came out with a faint flush and a small smile. "What do you think?" was her hesitant question.
Penelope made a twirling motion with her hand and the other woman hesitantly complied. When she completed the circle Penelope couldn't hold it in anymore. "That's it!" she said clapping her hands.
Sam took one more look in the full length mirror. She liked it and even better she felt comfortable in it. "All right PG, you did it. Let's buy this and go." was her simple reply as she went to change back into her street clothes.
Penelope again pulled out her tablet and began to reexamine her To Do list. She began to ramble as they headed to the checkouts. "Next we get shoes, a wrap, a clutch, lingerie, jewelry, makeup…"
Sam cut her off. "Pen, night out with family being a plus one. Not a date." she tried to emphasize.
Penelope just chuckled. "Darling, just because it's family doesn't mean you shouldn't knock their socks off. Trust me."
Sam just rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long day.
*AN – Hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing this. If anyone has any feedback it would be great. ~MM *
