Savin' Grace, just for you! Enjoy! =)

"You're what?" she exclaimed dumbfounded.

"I'm undoubtedly, inexplicably in love wit you Penelope Margaret Garcia."

"What about Taylor?"

"We broke up months ago. She realised my heart wasn't in it so we decided to just remain friends." Penelope blinked unable to utter a word.

"I know this is a huge shock, and I am sorry to just throw it out there, but you asked." He said sheepishly, somewhat frightened of her reaction.

"Are you sure?" she asked quietly, trying to process it all in her head. She had dreamt of such a moment, but she'd never entertained it far enough to rehearse a response from herself. Derek lifted her chin with his finger and leaned in to place his lips against hers. As her heart fluttered she found herself responding to his kiss.

"Guys, cake's ready." Emily said bursting out the doors not realising what she had walked into.

"Uh sure. We'll be right there." Penelope answered quickly jumping back from Morgan.

"Sorry guys, take your time." Emily stammered finally realising what she had interrupted. Penelope looked at Morgan,

"Can we talk about this later?" she asked giving his hand a quick squeeze.

"Of course Baby Girl." He replied dropping his lips to her head as he ushered her into Emily's living room, where everyone with the exception of Emily were none the wiser.

"Aunt P, can we stay at yours tonight? We're not really wanting to bunk with Uncle Luke and Aunty Lorelai?" Jess asked speaking for Rory, himself and April.

"Of course you can. If I can swing it with my boss, what do you guys say we hang the whole day, and leave your parentals to do their own thing?" Hotch merely smiled and nodded his consent.

"Awesome, can we go to that gallery again Aunt P?" April asked excitedly.

"Honey, we can do whatever you guys want." Penelope said draping an arm around April's shoulder as she threw Derek an apologetic smile. Whatever chances they had of finishing their conversation that evening had dissolved. Derek merely smiled at her in understanding.

When she saw Derek slip into the kitchen, Penelope discreetly followed him and found him staring out the window. Letting out a deep sigh she placed a hand on his shoulder. Derek turned to face her and smiled.

"Hey Baby Girl, you having a good time?" he inquired.

"Yeah I am, I love having all the people I adore under the one roof. I feel incredibly blessed and spoiled. Listen, I'm sorry our conversation got hijacked."

"I know, it's okay. We will talk. Just promise me that you're not going to spend the time from here to then talking yourself out of the possibility." Though he was smiling, she could see that he was serious.

"I will do my outmost. Just give me time to let it sink in okay. I'm not running, well I am making the conscious effort not to run. I've been in love with you for so long that it's second nature. Never once did I ever entertain the idea that you could ever feel the same way." Penelope admitted unable to meet his gaze,

"You're crazy! I suspect I've been in love with you from the first moment we met."

"You're sweet. Now I better get back there before Emily comes flying into the kitchen looking for me. We'll talk handsome. I promise." Penelope watched as he nodded and turned back to face the window. She walked up to him and kissed shoulder before leaving him with his thoughts. As she emerged from the kitchen Emily raised an eyebrow noticing the Derek was not in sight. Penelope crossed, and then rolled her eyes making a mental note not to be cornered by Emily for the remainder of the night.

Luke draped an arm around Pen's shoulders as she sat beside him on the couch.

"You having a good time Bug?"

"I am. It's been a very interesting evening. One that I cannot really get into right now, but will definitely offload in a couple of days upon your return to the Hollow,"

"Sounds rather ominous,"

"It is and it isn't. Thanks so much for coming down for my birthday and letting these guys horn in on your Anniversary plans."

"Happy to have it interrupted. It's about time your worlds crossed path Bug. You can't protect us at the expense of yourself. You need family, and I see that the BAU is your family, but they have a right to get to know where you come from, and where your root lies. Otherwise, it's all in the surface. You need to let them see all of you. I appreciate that you're wanting to make sure that no harm come our way, but we'll be okay. I promise!"

"I know Bean. I'm just scared. You're all I've got, and I would hate for anything to happen to you because of the profession I chose."

"Everything will be alright Bug, I promise."

Derek watched their exchange from where he sat, he was almost certain that he was not the topic of their conversation. He found himself envious of how her guard was always down when she spoke with Luke, as though she knew he could protect her from anything. From the stories he had heard that night, it was Luke that got her through her parents death. So much of her past was still a mystery to him, just as his was to her only months before. Though they were close, there was so much they didn't know about each other.

"Their bond is a little daunting to watch in action isn't it?" Lorelai said quietly coaxing him out of his trance. Derek smiled guiltily.

"A little,"

"I've been around it for about 15 years and I'm envious of it. I'm an only child so it took a little while to get used to the sibling bond thing. I know their not blood, but that's what they are. Luke's Mom and Pen's Mom were best friends and had been since childhood. When Luke's mother passed away, Pen and her parents were there for him and his sister Liz, which is Jess' Mom. A few years later, Pen's parents followed. A few years after that, Luke's father passed away. There were so many tragedies in such a short span of time, and they've only had each other to rely on. I love Pen, she's the closest thing I have to a sister with the exception of my best friend Sookie. I learned very early on that she came with the package and I found that I didn't mind a bit because there was enough love there. It sounds corny, but it's true. Despite their closeness, I have never felt anything less the most important. I don't know how they do it, but they do. You're a little overwhelmed because it's coming from left field. From what Pen's told me, with the exception of the girls, you were the one she was closest to, and I'm sure seeing someone sit where you normally sit in her life is a little disconcerting. I would bet you're feeling a little territorial right now," Lorelai teased lightly earning a smile from Derek.

"I was, but not anymore. Well, maybe not as much. I guess it feels a little weird to see that she's so close to someone else, when I've always taken it for granted that she always put me first."

"That hasn't changed, you'll find that she still does Derek. It just may not be as plain and simple as it once was, but you're still in her top priority list." Derek looked at Lorelai with gratitude, she offered him a window and he appreciated that.

Penelope caught Derek's gaze in her direction as she and Luke spoke, she may not be a profiler but she knew that he felt threatened. She smiled as she saw Lorelai join him, and found him relax as she spoke. She made a mental note to hug her friend for whatever reassurance she managed to offer him.

She crossed the room to place herself on the couch between Gideon and Hotch. She looked from one boss to the other and grinned at them both,

"Thanks so much for tonight you guys. I really appreciate it. A part of me feels like I owe you an apology for not being completely truthful about my life."
"You didn't lie Penelope, you simply wanted to keep your family sacred, and no one can fault you for that, least of all me." Gideon said reassuringly.

"We understood your reasons for it, but we need you to know that we're here, we're your family too and if you're in the middle of something, we don't want to know it because you've dropped from the face of the earth and ran to your safe place, we want to know because you trust us enough to tell us." Penelope knew what Hotch was referring to and nodded.

"That part of my life is just so hard to explain that I just don't. I rely on Luke because he just knows. It's not for the lack of trust, but for the pain that comes with recollection." Hotch patted her hand in understanding.

"I think we should probably call it a night. You guys still have work tomorrow." Luke suggested as he looked at the time and saw that it was past midnight.

"I guess you're right, but I have it on good authority that poker has been played in this house well into the 4 o'clock mark, and agents have managed to crawl into work early the next day." Hotch teased as Emiily, JJ, Reid and Penelope looked at each other sheepishly before smirking.

"See what happens when you fraternize with management?" Reid mumbled to Penelope earning a smack from Emily.

JJ hopped into Reid's car, Gideon with Morgan, Jess, April and Rory with Penelope, while Hotch stayed to help Emily clean up. Sookie and Jackson had long since gone home to their kids in Stars Hollow. Penelope had settled the girls in the spare room and gathered pillows, sheets and a blanket for Jess on her couch. She had tucked both girls in and as well as Jess when her phone beeped.

"Hey handsome, you home?" she asked affectionately.

"Err, not really no." he answered,

"Where are you?" she asked worriedly,

"Front steps of your apartment building."

"Let me check on the kids and I'll be right down."

Penelope checked on the girls who were dead asleep, and just as she was about to walk past Jess he spoke,

"And where do you think you're going young lady?" Penelope chuckled,

"I'll be right outside Dad."

"Well you make sure you make it quick, this is not an hour for a respectable girl to be parading in her pyjamas with some boy." He continued in his best mock stern voice earning a hearty laugh from Penelope. She bent down and dropped a kiss on his head,

"Thank you! Sleep well. I'll be back soon. I promise." Jess waved and snuggled into a comfortable position as Penelope slipped out of her apartment.

She found Derek sitting on her front porch, lost in the abyss of his thoughts. Lovingly she placed a hand on his shoulder as she sat down. Derek looked up and smiled, she was dressed in her famous cupcakes pyjamas with matching pink hoodie. She had her hair gathered in a messy pony tail, and to him, she had never looked more beautiful.

"Hey Baby, I didn't mean to deprive you of your sleep. I just took a chance to see if you were awake."

"And I am. So are we really going to do this now?" she asked.

"What? Define our relationship?" he teased.

"That's one way to put it."

"You up for it?" he searched her eyes for an answer.

"Sure. If you're game, I am. Who starts?" she challenged keeping her tone light despite the butterflies in her stomach and jumping jelly beans in her heart.

"I've always known that I loved you. Always!" he declared holding her gaze,

"Regardless of who came along, it was you that I looked forward to speaking at the beginning and at the end of each day. No matter how bad the case we were working on was, the one thing that made it better was you on the other end making me laugh. Hearing your voice was enough, hearing it made the day bearable no matter how gruesome it was. Pen, you're my best friend, and though I know you now question that with my behaviour the last few months, I need you to know that you are, and not being able to be talk to you as we once did is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to endure. Lady, whether you know it or not, believe it or not, you are my God given solace, and hearing your voice is the only thing that gets me through the day, and if I could make it so, I would make sure that you never ever stop speaking to me." Penelope caressed the hand she held in hers, allowing him to carry on.

"When everything came out in Chicago, I was embarrassed and ashamed. I didn't want you to know what he did to me, because even though I know in my heart it didn't matter to you, I didn't want you to look at me through the eyes I feared you would, but that's all I could see, so I pushed you away. I knew I loved you, and that I wanted to be with you, I just couldn't comprehend why you would want to be with someone like me after you found out, which is stupid I know, but I plead stupidity to the third degree. Maybe it was easier to assume you would reject me for that, than to take the chance that you may not feel the same about me. I'm really sorry Pen."

"Firstly, you're a twit… how you could not know that I loved you is beyond me. Derek, I have always loved you too, but never in my life did I dare to imagine that you would ever feel the same way. Before you scoff at me, I have been around long enough to see who makes the Derek radar. I have been around your flirting and your moves long enough to discern the type. As much as I knew you loved me, you were never attracted to me like that."

"So you think…" he piped in with a roll of his eyes.

"Honey, you never actually gave me any reason or indication for a single moment that you saw or even thought of me that way. I'm a genius to my own accord, I'm no Reid, but even I couldn't suspect how you felt. I was always just 'Garcia', the techie geek you spoke to and flirted with on the other side of the phone."

"You've never been just that Pen."

"I know that now."

"So…"

"So???"

"What would you say if I propose we try an 'Us'?"

"As in try before you buy?" she threw in dryly.

"I'd tell you I want to be with you for the rest of my life right now if I didn't know you'd panic and bolt in a heartbeat, so I am proposing baby steps. A date, dinner, movie? Please!"

"Okay." She replied with obvious hesitation.

"Really?" Derek asked with a twinkle in his eye that she couldn't quite help but be excited too.

"Sure, there's no one else I could think of that I would trust my heart with."

"I promise to be careful with it."

"I'll hold you to that Agent Morgan."