A/N: JUst a bit of a warning... I am flying out to Chicago on Monday, so there might be a bit of a delay in posting further chapters.
The day of her return home Penelope left Paris with a laughing and a crying eye. She surely would miss this city, the country. She had a really good time here, but then again she also wanted to get back badly by now. It was just not the same as D.C., which she by now missed terribly. She missed her friends, the fact that she definitely understood people around her and just … Washington itself. Maybe even work, the satisfying feeling of having archived something by the end of the day. But most of all she missed Derek. It had been some terribly long four weeks without him, without talking to him.
She had gotten up in the middle of the night to be on time at the airport for her return flight, just to be told at check-in that her flight would be delayed for several hours. By midday they were finally able to start their return back to the U.S. and of course Penelope needed to get the flight with the crankiest flight attendance and the bored kids behind her, kicking against the back of her seat nonstop for the whole duration of the flight. She didn't even want to know where their parents were.
Leaving Paris that day she had to realize that she came for finding the zest of her life again and for a moment it seemed like she found it again, like this break from her normal life seemed to have the effect she was hoping for. But now, several days later, she had to find out that nothing really changed. Yes, she had been happier and freer for a while, but it somehow felt different, not what she had hoped for.
The excitement of being in Paris, living something she always had dreamt of doing had died down quickly and nothing else than the usual was left. She missed her friends, Morgan especially, missed their movie nights, their daily conversations, just that he on some days was there for her for anything. Here she felt at times all on her own, with no one to turn to. Her friend was at work all day long after the first week, so during the day Penelope was stuck with herself. In the beginning she was feeling excited and good seeing new things, new places, places she always had dreamt of seeing and visiting, but after a week it all seemed less exciting if you didn't have anyone to share this with. Sure, she saw all she wanted to see, but what was it you couldn't tell someone about it, or have someone who sees it with you?
Now she was sitting in the plane on her way back and the day seemed to never end. She deliberately hadn't told anyone what flight, or what day actually she would come back. She didn't want anyone to pick her up. Penelope was certain none of her friends would have had any problems picking her up, but she thought they all could do better things on their Sundays than waiting for her to make it back and for her plane to touch down. Seeing now that her flight was delayed for several hours she was even more grateful she hadn't asked one of her friends – she would have felt really bad now, thinking they might have had waited for hours for her to come back home.
Back in Paris, just in the last few days, Penelope had decided on buying additional luggage, since she seemed to have purchased more stuff over there than she initially had expected. Retrieving her luggage she realized pretty soon that the airline somehow managed to break her new luggage already. The rolls didn't work anymore and she was forced to more or less drag her bags all the way through the terminal. Feeling incredible tired she just wanted at this stage to get home and fall into bed, being glad right now that none of her friends would need to see her like that. All cranky and probably looking like she'd come right from hell.
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Morgan wasn't entirely sure whether it had been a good idea coming here, but the moment he saw his best friend he had no doubts that this was the best idea he ever had.
He missed her terribly, more and more with every week that past by and by the end of the third week he was glad it was only seven more days left. Just that those seven days had seemed to drag on forever. But now, finally, she was back. Back in the country, back in his life.
Looking at her, how she dragged her luggage through the terminal slowly, seeming to get frustrated more and more with every step she made, he was glad that this tech had owed him a favor and was quick in pulling up Penelope's flight information. He didn't even mind that he had spent the last eight hours waiting for her, waiting for her plane to touch down, waiting for welcoming her back into his life.
He saw her look up after a while, spotting him finally and all he could do was grin at her, being so happy about her being back. Of course he didn't miss that Penelope seemed to have tried to avoid their farewell four weeks ago rigorously, but right now that didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was back.
Penelope wasn't sure the moment she saw him whether she saw correctly. For a second she thought she'd imagine things, but when Morgan grinned at her his usual trademark grin she couldn't help but grin back. Okay, she didn't want to bother anyone with coming and picking her up, wanted to just call a cab and get home. But seeing her best friend standing there right now, she couldn't help but feel relieved. And when she saw him spreading his arms she couldn't do anything else other than accept the invitation and walk straight into them.
She missed this, him. It had been weeks since she had seen him, talked to him, took in his scent. She had so many things she wanted to tell him about, show him about. But right now, all she wanted was take this moment in, take him in, let his arms wrap around her and pull her closer against him.
This felt like home. And she didn't care that they were standing in the middle of Dulles Airport. She had missed him. Of course the question about their farewell and what this meant for them was on her mind, in the back of her mind really, but somehow she didn't want to get into that right now. That was too deep for her right now, required to be awake really and ask some serious questions, something she wasn't ready to do. She wanted to enjoy this for a moment longer. She hadn't have enough of it in the past four weeks.
And then it was over. Just like that. He kissed the top of her head, mumbled something she didn't quite catch, but couldn't really care for now either. He took one of her bags, strapped it over his shoulder and took the second one, whose wheel didn't work from her, his free arm he flung around her shoulders and together they left the airport, walking towards his car and finally getting on their way to get her into bed.
