Disclaimer: Nothing recognizable from CM is mine, no copyright infrigement is intended.

Beautiful

He watched her sleep and wondered how he could have been so stupid. He had ignored his feelings for her for so long. It had taken his own near death experience to show him how blind he had been to his love for her.

She lay there breathing slowly and deeply, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her face. Her lips, usually painted a deep red, were bare of lipstick. The body that was normally clad in bright, attention getting clothing, was now dressed in a hospital gown and covered by harsh white sheets and a light blue blanket.

Her beautiful eyes were closed, and her voice was silent of all the brash and flirtatious things she was famous for when dealing with him. How had he not seen for so long that he loved her as much as she loved him?

Now she was here in this hospital bed, alive, but taking a well deserved rest from the morning's hard work and pain. How had she done it, he was amazed that she had suffered through the many hours of pain and come out on the other side. His brain began to focus on all the memories that he had of her.

He thought of all the times they teased each other. He'd never forget the fear in her voice when she called him after he was nearly caught in an explosion. He smiled at the thought of her figuring out the last piece of the bomb he was reconstructing. It had been so easy for her to see. Perhaps it was then that he realized that she was more that a talented computer tech.

He frowned when the memories of Reid's kidnapping at the hands of Tobias Henkel surfaced. She had been a rock, but watching her "sweet boy" go through torture and death, then to see him brought back to life, had nearly driven him to tears.

Then he'd had his own near death experience and she'd shown up at the hospital. She had refused to leave his side for three days, while he was in a coma. After he'd awoken, she had made it clear that she wanted more from their relationship then just harmless flirting. She told him that if he wasn't ready for that or didn't want it then they could be friends but she was done with flirting. He'd been angry at first, after all how dare she tell him while he was in pain and in a hospital bed, how it was going to be with them.

He didn't talk to her for several days, and then he'd realized that she was right. He didn't want to go through the rest of his life pushing his best friend away because he was scared. By the time he'd left the hospital two months later, they were engaged.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a small sound from her bed. He looked down at her and realized that she was looking up at him.

"Hey Gorgeous, how are you feeling?"

"I'm good; they've got great drugs here." She smiled up at him and he chuckled.

"Yeah, I just bet they do." He reached down and linked his hand with hers. He grinned at the red and black horizontal stripes of nail polish on her fingers. It straightened his universe to see the proof that his baby girl was really there and okay.

"I've got someone that wants to meet you." He said seriously. Her eyes were a little wary, but she watched him turn and cross the room. She waited patiently and then he came back to her bed and bent down to hand her a small, squirming bundle.

Tears flooded his eyes and rolled down his cheeks at the happiness that filled her face. She held their daughter close to her breast and began to cry. He couldn't believe how beautiful their child was. Her coffee colored skin and dark eyes were mesmerizing. He was sure that she looked exactly like his goddess, while she would tell him later that the baby looked more like him. He reached down and stroked back her blond curls from her head, and then his fingers brushed away the tears from her cheeks.

"We have a little girl, can you believe it." He smiled broadly at her. His heart leaped at the sight of the twinkle overtaking the pain in her eyes.

"She's gorgeous," He watched her looking at their baby. She said, "Welcome to the world my little angel."

He watched Penelope talk to their baby girl. His wife was the smart one, and he was glad she had convinced him to stop burying his head in the sand. There was nothing more important than this moment.