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Derek was washing the last cup from brunch, when he looked out of his mother's kitchen window and saw his family playing in the yard. He kept on thinking about what he told Emily, about Garcia being passive and not fighting. That is so not who she is at all, he thought, She is the doer in the relationship. Her life has always been ordered and colorful. He could see all the effort she put in and what he actually gave in return - the scale wasn't equal. I mean, I asked her to go to a concert with him; he shook his head as he continued to wash the cup. It's as if I said here take my wife. I had faith in our bond and our vows—maybe too much faith he thought. He never trusted another woman like he trusted her—and now it was all out the window. All I see in my head is them – at the farmer's market, he came to their house - he made the man a burger! He was always there – always around. What void did he fill that I couldn't? How could I ever trust her again—or myself?

"Baby Boy, I am sure the cup is clean," Fran said as she watched her son clean the same cup for 10 minutes.

"What's on your mind, honey?"

"Nothing," he said listlessly.

"Is this about Penelope?"

"I was just day dreaming and thinking—we should head out"

"You know you can always come to me right?" Fran assured him.

"I know mom," he said as he kissed her forehead.


"I can't believe they didn't cry," she said to Derek, as they walked down the porch steps.

"My mom has the magic touch."

As they made their way down to the car, Fran opened the door.

"Hey," Fran said, "I forgot to give you these—Today is Taste of Chicago and the Park Tower Hotel is having a tasting lunch. Rossi and I went last year and it was amazing."

"Thanks, but you really shouldn't have mom. I meeting up with some of the guys today and"

Penelope realized that she had to chime in but she had no plans because she thought they were spending the day together.

"I have to prepare for a seminar," she said knowing that wasn't a good excuse.

"Those tickets are pretty pricey—you should really check it out."

"Why were you at the Park Tower with Rossi?" he asked remembering how she knew about the event.

"I was eating," she said passing him the tickets, "go and have fun!"


As Fran watched them drive a way, she pulled out her phone and called Rossi.

"I did what I could on my end. I sent them on a date—I don't want to have an intervention."

"When do they head back," he asked.

"Penelope heads back tomorrow and I think Derek stays a few more days."

"Ok, Derek transitions back to our team at the end of the week so we will plan another impromptu date. I've enlisted Hotch's wife Beth to help with that. Do you remember her?"

"I think so," Fran said stubbornly, "We're going to fix this."

"I should just sit them down here, Rossi. This isn't how I raised Derek."

"No, then he would be on to us—did he tell you he lawyered up?" Rossi asked

"What?" she asked shocked.

"Exactly, honey."

"I'll call you tomorrow," Fran said


The waitress sits them at window that over looks the city. They look over the menu in silence. Derek's jaw is tight and she is tapping her foot, they are both thinking about what to say.

"So what are our next legal steps-"

"We should try red sangria—"

They say simultaneously.

Penelope says, "No you go first."

"I was thinking we should order a half pitcher of the red sangria, what were you thinking?"

"That sounds good to me," she continued to look out over the city.

She looked over at him and said, "Derek, I don't want a divorce. Your lawyer – well our lawyer, has already emailed me and I know this is not something I want."

"What do you want, Penelope?" he said looking at her intently.

"I want us to be happy and a family again," she said earnestly.

"You make it seem so simple—but we've been," he said lowering his eyes.

She interrupted, "it is that simple, I love you and you love me—everything else will fall into place," she said squeezing his hand.

"It's not that easy -I just don't trust you anymore and," he said as if it was an irreconcilable truth.

She let go of his hand, "But you still love me right?"

"Yes, but what's love without trust?" he asked returning her gaze. She saw the finality in his eyes and she knew that stubborn Morgan streak would be the wall keeping her from his heart.

The waitress returned with their pitcher and took their food order. Penelope returned her gaze out the window and wished she was anywhere but here. Their food came and they ate in a comfortable silence.

The check came and Penelope said, "This is kind of like our last date, isn't it?" she said realizing the vultures were circling. Soon they would be arguing over simple things like plates and glasses. She made a promise to herself that she wouldn't become that person. She knew none of those things would fill the void he was about to leave in her life. She continued, "I wish we didn't know, like movie Before Sunrise—at any moment that epic date could have ended but it just kept on going. Kind of like our first time in Chicago, do you remember?"

He smiled, "Yeah, we had like 36 hours in Chicago and I wanted introduce you to my family and show you the sights."

"I think that was our best date ever – I don't think we slept," she said trying to remember.

"We left that party at like 5 in the morning and our flight was at 730. You snored so loud on the plane. I felt bad for the kid with the window seat," he said laughing as he remembered the kids face.

She laughed—the first time in a long time.

"I think New Orleans, or Cape Cod was our best date," he said strolling down memory lane.

"Really? I see those more as getaways. Those MIT long weekends were the best weren't they? We rode our bikes from the ferry to the lighthouse."

"We had drinks on the porch of that mansion—what was the drink?

"Paloma, we served them at our wedding. Yes, Cape Code was amazing, but NOLA, shouldn't count- you proposed there."

"Come on now, here you go with the rules. Dancing the 2nd line on St. Charles Street and riding our bikes down Camp Street – ultimate date regardless if it ended with a ring."

"The ring was a topper," she said with a smile, "then we went to Coops Place—best jambalaya in the world."

"That's blasphemous," he teased.

"Kidding, the Morgan's recipe is tops," she said with a chuckle.

The waitress came and took the check and Derek said no change.

They both stood up awkwardly and "well I'm going to the ladies—maybe I'll see you later tonight but definitely before I leave tomorrow."

"Ok," he said as she turned and headed to the restroom. He watched her walk out of the restaurant to the lobby of the hotel and out of sight. She was gone just like that. He started to walk in her direction, not knowing why – he just knew it couldn't end like this. His emotions fluctuated like a pendulum, between love and anger, yet he always knew that she was always the destination—she would always be home to him.

She saw him as she came out of the bathroom—"hi trouble," she said, "are you stalking me?"

"I was thinking that since he have these passes maybe we should—"

"Have an epic date?" she finished.

"Something like," that he smiled.

"Well what are the rules—" she asked

Derek shook his head, "you and the rules—"

"Come on, we need parameters to keep us in line right? Unless you want to pretend that we have no history—" she said sarcastically

That was the best idea he heard all day, "Hi! I'm James and I think I saw you at the Neurology Seminar" he pointed to the sign and smiled, "Are you a surgeon?"

She nodded and he followed up with "At John Hopkins."

"Sam," she said extending, "Samantha and I am a surgeon too—at the Mayo Clinic."

"Of course you would choose the top hospital in the United States," Derek said sarcastically.

"What was that James?" she said with a challenge in her eyes.

"Nothing," he said getting back into character.

"So, are you from Chicago?" she asked

"No, Virginia. I'm staying the weekend," he replied, "I've never been to Chicago and I want to take in the sights."

"Well, your in luck—I know Chicago like the back of my hand." She said proudly.

"Oh really now—" he said arching his eyebrow and smiling. "So what's our first stop?" he asked wondering how far they could take this pretend game.

"It's a surprise." The truth was she had no idea but she was going to wing it.


Thank you for all of the reviews! I am so in love with Penelope and Derek in this story and I'm glad that you are enjoying it as well.