Disclaimer: I don't own any of Criminal Minds :( I'm crying on the inside now.

Sorry about the wait! I've had a few overnight shifts lately and it leaves me much less time to write than I would like. Now, I have so far collected a sorta poll tally on the JJ fairy tale retelling. Based on my correspondence with people and on what you leave in reviews, Sleeping Beauty will be the fairy tale I do. As for who to pair her with, Hotch and Reid are tied for the lady's heart. If you would leave a comment who you would like to see JJ with, please leave a comment in your review.

Penelope had spent the last week exploring the mansion, but only once had she seen Greyson. It was in the garden. The day was relatively chilly, but the sun was shining and the rays from it were lighting her skin, making her feel warmer. She had seen him, looking at the roses. He was extremely quiet, his hood up, covering the majority of his head.

"Hi!'' she called. She smiled brightly.

He jumped, startled. Instinctively almost, he pulled his hood further up his face. He waved awkwardly.

She started towards him, looking at the bushes upon bushes of white roses as she went. Stopping in front of him, she said, "You must really like white roses? You know they're supposed to represent innocence? And seeing as Jonathan cut off the thorns, they're supposed to mean love at first sight." She searched his face for some form of emotion, any sign that he might be in there somewhere.

Nothing.

Sighing, she said, "You know, this might be a little easier for me to be here if you would talk to me. So far you haven't really said much. The most I've heard from you was telling me that being here would be for my own good." He looked at her with a curious expression on his face and she burst out laughing. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground.

"No! You were going to say something! I'm positive!" She hoped her grin would be infectious enough to see him smile. So far, he had yet to smile. And for some reason she desperately wanted to see him smile.

"You - you're not freaked out by me?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No," she said simply.

"Most people wouldn't say that," he said bluntly, still not meeting her eyes.

"I think you'll find that I'm not most peope," she said softly.

Right then she was lying face down on her bed and thinking about how bored she was. She loved the whole staff at the mansion, even the chilly Leanne, who had decided to warm up to her mysteriously. But she was unbelievably...bored. Daily walks through the woods and seeing the picturesque lake couldn't make up for the lack of activity going on at the beautiful mansion.

From the other side of the room, there was a knock on the door. She looked up and said, "Come in!"

It was Harrison and Marcus.

"Hi Miss Penelope!" they said.

They trotted over to her huge bed and hopped on it, bouncing up and down.

She sat up and smiled at them. "Hi boys. What are you doing in here?"

"My momma wanted me to come ask you if you wanted to go shopping with her," Marcus said sweetly.

Penelope smiled and ruffled Marcus' hair. "Will you go tell her that I would love to go shopping with her?" Getting up, she added, "I'll be right down."

Harrison took Marcus' hand and said, "Come on, Marcus. Let's go tell your Mom." He waved at Penelope and the two of them bounded out the door. She smiled at their retreating forms and got up from her seat on the bed and went to retrieve her shoes and purse. As she was heading out the door of her room, she caught sight of Greyson at the end of the hall. He was heading towards the room that was his and he disappeared inside. She huffed. She was getting angrier by the second. She was sick of him avoiding her and never talking to her. There had to be a way to get his attention.

Sighing, she started down the grand staircase and met up with Natasha. She smiled widely, glad to be getting out of the house. "Hi Natasha! Sorry I haven't left my room all day."

"Oh, don't worry!" Natasha said with a smile. "You ready to go get some shopping done? I thought you might want to get out of the house for a little while."

She nodded and grinned fiercely. "You have no idea," she said wistfully.

XXXXX

"I think I'm going to try these two on," Penelope said, holding up two different dresses on hangers for Natasha to see.

Natasha nodded. "Those two are the best you've looked at," she said. "I can't wait to see them on you!"

Penelope bit her lip, slightly uneasy, slightly excited to see herself in the two dresses. She disappeared into the changing room and started undressing herself, ready to slide herself into her first dress. She closed her eyes slowly and took a deep breath before checking out her appearance. The dress she had put on was a tight, strapless navy blue number that was sprinkled with cream colored flowers. It fit her nicely. She was pretty pleased with it.

"Well, let's see what Natasha thinks," she murmured. She opened the door to the changing room and looked at Natasha hopefully. "So? How does it look?" She studied her face.

Natasha nodded approvingly. "Ooh, I like that one," she said with a grin. "Can we see the other one?"

She went back into the changing room. The next dress looked even better on her. She sighed dreamily. This one was just a simple black dress that hugged her body. It wasn't her normal embellished or brightly pattered style, but it accentuated her curves well. The neckline was plunging, but it showed her cleavage tastefully. She hoped Natasha would think it looked great too.

There was definitely someone else she wanted to think it looked great on her. Maybe it would be a conversation starter and loosen his tongue up.

"Check this one out!" she said proudly, opening the door and striking a dramatic pose.

"Oh. My. God." Natasha's jaw dropped. It was clear she thought the dress looked great as well. "That dress looks amazing on you, Penelope! You look freaking beautiful!"

Penelope giggled. "The way you say 'freaking beautiful' sounds really cute!"

Natasha blushed and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, no matter," she said. "Greyson will definitely want you to have this one. And the other one too. Let's go pay for those."

She shook her head vigorously. "Oh, I can't let him pay for these!" she gasped. "These dresses are way to expensive!"

"Again, no matter," Natasha said. She grinned. "Go change and we'll go pay for them!"

Penelope looked down at the dress she was wearing and her insides felt warm and mushy all the sudden. This was the most beautiful dress she had ever had on her body. Not to mention it was the most expensive dress she had ever worn. And someone kind was offering to buy it for her. It was all overwhelming.

She just wondered if she would ever have somewhere to wear it.

XXXXX

Derek stepped out of the shower and toweled himself off. He had spent the entire day consumed with thoughts of Penelope. He couldn't help it. They had only one encounter so far in the week she had been living with him. And that one encounter had been, dare he might say it, magical. She had definitely surprised him. He had expected her to be frightened of his face and his body. Instead she just wanted him to talk to her.

He had no idea how to talk to a woman.

Sure, he knew how to woo them into bed. But a conversation with them? Not something he knew how to have.

The words she had said resonated with him.

I think you'll find that I'm not most people...

"She sure isn't," he said aloud, not even realizing he was talking to the empty room. He shook his head. Why was he acting like this over a woman he had barely even spoken to? He was too chicken shit to do it. He needed to figure out how to have a conversation with her. A proper one.

But he was so petrified she would run.

A knock sounded from the door and he wrapped his towel around his waist. He went towards the door and opened it, thinking it was one of his team members. It wasn't.

It was Penelope.

Her mouth was open as if she were about to speak, but then a fierce, hot pink blush broke out over her face. "Oh!" she squeaked. "Oh, God! I'm -"

Panicked, he slammed the door shut and ran to find a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants. He pulled his hood up and rubbed his forehead. She must have been repulsed by his body. This might very well be a setback.

Reaching for the knob again, he was relieved when he saw that she was still there. She was shocked, but she was still there. He rubbed his hood covered head and said unsteadily, "I'm, uh, sorry about that."

She smiled and he looked for signs that she might falter. But she merely looked embarrassed. Her cheeks were still lit with the bright blush and for a moment they both stood absolutely still. Finally she spoke. "So, I was wondering if you -" She laughed nervously and averted her eyes. "I was wondering if you wanted to...hang out?"

He blinked several times. "Wh - what?" he sputtered. "You want to hang out?" He paused again. "With me?"

She nodded. But then her eyes went wide and she said hurriedly, "Only if you want to! If you don't want to, that's cool! I just figured, seeing as I hardly, ever see you around, that maybe you might want to. I mean, you saved my life and I feel like I don't know you at all."

Derek was still stunned. He wanted more than anything to spend time with her. So he nodded, his face unmoving. "Um, sure," he said nervously. Seeing her face fall, he made sure his answer was more solid. "Yes. I - I would love to."

Penelope smiled. "C - cool," she murmured.

So it's shorter, but hopefully it was okay! Next one is coming soon