Author's Note: I hope you like this one! I sure had a lot of fun writing it...I think you'll see why! LOL ~ Angie

"Did you like the show?" Derek asked, trying to concentrate on the road in front of him. When they'd come out of the venue, it had been hammering rain. By the time they'd got to the vehicle, they were soaked to the bone. He'd tried to get Penelope to wait for him so she wouldn't get rained on, but she wouldn't hear of it. God forbid she let him do something for her. The woman was so stubborn.

"Yeah, it was great. I wish they would've sung 'I'll Be There for You,' though" she answered dismissively. "Can you see OK? Because…I can't see very well."

"I can see enough," he assured her. If it was up to him, they go to the nearest hotel and wait out the downpour, even if it meant not leaving until morning. But he wasn't going to be the one to mention it. Not after she'd accused him of taking her hostage in a moving vehicle. This needed to be her idea.

"What's enough?" she insisted.

"If I squint really hard, I can just make out the white line on the side of the road."

Penelope sighed. "Do you think we should just try to find a hotel?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It's up to you," he told her.

Penelope didn't think it was possible, but it started raining even harder. She reached for the radio and turned it up.

In other news, torrential downpours have caused multiple motorists to go off the road in several parts of the state, and stranded other's on the shoulder.

"I think we should find a hotel," she decided.

"Good idea," he agreed.

"If you see a twenty four hour drug store on the way, can you stop?" she asked.

"I already have some of those," he answered distractedly.

"Some of what?" she asked confused.

"What do you mean you only have one room?" Penelope demanded nearly an hour later. "This is a hotel, for God's sake! You're in the business of booking rooms-ah," she scolded, putting heavy emphasis on the 's.'

"Ma'am," the woman said impatiently, "Do you want the room or not? There's a line of people behind you who are waiting, and I'm sure any one of them would be thankful for a room-ah," the woman said, dragging out the 'm' on the end of the word.

Penelope gasped. "You—"

"We'll take it," Derek said slapping his credit card down onto the counter and pulling Penelope back by her elbow.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Keeping the peace," he informed her. "I'm sure a lot of the hotels in the area are completely booked between the concert and the rain," he reasoned. "I don't want to have to drive another hour to find a different hotel."

Penelope sighed. He was right. She was being a bitch to the woman behind the counter. The poor lady was just trying to do her job. It wasn't her fault Penelope was stranded with Derek.

"Ready?" Derek asked a moment later.

She nodded and they headed for the elevator. She stopped at the sign that lead to the bar. "Karaoke night," she said, reading the dry erase board. "That sounds like fun. Let's go watch."

Derek cleared his throat. "Maybe we should go to the room first so you could…freshen up," he suggested.

"Reid?" Emily whispered in the darkened room. She couldn't sleep with the rain hitting the window like that; it had never been so loud!

"What?" he answered sleepily.

"Do you…see a future with us?" she asked hesitantly.

"I think we'll be waking up together tomorrow morning, if that's what you're asking," he teased.

"Come on," she said. "I'm serious."

Reid sighed as he pushed himself up onto his elbows and then reached for the lamp on his nightstand. He jerked at the light that filled the room, then gave his eyes a minute to get accustomed to it before speaking again. "Yes," he told her. "I see a future with us. Why are you asking me this at…?" he looked at the clock on the nightstand. "One in the morning?"

She sighed as she lifted her arms so they were over her head on the pillow. "I just…I can't understand why you put yourself in harms way," she said softly. "I just…if you see a future, why would you risk getting shot?"

Reid shrugged. "I can't explain it, Emily," he told her. "All I can say is…if it was me, if I was him…I wouldn't have wanted to shoot the only person who was interested in helping me."

Emily took a deep breath and nodded. "So, what kind of a future do you see with us?" she pressed.

"A long one," he said carefully.

"With kids and a…?" she stopped to clear her throat.

"And a what?" he prompted, completely sitting up now.

"A…"

"Wedding?" he supplied.

She nodded and he couldn't help but grin.

"Emily Prentiss are you asking me to marry you?" he teased.

"Well…no," she said hesitantly.

Reid knew she was feeling him out, seeing if he was interested in marriage with her. He definitely was. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "Good, because from what I hear…I get to be the one to do that."

In a flash he'd rolled over onto his belly, pulled his nightstand drawer open, and then practically fallen off the bed in his haste to make it to his knees. He knew one was customary, but it didn't matter. He was on both knees, and this was how he was going to do it. He opened the navy blue velvet box in his hand and grinned at her.

Emily gasped, her hand flying to her chest as she sat up. "Yes!" she said.

"I haven't even asked yet," he said with a chuckle.

"Sorry," she said, her cheeks heating.

"Em…will you marry me?" he asked tenderly.

She frowned. "You don't think it's too soon?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Reid said, starting to close the box. "You're probably right—I…I should wait."

She sat there for a moment, speechless.

Reid counted to fifteen and grinned. "Do you think now would be a good time to propose?"

Emily hurriedly scooted up onto her knees and then to the edge of the mattress. "Yes," she whispered with a grin Reid found entirely sexy. "I'll marry you."

She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, then held out her hand. "Ring, please."

Reid laughed, and then took the emerald ring out of the box. It was oval shaped with diamonds surrounding it. The white gold band was also encrusted with diamonds.

"Reid," she breathed as he slipped it on her finger.

"Do you like it?" he asked quickly. "Because if you don't, Garcia helped me pick it out. You're always commenting on her jewelry, and—"

Emily leaned down and rested her forehead on his. "It's perfect, Reid," she assured him. "I love it. And I love you."

"I love you, too," he said as his fiance lowered her lips to his in a tender kiss. "You know what this means?" he asked when she pulled away.

"What?" she asked.

"You're going to have to start calling me Spencer."

"Is that what you want me to yell out in bed, too?" she teased huskily.

Reid's eyes widened. "I'm throbbing at the thought."

As he stood, she tightened her hold around his neck, her eyes dancing playfully. "I think we should try it out…Spencer."

"Oh, sweet Lord," he said in a strangled voice.

Thank God Derek had strongly suggested they go to their room first. It was his way of politely telling her she looked like a drowned rat. Because of the rain, her mascara had created deep black streaks on her cheeks, and her hair was matted to her head. How had she not noticed her reflection when she was in the make up section of the drug store? She'd been able to use the blow dryer the hotel provided in their room and her new make up to fix the damage.

She had to giggle as she thought of herself yelling at the front desk clerk. She'd probably scared the woman half to death with her appearance alone! It was a good thing Derek had pulled her away when he did. Speaking of Derek, he'd left almost ten minutes ago to use the men's room. Where was he?

She took a drink of her water—the bar had stopped serving liquor just before they'd arrived—and looked around. No Derek.

All of a sudden, the familiar strains of one of her favorite songs filled the air, and Penelope's eyes flew to the stage in time to see the spotlight shine on Derek. When they locked eyes, he lifted a brow.

I guess this time you're really leaving…I heard your suitcase say goodbye...

Oh, God. Now she was going to have to sleep with him.