HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

AN: I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. I spent it watching Season 1 of Criminal Minds. I needed some Old School Morgan. LOL! Anyway I hope you like this. PLZ R&R!

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

Chapter 21

"So what do you say?" Derek looked at Penelope as she still had the shocked look on her face. "Do you want to make me the happiest guy in the world again?"

"I would love to, Handsome." Penelope smiled at him. "But how long have you been planning this? I mean how many people are coming?"

"It's just us and maybe a surprise guest or two." Derek interrupted her.

"What surprise guests exactly?" she asked as the doorbell rang.

"Here's one now," Derek opened the door and let them in. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"I missed your first one," Penelope heard the familiar voice. "I am not missing this one if I can help it."

"Molly," Penelope smiled at her as she embraced her tightly.

"You are looking so much better honey," Molly smiled at her. "When I got the call from Derek, I knew I had to come out and see how you're doing."

"I'm doing well," Penelope smiled at her.

"She's doing extremely well," Emily spoke up. "She's going to be returning to work soon; they both are."

"That is so good to hear," Molly smiled at Derek. "And how is everything going on your end?"

"Great," he smiled at her.

"He just received his one month chip," Fran came down the stairs to greet her.

"Good for you," Molly hugged him. "You just keep at it."

"I plan on it," he smiled at her.

"Is there room here for a couple more?" the door opened further as a couple slowly walked in with a toddler.

"Vanessa?" Penelope stared shocked as she went to embrace her. "Oh my god. I can't believe you're here."

"Derek called and told me what he had planned." She smiled at her. "He asked if we would want to come."

"We immediately agreed," her husband, Brian, came forward. "And it gave me the chance to finally meet the famous Penelope that I've heard so much about."

"It's nice to finally meet you too," Penelope smiled at him. "Although I think I have the head start on getting to know you. We did a lot of husband-swapping stories while we were gone."

"Oh geez," Brian sighed.

"All good stories," Penelope assured him.

"And who is this little guy?" JJ bent down to where the toddler was trying to hide behind Brian.

"This is Tyler," Vanessa picked him up. "I'm sure you know-"

"Yes," Emily nodded. "How is everyone handling it?"

"Both of our families are deeply religious," Brian told them. "And they have no problem making their opinion known."

"I'm sorry about that," Derek told him.

"I don't care what they think," Brian stated. "This is my kid for all intents and purposes. It became official a few weeks ago."

"You adopted him?" Derek looked at them.

"As soon as they would let me,"

"You remember Penelope don't you?" Vanessa looked at Tyler and he nodded.

"Mason and Liam are here," she smiled at him. "Would you like to see them?"

"Ya," Tyler smiled his toothy grin.

"We'll take you to them," Emily told them. "I'm sure they're with Jack and Henry."

Brian followed with Tyler behind the girls as Vanessa stayed behind to talk with Penelope and Derek some more.

"Speaking of adoption," Derek saw Hotch coming up the walkway with an older man. "Did you get them?"

"They're right here," Hotch pulled out some papers as he turned to the man he had with him. "Penelope, this is Judge Rollins."

"It's nice to meet you," Penelope smiled at him as she shook his offered hand. "I assume that you'll be performing the ceremony in a little bit."

"He will," Hotch told her. "But he's also here to notarize something for us."

"What do we need a notary for?" Penelope looked at them as Derek pulled out a collection of papers.

"For these," Derek handed them to her and she looked through them. "They're adoption papers for Liam and Sophia."

"Really?" she looked at him as she started to tear up. "You seriously want to adopt them still?"

"Of course," he held her tightly. "I haven't stopped thinking about it since we found you. I just didn't want to put too much pressure on you; especially with everything else that you were dealing with."

"I love you," she smiled at him. "Thank you."

"All I need are both your signatures and it will be official," Judge Rollins told them.

Derek and Penelope took turns quickly signing their names and handed the papers back to the judge.

"Congratulations," he smiled at them. "It is now official."

"And they'll have your last name?" Penelope looked at Derek.

"Absolutely," he assured her. "No one can take them from us."

"As much as I would love for you two to continue to celebrate this," Fran came back down after checking on everything. "We really need to get you ready for the ceremony honey."

"You are so coming with me," Penelope started to pull Vanessa after her. "I want to hear all about how it's been going for you."

"I will send the girls up," Derek called after them. "And keep your boys entertained, Vanessa."

"Thank you….Hot Stuff." Vanessa laughed as she and Penelope disappeared up the stairs, followed by Molly and Fran.

"Something tells me that those husband-swapping stories got a little out of hand,"

"At least they get to see each other for a few hours," Hotch told him. "It will ease both of their minds about how each other are adjusting."

Penelope stood in front of the full-length mirror after Fran helped her into her altered wedding dress. Vanessa sat behind her in a chair next to Molly and they both watched the scene between Penelope and her mother-in-law. The door opened and Emily and JJ came into the room as they smiled at the scene before them.

"You look amazing Pen," JJ smiled at her.

"I can't believe you guys were able to alter my dress without my knowing," she smiled at them as Fran instructed her to turn. "How were you able to sneak it out without my knowing?"

"It didn't take much altering," Emily started. "And we didn't have to sneak it out."

"What do you mean?"

"Should we tell her?" Emily looked at Fran. "Today of all days?"

"She took everything else pretty well,"

"This involves Derek and all the problems he had while I was gone." Penelope stated and they all slowly nodded. "What happened?"

"It was about a year and a half after you went missing," JJ started. "When his alcoholism started affecting him every day."

"It was your anniversary," Fran said. "The first one since you disappeared. He called me in a drunken rage. Asking me to come get Bella."

"He had forgotten that she was at my house having a sleepover with Henry and Jack." JJ said.

"When I got there, he was passed out on the couch surrounded by everything that you guys had kept from your wedding." Fran told her. "Your wedding dress was lying in the middle of it all. So I gathered everything and brought it all back here to keep it safe. I knew that you would eventually come back to us and I wanted everything to be preserved for you."

"Thank you," Penelope wiped the tears from her face. "I know it must've been hard to see him like that."

"He had his good and bad days," JJ told her. "Kind of like Spence when he was going through his addiction."

"Thankfully you were found before he was able to get any worse." Emily told her.

"Everything will be better now," Molly told her. "Just you wait and see."

"Time to wipe those tears," Fran said sternly. "You don't want your day at the spa to be a waste of time."

"Mommy," Bella came in. "I'm all ready now. Aunt Sarah and Desiree helped fix my hair."

"You look just like a princess," Penelope smiled at her. "Where's your sister?"

"They're just now getting her dressed. They said it's safer that way."

"They're probably right. She's less likely to mess up her outfit that way."

"And she is done," Desiree came out holding Sophia in her arms.

The baby was now wearing a white frilly dress and they had managed to gather a small amount of her hair and put it into a tiny ponytail on the side of her head.

"She is absolutely adorable," Vanessa commented. "She has gotten so big."

"Wait until you see the boys," Penelope smiled at her.

"How are my boys, by the way?" Vanessa asked.

"They're fine," Sarah assured her. "Tyler is playing hide and seek with the rest of the kids. Mason said they played it together all the time….back then."

"Safest game for them to play," Penelope commented. "Only half the time, it wasn't really a game."

"Brian and Derek are getting acquainted," Desiree told them. "Telling each other about their families."

"Not much to tell there," Vanessa commented. "We don't see our families much anymore unless we have to."

"Is it really that bad?" Penelope looked at her.

"Along with them being very vocal about their opinion, they also live in a world of very strong denial." She explained. "If I start to talk about what happened, they immediately change the subject."

"What about Brian?" Emily asked her.

"He is the complete opposite. If he senses that I need to talk, he immediately makes sure that Tyler is occupied before pulling me out of the room so that we can talk about it."

"Sounds like Derek," Penelope smiled.

"We're very lucky that they've been so understanding about everything."

"Tell me about it," Penelope sighed.

"Is everyone decent?" they heard Dave's voice drift into them as he knocked gently before opening the door. "You look radiant Kitten."

"Thank you, my Italian Stallion." She smiled at him.

"Everyone is all ready downstairs," he told them. "How are things up here?"

"I do believe we're ready," Fran adjusted Penelope's hair one more time before they all stood up.

"I assume that you all will keep the kids occupied during the ceremony?" Penelope looked at all of them.

"We will," Dave started. "But they will be part of the ceremony. At least at first."

"All four of them will be in the ceremony? How?"

"You'll see," JJ smiled at her.

"We have it all planned out," Emily added.

"I trust you," Penelope said as they all started out of the room. "Just get me to my Chocolate Thunder so we can celebrate this day they way he planned it."

They all slowly made their way down the stairs with JJ and Emily carrying the train of Penelope's dress so that she wouldn't trip. Vanessa went to go join her husband and child as everyone prepared for the start of the ceremony.

Derek stood in the backyard at the altar that Dave helped him construct that morning. Reid was standing next to him with Hotch on the other side. There were very few chairs set up since it was a small, intimate ceremony for just them and their family. Fran rushed in and took her seat in the front row next to Molly, who was keeping an eye on Henry and Jack. Vanessa and her husband, Brian was in the row behind them as Brian held Tyler in his arms.

Some soft music started up and Derek looked as the French doors opened revealing Emily and JJ. They slowly made their way towards the front and stood on the other side of the minister. Everyone collectively awwed as they saw Bella appear next to Mason. Bella started tossing flower petals that were in the small basket she was carrying as Mason kept the pillow with the rings on it balanced as they walked down the aisle together. Then Liam appeared as he pulled a tiny white wagon that was decorated with lace. Sophia was perched inside it propped up by a couple of tiny, soft pillows and surrounded by soft blankets.

"Now that is adorable," Vanessa said softly.

"It was all Dave's idea," Fran whispered to her. "Derek knew he wanted all four of them in the ceremony."

"So precious,"

"Auntie P!" Tyler clapped his tiny hands as she appeared in the open doors.

Penelope stood with Dave as she clutched his arm tightly and more music started up. They slowly made their way down the aisle and towards everyone else. Once they reached the altar, Dave let go of Penelope's arm and clasped it onto Derek's.

"Good luck," he whispered before joining Fran and the rest of the guests.

"Welcome family and friends," Judge Rollins addressed the small crowd. "We are here to celebrate the vow renewal of Derek and Penelope. Before we begin, the couple would like to say a few words."

Derek took a few deep breaths before beginning….

"Baby Girl, it's been a very long and hard road for the both of us. I knew that I needed you in my life from the first moment that I lay eyes on you. I was just too stubborn and blind to see that you felt the same way. It took us a few years, but we finally got it right. We were one; we were complete. Then the unthinkable happened. You were taken from me. I had to figure out how to survive without you. I had to raise our daughter without you. I went down a very dark and dangerous path thinking that I couldn't survive without you. But eventually you were found. We were reunited and you brought three special gifts back with you. We both have had some obstacles to overcome to get to this point. Our family is far from conventional, but we have never been normal. I promise from this moment on that I will spend my remaining days trying my best to make sure that we are all taken care of and kept safe. As long as we have each other, I don't need anything else."

Penelope wiped the tears from her eyes before speaking….

"Hot Stuff, from the moment that we met I knew that we would be together. Fate had a hand in putting us on this path together. When we finally took that leap and admitted not only to each other but to ourselves, it seemed that everything just fell into place. We had a wonderful life and an absolutely amazing daughter. Then there was the day that changed everything. We were separated for a very long time. I survived so that I could get back to you. We both went through some rough trials before we could get back to each other. But it made us stronger. Because of what we went through, we can get through anything that is thrown our way. As long as we have each other to lean on, everything should just fall into place. Just like it always has."

There wasn't a dry eye in the yard as the couple finished their speeches. Fran wiped her eyes as she turned back to see Vanessa with her head resting against Brian, both of them with the same look that Derek and Penelope had: Pure Love.

The activity in the yard was loud as the small get together celebrated all throughout the night. Derek took turns dancing with his wife and daughters as Penelope did the same with her husband and sons. At one point the family of six danced all in a group. Vanessa was seen taking pictures of the event throughout the night whenever her attention wasn't wanted elsewhere.

"You my daddy?" Liam looked up at Derek and he clung to him tightly as he was held in his arms.

"I'm your daddy," Derek kissed his head. "Now and forever."

"No bad man?"

"No one will ever be able to take you away. We are family; now and forever."

"We all needed this," Dave commented as he looked at Hotch standing next to him. "A time to celebrate before-"

"Not tonight," Hotch shook his head. "Tonight is a time for celebration."

"What's going on?" Reid joined them. "What aren't you saying?"

"I got a call from Detective Gordinski," Hotch informed him. "The trial date has been set."

"But we aren't ruining this day," Dave told him.

"So when will we tell them?"

"Let's give them a few days."

Penelope smiled as she watched her extended family welcome Vanessa and her family into their fold. Vanessa kept snapping pictures as she moved around the yard.

"Were you hired for this?" Penelope asked her.

"In a way," she smiled at her. "I'm building up my portfolio."

"Your portfolio?"

"I'm starting my own business," Vanessa beckoned Brian to her. "With lots of help from this amazing man."

"Hey you invested in my future," Brian kissed her. "It's time that I invested in your future."

"A photography company?"

"It's the perfect job for a stay at home mom," She smiled. "And it comes with a relocation."

"Relocation?" Derek joined his wife. "Where are you relocating?"

"Here in Virginia,"

"What?"

"We've been wanting to get away pretty much since I got out of the hospital," Vanessa told them. "And the perfect opportunity arose."

"I heard about an opening in the recruitment office here in Fort Detrick," Brian informed them. "We had a long talk-"

"It wasn't that long," Vanessa interrupted. "I was longing to make a fresh start; away from our very judgmental families."

"And Tyler already has friends here," Brian smiled down at Mason and Liam.

"You're moving here?" everyone else crowded around.

"Within the next couple of months," Brian told them. "I was a little on the fence, but after you all made us feel so welcome tonight-well, it's set in stone now."

"This is so great," Emily hugged Vanessa.

"We've heard so much about you," JJ hugged her as well. "Now we'll get to know you even better."

"We can't wait either,"

"I hate to interrupt this," Dave announced. "But there is one more surprise before this night is through."

"What-" Derek looked at him puzzled.

"This comes from everyone here," Dave handed an envelope to his step-son. "We all chipped in so that you can have the second honeymoon that you both deserve. I have reserved the honeymoon suite at the Clairmont. I couldn't exactly plan a getaway that would take you out of town with you guys starting back to work so soon, but it should be a night you remember none-the-less."

"You all have done so much already," Penelope stated.

"Just go and enjoy the next couple of days," Fran told them. "We have everything handled here. The kids will be fine. Just go and enjoy yourselves. Became man and wife again."

The girls helped Penelope out of her dress and she got changed back into her clothes as Derek did the same. They gave all their babies kisses and hugs until Fran shooed them out the front door, where they spotted a limo waiting for them.

"I love our family," Penelope commented as she snuggled up against Derek in the back of the limo as they traveled through town. "And I can't wait until we get to the hotel so that I can show you how much I love you too."

"You know there's no pressure tonight," Derek looked down into her eyes.

"I know," she said softly.

Derek sat speechless on the king-sized bed and watched his wife as she slowly came out of the bathroom after freshening up. She slowly walked towards him in the see-through nightie as she pushed him to lie back on the bed.

"Baby-"

"I want this," she said softly as she silenced him with a deep kiss. "You just- have to be patient."

"I will be whatever you want me to be," he smiled as she stood up again.

She slowly stripped out of her nightie and smiled at the expression on her husband's face. She straddled his hips as she slowly started unbuttoning his shirt. Derek sighed contently, knowing that he was in for a very long night. And he wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could.

AN: So what'd you all think? I hope you liked it. I was going to separate this into two separate chapters but I realized that wouldn't have worked. Sorry I cut it off just as it was starting to get good. But I have to keep some things for the imagination. Anyway, PLZ R&R!