A/n: New chapter! I'm still busy rewriting this story, which I'm luckily almost done with, but I thought that a new chapter was in much need too! I hope you enjoy it, and leave some love behind if you want.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
''Any reason why you decided you wanted me to tag along?'' Reid questioned Tara as they, together with Emily, walked through the door of the bridal shop.
''Not necessarily'' Tara shook her head, ''Should there have been?'' she asked him.
''No'' Reid quickly replied, as he shook his head. Not wanting Tara to think that he would've only come along if she gave him a really good reason, although this wasn't really his scene, ''I'm just not really the person people ask, for these kind of things. That's all'' he said.
''Well...you are in my bridal party'' Tara stated, ''So, it should've been obvious that I wanted your opinion'' she told him with a smile, because she really did value her friend's opinion. All of them. ''Besides...'' she said, ''We need to get you a suit, and Emily a bridesmaid's dress''.
''I do hope you've thought about my suggestion of not putting me in a traditional hideous one'' Emily said jokingly.
''You both know that I'm not cruel enough to do that'' Tara said.
''Maybe...'' Emily shrugged, ''But...who knows, perhaps you've got a mean streak you've always hidden from us'' she teased.
''Really?'' Tara raised an eyebrow, ''I thought you guys were profilers'' she said, ''If you haven't figured me out by now, than I don't know what you're doing in the BAU'' she told them, a teasing twinkle in her eyes.
''Ha, ha, ha'' Emily rolled her eyes.
''Just saying'' Tara said, as she held her hands up in defense.
''Hello, can I help you?'' a woman, not taller than 5ft 4, walked up to them, interrupting them.
''Hello, yes'' Tara turned to the woman, suddenly feeling really tall, ''I've got an appointment under the name Tara Lewis''.
''Ah, yes'' the woman nodded, ''You're with me'' she smiled, ''My name is Aria Robbins'' she introduced herself.
''Nice to meet you'' Tara smiled, ''I'm Tara, and this my maid of honor Emily and my brides-man, so to say, Spencer'' she said, introducing her friends.
''It's nice to meet you all, too'' Aria said with a smile, ''So...do you know what you're looking for? Do you have anything specific in mind?'' the blonde asked.
''Actually, I don't'' Tara replied, ''I haven't really looked around yet, though I would love a strapless dress'' the brunette told her.
''All right, that's a start, we've definitely got a lot of those kind of dresses'' Aria told her, ''If you give me a couple of minutes, I'll try to gather some dresses together that might suit you, okay''.
''Yes, sounds good'' Tara nodded.
''Great'' Aria smiled, ''If you want you can take a seat over there'' the blonde pointed to the couch standing in the corner of the shop, that was beside the dressing rooms, ''Or you can take a look yourself, see if you can find something you like''.
''Okay, thank you'' Tara smiled.
''No problem'' Aria replied, ''I'll be right back'' she said, before disappearing between the racks filled with wedding dresses.
''There are a lot of dresses'' Emily said, as they slowly made their way around the shop, while they waited for Aria to come back, ''Which again reminds me of how much of a dislike I have for actual shopping'' she told them, as she went through a rack, searching for something that might interest the bride to be.
''You might want to watch out with what you're saying'' Tara said, ''You might have to go down the aisle yourself one day'' the brunette told her friend.
''Yeah...I don't think that's going to happen'' Emily snorted.
''What do you mean?'' Reid frowned, as he watched his friends make their way around the shop, while he just followed closely behind, still feeling out of place.
''Yeah, what do you mean?'' Tara asked too, ''Mark might, someday, go down on one knee'' she said.
''Highly unlikely'' Emily told them, ''Because he's back in London again'' she said, avoiding eye contact, keeping herself busy with looking through the dresses.
''Wait...what?'' Tara furrowed her brows, exchanging a look with Reid, who didn't understand what Emily had just said either, ''Why is he back in London again?''.
Emily sighed and let go of the dress she was just examining, before looking up to her friends, ''Because we broke up'' the raven haired woman told them.
''When?'' Reid frowned.
''In February'' Emily answered, ''Apparently he couldn't quite settle here'' she said with a huff.
''And he figured that out in what...less than a month?'' Tara raised an eyebrow, thinking you needed much more time than just a month to figure something like that out, especially when its about a possible future with a woman you claimed to love.
''Apparently'' Emily sighed.
''Are you all right?'' Reid asked the woman, seeing the sadness in her eyes.
''Yeah, I'm okay'' Emily smiled, though it didn't look sincere in her friends eyes, ''I'll be fine'' she assured them, not wanting them to worry about her. Besides it has been two months since they broke up, and she's pretty certain that she's over him.
''If you want to talk about it, you can always talk to me, you know that, right?'' Tara told her best friend, wanting to let her know that she was always there for her.
''I know'' Emily said softly, appreciating her friends concern and love, ''But there's nothing really to talk about'' she told them, ''He broke up with me, he moved back to England, and eventually I'll get over it''.
''Maybe'' Tara said with a shrug, ''But still...you were with him for a while, you did love him''.
''True'' Emily nodded, ''But it's okay, deep down I think I knew that this wasn't forever'' she said, ''At one point I did think that he could be it. But, looking back, we didn't really have anything going for us in the end''.
''Well, at least you found that out before things got too complicated'' Reid told her.
''Yeah, lucky me'' Emily exhaled.
''Ladies, gentleman'' Aria's voice cut through their conversation. A chirpy tone, which reminded Tara of her fiance, lacing the blonde's voice. ''So...I've picked out a selection of four dresses, and if you will follow me I can show them to you'' she told the brunette.
''Yes, of course'' Tara's lips turned up into a smile, feeling a little giddy. She was so ready to finally find a beautiful dress, fitting for the best day of her life.
''Did you find anything of interest yourself?'' Aria asked the woman, as they made their way to the dressing rooms, while Emily and Reid took a seat on the couch, waiting for Tara to come out.
''No'' the brunette shook her head, ''I haven't really looked''.
''That's okay'' Aria said, as she gestured to the dressing room she had ready for Tara to use. Four dresses hanging neatly on hangers on the right side, while a mirror was right across from them, and a chair stood on the left side corner.
''These look pretty'' Tara commented, when she got a better look at them.
''They are'' Aria agreed with a nod and a smile, ''But...eventually we don't want just pretty. Eventually we want you to be wow'ed by the dress. We want you to have fallen in love with the dress'' the blonde told her.
''Okay...'' Tara said with an amused smile, humoring the woman, but not thinking that was actually ever going to happen.
She has never fallen in love with a piece of clothing, so she highly doubted that she would ever fall in love with a dress, not even a wedding dress. She could think that the dress was beautiful, even gorgeous, but in her mind it was unlikely to actually fall in love with a piece of clothing. Clothes just didn't do that for her, unless they were on her fiance's body. Which instantly reminded her that Penelope might have those kind of reactions, that she might actually fall in love with a dress, especially if it was worn by her. And so, for the shake of her fiance, she would try and find something that had the wow factor. Something that made Penelope look at the brunette like she was her world. Though she didn't actually needed a dress for that, because the blonde already looked at her like that.
And it wasn't like she didn't want to look beautiful, or find a gorgeous dress, for a special day, she just couldn't imagine falling in love with a dress. That's all.
''All right...'' Aria clapped her hands together, shaking Tara from her thoughts, ''Lets start with the first dress'' she said, as she closed the curtain behind them, and took the first wedding dress from the hanger, while Tara started to undress.
''O my God'' JJ gasped, as she looked up at her friend in awe, ''You look absolutely beautiful'' the blonde said, while looking her friend up and down.
''Jayje, I think I'm actually in love with a dress'' Penelope's lips curled up into a wide smile as she looked at herself in the mirror. It had been a couple of months since Tara's trip to the bridal shop, and today was Penelope's last fitting before the actual wedding, and the blonde didn't think she could fall even more in love with her dress than she did the first time she saw it.
''As you should be'' JJ lightly chuckled, ''It fits you perfectly'' she told her good friend.
''Tara is going to drool, Babygirl'' Morgan said, as he looked at his best friend with a grin on his face.
''You think?'' Penelope's lips widened even more.
''Definitely'' Morgan nodded, knowing for sure that the brunette wasn't going to believe her eyes when she finally saw her fiance in her wedding dress, walking down the aisle.
''So I'm guessing all the adjustments are to your liking?'' Aria, the same woman who had helped Tara a couple of months ago, asked the blonde.
''Oh...yes, most definitely'' Penelope replied to the woman, as she couldn't tear her eyes away from her reflection in the mirror, every new detail her eyes caught making her fall even more in love with the dress.
''I'm glad'' Aria grinned, as she looked the blonde over, focusing on all the things they had changed, and seeing if everything was adjusted right. Seeing if nothing was out of place, or stitched wrong, ''Everything seems to be adjusted right, so if you're happy with the way it looks right now, you can take it home with you'' she told Penelope.
''Really?'' Penelope's eyes lit up at the mention of being able to take her wedding dress home.
''Yes'' Aria nodded, ''No need to keep it here when it's completely done'' she said.
''Great'' Penelope smiled.
''Come on, I'll help you get out of the dress, and I'll put it in a clothing bag, so you can safely take it home with you'' Aria told the blonde.
''Sounds good to me'' Penelope said with a nod, before following the other blonde into the dressing room again.
After having changed back into her normal clothing, Penelope walked out of the dressing room, Aria already having left with the dress a couple of minutes earlier, and met her friends at the front of the shop, by the cash register.
''Happy?'' JJ questioned her friend with a smile.
''More than'' Penelope beamed, her eyes twinkling with happiness.
''Damn, you look more in love with the dress than with Tara'' Derek teased with a laugh.
''Shut up'' Penelope rolled her eyes, ''I'm just really happy with my wedding dress, there's nothing wrong with that'' she said with a shrug.
''No, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, Penelope'' JJ said, while throwing Morgan a glare, daring him to say anything more.
''I was just saying'' Derek threw his hands up in defense.
''Here you go'' Aria walked up beside them, dress in hand.
''Thank you'' Penelope smiled thankful, as she took the clothing bag from the woman.
''I see you've already paid part of the dress already'' Aria said, walking behind the cash register and gathering the receipt for the dress, reading over the details, ''Which means that there's still an amount of $225,98 still left to pay''.
''Yes, I know'' Penelope said, already reaching in her purse for her wallet, Derek taking the dress from her hands, so she could pay.
''Cash or card?'' Aria asked.
''Card'' Penelope replied, handing over her credit card.
After the official things were dealt with, Penelope took back her dress from Morgan, and the threesome made their way out of the shop after saying goodbye to the blonde that had helped them.
''Who's up for an early dinner?'' JJ asked the other two, when they walked out of the shop and into the busy street of Washington DC.
''I'm sorry, I can't'' Morgan replied, ''Savannah is expecting me in less than an hour'' he said, ''We've finally got a night off with my Mom in town, so we're going out for dinner''.
''Oh, yeah'' Penelope said, ''How is Momma Morgan doing?'' the blonde asked, as they walked to their cars. Penelope having driven with JJ, but Morgan having come on his own.
''She's doing good, she loves spending time with her grandson'' Morgan told her with a smile.
''I bet'' JJ chuckled, ''She's been asking for grandbabies from you for a long time, so now that she has one, she'll be spoiling him''.
''Well, that's the thing, she does spoil him just not with stuff and things, she spoils him with attention'' Morgan told the two blonde's, ''Which Savannah and I are happy with, because once you start giving them everything they want, they won't ever be satisfied when they get older, because they only want more''.
''Oh, I know'' JJ said, having had that problem the moment Henry was born with her own mother, ''I eventually had to tell my Mom to stop sending Henry stuff, because she just literally went over board''.
''Luckily my Mom didn't do that'' Derek said, feeling grateful for that, ''But guys, I gotta go'' he told the pair.
''Yes, of course'' Penelope said, ''Go, enjoy your evening with your lovely lady'' the blonde smiled.
''Will do'' Morgan replied with a smile of his own, ''I'll see you guys next Friday'' he told them, giving both of his friends parting hugs.
''Yes, next Friday'' Penelope nodded, ''I don't really have a time, so just get to JJ's house whenever you can'' she told the man. Penelope and Tara had decided to both have their bacholerette parties on the same night, and eventually settled on Tara staying at their house, while Penelope would go over to JJ's, before eventually moving on to Daniel's bar. Splitting them, including their team, up.
''I'll text or call you, okay'' Morgan promised.
''Okay'' Penelope replied with a soft smile, ''Go'' she ushered him to his car.
''I'm going, I'm going'' Morgan chuckled, as he walked backwards to his SUV.
''Give your Mom a hug and kiss from me'' Penelope called out after him.
''I will'' Morgan called back, before turning around and walking away.
''So...early dinner?'' JJ asked her friend when Derek was gone.
''Sounds good to me'' Penelope smiled, and with that the pair made their way to JJ's car.