Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A bit of fluff and an interesting situation for this one. Because the POV of Miguel was interesting to write, and he'll be playing a rather large role in this leg of the story, we've got another one of him in this chapter. Thanks so much for the reviews! Hope you enjoy :)
"I really don't wanna leave her," Penelope murmured as she held Emilia while standing in her parents' living room. She looked up at Renee and gave her a watery smile. A week ago she'd returned home, but it wasn't going to be permanent. She and Derek were headed over to Emily's house to move into the guesthouse; while they were gone, Renee was going to babysit.
Renee moved a lock of her daughter's hair back from her face and smiled. "It'll be two hours," she said. "And I will take good care of her." She winked. "I took care of you pretty well, I'd say."
Penelope laughed and looked back down at Emilia. The baby was sleeping, and her heart warmed. Her first week with her baby had been exhausting, nerve-wracking, and difficult. Derek was back in town, but because her father wouldn't let him in the house, she wasn't able to see him as much as she wanted.
After today, though, they would be able to live together.
"You gonna get some homework done tonight?" Renee asked.
Nodding, Penelope adjusted Emilia in her arms, not taking her eyes off her. "Yeah," she whispered. "And I'll be emailing Mrs. Strauss about how exams will work since I'm not going back. She'll get me times and a place."
"Good." Renee smiled. "Hey, I forgot to ask! Who's helping you move in other than Emily? I feel like Derek mentioned some other people were helping you, but I can't remember."
"Hotch," she started, but she paused when she saw her mother's look of confusion, she clarified. "He's the one who came with Derek when Papi punched him." Renee nodded and motioned for Penelope to go on. "Spence, and — oddly enough — Jennifer Jareau. Maeve, Alex, and Anderson couldn't make it."
Renee's face brightened. "Oh, is Jennifer that nice girl who came to visit you with the others when they came to the hospital? She brought the teddy bear for Em?" she asked. Penelope nodded and kissed her daughter's forehead. "She was very nice. How come I've never met her before then?"
"JJ is super busy," she replied. "But she's always been nice to me." As she was about to say more, her phone rang with a text. Looking to her mother, she offered Emilia over, something that made Renee extremely pleased. Penelope smiled as Emilia yawned as she was transferred to her grandmother's arms. The movement cause the baby's eyes to flutter open. Penelope held up her finger and went to pick up her phone. "Two seconds."
"Oh, how's my beautiful granddaughter?" Renee cooed, looking Emilia directly in the eye and grinning. "You are so, so pretty….you look just like your mommy when she was a baby."
Penelope giggled at her mother's incessant coos of adoration before checking her texts. The most recent one was from Derek, letting her know he was going to be there within the next ten minutes. She smiled and put the phone back in the pocket of her sweater. Crossing her arms over her chest, she smiled at her mother. Renee had been worried sick the past few months, and to see her happy and adoring with Emilia made Penelope feel infinitely better.
At least one of her parents was bonding with their granddaughter. Miguel had yet to meet her.
As she was watching Renee with Emilia, movement from the archway that led to the kitchen drew her attention away. With his arms crossed and a curious look on his face stood Miguel. He didn't even look angry. She furrowed her brow. If her father wanted to meet Emilia, all he had to do was ask.
The look on his face changed immediately when he noticed Penelope observing him. Instead of his look of curiosity, his expression shifted to a frown, and he turned away, walking out of sight.
Penelope sighed. She was hoping he would at least see Emilia, even if he still hated Derek and was pissed at Penelope.
Renee noticed Penelope staring at the doorway and pursed her lips. "Your father staring at the baby again?" she asked, arching a brow.
"I guess," Penelope said, rubbing her forehead. "I just…I can't believe he wouldn't want to at least hold her. I don't care if he's mad at me, but this, this issue with his own granddaughter is driving me insane!"
Face softening, Renee kissed Emilia's cheek. "He does want to hold her," she murmured.
"Mom, I know you want to think that — hell, I want to think that! — but he hasn't asked me once," Penelope grumbled. "He won't even sit in the same room as me. I mean, I know having the crib in his study is pissing him off even if he hasn't said anything about it, but it was only going to be temporary, and —"
Renee shook her head. "No, trust me," she said. "I wouldn't be defending him about it if I wasn't sure." She fixed Penelope with a sad look. "He waits until you're getting some sleep in the middle of the night and goes into the study to see her. He doesn't pick her up because he worries he'll wake her up, and you'll come in when you hear it on the baby monitor, but he watches her. Last night when Emmy woke up, he left before you got there." She smiled. "He's not remotely pissed that the crib is in there…he loves it because then he can keep being stupid and stubborn, while at the same time seeing his granddaughter."
Tears burned in the back of Penelope's eyes. "Really?" she whispered. It did hurt that he was only seeing Emilia when she wasn't around and that he was doing it solely because he didn't want to be around Penelope. Hearing that he did want to see Emilia, though, made her feel warm on the inside.
Her mother nodded. "Really. He doesn't want you to move out either." She sighed deeply. "He does miss you, sweetheart. I'm not saying anything excuses what he's done for the last year, and I know I'll never forgive him for it, but I think he is sorry. He's just too stubborn and full of pride to admit it right away. It'll be like pulling teeth for me to get him to say anything, but he will. When he does, he'll spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to you."
Penelope smiled, but she didn't know how much more she could take of the heartache her father had shoved on her. Before she could say anymore to her mother, Derek's car had pulled up, and he was bounding out of it to come up to the door. When he opened it, he grinned widely. "Hey, guys!" he said. His eyes shot around cautiously to see if Miguel was anywhere, but when he saw the coast was clear, he went to Penelope's side and kissed her temple.
Renee didn't need to ask if Derek wanted to hold Emilia; she simply went forward to transfer the baby into his arms.
Emilia was only a week old, but the look on Derek's face showed a lifetime of love and affection. His eyes would light up likeforest fires, and a lightning bright grin would spark on his face. He was an open encyclopedia when it came to his daughter; his love for her was stronger than a fifteen-karat diamond.
"We're moving into your new house, Baby Doll," he murmured, kissing the top of her head. "You're gonna have a room all to yourself, and Aunt Emily is gonna let us paint a room and everything!"
Penelope placed a hand on Derek's back and smiled at the scene. She didn't think she'd ever see him so happy about decorating a room, but here he was, rambling about paint colors and mobiles like they were his college major.
After another few moment, Renee glanced down at her watch. "You two are gonna have to get moving if you wanna have the place moved into by the time it gets dark," she said. She smiled. "We'll take good care of her."
Something stirred in Penelope akin to panic. Her heart started to race at the speed of a sport's car, and she started to shake. Did she really want to do this and leave her baby, even if it was for only two hours?
Beside her, Derek's sixth sense exclusively for her had flared up, and he held Emilia out for her. Greedily, Penelope held her arms out and held her baby close to her chest, kissing her head. "Mama will be back soon," she whispered. Emilia responded with a gurgle. Reluctantly, Penelope moved to hand her squirming daughter over to Renee. She gazed at her forlornly, but her gaze was drawn to Derek when he entwined their fingers together.
She gave him a tight-lipped smile and sighed. Two hours wasn't so long, was it? She'd be fine.
"We'll be back soon," Penelope managed as she and Derek walked to the door.
He gave her hand a tight squeeze as they headed out the door. However, even Derek's show of support and comfort couldn't drown her anxieties. She didn't know if anything would except for getting their things moved in as quickly as possible so she could return to Emilia.
XXXXX
"Penelope, are you sure you should be carrying anything?" JJ asked as she hopped down from the U-Haul, one of Penelope's boxes in hand. "You can just tell us where to put them."
Shaking her head, Penelope stepped with care down from the truck with a box of clothing. She grinned and shook her head. "Nah, I'm good," she said, blowing her bangs out of her face. A warm May breeze rustled her hair as the sun shone down on her, JJ, and the rest of their moving group. "I'll be fine."
JJ shot her a skeptical look, but otherwise just smiled. She saw Penelope was determined to help and decided to let it go.
"Oh, no, no, no!" Derek called, coming up to them from the stairs of Emily's guesthouse. "You are not carrying anything, Baby Girl. You had a baby a week ago. No way am I letting you carry boxes."
She rolled her eyes. "Derek, I'm not rice paper," she muttered as he snatched the box from her before she could get away from him. "I can carry something without ripping in half." They started up the walkway to the guesthouse, JJ snickering at Derek's behavior.
"Tut, tut, Garcia," Spencer said as he opened the door. "You knew better than to think he would let you carry boxes. You're fragile."
Penelope's eyes narrowed as she shot them towards Spencer's. "I most certainly am not fragile!" she snapped. "I had a baby, I didn't go through brain surgery." She tried reaching for the box Derek had taken, but he quickly deflected her.
A cheeky grin lit up his face, and she swatted his arm angrily. "Love you, Baby Girl," he said, winking at her.
She glared at him. "Jerk," she mumbled as she followed him inside.
The guesthouse was a one level building with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen with red walls. It was open and airy, orange sunlight filtering in through the windows so the room was colored like a tree in autumn; Penelope loved the colors because it looked like her favorite time of year when the sun was shining.
Sitting in the living room area were Hotch and Emily, both of them juggling pieces of a crib and trying to get certain parts from one another. Since the end of his first year of school, Hotch had been spending a good amount of his time with Emily, having broken up with Haley.
"Gimme!" Emily growled, trying to snatch a crib leg from Hotch's grasp. Cracking a rare smile, Hotch held it just out of her reach, making her glare. She made a leap for it by jumping from her kneeling position. Instead of just grabbing the crib leg, she fell on top of Hotch, both of them freezing and their eyes going wide.
Everyone entering the house stopped in the doorway and watched with amusement as Emily immediately jumped off of him. She cleared her throat, and a fierce blush broke out on her face. "So, uh, how about I go and get that toolkit?" she asked, rising to her feet. She saw Derek, Penelope, JJ, and Spencer standing in the doorway and glared at them. "What are you all looking at?" She pushed her way out the door to go fetch a toolkit.
Penelope and Derek exchanged a glance, their lips twitching with laughter that they wanted to let loose. As soon as Emily was out of hearing range, Derek started walking with the box towards the bedroom. When he emerged again, a wicked and conspiratorial grin was on his face.
"So, Hotch," he began, wiping his hands on his jeans. "When are you gonna ask Emily out?"
JJ and Spencer were giggling like cartoon characters, and Penelope shook her head. "Shush, you," she scolded Derek. "Leave the boy alone."
Derek chuckled and went around behind Penelope to wrap his arms around her from behind, kissing the flesh of her neck. "Nah, not a chance," he teased. "You're my number one bro, Hotch. I gotta look out for your best interests, and I think Emily is in your best interest."
"Okay, that part I'll let him say," Penelope said, raising a finger. "But seriously, Baby, leave him alone."
Hotch remained silent, but the sound of Spencer and JJ laughing filled the room. The laughter only grew louder when Emily entered with a toolkit in hand.
Emily frowned. "What's so funny?" she asked.
While Hotch averted his eyes, JJ and Spencer only laughed louder. "Oh, nothing," JJ sang out melodically as she and Spencer exited the house to retrieve the last few boxes.
"Humph," Emily muttered. "Wonder what that was about?"
XXXXX
"Miguel?" Renee called out from the living room.
Miguel remained silent from the kitchen where he was stubbornly sitting after Penelope had left. She'd caught him trying to get another look at Emilia. The baby was never awake when he went to see her in the night except to cry. And when she cried, he knew Penelope would hear over the baby monitor, so he would have to leave, hoping even his shadow would be undetectable.
He loved seeing his granddaughter. She really did look like Penelope. Her skin and hair color came directly from Derek, but everything else came from her mother. It was remarkable.
"Miguel, I know you're lurking in the kitchen somewhere," his wife scolded. "Quit hiding and get in here!"
Mumbling under his breath, Miguel rose to his feet and strode into the living room. His wife was sitting on the couch, Emilia in her arms. The baby was crying and squirming, clearly wanting her mother.
Renee nodded to him and then tilted her head in the direction of the couch. The expression written on her face demanded his attention. "Get your ass over here and meet Emilia for real," she ordered. "I know you've been spending time with her in the study. So come and hold her for real."
Silent as barefoot steps, he went to sit on the couch beside his wife. As he sat, Emilia's cries grew louder. Renee frowned and shifted the baby in her arms. Miguel just watched, reminded of how Penelope had been as a baby. He and Renee had only started dating when Penelope was one year old, but whenever she would weep, he was the one to comfort her the way a father should. She became attached to him in the same way he latched onto her. He loved his four sons, but his relationship with Penelope was entirely different.
She was his little girl, even if she wasn't his blood.
Renee turned to look at Miguel's face and smiled. "Here," she whispered. "I want to try something."
He balked. "I - I don't know if Penelope would want me to," he murmured.
"You're blind then," she snapped. "She wants her daughter to know her grandfather. So…you're going to hold her.
"What is it exactly you're wanting to try?" he asked in confusion. He held out his arms anyway to prepare to take Emilia. His arms were trembling with nervousness, like he was afraid of dropping her.
Renee smiled as she placed Emilia in his arms. "When Penelope was little and would cry, she would calm down when you would hold her or scare the monsters away from under her bed," she explained. Giving him a comforting smile, she went on. "I think if you hold her, you might be able to do the same thing."
"I'm not so sure…" But when Emilia was snuggly in his arms, her cries gradually grew softer and into sniffles. Her big, dark eyes gazed up at Miguel's, and her tongue poked out between her lips. She studied him as he studied her.
It was surreal to Miguel. He never thought he would feel this way about Emilia. After Penelope revealed she was pregnant, he'd been so filled with rage that Penelope had given everything for a boy that he'd figured the baby would be nothing to him.
He had never been so wrong.
"She's…she's just like Penelope," he murmured.
Renee touched his face, forcing him to look at her. Her eyes were filled with an ocean of compassion, and she gave him a watery smile. "Amorcito, why do you have to be so stubborn? Why can't you talk to her?"
Cradling Emilia as if she were the most precious thing in the world, Miguel looked down at her and shook his head. "I don't know how to do this, Renee," he murmured. "So give me time to find a way how." He kissed Emilia's forehead.
"Don't take too much time," she said. "I don't want to see you lose Penelope forever because you don't know how to apologize."