Chapter 32

Henry couldn't wait any longer and looked at his mother. "Momma, I'm hungry! Can we eat soon, pleasssse?"

Everyone giggled while Jack rubbed his tummy, "I'm hungry too!"

Penelope glanced around at her wonderful family, "You know what, I'm hungry too. Everything smells delicious. Looks like you have enough to feed an army here, guys!"

Dave chuckled, "Well, that's what we're feeding here, an army! It's all of us plus the staff that's here today."

Sarah walked away from the group and a minute later returned carrying the cake in her hand. "Look Pen, Momma made this for you, and naturally, it's all chocolate, your fav!"

As Penelope's eyes were focused on the beautiful cake in front of her she gasped and declared, "Wowzers, Mom! That looks amazeballs! Thank you so much. Imma definitely gonna have me a piece of that!"

The whole group shook their heads and guffawed out in laughter.

Emily broke the silence that followed with, "Alright, let's get this party started. Dig in everybody."

Derek strolled over to his girl and leaned in for a quick but chaste kiss. "You doing ok, gorgeous?"

Penelope gazed into his eyes, "I'm fine, Sugar Pop! You?"

"I'm perfect, silly girl. Your home where you belong, I finally have the woman of my dreams and most importantly, I love you, Baby Girl!"

"I love you too, Hot Stuff! And I have the only man I ever truly loved right by my side."

Derek tapped her nose and straightened himself out. "I'm going to get you a plate, after all, I can't have my Goddess starving to death. Not on my watch. I'll be right back, hot mama!"

She hated to see him go but always enjoyed the view of his sexy butt when he walked away. God, he was the sexiest man alive!

Everybody helped themselves to all the scrumptious food, grabbed something to drink and each found themselves a seat. Will and Hotch each made a dish for the boys and then sat the boys down at the little kid's table to eat, so they wouldn't make a complete mess of themselves or the floor. The staff on duty also grabbed a dish and headed into the kitchen to partake. Dave even treated both dogs with a little dish of goodies too. Why not, it was a celebration for the whole family.

Derek delivered his love her dish and drink, then headed back to grab some food and drink for himself. When he came back, he settled himself on the floor right in front of Penelope.

As time went by, everyone was having a blast. They were all talking about past memories and new memories. JJ walked across the room and turned on some music. After which, some of them started singing while JJ and Will and Dave and Fran cut a rug for a bit. A little while later, the cake was brought over so Penelope could blow out the two big candles on it. Before she did that, the group decided to sing 'For she's a jolly good woman' to her which of course, brought on more waterworks from the guest of honor.

At one point, JJ, Emily, and Penelope were caught up in a small dish session. Penelope indubitably tried to pump Emily about her love life in England, but to Emily's credit, she wasn't ready to divulge her secrets yet to anyone. Penelope's charms and tricks did not work at all, even fake pouting. Emily promised it would happen real soon. She knew this day was all about Penelope and didn't want to rain on her parade. There was one person, however, that had an inkling of what was yet to come. You can't put anything past David Rossi.

The boys begged to watch a movie as a family and without a doubt, everyone agreed. The boys picked out one of their favorites, 'Cars'. So, the group gathered around and the ones that could snuggle together did, including Derek and Penelope. Derek managed to slide in behind Penelope and she rested her head on his chest. Sarah, Desiree, and Emily made sure they popped some popcorn, brought in some juice for the boys while the adults sans Penelope enjoyed some wine. Penelope decided on a soda. They also supplied some Twizzlers®, M&M's®, and lollipops which, of course, were all Penelope's favorites.

Penelope managed to make it through the movie but was definitely feeling tired. She was experiencing some pain from all the excitement and extra movement from the day's activities. Derek could see she was waning and trying to fight through it. Penelope argued with them that she was fine and wanted to keep the party going. Finally, she gave in to their wishes and let them convince her it was time to lay down and get some rest.

Her home health aide as well as, Derek, Spencer, Hotch, and Fran, who was guiding the group managed to get her into the wheelchair without a horrendous amount of pain. Although her ribs and her leg were in a lot of pain, she tried not to yell out too much, so as not to worry the family, especially Derek and boys.

She was then wheeled into her room, and as they entered, she looked all around and was completely enamored with all the work that they had gone through. The bed, was a double-sized adjustable hospital bed, rails and all. The bedding was a beautiful lavender quilt with matching sheets and curtains. There were pictures and cards scattered on the wall that the boys made just for her. They even had some of her favorite stuffies from her office and what could be salvaged from her apartment. There was one table that was covered with photographs of her and Derek, her and the rest of the family, and a couple of her parents that were all in new frames.

At the foot of her bed was her favorite quilt in the world, it was a gift from Derek a few Christmas's ago that had little kitties and butterflies all over it. There were a few rips on it which had been meticulously sewn back together but overall, it was in good shape. And on top of that, was sitting one of her favorite nighties, a beautiful purple robe, and her bunny slippers.

She noticed over in one corner of the room some medical items as well, including: a walker, crutches and a cane. When she saw all of them it brought on a slight frown. Last but not least, she saw a deep blue rocker/recliner near one of the two huge windows in her room, which immediately turned that frown into a huge smile. She couldn't believe her eyes everything was just perfect.

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