Chapter 33

She glanced around at everyone in the room as she cried and sobbed out, "Oh My God, this is just perfect, guys! I can't believe you all went to so much trouble over me. All my favorite colors, my quilt from Hot Stuff, and the pictures. Oh my, the pictures. I can't believe you were able to salvage a lot of them. I don't know what to say. Thank you, doesn't seem to cover it all. I love all of you!"

Spencer knelt next to her and placed his hand on hers. "You don't have to thank us, Garcia! We did this because we love you too. We wanted to make sure you had as many things that you love, around you. We needed to fix up a few things and get some new frames but this is your home right now and we want you happy. I'm sure many other things can be saved from your place because we decided to only pick out a few basics. When you feel better, we will go exploring."

Penelope smiled at him then twisted slightly in her chair and showed them all the same smile. "I just can't believe it! This means the world to me and I will never ever forget this. I really feel at home now. Wowzers!"

Dave began, "Mi casa is…"

Fran finished with, "Su casa!"

Then the whole group shouted out, "We love you too!"

Once the guys lifted her onto the bed, the crowd filed out leaving behind only the aide, Fran, JJ, and Emily. They all helped her use the bathroom before she got changed into her nightclothes. Finally, once she was settled into bed, they gave her all her meds and tucked her in. Emily, suddenly remembered something and dashed out the room.

When she returned, she was hiding something behind her back. The rest of the family filed in after her and she announced, "We have one more surprise for you, PG!"

Penelope's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, "What could it possibly be? You guys have already given me everything I could possibly want or need."

Emily grinned, "I guess you don't want it then. Okay, I'm leaving."

Penelope playfully glared at her, "Don't you dare! Gimme, gimme!"

Everyone laughed as Emily pulled Sergio from behind her.

Penelope sheepishly murmured, "Awww, Serg! My favorite kitty in the whole world!"

Emily gently placed Sergio on the bed and he immediately made a beeline to Penelope and jumped onto her chest. The cat kneaded for a couple of seconds and plopped himself down as he began to purr loudly.

"Awww, good boy! You missed your momma, didn't you? I really missed my baby." Penelope contently laid there petting him and loving all over him. Her meds were quickly starting to take effect and all she could do was yawn. The family took that as their cue to say their goodnights. One by one, they all hugged and kissed her and made their way out of the room.

The only one that remained was Derek. He made his way over to the bed and sat down on the edge. He slipped his sneakers off and laid down next to her. He gingerly cuddled into her and wrapped her up in his loving strong arms. They kissed for a couple of minutes.

"I love you, Baby Girl! Sweet dreams! I'll be here when you wake up."

Penelope yawned and mumbled sleepily, "I love you too, Hot Stuff! Thank you for everything and for being here. Goodni…" All that could be heard then, was a soft snore from his lady love.

He slowly and carefully extricated himself from her, slipped his sneakers back on and headed to help everyone with the cleanup.

He walked into the living room which was still abuzz with lots of activity. Fran walked over to him and asked, "She sleeping?"

Derek smiled, "Like an angel, Momma! She's exhausted."

"I know she is. I'm glad she's home but the hard part begins now."

"I know, Momma, I know!"

Derek cleared his throat to get everybody's attention. "I just wanted to thank you guys for everything you've done, everything you have been doing, and all that is yet to come for my Goddess. She had a blast today. And, I know it meant the world to have all of you here and the things you were able to save from her apartment so far. I haven't seen her this happy in a long time, except when I finally pulled my head out of my ass and told her that I was in love with her."

All that could be heard was guffaws and a resounding, "Finally!"

JJ walked over to him and said, "No need to thanks us, bro! Family does for family!"

He pulled JJ in for a hug, "True dat, sis! True dat!"

The whole crew pitched in, about an hour later everything was cleaned up and back where it belonged. By the time they were done, both boys were sound asleep on the same couch that held their Auntie P a short while earlier. Fran gave each household some leftovers to take home which they appreciated.

The family said their goodbyes and each went their separate ways. All that remained at Casa Rossi was, of course, Fran and Dave, the girls, Emily and Derek. They were all exhausted from the days' activities and headed off to bed.

Derek made his way back to Penelope's room which would also be his for the remainder of their stay there. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and headed into the bathroom. He removed his clothes and jumped in the shower and even shaved. He hadn't had a chance to earlier because of all the goings-on trying to get Penelope home. He brushed his teeth, went to the bathroom and slid on his sweatpants. He turned off the light and headed back into the bedroom.

He slipped off his slippers and gently slid back into bed with his princess. He carefully brought her into his arms so as not to wake her. He placed a tender kiss on her forehead and cheek then snuggled into Penelope. It took him a few minutes to wind down but he eventually fell asleep with a smile on his face and nothing but good thoughts about the woman in his arms.

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