Chapter 7

"JJ! I told you that dress is at the cleaners!"

JJ breathed in deeply. "Garcia…stop."

Garcia stopped in the middle of flipping through the clothes in her closet. She sighed and went to plop down on her bed. She gave the phone an exasperated stare.

"I have two kids and one is quickly approaching his preteen years. That look will not work on me," JJ admonished.

"I don't understand why when you need it to nothing fits…and you can't find anything in the stores. And heaven knows my sewing skills are less than subpar."

"It's called Murphy's Law. Besides…you are putting way too much thought into this."

"Me? You're the one that wanted to see what I was picking out to wear. Oh man…it's five o'clock. I haven't even showered or done my hair or-"

"Penelope! Breathe!"

JJ waited and after seeing Garcia take a few deep breaths she continued. "Look…Luke has seen most of your wardrobe. Has he ever indicated he thought you didn't look nice?"

"Well…no…"

"Have you ever heard him critique anything about you…other than how you teased him?"

"No," replied Penelope quietly.

"Then why are you stressing out? It's just dinner PG."

Penelope was quiet, then asked "Can you say that again?"

JJ frowned. "I said it's just dinner. I mean…there's nothing to stress over here, right?"

"Right. Of course. Just dinner." She looked up and saw Roxy coming into the room. She came up to the bed and put her head in Penelope's lap. Luke had called last night. His layover was delayed, so Garcia had convinced him to leave Roxy with her and he could take her home after their dinner tonight. That let Luke catch up on some sleep and get some errands done during the day.

"Garcia? You okay?"

"Yeah…Yes of course. Thanks JJ. That helps a lot. I've got it."

"Okay," JJ said slowly. "Well, give me a call tomorrow. And have fun tonight."

Garcia nodded and waved goodbye. She put the phone on the nightstand and stood up. "Just dinner. No biggie." She walked over to the closet.

Luke strummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove over to Penelope's. He'd put on music to help distract himself a little. He turned left and pulled onto Garcia's street. He parked the SUV and unbuckled his seatbelt.

As he walked up to Garcia's apartment door he stopped and took a deep breath. He knocked three times and waited.

Garcia opened the door, looking a little unsure.

"Hey! Come on in," she stepped back so he could walk inside. Roxy came running up to greet him.

"Hey Rox! Did you have fun without me?"

"She was great. Her and Sergio got along, and she loves playing in the back outside."

Luke knelt to give Roxy some attention but looked up at Garcia. "Thanks again. I really appreciate it."

Garcia waved. "Anytime. You know that."

Luke smiled. "So, are you ready to go?"

"Um…yes. Just let me grab my purse." She walked over to the side table and put her phone in the purse. "All set."

Luke opened the door for her and waited for her to lock it. They made their way to the car and Luke opened the door and waited while Garcia got inside. He gave her a grin and a wink as he closed the door, then jogged around the front of the SUV to get to the driver's door.

As he put on his seatbelt he looked over at Garcia. "You look great tonight."

Garcia looked up from where she had been inspecting the skirt laying over her lap. "You think so?"

Luke grinned. "Yeah. I do, of course."

Garcia smiled. "Well you look very nice yourself."

Luke shrugged as he turned on the ignition. "Well, I didn't have Roxy there to help me pick anything out, but I think I managed alright without her."

Garcia laughed. "So now you're saying you've trained Roxy to be your own private fashionista?"

"Of course."

The radio turned on, still on the oldies station Luke had been listening to on the way over.

"Beatles? I didn't know you were a fan."

Luke shrugged. "I'm kind of all over the place when it comes to music…just depends on my mood. I like this station…it plays all of my mom and dad's favorites from the 60's."

"My parents used to listen to the 60's a lot too. The Beatles are my favorite band of all time."

Luke nodded. "They are a classic, for sure."

They listened to the song in comfortable silence. When the next came on, Garcia asked, "So what else do you like to listen to?"

"Mmm…it really just depends. Sometimes classic rock, sometimes new top 40… some jazz. I've been known to hum along to a country song or two." He risked a glance over at her.

"Stop. THE Luke Alvez listens to country? I don't believe it."

"Hey, in Iraq you got to listen to what everyone else was listening during what down time we had. I'll admit…some of the songs I liked. They were…catchy."

"Mm hmm. Catchy. I will need more evidence before I completely believe you."

Luke laughed. "Name the time and place Ms. Garcia… We can go to a country bar and the first one who can name that tune wins a free round."

"You're on."

They finished the drive chatting, but soon Luke was pulling up to the valet attendant. He handed over his key and met Garcia at her door. He offered her his arm as they walked up to the front door of the restaurant.

"Oh, my goodness! Look at this place!"

"Wow…that mural makes it look like we are on the coast of Greece."

They approached the host stand and the young woman looked up from her computer screen. "Welcome to Santorini's. Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, Alvez for 2."

She checked her computer then smiled brightly at him. "Yes sir. We have your table ready, if you will just follow me?" She led them through the restaurant to a small table near one of the windows. Luke held Penelope's chair for her and then sat down. The host handed them both their menus. "Stefan will be your server this evening. He will be here shortly to explain the specials."

Luke looked over at Penelope. "This place looks really nice."

"You've never been here before?"

"No…I wanted to pick a place new for both of us. But I've heard great things about it."

They looked around the dining room, appreciating the ambiance. The cushions of the booths were decorated in blue crushed velveted stripes. On all the walls were hundreds of framed photos that looked like a travel magazine photo shoot. The arched ceilings had decorative tiles above. Each table had crisp white linens and a small crackled glass globe with a lit candle inside. There was an open kitchen where you could see the chefs busy preparing different dishes.

"Good Evening. My name is Stefan. Welcome to Santorini's. We have a few specials this evening, if you would care to hear about them?"

Penelope and Luke nodded, and listened to him explain the specials for the evening.

Luke looked over at Penelope but spoke to Stefan, "I think we need a few more minutes to decide. I would like to go ahead and order a bottle of the Penfold's Shiraz."

"Of course. I will bring the wine and then take your order. Please, take your time." Stefan walked away.

"Red is your favorite, right?"

Penelope smiled. "It is. Thank you for remembering."

After a few minutes Luke asked, "So, what looks good?"

Penelope laughed. "Everything. I'm having a hard time deciding."

"Me too. How about we pick a couple of items and share?"

Penelope nodded. "Okay. Well, I think the Psarotavérna sounds delicious."

Luke nodded. "Okay, how about that and the ribeye with Greek chimichurri and the oven roasted marble potatoes?" Penelope agreed.

Stefan returned with their wine and two glasses. He opened the wine and offered Luke a sample. Luke nodded and Stefan proceeded to pour a glass first for Penelope, then for Luke.

"Have you decided?"

Luke looked over at Penelope and she indicated him to go ahead and order. "The lady will have the Psarotavérna and I will have the ribeye with the Greek chimichurri."

"Of course. Excellent choices. How would you like your steak prepared sir?"

"Medium," Luke answered with a raised eyebrow as he looked at Penelope. She nodded.

"I'd also like to order the Saganaki and the… Keftedes for appetizers."

"Of course. Would you care for a salad course? The spring chef board is delicious and would be perfect for sharing."

Luke nodded. "That sounds great."

"I will bring your appetizers as soon as they are ready." Stefan took their menus and walked towards the server station to place their order.

"This place is really nice."

"It is. I'm glad we finally had the chance to do this."

Penelope smiled and took a sip of her wine.

"So, Penelope," Luke started. "I tell me something."

"Okay."

"How did you get to the BAU?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You've heard this story."

"No, really, I haven't. I mean, you were, of course, amazing…but I know seeing all the evidence of the scumbags we track down couldn't have been your dream career."

"Oh, come on…you must have heard at least a little of this story on the jet."

"No, really…I didn't."

Penelope gave him a look of disbelief, but finally she started. "Well…you know my parents were killed when I was young."

Luke nodded. "Drunk driver… you spoke for him at his parole hearing."

"Right. Jesse Wilson. Well, when they died, I really had a hard time coping. I kind of retreated from the outside world and what was left was my computer. I started coding, and I found a group that I could confide in…talk to. I finally started college and my friends there were just as into the online and digital world as I was."

"So, you decided to join the FBI after graduating?"

Penelope laughed. "No…not by a long shot."

Luke raised an eyebrow.

Penelope shrugged. "Let's just say…I got too good. I started accepting challenges…and as I won, the risks had to be increased…I kept trying to do more…be sneakier…stealthier."

"You…stealthier." Luke laughed, shaking his head.

"Don't make fun Luke Alvez. You have no idea how far my superpowers reach."

Luke held up his hands. "Whoa…I'm sure…I've only seen the tip of the iceberg of your talents."

Penelope shook her head. "You don't sound like you believe me."

"Well, you have to admit…you aren't known for being able to keep secrets for very long."

Penelope squinted and pursed her lips. "You think you can read me like a book, don't you?"

Luke shook his head. "I think I've gotten to know you fairly well over the past few years. I mean, everyone has a few secrets in the closet…but I think in general you are kind, caring…look for the good in the world. I think that is great…we need more people like you in this world." Luke reached out and brought his water glass up to take a sip.

"I was arrested, convicted of cyber terrorism and held in a federal prison."

Luke choked on his water, spilling some on the tablecloth as he coughed and hurried to put the glass back down. Garcia smiled again and took another sip of her wine, blinking her eyes at him innocently.

"Surprise," she singsonged.

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Betcha didn't profile that one, did you Newbie?"

Luke laughed as he shook his head. "So how did you go from there to the FBI?"

"Let's just say the government decided I would be of better use working for them than against them."

"And you agreed."

Penelope lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I wasn't really feeling the prison house orange jumpsuit look anyways…and if I could get paid and regain my freedom doing what I was obviously good at…why not?"

"Wow. I never knew."

"Well, let this be a lesson Newbie…never judge a book by its cover."

**So…the date isn't over yet…but I wanted to give you all an update. I'd love to know what you think. Send me a review…it helps to feed the muse and get you another chapter more quickly. Hope you are staying safe! **