Chapter 4

Luke awoke for the second time that day feeling much more relaxed than the first. At first, he hadn't wanted to open his eyes, but the late morning sun, made brighter by the snow's reflection, was spilling into the room around the curtains.

Penelope was sidled up close to him and he had his arm casually draped across her waist. This hadn't been how they had fallen asleep, initially when he'd gotten under her covers to escape the crisp winter air, he'd moved as far to the edge of the bed as possible. But he had to admit waking up like this was nice. More than nice.

He looked down at her peaceful face, admiring the way the sun fell across it and illuminated it, knowing that she would have had a snarky comment for him if she'd been awake to see him staring.

He eventually tore his eyes away because he felt his resolve slipping, and the more he stayed in that position, the more he didn't want to ever move. Luke glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table to note that it was past 11am. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept in like this, even on a Sunday morning.

They had spent hours talking the night before, about everything from their favourite food to their biggest fears. He had shared things with her that he hadn't talked about with anyone before, or hadn't thought about himself in years. And so had she.

He had always liked listening to her talk, but something about their conversation the night before was different. It was something he couldn't fully describe, but he felt like he was getting to know her in a way he hadn't known anyone before. He hadn't even realized when they'd both fallen asleep.

Despite it being the last thing he wanted to do, Luke quietly got out of her bed and went to the kitchen to start the coffee pot. He grabbed his towel and slipped into her bathroom.

Penelope instantly felt colder as she felt Luke's warm body leave the bed from beside her. She waited until she was sure he was out of the room to open her eyes. She had been awake for a little while, ever since she'd felt him shuffle awake beside her, but she was in such a comfortable place that she didn't want to open her eyes and ruin it.

Her night had started out stressful, when she couldn't help but obsess over something she didn't even need to think about, but she had ended up having the most relaxing sleep she'd had in ages.

Her and Luke had talked for hours, and she had been given a glimpse into a different side of the man she had spent so long working with, a side that she had been pointedly ignoring, for whatever foolish reason. The kind and sensitive protector who wanted to be there for everyone in his life and never wanted to feel like a burden in return. She'd listened to the clear adoration in his voice when he talked about his mom and sister, seen the sparkle in his eyes as he'd explained how he'd come to own Roxy, and couldn't believe she had once pegged him as an egotistic playboy.

The only topic he hadn't been willing to dive into was Lisa, still frustratingly quiet on that front, but it had felt like they had talked about everything else.

Feeling the rumble in her stomach, Penelope begrudgingly got out of bed, slipping on her robe and opening the door to her bedroom. She was surprised to see Luke emerge from the bathroom directly across the hall at that exact moment. Wearing nothing but a towel.

The reaction she had to seeing him with nothing but a piece of cloth wrapped around his waist was immediate. She couldn't help but stare at his bare chest and flat stomach, her eyes making their way down to the toned muscles peeking out from under his towel. I mean, it wasn't as though he tried to hide himself in his tight work shirts but…damn.

"Shit. Sorry, I forgot to grab my clothes and I thought you'd still be asleep." He said, breaking her out of her trance and forcing her to tear her eyes away to his face.

"Its… all good," She managed.

He stood there, holding his towel in place with one hand for good measure.

"So, if you wouldn't mind Newbie, I'd like to use my bathroom now." She said, recovering after a beat of silence.

"Right. Sorry." He made his way into her living room in search of some clothes and she went into the bathroom, leaning against the closed door and trying to convince herself that Luke Alvez had not just caused such a visceral reaction in her.

She came out showered and changed into a comfortable pair of leggings and a sweater half an hour later to a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Luke had made her vegan sausage, toast and had cut up some fruit she'd forgotten she even had. Penelope smiled genuinely as he handed her the cup. Even though it was just a simple breakfast, she couldn't remember the last time someone had cooked for her, and he'd known to make her coffee exactly how she took it: a dash of sugar and coconut milk.

"So as much as I loved watching TV all day yesterday, I was thinking it might be cool to get out of the house for a bit. Do you have a good pair of snow boots?" He asked, setting her plate in front of her at the table before taking the seat in front of her.

"Yes." She said absentmindedly, savouring her first few sips of coffee.

"Good. I can tell Roxy is getting antsy. We never spend this much time indoors when I'm home."

"What do you usually do?"

"We have some hikes and trails we like to go to, or we go visit Lou and Phil, or go to the dog park."

Garcia's eyes lit up. "How are Lou and Phil? I haven't talked to him in ages!"

"You talk to Phil?" Luke asked, disconcerted. He'd introduced them at a party once, and Garcia had gone with him to drop off Lou when Phil was in rehab, but he hadn't known they kept in touch.

"Sometimes. Usually just when he sends me cute pictures of Lou. We were going to make plans for coffee but then he got his new job and sort of disappeared."

"Oh." He couldn't say why it bothered him to know that Garcia was in touch with his best friend. Probably just because he hadn't known about it.

"Okay. I'm not a big hiker but I suppose we could check out one of those trails. I do love the forest in the snow."

Luke picked one of his favourite simple trails and they walked at a leisurely pace. Roxy would bound ahead of them, sniffing the ground carefully, and then faithfully return when Luke called out to her.

"So you really got arrested for vandalism. Luke Alvez, Mr. Straight and Narrow?" She jabbed him in the arm, referring to the story he'd started telling her before they'd fallen asleep the night before.

He laughed. "I wouldn't say arrested. I was fifteen, and they let me off with a warning, but the cops drove me home. It was right after my dad died. I was expecting my mom to get really mad, but she was sad more than anything, which was worse. It worked though, because I never did it again."

"Do you think about your dad a lot?"

"Yeah. All the time. I mean I think he would've been proud of me, of how I followed in his footsteps in the army and how I help put criminals away now. But I wish he could've seen it for himself, you know?"

She nodded and they walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Do you think of your parents often?"

"Everyday. It took me way too long to get over what happened, and to start to forgive myself for the night they died. But I think they'd be proud of me too."

"Are you kidding," he lent her his hand as they climbed over a patch of ice on the slight hill, "Penelope Garcia, crime fighting tech genius with a heart of gold. Of course they're proud of you."

She blushed, but her cheeks were so red from the cold that she didn't think he'd notice.

"You're going to have to stop saying such nice things to me, Luke Alvez. It makes it really hard to be mean to you."

He laughed. "Why do you have to be mean at all, Ice Queen?"

"Oh because it's so very fun, Newbie."

Luke smiled, "Okay. We're here." He had been guiding them to his favourite place in this patch of woods. It was a small clearing surrounded by giant trees of at least a dozen varieties, all different shapes and sizes, and they looked stunning when they were capped with the snow.

He watched the awe on her face as she looked around. "It's beautiful." She whispered.

"Yeah. It's my favourite place in the city."

"I can see why. This is totally worth my nose being cold."

A gust of wind blew by them and she shivered. Without thinking, Luke reached over and put his arm around her, drawing her closer.

They stared at each other for a moment. Even though he'd woken up to her in his arms, somehow being here fully awake made this moment more…intense. He had the sudden urge to lean down and close the distance between their lips. As if in slow motion, he felt himself lean in ever so slightly, not listening to his voice of reason for once, when Roxy bounded back up to them, effectively breaking the moment. She dropped a small stick at Luke's feet and stared up at him pointedly, clearly indicating that she wanted to play fetch.

Luke laughed as they both took a step back, "She can be a real diva when she wants to be."

"You deserve to be a diva when you're this cute." She reached down, cooing at Roxy as she petted her and picked up the stick, grateful that the moment had passed. She wasn't quite ready to think about what had almost just happened.

They walked back in almost silence half an hour later, both lost in their own thoughts.

Penelope tried to wrap her head around the fact that they had almost kissed. Surely that wasn't all in her head?

It wasn't like she wasn't a confident woman – she was proud of who she was. But she'd seen what Luke's type was – Lisa flashed through her mind – so she was having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that they had almost had a moment back in the clearing.

She also wasn't ready to address the fact that she had wanted something to happen back there. She had spent so long emotionally distancing herself from Luke, convincing herself that he was a certain type of person, but there was no denying that that just wasn't true. The time they'd spent together this weekend was proof of that, but he'd been showing her since the beginning – she had just been too stubborn to notice.

Penelope had no idea what Luke was thinking as they walked back – if it had even been a moment for him or if she was imagining things. She felt a tiny twinge of disappointment when he finally spoke after they had gotten back into his truck. He turned to face her with that intense stare again. "Has Carlos said anything else since last night?"

That had been the last thing on her mind, but of course he was thinking about the situation she had told him about last night, not what had just happened. Luke Alvez, forever the protector.

"No. Wilson's cousin confirmed that he moved to Pasadena, that he went directly after his release. And Carlos trusts him, they go way back or something. So the flowers were probably someone who remembered the story. It was the hot gossip of the neighbourhood when it happened."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Luke." She looked out of the window, not wanting to go over it all again.

"Garcia." He waited until she finally turned and looked at him again. "I promised I wouldn't tell the team about this, and I won't. But I need you to make me a promise too. You have to let me help you. If this ever turns into anything, or if you ever just get a bad feeling about it. You call me, okay? No matter what."

It took her a moment to respond, but she realized she did feel a sense of relief knowing she didn't have to shoulder it all alone. Even though the situation was nothing, it felt good to know that someone else knew about it. That Luke knew about it.

"Okay."

"Good." He started the car and pulled out of the lot. "So I was thinking we could do Greek for dinner."

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