"Did you spend another evening at Erin's house?"
Penelope looked up from her keyboard to see Grant standing in the doorway of her office, and shrugged. He took this as his cue to come inside, closing the door behind him before heading over to her desk and taking a seat on the edge of the desk, still smirking at her. "Why is my personal business being blabbed all around the bullpen?" she asked, returning her attention to her monitors as she worked on some searches for Prophet.
"Well, seeing as how Agent Hotchner came in earlier than normal today, and has been in a right mood all morning, I think that there is something going on. I might have been the only one to notice, really, that he's in a bad mood, since he always wears that slightly annoyed look in the office, but his face was definitely tighter than normal when he came in. So, did you forget to answer your phone or something?"
Penelope shook her head as she stopped typing, leaning away from the keyboard to focus on him. "No, I texted to let him know that I was having supper with Erin and the children, since it was a good night to do that. I don't like being interrupted during family time."
"Whoa there, Penelope. Strauss is not your family."
Her eyes widened as she realized just what she had said. Clapping her hand over her mouth, she tried to take a few deep breaths as her thoughts raced in an effort to cover her mistake. "But she is my friend, and feels like family when I spend time with her," she finally replied lamely, and he shook his head. "Hush. Please. It was a slip of the tongue, and you should know how easily those happen. And after the kids left to head back to Alan's, I stayed to talk about the situation that's been bothering me here. Aaron wasn't happy when I finally called him back at almost ten."
Grant nodded as he reached out to pat her shoulder lightly. "You're in a rough place, but I know that you'll be able to navigate it well. You always seem to manage to do so. Just, know that when you put him in a bad mood, it kind of has a ripple effect."
"I'll keep that in mind, Grant. Now, was there anything else that you needed?"
"A lunch buddy? I know, you should probably have that with your partner, since it's one of those rare days that the team is home, but Gina and I were hoping that you'd be our third today. And if you could convince him to tag along, I'm sure she wouldn't mind having your partner as a fourth."
Penelope gave him a small smile as she shrugged. "I'll pop in and see if he's fit company for us, and let you know one way or the other in five minutes or so?"
He gave her a small nod as they both rose to their feet and went into the hall. She turned to the left and made her way down to Aaron's office, knocking softly before entering. "Hey, Anderson wanted to know if you wanted to come to lunch with him and Gina this afternoon? I'm at an impasse with my searches for the Red Cell team, and thought that it would be nice to double lunch date today."
Aaron didn't look up from the file that he was reviewing, and Penelope frowned as she made her way over to his desk, taking a seat in front of it as she waited for him to say something, anything. "I suppose that I could pause what I'm doing here. But are you certain that you want to bring me along on this lunch date? Wouldn't you feel happier bringing Strauss along?"
There was no anger in his voice, and the flat tone there upset her more than if he had been upset. Swallowing thickly, she bit her lip before trying to come up with a retort that wouldn't be hurtful to either of them. "Erin is my friend, just like Jayje and Em are. You just don't care for her because you have bad blood between you and her, and haven't ever really moved past that, despite being privy to her struggles this last year. But you are the one that I am in love with, and that's all that matters in this world. I will always love spending time with my friends, but you have my heart. Okay?"
He finally looked up at her, giving her a fleeting smile before nodding and pushing away from the desk. "Okay." He came over to her side and helped her to her feet before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and taking hold of her hand. Together, they went into the bullpen, and she smiled at Grant as they made their way down the stairs. "I hear that we're doubling with you today?"
"Yes. I thought that it wouldn't be fair to drag your lovely partner away from you when you're home, but Gina and I wanted to have lunch with her. And it's better to have four around the table than three."
Aaron nodded as they all made their way out to the elevators. Erin was just coming around the corner, talking to the Director, and Penelope gave her a soft smile as she passed. The woman nodded in return as they passed by each other, and she tried to fight down the flutter in her stomach at the chance meeting, knowing that her focus needed to be on Aaron and the others. The elevator doors opened, and Aaron ushered her inside, leading her to the back as the others joined them.
The meal went by so quickly, and Penelope found herself genuinely enjoying the lunch, since she didn't really get to spend all that much time with Grant and Gina. They were a good couple, and she wondered when they would make things official, since she had the good feeling that they were going to go the distance. "Well, I suppose that we should get back to the office now," Grant said after taking a look at his watch. "I don't want to keep you out too long, you never know how much trouble we could get in with Strauss."
"Penny would be able to get us out of any trouble," Aaron replied wryly, and she beamed up at him, nodding eagerly. "I might be beginning to see the perks of having a partner being a close friend to our boss, since that can ease the way with regards to certain things."
"I can't believe that it's taken you this long to see things my way!" she teased as he paid the tab for the table, and he rolled his eyes a little as he shoved his wallet back into his pocket, getting to his feet and arching an eyebrow. Hurriedly, she got to her feet as well, and they all went outside, walking slowly back to the office. "Seriously, Aaron, she's one of my best friends, and I would be lost without her. She keeps me sane when you're all out in the field, and I can't talk to Em, or Jayje, or you. It's nice to have a friend who's so close at hand. You have Dave, and he's with you all the time, so it's only fair that I have a friend who might be available at a moment's notice."
He shook his head a little. "I know that you care for her, and I don't like it, but I suppose that I can try to see things through your eyes. Just, don't ask me to be friends with her?"
"I would never do that, honey! You can't force someone to be kind, after all." He nodded as they entered into the building, stepping onto the first elevator that arrived. "Though I will probably always hold on to the hope that you and her can at least reach some sort of détente. And before you say it, hope always springs eternal."
He chuckled as the doors opened up on their floor, and they followed the others out of the car to stand in the hallway. "Let me guess, you're going to pop in and see her before you get back to work?"
"You know me so well, Boss Man. And if there weren't a million eyes watching us right now, I'd kiss your cheek. But that will have to wait until we're home tonight."
"Are you spending the night?"
"Do you want me to?" He nodded. "Then I will. We can watch a short movie with Jack before doing our own sort of relaxing." To her surprise, he let out a little bark of laughter, and she grinned in return before stepping away from him and making her way over to Erin's office. She was outside, talking to Helen, and she waved to both of them as she came over to the desk. "Hey, I don't have much time, since our lunch went a little long, but I just wanted to stop in and say hello."
Helen smiled at her before looking up at Erin in expectation. The older woman rolled her eyes a little before she glanced over at Penelope. For a moment, she saw the mask that the woman usually wore as she gave her a little smile. "Hello, Penelope. I hope that everything is all right between you and Agent Hotchner?"
"It was a little touchy this morning, but I think that we've made up. I'll text you later this evening, all right?" Erin nodded and Penelope dared enough to reach out and squeeze her elbow gently before nodding to Helen. "I hope you both have a great day, and remember, I'm only a phone call away if you need anything." Giving another brilliant smile to Helen and Erin, she turned and left the office, humming beneath her breath as she thought about the night's delights ahead of her.
