Penelope wasn't surprised when Erin had made up an overnight bag, going home with Dave at the end of the meal. Though that had led to an awkward air falling over the house, as if the three of them remaining had no idea what to say to each other with their buffer removed. Finally, James got up from the table and began to put the remaining soup away in the fridge, while Alex loaded the dishwasher and started it. This left Penelope feeling like the third wheel, and while both of their backs were turned, she got up and went to leave the kitchen.

"Penny, stay."

Turning, she looked to see that Alex had once more boosted herself up on the counter and was looking at her, a pensive expression on her face. "What?"

"Come here, stand by me. James, this is for you, too." Penelope let out a quiet breath as she went over to Alex, not surprised when she wrapped an arm around her waist as she looked at her husband. "Just as Dave asked Erin to stay with him, I would like to ask the same of you, Penelope. But I know that this has to be a mutual decision, because this is not just my house. This is our house, James, and I would really like to have your blessing for Penelope to make a place for herself here, if she wants to."

James blinked a few times, and she almost thought that he would start crying. And then, to her shock, he reached over and took hold of her forearm, looking at her fully. "I have rather grown accustomed to Penelope's presence over the last few months, and I think that I would miss her if she went back to her apartment."

There was a gentle squeeze to her arm, and she smiled at him through her tears. "And I think I would miss you guys, too, if I had to suddenly be alone again. It was way too easy to become accustomed to having other people around me. Like, I know, I live in an apartment building, but you don't see your neighbor the same way you see a housemate. I've missed this feeling of companionship. So, I guess that you're stuck with me?"

"I guess so. But, I'm going to head up and take a shower. I think that the two of you need to talk a little more about things." He let go of her arm before stepping forward and kissing Alex's cheek. "We're not close enough for me to kiss you, though, Penelope."

She giggled a little as she nodded. "You're probably right, though I appreciate the thought behind it, nonetheless." James smiled at her before turning and making his way from the kitchen. It wasn't until Penelope heard his feet on the steps that she closed the distance between her and Alex, closing her arms around the woman's waist as she stared into her face. "So, is he right? Do we have a little more to talk about?"

"I think that we do, Penelope. Because these feelings aren't going away." Alex leaned in, closing the distance between them before brushing her lips against Penelope's in the softest of kisses. "I don't think that James will mind us kissing at this point, though I don't want to kiss in front of him. It would be like rubbing salt in the wound."

"Yeah," she murmured in reply, resting her forehead against Alex's chin. It was so nice to feel her fingers start to card through her hair before she was gently pushed back. "What?"

"My butt is starting to hurt, sitting on this hard counter. Let's head out to the living room." She nodded and held out her hand, sighing a little when Alex clasped it and slipped off the counter, letting her lead them into the living room. They sat on the sofa, and she tried not to sigh in pleasure when Alex cuddled in close to her, letting her head come to rest on Penelope's breasts. "You are just so soft, darling."

"You are, too, you know."

Alex chuckled a little as she shrugged. "But you're allowed to be soft, Penelope. I haven't been soft, truly soft, in ages. Maybe ever since Ethan died. Everything went to shit in such a short amount of time, and I slammed up so many walls around my heart that there was no softness left in me. And I don't know if I'll be able to find that softness in me for you, much though I would love to be sweet and gentle and loving."

Penelope made a soft sound of disagreement in the back of her throat as she began to twist a hank of Alex's hair around her fingers. "I would disagree with your assessment of yourself, Alexandra. While you might not be the warmest to people, initially, there is a deep well of compassion in you for those who are overlooked in society. That first case back from London, when you all were down in Texas? Derek told me how you tried to connect with the unsub, that even though you thought your fingers clumsy, you still tried to talk with him, and that the sorrow on your face, even though it only lasted for a moment, told him everything he ever needed to know about you. And I get to be privy to the woman you are behind the scenes. Do you know how lucky that makes me?"

"Almost as lucky as I am to be able to see the you behind the frenetic energy that you use as a shield at work to try and keep the truly awful things that we encounter every day away from your heart and mind. And that is an amazing thing, but I've seen just how much it takes out of you, to try and pretend that you're unaffected by what we see."

"Profilers aren't supposed to profile their colleagues," she remarked, allowing her hand to slip down Alex's back and rest on her hip, her fingers drumming an uneasy tattoo.

"I didn't need to profile that, Penny. You made it so obvious by the way you react to things." Alex caressed her face lightly and she looked down into her lap, feeling herself close to tears. "You are one of the most loving people I have ever encountered in my life, and I thank whatever deity that might be looking over us that I live at the same time as you do. Because you're shining a little bit of that love on me."

That was the closest they had come to expressing their feelings to each other, and she knew that it took a lot for Alex to admit that to her, even though she hadn't come right out and said what she felt for her. "I guess that I could be the sun, then, and you can be my moon?"

"I like the sound of that." She lifted her head and pressed a gentle kiss to the curve of her jaw. "I want to spend the night with you tonight. Not to have sex, but to just get a feel for how you sleep. Would that be all right?"

She felt her heart jump in her chest, pure joy spreading over her body as she nodded. "I would really like that, Alexandra, yes. But I think that I still have a few hours left in me to talk. If you don't mind?" Alex shook her head and then made herself more comfortable on Penelope. "So, tell me a little more about your brother. I know that it's a sore spot for you, but there must have been a time when you got along."

"Yeah, we did. There was a time that I worshipped him, because he could do anything." Penelope smiled as she listened to Alex unspool her story, grateful that James had given them this time to get to know each other better.