Penelope found herself in a thoroughly foul mood after being alone in her house for the last week, while the team was out in Oregon on a case. James had taken to living completely in her old apartment, and she found it so difficult to be alone once more, having truly become accustomed to having someone with her, even if they were just ships passing in the night on most occasions. And it hadn't helped that she was currently experiencing one of the worst periods she had had in years, which was making her grumpier than normal, especially since she had bled through at work and ruined her favourite pair of tights, along with forcing her to change as quickly as she could without attracting notice to her clothes.

So when she hadn't heard from Alex for the entire case, her already frayed nerves were starting to snap. Frowning deeply, she tried to concentrate on the current chapter of her book, finding herself reading the same paragraph over and over without being able to retain her attention on it. The door creaked open, and she let out a deep sigh as she tapped the bookmark icon on her tablet before tossing it onto the coffee table and getting up to stalk into the kitchen.

"You didn't make supper?" Alex asked, and that was all that Penelope needed to allow her anger to boil over.

"You couldn't bother to call and let me know what time you were going to be home? It's nearly nine, I ate at seven. Sorry I'm not psychic. Seriously."

Alex cocked her head to one side, looking confused. "I didn't mean to upset you, Penny. I was just wondering…"

"Wondering what? Why your needs weren't automatically catered to?"

She hated the snide sound in her voice, hated the way that Alex's face crumpled as she continued to stare at her, hated the first tears that started to roll down her cheeks, but she had no way to recall her words now that they were out there. "Fuck this, I'm going to bed," Alex muttered, her voice so sad. As she went to brush past Penelope, she reached out and scrabbled for Alex's hand, wanting desperately for an opportunity to explain why she had just unloaded on her like that. "Let go of me, Penelope. Please."

"No?"

"Yes. I am trying so very hard to not to bite your head off, since I don't know where this anger is coming from, but you are making it very difficult to remain calm at the moment." Alex gave her a dark look before tearing her hand out of her slackening grip. "I'll see you in the morning, I will make breakfast for us."

Before she could say another word, Alex fled from her presence, her normally light step sounding extremely loud on the stairs before the door to her bedroom slammed shut, the only indication at just how upset Alex was. Letting out a soft cry of pain, Penelope went to the kitchen, grabbing her phone and keys before rushing to her car and quickly leaving the house.

As she drove to Derek's, she felt her phone begin to ring, and she ignored it, knowing that she couldn't focus on two things at once in that moment. It wasn't until she had reached his place that she pulled out the phone and noticed that Alex had called her five times over the course of the twenty-minute drive. Sighing deeply, Penelope shoved the phone into her pocket and walked up to his apartment, knocking on the door until he answered her. "Baby Girl, what are you doing here?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her as she started to cry. "Surely it's not that bad?"

"We had our first fight today," she managed to choke out before nuzzling her face into his chest. "Or rather, I bit her head off and she left before I could apologise."

"Alex wouldn't let you talk it out before she went up to her room?"

"I never said I was living with her," she hurriedly said, pulling away to look into his eyes. He was smirking a little, and she shook her head. "What?"

"We were wondering when you would come out with your relationship. There were little tells about things, since you started to call her more and more with the results of our searches, and the way she would smile when she got off the phone with you. Hotch was the first to pick up on it, though from the look in Rossi's eye, I have the feeling that he knew a lot more than he was letting on."

"He does, he's just being kind to us both. Especially since we helped Erin come back to life."

Derek nodded as he rubbed her back, guiding her over to the sofa and pulling her down next to him. They had just taken a seat when her phone rang once more, and she thrust it at him, knowing that he would answer. "Hey, Blake. Yeah, she's over here, and I'm going to try and talk her down and then send her back your way. I don't know, you can try." He handed the phone to her, giving her a baleful look. "Talk to her, Baby Girl."

"Fine," she bit out, taking a deep breath before pressing the phone to her ear. "Yes?"

"I don't want to go to sleep angry or upset. This isn't us, and I want to begin this evening over again. I've ordered us Chinese, it will be here in thirty minutes, and I want you here."

"So you're not angry with me any longer?" Her words were still barbed, but a quick look from Derek had her blushing. "Sorry, I'm still a little off kilter."

"And Derek was the first person you thought to turn to. I get it, you've known him longer than me, but I really wish that you had stayed. If we had had just ten minutes to cool off, we could have avoided this. Please, darling, come home."

She glanced up at Derek, seeing the knowing expression on his face, and allowed her shoulders to sag. "All right. I'll be home in twenty. I love you." Those words slipped from her lips so easily, and she wondered how Alex would react to them, since she remembered her conversation with James about how those words would be difficult to draw from her lips.

"You are my moon," Alex replied, and somehow she knew that that was as close as she'd get in that moment. "I'll see you soon?"

"Yes, dear." She kissed into the phone before ending the call. "I'm going home."

"I was hoping you'd say that. Let me guess, she doesn't want to go to sleep angry?" She nodded. "Alex is a wise woman. And we'll talk tomorrow, when your head is clearer. You might want to hold her close tonight, Baby Girl. It was a brutal case, and it hit Blake harder than she was letting on. Though I should have known it was bothering her, since she didn't call you for our searches. Treat her kindly, okay?" She nodded as they got to their feet, and then he was pulling her into a tight hug, pressing his lips to the top of her head before guiding her to the door and pushing her back out into the night.