In the Car – the next morning

"I don't understand why we couldn't have had breakfast before we left," Penelope asks, her voice slightly whiny.

Dave quickly glances at her as he navigates the car through a curve. "Trust me, Kitten, you're going to be happy that you waited."

"Humph."

Dave reaches over and grabs her hand, lifting it to his lips. "It's all your own fault by the way."

"What? Why is it my fault?" she demands.

"If you weren't so damn sexy, I wouldn't have ravished you this morning."

This causes her to snort, which pleases Dave immensely.

"I still don't understand why we had to leave right away and couldn't at least make some toast," she grumbles.

"Well, it's too late now," he tells her as he pulls his car into the driveway and puts it in park.

Her hand in his suddenly tightens. Her beautiful face contorts in fear.

"Hey," he says softly as he gently jiggles her hand. "It's okay, sweetheart. No one knows we're here yet, so we can leave if you're not up to this."

Her face clears as she looks at him. "I'm up to it. Let's go inside."

"Are you sure? Because you weren't looking so good a second ago."

"That was a brief moment of panic," she says composedly. "I didn't realize your parents lived so close."

"Close enough, I suppose. It's a twenty-minute drive most days," he tells her.

"Huh," she says absently as she stares at the front of the house. "I've often wondered if I would still live in San Francisco had my parents not died. My life, lost likely, would have been much different."

"It's interesting how one event can change the whole trajectory of our lives," he surmises as he too stares at his parents' house.

He can feel her eyes on him as they continue to sit in the car. After several seconds he turns to her. "Are you ready to switch trajectories?"

"I'm ready. Nervous, but ready."

He leans over and kisses her. "They're going to love you."

"I hope so," she says. A small smile graces her lips.

Momma and Poppa Rossi's

Dave opens his door, climbs out and runs around the car to help her. They hold hands as they walk to the front door. Dave opens the door slowly and listens, the conversations from his family echo in the hallway. They slip inside and Dave closes the door gently behind them. He leads her down the hallway towards the kitchen.

The room erupts in laughter. Poppa's voice spills over the noise. "So, then I tell him if he takes off all his clothes and covers himself in mud, the fish won't know he's there and he can catch them easily."

"And that is how I caught pneumonia at the age of six," Dave interjects as he and Penelope step into the room.

Shouts of "Davey!" fill the air and then the room falls silent as all eyes land on Penelope who stands slightly behind him.

Firmly holding her hand, he tugs her forward a step.

Reeni jumps to her feet and crosses to them. She wraps envelope in a hug and glares at her brother. "I thought you weren't going to do this today?"

Dave shrugs. "We changed our minds."

"Davey? Who is your guest?" Poppa asks warmly.

"This is Penelope," Dave smiles as he looks back at Penelope.

Reeni has her arm around Penelope's shoulders. Penelope smiles though her eyes are wide as she takes in all the family at the table.

"Penelope?" Momma asks as she rises from her seat. She steps around Poppa who struggles to stand. "Davey help your Father."

Momma grasps Penelope's hands as Dave moves towards the table. "It's so nice to meet you."

"Same," Penelope nods. She glances over the diminutive woman's shoulder at Dave then back to the woman in front of her.

"You are so beautiful," Momma says in awe.

"Bring her over here, I want to meet her," Poppa demands as he straightens to his feet.

Dave and the rest of the family smile encouragingly as Penelope moves closer to the table, still holding hands with Momma.

Poppa looks her up and down with a frown. "What is a bell'angelo like you doing with my rapscallion of a son?"

"Thanks, Poppa!" Dave says with a smile. "I appreciate your loving support as always."

"If I gave you any more support you wouldn't need legs," Poppa teases back.

"That's true," Dave agrees.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Rossi," Penelope says gracefully as she reaches out a hand to him.

"Mr. Rossi?" Poppa repeats. He takes her hand in his and lifts it to his face placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. "I haven't been Mr. Rossi in a long time. My friends call me Stefano, but you my dear may call me anytime."

He gives her a wink. She looks over at Momma Rossi, not sure how to react. Momma rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"You wish, old man," she scolds Poppa.

Penelope's stomach growls loudly causing her to turn beet red and shoot a glare at Dave. "I told you I needed to eat."

"You haven't eaten?" Momma asks.

This causes half the table to rise in unison and rush to the cooking area.

"Sit, sit," Momma insists. "We'll get you some food."

Penelope sits in the seat on Poppa's left as the older man slowly sinks back down into his chair. Dave settles across from her in the seat Momma had vacated. Momma settles next to Penelope.

Fresh glasses of orange juice appear on the table in front of them. The kitchen is a cacophony of movement and sound.

"So, Penelope," Momma says. "How long are you in town for?"

"Just until tomorrow," Penelope says quietly.

"Oh, that's nice. A little weekend away from the city."

"Yes ma'am," Penelope smiles.

"Oh pish, you can call us Momma and Poppa," Momma says gregariously. She pats Penelope's hand. "So, tell me, have you ever been married?"

"Momma?!" Dave cuts in.

"Don't interrupt your Mother, Davey," Poppa scolds.

Dave bit his lip as he glanced at Penelope. Her knowing look caused the heat to rise in his cheeks.

Penelope bites her own lip to keep from laughing. "I have not been married," she answers quietly.

"Why not? You're so pretty," Momma frowns.

"I didn't know that being pretty was a requirement for marriage," Penelope fires back.

Momma looks stunned for a moment, then smiles as she looks at Dave. "She's feisty."

"And smart," Dave smiles back.

"I was almost married once – long ago," Penelope confesses.

"You were?" Dave asks. His eyes narrow.

She nods. "It was… a different life. Before I joined the BAU."

"What happened?" Momma questions.

"We suddenly found ourselves going in opposite directions," Penelope smiles sadly. "I moved across the country for a new way of life and joined the Bureau."

Momma nods and smiles. "We understand that don't we Poppa?"

"Yes," Poppa agrees. He nods enthusiastically and smiles. "We got married in 1940 as the war was building in Europe. At that time, Italy was staying neutral. But we were worried that it wouldn't last long, and we didn't want to raise a family in that environment."

Dave glances between his parents and Penelope. Poppa hasn't looked this engaged in a while, Dave thought. Introducing Penelope had been a good idea.

"Or take a chance that Poppa would be drafted," Momma adds cutting into Dave's thoughts. "We moved to New York."

"That must have been hard leaving your families behind," Penelope says.

Momma nods. "Our parents stayed in Italy, along with two of Poppa's brothers and two of his sisters. As well as my older sister. The rest of us came here together."

"And how many people in total?" Penelope asks.

Momma looks over to Poppa. "Counting spouses and children…"

"Seventeen," Poppa answers. "I still remember going with my brother, Sal, to make the reservations. We came over by steamship."

Penelope's jaw drops. "How long was the trip?"

"About 5 days if I remember right," Momma answers. "Seventeen of us stuffed into three rooms with six double beds."

Both Momma and Poppa laugh at the memory.

"There were people everywhere," Poppa chortles.

"Okay, make some space," Reeni demands as she sets a plate in front of Penelope and hands a second plate to Dave.

Several hands move about the table placing plates of ricotta pancakes, vegetable and meat frittatas, a basket of croissants, which is filled over the brim, and fresh coffee for all.

"Oh my," Penelope says in awe. She eyes the overflowing basket. "There's no way we are eating all of those!"

Dave chuckles as he grabs three croissants and puts them on his plate. "You may be surprised."

Her eyes wide as she takes in the spread before her. She points at the pancakes. "They're so fluffy!"

"They have a special secret ingredient," Dave tells her as he tears open a croissant.

"What's in it?" she asks innocently.

He pauses, butter on a knife hovers over his plate. "It wouldn't be a secret if I told you."

"Piccolo! She's familia, it's okay," Momma assures him.

Dave looks at Penelope with a serious expression. "You cannot tell anyone, promise?"

Eyes still wide, Penelope nods. Sophia walks behind Dave and smacks him gently in the back of the head.

"Stop teasing the poor woman," Sophia growls. "A google search would tell her it's not a family secret. We put ricotta in the pancake mix."

"Oh," Penelope exclaims. "I never would have thought of that."

Penelope grabs a couple of the pancakes and a large piece of the vegetable frittata. Dave fills his own plate as well, then the others help themselves to the basket of croissants. In less than a minute, over half of the croissants are gone.

Penelope laughs aloud. "I forgot that Italians like to eat!"

"Evviva!" Poppa shouts as he raises a handful of croissant. The rest of the family responds in kind.

They spend a couple of hours talking and eating, with the family and Penelope getting a chance to know each other better.

Upstairs

Dave slips away at one point, following Isabella out of the room and up the stairs.

"You sure you want to leave your girlfriend downstairs unprotected?" she asks as she notices Dave behind her on the stairs.

"I think she'll be okay for a little while," he responds.

She slips into one of the bedrooms, leaving the door open for him. He closes it as she lays on the bed and closes her eyes.

Dave perches next to her on the bed. "How are you, Bella?"

She sighs and looks up at him with a sad smile. "I really don't know."

He leans over and places a kiss on her forehead.

She grasps his arm, squeezes gently as she giggles. "I can't remember how many times I kissed your forehead when you weren't feeling well."

"Same," Dave nods. "I remember you would sing me to sleep."

"Please don't sing to me," she begs in mock horror.

"I promise," he smiles. "I take it Momma and Poppa still don't know."

She shakes her head. "I need to figure things out first."

"Like what?"

She shrugs and rubs her hand up and down his arm in a soothing manner. "Sophia says one of her friends from college had breast cancer and she survived without having her breasts removed. Soph is going to call her tomorrow and find out who the doctor was and all that stuff. If it sounds promising, I'm going to go stay with her and Gio for a bit."

Dave nods. "When I find a place, you can stay with me too. I'll probably have more room."

She grins. "Are you sure you want your sister hanging out when you have a girl like Penelope?"

He grins back. "I'll get a really big house so we can be far apart."

"Excellent. I like her, Davey. There's something special about her."

"I agree," he smiles. He leans down and kisses her forehead again. "Rest for a bit. I'll tell the parentals you're tired from the trip."

She squeezes his arm once again. "Thanks Davey. Love you."

"I love you too, Bella," he says softly as he slips out of the room.

It was Momma Rossi who finally kicked them out with a large bag of croissants, some cannoli and lots of hugs and kisses.

In the car

"Your family is wonderful," Penelope says dreamily from the passenger seat during the ride back to the cabin.

Dave squeezes her hand. "They were on their best behavior."

"Hmm," she says as she nods. "Do you think they liked me?"

Dave snorts. "Momma already said that you are family, yes, they like you."

"You want to know a secret?"

He glances at her quickly. "I want to know all your secrets, Gattina."

"I've never met someone's family before," she whispers.

His eyebrow raises. "Really? You've never met anyone's family before."

She sighs. "I've met people's families before; I meant a lover's family."

He raises her hand to his mouth and whispers against her skin. "I feel doubly honored that you wanted to meet mine."

"Maybe, you'll get to meet my brothers one day."

"I look forward to it."

"Did you have a good talk with Bella?" she asks carefully.

He half-shrugs. "Yeah. She's going to be in DC. Sophia has a friend who went through this and hopefully her doctor can help Bella."

"We should have lunch or dinner with them," she says enthusiastically.

Dave grins. "That's a wonderful idea."

Dave's Cabin

They spend the rest of the day and part of Sunday morning, talking, eating and making love. It is with great reluctance that they part in the early afternoon.

Standing next to her orange Cadillac, arms wrapped around one another they kiss deeply. Dave breaks the kiss. Penelope continues to hold him tightly.

"I wish I could stay longer," she pouts.

"Me too, Kitten. Call me when you get home, please."

She smiles. "Are you going to worry about me?"

"I already am," he whispers as he swoops in for another quick kiss. He breaks the kiss and their embrace. "You need to go now. I don't want you driving in the dark."

"Fine," she sighs. "I'll talk to you later."

Momma and Poppa Rossi's

He spends the next couple of days helping at his parents' house and hanging out with his sisters. Isabella was now staying with Reeni, leaving Amanda at Momma and Poppa's. Sophia and Gio had already left as they had to take care of the grandkids. Dave decides to spend the night at his parents, to be on hand if needed.

"How much longer are you staying?" he asks Amanda as they wash the dinner dishes together.

"A few more days," she smiles.

"Thank you."

"No thanks needed. This is what family does, right?"

He nods.

"I need to get back to work too. No more sloughing off for me," he grins.

"A true working man, once again," she teases.

He gives her a piercing look.

"I'm sure there's another reason you want to get back as well," she teases. "Missing your girlfriend?"

"Yes," he agrees.

Later

After the house has settled, he dials Penelope's cell number.

"Hello, my Italian stallion. When are you coming home," Penelope asks.

"Tomorrow," he smiles into the phone. He sits back on his bed and stretches his legs out. "Poppa is strong enough to get up and walk to the bathroom by himself. And Momma is driving me crazy."

Penelope laughs. "She loves you."

"I know," he sighs. "But I am a grown man."

"You will always be her bambino."

He nods, a smile spread across his handsome features. "That's true. Do you want to go out to dinner when I get back?"

"Aren't you going to need some time to rest," she asks.

He shrugs even though she can't see him. "I'll rest after I have seen you."

"We'll have to play it by ear, the team hasn't returned yet," she replies.

"Okay. I'll be in around ten. My flight leaves here at seven-thirty."

"Who's getting you at the airport," she asks.

"I left my car there," he tells her reluctantly. "I'll be driving myself."

"Okay," she says softly. "You want an apple fritter?"

"Always," he chuckles. He glances at the clock. "I should go check on Poppa, then I better get to bed otherwise I might sleep through my alarm and not make my flight. I don't want to wait another minute to see you."

"Perish the thought that you miss your flight," she teases. "Sweet dreams, David."

"You too, Kitten. See you soon."

He hangs up the phone and drops it onto the bed next to him. He smiles to himself as he thinks about the last time he saw her. He can hardly wait to wake up with her again.

The BAU

The elevator stops and the doors open, Dave steps into the hallway and takes a moment to enjoy the feeling of being home. For years he dreaded coming here every day, now he couldn't wait to return. It was for her; he couldn't wait to return to Penelope. A rush of movement inside the glass doors catches his eye. He moves forward again and enters the bullpen.

"Hey Playboy! Welcome back," Derek greets him from the kitchen. Dave glances at the younger agent.

"I didn't think you guys were back yet," Dave replies.

"We got back an hour ago, came straight here," Reid explains as he emerges from the kitchen.

Dave follows them into the main bullpen, where the others, Hotch, JJ, Emily and Penelope, wait. He locks eyes with Penelope and smiles.

"Welcome home," she smiles.

"Thank you," he returns. "It's good to be home."

"David," a voice yells from the balcony. "There you are."

Dave looks up to see Bren step out from his office. He watches as she hustles across the walkway, down the stairs and across the room to him.

"I got your present," she growls. "You're an asshole. Really? A fucking water-pick?"

Dave grins slyly. "I almost sent a case of mouthwash, but I remembered you were allergic."

She wraps her arms around his neck, presses her body tight to his and kisses him soundly. Dave freezes for a moment, reaches up and untangles her arms from around him.

Undeterred, Bren leans against him. "I've missed you, lover."

Dave gently pushes her away as he glances around. The team has dispersed to their desks but are still watching. He looks for Penelope, but only sees the back of her hair as she disappears around the corner heading for her office.

"What are you doing here? How did you get into my office," he demands. He pulls his handkerchief out and wipes her lipstick off as he glances at the others who shrug and look perplexed.

Bren reaches out and smooths his tie. "I have my ways," she pouts. She grabs his hand and drags him back towards the stairs. "Come on. I brought my friend, Sam. We should take some pictures."

He allows her to pull him away from the others. What he really wanted though was to follow Penelope and make certain she was okay. But, if he did that then Hotch would know something was up and chew his ass out.

Dave closes the door to his office after one last look at the team. He pauses and takes in their faces; disdain from Emily and JJ, glares from Reid and Hotch, a head shake and grin from Morgan.

"What the hell was that Bren?"

"What? Can't I be excited to see you," she shrugs.

"You've never kissed me in public before," he says evenly. A frown mars his forehead.

"I don't consider this to be public," she replies as she waves her hand in the direction of the bullpen. "Come on, sit behind the desk and look important."

She motions to a man wearing black jeans and a t-shirt, sitting on the couch. The man stands and grabs his camera.

"Might be better if he leans against the front of the desk," the man says quickly. "The lighting behind there sucks."

Dave acquiesces to the suggestions, just trying to get this over as quickly as possible. He allows a few pictures before insisting they go outside. Bren holds tight to his arm as they exit his office. He catches the looks the team gives them and sighs. Just as he was making headway with them, Bren comes in and steamrolls it all.

"Ooh, we should take some pictures together," she proposes.

"What for," Dave challenges.

She shrugs. "We don't have many together, why not take advantage of having a photographer?"

He frowns. "I don't think so. Just take a few outside the building of me and then you have to go."

"Why are you being so mean to me today," she pouts.

He sighs and rolls his eyes. "I don't know, Bren. Maybe it's the fact that you violated my workspace."

"Violated," she shudders. "Eww. I just made myself at home. You knew I wanted to do this, and you kept putting it off. We were about to lose a perfect opportunity to control our own news cycle."

He shakes his head. "I'm not newsworthy," he tells her blandly.

"You are to me," she smiles.

He doesn't return the smile. "Can we get this over with?"

"Fine."

The photographer takes a few pictures from different angles before packing up his gear and leaving. Dave walks Bren to her car. She puts her hand on his chest and pouts again.

"You know, you still owe me lunch," she reminds him. "Why don't we make it dinner instead. You can pick up something on the way to my place. I'll be waiting, wearing nothing but that which God gave me. What do you say?"

"I have to go to work, Bren. I have a lot to catch up on," he says blandly. "We may catch a case. I don't know."

"Okay," she whispers. "Call me later."

She leans in, in attempt for another kiss. Dave steps back holding her away from him. "Goodbye, Bren."

She pouts as she gets in her car. He waits until she backs out of the parking spot and leaves the grounds before he heads back inside.

The elevator doors open and Dave steps into the hallway. He stops and takes a deep breath. That feeling of home was still there, though now there was the edge of dread in the pit of his stomach as well. He gathers himself and heads inside. The room is abuzz with activity.

Casually, he starts for Penelope's office only to stop when he sees JJ in front of him heading in the same direction. He stops and watches until she disappears into Penelope's office. Turning to his right, he enters the kitchen for a cup of coffee. His stomach grumbles.

"Probably not getting an apple fritter today," he says to himself. He grabs his coffee and heads to his office.

Penelope's Lair

Dave waits until the bullpen clears out before heading to Penelope's lair. He glances over his shoulder to Hotch's office, making note that it is empty as well. There will be some yelling and a few tears, and he really doesn't need another audience today. He knocks gently on the door and waits for her to bid him to enter.

After a minute, he knocks again. The door suddenly yanks open to reveal Penelope, who obviously has been crying.

"What," she asks sharply. She pauses for a moment. Her face hardens. "I don't want to talk to you."

"It's not what you're thinking, sweetheart," he says gently. He slides forward. She retreats. He continues to move towards her until he can close the door.

"I should have listened to them," she cries as she walks behind her desk. "They told me you were out for one thing and one thing only."

"Who," he asks in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Emily, JJ – hell, even Hotch warned me not to get involved with you," she cries. "But I was too stupid to listen, and they were right. Well, you got what you wanted. Now leave me alone!"

"Penelope. Kitten…"

He takes a step towards her.

"No! Don't call me that ever again," she yells at him. "You can call me Penelope or better yet, Garcia. But don't ever utter the word kitten in front of me again."

He sighs. He's been through this before, but usually he deserved it. The accusations and tears, the inevitable break-up scene. In the past, he had welcomed it eventually. But not this time. This time, he truly didn't want their relationship to end.

"Please," he begs. "Let me explain."

"There is nothing for you to explain," she growls. "You are a slut David Rossi. A gigolo, one step less than a prostitute."

He hangs his head for a moment before looking back up at her. "I'm not that guy anymore."

"Oh really? How long have you been sleeping with her and me?"

"I haven't been with her in a long time," he confesses.

"But you have been with her? You've had sex together," she presses.

"Yes! But as we both know, I've been with a lot of women," he replies.

She narrows her eyes at him. "I believe you. You can't stay faithful, can you? Is that why you've been married and divorced so many times? You can't keep your dick in your pants?"

"I never cheated on my wives or girlfriends," he answers patiently. "I never have nor ever will I cheat on you."

"Well, you can forget about it. I am not your girlfriend. It was nothing to me and obviously it was nothing to you either," she rants.

"Honey, the time we've spent together was special," he says. "I don't want to be with anyone but you."

"Liar!"

She picks up a stapler and throws it at him. He ducks but it glances off his shoulder.

"Get out! I don't want anything to do with you! Don't talk to me again unless it is work related."

A knock at the door stops him from saying any more. He leans down and picks up the stapler as Morgan enters the room. Dave watches the younger man. He thought everyone had left. How much had Morgan heard and was he about to get pounded?

"Everything okay in here," Morgan asks as he eyes Dave carefully.

Dave looks at him then over at Penelope who has turned to her computers.

"Yeah," Dave says. He sets the stapler on the edge of the desk. "Thank you, Garcia."

He steps out of the room and closes the door behind him. He hears Morgan talking to his "Baby Girl" and it takes all his strength not to go back inside and beg her for forgiveness. Instead, he'll give her some time and a little space before he woos her back.

End Chapter 16