Disclaimer: I own nada.

Here's chapter 4! Sorry about the cliffhanger at the last chapter. I hope this one makes it up to you. Thank you much for the reviews and a huge thank you to my kind editors, CeeCee333 and handsome-uks, who took a look at it before I published it :) You ladies are da bomb!

Derek's heart stopped when Michael got down on one knee and his mouth dropped. What the hell was the man doing, proposing after only three months of dating. He hardly knew Penelope. What gave him the right to ask her to marry him? It was ridiculous, the thought of it. He began to sweat profusely. There was no way she would say no. He was sure of it. Michael was a great guy, exactly what she needed. He was a much better fit for her than Kevin, but Derek couldn't believe that Michael was better for her than him. He understood Penelope better than anyone in the world. What did this Michael fellow know about her that would make him think he could marry her?

He glanced at Rossi and Reid and the two of them glanced his way before nodding in the direction of Penelope. "Give it just a few moments. Penelope still hasn't given him an answer. She might still say no." He shook his head firmly. "No, no! She will say no!"

Yet he couldn't stop the sinking feeling in his heart. There was still a chance she might say yes. And even the slightest chance of that was enough to scare the crap out of him. So he sank down behind his menu and watched.

XXXXX

Michael looked at Penelope in pure confusion, but she winked. "Oh, come on," she prodded. "It'll be fun."

"I can't help but feel like you're stalling," he laughed nervously. "But I suppose it couldn't hurt."

With shaking hands, she began to greedily unwrap the cookie, breaking it open hurriedly. She had to see what the cookie had to offer. Every hunch was having led back to one person. What if this last cookie confirmed her suspicion? She may very well have a happy answer in store. She would just have to see. Setting the broken pieces on the table, she unfolded the paper to see what it said.

A small gasp escaped her throat and tears went wide. She had to swallow past the large lump in her throat.

You are solace.

It was obvious that it was Derek who had sent her these cookies. But how? How were these cookies making it out to her? It was clear to her now that Wah had been in on it, but where the hell was Derek? He had to be lurking around here somewhere. Rising to her feet, she drew her gaze up from Michael and began looking around. The bastard was there somewhere. She was madder than all get out. How dare he do this to her on her birthday? How dare he not tell her any of these things before she went out a birthday date with her boyfriend? She felt color rising in her cheeks and she was ignoring the probing stares of the other restaurant goers and the panicked, humiliated look on Michael's face. But none of it mattered.

She was pissed.

And then she saw him. Well, she saw Reid and Rossi and him, all three of them hiding behind menus. They were trying to make themselves smaller and smaller, but she stomped over to their table and glared viciously at all three of them. Reid and Rossi both had looks of small children who had just been caught sneaking cookies from the pantry, but Derek had the look of a five year old who had just watched Nightmare on Elm Street and Alien back to back. It was fairly clear to him that he was in the doghouse. He stood up and held his hands up. "Baby, please," he pleaded. "Just listen to me and -"

"Listen to you?" she hissed. "You...how...why would you do this? On this day of all days?"

"Garcia, I think -" Reid started to say.

With fire lighting her eyes, she whirled to face Rossi and Reid. "And you two! How could you help him with this?" She shook her head. "Rossi, I kind of get, but Reid? How on earth did that work out?"

Sheepishly, Reid said, "Listen Garcia, we only helped him because -"

"What's going on here?" Michael asked, coming over to the table. He put his hand on the small of Penelope's back and looked at her. "Penelope, what's wrong?"

She didn't even glance at him. She just glared at Derek. "Why would you even think about doing this? Did you think it would be funny? Well, I'll tell you right now, making up a stupid holiday, paying off a waiter to deliver the cookies. It's a really cruel joke, you know. Is this just you acting out because I didn't let you take me out for my birthday? 'Cause it's not funny! Not funny at all!"

"Baby, this isn't a joke," Derek begged. "I swear to you this wasn't a joke!"

Michael looked at him and stuck his finger into Derek's broad chest. "What did you do, you son of a bitch?" he growled. "I swear if you hurt her, I'll -"

"It's not supposed to be a joke," he said, ignoring the fact that another man had just entered his personal space. The only person who mattered at that moment was Penelope. "Guys!" He looked at Rossi and Reid. "Tell her. Please."

"Garcia, what he's saying is true," Rossi said. "It's not a joke. What those fortune cookies say, he picked the sayings for a reason. They're all what they're meant to be. Each and everyone of them."

Michael glared at Derek. "So the cookies were just you?" he demanded. "You were sending my girlfriend messages with them? What gives, man?"

Derek continued to ignore him and look at Penelope, his heart in his eyes. "Penelope, Baby Girl...everything on those small slips of paper, was completely and one hundred and ten percent true. Please believe me." He took a deep breath, praying she would hear hear him out. "I love you."

She stared at him with difficult to read emotion. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking. But then she did the one thing he didn't think he would recover from: she turned to Michael and murmured, "Please, drive me home." She looked at Derek with tears swimming on the surface of her eyes. Now she just looked heartbroken. He wanted to go to her, but as he stepped forward, she slapped him swiftly across the face. "We're done here!"

"Penelope! Please, just listen to me!"

Michael shoved him in the chest and glared at him. "You've done enough," he growled. "Stay away from her. For good."

Derek rubbed his face. He was not interested in Michael. All he wanted to do was tell everything to Penelope about how he felt. "Penelope -"

"No!" Michael said harshly. "I said back off!" Then he guided her out the door, his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, honey. I'll get you home."

All Derek could do was watch as the love of his life, her face so hurt and betrayed, walked out of the building on the arm of another man. He bent his head, unable to watch as she walked out of the restaurant. The whole restaurant had started speaking again and ignored the scene before them. He looked over at his two companions, both of whom looked sympathetic to him.

"God, I can't believe this didn't work," Reid said, dejected. "I - I really thought this would work out. Why is this happening? She's supposed to be in love with you, not that man!"

"What Reid said," Rossi said, a perplexed expression on his face. "How could that have happened? She doesn't love him. The expression on her face when he proposed..."

Derek shook his head. "No, guys," he said. "I'm just - I'm just going to go. Tell your buddy who gave out the fortune cookies thank you." Then he turned away, stuck his hands in his pockets and walked out the door, going in the opposite direction down the sidewalk than Penelope had gone.

XXXXX

The car ride back to her apartment was a silent one for Penelope and Michael. Every single second of her time on the way was spent staring out the window for her. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she sniffled occasionally. She was thankful that Michael wasn't trying to say anything to her. In the palm of her hand she held the small fortune cookie papers, each with words that Derek had apparently poured his whole heart and soul into. She couldn't figure out why it was now that he chose to say something to her, but based on what she had seen and what she had read, he really did love her. Hear heart was aching and she didn't know what to do. She was still with Michael, the man who had proposed to her after only three months of dating, and she had left him with no answer about what she was going to say.

But she already knew the answer to the question.

She couldn't marry him. She didn't love him. Hell, she wasn't half convinced he loved her. There had to be someone out there better for him. She belonged with Derek. If she wasn't so pissed at him for doing it the way he had, she would probably start running towards his house and throw herself into his arms.

Outside the car, the sounds of thunder could be heard. She wiped her cheeks. Great. The weather was now matching her mood. Could her birthday get any worse?

The car pulled up in front of her apartment building and Michael turned off the engine. Neither of them moved. Penelope kept her eyes trained outside and closed them tightly, hoping maybe that her tears would dry up magically and she would be fine again. But they kept rolling down her cheeks and she brought her hand up to wipe them away hurriedly.

Next to her, Michael sighed. "I take it your answer is no?" he said, a bitter laugh in his voice.

She finally got the courage to look at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen, and she murmured, "I'm so sorry, Michael. I've been in love with Derek for so many years...I just never thought he would feel the same way about me. And the way he did it tonight...yeah, it made me pissed, but it's always been him."

He nodded. "I guess I should've known. You talk about him all the time. Your face lights up whenever you do. And whatever those fortune cookies said, it much have really struck you. You knew exactly who they were from. You may not have wanted to admit it to yourself, but you knew." He laughed. "It looks like you've got someone to talk to."

She took Michael's hand. "Thank you," she whispered. "You're a really great guy. Some girl is going to be extremely happy with you one day. I just so happen to be in love with someone who is..." Her voice trailed off and she shook her head. "He's different than you. Not better necessarily, but different."

He smiled. Outside the car, it started to rain and a boom of thunder could be heard. "You better be getting inside," he prodded. "And if Derek doesn't treat you well, let me know. I'll kick his ass."

Tears filled Penelope's eyes and she nodded. "I don't think I'll need you to, but I'll always remember that offer." Leaning over, she kissed his cheek before opening the door and stepping out into the pouring rain. She rushed towards her building, her body already damp from rain. Even as the door closed though, she looked outside at the raging storm. A bolt of lightning shot across the sky and lit up the whole street as a lamp would. Her mind was racing. All her feelings for Derek started to rush through her and she began to feel terrible for what she had said to him at the restaurant. His heart was clearly in his eyes and she had thrown it back in his face like he was lying to her and humiliating her.

How could she have done something so cruel?

She had to fix things. She had to tell him that everything she had said was wrong, that she was more sorry than she had ever been in her life. She had to tell him she loved him.

Digging through the clutch she had taken to dinner, she retrieved her keys and reentered the storm, heading towards the parking garage to hop into Esther.