A/N: This chapter title translates to I'd like you to meet…. I haven't updated in a while, so to make up for it, this chapter is ultra long. Thanks to my general beta, Axellia, and my Spanish beta, MayMarie. Enjoy!
"Do you guys wanna grab some dinner after shift? Adam posed the question to everyone in the AV lab, which consisted of Mac, Stella, Lindsay, Penelope, Danny and Hawkes as they looked over evidence Adam had analyzed pertaining to their cases. Penelope was just hanging out in the AV lab during her break, as usual. Adam and her had become pretty good friends over the past few weeks.
"I'd love to, but I'm having dinner with my folks afterwards. Sorry." Hawkes said, grabbing a case file and a thumb drive and leaving.
"Yeah, I'm going out with a friend after shift. Maybe some other time." Stella said as she took her video evidence and left.
Penelope could tell Adam was discouraged, so she jumped in. "I'll go."
"Really?" Adam sounded surprised. Not that she wanted to go to dinner with them, but she was usually busy after shift. Which made it strange for her to be free, especially on a Friday night.
"Yeah. I'd love to." She smiled and put her hands in her pocket.
"Me too." Lindsay said.
"I bet Don will want to come; I'll ask him." Penelope added. The room was silent for a few minutes after that before Mac finally spoke.
"Me three." he said.
"Really?" Adam, Lindsay, and Penelope said at the same. The concept of Mac going to dinner after work was brand new to them. Especially with lab geeks like them!
"Why does everyone think I have no social life?" he said with a smirk.
"No reason." Adam stuttered and turned back to his computer quickly, while everyone else pretended to look busy.
"I'd love to. Now go over my video footage from the hotel with me, where exactly did the suspect enter?" Mac referenced to his case, signaling for everyone else to clear out.
"That was strange." Lindsay whispered to Penelope as they walked down the hall. "I didn't think Mac would come, he's such a workaholic."
"I suppose even Mac goes out to eat once in a while." Penelope pondered. "I bet it'll be awkward, going to dinner with our boss."
"I don't know. Maybe he's really chill outside of work." Lindsay said.
"Maybe. I'll see you later." The two women parted in separate directions.
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At the end of the shift, Mac, Lindsay, Penelope and Adam grabbed their jackets and headed out to dinner, discussing possible restaurant ideas. On their way to the elevator, they passed Danny.
"Wanna come to dinner, Danny?" Lindsay asked.
"I gotta pull a double with my case, but thanks for asking!" He ran off in the other direction carrying a few folders.
"What about Flack?" Adam suddenly remembered.
"He's meeting us in the lobby." Penelope replied.
They stepped into the elevator and the doors started to close. As they did, Sid came running around the corner, looking disheveled with his bag, hat and glasses. Penelope grabbed the door and held it open for the exasperated Sid.
"Thanks." he said while catching his breath.
"No problem." Penelope replied quietly. She thought to herself a moment before asking, "Do you any plans tonight, Sid?"
"Unless you count the World Poker Tournament as plans, then no. Why?"
"Well we're all going out to dinner. Would you like to join us?" Penelope invited.
Sid look surprised that she invited him, but gracious. "I'd love to."
"Good." Penelope smiled.
They got to the lobby and there waiting for them was Don Flack. "Hey people." He grinned. "I'm starving. Any ideas where to go?"
Adam and Lindsay shook their heads. "We can't come up with anything to agree on."
Everyone stood silently for a minute until Penelope slowly grinned and stood up straight. "I have an idea." she whispered in Don's ear and he started to laugh. "Really?"
"I bet they'd like it. The food's pretty good since she does all the cooking." Penelope looked him at raised her eyebrows. "What do you think?"
"I think they'll think we're crazy, but let's go for it."
"Go for what?" Adam asked, confused.
"Yeah, what's with the secret plans?" Lindsay frowned.
"Okay, we have an idea. It's not exactly a restaurant, but a…..gathering of a sort. No, it's not a bar or a club. It's kinda like a party. If you guys wanna go, we can. But we won't tell you until we get there. So who's in?" Penny explained. She hoped it would be fine with Abuela Claudia if they brought a few extra guests.
"Okay." Mac said first. The others agreed with him.
"Alright!" Penelope said. "Don, can I go with you? I took the subway in."
"Sure." Don said. "I'll go first, and you guys tail us, alright?"
"I took the subway too. Can I get a ride with someone?" Sid asked.
"Sid, you can ride with me." Mac said and pointed to his car.
"Alright." Sid agreed as they left.
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"You should really get a car." Don told her as they pulled up to their destination, the others not trailing far behind.
"Why? This is New York City. I can take the subway or walk." Penelope responded, looking out the window.
"Yeah, but wouldn't it be nice to not depend on the subway every morning? I mean, you could still take it some mornings, but it would be easier to just drive."
Penelope sighed as Mac's car pulled up right behind them. "Let's say that I hypothetically get this car. How would I know which one to get?"
"I'll help you pick it out." Don offered he really didn't want to go car shopping, but if meant some alone time with Penny he'd gladly go.
"Really?" Penelope raised her eyebrows. She knew Don hated shopping of any kind. Why was he being so nice when the last time she saw him, she broke his heart?
"Sure. As long as you don't whine." Don got out of the car and came around to open her door.
"Me? Whine? Surely you're mistaken." He helped her out, since stepping down from the Denali could be tricky with four-inch heels on. "Thanks."
"No problem." Don blushed. Whether he liked it or not, he was a gentlemen, something Penelope always loved about him.
"Why did we take the Denali again?" Penelope asked, just realizing how huge the car was.
"Because it's cool."
"Yeah, about as cool as you were in high school."
"I was cool back then!"
"What, with your tube socks and bad Elvis hair? Yeah, you definitely had the 'cool' factor down." Penelope giggled. Lindsay and Adam finally pulled up and everyone convened in front of Don's car.
"Where are we?" Adam asked.
"We're at a house." Lindsay observed, taking around her surroundings. "Somewhere in Washington Heights, maybe?"
"Exactly." Penelope said. "We were supposed to come to a party of sorts with my family, and we thought you guys might enjoy it." Everyone raised their eyebrows at Penelope. "Look, everyone's very friendly, and they're dying to meet you guys. Come on." She waved them on as she started walking towards a house so familiar to her from her childhood.
Sid sighed and started walking. "What does she mean, a party of sorts?"
Lindsay shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not really sure. Let's see what else she has up her sleeve."
Everyone entered the foyer and was greeted with the smell of beans and rice, the sound of music playing and laughter from another room. Penelope took off her coat and took the others. "I'll hang these up. Don, take them to the kitchen. I think Vanessa and Daniela are cooking in there; I can hear them laughing."
Don took Sid, Mac, Lindsay and Adam through a small hallway with fading yellow wallpaper with different pictures hung up. Some looked older, being in black and white and smaller, and others looked new, one with a gold-ish frame where the people had caps and gowns on, whereas the others had wooden frames.
They entered a small kitchen with old white tile covered in foot treads, pink tile on the kitchen counter, and pink wallpaper and pink curtains on the windows. There were three women cooking, one standing at the sink and the other two at the counter next to the oven, all of whom were Latina.
The woman at the sink, tall with red hair fanned out and a red dress on and matching heels, was the first to notice them. "¡Nuestros invitados están aquí!" She embraced Don in a big hug. "It's been too long since we've seen this punk here running around the barrio." she said, not really directing the statement at anyone.
"I'm Daniela." She introduced herself to the team. "Donny, introduce us to your friends." She smacked him on the arm.
"Geez, you're worse than my mother." he muttered and blushed. "This is Mac, Sid, Adam and Lindsay." He pointed and rubbed the back of his head. "Penny's hanging up coats in the living room. Chances are Abuela Claudia's already got her by now."
"I'm right here!" An older woman with gray hair and a flowery house coat on moved away from the oven where she had previously been standing and hugged Don, causing him to bend over nearly in half since the older woman was quite short. She pulled back, took his face in her hands and sighed.
"Ay, dios mio, you've grown so much since we saw you. You need to start visiting us, cariño. Your mother wouldn't appreciate this."
"She's also on the phone hounding me to come every weekend, Claudia." He laughed. "How long 'till dinner?"
"Should be about ten minutes." the third woman said. With long, straight, dark hair almost down to her waist, she pulled it up into a pony tail just then, making it fall to her chest. She turned around and smiled. She had on a green tank top, a jean skirt and small, pale kitten heels. Adam's jaw dropped when he saw her, as it always did around women, but she just shrugged it off. "Hola. I'm Vanessa. Don, either show them around the house or help cook, don't just stand there. Hazte útil."
"I'm going, I'm going." From the outside, Don looked like he stood out, but they seemed like family to him, so Adam, Sid, Mac and Lindsay just went with it.
He walked them through the house, through the rooms with many pictures on the wall and peeling paper, with boxes containing papers and pictures and folders. It was strange to see someone's life through this house, but that's exactly what the team saw. They saw Abuela Claudia's life, and by extension, the lives of the barrio'sresidents.
"Dinner's ready." They heard Penelope yell from downstairs. Everyone trampled down the stairs and into the dining room, where they found Vanessa, Daniela, Claudia, Penelope, and a few other people putting food on the table.
"Where did you go?" Lindsay asked Penelope.
"Nina and Carla kidnapped me momentarily." she joked. "Guys, this is Carla," she pointed to a woman in a yellow t-shirt and jeans with lots of red, curly hair, "and this is Nina." Penelope gestured to a shorter woman, who looked to be about 19 or so, like Carla, also in jeans and a t-shirt, but a light blue shirt.
"Little Nina Rosario, all grown up." Don remarked, walking around the table and giving her a hug. "How ya doing, kid?"
"Good, I just got back from Stanford." Nina replied.
"Wow, that's great Nina! I remember you used to sit on the fire escape and read all the time. It finally paid off, huh?"
"Yeah, it did. It's good to see you Don." she smiled.
"Good to see you too." Don pulled out chairs for Mac, Lindsay, Adam and Sid to sit, Carla and Nina sitting at the same time.
"Did they meet Vanessa, Claudia and Dany?" Penelope asked, still standing.
"Yeah, I was just showing everyone the house. Are we ready to start?" Don asked hungrily, taking a seat.
"Almost. We're waiting on Sonny and Usnavi." Daniela replied, sitting as well.
"What's on the menu tonight?" Mac asked curiously.
"We've got Empanadas," Vanessa started, "which are pastries with beef and cheese, Penny's mother's Arroz con pollo..."
"My mom's here?" Penny interrupted, surprised but obviously excited.
"Yeah, she went off to find Usnavi and Sonny. Should be back any minute now." Vanessa stated and kept going with the dinner options. "Anyways, Arroz con pollo is rice with chicken, but Penny's mom puts some special sauce and other ingredients in it. We also have casabe, which is bread, Carne Guisada, basically beef stew, Taquitos, kinda like Chimichangas, Escabeche, fish and veggies,and lots of salad."
"Wow, this is quite a meal you put together. We appreciate it very much." Sid exclaimed.
"We all brought a little something-something, so it wasn't too difficult. But we're glad you're glad. Now dig in and eat!"
Just as people started to put food on their plates, the door opened and two men walked in, one younger looking and wearing a blue baseball cap, black gym shorts and a gray t-shirt, the other older one wearing jeans, a red polo and a hat. They were followed by a beautiful woman whom Penelope resembled quite a bit, wearing a purple dress and black heels with shoulder length dark hair and dark eyes.
"Mom!" Penelope rushed towards the woman and they embraced.
"Mija, ¡Qué bueno verte!" The older woman said and they broke apart. "You've grown so much."
"¡Mamá, es bueno verte también! And I haven't grown that much. In fact, I don't think I've gotten any taller or fatter since the last time you saw me." Penelope said.
"Well you certainly look older. Who are your friends?" Penelope introduced her mother, as well as Sonny, the younger one, and Usnavi, the older one.
Once that was done, everyone finally sat down to eat at the large table. It was a tight squeeze with 14 people at the table but they all managed to fit. The food was being passed around the table and soon everyone was laughing from stories of Penelope and Don's life in Washington Heights.
A/N: Here's the Spanish for this chapter:
Barrio: check chapter one
Abuela: grandma
Hola: check chapter one
¡Nuestros invitados están aquí!: our guests are here!
Ay, dios mio: oh my god
Cariño: little one
Hazte útil: make yourself useful
Mija, ¡Qué bueno verte!: My darling daughter, it's so good to see you!
¡Mamá, es bueno verte también!: Mama, I'm glad to see you too!