Close Quarters

Chapter Eight

April 2010

Derek felt calm in the morning.

Kissing Penelope good night had been fantastic and great for his peace of mind. The jog and swimming laps further got his head straightened out. He was past his disappointment that when he kissed Penelope for the first time she hadn't immediately known afterwards just how perfect they were for each other- that she had actually tried to blow it all off and leave them stuck in no man's land even longer.

He could give her a break and a chance to explain her feelings. His wounded pride couldn't be all he cared about- not when it came to being with his baby girl.

This case in Indiana sucked-it was frustrating as all hell- but it was the most pivotal time of his romantic life to date. He needed to let himself be happy about that. There was no reason to pout over her initial reaction.

That was in the past. His eyes were on the future now. On figuring out a way to work things out with Penelope so that when they no longer were sharing adjoining hotel rooms they could still share hot, wet kisses that left them both weak.....and all that could come after kisses.

When he woke up he showered and dressed then went to buy coffee. When he came back he walked into his room and over to the adjoining door. "Sweetheart, your favorite profiler brought you a treat."

"Aww, Reid is the best!" she teased.

"Woman!" He laughed. "You better stop messing with me or else!"

"Get in here, stud muffin, and give me my good morning treat. I'm all puckered up."

Heat flooded him as he heard that. Derek used the hand that was holding a bag of donuts to open the door, while he other hand balanced a holder with two coffees in it. When he walked in he found her sitting on the edge of the bed, watching the news, with her legs crossed, exposing lots of sexy skin in her dress.

"Morning, my princess! Looking fine as ever. My girl in a good mood?"

"Every morning I see you is a good morning, sweetness. Mama needs her candy fix to start her day off right."

He set the coffees down and walked over to her. Handing her the bag, Derek said "No candy but I did get you something chocolate."

She lit up at the donuts. "I'm the luckiest woman in the world! You seriously do rock, handsome!"

He gave her a fake concerned look. "A better reaction to a donut than to some sugar from me? Should I be offended, Garcia?" He pretended to be mad.

Penelope flirted. "Kissing me just makes you so hypnotized you can't tell my reaction. I leave you stunned and down for the count."

He chuckled. "That right? And I don't leave you that way?"

"Hmmm. I can't remember."

That teasing answer made Derek pin her down and tickle her. His leg slid between hers and soon she was lifting her hips and pressing against that pressure, all the laughter dying out as her mouth fastened on his pulse point, drawing a deep moan out of him.

Just then there was a knock on the door. And then JJ joked "Morgan, get off her."

Derek let out a soft groan as he rolled away. Penelope giggled. She got up, smoothed her dress, and headed for the door. Looking back at him she made sure he was not looking all aroused , and after he stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, she opened the door. "Hey, Jayje. Want some chocolate?"

JJ smirked and looked at Derek. "I'll leave that for you. Hotch wants us in the lobby in five." She started to walk down the hall and called back to Penelope "By the way, you're welcome for those adjoining rooms."

Penelope laughed as she closed the door.

Smiling, Morgan asked "Did she set us up?"

Penelope shrugged. "Just a little push."

"Sneaky."

Penelope smiled and walked across the room. She looked in the mirror. "Not too bad," she said as she fixed her mussed hair.

He walked over and stood behind her. "Damn sexy from where I'm standing."

"You're biased. But I do love the sentiment anyway."

His eyes were dark with lust and love as he watched her do her hair. Even after knowing her for nearly six years he still loved to just look at her, just to smell her sweet scent, to be near here and not talk, to be near her and joke, to just share a look across a room or see her on a computer screen. He could never get enough of her and he doubted he ever would.

Garcia caught his eyes in the mirror. "Sharing mornings are fun."

He grinned. "You got that right, baby."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What you got cooking in here?" Derek asked Penelope as he walked into the room at the local police department that she had taken over for her computer workstation.

"Still knee deep in the lovelorn at this dating site. I've got a few on my hook but I don't know if any of them are him yet."

Derek read what she was typing to a guy on there. "Hockey? Since when do you follow that?"

"Oh, you naive man. I just tell these guys, if they even are really guys, what they want to hear. Whatever they like, I feign expertise at too. Then I let my magic fingers fill in the blanks that I don't know off the top of my head so that I sound like a fangurl. Works every time."

"Do me a favor?"

"Anything, my darling."

"Forget this site exists when this case is over."

"As if anyone on here compares to you. Rare is the man in your league. Sex gods don't fall off trees, you know, and they sure don't have to use this site to get laid or get my attention."

He grinned.

XXXXXXXXXX

The day took a decidedly nasty turn when a body turned up in another county. Since it was over an hour away the team packed up their rooms and quickly checked out. They worked the crime scene and got more clues. Garcia did her computer thing and soon they were on the trail of their unsub.

By the middle of the night they were heading back to Quantico on the jet.

Derek was in a somber mood. His fun times sharing adjoining hotel rooms with his baby girl were over- at least till Hotch needed her in the field again- and he wondered if they made enough progress to get them on the right track now. It seemed easy for them to back off and hard for them to push forward.

The fear of messing it all up always held them both back. It was so much easier to stick with what was safe: flirting and sweet hugs, kisses on her forehead, joking and being friends. It was harder to show vulnerability and give someone the power to break your heart, wreck your life, and leave you a mess of broken pieces if they so decided.

Without being willing to risk that or to believe in the other person to not do that there could be no forward motion though. And Derek wanted to move forward, more than anything. He wanted not only to finally see her body without a stitch of clothes, lick at her slit and suck up her juices as she held his head firm in her hands and begged for more, and thrust his cock into the warm heat that would be like a second home for him....the place he went back to over and over to feel good, right, known... but he also wanted to keep sharing all the laughs and joy of being emotionally close to her again.

The connection that was hard to keep going when she was dating Lynch. The connection Derek counted on for his sanity. The connection that said the world made sense and his baby girl loved him with all of her heart, wanted him with all of her body, and needed him with all of her soul.

He wanted more for them.....forever for them.....and he was praying it wouldn't slip through his hands another time. He half lounged on the couch with his headphones on and thought about all this.

Meanwhile Penelope sat across from JJ. They were playing Slap, a card game. Emily sat next to Penelope, who was across from Reid. She seemed to be studying him over her book. His face was shoved in his own book and he was not coming up for air. If he knew eyes were on him he never let it show.

Rossi and Hotch sat in the front of the plane, chatting quietly.

It felt good to be heading home and also bittersweet. The memory of those two hotel rooms in Indiana would always bring a smile to Derek's face.