A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! Here, it's getting better ;)

I wanted to post this last night, but I got in past 1AM with a 3y old, after driving on snowy/icy roads for over an hour, and earlier in the evening I fell on a patch of ice with my daughter on my arm, so it was sort of hectic when we came back ;) My arm hurts a little, I have up to chapter 6 of this written, let's hope I can complete it in timely fashion!

She hadn't told him everything, but he still decided to leave it there, at least for right now. Something in her tone, the way she avoided looking at him, the way she tried to change the subject, acting lightheartedly, told him there was more to her story, and it was probably the key to the problem. The Penelope he knew would be hurt by such a comment, but it wouldn't devastate her.

He sensed mostly anger towards her ex-boyfriend, at his deceit, his betrayal, his dismissal of three years of a relationship. Her love, probably. He had no idea whether she had loved the man, it was a territory he never, ever dared to venture into, because it'd hurt him too much, and his status as a player, while it had worked against him in the end, had then been a welcome excuse to feign ignorance of the ins and outs of relationships. Truth was, he didn't want to hear her say she loved someone else. He preferred thinking she was … he didn't even know what he was thinking. Obviously, the fact she stayed with Lynch for three years meant he was more than just a crush. Derek just had a hard time admitting it.

"How about we get some sleep, baby girl?" He gently nudged her, she was resting her head on his shoulder and he could feel the tiredness and stress radiating from her, although he was doing a good job of helping her shed all those feelings weighing her down. It was getting late, and although both of them were night owls, an early night in might just be what she needed.

"I'll call a taxi!" she immediately exclaimed, "I don't want to bother you even more, you must be exhausted." He didn't know whether to smile at her concern for him, even now, or be hurt because she immediately assumed he wanted to get rid of her.

"Honey, you can sleep here. We'll swing by yours tomorrow morning to get you changed. But now, shower, and then bed!"

Fortunately for him, she didn't put up a fight and accepted right away, he didn't know whether it was because she really was as exhausted as she looked or because she didn't want to be alone, but it worked for him.

Half an hour later, they were both showered and ready for bed, and Morgan gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before shooing her off into the guest bedroom. He was halfway the hallway to his own bedroom, when he heard her call him and in a second, he was next to the bed.

"I..." Her voice was soft, her eyes pleading, and she didn't even need to finish her thought before he slipped under the covers besides her and wrapped her up safely in his arms.

"Thank you," she whispered in the dark, his only answer was a lingering kiss on her temple, and he waited until her breathing had evened out to close his eyes himself, his heart aching at how much he missed this closeness. And wanted it every day.

=~==The Profiler Who Saved Christmas==~=

"You are wearing the red dress, if I'll have to I'll put it on you myself!" Morgan stood waiting at the door of her apartment, next to several boxes with Christmas decorations. He'd hauled them out of her storage closet while she was getting ready, talking to her through the beaded curtain which separated her bedroom from her living room.

He knew it was an empty threat, but he hoped she'd do it anyway. Waking up wrapped around her had been an experience he couldn't quite describe. He had never slept so soundly in his life, not since his father died, and especially not since he joined the Bureau. There had been a slightly awkward moment when they'd both realised they were completely tangled, but she'd pressed a kiss against his cheek, so soft he still felt it two hours later, and then, without having spoken a word, she'd disappeared into his bathroom for a quick shower while he contemplated the consequences of wooing her. It scared him. But the thought of missing another chance …

And then, a plan had formed in his mind, and he was fully executing it.

=~==The Profiler Who Saved Christmas==~=

"PG, now Christmas is complete!" Emily exclaimed when they walked into the bullpen together. Penelope smiled, not quite yet her usual radiant smile but still enough to lighten up the entire room with her presence. Her red dress was hugging her curves in all the right places, the bauble earrings were dangling from her ears, she looked the part like she had all Christmases Derek had known her.

Now he had five days to bring back her spirit too.

Today, he considered it a success she was drinking coffee with the team, exchanging endearments and jokes. By the end of the day, Morgan could tell her smile was genuine, and she was starting to get into the Christmas mood, playing her good old seasonal songs and singing along.

In fact, he'd have said the day was perfect if they didn't suddenly catch an urgent case, requiring them to leave to the other side of the country within the hour. He barely had the time to come say goodbye to his baby girl, worried how this would affect her mood. He had, after all, promised her she could wake up like they had for as long as she wanted...

"Baby girl," He knocked on the door frame, relieved to find it open while she had turned Reliant K's Christmas album at least down enough the entire hallway wasn't tempted into a mosh pit.

"You have to go," She didn't look up from her computers, she'd taken a head start on information Hotch and Reid had asked for, but she also didn't want him to see she was trying very hard not to cry.

"I'll make it up to you, you hear?" he promised her, bending over to press a tender kiss to her cheek, giving her shoulders a quick rub.

"Make it up to me by coming home safely, handsome," she smiled through a few tears pooling in her eyes, and in a second he was crouching in front of her, wiping them away, he wanted to say something, but instead just lifted his hand, as if he wanted to caress her cheek, then dropped it again. He opened his mouth, didn't find the words either, and his cellphone starting to ring didn't exactly help him gather his thoughts.

"Gotta go," he breathed, not wanting to leave her like this, but also knowing he had no other choice. Sighing, he stood up, and after one last kiss on her forehead he hurried towards the waiting SUVs which would bring them to the air strip.

A/N: Almost all better there. Kevin will soon only be an afterthought :)