AN: Thanks for the reviews, folks! I have a late night tonight, and I'm running behind this morning, so I am going to have to answer reviews later; please forgive my tardiness...but I wanted to put this out there so you didn't have to wait...

Chapter 5

Derek yawned hugely while he waited in line for his strong cup of Joe at FBWI: Federal Brew Worth Investigating, their local coffee shop. He really needed that coffee; he hadn't been sleeping well lately, and his normal sleep pattern wasn't so terrific in the first place. He knew exactly what was causing the problem. That didn't make matters any better.

It was Monday. He was rather excited to talk to Penelope, but he was a touch worried, too. He hated worrying, and he didn't like leaving things up to Lynch.

If things went well, she should've had one kick ass weekend: Lynch was supposed to take her to the new chick flick that came out, buy her popcorn with no additional butter, and a package of her favorite strawberry Twizzlers® to munch on during the flick.

After the movie date, Lynch was supposed to take her on a long walk in the park near her house, throwing in little sweet comments about how wonderful she was. Piece of cake assignment...for anyone but Kevin Lynch.

Derek groaned when he thought about his coaching...

"Oh! That'll be easy," Lynch said with a grin. "Penelope, you got mad skills with Linux-based systems."

Derek gaped at him, thinking he couldn't possibly be serious with that comment…but he obviously was. He smiled at Derek with the goofiest pleased grin on his face.

He scowled and answered, "Not quite."

Derek shook his head, frustrated beyond belief. Damn, that man was a fool.

Couldn't Lynch see Penelope had a smile that lit up the room, with a precocious mix of innocence and deviltry only she could pull off successfully? Or her hair, how baby soft it was and sweet smelling all the time, even when she'd spent the night cleaning and working? Or how her laugh made everything feel better and restored his faith in humanity? He could wax poetic about Penelope for hours; the girl was not lacking charms.

What the hell was wrong with her boyfriend?

Well, he'd set Lynch straight before he'd left the office, told him not to mention a single computer-related compliment to Penelope, and to take damn good care of her…or else.

Damn, he felt like he was in high school again, and he was protecting his sister Desiree from potential heartbreak. At forty-fucking-one, he should be so over having to do that. He glanced in the mirror above the register and noticed he was scowling.

Hopefully, things had gone well this weekend and he was done dealing with that moron Kevin Lynch for awhile.

Paying for his large coffee—and Penelope's soy, double whip, chocolate drizzle caramel macchiato—he headed out of the shop and hurried to the BAU.

"Hi there, sugar."

Penelope turned to see Derek walk into her office, carrying two coffee containers.

"Oh, be still my bespectacled heart!" she cried as he grinned and handed her a beverage. She took a sip and sighed. "You know how to make my day, Hot Stuff."

"Late night?" he asked, and from the twinkle in his eye—she didn't know any other man who could make his eyes twinkle on cue!—she could tell he thought said late evening would be for something kinky and fun.

She wished.

"Yeah," she answered, "but not for the reason you're thinking."

He frowned and parked his perfect keister on the corner of her desk. "Didn't you have a nice weekend?"

"Oh! I need to get this," she said, looking at one of her incoming faxes on her screens.

"Go ahead…but talk to me, baby."

Shrugging, she turned and started booting her computer. "This weekend, I had a Doctor Who marathon with Kevin."

"You like that show?"

Her connection was turtle slow, so she crawled under her desk and wiggled a few wires. "It was okay. We made it through season five on Friday and Saturday, but when he back to season four for a refresher on Sunday, I claimed a headache and went home."

She switched a wire and heard a satisfying beep. "There!"

"The whole damn weekend you watched Doctor Who?"

The tone of Derek's voice made her crawl out from under her desk and look up. He looked rather upset.

"It's okay, Hot Stuff, really," she said, reaching for a clip she'd removed, and then coming back up on her knees. "I've done that kind of thing with him before."

"All right, baby. I better go." Derek stood, and then reached down and cupped her cheek. Stroking her softly with his thumb, he asked, "See you for lunch? My treat?"

Penelope gave a shocked look up at him. "Whoa…twice in a week, huh?"

He chucked her gently under her chin and said with a wink, "You're worth it."

She couldn't help but smile. "I'm glad you think so, sweet cheeks."

"No," he said firmly. "I know so."

And as he strode out of her office, she rose to her feet, still smiling.

"I asked her, and she was okay with Doctor Who!" Kevin hissed at the glowering agent in his Kevin Kave.

"Of course she's okay with it, you numbnut!" Derek snapped. "Penelope is the kind of woman who is giving and sweet. She's going to want to make you happy."

Kevin could feel the blood running out of his cheeks at the truth of that statement. "Oh."

"She's never going to insist on doing things that she enjoys just for herself," Derek explained, narrowing his eyes at him. "You need to do that."

"I didn't know," Kevin explained, feeling sick to his stomach.

Agent Morgan scoffed at him. "Damn it, you should. Grow up. Be a man. Take care of her. Wear the pants."

"Hey!" Kevin exclaimed. "That's uncalled for."

Kevin was getting very sick and tired of Agent Morgan and his snooping in his relationship. Self-righteous, always thinking he was right…who did he think he was, anyway? Dr. Phil? In Kevin's opinion, Agent Morgan needed to get his own girlfriend and leave his alone!

"It's the truth," Derek said, opening the door. "You need to make this right and treat her like she deserves to be treated."

"The way you'd treat her if you had her?" Kevin asked, glowering at the floor, knowing that Agent Morgan would always do things better. When he looked up, Kevin ended up staring at Derek Morgan, like he'd seen him for the first time.

It had been truly unintentional; he hadn't intended on hitting a bull's eye or putting the other man in Checkmate, but he obviously had. He'd hit a spot so sore, he wondered if Agent Morgan even knew it existed. Kevin could tell by the way Morgan's hand clenched the doorknob, the way his body stiffened that miniscule, yet crucial, amount.

He was wounded.

And for the first time since he'd started his relationship with Penelope, he felt truly superior. Derek Morgan, superstud of the FBI, chick magnet, and object of lust of many women, wanted his girlfriend, and he couldn't have her. Kevin could've clapped with glee.

But Agent Morgan had been helping him woo Penelope, too. If he'd wanted her, why would he be helping him? His advice had helped...

"Morgan, I'll take her to the movies this weekend," he said reflectively. No matter what the reason, he'd follow the advice.

"Good," Morgan said huskily, before opening the door and stepping quickly out of the kave.