After I wrote the first chapter I took about five different shots at writing a second chapter, which all sucked. So, almost a year and a half later; this is just something I had to add to it. I know it's short and I do apologize for that.

Enjoy!

Still don't own the show :/

''We're all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love—true love.'' Robert Fulghum, True Love

It had been 10 years since they first met,
9 years since they had become good friends,
7 years since they had told each other they loved one another - even if at the time she had meant it as just friends -
and 2 years since that night.

2 Years since he had proclaimed his love for her, with fear in his heart over how she might respond. And in those 2 years there wasn't a lot that hadn't happened. They had celebrated love by watching JJ and Will get married, they had felt loss when Emily took the job at Interpol. They had felt joy when after only five months of dating - some called it too soon, for Derek it had felt like five months too long - they had decided to move in together.

That joy had been overshadowed by the pain of losing the unofficial eight member of their team, Erin Strauss. Their two years together had been a rollercoaster of emotions, ups and downs around every corner and the only thing that had made Derek hold on, the only thing that made the ride worthwhile, was having her at his side.

Every great moment had been better because she had been there. Every pain had been made more bearable because whenever he came at a point that he didn't believe he could hold on any longer, she had been there.
And every 'plain' moment, wasn't so plain anymore because Penelope Garcia had a quality about her that could make everything seem magical. And the love they shared together transformed everything into something just a bit more special.

There were so many reasons why he had fallen for her, and even more reasons why he held on to her even when the road got bumpy.

With any other girl, as soon as he could come up with a reason not to be with her anymore, it was as good as over. He'd take the girl out to lunch, order a cup of coffee for the both of them, and then let her down easy. Usually somewhere between 'Don't get me wrong, you're a great girl' and 'I just don't see how we can make this work', she'd start to cry and soon after that they'd say goodbye and that would be that.

With Penelope, he could come up with plenty of reasons why they shouldn't be together - and she agreed with none of them - and he still did everything in his power he could do to make it work. Because he knew, living in fear of losing her to a better guy, living in fear of every what if and every maybe was still a thousand times better than living without her.

And despite his fears he was happier than ever before, felt luckier than ever before.

And today, he was going to push his luck - get his cake and eat it too. And that was why now, right now, he had clammy hands and felt like he couldn't breathe. It may have been two years since he had told her how much he loved her, and 6 and a half years since he had bought her that ring - the ring he was holding in his hand right now while the other was holding hers - it had only been ten seconds since he had asked her the question he had wanted to ask her since the moment he met her...

It had been ten seconds since he finished his speech, his reasons for why they should be together forever, his reasons for why he couldn't live without her. It had been ten years since she had claimed his heart piece by piece through conversations, movie nights, kisses, dates... even just a simple smile and he'd give her another piece. And now she had to decide what she was going to do with it; keep it, break it or anything in between.

''Penelope Garcia, will you marry me?'' Derek repeated, maintaining eye-contact whilst hoping she couldn't see how nervous he was for the answer.

He could see in her eyes that she hadn't expected this - okay, maybe someday but not today. Her red painted lips formed a perfect O as she looked at him down on one knee holding up that ring. She tried to blink some of the tears away as she could feel some of her walls crumbling down into nothingness, the walls that she had put up years ago to keep people away from her heart so they couldn't hurt her.

Walls that were up so that the images she saw on her screens daily wouldn't affect her as much. 2 Years ago she had built an entrance way just for Derek, and now - knowing that he wanted to marry her, stay by her side for the rest of her life - she didn't need those walls anymore.

Derek had to ask a final time, needing an answer with the hope that maybe one day he'd be able to breathe again, knowing that he was never going to lose her. ''Do you want to marry me?''

Penelope gave him a small smile, ''I just want you, everything else is negotiable.''

Penelope looked in the mirror as she slipped on the white heels. Her white wedding dress fell loosely around her body, trailing a bit behind her while the lace elbow length sleeves helped keep her arms warm. It was far from cold but it the weather could be a bit tricky this time of the year - late August. Her blonde curls fell down her back and she had opted for a flower headpiece instead of the traditional veil.

She went over everything that she had had to plan for the wedding again in her head, making sure everything was taken care off - knowing that Derek was probably doing the same thing.

After JJ had come to get her everything went by in a blur - Rossi walked her down the aisle, Penelope noticed how all the groomsmen were neatly lined up on one side, smiled over the fact that the bridesmaids all looked beautiful in their soft pink dresses - but as soon as she laid eyes on Derek all those other things seemed to fade away. No longer did she notice the beautiful, vibrant colored flower arrangements, she didn't see the Cherry Blossoms that were falling off the trees, making it look like it was snowing pink snow. It was just her and Derek...

She listened in perfect silence as he told her his vows, ''I, Derek, promise you, Penelope, that I will always be there for you, I promise to laugh with you when you're happy and to wipe away your tears when you cry, I'll promise to catch you when you fall... I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else and so I promise that my heart is, and always will be, yours,'' he told her as everybody listened in perfect silence.

Penelope took a deep breath before giving him her own vows, glad they had agreed to keep it short. ''Derek, with you I feel complete. You brought magic to my life, and I look forward to us making each other happy, always. No matter what life brings, I know we will always have each other and I wouldn't want to grow old with anyone other than you. Our love is rare and it's true,'' she said.

She vaguely remembered saying 'I do' at a certain moment, she felt it when he slipped the ring on her finger, but it didn't really seem to sink in that she was finally having her own happily ever after. It wasn't until she heard the words ''you may now kiss the bride'' that she seemed to snap out of her haze. She took a deep breath before feeling Derek take her face in his hands - wiping away a few tears she hadn't realized were there - and feeling his lips on her own.

''My heart to you is given
Oh, do give yours to me
We'll lock them up together
And throw away the key.'' Frederick Saunders

Short but sweet I suppose. I hope y'all enjoyed and please review!