AN: Thanks for the reviews! Now, a touch of angst...a wee nibble, just to give it spice! I had a blast with this one, too (dodging tomatoes)... :) Kricket

Penelope woke with a bittersweet feeling. Today was their last day in Italy. They were catching an afternoon flight for Paris, the city she'd wanted to see the most in the entire world. She was excited to be going, but she was going to miss the beauty of Italy and the charm of its people.

Especially Cosimo. He was such a wonderful man. When she'd arrived back home after dancing with Derek for part of the night, both Cosi and Luca were waiting up.

"Ah, dolcezza! Did I lose you tonight to amore?" he'd teased, standing up to greet her. "Come; I have poured you some wine. A nightcap, so you sleep like an angela." (female- Angel)

Luca had stood also, and made her way over to Morgan. She'd had large, glistening tears in her eyes. "Our last night! I don't know how I can bear to part from you again, il mio tesoro." (my darling!)

Penelope hadn't been able to hear the rest of the conversation, and she didn't really care. Morgan had been completely himself again the entire car ride back to the house; she'd been starting to think the light she'd seen in his eyes was an aberration, like she'd just made it up. He'd been certainly absorbed by Luca the moment they'd arrived back at the home-and that hadn't been a figment of her imagination.

Instead of bemoaning that fact, she'd let Cosimo dole out compliments and make her feel like a desirable woman again, even if he'd only teased just like Morgan always had.

She had everything packed and ready to go. Each country she went to, her suitcases became heavier and heavier. She was going to have to start shipping some of the things back to Quantico ahead of time. Maybe Cosi knew where the post was?

After a light brunch and some wine, Cosimo had brought them to the airport. Luca had been too distraught over Derek leaving again to go with to wish them bon voyage. Cosimo had driven surprisingly slowly, as if he was having a hard time letting go, too.

Pulling the car to the unloading zone, he'd parked the car. Cosimo opened the trunk and unloaded her bags, and then Derek's. She and Morgan stood on the curb. Derek began loading their bags on a cart.

"Thank you, Cosi, for everything," she said sweetly, stretching her hand out to him.

To her surprise, he pulled her into his arms and planted a massive kiss on her lips. This was no little kiss; it was strong, hot and hard, and probably would've been pleasurable, if she was ready for it. Instead, she gasped, leaning against his chest.

"Penelope… I... never meet girl like you," he whispered fiercely in broken English. He held her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Potrei amare, bella…" (I could love you, beautiful)

A second later, Penelope was wrenched from Cosimo's arms. Derek placed her behind him, as he growled, "What the hell are you doing?"

Cosimo glared at him. "I should ask you the same, my friend!"

"Listen, friend, back off," Derek spat. "She isn't your usual type of girl."

"Of course she isn't! Any fool would recognize this! She is above such things! Not my usual...Ha!" Cosimo, who was a quite a bit shorter than Derek, puffed out his chest, then narrowed his eyes, as he smiled nastily and said, "Not yours, either, Morgan, eh?"

Derek's eyes widened, like something Cosi said struck a chord, then they narrowed as he hissed, "I said it once; I'm saying it only one more time… Back. Off."

"You offend my honor," Cosimo replied, as he pushed up his sleeve.

Meanwhile, Penelope watched the entire thing in shock, wondering what the hell was happening! Recognizing the gesture Cosimo just made, her eyes widened. Oh, dear God, they were going to hit each other! Quickly, she stepped in between the two men. "Gentlemen, please! ... And I use the word gentlemen loosely right now!"

Both men stepped apart.

"Derek, I will talk to you on the plane." She gave him a narrow glance, then turned and smiled gently. "And you, Cosimo, thank you for being so good to me, but this is not the beginning of a grand romance. We live thousands of miles apart, and I am not moving and neither are you because of a four day romance."

"Bella, my darling, my angel, my-"

"No!" she snapped, and watched the Italian give her a heartbroken look.

Wow, he really does look like, he fell hard, she thought.

She patted his cheek with sympathy, then turned quickly and left, leaving Derek following with the baggage cart.

At the ticket counter, Morgan was extremely quiet, as was Penelope. She turned to look at him and waited for him to look back at her, but he stared straight ahead, looking at the flight schedule, like it was the most interesting thing in the world. She turned away then, her lips pressed thin, feeling just as peeved and unhappy as he was.

They checked their bags, made their way through customs, and were now in the gate, waiting for the flight. Penelope sat, waiting for Derek to come back from the bathroom, before she stood, stretched, and got a cup of coffee. Out of pure habit, she brought one back for Derek, too.

"Peace offering?" he asked archly, reaching for the cup.

She held the cup out of his reach, glaring at him as she sat down. "You're the one who should be offering peace! What was that scene back there, Morgan?"

"Scene? It wouldn't have been a scene if you hadn't lead him on."

Penelope's mouth fell open and she gasped. "What! I didn't lead him on!"

Morgan's lip quirked. "You didn't exactly push him away, baby."

She rolled her eyes. "I was kind to him, Derek. That's all!"

"Yeah... real kind," he snapped. "Sharing your meal, sharing your dessert, staying up all sorts of hours chatting with him like he was your best friend."

"Well, someone had to be my best friend, since you were too damn busy with Luca!"

Derek's mouth pinched tight. "Luca put us up for the entire stay. It is her house. Her freeloader brother stays there, and romances the pants off of you-"

"Don't even start with that, Derek," she growled, standing up quickly again. "My pants stayed firmly on. I am not a slut, unlike certain other people sitting here are!"

Derek watched her walk away, stiff and unbending, and immediately took a deep breath. He'd definitely went too far, but he couldn't help himself. He'd seen Cosimo kissing her and he'd seen red. He'd wanted to kill the man, and he had no good reason for it. He didn't want to fight with her, he didn't know what the hell was wrong with himself.

Although he hadn't meant to insinuate she was sleeping with Cosimo, he knew he still needed to apologize, and he needed to do it quickly before any more damage was done...at least before they landed in Paris.

He didn't know where Penelope disappeared to. It was starting to make him nervous. He looked around, but came up empty. Finally when they called boarding for the flight, she showed up, her eyes red and swollen behind her glasses.

"Aw, baby," he began, feeling worse than ever, but she put a hand up to silence him.

"Not a word, Morgan."

Handing her ticket to the ticketing agent, she boarded the plane. After having spent the last twenty minutes in the bathroom at Rome's Fiumicino airport, sobbing her eyes out, she was not in the mood to hash it out with her so-called best friend.

How dare he accuse her of sleeping with Cosimo, of leading him on, when he had stupid Luca sobbing so hard, she couldn't go to the airport to bid them farewell? He had balls, that Morgan, and he needed to be kicked in them at the moment. He'd made her feel like a cheap floozy, when he was the one who was a floozy before they'd even entered Italian airspace!

Sitting in her window seat, she fastened her seatbelt and waited for Derek to take his seat by her. He fastened his belt, and mercifully didn't say a word. She stared out the window at the oh, so exciting tarmac, and planned on finding a way to do France without him.

After the plane taxied and took off, and the flight attendants did their safety spiel, he broke his silence.

"Look. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say you were screwing Cosimo."

She kept looking out the window, not turning to face him.

Five minutes later, he said, "I was kind to Luca because she let us stay there. She's a good friend."

Penelope stiffened in her seat, but still didn't turn to look at him.

He sighed heavily. "Come on, Baby Girl. We still have almost two weeks-"

She turned, only to stand up. "I'm going to the bathroom. Excuse me."

Squeezing past him was not going to be easy. She had to either stick her butt or her breasts in his face, and Derek wasn't standing up to help her, either. Leaning forward, she weaseled herself past him, her breasts nearly falling out in his face. She watched the heat of amusement light in his eyes. She stood in the aisle, glared at him, and walked to the small john at the front of the plane.

Penelope stood in the bathroom to get her temper back under control, then splashed her face with water and returned to her seat. Squeezing past him, her bottom near his chest, she plopped back into her seat gracelessly, and fastened her belt.

"Listen, Baby G-"

"No, you listen," she snapped. "You set us up in your ex-lover's house- don't look so surprised, Cosimo told me- pick right up where you left off, and then have the audacity to get mad at me when an attractive man hits on me?"

"Ex-Lover?" he asked with a low growl. "Luca and I had a three week affair. We'd both decided we were better off as friends."

"I cahn't beeer to leeeve you," she mocked in Luca's voice.

"Better than 'I could love you, beautiful!'"

Penelope blinked. "That was what Cosimo said?"

"That's all youcare about?" He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "You're too much!"

She stiffened again. "You know, I don't know what your problem is, Morgan. We are friends, only friends- I don't need you as my bodyguard, more than that, I don't want you as a bodyguard. I watched you paw your lover for five days while you barely noticed me; you'll probably find a new lover in Paris. What is the big damn deal if I do, too?"

She knew she was shooting low with that, but she was so hurt, she wanted to wound him. He was being overprotective, when he was the one running away with Luca all day? That was patently unfair, when all she'd done was be friendly to Cosimo.

Derek smiled, but it didn't meet his eyes. "Yeah. I probably will. So, we have a truce, right?"

She smiled, but she knew it didn't meet her eyes, either. "Yeah, truce."

"Please buckle your seat belts and put your seat backs and tray tables in the upright position. We are preparing for landing in Paris, the city of lights," the flight attendant announced. "May you enjoy this city known for its romance."

And instead of feeling elated to be going to the greatest city in the world, Penelope felt like crying.