Chapter 23

AN: Thanks for the reviews, everyone. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Posting a little bit slower because I am out of state...Ps. Curious abou the cost of the ring? $10,400...

Penelope let all of the air she had in her lungs out with a massive whoosh. She didn't realize until that moment she was even holding her breath. She chalked it up to being completely surprised and overwhelmed.

Derek had just asked her to marry him. She thought of how quickly time passed. It seemed like days ago he'd run into her at the bookstore, carrying the now well read sex book, and paid for half of it. It seemed like yesterday they'd first made love, declared their love, knew what love was really all about.

Then she thought even more...

To tell the truth, it seemed like yesterday, not nearly seven years ago, that Derek had called her Baby Girl for the first time. Could nearly four years have passed since he'd first said he loved her, and she'd said she'd loved him in return? Could months have passed since they were in Alaska, and he'd made her feel whole, complete, ready to tackle the world again—just from being in his arms?

It didn't feel like that much time had passed. Time always flew when she was with Derek.

Her heart panged softly in her chest, and she began to smile wistfully. Each moment she'd had with him—the good, the bad, the mundane—flew by, because she'd always loved being with him. He'd been her best friend for much longer than her lover, and he'd been important in her life even longer than that.

Did it really matter that his proposal was quick in timing, that they hadn't even been going out for two months?

She smiled even more at that thought. Yes...It mattered a great deal.

It showed that Derek was sure of himself, sure in his love. He was obviously done waiting. She could see it in the warm, sweet chocolate eyes looking up at her, at the handsome, very hopeful face smiling back.

And in her heart and soul, she knew deep down...she was done waiting, too.

"Yes, sweetheart," she said, cupping his cheek in her hand. "I will marry you."

Derek rose quickly to his feet with a whoop of happiness, and then wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off her feet. He spun around quickly with her.

She closed her eyes to avoid becoming dizzy, and giggled. "Derek, put me down."

He lowered her to her feet, and then caressed her face, brushing her hair away where it lay on her cheeks.

"God, I love you," he whispered softly, the warmth in his eyes flooding her with feeling.

"I love you, too," she whispered back, her fingertips finding his high cheekbones, the scruffy shadow of a beard on his jaw.

Derek enfolded her in his arms, so tightly it felt as if she could become part of him. It was like he was sheltering her in his embrace, drawing her deeper into himself, into his soul. He raised her hand, opening her fingers and kissing her palm.

"How did I ever get so lucky?" he murmured, the vibration of his words causing shivers to run past her wrist, to her elbow.

She grinned against his chest, and murmured back, "Rabbit's feet?" She felt the shake of his slight chuckle, so she continued. "No, that's too morbid. Field of four leaf clovers?"

"I grew up in the Chicago projects; not much greenery there," he said, rubbing her back with his hands. He kissed the top of her head, and said, "Must be something different."

She squeezed him tighter. "Lucky horseshoe?"

"Not in Chicago, either."

She gave an exaggerated sigh. "I don't have a guess what it is."

"Lucky star," he answered, putting his fingertips under her chin to tilt her face up to his. "The same one that looks down on you."

A slow smile crept over her lips. "I like that. I like to think we've always had that connection."

"We have," he said, threading his fingers in her hair. "Don't ever doubt it, baby."

He lowered his head as she slid her arms up his back, clamping herself closer to him. His mouth descended on hers, soft, sweet, inviting, and the pure magic that happened every time they kissed started again. His kiss was deliberately devastating, passionately earnest, and erotically certain, lighting her on fire.

It was a heady thing, his kisses. The power he could wield over her with them was absolute, but she had nothing to fear. She could feel him tremble, could feel the same passionate response she had, could hear his echoing moans to hers. If he had power over her, she had the same reign over him.

They traded kiss for kiss, touch for touch, until he drew away. They both gasped, catching their breaths, leaning their foreheads against each other.

"Do.. do you think this will ever fade, Derek?" she asked, taking a shuddering breath.

He looked down at her with some curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"This passion. Do you think this will ever...become commonplace?" He was still giving her a confused look, so she continued, looking at his shirt, playing with the silver design on the black fabric. "You know, this heat we have. Will it become comfortable, normal, like old shoes?"

He chuckled, and then said very flatly and seriously, "Hell, no."

Now she looked confused. "How do you know?"

He reached down for her hands and tugged her over to the couch. He sat, and then pulled her onto his lap. She loved to sit there, to cuddle into his side, while they watched TV or even just talked.

"Baby, has anything between us ever been normal?" he asked.

She thought about it. "No, I guess."

He raised a brow at her. "You guess? Woman, we have been having phone sex for seven years. Rather explosive, rather hot phone sex. We finally get it right and do it instead of talking about it, and it remains explosive. Better than that; it's volcanic."

She nodded. "Yes, I see your point."

"But it's more than that," he said, looking serious again. "It's you, me, and how we've always needed each other a little bit more than we've needed anyone else. It's the intensity of our friendship, how we do everything when it comes to each other."

She leaned closer, kissing his cheek. "Yes, sweetheart."

He held her chin in his hand. "Woman, I've said it before, I'll say it again. You're my God given solace, my Baby Girl, my angel."

"Oh, Derek," she said, looping her arms around his neck, her eyes becoming misty with tears. He'd first said all of that long before they'd ever had sex. He was so right; this was something that was never going to die.

"You're the only thing I need, and the one thing I can't live without, Penelope." He kissed her softly, and then asked, "Can you take the heat? Deal with that pressure? Cause I need you to, so badly."

"Only if you can, too, Hot Stuff." She kissed him fleetingly. "Everything you said is doubly true for me. Add to that you're my hero, my lifesaver, my chocolate Adonis..."

She trailed off so she could lean her head back and concentrate on the kisses he was reigning on her neck.

"Pick out a ring tomorrow?" he asked against the smooth column of skin.

"Surprise me," she said, holding his head in her hands and capturing his lips.

"Oh, my," Emily said, nearly gasping. She was holding Penelope's hand still, staring at the massive diamond ring she was wearing. "That thing is huge!"

"Where'd you get the money for that?" Rossi asked, arching a brow at the grinning Derek. "You've been holding out on us."

"No," he answered. "I've been saving for a very long time for this particular girl to marry me."

Penelope blushed. It was an absolutely stunning ring, and what he said was right. He'd taken Reid with him when he went shopping for the ring, who commented that men who wished to be engaged put aside around one hundred dollars a month to buy an engagement ring in a years time. Derek contemplated that he'd had about six years he should've been doing the same thing... and bought her a 2.3 carat diamond solitaire ring in pink gold per his calculations.

Pen thanked Reid immediately.

"It's lovely, Garcia," Hotch said, giving her a quick hug.

"I'm surprised she can lift her hand," Rossi added dryly, walking in the conference room. His smile was warm when he added, "Congratulations."

They all sat back down around the round table in the room, smiles on their faces, as Hotch handed out the files to everyone. Derek reached under the table and held Penelope's hand in his lap, and they listened together to the details of the case.