A/N: The light at the end of the tunnel. But I still own nothing. If I did, I'd share with the talented Harleyzgirl, cause it's her birthday! Unsurprisingly, brief liberties with 'Normal'. (c'mon, you guys didn't guess I'd use it?)

Monday morning shone brightly, too brightly, in Penelope's eyes. She groaned, burying her head in her pillow. She and Derek had been up late the night before, yet again forcefully discussing why she thought he was with her for the wrong reasons, why she refused to let him choose for himself, why he couldn't possibly be ready to settle down.

Derek was, for the most part, remarkably calm. He had, as his mother predicted, been forced to humble himself to her, to beg, to plead his case. His own sudden humility didn't bother him, however; he did this for his baby girl, and the future he longed for; there had never been anything in his life worth fighting for more. His patience, however, was wearing thin. When he felt he was near snapping, he'd smile, kiss his girl, and tell her that he would prove to her how serious he was about their family.

There had been no lovemaking shared, no yielding of favors, since that night. He was exercising considerable restraint; his body ached to be close to her, further, to finally be at home inside her. Penelope stripped him of all his defenses but this; she needed him as much as he needed her, so only this was he able to deny her until she trusted in the truth he desperately wanted her to understand. The only compromise he could bear; in fact, the one thing he couldn't deny himself after that first night, was finally holding her in his arms at night.

This morning, however, Penelope woke alone for the first time in two days. She reached for Derek's warm body and found nothing but a single rose laid on his pillow. She smiled at the gesture, thinking she may have been too hard on him recently. He was being so patient with her, so understanding, but yet she still wasn't sure. She loved him far too much to be the reason he became saddled with a wife and family far before he was ready. She nestled her head into the pillow, inhaling the spicy scent of his skin that lingered on the fabric. She smiled to herself and forced herself out of bed to start the day.

She walked into her office after the morning briefing, ready to start her research for the team, who were heading out to California. Someone was taking road rage a little too seriously, and her band of heroes was on their way to catch the guy. She smiled again at the lone rose, which she had brought with her to keep her company. She was so lost in her thoughts that she squealed in surprise when she felt a warm pair of arms come around her, a hot body leaning down over her.

"You didn't think I'd leave without saying goodbye, did you?"

She didn't turn around, instead snuggling back against him, his warmth radiating through the mesh back of her chair. He leaned down, pressing soft, open-mouthed kisses against the column of her throat. His voice rumbled deep in his chest, sending shivers down her spine. "I love you sweetheart. And by the way," He kissed her ear affectionately, "I still want you, and all the babies you want to give me…" He spun her around, gave her a searing kiss, and strode out of the room. She stared after him, bemusedly, one hand raised to touch the lips he had left warm and tingling.

The team had been gone for two days, and Penelope was desperately lonely. Derek was too focused on the case at hand to talk long at night, and his scent was fading from her sheets. She hoped and prayed that the trail she was on was right, that they'd catch the guy and Derek could come home to her. She was tired of fighting, tired of denying the truth. Derek was a passionate man, and an honest man; he had never lied to her, so the fact that he kept insisting, pleading with her that he really did want, need, a family to share with her finally began to ring true. Her heart began to ache, thinking how foolish she had been, so scared, so afraid to allow herself the chance at real happiness.

She heard a knock at her door. "Come in…" JJ popped her head in, Henry held close in her arms.

"Hey kitten! And little man too!" Penelope rose to hug them both. "What're you doing here?"

JJ smiled, relieved that her friend seemed to have recovered most of her spark.

"Just wanted to check in, say hi- looks like the team's out?"

"Yeah, but gimmie a sec- I can track the plane…" Garcia tapped out a few brief commands on her keyboard and a GPS image of the jet came onscreen.

"Looks like they landed about ten minutes ago…" Joy flooded her body. Derek would be home soon, and they could finally start on their forever.

"Great… hey, I wanna meet everyone in the conference room… and this one's hungry." JJ reached into Henry's diaper bag to deftly grab a bottle.

"Sweetie, let me do that, you go up there and wait for the team. I'll have this to Sir Henry in a jffy."

The team wearily stepped off the elevator, each one lost in their own thoughts. For Derek, though, his mind was tormented by the face of their last Unsub- a man who had lost his youngest daughter and snapped, killing his entire family. Though he knew there was more in the man's psychological makeup which created the monster he turned into, Derek couldn't help but empathize with him. The idea of finally getting that longed for little girl with Penelope, then losing her; madness would be a welcomed distraction. He tuned out the others chatting around him, wanting only to lose himself in his baby girl's arms.

Reid's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Someone in the BAU room, guys…"

Curious, they followed Reid up to the small conference room.

"What're you doing here?"

"Hah! JJ!" Emily immediately went over to admire the small baby in her friend's arms.

"Garcia said you guys were on your way back- thought you could use a surprise." JJ smiled around the room.

Hotch entered, his typical emotionless mask firmly in place. "I thought I gave you strict orders to keep this place out of your head for a while…"

Penelope pushed past him, bottle in hand. "My bad, I couldn't help myself." Derek watched in silence as she moved to JJ with the bottle. "Here, I heated it up- room temp, right?"

JJ looked at her friends. "I just realized, with everything we do and see in this room, we never smile. I just wanted one good memory to hold on to…"

Making a sudden decision, Derek pushed past Reid to stand in front of JJ.

"JJ…um…can I?"

Shocked, JJ smiled. "Of course!" She laid Henry in Derek's outstretched arms. All three women hovered, making sure he held Henry properly.

"I got it I got it…" He smiled up at Penelope, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"No, you don't got it, you're smothering him…"

"Look, what is he doin', he is smiling at Derek Morgan…" He grinned, hugely.

Penelope and Prentiss laughed. "Gas!" they exclaimed in unison.

Throwing her a mock glare, Derek reached for the prepared bottle. "Give me that…" As if he had been doing it for years, Derek cradled the baby in his arms, feeding him, talking to him softly, so happy in his own dreams that he didn't notice Penelope's eyes on him, filling with tears. To her eyes, there were only three people in the room, her, Derek, and a baby that, if she squinted, she could force herself to believe belonged to them. As the rest of the team talked, she moved closer to him, peering down at the sweet face.

Derek looked at her with love-filled eyes.

"Believe me now?"

"Oh yes, my vision…" She looked back down at the now sleeping bundle and rested a hand on his. Derek leaned over and kissed her softly, not caring who saw them. He rested his forehead against hers. "So are we done with the waiting?"

She smiled, wickedly. "So done."

He kissed her again. "Good." He straightened and laid Henry back in his mother's arms, hugging her and whispering "Thank you." She gave him a conspiratorial wink. "Well, we do need to get back…" JJ reached for the diaper bag but Reid chivalrously offered to carry it for her. The rest of the team made their way back to their desks, save Derek and Penelope, who, having received a surreptitious nod from Hotch, held each other's hand as they made their way to the elevator, and home.