Stranger For Christmas

For awhile he just stood there, but after a minute or so he finally kisses me. Just a quick as he kissed me, did he pull away. After that, he stood there staring at me. Does he regret what he did, probably. Before he spoke again, I quickly walked out of the office and into my bedroom, where I shut the door behind.

I lean against the door, soaking in what just happened.

''Damn you Derek Morgan.'' I mutter under my breath before making my way to my bed. After getting in bed, it takes me awhile just to fall asleep because I'm thinking of what happened, and what to do about Derek.

Getting up in the morning was easy. After I got off the phone with the publishing company, I finally got out of the bedroom. When I open the door and step out, I almost trip over Derek because he's asleep in front of the bedroom door. Why is he asleep there?

Being Careful not to wake him up, I step over him and head into the living room. As I head towards the kitchen, I hear Derek start getting up off the floor. Well, I did a fantastic job of not waking him up.

As I grab a bottle of water out of the fridge, I can hear Morgan come up from behind me.

''Hey Garcia...'' He says uncertainly. Since I'm not in the mood to answer him, I just ignore him as I open the bottle.

''I get why you're ignoring me, I really do. Can you just talk to me here?'' Again, I don't respond.

''Damn it Penelope talk to me here! I'm not sorry for what I did last night, but it's not my fault that your ex boyfriend cheated on you on christmas.'' Ohh he did not just say that! I finally answer him.

''Excuse me? How dare you say that! You know what, If it wasn't Christmas Eve and it wasn't in the middle of winter, I'd kick your ass out in a heartbeat, but mother nature is on your side. You know what, I'm going out for a few hours to clear my head, see you later.'' I grab my jacket it on. The response I gave makes Morgan look at me.

''Your going out now? In the middle of when it's snowing?'' He asks.

''Does it look like I give a crap if it's snowing outside?'' I mutter before walking out the front door and slamming it behind. I walk to my car, muttering under my breath along the way. When I get in the car, I quickly start the car, and drive off, not caring where I'm going at the moment.

I ended up at a bar a few miles from my home. I'm sitting at the bar, now just looking at a glass of wine I ordered, not interested in it all. The bartender, who looks to be about 50 keeps giving me a look, finally he sighs.

''Alright missy, whatcha doing here on christmas eve? Get into a fight with the boyfriend?'' The bartender asks as he wipes down the counter behind him.

''Not exactly...'' He turns around and raises his brow. I then explain the situation with him, afterwards he nods his head.

''Ahh I see so this Morgan fellow said something about an ex of yours?'' He repeats to assure that's what I said, I nod my head.

''Look, us men we say stupid things all the time. Thats what we do, but from what your telling me it sounds like this guy really cares for you and it just slipped. You have to forgive the man for saying that, because I'm 100% sure that he didn't mean to say it.'' The bartender points towards the front door. ''Go fix it.''

Putting money on the bar, I thank the bartender before walking back to my car and head home. When I get into the car, the clock says 12:00, I can't believe I've been here for three hours. Starting the car, I head home.

When I pull into my driveway, no one comes out, but as I step foot in my house Morgan who was sitting in a kitchen chair, launches up from his seat.

''Where were you? I walked all over town trying to find you.'' He practically sprints towards me as he pulls me into a tight hug.

''I'm sorry for what I said, now as I'm thinking about it, it was a total jerk thing to say.'' He kisses my forehead.

''Don't ever do that again, I mean it. You had me extremely worried.'' He let's me go, and steps away slightly.

''It's fine, I over reacted about it, I should have been more rational about it.''

''No, you didn't do anything wrong Penelope, in fact You did everything right.''

''Well I gotta do a couple of things, So I'll see you later.'' Heading towards my office, I decide on the work that needs to be done. After working long and hard, I end up finishing at around 5:00. Walking out of my office, I head towards the couch, where I sit down.

After I sit down, I absent-mindedly start staring out the window, and I start thinking about how much this holiday has changed because of one person.

Their relationship is starting to edge away from strangers to something more. I promise you the next chapter you will love, that is I hope you guys do!