Disclaimer: I own nothing, just the little plot bunny (kinder!)
A/N: Thanks as always, hope you enjoy =)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- When The Sky Falls -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Well this is it," Penelope spoke softly as she took Derek's hand and walked towards the restaurant in which she had arranged to meet her brothers. After finding them all alive they had made haste in picking a meeting ground and making it as soon as possible.
Derek stopped her just outside of the window and turned her towards them. "You have no reason to be nervous, Baby Girl. We're going to go in there and we're going to sit with them and just catch up. You're not doing this alone. You're not the only one that's not seen them."
Relaxing into a smile, Penelope put her hands to his chest and lifted the best she could to kiss him, "You make me thankful everyday that I married you, you know that?"
"Your smile does that, Princess," He replied and kissed her again. "Now no hesitating. It's now or never." He took her hand and went for the doorway, giving their name over to maître'd they both followed him to a table that had four men on it and Derek kept his hand in Penelope's.
Getting closer, Penelope felt her hands get sweaty, as her heart beat began to gallop away and thrash against her chest. She had lived through so much, but this situation seemed to be getting her nerves to completely go wild.
"Penny," She heard the familiarity of a nickname and her heart seemed to start beating once again in her chest.
Derek smiled and pushed his wife into the arms of one of the men that now stood up out of the booth. He stood back, watching them all stare at her. Obviously taking in the dramatic change from when she was eighteen.
The last one prolonged the hug a little longer before pulling back and looking at her, "You don't know how good it is to know you made it."
Penelope's eyes watered in that moment, but she smiled at them, "Not as good as it is to know you had too." She coughed to clear the knot from her throat and turned to grab Derek's hand, "I want you to meet my husband Derek. Derek, my brothers."
She watched them all exchanged welcomes before everyone took a seat and Derek pulled his seat closer and put his arm around the back of her chair, gently running his hand up and down her arm.
Derek found it easy to keep names to faces with Penelope's brothers. There was Drew, Pen's biological brother, blonde like her, eyes similar and then there were the other three, Joel, Ben, and Steven.
"I-I understand if you don't want to take this further," Penelope warned them after a couple of moments silence. "I know walking out on the family was a mistake and," She shrugged, "I'll respect whatever you want to do."
They all exchanged looks before Joel spoke up first, "I don't know about the others but I don't want to just walk away from this and we not speak. I've got my little sister back."
There was a quick succession of agreement from the other three men and Penelope relaxed even more than she already was.
"I think we found you just in time," Drew spoke clearly.
"Huh?" Penelope said as she straightened a little, "What do you mean?"
He nodded his head to her stomach, and smirked, "You're pregnant." He stated and watched her burst into a smile, "When's it due?"
"In about four months," Penelope stated, "We found out properly after we got evacuated here."
Sitting up, Steven leant in, "And your leg?" He asked her, "How did that happen?"
Sucking in a deep breath she smiled a little, "A building fell on me," She told them and watched the shock register in them all. "I was waiting for Derek to get to me, I had actually known I was pregnant that morning, the doctor had confirmed it. Then hell seemed to break loose and Derek told me to wait and I was near the bank in our town. Before he got to me, it was struck and fell down and I was pinned. Derek found me and saved my life before we had to get to our families houses and then get to the evacuation point."
"I thought you said you found out here?"
"I lied to the doctors," She admitted softly, "I was sent first because I was injured and I thought I had lost the baby and didn't want to find out without Derek here." She began to feel her eyes welling up at the events playing back in her mind. "I had to have surgery on my ankle, but before that Derek turned up and we found out our baby was perfectly fine." She finished with a bright smile.
The calm settled then before the focus shifted to Derek, "So you're the hero of the day, hey?"
"Only when extremely necessary," Derek defended, "Believe me, rescuing this one that day is my greatest work," He said and almost spoke it at Penelope with admiration. "I'd be unbelievably lost in the world without Penelope."
Penelope smiled impishly and looked down coyly.
"Now, c'mon, Baby Girl, now is not the time for you to get embarrassed," Derek teased her lovingly, "You know it's the truth."
Looking back at him she melted into a smirk, "Okay, well remember those words when you're off on a case okay, Handsome?"
"Case?" Ben questioned, "What's that?"
"I'm a FBI agent," Derek told them, "Me and Penelope work for the same team."
"Not as an agent like Derek," She quickly jumped in when she saw their expressions shift from impressed to shocked all in once. "Like I'd carry a gun," she commented sarcastically, "I'm just the team's technical analyst me. I sit in my lair all day, sometime's night, and dig for information." Now the impressed expression came back and she smirked, "You've gotta have done better than that surely? She questioned, knowing that back when she was eighteen they were all destined for big things. She guessed things changed, she never expected to be the best TA working for the FBI. Listening to them tell her about their lives, she felt enthralled, she was an aunty and she had always been spoken about. She even found out that they had looked for her every day since she had gone missing, but apparently finding a Penelope Garcia was a lot harder.
"So where have you been hiding away all these years?" She was asked.
"In Virginia," She responded and smiled wistfully. "I wish I had some sort of explanation to offer you as to why I left, but I really don't. Not any other apart from it hurt too much to be in California."
"You don't need to explain," Ben commented, "You did what you needed to and you wouldn't have found Derek if you hadn't, so never feel like you need to offer us an apology when you have an amazing life."
Penelope smiled even more at that. She had ripped through so many emotions that her body was feeling it now. She had exhausted herself with the emotional tides and now as they got ready to leave she felt a little weird that this could've turned out so differently to what it had. They could've hated her, told her they didn't want to know, even wished she was dead. However, she was setting up a next date to meet up, one which included their families.
Walking back to the hotel, Derek looked down at his wife, "Has that made this better?"
"That has made this about a million times better. I mean I've got my brothers back after so long. I don't think even in my wildest dreams I would've dreamt of these sorts of results."
"Maybe not, but I know full well in your wildest dreams you do dream up quite a lot of wild things," He quipped back making her laugh at him. "Oh c'mon and deny it. You know most of your dreams are full to the brim of your husband."
She stopped and turned to face him, "Oh yeah, and he's tall, dark, extremely handsome," she cooed at him, "and has green eyes." She then started walking away, a cheeky grin firmly spread on her lips.
"Hey! He yelled after her before catching her up again, "That's not very nice. You know you're the only woman in my dreams."
"I do, that's why I tease you so. You just don't have time to dream of any other woman because I come right a long and just blow the other women right out of the way," she joked as he put his arm around and they walked in unison together. "I don't ever want this to change." She settled on as they walked in ease.
"Don't want what to change?"
"Life," she commented, "Life is perfect as it is and I want nothing more than for it to remain this way. Just you, me, our bubba and our family."
Derek couldn't deny, if he had his mightiest wish it would be for that to happen as well. He wanted life to remain as it were and for them to just expand the feeling that he woke up with every day.
Pure, unadulterated happiness.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- When The Sky Falls -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-