[a/n: okay. so this was intended to be a one-shot, and you can go back to chapter one and stay there if you wish, but one of my reviewers inspired me to continue on and make an actual story of it, so.. here's lookin' at you, sweet heart ;) enjoy.]
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS OR ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL HERE IN. i merely dance with the devil in the pale moonlight sometimes...
(some lyrics from 'no sugar tonight/new mother nature' by THE GUESS WHO)
'..The situation must be right,
A bag of goodies and a bottle of wine
We're gonna get it on right tonight!,
'Cause it's the new Mother Nature taking over
It's the new Splendid Lady come to call
It's the new Mother Nature taking over
She's gettin' us all
She's getting' us all...'
Penelope sat at her dresser drawers, staring thoughtfully through her mirror, and mulling over the last three days as she took out her peacock feathered earrings in favor of some tamer ones. Kevin hadn't spoken in three days straight. Hotch had taken pity on him and gave him a month off for stress leave. He didn't even yell, which kinda worried Penelope. She was no profiler, but she assumed when he finally did say something, it would be explosive. His mother had come over to her apartment, which was a shocker in it's self. She had actually been rather amazing about the whole thing, and she was a riot to have around. The uberly strange thing was Penelope had never even met Kevin's mother before.
Kevin's mom reminded her a lot of herself. "oh don't worry about Kevvy, dear", she had said as she placed the last box of Kevin's things in the trunk of her mondo-coolio van that had mermaids swimming down the sides, "he'll recover eventually. he just needs some serious TLC, and then he'll be good as new, you'll see." Penelope had thought she was being dangerously optimistic, but who was she to buzz-kill?
"thank you, Mrs. Lynch", Penelope had continued to repeat that through out her entire visit.
The women shook back her head and barked out a laugh, "honey, let me tell you something i learned the hard way a long time ago; love is like a mac-truck, it needs constant maintenance to keep it runnin' smoothly, a wallet full of bills when there is need for repairs, and if you're not careful wanderin' the roads, it'll run you down where you stand. However, if you keep your wits about you and some tips on self defence, you may just be able to hitch a ride all the way down to the end of the line."
Penelope hadn't known what to say to that. When she put it that way, it all made perfect sense. Kevin's mother had then winked at her and broke into a huge satisfied smile. "good luck, sweetie. i hope it's all worth it." and then she had simply driven away. Everything seemed so surreal.
Penelope stared at the clock on her wall in disbelief, she couldn't believe she was actually going on a date with that dufus Derek Morgan after the way he'd embarrassed her in front of everyone. But, she supposed, a bet was a bet. He had won, fair and square. She had refused to let him pick her up, of course, trying to save some face in the matter. She realized she had a full fifteen minutes to go before she went out to meet Derek at some no doubt expensive restaurant. She sighed, resigned, and picked up one of her shiny hand bags, locating her lipstick, and re-applying it out of nervous habit. She was as ready as she'd ever be. She took a deep, steadying breath and gave herself a determined glare in the mirror before she left her apartment and headed off into the night..
[a/n: next chappy is the date. love y'all. peace.]