[a/n: chappy is now complete! dark unsub coming up, it will create problems for pg and dm, but don't abandon me just yet please, there's still a happy ending to consider ;) and some juicy middle bits. it will get smutty again soon, not too worry. love y'all. peace.]
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CRIMINAL MINDS OR ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL HERE IN... i merely dance with the devil in the pale moonlight sometimes..
(lyrics from 'when i first saw you' from DREAMGIRLS)
'when i first saw you.. i said "oh my", i said "oh my!, that's a dream, that's my dream."
i needed a dream when it all seemed to go bad, then i found you!, and i have had the most beautiful dreams any man's ever had..
when i first saw you.. i said "oh my, oh my, that's my dream. that's my dream."
i needed a dream to make me strong, you were the only reason i had to go on,
you were my dream! all of the things i never knew,
and you were my dream, who could believe they could ever come true?,
and who would believe?, the world(!) would believe in my dreams too! wooH!...
when i first saw you.. i said "oh my, ohhhh myyyy, that's, my, dreammmmm...'
Derek sat lounging lackadaisically in his seat at the restaurant, toying with his water glass habitually. He had chosen a restaurant the next town over so no one knew them there and they could talk freely. It was also family-owed and small, but comfortable. He smirked a little self-indulgently as he admired his choice; it was perfect. He was feeling pretty confident..
..and then she walked in..
Derek unconsciously sat straighter in his chair, suddenly stricken with breathlessness.
Normally, she was smokin' hot, but this was different. This was a whole other game, and it kinda of put the fear of god in him. Her hair was done just so that it was wavy, yet not quite close to curled and she had left it unrestrained by pins or ribbons so that it flowed elegantly around and framed her face. She had opted out for a rainbowed make-up display in favor of something much simpler, but that brought out her eyes fantastically. And that was another thing he noticed; she wasn't wearing her glasses.
Penelope wanted to be able to look Derek directly in the eyes tonight, and she'd decided hiding behind a neat pair of frames wasn't going to cut it. She pressed her lips together nervously as she picked her way down the few steps worth of stairs to the restaurant floor.
As Derek watched the women before him descending toward him, he found he couldn't take his eyes off her. Her dress fit her perfectly and it was a rich navy blue color. It was low cut and looked to be made of some kind thick, sturdy fabric. The cut came just slightly above her knees and hugged all of her curves beautifully. She looked absolutely stunning and Derek just stared and stared.
When Penelope reached the bottom of the small set of stairs, she lifted her eyes from where she had been carefully monitoring her heels for any funny business, and inadvertently became locked in a gaze with Derek.
Derek felt his mouth go dry, but he resisted the urge to swallow. He had to appear cool and collected, even though he had temporarily lost some key brain functions.
Penelope resisted the urge to smile shyly when she noticed her own evil plan had worked. Her expression remained indifferent as approached what was to be their table.
Some how, common curtsy won over no active cells as Derek managed to pull out Penelope's chair for her, all the while still staring. A miracle to say the least.
Penelope took her seat across from her dumbfounded best friend and waited for him to speak first. But nothing was forth coming, so she decided a small amount of pity couldn't hurt, "so, how was work today?" Penelope had been avoiding Derek purposefully for three days.
"wow", was all that passed Derek's lips. He had thought of clever things to say to her while they were out on their date, but that was when he had known the game and the stakes, this was when he thought he held all the cards, but she had shaken him to his core and left him naked in the street. This was everything but a simple game of cards anymore, this was more like chess, and he wasn't all that good at chess. "i wish Reid was here..", he mumbled, thinking out loud and not realizing it.
"well, if you would prefer, i could call Reid right now, I'm sure he's free. I'll lend him this dress and you two can have a lovely evening together", she smiled rather sarcastically as she reached into her hand bag to find her cellphone, fully intending to at least talk to Reid for a few minutes.
"no, wait, baby girl! That's not what i meant", Derek hurried to explain, "reid's just good at chess."
"so.. you're intending on playing chess tonight?", Penelope asked, only slightly confused, "well that's not what I'd call a good time on a date, but you won the bet, so.." she shrugged.
"no, arh, um, i just mean- , never mind. It's out of context; what i meant to say was, you look.. amazing."
"not as amazing as Reid, though", she quipped, trying to get him more confused. It was extremely funny watching him squirm.
Derek scrunched up his nose in confusion, "why are you still hung up on that Reid thing? I told you, it was out of context. I'm trying to make amends, women(!)"
"okay, okay, I'll drop it.. for now", she smiled slyly. It was hard to stay mad at Derek, especially when she had him in a bind.
"you are cruel, you know that?", Derek shot back.
"it's what i live for", she sighed mock-happily. Then she turned them towards the ginormous elephant in the room. "not as cruel as you though, i might add."
Derek scratched the back of his neck nervously, "yeah, i guess i should apologize for that. But, to be fair, i was really determined to win that bet."
"oh really? I totally didn't notice", she dead-panned.
He grinned wickedly, "but if I'd known you'd look this good tonight, i might of tried a little harder." and he waggled his eyebrows at her.
"oh no, you're flirting is showing", she replied dryly, unimpressed. He was going to have to do a lot better then that.
"but what if i was serious?", he asked in an honest, but silky tone, looking into her eyes.
'No, stop it. That's not fair. You'll just turn it into a tease if i smile', she thought, frowning at him quite seriously. "a flirt. A shameless flirt and a tramp, that's what you are."
"unforgettable, that's what you are", he rumbled smiling sweetly. Maybe he wasn't so bad at chess after all.
Crap. Now that blasted song was playing in the back of her mind. Damn him and his clever mind-ninja-ing. Well, two could play at that game, and girls were notoriously better at it then boys. "do you kiss your mother with that dishonest mouth?" take that ninja star to the bank, sir.
"no, but i have kissed you with it", he prodded gently. Check mate.
frack! She should have seen that one coming! She scrambled to think of something clever to come back with, but her brain was way too ninja-ed. Thankfully, their waiter came over with the menus just at that moment.
"for you, monsieur", he said, handing Derek his menu. "and you, madame." he inclined his head ever-so-slightly, and gave her a small sideways smile that Derek couldn't see.
Penelope grinned happily up at their waiter. Cool, she had back up. "merci, Mon chevalier brave."
(translation: 'thank you, my brave knight.')
"not at all, madame", he smiled at her kindly, assured in his choice of sides in this battle, "i will give you a moment to decide, oui?"
"ce serait magnifique", she replied sweetly.
('that would be wonderful.')
Their waiter bowed politely and walked away.
Derek paused in deciding his order to give her a strange look.
"what?", she asked innocently when she met his gaze, "you knew i studied french."
"yeah, that's why i picked this spot, I'm just wonderin' what you said to him", Derek answered, suspicious.
She shrugged nonchalantly, "je n'avouerai jamais."
('i will never confess.')
"now see, that's not fair", he protested.
"tout est foire de l'amour et de la guerre", she giggled evilly.
('everything is fair of love and war.')
"wait, did you just say something about love and war?", he surprised himself there.
"maybe", she smiled, looking over her menu. "this all looks simply delectable.." being a tease really worked up an appetite.
After Penelope had realized Derek didn't know what he wanted to order because he was relying on her to translate, she took pity on him and helped him pick out something that wouldn't make him sick.
"glad i have you here, momma", Derek smiled, enjoying his chicken caramelized in yam sauce and topped with thinly sliced almonds and salad on the side, "otherwise i would have ordered that.. what was it?"
"encornet dans la sauce de cédrat?", Penelope grinned over her greek salad with soy protein additive. "yeah, i didn't think you would want squid in citron sauce."
Derek made a face and shivered.
They continued to enjoy their dinner in amiable silence, occasionally broken by a casual joke or flirtatious jibe.
Penelope's slight anger toward Derek for the major PDA he'd committed had diminished until it was almost completely forgotten. She had to admit, besides the fact that poor Kevin had been a casualty, this was turning into a pretty amazing first date. It was so weird to think of it like that. I mean, it wasn't as if Derek was someone she'd just met and needed to get to know through a series of dates, she'd known him for at least six years. She knew nearly everything about him already, and they already called each other cute pet names like 'sugar cakes' or 'double-hot-chocolate-love-machine.' Penelope giggled.
Derek gave her a crooked smile, "what you thinking about, sweet pea?", he asked, amused as she giggled again.
"some of our more descriptive pet names", she tried hard to suppress her laughter, but it was difficult.
Derek chuckled. "you mean like sweet pea?"
Penelope nodded afraid to open her mouth again for a few minutes at least.
Derek thought this was terribly interesting. Something about pet names was tickling her funny bone, and he thought it would do no harm to torment her a little. "or... hunny buns?"
Penelope nearly cracked as she added, "or my Adonis."
"or baby cakes.."
"or- or- my double-hot-chocolate-love-machine(!)" and then she lost it. It just sounded so ridiculous outside of the office.
Derek laughed with her. He couldn't help it, it was infectious. He loved the way his baby girl laughed.
"sometimes i wonder about our sanity..", Penelope snorted, beginning to calm down a little, and attempting to pick at her salad again.
"yeah, we do tend to get carried away..", Derek admitted, then he lit up, "remember when Strauss was with us on that case and you asked her to 'talk dirty to me'..?" Derek fluttered his eyelashes excessively and did his best imitation of flirty Penelope.
Penelope blushed deeply, twisting her napkin in her fingers, "i thought i was just talking to you..", she mumbled, mortified. "i can't believe you brought that up", she scolded, but still kind of smiling; it had been pretty funny.
Derek laughed, "women, i love you."
Penelope's heart missed a few beats as she replied, "isn't it a little early to start saying things like that Derek Morgan?"
Derek shrugged nonchalantly. "well, actually, i think it's about time i told you more often." he then gave her a smile that made heart turn to goo.
"Derek Morgan!-", she began to scold him, but switched tactics mid-sentence, "-flattery will get you EVERYwhere..", she purred tantrically.
"oh my, sounds like I'm in trouble.." he growled back, leaning in toward her conspiratorially.
"you have no idea..", breathed sensuously, slowly closing the distance between them until she was millimeters away from the tip of his nose.
"oh i may have a few..", Derek smiled softly, staring lovingly into her eyes.
And that was when she kissed him. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Normally, they would have stopped at the teasing words, feigning that they held no deeper meaning, but now that all of the pretense was gone, and the-cat-out-of-the-bag, kissing each other felt much more satisfying then just changing the subject ever could.
"and here i was determined to be mad at you a little while longer", Penelope simpered, situating herself back across the table from Derek.
"well, I'm damn sure glad you're not", Derek grinned, love-smitten.
Penelope smiled, eyes down cast. Men were such a silly breed, and boy could they get a girl flustered!
After they had finished their meal and Penelope had slipped her waiter-in-shining-armor a twenty when Derek wasn't looking, her double-hot-chocolate-love-machine-o-matic took her to a local park for a star-lit stroll. Penelope had always known that Derek was a smooth-talkin' romantic, but it felt like warm, fuzzy kittens had wrapped themselves around her insides when she knew it was directed toward her.
"so, let's start with the bigger questions since we already know the answers to the little things", Penelope broke the comfortable silence first, arm and arm with her muscly gorgeous man.
Derek grinned sideways at her; she was adorable. "okay, shoot."
"do you ever think about having kids some day?", Penelope hadn't realized that's what she was going to ask until it was out and hung in the air. She immediately felt embarrassed; why hadn't her brain come up with something less serious?
Derek thought for a moment. He considered giving her the same old response of 'no thanks, I'd rather keep practising', but he paused. This was his baby girl, and his heart told him he needed to give her a completely honest answer as apposed to a silly player one. He thought of her and what she would be like as a mom, and he smiled. The image that sprang to his mind was that of blissful contentment. She would be a fantastic mom and there was no way he was missing out on that. He'd be a dad someday maybe, but only if she was his baby-mamma. "sure," he answered, "having kids one day might be nice."
she hadn't been expecting that. "really? You? Derek Morgan? A father?" she gave him a side-long incredulous look. "and what changed your mind, player?"
"picturing you as a momma, momma", he grinned, giving her astonished forehead a quick kiss. "i ain't missing me none of that, and you'd better believe it." he nuzzled noses with her to accentuate his point.
Penelope's face lit up like a Christmas tree as they continued on their walk. "oh, okay." she mumbled, bubbling like a fountain of absolute joy on the inside.
Derek smiled down on her. He'd made the right decision.
"so.. you'd be having those kids with me, would you?", she asked still unsure.
Derek turned to her in slight surprise, half teasing, "unless you have other plans, sweetness."
"i just mean, you might get bored with lil' old me, and decide it's time for something else-"
"baby girl!", he shook his head in disbelief, she couldn't possibly think that!, "there are many things that you are- like controlling, and hot-headed, and stubborn-"
"Derek!-", she gasped in hurt and anger.
"-but i love that about you! And you are kind, and gentle, and you see the world through rose colored glasses and i love that too! So you see.." he looked her straight in the eyes as he continued in earnest, "there are a lot of things that you are, but boring is definitely not one of them."
she could tell he wanted to kiss her again, but she turned her head shyly. "you are such a cheese ball, Derek Morgan.."
"is there anyway i can make up for that?", and he wasn't taking no for an answer either.
She grinned in silent acknowledgement as she faced him properly again.
He then lent in and gave her a sweet, silky, tender kiss. It was held for only a moment or so, as the sound of Derek's cellphone going off broke them apart. Derek checked the caller id, frowning. "it's JJ", he said, opening the phone and pressing talk. "hey, J'age. What's up?"
"we just caught another case", came JJ's reply through the line, "it's sounds pretty bad. Hotch asked me to call you, Reid and Garcia in. he's calling Rossi and Prentiss. We need to meet at headquarters and are flying out as soon as we can, so pick up your go bag before you head over."
"alright, gotcha", Derek affirmed, "I'll be there in a few. See ya, J'age." and he hung up immediately. He turned to Penelope. "sorry, baby girl. looks like we'll have to end this here."
"i hate unsubs, i really do", Penelope grumbled as Derek put his arm around her, leading her out of the park.
"me too, sweet-heart, me too", he whispered comfortingly, giving her a small kiss on her head.