Part twenty:

Derek breezed into the room, gritting his teeth. "Okay, our stuff is moved in, finally," he muttered. "And I've got to make a trip out to pick something up – you want me to pick anything up for you?"

Penelope was indulging in a nap on the window-seat, taking in the last rays of the evening sun. "Hmm?" she murmured, rousing herself from her doze. "What?"

He came over, leaned down, and gave her a gentle kiss. "Nevermind," he whispered. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," she said, stifling a yawn. "I'm going to try to go outside and walk for a while tomorrow. I'm feeling a little cooped up."

He chuckled and kissed her again. "Now there's that Baby Girl of mine," he teased. "Do you need anything while I'm out?"

She shook her head and yawned again. "But that won't stop you from finding something to pick up, will it?" she asked.

"Well, JJ and the kids made it here without any treats for Munchkin," he said, "and I think she feels like she's being punished."

"Poor puppy," Penelope said sadly. "How is she taking all of this?"

"She's trying to make friends with your dogs, but they keep running away," Derek said.

"Maybe you should let her come inside, then?" she suggested. "I'm sure she'd be happy to see Wanda and Mick."

"I'm not so sure about that," Derek said. "She has problems when she's upset or uncomfortable –"

"What kind of problems?" she asked.

"She pees."

"Oh, well –"

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd want her in the house with her penchant for doing that," he sighed.

"Derek, she's never going to be comfortable or happy if she's outside," she pointed out. "She's a house dog, not an outside dog. So let her in and we'll deal with the consequences later."

"I'll let her in when I get back," he promised. "You sure you don't want anything? Sam and Christina are making dinner…"

"I'm not really hungry," she said softly. "You go do what you need to do and we'll talk when you get back." She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and got comfortable again, drifting off to sleep. She was vaguely aware of being lifted and carried to bed, where she was tucked in.

The next thing she knew, she was waking up with a terrified start – her heart racing, her blood pounding in her ears, bile rising in her throat. Penelope heard a worried waffling noise from the giant dog in bed with her – when had Munchkin come inside? – and she reached over to pet her muzzle soothingly. "It's okay, little girl," Penelope murmured. "I'm okay. What are you doing in here? Shouldn't you be with your boy or your girl? Or your daddy?" Munchkin's only reply was to slurp Penelope's face with her giant, drool-covered tongue.

"Okay, come on," Penelope murmured, "get down – and let's get you outside for a few minutes. And I can get a snack." She got out of bed and the enormous puppy hopped down after her, bumping into her eagerly as they walked downstairs together. They turned into the kitchen and saw Mick getting into the fridge – and he was oblivious to their approach because they were coming from his right side.

Munchkin plodded up to him and nudged Mick – and he dropped a full glass of milk on the floor, crying out. Penelope caught his eye and motioned that it was okay, and grabbed a towel from one of the drawers. He eyed her distrustfully, but by then, Munchkin had already slurped up most of the milk and was looking at him expectantly. "Go outside?" Mick asked the dog, who woofed. "Okay," he said, going to the back door and letting her out. Then he turned back to Penelope. "I was thirsty, okay?"

"Honey, it's fine," Penelope tried to assure him. "I was hungry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"You almost made me pee my pants," he accused.

"I'm sorry," she said contritely. "Can I make it up to you?"

"Yeah, by not scaring the heck out of me," Mick snarled.

Penelope rolled her eyes a little and went to the cupboard. She got down a bar of chocolate – the really good kind that she'd always had to hide from Dave – and pulled out a pot from the cupboard. She then retrieved the milk – ugh, skim? Derek, why? – and some spices from the lazy susan.

"What are you doing?" Mick asked, suddenly curious as he watched her putter around the kitchen.

"Making hot chocolate," she replied. "Enough for two – do you want some?"

"That's not how you make hot chocolate," he said, frowning. "Hot chocolate comes in pouches and you add hot water and extra marshmallows."

She smiled. "Well, then, you're in for a treat, aren't you?"

"I don't know. You could be trying to poison me," he muttered.

"Now, why would I do that?" Penelope asked. "You live here, now – and in my house, we have some special rules. Just ask Christina and Luca."

"Who's Luca?" Mick asked.

"My son – he's not much older than you and your sister," she said with a little bit of a smile. "Anyway, we have special rules – like no hot chocolate out of a package. And no spaghetti sauce out of a jar. And, if you think you aren't dressing up for Halloween, you've got another thing coming," she teased.

He fought a smile, but she could see his lips twitching. "Okay, maybe I won't hate it here," he said. "Maybe not totally, anyway."

She stirred the pot and smiled over her shoulder. "We should make cookies tomorrow…"

"I don't eat a lot of sweet stuff," he said. "Dad doesn't like it."

"Well, your dad's just going to have to get over it," Penelope replied cheerfully. She poured the steaming chocolate mixture into two mugs and sprinkled a little bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger onto the top of it. "I don't have marshmallows, so this will have to do," she said apologetically as she passed him a Star Wars mug. "What's that face for?"

"You like Star Wars?" Mick asked.

"Of course I like Star Wars – who doesn't?" Penelope asked.

"I didn't think you would," Mick said quietly. "Dad always said you weren't very nice –"

"Yeah, so you said at the funeral," Penelope sighed, taking a sip of her drink. "Is that why you were so mad about coming here? Because you thought I was a mean, horrible old witch who doesn't like Star Wars and eats little kids for breakfast?"

"No," he muttered, pretending to be absorbed in his drink.

"Well, I'll tell you something," she said. "I'm glad that you're here."

"Oh," was all he said. "I'm going back to bed now. Dad'll flip if he finds out I'm up past two."

"Where is your dad, anyway?" Penelope asked.

Mick's brow furrowed. "In his room – where else would he be?" he asked.

"Nowhere – I was just curious," Penelope said. "He's usually up around now, so…"

Mick raised an eyebrow, looking so much like Derek that she wanted to pat him on the head and chuckle. "Uh, okay…"

"Hey, just a thought," she said as he got up. "Have you ever wanted to see if you were a candidate for a cochlear implant?"

"I qualify," he said, "but we can't afford it."

Penelope regarded him pensively. "Oh," she said softly. "Did your dad say that or –"

"No, I said it, because it's a lot of money," Mick said with a frown. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay," she said. She finished her drink and went to let the dog in. Of course, Munchkin was sitting right by the door, eagerly panting as she waited for the door to open. "Yes, hello," Penelope said, and the dog rushed past her to the huge food and water bowls in the corner. The puppy drank for a minute, then took off out of the kitchen like a shot.

Penelope rolled her eyes and started upstairs, turning the lights off as she went. And when she got back to her room, she found the dog already up on her bed, comfortable on Dave's side of the bed. She chuckled and climbed in, turning off the light. "Goodnight, Munchkin," she sighed, reaching out to stroke the dog's fur. "I wish you were Derek."

The puppy merely made a non-commital noise in reply.

"You're up early," Penelope said as she came into the kitchen to find Wanda and Christina nursing a pot of coffee.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep," Christina said. "Derek said to tell you he'll be back by ten."

"Did he say where he was going?" Penelope asked.

Wanda glared sullenly at her. "To the airport," she said. "To pick up Uncle Reid and Aunt Emily."

Christina kicked her underneath the table. "That was supposed to be a surprise," she hissed.

Wanda scowled at her. "Do I look like I care?"

"Is there any more coffee?" Penelope asked.

"You shouldn't be drinking coffee with all the stuff you're taking," Christina said.

Penelope shrugged and went to pour herself a mug. "There are a lot of things I shouldn't do with the meds I'm taking," she said, "but what doesn't kill me makes me stronger. Except for the cancer. That's just killing me slowly and taking away my strength."

"Stop it," Christina sighed. "Just… stop it."

Mick came into the room and started signing to his sister. Wanda's frown deepened, and she eyed Penelope, then said, "Mick wants pancakes."

"We have a rule about pancakes," Christina said, grinning at her mother.

"Mmm, yes," Penelope agreed. "They must be drowned in home-made syrup."

"Did I hear someone say pancakes?" Sam asked, coming into the room and walking over to kiss Christina. "I can do that –"

"No, no, it's my turn to spoil you all," Penelope said firmly. "So just you sit and relax and I'll make pancakes and syrup."

By the time Derek got back with Emily and Reid in tow, Penelope had wowed the kitchen with her pancake making skills. And her ability to flip a perfect pancake every time. She smiled over at Derek and said, "I see you brought company – where's JJ?"

"Sleeping off last night, I should hope," Christina said with a giggle.

"Yeah, that was interesting," Derek said dryly. "JJ can't hold her liquor anymore."

"What did you all do?" Penelope asked worriedly.

"We drank a lot," Christina said. "And JJ kind of stumbled out to the guest house and hasn't been heard from since."

"Oooh, there's pancakes," Reid said excitedly. "Did you make syrup, too?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him – he's all manners," she said sarcastically. She moved to hug Wanda and Mick. "How are you?" she asked both kids, waiting for the answers and getting none.

Christina got up and said, "We've got an appointment, so we better be off – right, Sam?"

"Right-o," Sam replied, rising from the table. "It was nice to sort of meet you all…"

Wanda sighed and viciously stabbed her pancakes with a fork. "I hate it here," she growled.

"Wanda, mind your damn manners," Derek snapped.

Penelope held up her hand. "Enough," she said softly as she passed Reid a plate of pancakes. "She's entitled to not like it here, and she's definitely entitled to tell you and me both that she doesn't like it. She's not hurting my feelings, she's just being honest."

"I don't have anywhere to put my sewing stuff," Wanda sighed dramatically. "I need to sew. Or something. I hate it here."

Penelope blinked. "I can clean out the nursery," she said. "Today, even – it's not like we need baby furniture taking up space or anything. And you can use that room."

"Don't let me put you out or anything," Wanda said sarcastically.

Derek slammed his coffee mug onto the countertop with enough force that Mick jumped, startled. "Young lady, you will treat Mrs. Rossi with respect," he said in a deathly low voice.

"Or what, you'll ship me back to Granny and Gramps?" Wanda asked, raising an eyebrow eagerly.

"You won't get your sewing room," he threatened, "or any more fabric."

"I hate you!" Wanda shrieked, getting up and stomping away. "You're ruining my life, Dad!"

Mick looked over at Penelope and said, "These are really good pancakes, Mrs. Rossi."

She shook her head and smiled. "You want anything, Emily?"

JJ stumbled into the room and mumbled, "Bloody Mary – stat."

"I'm pretty sure JJ needs some pancakes," Emily said with a chuckle. "But I'm okay for right now."

"No, I need a Bloody Mary and for you to stop yelling at me," JJ whined, sitting down in the seat Wanda had vacated.

Derek poured another mug of coffee and put it down in front of JJ as he took Wanda's plate and silverware away. "Drink this," he said firmly. "It will help."

"Are you trying to make me puke?" JJ asked, scowling at him pathetically.

Mick signed something to his father and Derek suddenly smiled. "Okay, buddy," he said. "We can do that today."

"Do what?" Penelope asked.

Derek came over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Don't you even worry that pretty head of yours," he said softly. "He just wants to take Munchkin to the park."

She poked him in the abs. "Oh really?" she asked.

He smiled. "Yes, really."

"Where were you last night?" she asked very, very quietly. "I slept with your dog –"

"I didn't get to bed till late and had to be up early to go to the airport," he replied. "I didn't want to disturb you, Baby Girl."

She growled low in the back of her throat. "Next time, don't worry about disturbing me," she said warningly. "We're in this together, right?"

Emily coughed. "Not to interrupt your little love-fest or anything, but I'd like some pancakes now," she said pointedly.

"Yeah, maybe she'll stop eating mine if you give her some," Reid said, laughing.

Emily slugged him in the shoulder. "Smart-ass."

"Aspirin," JJ begged.

Derek delivered the pancakes to Emily and said, "I don't even know where to look for aspirin –"

"That cabinet," Penelope said, "on the top shelf." She pointed, then rubbed the sweat off her forehead with her forearm. "Anyone else want food?"

"You should take a break," Reid said. "You aren't looking very well at the moment."

"Shut up," Penelope said firmly. She glanced at the pile of pancakes on the platter and turned off the burner. "Okay, that's all I'm doing today." Derek came over and put his arm around her waist and leaned in close.

"Hey," he whispered, "don't push it so much, okay? You were just really damn sick and you haven't gotten your strength back."

She sighed. "Okay, okay – but I can't rest forever, you know."

"You know what Mick said?" he asked.

"No…"

"He wants to take Munchkin to the park – but he thinks you're really nice and wishes you were his mom," Derek whispered very close to her ear. "So will you marry me now?"

He was tugging on her heart strings. "Derek, no," she murmured. "Not now –"

"Soon, though," he breathed.

"Maybe," she whispered back. "Maybe."