After

So…..many of you seemed to believe that I was done! I never hit complete for this story, leaving it open-ended…and now I am closing that end! I do apologize if it upset anyone, but it was my intention from the start (all the way back in September!) to do it this way. This takes place ten years after Chapter 26 (which I reuploaded because people were having problems-if it still doesn't work it might be a problem with your own computer or whatever…sorry about that). I would suggest reading the prologue to this if you don't remember it….as it connects to this.

It was winter. The bitter cold seared Derek's skin, frost sticking on every pore of his body not swathed in layers of coats and scarves. He'd never been a fan of January weather, not even after all this time he'd spent in the outdoors. Right at this very spot. Right at this very cemetery. Right at this very grave.

It wasn't a real grave, at least not in the traditional sense. No body was buried under the frozen grass. Only a past life.

"You need to move on," Derek's therapist had told him plainly. It had been a few months since Penelope had run off, and each day seemed to hollow him even more than the day before.

"I can't. How can I move past the one thing that gave me a clear reason to keep living?" His therapist nodded knowingly. Concern and sadness clouded her eyes as she tried to find the right words to say.

"Derek, I think that you need to come to terms to the fact that she's not coming back." But he'd vehemently shook his head no and began to pace frantically around the room.

"It's only been a couple months. Maybe she's just checked in anonymously in a clinic somewhere. We've put out an APB across half the country for her. Someone's bound to find her eventually! I can't give up on her, not when it's only been a couple months!"

"…..Derek….it's been nine months. Not just a couple. It's time for you to face facts. Cold, hard facts. Don't baby yourself about this any more. She's gone. It's time for us to discuss you moving on."

"She's not gone! There's no way! She's around somewhere….we've just got to wait for someone to find her!" Of course, he would be out looking for her himself, but after a couple months of intense searching, Hotch had told him that if he went back to work he'd have full access of the other technical analysts that could help him find her easier. So far, obviously, their searches had yielded nothing of value, but still…There was no point in searching the streets..unless…

"Derek…..you also need to brace yourself for the possibility that you won't find her….because she's dead." Her words, laced with the poison that was truth, seemed to pierce directly into his heart.

"There's no way." He shook his head. "There's no way she's dead." Derek adamantly refused to listen to reason. Reason had abandoned him when Penelope had.

"I have an idea. It's worked for others in helping them move past a situation like the one you're in." His therapist described how if you symbolically 'buried' the one you loved, it could help you grieve properly. She'd even gotten him a cemetery plot and gravestone that he had engraved with only a lily.

"I haven't moved on, Baby Girl, I promise," Derek now whispered to the stone. Saying otherwise would make it final, make it real. After all this time, he hadn't given up hope, hadn't given up faith, hadn't given up love.

Every day. Every day he had come to that very spot. His job? The job that allowed him to be introduced to the woman of his dreams? Gone. He worked odd jobs, enough to pay the bills. He'd sold his other properties, sold all the memories he had in them for the memories he had in front of a piece of rock.

His team? Scattered in the winds. Other departments, other postings. Hotch and Rossi had retired. He kept in contact with most of them, though phone calls were starting to become more and more infrequent. They still grieved their friend, but they'd….moved on. All had families by now, all had a reason to keep going, to keep fighting for justice in the name of those who couldn't. Like Penelope.

But he'd remained in the past, forever cemented in the belief that his girl was coming back to him. Everyone, including his family and friends, thought it was peculiar that he would stand at the 'gravesite' every day. He would stand there and cry, shed those bitter tears that always threatened to come in waterfalls every time he thought of her.

Even his face had changed. It was as though his cheeks, once full and bright with laughter, had become canyons eroded by grief. Wrinkles were etched across every square inch. His eyes were dull, lacking in any emotion other than sorrow and the faintest glimmer of hope.

"It's been ten years, Baby Girl. Ten years of not having you by my side. I can't even describe the pain, the agony. I'd like to believe you miss me too. I'd like to believe a lot of things, I guess. Mostly, I just wish you'd come back. I can't think the way that the others do-that you're gone for good."

"I don't like to think that way either." Derek turned, startled. He relaxed when he realized that it was just some woman. She was bundled up tightly, a scarf covering her mouth. And she was wearing sunglasses.

"Sorry, ma'am. I know I talk aloud a lot." She nodded, but didn't move.

"I know I must look weird to you. I always wear sunglasses in the winter, even when I was in Paris. The sun can reflect off the snow, you know." Derek shrugged, trying to ignore the lump in his throat. Pen had always worn sunglasses in the winter too.

"You're that odd one. That's what I've heard. The one that goes to this same grave every day." Why couldn't she leave? Derek did not want to discuss his business with some nosy lady that already had reminded him of her.

Suddenly, though, he just wanted to let it out. To not hide behind the wrinkled mask that was his hardened face.

"Ten years ago, the only woman I ever loved…..left. We didn't break up, at least, I never broke up with her. She…she got sick. It's a long story. I never saw her again. This grave represents my old life with her, according to my therapist. I guess her idea didn't work."

"Wow. Ten years. That's a long time to mourn someone. Are you sure she didn't die or something?"

"I would know if she was dead. I would feel it deep within my soul. I come every day to this very spot, hoping against hope that one day I won't have to. Hoping that she will come back."

"Most people would've given up. Not you?"

"I-I can't even explain the love I feel for her. It's never left me. It's a fire that can never be extinguished. It would kill me to abandon that warmth. But…you said that you don't give up either, remember? What's your story?"

It seemed strange, almost, swapping their stories when they were complete strangers to each other. Yet right at the same time.

"Truth. I've always tried to find truth. My life was a confusing blur for a long time. I've only reemerged from the fog for good about a month ago. It took around ten years in France for me to get everything back in order."

"Ten years. Seems to be a magic number for both of us," Derek stated.

"I guess," the woman shrugged.

"How are you going to get your life back in order?"

"It's confusing. There's certain people I need to talk to, apologize to, mend the rift with. When I left for France, I left a lot of people behind. But it didn't matter then. I was going through an incredible trauma…..I needed to get away from the shame of it all.

"It took a long time to heal. I miscarriaged the child I'd been carrying. I could've given up right then. I guess, for awhile, I did. But soon I was reminded of a few things. People. I don't know…." She trailed off.

Derek literally had to shake himself. Why now? Why did someone have to come in with such a heartbreakingly familiar story?

"Are you okay?" the woman asked, suddenly concerned for his well-being.

"I'll be fine…it's just…..your story seems…..like it could be that of the woman I miss….with all of my heart." Tears began to pool in his eyes, his grief coming in full force.

"I'm sorry I opened these wounds," she apologized.

"Don't be."

There was silence for a few minutes. The woman stood still as she waited for Derek to finish crying.

"I guess the first thing I truly wanted to do when I got back was to see one man in particular. The man whose heart I broke….the one heart I never wanted to break because I was completely in love with him. The man that I shared all my dreams and fears with. The man that never gave up on me, no matter how much time had passed.

"The man who, until this day, calls me Baby Girl."

The earth had flipped on its axis. Time crawled along sideways. Derek's whole world veered out of line. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

The woman removed her scarf. Then her sunglasses.

It was her. Age had left little indentation on her face; she was still just as beautiful. Her skin radiated pure love and devotion. Her eyes still sparkled, though by now they were overflowing with happy tears.

Derek couldn't remain still a second longer. He opened his arms and grasped her tightly. His heart slammed against his chest as he felt her body wrap around in his. His tears soaked her clothes but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore.

She'd come back. After all this time, after all these years of wondering, crying, hoping, she'd returned.

"I'm so sorry," she repeatedly sobbed into his chest.

"Shhhhh….Baby Girl, you have nothing to be sorry about. Nothing to be sorry about at all anymore. You're here. After all this time, you're here. That's all that matters. That's all that ever mattered for every second of every day for the past ten years."

"After all this time? After all of this you've never stopped loving me?" Penelope wept, relishing the feeling of his arms around her waist.

"After all of this time, there's nothing I've loved or thought of. Nothing. Except you coming back to me."

For a time that could never be measured, they embraced each other in a grip that nothing could break. A hug that encompassed not just physical touch, but entire spectrums of bottled emotions that could now spill out.

There were questions. Eventually they could get to them. Eventually. Now was not the time, and if Derek were honest with himself, he didn't care if they ever got to them. Her very presence was enough. This was the time he'd spent ten years dreaming of. And it was worth it. It was worth every tear shed, every agonizing moment. The world was worth the woman he loved. The woman he knew he would ask to marry him as soon as he could.

"I love you so much, Derek. More than I could love anything or anyone," Penelope whispered.

"I love you more," Derek whispered back, capturing her lips in his. He didn't care if it was appropriate to kiss her or not. He didn't really care about anything else except tasting her soft lips again. It was more than a physical wanting-it went far deeper than that.

Penelope seemed to feel the same way. Their kiss was far beyond any kiss any couple had ever shared. It was raw, passionate, filled with emotions that had been bottled for ten solid years, saved until right this moment. It lasted until they both craved oxygen as much as each other.

"We must look ridiculous to all these people, kissing in front of a grave," Penelope muttered, though Derek could sense her teasing tone.

"I don't care. Let them watch me kiss my princess, the one I love. Let them watch me hold the one I have waited for for so long, but never stopped loving for even a second."

After all this time, their love had never faded, their sparks had never died. No number of years could erode through their relationship. It was agape, an unconditional love.

An undying love.

After all this time.

Okay, so this is the real end! I promise! I know there's probably a lot of questions, so just leave them in a review and I can answer (if I filled in all the blanks here, it would be too cumbersome). There are no plans for a sequel at this time, though there is a tiny chance I could change my mind. I am so grateful for the attention this story has garnered (reviews, alerts, favorites)! You guys are the best! I would love if you tell me what you thought of this update (if it was a good choice or not to have a HEA or not, etc.)

This was a joy to write. It definitely is my favorite of the Fanfiction I've written. My next story will be dramatic as well (though definitely some M/G love) so look for it if you want.

Sayonara! Adios! Au revoir! Goodbye! (sorry if I butchered anyone's language)