Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and am in no way affiliated with the show or CBS. I do not profit from the story and all creative rights belong to their original creators.

Emily Prentiss narrowly dodged the blur of pink and white flying past her head, struggling to balance the tray of coffee in one hand and her keys in the other. Crisis averted, she narrowed her eyes at the offending object, a cashmere sweater, and slowly backed away from it, focusing her interest at the flurry of clothes flying out from Penelope Garcia's room. "What the…" she wondered aloud, and set the coffee tray on the kitchen counter, making her ways towards the room. "Garcia? What are you doing?"

Pausing at the entrance only to avoid being hit by a 80's go-go boot, she stared in disbelief at Garcia's behind, sticking out of her closet, as she dug through her clothes. "Penelope? Have you gone insane?"

Garcia froze for a second, then scrambled out of the closet and smoothed her dress down, giving a nervous chuckle. "Em− Emily! How'd you get in here?" Her eyes danced uneasily around the mess of clothes littering the bed and floor of her room.

Giving her a weird look, Emily raised the keys JJ and she had insisted upon after Garcia had been shot. Garcia barely acknowledged the gesture and scurried around the room, picking up various tops, skirts and dresses. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she moved.

"I was around and decided to drop by. Where are you going?" she added, just noticing the small handbag Garcia only used when she was going out on a date.

Garcia picked up the last article of clothing and dumped it all on the bed with a sigh. "Why must you profilers be so curious?" she wondered aloud, as Prentiss eyed the pile warily. "Just hitting the town with a friend, hon. Nothing else."

Emily raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Judging by the chaos, I'm assuming a hot, male friend?"

Although she loved her, Penelope fought the urge to throw Emily out the door headfirst and continue her crusade for the perfect outfit, smiling instead. "You could say that."

Emily gave her a thousand watt grin and gestured towards the seemingly endless mound of clothes. "I could help you get ready, if you want."

Garcia made sure to keep the look of utter horror off her face. Help her get ready and risk the chance of running into Morgan? No way. "Thanks, but no thanks, Em. I'll be fine." She began to usher the brunette through the doorway of her room to the front door, chirping happily. "Thanks for stopping by! I'll see you later, love."

Emily protested weakly, her chances of having a quiet girl's night growing smaller and smaller by the second. "But I thought we could hang out for a bit, watch a movie or something?" Penelope smiled and shook her head, and in a last ditch effort, Emily reached out and grabbed the coffee tray, holding out a cup. "Caffeine?"

Garcia's eyes widened happily and she grabbed it, taking a big gulp. "Thanks, babe! I really needed this!" She pushed Emily out into the hallway and gave her a quick hug. "Bye!"

"But−"

A slam, and then silence. Prentiss wondered if she should knock on the door again and insist she stay to help with her date, but shrugged instead. She figured she should give Garcia some space tonight, and press her for all the juicy details tomorrow.

Garcia listened on the other side of the door for the sound of Emily's receding footsteps, and sighed in relief when she heard them. She felt bad for leaving her two best girlfriends out of the loop about her and Morgan, but it was for the best. It was the only thing to do until they figured out what was going on between the two of them.

The thought about Morgan triggered her panic again about what to wear, and she rushed around the living room, hurriedly collecting clothes that had flown out of her doorless room and into the adjoining one. Giving the room one last sweep to see if she had missed anything, she scurried back into her own, staring at the intimidating heap.

An hour later, after showering, straightening her hair, and applying makeup, Penelope had narrowed it down to three outfits. In the midst of hastily shoving the rejects back into her closet and wondering where she had bought all of this stuff in the first place, she had chosen a red Chinese silk dress with gold beading (if they were going anywhere fancy), a simple blue cardigan and skirt set (casual, yet formal), and a plain white t-shirt and jeans (paired with the right accessories, it would look fantastic).

A knock at the door interrupted her in the middle of trying on the t-shirt and jeans, and she looked up in panic. He couldn't be here already. Frantically, she eyed the clothes on her bed one more time before rushing to get the door.

When the door was open, Garcia came face to face with the man who had driven her crazy this afternoon. Derek Morgan smiled down at her, all six feet of him, dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. "Hey, sexy mama."

The need to touch him overcame her, and she stood up on her tiptoes to place a quick kiss on his lips, mirth dancing in her eyes when she saw the carefully hidden desire etched onto his features. "Hey, gorgeous."

Morgan gestured down the hallway. "You ready to go?"

She shook her head, glancing back into her apartment, feeling naked without a single necklace, bracelet, or ring. "I'm not completely dressed yet, hot stuff. If you'll give me a sec…"

He passed an appreciative eye over her body. "You look fine to me." More than fine.

Penelope raised an eyebrow, doubtful. "I didn't know you'd lost your eyesight between now and the last time I'd seen you."

Morgan chuckled and drew her closer, resting his head atop hers. "Trust me, baby girl. My eyesight is fine. Besides," he added, gently pulling her away from his body to look down at her mischievously. "I've been waiting for this date for hours. Now that I have you all to myself, I'm not about to let you go again."

Ignoring her pleas and protests, he swiftly grabbed her bag and keys for her and locked the door with a flourish, handing the items back to her with a grin. Penelope couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face, and Derek took the opportunity to drape an arm around her shoulders. Her face lit up, and together they descended the stairs from her apartment into the night.

"You're not even going to try it?"

Derek scrunched up his face and shook his head. "Nu-uh. It looks disgusting."

Penelope nodded her head thoughtfully. "You may be right, handsome," she said, popping the sushi roll into her mouth and chewing enthusiastically. "But it tastes great."

Morgan grinned at her and turned his attention back to trying to manoeuvre the complicated chopsticks in his hand. The two were sitting at a small Chinese restaurant not far from the theatre they had just seen a movie in. Penelope had convinced him to come and try their food, claiming it was 'a fiesta in your mouth' and he found he had to oblige at the look of pure delight that appeared on her face.

After fumbling with the thin wooden sticks for a while longer, he gave up, looking longingly at the fried noodles sitting untouched on his plate. Garcia noticed his look of frustration and set down her own chopsticks, turning her focus to him. "Something wrong, sweetness?"

Morgan glared at the chopsticks as if they were two unsubs that had eluded him time and time again. "I just can't figure out how to handle these things. Who's bright idea was it to use pointed wooden sticks as eating utensils, anyway?"

Garcia laughed. "I don't know, but glaring at them won't help."

"Maybe, but it'll make me feel better."

She smiled, and reached over, picking up the sticks and placing them in his hands. Concentrating, she carefully laced his fingers through them so that he couldn't move them the way he had been doing throughout dinner. Satisfied, she sat back in her chair with a pleased grin.

While she was doing this, Morgan watched her, noting the way her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth when she concentrated, how soft her hands were, the way she used her fingers so quickly and efficiently so that he barely felt anything. He loved the way she could focus on one task, regardless of how small or insignificant, and fix it so that anything or anyone could be as comfortable as possible.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She looked intently at him, smile in place, and he wondered how he had gotten this lucky. "Just thinking about how wonderful you are."

Garcia's face went ablaze and she ducked her head to shield her embarrassment at being complimented, red curls falling round her face. Playful banter she could take, but when it came to serious compliments she was always tongue-tied and uneasy.

Morgan lifted her chin to look into her eyes, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "Don't be embarrassed, Pen. You are wonderful. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise, alright?"

She nodded in playful agreement and was about to reply when an odd look suddenly crept onto Derek's face. It seemed to be one of…panic? What is he so scared of?

"Derek? Is that you?"

A/N: Sorry for the late update and short chapter but typing is becoming way too tedious lately and I'm beginning to prefer the way my pen feels on paper. The next chapter and this one were originally planned to be one large one, but as I said, tedious. There's a dedicated writer for you, huh? Thanks for the reviews, love, and don't hesitate to drop some more!