Here it is! :] Enjoy and review, please.
"Hey baby." Garcia greeted Andrew as he walked into her tiny office holding his duffle bag. "You ready for a night of Penelope-fun while Jayje and Spence go do…whatever they do when they 'hang out'?"
He nodded. "Aren't I always?"
Garcia laughed and Andrew smiled, but Penelope couldn't help but notice that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Everything okay, baby G-man?" She asked, spinning in her chair to face him.
He placed his bag down. "Uh, yeah."
She shrugged. "How you holding up?"
"I'm fine." He stated simply.
Garcia nodded uncertainly and shut off her computers, preparing to go.
-:-
The car ride was silent, something very rare for any Andrew-Garcia occasion. Both of them liked computers and so whenever they were together, they couldn't help but blab about their latest tech discoveries to someone who understood. Penelope finally decided she needed the truth and pulled over to the side of the road.
"Why are we…?" Andrew began.
"Just listen." Penelope said, cutting him off. "Baby boy, I've been where you are. Both parents gone. I know, it's terrible. Granted, I was older when it happened, so at least I could take care of myself. I can't even begin to fathom how awful it must be for you. But you need to understand, all of us have lost somebody in someway or another. Bella lost her parents. Morgan lost his dad. JJ's sister. Emily's dad and her best friend. Even you're friend Dex lost his little brother when he was five. Now, we may not know exactly how you're feeling, but we can all relate. So, it's okay not to be 'fine' every once in a while. Just tell us. Holding things in isn't good. Okay, sweetie?"
Andrew nodded. "Okay."
"So, how 'bout we go get some food and chat? Not necessarily about…that, but about anything. It's been a while since we've just chatted." Penelope offered.
"I'd like that." Andrew said, and Penelope began to restart the car. He stopped her. "But, wait. I've got to know. How exactly did you know about Dex's brother?"
Penelope flushed. "Um, the lovely Derek and his skinny Boy Genius might've been a little overprotective and made me do background checks on the kids you and Bella hang out with…For the record, I was simply a innocent bystander who got sucked into the dark side due to her amazing tech skills and inability to say no to those guys."
Andrew just shook his head. "I can't say I'm surprised."
-:-
"So, Spence, what do you want to do now?" JJ asked as the two exited their favorite little Italian restaurant.
"Well, I had, um, one idea. But it's dumb…" He said nervously.
JJ stopped walking and looked up at him. "What is it?"
"There…there's an observatory. It's pretty cool at night. I thought maybe…maybe you'd want to check it out?" He stuttered, making it sound more like a question.
JJ laughed. He was too adorable sometimes. "Sure, Spence."
His face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really?"
"Yes."
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the big dome shaped building. Spencer led JJ to the door.
She looked at it dark building uncertainly. "Is it even opened right now?"
Spencer smiled. "Doesn't matter, I have a key." He said, holding up his key ring.
"How…?"
He shrugged. "I visit this place a lot."
"I bet."
Spencer quickly unlocked the door and led JJ inside the dark room. He maneuvered his way around like a pro and easily switched in a light, filling the huge room with a dim light.
"Wow." JJ said, taking everything in. The room was huge. It had things all over; telescopes, sky maps pinned to the walls and even some gadgets she didn't recognize. "This is brilliant."
Spencer beamed like a proud parent. "I know."
He spent the next half an hour showing JJ around. He taught her how some gadgets worked, explained how some constellations came to be and JJ surprised him by being pretty knowledgeable about astrology.
"My mom loved anything about space and stars." She explained when he shot her a shocked look after she blurted the name of a constellation he couldn't remember. "I picked up it up from her. I guess you could call us space-nuts."
Spencer looked at her in awe. "Well, you could call me a space-nut, too. I'm impressed."
She just blushed and shrugged, looking away.
Hours passed. JJ and Spencer were so absorbed in their star gazing, they barely noticed.
"And…perfect." Spencer said adjusting the telescope for her. "Now look."
She peeked in the lens and gasped. "Beautiful."
Spencer couldn't help it. "Yes. You are." He blurted.
JJ pulled back from the lens and looked at him.
"I'm…I'm sorry." He muttered, bright red covering his cheeks.
"It's okay." She muttered back, lowering her head to hide the grin that was spreading across her face.
Spencer kept going, determined not to screw things up. "But not sorry, as in it's not true. 'Cause you are beautiful. That sounds creepy. Oh, I'm sorry, it's just, I…like you and I'm nervous and, um…" He rambled, unable to find just the right words.
However, JJ's heart swelled, the words 'I like you' echoing in her head. Without even thinking twice, she grabbed his shoulders and stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his.
That sure shut him up.
He responded immediately, his long arms snaking around her waist and pulling her closer. Her fingers intertwined in his hair. She slowly guided him backwards, trying to get him to a wall or something, when he accidentally tripped over a cord. He fell back, pulling JJ down with him.
"Real smooth, Reid." He groaned, rubbing the back on his head, which banged into the wall. He sat up and leaned against the wall. "You okay, Jayje?"
"Hmm, I think I'm more than okay." She said, straightening up and sitting next to him.
"Me too." He said, pulling her close.
They sat there, quietly for a while, just soaking in the fact that they had kissed. Finally. After a few minutes, Spencer began to chuckle softly.
JJ pulled back and looked at him. "Are you…laughing?" She asked, amused.
He nodded. "It's just…I just kissed the girl of my dreams. It's easily one of the best moments of my life. I'm pretty happy."
JJ blushed. "Aw, Spence…"
"No, really."
"Well," She said, leaning back onto him again. "This also made my top five favorite moments."
"What's your number one?" He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.
"Watching you try to use chopsticks." She joked, laughing.
He pretended to be upset, but seeing her laugh got the best of him and he reached forward and pulled her into another kiss.
-:-
"Do want me to get you anything? Painkillers, food?" Derek asked Bella.
"Derek, I'm fully capable for doing that by myself." Bella assured.
"Are you sure? Because it's no trouble." He continued, oblivious.
"Derek." She said.
"I could just run out and get you something. It's not an issue." He said, pulling out his car keys.
"DEREK!" She yelled.
"What? What's wrong?" He asked, alarmed. He had missed Bella's knee appointment yesterday and when Dave dropped her home crying, the guilt was overwhelming. He immediately went on overprotective-mode, constantly grilling her about whether or not she was okay, or if she needed anything. As sweet as it was, she could only take so much.
"I'm just fine." She said smiling.
Morgan sighed, sitting on the couch next to her. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, completely. And yeah, yesterday's appointment was beyond painful, but Dave had my back. It's alright that you weren't there. I'm a big girl. I can do some things without you." She replied.
"I don't like it when you say that, sweetheart." He admitted. She shot a questioning look in his direction. "You're my baby. The last thing I want to do is have you grow up and leave your uncle all alone."
She scoffed. " I'm not going anywhere. But trust me, even when I do go off one day, you won't be alone." Now it was his turn to give the questioning look. "You'll have Penelope." She added, smirking.
His eyes widened. "Hey, where did that come from?"
"No where. Everyone, even Reid, sees it. You two just seem to be oblivious."
"I don't know. I don't think she…sees me like that." He said.
"Oh, she does. And you better hurry and snatch her up before she gets tired of waiting and finds some other dude. Quit avoiding it and just make out with her already, okay?"
Morgan sighed. "Maybe you're right."
Bella shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised, it happens frequently." She stated, earning herself a punch in the shoulder.
"Hey, how do you even know what making out is, little miss?" Morgan asked.
She rolled her eyes. "I've had loads of experience." She said casually. Seeing the look on her uncle's face, she added, "Kidding."
"Yeah, you better be. Or soon the team will be trying to track me down and lock me up for the murder of some fifteen-year-old males." He growled.
"Oh, no. I'm more for the older guys. You know, seniors." She said, getting another panicked look. "Gosh, can you not hear the sarcasm?"
He shook his head. "Forgive me for not wanting my niece to get pregnant."
She laughed. "You can't get pregnant from making out."
"Oh, I know. It's what comes after that worries me." He said.
"What comes after?" She asked, feigning innocence. Morgan just stared. "Wow. You really don't understand the concept of 'jokes', do you?" She said.
"I do, it just caught me off-guard." He said.
"Well, you don't need to worry. I know all about what comes after making out. You could probably call me an expert, actually." She teased, once again.
Morgan's eyes bulged out of his head. Bella laughed. "Okay, okay. I'm done with the kidding. I don't want you to get a heart attack."
"You are killing me, kiddo." He said, exasperated.
She smiled. "Then, I'm doing my job."
"Just…just promise me you'll be smart. And safe. With everything. High school can have bad influences and I don't want you to get sucked into that, okay?"
"Yes, dad." She said sarcastically.
Morgan froze. "Dad?"
She turned pink. "I was, um, I was being sarcastic…"
Morgan nodded. "Oh, okay."
They both sat there silently for a minute, before Morgan spoke.
"You can, um, call me that though. If you want. I mean, if you're okay with it." He stuttered.
Bella cracked the tiniest smile. "I might like that. Maybe."
Morgan grinned, glad she was even considering it. He wanted Bella to feel like she had at least one parent. "Really?"
She nodded and planted a little kiss on his cheek. "Yeah."
Hey. What did you think? Let me know. And also, if there's anything you want to see in the future of this story, tell me. :)