Derek tried calling Penelope again and received her voicemail as he had been for almost an hour now. He knew she was mad at him, and with good reason, knowing had the shoe been on the other foot he would be ropeable. It was any wonder that she lasted as long as she did not wanting to kill him.
"So this is the eleventh message I've left you. Now I know you're really pissed at me right now and I deserve it, but I would really love to apologise and beg for your forgiveness. Come on P, you can't be mad at me forever." He pleaded,
"Ha! Watch me Morgan!" Penelope retorted as she listened to him on her answering machine. He had been calling her for over an hour. On her cell phone, on her home phone, he'd been texting and emailing her too. She would be amused if she wasn't so mad at him.
The whole team had taken her out the night before for her birthday the moment they got off the plane from a case. All were in attendance with the exception of said best friend who had promised to be there, but never pitched.
"Message number twelve P, I don't care if you're mad at me I'm going over there now and making you talk to me."
"That'll be hard because I won't be here." She replied poking her tongue out at the machine. Just as she opened her front door to leave, there he stood with a bouquet of balloons and the largest teddy bear she had ever seen. When he had appeared from behind the bear she saw that his free arm was in a sling
"You seriously thought I wouldn't know that you would bolt the moment you knew I was coming over?"
"What happened to you?" she asked worriedly, forgetting for a moment that she was mad at him.
"I got grazed during the raid."
"By what?" she asked
"A bullet." he answered cringing knowing that she would start a different tirade,
"And you couldn't share this with the class when it happened and when you were on your way home? Did you make the others promise not to tell me?"
"I didn't want you to worry. It was your birthday."
"So instead you don't turn up and make me thing you just blew off my birthday?"
"I would never blow off your birthday P."
"Well I thought that until last night."
"Come on P, give me a break huh? I had every intention of pitching last night, but I ended up with a rash and Hotch insisted on taking me straight to the hospital." Penelope groaned,
"Are you okay?" she asked finally looking at him.
"Yeah P, I'm fine. Am I forgiven?" he asked with that famous Morgan grin
"Only because you're injured." She muttered opening the door waving him in. She rolled her eyes as he took the bear by the neck with his good arm and hauled it into her apartment. He turned and opened his arm out to her and she carefully walked into them grumbling into his chest as he hugged her tightly.
"So telling your Mother on you."
"You wouldn't?"
"Are you really okay?" she asked again ignoring his previous comment.
"Yeah P, it hurts a little but I'm okay. I'm really sorry I missed your birthday dinner last night. They doped me up so good that I fell asleep. I was supposed to call Hotch as soon as they did a once over, and he was going to come and pick me up to take me to the dinner, but I didn't wake up till this morning."
"It's okay. It's just a birthday. I'll have another one next year." She said shrugging it off.
"Let me take you out tonight and celebrate, my treat."
"Really Morgan, it's okay." She assured him giving him a brief squeeze again before stepping out of his embrace.
"But I want to celebrate." He pouted earning a chuckle from Penelope,
"Because it's all about you! How about a compromise, pizza, DVD, ice cream, the whole works, here tonight?" Derek knew she was trying to make it easier for him,
"Only if you let me take you out properly when my arm is no longer in a sling."
"Oh don't you worry my friend, I insist." Derek grinned pulling her into another hug and planting a kiss on her temple.
"You're the best P."
"I know." She replied with grinning back at him. Derek rolled his eyes and dropped his lips on her nose before gentle pulling her to the couch with him for an afternoon of couch potato-ing.