Penelope was waiting impatiently in the therapist's waiting room. She knew the appointment was an hour, but it was still tough for her. She wanted to be in there with him. She wanted to hear everything he had to say. She wanted to know everything, but she knew that's not how it worked. She also wanted to help him the best she could, and she wished she knew she was doing it right.

When he came out of the room, she shot out of her seat. He handed her a prescription. "She gave me something more mild, just until I get through this."

Penelope nodded, and they walked side by side out of the building. She drove them back to her house but stopped on the way for take out and his medicine. When they got back, they both changed into their comfy clothes again, but she didn't want to make it seem like she was condoning being a slug, so she pulled out board games that would at least make him engage with her. They took Roxy for two very long walks for the fresh air and the exercise. When nighttime rolled around again, she heard from Rossi that they were doing fine. They had a break in the case, and Rossi had cleared it so that she and Alvez could have the rest of the week off. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Luke crawled in bed just as she was sending a text back to Rossi. She'd already texted Emily, Derek, and Nicky while he was in the shower. She even sent a sincere thank you to Kevin.

She set her phone down, as he came close to her and laid his head on her chest like how she had the night before. She made tiny scratches on his scalp again as they silently breathed each other in.

"I need you right now, and it's terrifying." Luke told her.

Her fingers froze momentarily before resuming their scratching motion, "I understand, and it's okay to need someone. It happens. Do you need to tell me anything about today?"

"Well, my next appointment is in two days, so she obviously thinks I need some monitoring. We talked about all the things that happened lately, any changes in my life, to see if there was a trigger." He shrugged. "But I'm not really sure that's exactly it."

"Okay, that's okay." She put her face in his hair again. The curls were still a little damp, and he smelled like her shampoo mixed with Luke. "Am I doing the right thing?"

"I told her that I reached out and explained how the team is close and everything, so she thinks it's good."

"Good, I looked up all sorts of techniques online. They say to make sure we're going outside, engaging in mental activities, eating regularly, trying to sleep on a schedule, spending time with animals, and keeping physical contact with someone can also help."

"You've covered everything." He smiled sadly.

"Not everything, but most of it. Some things you can't do. They say sex and orgasms can help, but not if its a new or unhealthy relationship. That only helps when it's an established one. I think going along with that, there is actual skin to skin contact. Something about that releases good hormones, pheromones, endorphins maybe? Same with cuddling. Also trying new activities. I don't know what that means, surfing and pottery? Apparently the more exercise, the better, so we might have to do more than the leisurely walks. They also suggest journaling if that's your thing."

Luke smiled. She would try her hardest to do things right. She'd research until the cows came home. "Well, being so chronically single comes back to bite me in the ass again." He laughed. "And also I think surfing would be pretty hard in D.C."

She laughed. "You might be right, but I'm sure there's something else we could try. Maybe we can find something funky to do."

"I have no doubt you can." He chuckled, silently shaking his head at her. "Can you come down here again?"

Penelope complied with his request, sliding down in the covers again. She reached over and turned the light off, leaving just the low glow of her diffuser.

He gripped her hand tightly in his and closed the space between them. "I'm sorry to ask this, but can we cuddle? Is that okay?" His voice was so cautious that she felt her heart lerch.

She took a deep breath before nodding, which he could see in the low light. "Spooning or intertwined fork legs?" She tried to lighten the moment for her own sake.

"Uh, if fork legs is us face to face, then that." He smiled.

She closed the last couple inches between them, feeling his arms come around her back. She put hers around his middle, and then let their legs twist into each other, each laying one on the other.

He pulled her close, and her chest was flush against his, but their faces were still far enough apart to look at each other. "I wish that you didn't have to see me like this," he said apologetically.

"It's okay, sweetie. I don't mind. I like seeing you for you." She let her hand run up his arm to his cheek, reassuring him and then feeling him place a kiss to her palm. She returned her hand to his middle. "Want me to tell you about how Derek lost his pants in Vegas?" She was trying to suppress her laughter.

Luke chuckled at her and nodded. She spoke until he fell asleep.

…..

They spent the next day on schedule, walking, eating, talking, but in the afternoon she dragged him in the car and drove without telling him anything. She had taken him to his house to get more clothes and shoes.

When they got to a nice hotel and walked through the huge lobby toward the ballroom, he was ready to run. But she anticipated that and grabbed his hand dragging him along. "Don't worry. It's a beginner ballroom class. Everyone's going to be terrible, especially me. Nicky practically has to carry me to make me go the right direction."

They entered the room, and there were couples of various ages and sizes and with different lengths of relationship. Some were learning for their wedding, some were dragged there to spice up their marriage, and there were two older couples that were just there to have fun. They quickly noticed they were the only friends in attendance, but it didn't seem to matter as they twirled and laughed. One of the more eccentric husbands would spin around and take off with the instructor, telling the man he'd rather follow than lead because it was less pressure. Penelope only recognized how much Luke was laughing when she felt her own tears come to her eyes as she held her stomach.

They danced and even made some friends. She wasn't sure they learned much at all, but they did get through one song without stepping on each other's toes. When the class was over, they both went to the snack table with the punch and cookies and mingled with the others. The instructor, Michael, came up to them. "And are you two going to come back when you decide to get married? We can make a dance just for you."

Penelope smiled politely at the various people waiting for their answer. "Actually we're not dating."

They got various scoffs of disbelief and a few why nots. "We work together, and we're friends." She wasn't sure how to say I really wanted to date him, but he apparently wanted to date other people, so I moved on.

One of the middle aged, married ladies, chimed in, "But you're so comfortable with each other, and you have so much chemistry."

Penelope shyly laughed and looked down, not even wanting to see Luke's face. "Yeah well you're not the first to say it, but we are both in relationships with other people so…" She trailed off hoping the conversation would turn to something else.

They eventually said their goodbyes. Penelope gave out her card to a few people who asked if they'd want to go to a real dance and try it sometime.

Luke was laughing and talking more like himself. He even absentmindedly sang along with the radio as she drove them back to her apartment.

They followed what had seemed to be a routine. While he was in the shower, she checked in with the team, finding out they caught the unsub and were heading back in the morning when the snow was supposed to stop. Emily texted her this time, to tell her they could both have until Monday off, and to let her know if they needed more.

Penelope sent out a group text about the charity event, asking them to RSVP to her so she knew how many more seats to tell Nicky to fill.

She also text Nicky, apologizing that she still couldn't see him and didn't have time to talk, but that she was excited for the Saturday night event.

She put her phone down and grabbed her lotion. She showered before him. Both of them deciding it was soothing at night and, without having to wake up and shower for work, it was easy to relax. She was rubbing her scented lotion all over her body, stomach, breasts, thighs, butt, and, when he came in, she was rubbing it down her legs. She smiled at him, but she quickly averted her eyes when she saw he decided against a shirt that night.

Luke watched her run her hand up her smooth legs, cursing himself for feeling better and therefore his mind being less inclined to regulate his body by itself.

She finished up with her arms and hands, setting the lotion on her nightstand and waiting for him to get in the bed. He got under the covers seeking her scent, now mixed with the spicy vanilla of her lotion. "Penelope, thanks for today. It was good to forget things for a couple hours."

She smiled, "Yeah I had fun, and, if you ever want to go dancing..." She laughed. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes and no. Yes because yes, it's not as bad, but no because I can feel that it's tentative, and I could mess it all up."

She nodded, "I understand feeling scared, and I understand feeling like you can't trust yourself yet. It's okay." Penelope reached out and pushed a damp curl backwards.

"Thank you." Luke reached out and put his hand on her thigh. She turned and hit the light, once again leaving them in the dim light, before burrowing down into the covers and coming towards him to intertwine the way they had done the night before.

"Aren't you going to be cold? It's still not fully Spring yet. That's why I've got the heavy comforter out."

"Skin on skin actually keeps you warmer than shirt on shirt." He said quietly, looking at her neck and not her face.

She lowered her eyes wanting to figure out what he was saying, "Yeah, uh, survival 101, right? But I don't think it works skin on shirt." She explained.

Luke let his eyes reach up to her face and then down again to their intertwined hands, "I know, I just thought since - what you said yesterday about skin on skin helping with the - and, uh, never mind. I can grab a shirt," he said shyly. Suddenly he was that scared Luke from just a couple days ago.

She took a deep breath. He was reaching out, and she really didn't think he was just trying to get a girl naked. Over the last few days, it was clear he was starved for physical affection. She wondered why that was. He had some girlfriend type around, but it was clear, whatever she was, he didn't trust her enough to be vulnerable yet. He was stirring under the covers, presumably to go get his shirt, but she gripped his arm indicating he should stay. She sat up wordlessly and pulled her shirt over her head, throwing it to the side and then sliding back to her position next to him. She wanted to feel self conscious about having her coworker seeing her partially naked, but she couldn't manage to. Something about this was extremely intimate but still not necessarily sexual.

Penelope returned her legs to where they were and put her hand on his waist as she had done the night before, finally letting her eyes travel up to his. Luke's eyes were glued to her face. She didn't know if he was really this courteous, or if he was deliberately trying to show her respect, but she knew he wasn't trying to use her. He didn't have anything to prove, she knew.

She blinked at him, and he pulled her close like the night before, her chest was pressed tightly into his. His warm skin made her feel so oddly content at that moment. She was supposed to be giving him comfort, but instead, his body was providing some to her. She realized that the skin on skin contact was very much a way to feel connected, and to be soothed and calmed, and to feel safe. She felt her nipples harden, she couldn't manage to cut off the communication to her body before her mind sent the signal that the man she'd had feelings for was now holding her close. Her eyes had been closed as she adjusted to the sensation, but, when she opened them, she saw his still fixated on her.

Penelope gave him a small smile. "You can either choose to hear about when Tara accidentally threw JJ's keys into a child's swimming pool before dropping her margarita down Emily's shirt, or you can listen to why Derek lost his cell phone in his pocket and started shouting Savannah's name into my hair dryer."

Luke remained silent, so she spoke again. "Well I'm sure we can get to both." She spoke until he slept.

…..