A/N: Sorry Gang... I had this post ready for you a couple of days ago, but internet/computer issues prevented me from posting. Better late than never right? With a little bit of luck, I'm going to try and post as frequently as possible to reward you all with your patience.
Just a last reminder, tomorrow is the LAST day to go over to Chit Chat Corner in the Forums, and cast your vote for your favourite author and stories in the 2010 Crminial Minds Profiler Choice Awards. VOTING CLOSES ON NOVEMBER 30th. Thank you again to all my loyal readers who thought Incomplete was good enough to be nominated in not one, but two catagories. You really made my entire year and I love you to pieces.
When the trio arrived, all four pair of eyes in the Conference room were drawn to their entrance. Seeing Derek and Penelope's clasped hands and everyone's lingering smiles, it didn't' take long for the rest of the team to figure out what happened. One by one, they walked over to Penelope.
"Garcia I take it?" Hotch enquired softly.
"Yes sir. It's me." Penelope gave Derek's hand a squeeze and then was suddenly, but happily, pulled into a warm embrace. Over Hotch's shoulder, she could see the team exchange surprised glances, but kept silent and stepped back out of his hug a moment later.
"Glad to have you back." Hotch stepped back and let Emily rush forward to greet her friend.
"Welcome back PG, we missed you." Emily gave her friend a fierce hug and then quickly stepped back in order to let everyone else have their chance with her. At least that's what she was telling herself, but when she had to keep blinking to clear the watery blurriness from her eyes, deep down she knew the truth. Looking up, her eyes met J.J.'s and they shared an understanding smile.
"For the first time in my life, I've never been so glad to be wrong. I gotta say, if it wasn't for Morgan though, we might never have made the connection and got you back. From what little information we had, he was the only one close enough to you to be able to make the necessary leap needed in order to put it all together. But how he got there in his head still boggles my mind. You're very lucky, Kitten. We all are." Dave pulled Penelope close for a quick squeeze, giving her a brief kiss on her forehead before letting her go.
His words had her darting a look in Derek's direction and she smiled at the warmth radiating from his eyes. Knowing how much she meant to this man, to this team, had an answering warmth surging up and out from her heart. "Oh believe me, I'm well aware of just how lucky I am."
"Is.. is it for.. are you sure?" Reid's stuttering murmur could be barely heard, but it didn't take a Profiler to hear both the tentativeness and fear behind the question along with the need for reassurance. He stuck his hands in his pockets, cleared his throat and tried again. "Are you really her... Penelope, I mean?"
J.J. didn't miss or mistake his agitation. Better than anyone, she knew how much Penelope meant to Spencer Reid and how devastated he was when they thought she died, so she spoke softly and chose her words carefully. "Yes Spence, it's really her. It's really Garcia, I promise."
Although his feelings towards Penelope paled pitifully against the depth and scope of Derek's, they had never been of a romantic nature. He never told anyone outright, but Penelope meant more to him than just about anyone. To him, she was more than just a good friend - she was like the big sister he never had. Penelope was always the one who looked out for him and more often than not, went out of her way to make him feel normal... to make him feel like he belonged. When she died, or rather when they thought she did, she left a gaping hole in his life and heart that no one else was ever able to fill – not that he'd given anyone a chance. When Penelope died, he quarantined his emotions in order to survive, but it didn't stop his eidetic memory from keeping her fresh in his mind and from forcing him to relive her loss again and again.
At his lowest point, Reid was going to meetings sometimes twice a day, just to try and get some semblance of control over both his feelings of loss and the unbelievable depth of the cravings for the mind numbing drugs he once took. But the only thing that truly stopped him from slipping completely into a drug induced oblivion, was the absolute certainty of Penelope's sadness and disappointment in him if he allowed himself to go down that path of destruction. Straight from the consecration of the grave she was saving and protecting him, even if it was only from himself. Now that she was standing here before him, he needed to be crystal clear in his certainty of her existence before he could allow himself the luxury of feelings and emotions once more.
Without really knowing why or understanding what was going on with Reid, Penelope stood as still as animal caught withing striking distance of a Cobra - her eyes as watchful and wary of the young doctor as he was of her. Though admittedly cautious, it wasn't in a fearful way, but more of a case of respectful distancing. Almost intuitively she knew he needed a moment to process and time seemed to stand still as he let his eyes roam over her, a look of stark longing evident in his eyes. It was obvious he wanted to believe, needed to believe, but at the same time he was fearful of trusting in that belief.
When his gaze met hers once more, she slowly smiled until her eyes shone and reflected back at him with a rainbow of glittering emotions and encouragement. It was a radiant smile of epic proportions that dispelled the darkness and fear from his heart, leaving only warmth, love, and acceptance in it's wake. With one brilliant smile, his world stopped spinning in confusion and uncertainty, and instead settled back into place. With just a simple smile, he found the singular most prominent piece of him that had been missing from his life this past year. It was the only smile able to bring him peace and the single facial expression that made everything in his world alright once more. It was the smile that he knew only one person in the world could deliver and that one person was Penelope.
Slowly he allowed himself to respond with an answering grin, shy and irrefutably characteristic to no one but him. "I'm really glad you're back. Welcome home."