Playing Games by JuliaBC

A/N: I vacillated for a very long time about whether to do even feature 11x12: Drive, because it offered so little.

Don't get me wrong. It was a good episode. I particularly liked the main victim subplot, where the UnSub tried to figure out if his victim had cheated or not. But it just offered so little. The bookends were particularly...final.

Oh, whatever. Here we go.

"All I'm saying is, don't call for a ride share," Kate finished and Chris looked at her in amusement.

"Babe, would I ever do that?"

"No," she admitted, leaning on the counter. "But you never know. Your truck could break down."

"I'd ask Luke or Jace to give me a ride home then, or, hell, hitch a ride on an ambulance," Chris joked, and came over to kiss her on the cheek. "It's not that I don't appreciate your worry but it's unnecessary. See you later, Kate."

"Bye," she whispered, clasping his hand for a second as he went out the door.

How could she help it? Penelope, spooked last night, had come over to celebrate the case's end with Chinese food.

It had also been only the second time she'd been able to see the Tech Genius since her 'quarantine' at the BAU.

They'd talked long into the night, and Penelope had given her some of the more unpleasant details as they wrapped up around midnight.

"Whatever," Penelope said, walking to the door.

"Do you want a ride home?" Kate wondered, hugging her friend. "I'm far from being sleepy and you...are far from being awake."

"That would be nice," Penelope admitted. "Chris is home, right?"

"I wouldn't offer if he wasn't," Kate replied, and they walked out to Kate's car.

"Ooh, but I'll have to come by your house again," Penelope said. "And how am I getting to work?"

"Don't worry about it, I can swing by early as I drop Meg off at school," Kate said. "You can afford to be late the day after a case, right? I mean, the rest of the team will be."

"I suppose," Penelope admitted, swinging her legs into the passenger seat with finality. "Thank you."

"I'm glad to do it," Kate said, pulling out of the driveway into the quiet street.

"I hate driving at night," Penelope admitted.

"I don't actually mind it," Kate said as she drove, making a smooth right turn. "I guess I have pleasant memories associated with it. My parents loved to take road trips when I was young and they were not the type to make hotel reservations so we just drove until Dad and Mom were tired of driving and stopped at the first place with vacancies."

"That sounds cute," Penelope said.

"We'd play road bingo during the day, and we had this little preprinted Hangman pad," Kate said. "Mom even got Liz a magnetic chess board, but I was so bad at it that she refused to play it with me."

Penelope burst out laughing. "That's hilarious," she said. "Sibling rivalry, hmm?"

"The best kind," Kate said, cruising onto an empty highway.

Penelope smiled. "I'm glad we had this night together," she said. "It is very obviously not a PGNO but it almost matched it. I had fun, Kate. And I needed it."

"I know," Kate said. "I've been in your situation before, to an extent. It can be...hellish."

"You know, the worst part wasn't even the...not being able to leave the Bureau part," Penelope began thoughtfully. "It was not knowing, not being able to guess what might happen next, and Spencer came home and right away he started in on getting the Dirty Dozen. I've never seen him so fierce, so single-minded."

Tears came to her eyes. "I kind of forgot how much he cared about me," she admitted. "He can be so...genius-y at times, and forget to temper his brain with his heart. But then he always turns it around, does something so beautiful and wonderful..." She trailed off. "He saved me," she finished simply. "How can I thank him for that?"

"Give him some more fun," Kate suggested, her own tears a bit misty now. "But you know, he's your teammate. Of course he loves you. He's known you for eleven years."

"And a half," Penelope said, blowing her nose. "I should stop crying. Oddly enough, I find it harder to sleep after I've been crying. I don't understand books that have people cry themselves to sleep."

"You know, me neither," Kate said. "Because it gets all your hormones going, and it wakes your brain up...I didn't understand it either, but maybe it's the kind of really tiring crying, where you're just drained afterwards. That could make sense."

Penelope sighed. "Look at that car," she said, pointing out a bright purple convertible. "Wouldn't you love to have a ride like that?"

"That would be pretty special," Kate admitted, laughing as they passed it.

"Oh, did you notice? There were these two cute guys in it," Penelope said. "Maybe they were a couple."

"They probably were gay, if not a couple, explicitly," Kate said. "I can't imagine a straight man driving a purple car."

"I can," Penelope said, then shook her head. "No, I can't. Not to bash straight men."

Kate chuckled. "Tell me who the people we're passing now are."

"Their story?" Penelope asked, peeking at the SUV. "It looked like a family. Ooh, I know, they came to DC to sightsee and got a hotel out of the District because it would be cheaper."

"You're a good profiler," Kate said, switching lanes. "But I don't think that's what it was."

"Well, I have worked with the best," Penelope said. "What was your bet?"

"They were coming home from a late night soccer game; I could see the cleats on the back seat," Kate said. "And they had a bumper sticker for Rosary Middle School, which had a game against Meg's school team today."

"Wow," Penelope said, turning back in her seat. "Yeah, they look like soccer parents. Guess you win that round."

"Well, you never know," Kate said. "I'm no Sherlock Holmes and your bet could just as well be right."

Penelope pointed out another car. "You go first this time."

"It's a..." Kate trailed off. "It's a mom, coming home after a long day's work."

"Why do you say that?" Penelope asked.

"That's JJ's car," Kate chuckled.

"Omigod, are you serious?" Penelope said, whipping out her phone and sending a text: if you're driving home right now, honk.

The car honked a moment later.

Kate honked back and a moment later she was alongside JJ.

"You're back already?" Penelope exclaimed, leaning far over.

"I am," JJ called back over the wind. "Now get back in your seat, that's dangerous."

"There's no one else on the road," Penelope said.

"What about me?" JJ asked.

"True," Penelope admitted. "Love you, girl! See you tomorrow!"

"It is tomorrow," JJ called back, waving happily. "Bye, Kate and Pen! This is your exit, if my deduction is right."

It was.

They went their separate ways and when they pulled up in front of Penelope's apartment, Penelope hauled Kate from the car with her. "Take a selfie with me," she said, straightening her glasses.

"Your mascara is running," Kate told her.

"That's okay," Penelope returned. "I need something to remember this by."

"Why?" Kate asked.

Penelope took the picture, both beaming at the camera, and then lowered her phone. "Don't think we can't tell," she said quietly. "You're a good profiler, Kate, but sometimes you forget that everyone else is too."

Kate scuffed her shoe on the ground. "Tell what?"

Penelope smiled. "You'll always be a part of the family, no matter what you choose," she said, and hugged Kate tight for a moment longer. "Mm, see you later."

It was just after Kate got home that she received a text. It was from Penelope; it was a group text to the entire BAU.

It was the selfie, Kate and Penelope beaming out at a dark night. No words were attached, maybe no words were needed.

Kate placed her phone on the kitchen counter and went upstairs.