AN: Thanks for the reviews! I'm obsessive . . . once I start something I can't get it written fast enough. So enjoy! Oh yeah, don't own Criminal Minds. J
Chapter 5
Garcia woke up to the sound of her shower running. She smiled as she remembered last year, the first time she had woken up to Morgan in her shower. She had freaked out, because she thought something had happened between them without her remembering it. Since she and Kevin had broken up, and especially since he was "shot" before Christmas, the sleepovers had become far more common. She felt as if they were growing even closer, which she wouldn't have said was possible a year ago. Back then, she had already thought they were as close as two people could be, without being lovers.
Lovers. And then there was that. She thought about it sometimes. Okay, more than sometimes. More than she cared to admit. She'd been thinking about it more lately, because of the situation with Reid. Maeve's death was a horrifying reminder that life was fleeting. Love was an amazing gift, something that shouldn't be wasted or squandered. For years, she had thought that perhaps Derek didn't see her that way—she wasn't his usual"type," after all. But now, she wasn't so sure. When he had told her he loved her after Maeve's death, it had sounded like more than a declaration of friendship. She knew that they were closer than many couples who were intimate. Their friendship and their working relationship added layers upon layers of complications. It would be such a risk to reach for more between the two of them. But weren't some things in life worth the risk? She didn't want to live a life full of regret.
She heard the shower turn off. She supposed she should get up. Derek must have turned on the coffee pot before hitting the shower, because she could smell a delightful aroma from her kitchen. It was enough to finally get her out of bed. She poured two cups of coffee and then started some eggs for breakfast.
"Good morning, beautiful," Derek greeted as he came out of her bedroom.
Penelope turned and smiled at him, trying to ignore her disappointment at the fact he had taken his clothes into the bathroom with him. She had sort of been looking forward to the sight of him in one of her colorful towels again . . . focus, Garcia!
"I'll show you a good morning, hot stuff," she quipped, handing him a cup of coffee. He didn't take it. She met his eyes and was startled to see unmistakable heat there—crazy, hot, unmistakable heat that took her breath away. "Ummm, coffee?" She held the cup out to him again. Frack!
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, the heat was gone and he looked . . . resolved? She felt like she was going crazy.
"Thanks, gorgeous," he said, taking the coffee. "We have the day off, what's on the agenda today?"
"Correction," she said with a sigh, turning back to the eggs. "You have the day off. Those of us bearing the technical analyst title, those of us who do not jet off at a moment's notice, do not get a day off. Those people still have to go in and deal with paperwork."
"Damn," he said, looking put out.
"Indeed," she agreed. "In fact, this goddess had best go get dressed, or I will be late." She scraped the eggs on to a plate with some toast and plopped it in front of him. "You, my vision, may stay in my humble abode as long as you wish," she quipped, trailing her hand along his shoulder. She headed for her bedroom to get ready for the day ahead, trying desperately not to think about the hot, hungry look she had seen in Derek Morgan's eyes just moments before.
xxx
Derek practically groaned as Garcia waltzed into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. The woman was driving him insane. Ever since the night of Maeve's death, when he had made his decision regarding taking their relationship beyond friendship, he had found himself wanting her more and more. He probably would have allowed that resolve to slip too, had it not been for that awful nightmare. It came to him almost every night, and was actually worse when she was nearby. He figured that it was because being near her reminded him how essential she was to him, and his cursed subconscious felt the need to remind him of that in the most horrific of ways. As much as he wanted her in every possible way, she could not be his. It wasn't safe. Beside the black marks already on his soul from his past, there was the dark net of unknown enemies to consider. He always should have considered them, but it hadn't occurred to him to do so until Reid had suffered his tragedy. In his mind, the disturbing trend of death for the love interests of the profilers in their unit was not to be ignored.
He sighed and ate his eggs, trying desperately not to think of his beautiful woman in the shower.