Have Yourself a Merry Christmas

Early Morning, Friday

December 25, 2010

Morgan and Garcia

Chapter Two

The team didn't get back to Virginia until almost dawn on Christmas morning. They had caught the unsub rather quickly but still just barely were home in time for the holiday. Though they had missed spending Christmas Eve with their loved ones, the whole team- and also the pilot for the jet- were glad they had made it back to enjoy some of the holiday still.

Derek was certainly exhausted but he was still looking forward to dinner with his best friend that evening. In all the years that they had been friends they had never spent a Christmas together. It felt like a rare miracle that he would get to see her tonight.

He planned to make the most out of it.

In the parking garage at work the team all said good bye and wished each other a merry Christmas, before heading their separate ways. When Derek reached his SUV he spotted an envelope on the windshield, being held down by the wiper. After picking it up he saw scrawled on the front of it Hot Stuff.

With a chuckle he took it into his vehicle with him. After starting up the SUV, to warm it up, he opened the envelope. Garcia had made him a Christmas card using photoshop. On the front of it was a picture of him and the words: Santa says you're at the top of his NAUGHTY list.

Derek laughed and opened the card. Inside was a picture of her and it read: Saint Nick might give you coal but you can count on me for a sweet treat.

Then she had kissed the card.

Those words were printed out but she had also written: See you at three. I'll bring all the food we need for a feast and we can heat up the kitchen together. Smooches, me.

He smiled as he read her words. There was no doubt about it, without her in his life he wouldn't smile or laugh one tenth as much as he did. She made his world a much better place. He used to take her for granted but no more.

Now Derek Morgan knew just how lucky he was to have Penelope Garcia in his life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

He collapsed into bed at six am with the alarm set for one pm.

Derek always had trouble sleeping so, after some tossing and turning, he woke up a good forty minutes before his alarm was set to go off. The first thing he did each day, always, was check his cell phone to see if he had any text messages that he had missed. He found several from his family wishing him a merry Christmas. He would need to remember to call his mother later on tonight.

For now though he needed to get started on his day, which meant going to the bathroom, brushing his teeth, letting Clooney out for a while and then working out for an hour in his home gym.

Afterwards he grabbed a long, hot shower and a shave before padding downstairs to the kitchen to start coffee.

Rolling his head on his neck, Derek thought about that evening and how he would spend it with Penelope. He wanted to make it a wonderful holiday for her. He already knew that having her there with him would guarantee that it would be an unforgettable holiday for him. It could be the only one they ever spent together so he planned to treasure every second of their celebration.

Through the years she had been so many different things to him at different times.

She kept his spirits up. She held him close when he needed it. She always had kind words when he was down. Dirty words when she was in the mood. She made work fun and kept him turned on. He never expected her to grow to mean so much to him but over the years that is just what she had done-now he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he loved her. They were good friends but there was always something between them beyond friendship. Something that made them hold back parts of themselves at times...and open up parts that they couldn't open to anyone else at other times.

They were complicated. She had the ability, even if she may not realize it, to make him happier than anyone else ever could. But she also could make him hurt deeper than anyone else could too.

That being said he still wouldn't trade a second with her for anything.

There was a time when he had sworn to his guy friends that men and women simply could not be best friends because sex would always get in the way. Now he knew that wasn't true. He amended his thoughts on the subject since he was now more mature: Men and women could be best friends but don't be surprised if one of them is lusting after the other the whole time.

Garcia and him fit that description to a T and Derek would want it no other way.

But there had always been reasons why they didn't hook up. For a long time he had been an avowed player and wanted to stay away from anything serious with anyone. He just didn't think he was that guy, ready for a commitment, back then. By the time he knew that casual relationships were no longer enough to satisfy him, she was officially off the market. His baby girl had become a taken woman.

So he had pushed down whatever romantic feelings he had for her. It hurt to do it. It wasn't easy getting over that pain but he had pulled it off with time.

They became even closer as everyday passed. So close that sometimes all he ached to do was take her home with him at the end of the long day- make her dinner, cuddle with her on the couch, hold her close till morning and then start the day with a sexy shower. Now that would be some good morning.

He wanted more. There was no denying that.

But Derek wasn't going to complain about what he had with Penelope. He was damn lucky she cared so much about him. And he refused to screw that up by trying to get her to ditch her boyfriend for him.

Hell, she must love that guy. That was all Derek needed to know to keep him from crossing that line. It should be easy by now to not go there. He had more than enough damn practice in resisting kissing her, caressing her, murmuring sweet nothings against her ear. But it wasn't easy at all.

Each day it grew harder to not confess his need for her. Each day he was pretty sure he grew to love and lust after her a little bit more than the day before.

He doubted that would change if they somehow ended up a couple one day. He couldn't see his feelings fading away the way that they had for every other woman he ever got near in all his life.

Though Derek didn't know what the future held for him and Penelope he knew that he would forever hold her in his heart.

He was knocked out of his thoughts when he noticed that his answering machine was flashing, indicating a message. He didn't get that many calls on his home phone- except for telemarketing.

Lazily he walked over, pressed the button and got a shock when he heard Kevin Lynch drunkenly slurring out a hate filled diatribe. "You dirty bastard...you just couldn't leave her be, could you? Could YOU?...Well..." hiccup "merry fraking Christmas, AGENT ASSHOLE!...You can have her, you hear me? HAVE HER!...She loved me. Me. She wanted me. Me. I was her hero..." and then it turned into nasty cursing about how Derek could never satisfy Penelope before Lynch slammed down the phone.

Derek stared at the machine, slack jawed.

He supposed he should feel bad for Lynch but at that moment all he felt was concern for Penelope. She obviously had dumped her boyfriend and Derek had no clue when it had happened. Maybe last night or it could have been last weekend or before that.

Pen had a way of keeping secrets sometimes if she wasn't ready to share something.

Whenever it was that she had broken up with Lynch it had to be have been a hard decision for her to make. She had been with him for just about three years now. She had to be hurting inside. Derek was surprised that she had looked so happy the last time he saw her, sounded so bubbly the last time they spoke on the phone.

If the break up was only last night then she would be really bummed when she showed up for dinner in a few hours. Derek set his mind to making sure his baby girl still had a great evening and that she felt comforted by him. He wouldn't push too much for her to talk about Lynch. He'd just hold her close and pour out his love for her.

This Christmas would not be sacrificed to pain and heartbreak, no matter what hurtful things had recently happened in either of their lives. There was always a reason to feel broken inside but whenever Derek got near Penelope all the hurt faded away. And tonight he prayed he could make the same thing happen for her.

He would make sure his baby girl had a wonderful Christmas that she would never forget. Her first Christmas with her Hot Stuff.

(Have yourself a merry little Christmas.

Let your heart be light.

-x-x-

From now on our troubles will be out of sight.

-x-x-

Have yourself a merry little Christmas.

Make the yule tide gay.

-x-x

From now on our troubles will be miles away.) (Judy Garland)