Chapter Two:
The next week, Derek tried to be extra nice to Penelope. He even bought her new mermaid pens for her office. She started to slowly give in, but was quick to remind him he had nothing to be jealous about. And even if she did date someone, he had a girlfriend, and was being an overprotective best friend. It was more than that, but Derek decided it was best not to voice that to Penelope right now.
Luke, on the other hand, was fitting right into the team. He and Reid were always discussing famous serial killer cases, and talking about their theories on Jack the Ripper or the Zodiac Killer. Emily and Luke seemed to understand each other pretty well, and the pair seemed to be buds. It was Penelope, though, that Luke had gotten the closest with. He was always giggling with her, and holding doors for her. Derek wasn't a fan of it. It was even worse because Derek could see himself and Luke being friends, but Derek was being stubborn.
"We've got a case in D.C." Penelope told the team one morning. "Security cameras are being hacked, and multiple families have been killed."
"Why haven't we heard about this until now?" Luke asked as Penelope showed them photos from the crime scenes. "It seems obvious they're connected."
"True." Hotch agreed. "But, they didn't connect the security cameras until this last family. This third family really made them realize that they have a serial killer on their hands. Just two murders could have been a coincidence, but with three...well now they need our help."
"It's important to note that this guy is targeting wealthy families with similar security systems." Rossi stated. "He's got to be good with technology, patient, and likely is from the area."
"Morgan and Alvez, you are going to go to the lastest crime scene. Prentiss and I are going to talk to the local PD. Rossi and Spencer, you'll be going to talk to the company that makes the security systems." Hotch assigned everyone their roles. "Garcia, you'll look over the security footage, see if you can find anything the local PD couldn't, call me when you find something."
"You aren't coming with us?" Luke asked the TA, sounding disappointed.
"No, all my babies are here. It'd be silly to go to the police department where the equipment is nowhere near as good as mine. Plus, it's not far. If needed I can drive myself there." Penelope told him.
"We need to leave. As we know, time is of the essence." Hotch said.
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Derek was annoyed that he was paired up with Alvez yet again. He had nothing against the guy aside from the fact that he was treading on his domain. He really wished he was partnered up with anyone else, but he knew Hotch felt like he was a good person to show Alvez the ropes.
The two arrived at the latest crime scene, and immediately got to work. The husband and wife had been killed upstairs in their bedroom. Their youngest child was also found in his room, but the older son had been found in the kitchen. The local police informed Derek that they believed he had been trying to get help. He had 911 dialed on his phone, but was never able to hit the call button.
"So the unsub disarms the alarms while the family is asleep, then what?" Luke asked, looking around the master suit.
"He takes out the biggest threat." Derek explains. "It's how it usually goes with family murders like this. Dad is almost always first to go."
"So he kills the entire family, but he doesn't take anything from the homes." Luke notes, confused. "Why target rich families if it's not about robbing them?"
"Rich families mean something to him."
Derek pulls out his phone. He was starting to piece some things together in his mind, he just needed some help. If he was right about this, it would be a huge lead in the case. And right now, they needed something before another family was killed.
"PG speaking, what's happening?" Penelope asked.
"Hey baby girl, I need you to check something for me." Derek replied. "I know local PD don't think there's any connection between the three families, but I'm not so sure. All the families are from this area. They have to be missing something. Can you do some digging for me?"
"Anything for you, hot stuff." She smiled. Derek listened as she typed some stuff into her keyboard. A moment later, she found it. "JACKPOT! Oh, you are a genius, Derek Morgan!"
"What is it?" Luke asked.
"Well, hot stuff numero duos, it turns out these families are connected. The mothers all attended ballets at the local theater each year. I can't find for certain that they were friends, or even talked, but they were all huge donors to this place. And get this, each year, the theater would host an event where they raised money for foster kids."
"So maybe our unsub was one of those kids." Luke theorized.
"Oh, brains and beauty!" Penelope complimented. Luke grinned.
"P, I'm gonna need a list of all the women who donated to this event." Derek told her.
"On it like….oh that's not PG-13 enough….but I'm on it!" She said, hanging up.
Derek and Luke headed to the station to meet up with the rest of the team. They used the information Penelope provided, and together, they were able to narrow down the possibilities of suspects. It turned out, there was one man who had been a foster kid during the time all the victims had been donors. He apparently lived in a group home, and had a criminal record. When he was a teenager, he vandalized rich neighborhoods, and had some theft charges. They were able to make an arrest, catching the unsub right before he broke into another security system. Penelope had been able to use the system's data and locate the man.
It wasn't often that a case was solved that quickly, but the team was always glad when it did. On the drive back to the BAU headquarters, Derek rode with Prentiss and Reid. Hotch wanted to ask Luke some questions to see how he was doing in his new position.
"I think Luke is a good addition to the team. He has a different perspective on a lot of things because of his history with the army and Fugitive Task Force." Reid commented from the backseat. Derek was driving and Prentiss had called shotgun.
"Yeah, and it's nice that he gets along with all of us." Emily agreed. "I hope Hotch offers him a permanent place with us."
"I don't know." Derek shrugged. "He still seems kind of cocky."
"Cocky?" Emily raised her eyebrows. She knew Derek was bullshitting her. "You know that's not true. You just hate that he and Penelope get along so well."
"It's true." Reid agreed. "You're jealous and think he's treading on your territory. You're considered an Alpha male, so you are protective of what's yours."
"Penelope isn't Derek's though. I mean first let's pretend this isn't super sexist to say, but she's not your girlfriend so you have zero claim on her." Prentiss said. She gave Derek a curious look. "Why are you so weird about this, Derek?"
"I don't want her to get hurt." Derek lied. "She deserves better than a guy like Luke."
Prentiss and Reid shared a look in the rearview mirror. Derek was in love with Penelope. Everyone knew that. He just didn't think he was good enough for her. He'd been making up excuses for years, and now that someone might make the move he was too afraid to, he was upset. This was going to play out eventually, and neither of the agents had any idea how it would end. They just hope their friends could work it out without anyone getting heartbroken.
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It turned out that Hotch did offer Luke a full position with the team. After the case, the team had a rare weekend off, and to officially welcome Luke to the family, they decided to have a night out together. Spencer brought a girl he'd been seeing named Zoey, Hotch brought his new girlfriend Beth, Emily and Penelope came in together, and of course, Luke was there. Rossi had decided to sit this one out, wanting to work on his new book, and enjoy his time off. Derek had debated whether or not he wanted to go, but was looking forward to time with his team. Mostly Penelope, admittedly, but still. Unfortunately, Elizabeth heard about the night out, and invited herself.
Elizabeth had taken forever deciding what to wear, so when they arrived, everyone was already at a table. Penelope, Derek noticed, was sitting between Prentiss and Alvez. She already had a Fuzzy Navel in her hand. It was usually Derek who got her her drinks on nights out, but that was another thing Elizabeth complained about.
"Look who finally showed up!" Prentiss teased as Derek and Elizabeth took their seats.
"My fault." Elizabeth smiled. "Derek, honey, grab us some drinks, would you?"
"I'll join you." Luke offered. He turned to his two female colleagues. "Ladies, need a refill?"
"Martini, please!" Emily replied.
"Penelope?" Luke asked.
"Fuzzy navel, extra cherrys, right baby-er Garcia?" Derek said, trying not to sound too flirty with his girlfriend there.
"Actually, make it a Sex on the Beach." She corrected, sending Luke a wink. He chuckled. "Still with extra cherrys."
"One Sex on the Beach, extra cherrys, and one Martini coming right up." Lule promised.
Derek and Luke headed over to the bar. Luke ordered the girls their drinks, and himself a beer. Derek ordered Elizabeth her usual glass of wine, and followed Luke's lead with a beer. He couldn't help but look back at Penelope. She was laughing at something Beth had said. He loved her laugh. It was contagious, and the smile on his face was a natural response to it.
"So, Penelope and you are friends, right?" Luke asked.
"Best friends." Derek said, putting his guard up. He didn't like the thought of where this conversation was heading.
"Nice." Luke nodded. "She's cool."
"Yeah, Penelope is the greatest." Derek agreed. He tried not to sound like an ass when he spoke next. "But, she's off limits."
"Oh, I wasn't-"
"She doesn't date coworkers, and besides, she's kind of in a thing with someone. Trust me, man. Not worth it." Derek lied.
"Oh, uh, okay." Luke said, the disappointment obvious in his tone. "Thanks for the heads up."
The bartender had finished their drinks, and so the pair made their way back to the table. Derek noticed that Luke sat a little less close to Penelope when they got back. Derek grinned victoriously to himself. So what if what he said was a lie? Luke and Penelope wouldn't have worked out as a couple anyway. At least that's what Derek told himself.
As the group chatted and drank their drinks, Derek tried to make small talk with Penelope, but it was awkward. Everytime he talked to her, Elizabeth would interrupt. Derek kept forgetting he'd even brought his girlfriend with him. He wished he hadn't. He knew that wasn't fair, but it was true.
"Ohhhh I love this song!" Penelope squealed in delight when Dancing Queen began to play. She grabbed Luke's hand, giving him no choice. "Come on, Alvez, we're dancing."
Luke tried to protest, but it was no use. When Penelope wanted something, she usually got it. Derek was immediately annoyed. He grabbed Elizabeth's hand and forced her onto the dance floor too. Eventually everyone joined. Derek watched as Penelope smiled at Luke when he took her hand and spun her around. They were having fun, and it left a nasty feeling in Derek's gut.
Penelope's smile was bright, and Derek remembered when they used to be like that. Before Elizabeth, Derek used to drag Penelope onto the dance floor. She pretended to hate it, but deep down she loved it. Now she was having the time of her life with someone else, and Derek couldn't blame anyone but himself.
"You know, if you weren't seeing someone, this could almost be a date." Luke teased. Derek froze. Oh shit.
"Seeing someone?" Penelope asked. She saw the guilty look on Derek's, and knew what was happening. "I'm not seeing anyone."
"Oh...uhm...I must have misunderstood." Luke stuttered, clearly not wanting to throw anyone under the bus. "Well, it's too bad we're coworkers then."
"Luke, does the name Kevin Lynch sound familiar to you?" Penelope asked, shooting a glare at Derek. "You know, my ex boyfriend who also works as a TA at the bureau?"
"I didn't know that." Luke admitted.
The song had ended, and a new one began to play, but no one was dancing. Everyone was watching to see what was about to go down. Derek was avoiding eye contact with Penelope, and Luke seemed extremely embarrassed.
"Well, next time you want to know something about me. Ask me. Not Agent Morgan. He obviously doesn't know me well at all." Penelope sounded pissed, and it was rare to hear her upset. "Em, you ready to go? I think I'm done here."
"Sure, PG, let's go." Emily agreed, knowing if Penelope stayed here, Derek might end up wearing her Sex on the Beach.
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Penelope knew she shouldn't be mad at Luke. It really wasn't his fault. It just made her angry that Derek and Luke had talked about her. Really, though, the person she should be mad at was Derek. When he was jealous he acted like a toddler, and she was over it. Why should Derek be able to date and flirt with anything that walked, but when she did the same, it was a problem? He needed to stop interfering with her personal life.
"Hey." Luke popped his head into Penelope's office. She had been radio silent with everyone all weekend. "I brought you a pumpkin muffin, and a chai latte. Emily said they're your favorite. Think of it as a peace offering."
"You don't need a peace offering." Penelope smiled, accepting the drink and pastry. She had to admit, this was nice. "I'm sorry I left the bar like that."
"Hey, you definitely don't need to apologize." Luke stated. He perched himself on the edge of her desk. "I'm sorry if you were put in a weird position. I know that it was probably really awkward for you. I should have talked to you."
"Yeah, but you couldn't have known any better." Penelope replied. She sipped her drink. "This is the most perfect cup of coffee."
"Good." Luke chuckled. "Are we good?"
"Of course!" She insisted. "You are a wonderful ray of sunshine, it's Derek who needs to stay out of my path today."
"If I see him, I'll give him the heads up." Luke replied.
"Hey Luke?" Penelope asked as Luke stood to head to his own desk. He stopped and turned toward her. "Uh, I have been in this weird place with Derek for a while, and the thing is, we used to have a lot of fun together. Not in an inappropriate way, but like movies, and games, and food, and just you know...fun. And well I miss just having fun. So, uhm, would you like to have fun with me tonight? Uhm, but again like totally appropriate fun, not uh-"
"Penelope." Luke smiled at her. "I would love to. What time should I pick you up?
"Great! Awesome! Uhm, let's leave from here after work." Penelope replied with a grin. "I know a really great sushi place just down the street, and then I have something planned."
"Great, I will see you after work." Luke smiled back.
Penelope couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She was going to let herself have fun. Derek Morgan might be hot and cold with her, but Luke was always warm. As much as she missed what she and Derek had, she wasn't going to keep dwelling on it. Derek had made his choice, and now she was moving on. She just hoped this didn't blow up in her face.
A/N this is not going to be a super long fic! I have the whole thing mostly planned out, and I have the writing bug right now. In the next chapter, Luke and Penelope hang out! Derek will also find out and let's just say he doesn't take it well! Hope you all liked this update, and let me know if there's other prompts you'd like to see. I will update my other WIPs soon, I promise!