I Love You Tommy Brown:

She knew without a doubt that Kevin had something planned. The man hated Derek Morgan, and yet she'd caught them discussing something that appeared to be very important. He had practically been chasing Derek across the bull pen, trying desperately to get the SSA to listen to him. Penelope did not like that. She wanted to keep Kevin and Derek seperate where they belonged, and Kevin crossing that line made her feel very uneasy.

"Uhm, hi yeah what was that about?" She'd caught Derek the moment he stepped into the conference room.

He told her Kevin just wanted to talk and refused to give her any more details. Derek didn't keep secrets from her, and she always knew when he wasn't giving her the full truth. She was annoyed that he was keeping things from her.

To make matters worse, after the team left to solve the case, Derek refused her phone calls. He never did that. She just wanted to talk to him. He was supposed to be her best friend, and now, because of whatever the Hell Kevin was up to, he was ignoring her. She hated it.

She left him a very lengthy, very stressed voicemail. By the 67th message, she was downright desperate. There was only one reason she could think of that Kevin would go to Derek, and in turn would make Derek avoid her. And that reason, well, she wasn't ready to think about it.

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Kevin arrived at her office just after she hung up from yet another attempt at reaching Derek. She decided if she couldn't get the truth out of Derek, she'd get it out of Kevin. She began asking him what he had talked to Morgan about the day before. Of course, Kevin tried to play dumb, but she wasn't going to just let it go.

"Morgan is my friend, you are my friend, you and Morgan are not friends." She reminded her boyfriend when he tried to tell her that he was simply chatting with Derek.

He told her it was complicated. And just like Derek had tried to pull, Kevin said they talked about guy stuff. Basketball, to be more specific, which of course gave it away. Morgan played football. Not basketball. And even more so, Derek hated watching basketball. He was a hockey fan. She knew that because she knew everything about Derek Morgan. Actually, she knew more about him than she did Kevin, which was why this whole thing was causing her to freak out.

She dismissed Kevin when he asked her if she wanted to get dinner. She told him they were going to deliver the profile so she had to stay in the office. It was partly true, but she would have found any excuse not to go with him to dinner.

This plan backfired, however, because Kevin showed up a bit later with dinner. He never brought her dinner, not in the 4 years they'd been dating. And, he had brought her favorite: Vegan Pad Thai. A dish she loved, but had to drive nearly an hour to get.

"Why are you acting so weird?" She asked him.

When he refused to be straight with her yet again, she kicked him out of her office. He told her he'd let her concentrate and would put the food in the fridge. Before doing so, though, he handed her a plastic container.

"This is a red velvet cup cake, and you only give them to me on special occasions." She stated, growing even more suspicious.

"We'll talk later." He said, simply. He grinned before he left.

Now she was certain. Between the talk with Morgan, the special food, the dessert. It could all add up to only one thing. The thought would make any girl who was with the man of her dreams ecstatic. That was the problem, though. Kevin was great, but he wasn't the one she wanted to marry. She hoped she was wrong, but deep down in her gut, she just knew. Kevin was planning on proposing.

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Derek and the team arrived back, and despite the invitation to go for breakfast with JJ, Penelope waited to talk to her best friend. She needed to take care of this, and she couldn't wait anymore. Derek Morgan, goodness help him, could not escape her now.

He apologized for not returning her calls. She told him it was okay. She explained that she knew what was going on. She'd figured it out with her ESP. She told him that she knew what he and Kevin had been talking about. The signs were there with her favorite foods and him reading her favorite book.

"Derek I hacked into his computer." She admitted.

"Penelope-" He began to scold her, but she cut him off.

"He's looking at rings." She told Derek.

"You know the last time I checked, Kevin is a pretty great guy." Derek reminded her.

"I knew it." She sighed, tears welling up in her brown eyes. "I knew it."

"Baby this a good thing, isn't it." Derek tried to tell her, but his voice lacked happiness.

"Maybe if it was you." She said. Derek's mouth dropped open. "But not with him. If I commit to him it'll get messy and I'll be left empty."

Before Derek could say anything, Kevin appeared out of the elevators. Derek excused himself, knowing that Penelope needed to talk to her boyfriend. Her eyes pleaded with him to not leave her, but this needed to be done.

Kevin smiled at her when he saw her, and she felt awful. She had kind of just admitted her feelings for Derek, and also flat out told him she didn't want to marry Kevin. Now, here he was, smiling his annoying smile at her.

"You, uh, you know, don't you?" Kevin asked her, sounding very nervous.

"Kevin…" She began, her eyes full of tears. "I like the way things are now. I love how you have your space and I have my space, a-and when we come together we're our own weird world unto ourselves and... I don't want to ruin that."

Partially, she was lying. She wasn't happy with the way things were now either. Kevin was safe, but he didn't make her happy, not the way Derek did. Keeping a space between the two of them was the only way she could keep up this facade.

"That's not what this would do." Kevin insisted.

"Yeah, it would." Penelope stated. His face fell.

"Penelope are you uh, are you against marriage or….are you just against marrying me?" Kevin asked her seriously.

"Kevin, I'm just not ready yet."

"Well I am." Kevin replied. "What if I was Derek Morgan? Huh? What would you say if I was Derek Morgan asking you to marry him, would you be so against it then?

"Kevin…" A tear slipped from her eye. He nodded.

"That's what I thought."

She called after him while he walked away, but it was no use. He had made his mind up. Kevin wasn't going to be her second best anymore and she couldn't blame him. She knew, there was no way she could just pretend that things were fine the way they were. She had hurt Kevin by making him think she'd want to marry him.

She took a deep breath and put her emotions aside for the time being. She needed to go see Derek. She made her way to the elevator. It was now or never, and she couldn't go forever without having a serious talk with her best friend.

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Derek Morgan had been pacing his living room for the past fifteen minutes. Penelope was going to marry Kevin Lynch. He'd lost her to that Comic Con going, Dr. Who obsessed, dairy free, weirdo. If only he'd gotten up the courage to just tell her how he felt. He had actually. Twice. Once, after she was shot. And again when he nearly lost his life in that ambulance. But, she hadn't realized that he meant he was in love with her.

The idea of losing Penelope forever was just about killing him. She saw him as her best friend who slept around and didn't take relationships seriously. It wasn't like she was completely wrong. He had never wanted to settle down. But then Penelope Garcia came into his life, and now it was all he could think about. Too bad Kevin was gonna be the one who got to live out Derek's dream. And it was all Derek's fault.

"Derek!" The SSA jumped as he heard a pounding on his door. He'd know Penelope's voice anywhere. "Derek Morgan open the damn door!"

Derek didn't want to deal with this. Penelope probably wanted to tell him about Kevin's proposal. Of course she'd said yes. Derek hadn't given her a reason not to. Why hadn't he just told her not to marry Lynch and to instead, give him a chance at proving to her that he was worthy of being more than her friend.

"I swear to whatever God you believe in Morgan, if you don't let me in I'll pick the lock!"

Derek, despite the situation, couldn't help but chuckle. He had no doubt that if he didn't answer the door, Penelope would absolutely break in. He decided not to give her the chance. Might as well get this over with.

"Hello, Garcia." He greeted, letting her in. "Well, I suppose it's future Mrs. Lynch now."

"You're a fucking asshole." She poked him in the chest with her finger. "A gorgeous, egotistical, cowardly, ass hole."

"Ouch." He winced from both her pokes and her words.

"For your information, Derek, I turned Kevin down."

"Why?" Derek asked her, grabbing her hand so she'd stop stabbing his chest with her nails. "Like I said before, Lynch is a great guy last I knew."

"Are you serious right now?" She demanded, pulling her hand away. "Did you not hear what I said back in the office?"

"What, that you're afraid of things getting messy?" He replied, avoiding what she was trying to get at. "Baby, I really don't think that's going to happen."

"You know what, forget it." She had tears in her eyes. "For a second, I thought maybe you refused to help Kevin because you were jealous. I thought, if I turned Kevin down, maybe, just maybe, you'd get your head out of your ass. Evidently I was wrong."

She turned to walk back out the door. Derek knew he couldn't let her leave. Not like this. He grabbed her arm to stop her from going out the door. Gently, he pulled her close to him. They were so close that their noses were just barely grazing.

"Say it." He whispered. "Penelope, I need you to say it."

"I love you, Derek." She told him tearfully.

That's all he needed. He crashed his lips to hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck as they explored each other's mouth. It felt like every moment they'd known each other had been building up to right now. There was no awkwardness that often comes with first kisses. No, this was absolutely perfect. It was as if they'd been doing this their whole lives.

Derek squeezed Penelope's curves as she clung tightly to him. When it became vital to breathe, they pulled back. Only a moment later, they were back to kissing. He lifted her from the ground with ease, carrying her to his bedroom to make good on all the teasing they'd given each other for the past seven years.

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Penelope woke up the next morning to an arm slung over her waist. She had a bed sheet covering her, but her clothes were still scattered over the room. She could feel Derek's eyes watching her. She gently turned. Derek smiled at her.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"I'll show you a good morning." She teased, sleep still in her voice.

"Oh you already did a few hours ago." Derek grinned. She playfully shoved him. He leaned down and captured her lips in a quick kiss before standing. "Get dressed, baby girl. I'm taking you for breakfast."

She smiled and quickly rose. Derek tossed her a pair of his sweatpants and a t-shirt, so she didn't have to wear her clothes from the night before. She was grateful for it, that dress, as cute as it was, was not the comfiest, and she was feeling very lazy. Probably from the lack of sleep, but still.

Once they were both presentable, they headed out to a little diner just a few blocks from Derek's house. They'd gone there before a few times. It was a little hole-in-the-wall place they'd discovered one morning after a movie night turned sleepover. Now it was kind of their place.

The waitress knew them by name, having mistakened them for a couple the first few times they visited, and took them to their favorite booth by the window. She gave them a knowing smile, clearly seeing the change in their demeanor. Of course they were always flirting with each other, and weren't shy about playful touches, but anyone could see that it was different now. They had their orders taken, and then were left to talk.

"So…" Penelope began, not knowing where to start.

"Baby, before you let any doubts fill that beautiful head of yours let me start, okay?" He requested. She nodded, glad he was taking the reins. "Last night was the best night of my life. I love you, Penelope. It's always been you for me. I should have told you years ago. I can't go back and change that, but if you'll let me, I'll spend every day of my life making it up to you."

"Every day?" She asked. "Wow, that's a tall order."

"P, I'm all in." Derek said, sincerely. "It should have been me proposing to you. Not Lynch."

"Wow." She breathed. He took her hand.

"I won't rush you into anything you're not ready for, but I need you to know that I am serious." Derek told her softly. "We go at your pace, we do this completely your way, because all I care about is being with you."

"Derek, I am more than ready to be with you." She smiled, happy tears welling up in her eyes. "Gosh, we waited seven years for this, I won't waste another moment. But, I do want to keep things between us for a bit. Kevin wasn't the one for me, but you were right, he is a great guy. The last thing I want to do is hurt him unnecessarily. Plus, even though we have always acted like a couple, it might take a little time to get used to actually being together."

"That's completely fine with me, baby girl." Derek assured her.

The waitress came back then with their plates of food. Derek always ordered the stuffed french toast, and she always ordered the belgian waffles. Then they'd split the order in half and share it. It was funny, think about it now. Penelope didn't ever do things like that with Kevin. She never really thought to, honestly. With Derek though, it was like second nature. They had a routine that came so naturally she didn't even have to think about it.

After the waitress made sure everything was alright, she left the couple once again. The pair spent a few moments enjoying their breakfast and the comfortable silence that settled over them. Derek handed her the Blueberry syrup, knowing it was her favorite, and she passed him the Apple butter for his waffles. As stated previously, a very natural routine they shared.

"You know," Penelope began after a bite of french toast. "Last night, Kevin asked me if I would have answered a marriage proposal differently if you were the one proposing. He was right. I'm not against marriage. I was against marrying him because there's only one person I could make that commitment to."

"Who's that?" Derek smirked in a teasing manner. "Oh, me?"

"Yes you, dork." Penelope laughed. "I just...I want you to know that someday, when we're ready, I want that. I want to be your wife."

"That's wonderful, because someday, I want to be your husband."

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And so, for a few months things carried on mostly normal. At work, anyway. The pair still flirted, teased, and probably failed sexual harassment training, but aside from that, no one questioned a thing. At home, things were definitely better. Derek and Penelope spent their nights wrapped in each other's arms, relishing in the feeling of being together.

It wasn't that they never fought, because they definitely did. Like one time when Derek accidentally closed out of her program on her computer without saving anything. Or the time Penelope made them reservations during a Black Hawks games. And, of course, there was a bit of jealousy. An intern was hitting on Derek on day, and Derek being the nice guy he was, didn't catch on. He told Penelope she was making a big deal over nothing. It pissed Penelope off, and she spent her first night in weeks sleeping at her place. They made up the next day, over and over again. Derek was also very jealous whenever Kevin Lynch was around. He felt very territorial which would lead to some bickering. Penelope would remind him that she chose him over Kevin, and usually it made Derek realize he had nothing to worry about. It was that adjusting to being together that Penelope had mentioned. In the end though, it was all worth it because both were happier than had ever been.

The secrecy, however, was reaching its end. The day of the bank bombing, when Will was taken hostage, was when it became obvious that they needed to consider coming out about their relationship. When Penelope had sobbed with relief and threw herself into Derek's arms when she saw he was okay, they got a few questioning looks.

Kevin had straight up asked Penelope if there was news she wanted to share, but she brushed him off. She knew he was dating someone now, but he still seemed to be a bit stuck on their relationship. She wondered how he would take the news when they did tell everyone. Not well, she imagined.

JJ's wedding came, and the pair were excited to go together. They were each other's date, and no one batted an eye. It wasn't the first time they had gone to a BAU event together. Everyone assumed it was just their unique friendship. Little did they know.

Kevin showed up, his arm around Gina's waist. He kept looking at Penelope, waiting to see her reaction. He was clearly a bit disappointed when she didn't appear jealous. Actually, Penelope seemed rather happy for him. Kevin couldn't help but notice that Penelope herself just appeared much happier.

During the wedding vows, Derek and Penelope tried not to make too much eye contact. They both knew if they looked at each other, they would give too much away. Instead they focused on how happy their friends were. JJ and Will were in complete bliss, and Penelope and Derek were so happy for them. They were thankful to be a part of their special day.

When the vows were over and it was time for dancing, Derek and Penelope started off dancing with their friends. Penelope had fun twirling around with her girls. Derek taught Reid some moves. Penelope even danced with Hotch and Rossi. But, the pair spent most of the time in each other's arms. They shared nearly every slow song together. It was wonderful, until Kevin interrupted them.

"Penelope, can I have a dance?" He asked her. Derek was holding her waist tightly, and he gripped her a bit closer. "Please?"

"Can't you see she's taken?" Derek all but growled.

"What the hell does that mean?" Kevin demanded.

His voice was loud and people began to look their way. To avoid ruckus, Penelope gently moved Derek's hands from her hips. One dance wouldn't hurt. She didn't want Kevin to cause a scene right now. She knew Derek didn't approve, but she also knew he respected her too much to forbid her from dancing with her ex boyfriend. He trusted her and knew she was his.

"Nothing, come on." Penelope held her hand to Kevin, but he wouldn't take it.

"No, what does it mean?" He asked again. The entire BAU team was looking at them. "Are you screwing Derek Morgan now?"

"What? Kevin that's-"

"Don't lie to me." Kevin's voice was ice cold. She'd never heard him sound so angry. "Did you refuse to marry me and then jump into bed with him?"

"Watch your mouth." Derek warned. He gently pulled Penelope into his side.

"Guys, please explain what's going on here." Emily requested.

Derek looked at Penelope, silently asking if it was okay to come clean. She nodded at him and took a deep breath. This was not how she wanted them to find out, but it wasn't like they had much of a choice. Damn Kevin.

"Derek and I are together." Penelope informed everyone. "We've been together since the case with the former teacher and her student boyfriend."

"That was weeks ago!" Reid exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything."

"It was complicated." Derek replied vaguely.

"It's really not though, is it?" Kevin grumbled. "See this is how I see it. I asked Derek to help me propose to Penelope. He refused. She found out, and told me she-what was it, Penny? Oh, right- she told me she wasn't 'ready'. Well, obviously it was because she was too busy fuc-"

"That's enough." Rossi said, grabbing Kevin by his shirt before Derek could have a go at him. "I think it's time you leave."

"Whatever, man." Kevin shook his head. "I hope you're happy, Penelope. Because you just lost the best thing that you ever had, you bi-"

"Go!" Hotch demanded.

Rossi released Kevin, and the tech scurried away. Derek held Penelope against his chest, hoping to bring her some comfort. Lynch was a jerk. Derek knew the guy was gonna be hurt, and he didn't blame him. Losing Penelope would be devastating, but it didn't give him an excuse to act the way he did.

"Well, now that he's out of the way," JJ smiled. "I think congratulations are in order."

The team all nodded, with big smiles on their faces. They all took turns congratulating and hugging the stunned couple. Derek and Penelope were relieved by their team's reaction. They had been worried they would be upset that they had kept it a secret.

"Some of us maybe had inkling." Rossi admitted with a smile. "The two of you are even more disgusting than normal."

"Plus, not to mention, that one night we all went out and you two were on the dance floor together." Prentiss added. "It was very steamy out there, even for you two."

"How did I miss it?" Reid asked.

They all chuckled. Derek began to give them the real story of how they got together. He explained why they didn't tell anyone, and the team was understanding. Hotch and Rossi both assured Derek and Penelope that Strauss wouldn't do a damn thing. They were too vital to the team, and it would be ridiculous for her to say anything to them.

In the end, everyone was very happy for the pair. It had taken a long time for them to get together, but it was clear to all of them that Derek and Penelope were meant to be together. They were soul mates. Even if you didn't believe in soul mates, you couldn't deny that Derek and Penelope were made for one another.

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The next wedding Derek and Penelope attended together was their own. He proposed six months after JJ and Will's wedding. They had a beautiful ceremony three months later. Everyone told Penelope she was crazy for planning a wedding in three months, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be married to Derek.

They went on a two week long honeymoon touring Europe. They went to Paris and Italy and London and Greece. It was an amazing trip. They spent their nights in the honeymoon suites enjoying each other. Penelope had to drag Derek out of bed to go see the cities. He would have been just as happy staying in with his new wife the whole time, but he had to admit, Europe was beautiful.

They wanted to try for baby right away. It was nearly six months into their marriage that Penelope began to worry. She feared she would never get pregnant, and began to stress out over it. Derek reminded her that the stress wasn't good for her. Eventually, they stopped trying so hard, and a month later, found out she was expecting.

Katherine June Morgan was the first born child of Derek and Penelope. She was two weeks late, and never showed up on time for anything after that. She was wild child, but they adored Rin with everything they had. She was everything they could have wished for and more.

Nathan Hank Morgan was born almost exactly a year after his big sister. He was an easy baby, and loved to follow Derek around. His father held the entire moon and more. He was without a doubt his hero.

They thought they were done expanding their family, but both wanted to take a hand at fostering. Their first case was a set of siblings. Jake was 8 and his sister, Sophie, was only a year old. When Jake and Sophie came to live with them, Rin was thirteen and Nate was twelve. It was Rin who said it first.

"Sophie and Jake are a part of the family now, mom." She'd told Penelope one night. "We can't let them go. Not ever. They complete our family."

They'd all thought it. They had been told from the get go that it was unlikely Jake and Sophie would ever return to their biological mother. She didn't even want them back. And so, Derek and Penelope began talking to the social worker.

It wasn't until Jake's tenth birthday that the pair were officially Morgans. It was a great day for them all. Jake and Nate were best friends. Sophie loved her Rin, and Rin adored having a baby sister. Penelope and Derek couldn't imagine their family without any of their children. Sophie and Jake were just as much their daughter and son as Nate and Rin.

One night, after Penelope tucked Sophie back into her bed after she woke her up for a midnight snack, Derek pulled his wife into his arms. He loved moments like this when he could just hold her. He kissed her head.

"So...any regrets?" He asked her. She smiled.

"None at all." She replied. "I have the most perfect family."

"Yeah." Derek agreed with a smile. "Thank God you didn't marry Kevin Lynch." The both laughed.

A/N AH SORRY FOR THE WAIT! I am going to try to get back on a regular writing/publishing schedule! Anyway...hope you enjoy this one!