A/N: I don't mind helpful criticism, but if you don't have anything nice to say then I don't want want to hear it. This is not meant to insult anyone, but I've had a few nasty reviews about my stories, not just criticism but words just meant to tear you down and destroy whatever self confidence you have. This isn't reality it's fanfiction! And in fanfiction anything can happen! If you don't like that tough! Absolutely no flames! If you find any major errors send me an email and I'll try to fix them, but if it is just something minor don't bother, as everything fanfiction I've ever read has errors in it. I try to read them several times and get out the most obvious, but I'll be the first to admit that I do miss some. Remember! No flames!

Believer76

Part 1

"Can I have this dance beautiful?" asked a voice of a beautiful blond haired lady, with purple framed glasses.

"Are you talking to me handsome?" asked the blond haired lady looking up from her drink in surprise

"Who else would I be talking to?" the handsome man inquired with a smile.

"Well, I don't know, one of those skinny model types over at the bar," the blond haired lady suggested with a half a smile of her own, as she studied the handsome man who had black hair and beard. The man had broad shoulders, was about 5'10' or 11' and also had a slightly olive complexion. "I don't think I'm your type at all."

"What makes you say that?" the man inquired curiously. "You don't know what my type is, since right now we don't even know each other's names."

"Because a handsome man like you and doesn't usually want someone like me," Penelope explained, as if speaking a child. "To most handsome men such as yourself I'm not their type and I'm not going to dance with anyone just because they feel sorry for me."

"And you're going to judge me, just because other men are idiots?" the man asked genuinely outraged. "I never ask anyone to dance just because I feel sorry for them, I promise you, as that tends to lead women like that to getting attached, just because I was nice enough to dance with them. Don't make assumptions, just because most men are like that. Of course, did I not say that most men are idiots?"

The woman felt throughly chastised, because the man was right she had been making assumptions, assumptions that she'd had no right to make. She had assumed that the handsome man had come over here just to be mean to her, to perhaps, have a dance with her and then hurt her feelings when she wanted more, as that had happened more than once in the past, Derek Morgan instantly coming to mind. She and Derek had dated for a few months before she had broken up with him, when she had found him cheating on her. She knew very well that he hadn't even been sorry about it nor did he feel the least bit guilty about having several women on the side, when she had believed it was monogamous relationship. How stupid could she be she wondered? She had believed him when Derek told her that he loved her, but when you loved someone you didn't cheat on them behind their back. She wasn't sure she could ever trust another man with her heart again, even though it was over a year later, since she and Derek had broken up.

"One dance," the woman told him. "I'm not interested in any relationships right now."

"So can I have your name, gorgeous?" the man asked with a charming smile inwardly relieved as he had been sure that this gorgeous woman was going to turn him down.

"Penelope Garcia and what's yours handsome as I just can't call you hey you," Penelope said with a teasing grin.

"David Rossi at your service ma'am," Dave said to the lady in question as he offered her his hand. "You can call me Dave."

"Well, Dave, I'm Penny," Penelope said and Dave's grin grew even wider.

"I actually like your full name," Dave said with a charming smile.

"Almost nobody calls me Penelope, except for my friend JJ when she is especially annoyed with me," Penelope said with a smile, as she thought of her best friend Jennifer Jareau, who always went by her initials.

The two of them walked over to the dance floor and began to dance together.

"So what do you do for a living Dave?" Penelope asked.

"I'm a private investigator," Dave answered honestly. "I was in the FBI for a few years, but decided it just wasn't for me and really a private investigator is about as close as I can get to my old job, except I have my own rules. So Miss Penny, what do you do for a living?"

"I work for a large computer firm," Penelope explained, "and design computer programs on the side."

"Wow! I'm impressed," Dave said sincerely. "I'm assuming you don't work as a secretary."

"No, I don't and it's a good thing, because that kind of job would bore me to tears in no time at all," Penelope said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean there were parts about the FBI that I really loved, but the paperwork wasn't one of them," Dave chuckled.

"Yeah, I know I have to fill out some paperwork to, although not as much as the government seems to require," Penny agreed. "I do love most of my job, but they're are always parts of any job that people aren't going to like."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Dave said thoughtfully.

Penelope didn't have a chance to reply as the song ended just then.

"Can I at least buy you a drink, Miss Penny?" Dave asked with his most charming smile.

He didn't want to admit that he had been watching Miss Penelope nurse several drinks for over an hour before he had finally approached her. He still wasn't sure what had attracted him to her for he usually dated blond women who were not as anorexic as those model types tended to be, but certainly not as big boned. Perhaps, it was the fact that her whole posture had been totally dejected, even if she likely hadn't realized it, which told him that either she had lost someone close to her or had a bad breakup sometime fairly recently.

"I told you one dance," Penelope demurred.

"So this isn't a dance, just to drink," Dave said logically, but Penelope didn't look impressed.

"What's so special about me? There're plenty of women that would love to have some of your attention," Penelope said gesturing at all the women who were trying not to be obvious as they looked at Dave with lust in their eyes.

"I'm not interested in them," Dave told her, as politely as he could. "Most of them are so bubbleheaded that I lose interest very quickly. Or if they aren't airheads they act that way, which burns off my interest instantly. I'm not denying I've dated a lot of women and also bedded plenty of them, but while most of them were very intelligent they never held my interest for very long. Besides, just because you're intelligent doesn't mean you can't be as shallow as a puddle of water after a Spring rain."

Penelope actually giggled at that description, because she had met plenty of men as well as women like that, who just seemed interested in snagging the perfect man, but didn't seem to have any brains beyond that. Of course, those kind of people were likely intelligent, but they sure didn't act like it if that was the case.

Dave hoped he hadn't ruined his chances, but he had felt strongly that if he wasn't completely honest then Penelope would flip him off with some lame excuse. He could tell just from talking to her for a few minutes that she had been hurt deeply in the past and it had probably been fairly recent. Or it was possible that she had been hurt more than once, because people a lot of times were cruel and thoughtless not caring whom they hurt with their words or their actions.

"Alright then, one drink," Penelope finally agreed, not really as reluctant as she pretended to be.

"So what's your pleasure, my lady?" Dave asked with a massive grin.

"A fuzzy navel," Penelope said.

"Oh, now there's a rather unusual request," Dave said liking Penelope more and more. When Penelope made no comment, Dave added after a moment, "You wait here, my lady, while I go purchase our drinks."

Penelope watched as Dave walked away and how a lot of women couldn't keep their eyes off his handsome form. Dave was indeed drop dead gorgeous and Penelope wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into. Normally, someone as drop dead gorgeous as David Rossi did not ask out somebody like her or if they did it was only to hurt her feelings whether intentionally or not. She sincerely hoped that she wasn't setting herself up to be hurt her again like Derek had. She had stopped dating completely after she broke up with Derek and so she hadn't had sex in awhile, except what she did for herself to relieve the sexual tension. JJ had been urging her to get back into the dating game, but she hadn't wanted to risk having her heart broken again. She had a feeling however, if she'd only let herself, she could fall for David Rossi very easily, but she wasn't about to get too deeply involved until she did an in-depth background check. She had to make sure that he was who he said he was, as she was taking no more chances. Luckily, she was perfectly capable of doing that in-depth background check herself, even if she had to hack into the appropriate systems. It didn't matter that it was against the law she would do it and nobody would ever know that she had been there.

She was good with computers always had been and was much better then most other people and could make him do things that others couldn't. She would find every piece of Dave's dirty laundry before she agreed to date him if he asked. Of course, he might not ask, but she was going to be prepared if he did. Whatever she found would determine whether or not she actually agreed to a date or whether she turned him down flat. She now wished that she had done the same when she had started dating Derek, but she had been stupid and naïve and fallen for his charm, but that was never going to happen again, Penelope swore. Here she was in her early thirties and it wouldn't be many years before she never be able to have a child of her body and she wanted one so bad but she also wanted that child to be born in love and not from a one night stand or even a brief relationship

"Your drink, my lady," Dave said, as he placed a fuzzy navel on the table before her, before he sat down with his drink, a standard scotch.

"Thank you, kind sir," Penelope said, as she saluted him with her drink.

The two chatted cordially, as they enjoyed their drinks.

"So can I drive you home or at least call you with cab?" Dave suggested causally. "I wouldn't want you to have an accident just because you're over the legal limit."

"I have a very high tolerance for alcohol," Penelope protested, although she was touched by his genuine concern. "I'll be fine, as I really haven't had that much to drink."

Dave said nothing else, but was determined he was going to follow her home to make sure she arrived safely. He knew that he would have to be careful, because if she knew that he was doing so she would be rightfully furious at him. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so concerned for her safety, just that there was something about her… something that attracted something deep within him. He hadn't felt like this...well ever actually. He had loved Caroline, that was true, but the death of their son had ended their marriage, but also his obsession with his work, which was one of the major reasons he had retired in the first place. He had been so busy catching killers and other criminals that he hadn't put in the work required for any relationship, much less a marriage. As for his second wife Ruth, she was more of a rebound then anything else and their marriage had been very brief.

"Well, if you're sure," Dave said trying to sound uncertain.

"I am, you don't need to worry about me, as I've been taking care of myself for years," Penelope promised.

Dave said nothing else and so the subject was dropped.

The two of them finished their drinks and Penelope said, "I have to go as I have to work in the morning, but it was nice meeting you."

"Before you go..." Dave began.

"I told you I wasn't interested in any relationships right now," Penelope cut him off.

Dave was undeterred, as he was determined to get this gorgeous women to date him. So what if she wasn't as beautiful as some of those models that you saw on TV or in magazines, because it's not like she was the ugly duckling in that children's story. Actually, his opinion was was that Penny was a very gorgeous woman, even if he knew that some of those model types would disagree and even most men, but that'd be only because they were insanely jealous. Besides, it wasn't just the beauty on the outside he was interested in, because he well knew that you could be the most beautiful woman in the world, but have an evil soul that enjoyed causing others pain and heartache due to any number of reasons including vindictiveness. He had truly believed he was in love with a woman by the name of Erin Strauss who he had met on one of his cases years ago. They had both been attracted to each other instantly and fallen into bed together immediately. Big mistake as it had turned out and he had to come to regret that decision. Never again he had sworn would he allow his hormones to dictate what he did.

The two parted, but Dave watched as Penelope left before he followed her, being careful not to be seen.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Penelope woke slowly and when she became aware of the pounding headache she buried her head in her pillow and groaned.

She never should have drank so much and in fact she was probably lucky that she had gotten home without incident. She checked the time and saw that it was after 11 o'clock and she knew she was very lucky that this was her day off. Of course, she never would have drank to excess if she'd had to work the next day, as she never went into work when she had been drinking so much the night before, mostly because of the aftereffects alcohol tended to have on an empty stomach. She really should've known better than to try to drown her sorrows or at least her regrets.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and she groaned wanting to bury her head in her pillow, but instead she rose and shuffled towards the front door, although she really wanted to tell whoever that was to go away.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Penelope said yawning after she had opened the door. "Do you have the wrong address?" Penelope asked finally noticing the vase of flowers in the deliveryman's arms.

"I don't believe so unless you're not Penelope Garcia," The guy said, as he checked the address on his clipboard.

Penelope stared at the huge vase of flowers that held at least two dozen roses, both red and yellow along with the normal babies breath. Who could be sending her flowers? It wasn't as if roses were cheap after all

"No, I am Penelope Garcia," Penelope finally said.

"Well, if you'll just sign here, I'll just be on my way," the deliveryman said producing his clipboard.

Penelope signed her name on the dotted line and took the flowers from the deliveryman. Once the deliveryman had disappeared into the elevator she shut the door and then put the flowers on the kitchen counter.

Who in the world was sending her roses? Penelope asked herself as she stared at the beautiful arrangement. Well, there should be a card, Penelope thought, as she looked among the arrangement for just that.

Finally she spotted the card that was buried among the beautiful arrangement and removed it.

My beautiful Penny

Thank you for wonderful evening. I am requesting the pleasure of your company for dinner and then the opera tomorrow night, as I have acquired two tickets. Dress is formal. Please say you'll go with me. Call as soon as you have made your decision, as I'll be waiting for your reply.

Affectionately,

David Rossi

And below his signature were three phone numbers and Penelope assumed that one was his cell phone, one was his phone at work and the other was likely his home phone.

Penelope stared at the flowers then at the card. How in the world, had David Rossi found out where she lived? She certainly hadn't given him her address, as she remembered that much.

There was several options as to how Dave had discovered where she lived, Penelope realized after a few seconds, even as her head pounded from the effects of to much alcohol the night before. One was that he'd had a friend of his search her out, as he had known her first and last name after all. Logically however, she knew that he had probably looked her up in the phone book as she was listed.

That he might have followed her home to make sure she got there safely never even entered her mind, although if she'd had a more suspicious nature it definitely would have occurred to her. Of course, her pounding headache wasn't helping.

Should she accept the invitation, Penelope wondered heading for the bathroom where her headache medicine was stored. She admitted that she had enjoyed his company for the brief time they had danced and shared a drink. David Rossi was everything she could possibly want in a boyfriend, he was handsome, charming, quite probably well educated. Of course, one of the downsides was that he was at least a few years older than she was, but really that didn't matter so much in modern day society. She had always been attracted to older men and not just ones who were five years or less, she admitted to herself, so the temptation was strong to accept the offer of a date. She knew that Dave was at least 10 years her senior if she was any judge and that didn't bother her in the least.

Penelope went to her computer and begin typing after she had taken some aspirin for her headache. She had promised herself that she was going to do a background check on David Rossi before she agreed to any date, although she certainly hadn't expected him to send her two dozen roses or request a date the very next day, but then she could also see the logic of doing so. Dave wouldn't have wanted her to forget their time together and if he had waited too long her memory of the pleasant encounter would have faded. If that had happened there was more chance of her turning him down.

That didn't mean that it didn't baffle her as to why he would bother to try to get a date with her when she had told him specifically that she wasn't dating right now she didn't have a clue. She had kept her vow of not dating ever since she and Derek had broken up and she had intended to keep it for she didn't know how long. However, perhaps, it was time to start dating again, as she couldn't avoid the dating scene forever. Alright, technically, she could, but she really wanted to settle down with someone who made her happy, have a few children. She would like at least two, but preferably more than that, but she had never found a man that she would be happy to marry and start a family with. In fact, a lot of men were bastards, with a capital B. She could say the same thing about a lot of women to though, so the issue wasn't entirely one-sided. In other words, people in general could be mean, nasty, arrogant, cruel and thoughtless and so sure of their own superiority, that they didn't care who they hurt. On the other side of the coin though, a lot of people were genuinely caring, helpful, gentle, thoughtful and loving. For some reason though she always seemed to date the bastards and that especially included Derek Morgan, bastard extraordinaire

Penelope continued the background check on David Rossi, her fingers literally flying over the keys, easily hacking into the correct systems not leaving a trace of her presence. She checked everything she could think of and found out that he was indeed a private investigator and was apparently very good at it, because he made a steady income, that was fairly impressive. It seemed he also owned a restaurant named Sophie's and it was doing even better than his private investigator work. Well, David Rossi was more than well-off he was extremely wealthy it seemed, so that made it even more puzzling why someone like him would be interested in someone like her. She made a good living that was true, but she certainly wasn't in his league. However, she knew she could be in his league someday as her computer programs were really beginning to take off, so she could be that wealthy one day she just hadn't reached that goal yet.

Dave had also apparently been married a couple of times Caroline being his first wife and then a woman named Ruth, but no children, except for a son who had died a few days after he had been born, which made her wince in sympathy. Losing his son must have devastated him.

Penelope finally finished her background check and sat back in thought. She knew very well that there was only so much she could find out from a background check, as some things were simply unknowable until you got to know the person, because some things you just wouldn't find on any computer system. What she had found wasn't all good, but it wasn't all bad either. Dave had been married a couple of times before, but hadn't managed to maintain either relationship and that made her bite her lip thoughtfully. She assumed that Caroline had at the time been the love of his life and she wouldn't be surprised at all if the marriage had broken up because of the death of their son, since that happened all the time. As for Ruth, she had likely been a rebound as it was a little more than a year later and ended incredibly quickly.

The question became was she willing to take the chance? His background was clean when it came to criminal records and there were no sealed files with his name on it, which meant he was likely a solid citizen and had never been in trouble with the law, as he didn't even have a speeding ticket.

Penelope continued to ponder Dave's offer all day as she cleaned her apartment, did her laundry and generally just puttered around.

Finally the chance to go to the opera made her decision for her, as she had always wanted to go but had never managed it. However, she would see how this date went before she agreed to any others. If it went as well as she hoped she would be willing to accept a second one, but she wasn't about to get her hopes up.

Penelope was determined not to call Dave until the very last minute, even if she knew that would be rude. It wouldn't do him any harm to make him wait at least until tomorrow afternoon. She was sure that Dave was nervous that she wouldn't accept his offer of a date, but she also didn't want to give him too much warning. Well, not until she knew more about him, as she wasn't about to have her heart broken again. She was going to have to be very cautious for awhile. If Dave was anything like Derek, then she'd be gone so fast out of his life that he would think she had simply vanished into thin air and if he did push the issue she would have a restraining order out on him before he could blink.

Well, that was for the future, right now she needed to go shopping for a new dinner dress that was appropriate for the opera as well.

Penelope whistled cheerfully, as she collected her purse and coat before heading out the door. She couldn't wait to tell JJ about this and she knew that her friend would be thrilled for her. JJ was a good friend to her and had agreed that Derek was indeed a grade A bastard. Unfortunately, a lot of men did not only cheat on their girlfriends, but also their fiancés or wives, so it wasn't like it was unusual, but it still hurt everytime when it happened. However, if she was going to get close to someone and perhaps, marry them they had better be loyal to her or the relationship was going be over and that was that. Some women might take a man back if they cheated on her, but she wasn't one of them. If she was going to love someone she wanted their love in return and for them to be loyal to her just as she would be to them. Really, she didn't think she was asking too much and JJ agreed with her on that point, as she wanted someone that would love her for herself and not try to change or cheat on her behind her back. Unfortunately, neither she or JJ had been very lucky at finding love and both had had boyfriends in the past that had cheated on them practically before the relationship had begun, which might explain why they were best friends because they shared some of the same experiences.

Both of them wanted the same thing for each other and that was to find someone that they could love wholeheartedly without worrying about their husbands two-timing them. Unfortunately, such a thing wasn't exactly easy to find considering human nature. She wasn't saying it didn't exist, because she knew it did, but finding something so rare was another matter altogether.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

No flames, though I love reviews