"Good morning." Garcia greets.
You send her a smile.
"Good morning Penelope."
She has a pep in her step, but that abruptly stops.
"Penelope! You never call me Penelope!"
Why does it feel like this has happened before? Now you have the attention of Morgan, Prentiss and Reid.
"I promise nothing bad happened. Actually I..I spoke with my dad a few days ago. "
"Dad, you mean the dad that you had a really bad relationship with?"
She takes a seat. The rest of the team has gathered around.
"Yes, that one." You chuckle.
"After my mother passed we just sort of drifted apart. I didn't agree with the way he handled his grief and he didn't agree with mine. But I think we've finally found a balance. He came over and we just talked about her for hours. It was nice." Morgan pats your shoulder.
"That's great. Glad you're patching things up with him. "
"I'm so proud of you."
Garcia leans over, hugging you. Hotch steps out of the elevator at that very moment.
"Are we celebrating something?" He asks.
"Just a milestone in (Y/N)'s family development."
Garcia praises. She pulls back, and you feel somewhat exposed with his gaze on you. After the chat with your dad, you sort of gained a new perspective. It would definitely take some time for you to get over your feelings for Hotch. In truth it may never happen. What you knew is that you loved this job, and your team. Having their support was more than anything you could ask for.
"Can I see you in my office?"
"Yes sir."
You stand, and Garcia sends you a thumbs up. You figure this is merely an assessment he's going to make on your progress as part of the team.
You close the door, and Hotch offers you a seat. You take it, smiling.
"I'm relieved to hear about the progress you've made with your father. I know it hasn't been easy. Adjusting to a new team, then with my leave after what happened with Hailey. I've been a bit absent."
"Sir, you don't have to worry. I completely understand. I'm very happy that it all worked out."
"So am I."
The smile that you wear this time is different. Your focus shifts over the dull light that's seeping from his shoulders. You blink, and the warm glow is now covered all over his body.
"Is he..am I seeing his.."
You're a bit puzzled by this particular quirk. It's the first time this has happened. This doesn't feel bad per se. If anything it feels amazing. It's like you had materialized his joy.
"I've been meaning to ask, would you like to have dinner with me?"
The glow has you momentarily distracted, so it takes a moment to really let the statement sink in.
"Sure."
Dinner....
"Wait did you say dinner?"
Hotch smiles. "You've been working very hard these past couple of months. I'd like to treat you to dinner if that's alright."
"O-Of course sir I-I'd love to have dinner with you!" You cringe. That sounds a bit too desperate.
"Totally professional of course." You clear your throat.
"I'd like that."
Hell, you'd love that.
Now that's all you're going to be thinking about.
~~
For the next few days, you're working as usual. With an unsub on a spree, most of the focus is tracking him down and stopping the killings. It took quite some time, but the man was caught. As he's being led to the police car, you can feel yourself relax. The trip back home has you calm. You'd found a seat in the back to get comfortable. Hotch takes a seat on the opposite side of you.
"Good work today."
"Thank you sir."
It was always nice to get praise from Hotch. He looks down on his watch.
"We should be back around eight, if you're still up for dinner, there is somewhere close to Quantico that would be great."
"Dinner?"
Oh shit!
"You forgot." Hotch asks amused. Flustered, you nod.
"I'm sorry. I've been so invested in the case, it completely slipped my mind."
"No need to apologize. I respect that you put your all in these cases. If today doesn't work we can always reschedule."
"N-No today works fine."
He leans back in his seat.
"Then I'll make the reservation."
He pulls out his phone, and you want to jump out of your seat and do a happy dance, but you control yourself.
