He had just loosened his tie when he heard a hesitant knock on his door. Thinking Emily had forgotten something; he went over and looked through the peephole, seeing Penelope there and holding on to a tin of something. Quickly, he opened the door. "Garcia, what are you doing here so late?"

"I made you cookies to welcome you back to work, and then I forgot to give them to you. Here." She thrust the tin out at him, waiting until he had his hands on them before turning to leave. She didn't move quickly enough, though, as he saw the first tears escape to roll down her cheeks.

"Penelope, wait." Holding onto the tin with one hand, he closed his other hand around her upper arm. She pulled away from him as the first harsh, ragged, sob tore from her throat. "What's wrong?"

"I fucked up today, Sir. I'm sorry; I should have done a better job. Maybe, maybe Gideon was right. Maybe I am stupid."

Her words were a blow to his heart. He remembered that ugly time four years ago, when Gideon had reacted out of anger, not seeing how truly awful she had felt. He had thought she had gotten past that, but it had obviously scarred her more than she had let on. Gently, he pulled her into his apartment, closing and locking the door.

All the fight seemed to have left her body as she meekly let him take her over to the couch, pulling her down next to him on the sofa. She was still crying quietly and curled up in a ball, leaning away from him. In that instant, he knew that he had hurt her deeply and he had to do something to repair the damage he had done. "Garcia, talk to me, please."

"No, I should go, I shouldn't have come inside." She went to stand, and he reached out, closing his hand around her wrist.

"Talk to me." She shook her head, breaking down into sobs. He could never sit back and watch a woman cry and he tugged her down next to him, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her head down onto his shoulder. "I'm sorry; I reacted out of anger and did not think about my actions. Please, say you forgive me."

She shuddered and burrowed into his chest, opening her hand against his chest to curl into his shirt. "I shouldn't let it hurt me so, Sir."

"Oh, Penelope, yes, you should. No one should ever imply that you are stupid or bad at your job, like I did. And like Gideon did. You are wonderful at your job, and you go above and beyond so many times to get us the information we need." Without thinking, he bent and kissed the top of her head.

He felt her breath hitch a little and then she pulled back to look at him. Mascara had tracked down her cheeks and her lashes were spiky with tears. "I just try so hard, Hotch. And then you get hurt and you're not supposed to get hurt, you're Superman. Superman doesn't get hurt. I knew Foyet was out there, planning something, and I didn't try hard enough to protect you…" Her voice became choked out with tears again and he reached up to cup her face, wiping the tears away with his thumb.

"You don't need to protect me, Penelope. I'm supposed to protect you and the team. And Foyet will be caught. I promised Haley and Jack that I would catch him and with all your help, that will happen." She nodded against his hand, looking up at him trustingly with those soft doe-brown eyes that constantly pushed him to be better, work harder. And then, pure instinct took over. Slowly, he let his head descend and softly kissed her lips. She stiffened a moment before returning the kiss, pressing her lips tightly to his.

He groaned a little as he tasted how sweet her lips were, a mixture of the gloss she wore and her own natural taste. Her arms came up around his neck, pulling him closer to her as they fell back on the sofa. She was so incredibly soft and willing and he wanted this so very much. Yet, he knew that he couldn't take advantage of her vulnerability. Breaking the kiss, he pulled back to look at her. "Aaron, more. I need to feel better tonight."
Those were words he never thought he would hear from her mouth and he nodded. "Only if you're certain."

"Of course I'm certain." He nodded and helped her up, leading her to his bedroom. It was a little messier than he would have liked, but there was nothing to help that now. When she stepped out of her heels, he saw for the first time that she would fit right beneath his chin, and he decided to pull her close once more, letting his chin come to rest atop her head. "Aaron?"

"I haven't held a woman close for months." She nodded and tightened her arms around his waist, breathing in deeply. His hands crept up her back, finding the tab on her zipper and inching it down her back. The skin his knuckles brushed over was soft and smooth, until he found the chicken pox dimple right above her bra strap. "I have one in the middle of my back, too. I had to itch it, no matter what, and ended up with the scar."

She giggled a little, nuzzling her face into his chest. "I have a matching scar on the front, too. You'll have to discover where exactly it is." The hurt had disappeared from her voice and he relished the sweet teasing he heard there now. She disentangled her arms from around his waist and shrugged the dress off her arms, revealing the creamy expanse of her chest and the lilac lace of her bra.

A light blush brightened her cheeks and he wondered why she was embarrassed. Her arms slowly crossed over her stomach and another revelation into her psyche was revealed to him. "You're gorgeous, Penelope. Absolutely gorgeous." He bent and kissed her once more as he pushed the dress off her hips to fall to the floor.

As the kiss lingered, she began to undo the buttons on his shirt, and he helped her out by undoing the buckle of his belt before slipping the button from its hole and unzipping his pants. When he was down to his boxers, she stepped back from him, looking at the still fresh scars that covered his chest. "Oh, Aaron, you lived," she murmured, reaching out to caress the longest scar that ran closest to his heart. She let her head come to rest against his chest. "You're better than any silly old superhero. You lived." Hot tears splashed against his chest.

"I have a lot to live for, Penny." He unclasped her bra and she let it fall to the floor to join the rest of their clothes. "So, I need to find this sweet pockmark somewhere on your chest." She nodded and he smiled at her. "Take a seat on the bed, then."

She complied and he knelt down before her, cupping her breasts in his hands. Slowly, he let his thumbs flick over her nipples, watching them tighten oh so sweetly. Leaning forward, he nuzzled her chest with his face. Snaking out his tongue, he licked at the underside of one sweet globe, finding the little dimple there. "Now I know why you are a master profiler, Aaron." She buried a hand in his hair as he continued to explore her breasts with his mouth. Eventually, she pulled him back on the bed, on top of her, and pushed down his boxers.

He took the hint and stripped off her panties. Her arousal was evident and he smiled as he claimed her lips once more. And then he realized he didn't have any condoms. He'd not been with a woman other than his wife in years, and with Haley, there had been no need for condoms. Breaking the kiss, he breathed heavily as he looked at her. "Penny, sweetheart, I don't have any protection. We can't…"

"I'm on the pill, Boss Man, and I trust that you're clean. I trust you." She pulled him back down to her once more and kissed him passionately, thrusting her tongue inside his mouth. As their tongues dueled, he felt her hand slide down his body and guide his throbbing dick into her warm center. She was so tight and wet, and he nipped at her tongue as he thrust in and out of her willing body.

It didn't take long for them to reach the pinnacle of desire and he shuddered out his completion. "Oh, god, Penny, you're so lovely, so wonderful," he murmured as he pressed butterfly kisses all over her face. She sighed and cuddled closer to him, a yawn splitting her face. Smiling, he pulled the sheets up over their bodies, letting her get as close as she wanted to him.

"So, you're officially one of the most awesome men in the world." Her words were so low that he barely caught them, but he smiled at the intent. "Do you mind if I fall asleep right here?"

"I think that would be more than fine, Penny." She nodded and laid her hand against his chest, rubbing her thumb over the scar as she drifted off to sleep. His arms tightened around her before he reached down to pull the light quilt over their bodies. He kept it cooler than normal at night, it was the only way he could sleep, and he knew that she got easily cold.

Aaron had a hard time getting to sleep, feeling content just watching her sleep. Finally, though, he let his eyes close heavily, drawing her closer to his chest as he fell asleep.

In the morning, he woke up to the sound of her humming lowly. Blinking open his eyes, he saw she had draped one of his shirts around her shoulders, her knees drawn up to her chest as she looked down at him. "Good morning, Boss Man."

"Morning, Penelope. What time is it?"

"A little after seven. The weekend has officially begun for us. I'll make breakfast and then head home."

"Stay." The word was filled with a longing he hadn't known existed and she smiled softly down on him.

"Okay. But I have a date with Kevin later on this evening."

The mention of her boyfriend suddenly jolted him back to the reality of their situation and he began to pull back his emotions, realizing she was still attached to the man. "Right, Kevin."

"Boss Man, I love Kevin, but I love you, too. It's just a different type of love. I'm going to be super honest with you here, and you have to promise to never tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you." He nodded. And then she held out her crooked pinky. "Pinky promise."

He hooked his pinky to hers. "Pinky promise."

"I called you Superman earlier, because to me, you've been a kind of superhero since the Fisher King case. My heart broke when he called me stupid, and then, like the hero you are, you saved everything by making it a point to look me in the eye and telling me I had done a good job, too. It meant the world to me. And I fell in love with you that day. Oh, not the burning, all-consuming passion that makes one want to jump bones love. But the long-suffering love that wants to do anything for that person, and would take the chance to be with that person, should the opportunity ever arise. And last night, you gave me that. I only needed the one perfect night, and you delivered. Thank you." She leaned down and kissed him sweetly and he closed his arms around her, pulling her down on top of him.

Penelope giggled a little as his hands slid down to cup her ass, bringing her into closer contact with his body. "So, have you forgiven me for hurting you?"

"Oh, yeah, that is water under our bridge, lover." She kissed him once more and he deepened it, pressing his lips more firmly to hers, trying to memorize the sweet taste of her. "One more go round before breakfast?"

"If that's what you want." A sigh escaped her lips as she let a pained look crossed over her face. "What is it?"

"Nothing, Aaron." She nuzzled her face in his shoulder and let him flip her over onto her back. He found that she was ready for him, and she guided him into her body, arching her hips up to meet his thrusts. They took their time, exploring the ways they reacted to each other. It was perfect, lovely, and he wanted this moment to go on forever. But he knew that she would return to Kevin and he would go back to missing his life with Haley and Jack. They were predictable, as most people were, and not for the first time he wished he could be impulsive and ask her to stay. He thought she might, and that wasn't fair to Kevin. "You're crying," she murmured breathlessly as she arched up into him once more.

"Am I?" She nodded and reached up to brush the tears away. He smiled gently and kissed the palm of her hand. She sighed again as he thrust into her a little more deeply, ramping up her reactions to him. Soon, they were past the point of hearing anything around them, and he moaned lowly as she tightened herself around him, drawing him in all the deeper. "Penny!" he called out, his voice harsh and strained.

She answered with a low groan of her own, and he collapsed on top of her, struggling to catch his breath as they bathed in the afterglow of their orgasm. "If I were free," she whispered as she turned her head to kiss his face. "What would you like for breakfast?" she asked as she pulled away from him to shimmy out of the bed and stand. His shirt looked so sexy on her, and with the early morning sunlight, he was able to finally see her.

"Pancakes will be fine," he said absently as he stared at the raspberry colored nipples that capped her breasts, the patch of dark blonde hair that covered her mound, and the white scar tissue that marked the spot of their failure to protect her. She seemed to read his thoughts as her smiled turned sad. "I wish you had been able to trust Battle."

"I wish the same thing, Aaron. But some things are too good to be true." She went into the kitchen and began to raid his cupboards until she found the box of pancake mix. Adding milk from the fridge, she soon had a set of silver dollar pancakes poured out on the griddle she'd found and then turned to face him once more. "You know, the more I think about it, the more I knew it was a bad situation. I didn't listen to my gut, since I was so angry at Derek."

He nodded in understanding, watching her flip the pancakes. It didn't take long for the food to be ready and she plated it before setting the plates on the table. "These look delicious, Penny." She grinned as she ate, watching him closely. "Monday will be odd."

"No, it won't. We won't let it be. After all, we're still friends, and this was just a lovely expression of friendship." She leaned over and kissed his cheek before finishing her food. "I hate to eat and run, but I need to get home and shower and clean before Kevin picks me up tonight. Have a great weekend!"

Penelope stood and collected her clothes, hurriedly dressing. Before she left the apartment, she came back to his side and quickly kissed his cheek. "Never forget I love you, Boss Man," she whispered in his ear as she hugged him. He sat, rooted to the spot as he watched her go, not certain if he would ever get the blonde whirlwind that was Penelope Garcia out of his head or his heart.