After being at the vet too many times in the last weeks, I had the idea for this story a long time in my mind. After today's appointment at the vet, I felt the need to write this. I hope you like it. :)

I do not own Criminal Minds or any of the characters, only the story is mine.

I don't think you can keep someone you truly love at arm's length on purpose, they'll always end up in your arms. ~Holly Nichole Miller

It was a usually day at work for Penelope, or so she had thought. She came in an hour earlier today, because Emily asked her to prepare everything for the new case they got today. Penelope wasn't bothered, they have had a long weekend, four days to relax and recharge their energy after they finished a ruff case last week.

Once she finished preparing the folders and the presentation, she went to the conference room where her colleagues where already waiting for her. Everyone was there, except for Luke.

"We are one man short, as all of you can see. Luke took some personal time, to take care of Roxy." Emily told them and made a signal for Penelope to start the briefing.

Penelope briefed her team automatically, her mind occupied with worry of what Emily just had said. She loved Luke's dog, even more then she would love any other animal, except for Sergio of course. Roxy was so cute and sweet, and also she was his dog. He, for who she secretly had feelings, deeper feelings, she never had admitted to anyone. Not to Morgan, nor JJ or even most of the time towards herself.

Penelope knew how much Roxy meant to Luke. After he heard him talking to his former partner and best friend, Phil, when they brought him this cute little puppy named Lou, Luke told him without Roxy, he would not have made it after Iraq. He needed her back then and he needed her now. He must be worried sick.

"Wheels up in twenty." Emily said after discussing the case a bit with the others. They all left to get their things, Penelope following Emily to her office.

"Emily, you have a minute for me?" Penelope asked as she closed the office door behind her.

Emily knew immediately that something was on Penelope's mind. No nicknames, no sweet talk, her expression serious and worried.

"Of course, Penelope. Sit down. What's wrong?" Emily asked her concerned.

Penelope needed a few seconds to think about how she could explain what was on her mind and not giving her feelings away at the same time.

"Do you know more about what's wrong with Roxy?" Emily let out a little, hidden sigh. Penelope was obviously just worried about Roxy, and probably for Luke too. For her and the others, it was no secret that Penelope had feelings for Luke, maybe except for Luke himself, he was kinda hard to read. But no one on the team talked with Penelope about her feelings, she was clearly trying to hide them and even if they were curios they decided to respect that for as long as Penelope did not want to talk about it herself.

"No, sorry, PG. He just texted me that he needed to take care of Roxy and that he would need a few personal days." Emily explained to Penelope.

"I am worried about Roxy. You know that I take sometimes care of her when Luke is away. And she is also important to Luke. What if it is something serious? He should have some company. Not be alone with his sorrow. So... I wanted to ask, if I could take the day off. Just today, to check up on them. They both are family after all." Penelope said with a serious, worried voice. Still trying to give not her feelings away.

Emily thought about that for a minute. Penelope was important, without her, they would not even solve half of the cases. But on the other hand, when Penelope was worried, she would not be a 100 percent focused. Also, Emily cared about her and for Luke too. She would be very happy if Penelope finally had someone she loved and who loved her back. Out of all people, Penelope deserved it the most.

"Okay, no problem. We will miss you and your information gathering. But I understand, and I am glad you finally accept Luke as a team and as family member. Take the day off, and if it is serious, take as much days as you need. We can handle one case without you, even if it is going to be hard. No one else has your talent." Emily smiled at her.

"Thank you, Emily. Thank you so much." Penelope was already on her way out but came back to hug her unit chief and friend. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, PG. Always." Emily hugged her back and grabbed for her to-go-bag.

Penelope rushed out off the office towards her own.

When Emily joined the others at the elevator, she told them that Penelope would be off for today.

"Is she okay?" JJ asked with concern.

"Yes, she is. She is just worried about Roxy. And Luke. She will check in on them, and if it is something serious, I said she can have some more time off if she need it." Emily explained.

"Ah, I see. Maybe she will finally realize how much she cares about the two of them." JJ said with a small smile, answered with smiles from all of her colleagues.

"Lets just hope, he feels the same way about her." Emily said with a bit of a worry.

"Oh, I think he does. He confides in her more then to anyone else. And sometimes he looks at her secretly, when he thinks no one will notice." Matt stated with a big smile.

"The kitten deserves some happiness, and Alvez too." Rossi joined the conversation just as the elevator stopped.

They went to their cars and drove to the airport, focusing on the case but still curious about what will happen between Penelope and Luke.

Penelope, who had no idea that her team talked about her just in this moment, went to her phone and tried to call Luke. But it went to voice mail. Since she didn't know if he would be at home or at the vet, and which vet he would bring Roxy to, she decided to work a little magic.

This magic was only to activate the GPS on his phone to see where he was. It only took her a minute or two, nothing hard. Soon she found the position from his phone on the map. It was right outside a veterinarian clinic.

Without another thought she grabbed her purse and went to the elevator. Not even taking the time to shut down her systems.

She programmed the address into her navigation system and started to drive. About thirty minutes later she arrived, his SUV still standing in the parking lot. She got out of her car and began walking towards the entrance. Thinking of what she was doing here and why. She was nervous and worried.
She didn't even know if Luke would appreciate or welcome her presence.
You are here for Roxy, and not for him. She tried to convince herself, partially it was true.

She gathered her courage and opened the door. She neither saw Luke or Roxy, so she went to the reception desk to ask for them.

"Hello, I am looking for Mister Alvez and his dog Roxy. Can you tell me where they are?" She gave the women in front of her a sweet smile.

"He is waiting back there for the surgery to be finished. He didn't say he was expecting someone else." The woman answered her with a smile of her own.

"I didn't know if I could take the day off from work. But I managed, so here I am." Penelope answered, looking back to the door where the woman said that he would be.

"Ah of course, so just through that door and you will find him." The woman pointed again and gave Penelope a nod.

Penelope walked to the door, before she opened it, she steadied herself again and then she pushed the handle.

She saw him as soon after the door was open. He was pacing around the room, looking only at the floor or to another door, she assumed lead back to the OR.

Penelope closed the door and looked at him for another few seconds. He was not hiding his feelings at this moment, oblivious to the fact that he was not alone anymore. She saw sorrow and fear on his face, his hands closed to fists.

"Luke?" Penelope said in a low voice, not wanting to startle him.

He looked at her, with surprise. He needed a few moments to realize that she really was standing in front of him, in the clinic. She could see something that looked like relieve in his eyes, or was it delight, before his face went blank again, like it was most of the time.

"Penelope, what are you doing here?" He managed to say.

She came closer to him, putting one hand on his arm."Emily told us that you needed to take care of Roxy. I was worried. So I took the day off and came here as fast as I could. Where is Roxy? What happened? Is it serious?"

Luke could hear how concerned and worried she was. He was too, but like always, he instantly felt better when she was near him. Her presence always made him feel better, happier. He was in love with her. He had admitted this to himself months ago. He fell for her almost instantly when he had seen her for the first time. But she hated him, at first, and now they became friends. He would never risk their friendship, it was too precious. So he was hiding his feelings, not asking her out or making any move towards her at all.

"We were out for a run. Everything was fine, until some asshole came rushing down the way on his bike. Roxy was ahead of me when she got ran over. When I reached her, the guy was already back on his bike and racing away. He didn't even bother to look if he had injured her." Luke felt the same anger rising in him again then he felt before. He could feel Penelope's hand squeezing his arm. That helped him to push his anger away.

"Roxy was bleeding, her right front leg was messed up. There was so much blood, but I still could see her bone. I looked like it was broken. So I lifted her up and ran as fast as I could to my car. I texted Emily that I needed to take care of Roxy and I drove here. She is in there for over an hour." His shoulders dropped.

Penelope wanted to cry, but she needed to be strong. For Roxy, and especially for Luke. She pulled him into her arms, hugged him and rubbed his back. Saying little, whispered words of comfort and that everything would be okay.

She was surprised for a second, that he immediately hugged her back and with what force.

After standing there for a few minutes, he backed away and they set down. He still was worried but he was calmer then before, at least so calm that he could sit still. Penelope was still holding his hands. He looked at her and gave her a thankfully smile.

"Thanks for coming here mi amor." Luke knew she didnt speak Spanish, but maybe she did understand what he had just said to her, giving that her cheeks turned pink.

"Uh, you welcome. I love Roxy, and I was and still am so worried." Penelope decided to act like she didn't understood him, that he just called her my love. Her heart was beating faster and her whole body felt like being on fire. But she ignored all of that. Roxy was the focus right now, not her feelings towards Luke.

"Is there no new case?" Luke asked her, changing the subject.

"Of course there is. But I took the day off. Emily gave her permission." She said a little timidly.

"You did that for us?" Luke was surprised again. He knew she cared deeply for Roxy, but he had no idea that she cared that much.

"Well, I mostly did it because of Roxy. But yes, I was worried for you too. I know how much you love her and how much you need her." She stopped looking at him while she was speaking.

Luke's heart was overflowing with joy. She was worried about him too, and what he could read off of her expressions at this moment, was deep concern and also deep emotions he never saw on her before. He just wanted to say something when the door to the treatment room opened and the vet came out.

Both, Penelope and Luke stood up to speak with the vet.

"Her leg was broken and she had some deep lacerations. We straightened the bone and sewed the wounds. There will be no permament damage. But I want to keep her for a few hours for control. You can see her now, but she is still sleeping." He gestured the two to follow him.

Penelope gave Luke a big smile and squeezed his hand which she was still holding. He returned her smile and went after the vet, holding on to her hand.

He only let go off her hand when they reached Roxy. Both were cuddling her, even if she did not notice, since she was still anesthetized.

"You can pick her up at six pm. She will make a full recovery, when you be delicate with her and take it easy for two weeks. Until then, the bone should have healed as much as possible and will be as strong as before." The vet gave Luke some more instructions and then lifted Roxy up to put her into a kennel where he could check on her.

Luke agreed to picking her up later and they started to head out. Eight hours until I could bring my girl home.

As they set off, Luke grabbed Penelope's hand again and held it all the way until they reached their cars.

"Uh, I guess you want to go back to work now?" Luke asked Penelope, looking at his feet.

"I... I dont need to go back. I have... I have the whole day off." Penelope was still concerned for Roxy, but not worried anymore. And she really would love to spend more time with Luke, outside of work, but did not want to be pushy.

"What do you think about spending some time with me, until we can pick up Roxy together? I am sure she will be happy to see you too. And so you can check on her too." Luke did not want to see her go too.

"Uh, sure. I would... I would like to spend some time with you." Her cheeks reddened again.

Luke smiled at her, with the most beautiful smile she had ever seen on him. He finally knew that she felt the same for him as he felt for her.

"I need to head home, but after showering, we can do whatever you want to do." He opened the door for her and went then back to his own side of the car and started driving home.

On the way they talked, she told him about the case and the victims. When they reached his home, she went to sit down on the couch, writing Emily and telling her what happened to Roxy, meanwhile Luke showered. He was too busy bringing Roxy to the vet that he didn't had time for the shower after their morning jog.

When he came out, he sat beside Penelope. They talked and talked, for hours. In between, they had ordered food and ate together. Both laughed and enjoyed each others company. But not once they spoke of their feelings, neither of them wanted to interrupt these friendly talks. They were holding each others hand the whole time, both of them very aware of that fact. About half an hour before they needed to head out to pick up Roxy, they sat side by side in a cozy, not strange silence. They looked into each others eyes, smiling at each other.

Luke got closer to her, with every inch he closed in, Penelope's heart beat faster and her breath stopped. When he was just inches away she looked deep into his beautiful eyes and then down on his lips, closing her eyes, wishing that he would finally kiss her.

He noticed her gaze, saw that she closed her eyes and pressed his lips to hers. He had been waiting for this, it seemed like an eternity, and he could not believe that it was finally happening. He felt so happy and relaxed. As their kiss intensified, he felt a passion for this woman like he had never felt in his life. He knew she was the one person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

After kissing each other for a few minutes, for both it seemed like an eternity and was yet over too soon, he pulled away breathing hard. Penelope met his gaze, as breathless as he was, and smiled at him with the sweetest smile.

"Wow." Luke said in a deep, husky voice. He had to clear his throat before continuing. "I wanted to do that for a very long time. Please tell me, that it was not a one time only kiss."

Penelope just shook her head, not able to speak just yet. But that was enough for Luke to kiss her again.

When he pulled away the next time, he looked down at his watch and saw they needed to go to pick up Roxy. He hated that they needed to go now, but he was too anxious too see his girl Roxy.

On the way back to the vet, they talked about their feelings, both a bit uncertain and shy, but when they heard what the other one was feeling, the uncertainty quickly disappeared. Only a deep joy remained.

When they were standing in the waiting room, Luke asked Penelope "Do you really need to go back to work tomorrow?"

Penelope smiled back at him. "Well, Emily told me that I can take some days off, if it is serious. I think this," Penelope pointed first at him and then at herself, "is serious. So I think, I will take another day off."

Luke just smiled at her and kissed her again. Until Roxy interrupted them with a bark, she came slowly limping towards them, her tail wiggling insanely fast for the sheer pleasure of seeing both of them again.

After greeting and cuddling her, Luke payed the bill, listened once more to the instructions of the vet for Roxys recovery, then they left together.

Penelope was standing beside Luke as he helped Roxy into the car. Before he closed the backdoors, he looked to Penelope.

"Now I would like to bring both of my girls home, if that is fine for you." Luke waited impatiently for her answer.

Penelope just nodded and kissed him. Roxy barked again, licking their faces that were still close, interrupting them once more. A minute later they were back on their way home. All three happy and in love with each other.

With the exception of women, there is nothing on earth so agreeable or necessary to the comfort of man as the dog. ~Edward Jesse, Anecdote of Dogs

Hope y'all liked it. :)