AN: A warm thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed this story. After the first part, I researched the quote and decided to run this like a four part play. Hence, the four chapters, and now, four POV shifts...again, thanks!

....And one man in his time plays many parts.- William Shakespeare, As You like It

After Derek left, Penelope stared at the door where he'd exited in confusion for awhile. She was perplexed for many reasons. She wondered why he left without his coat. The weather hadn't let up the entire time they were together rehearsing. He was wearing his long sleeved cotton Henley he wore to work today, not anything that would keep him warm against the elements. She was worried about him; she didn't want him to get sick.

She didn't know why he'd rushed out the door so quickly. He'd told her so many times that he had no other plans, nothing else to do, other than to practice with her. Albeit, he'd finished the scene so well-she thought he deserved an academy award for his work tonight!-he probably thought there was no reason to continue. That thought brought a pang of sadness to her heart; she'd really enjoyed reading with him. Although that nagging voice of her conscious made her admit something else...

Reading wasn't the only thing she enjoyed.

She brought her fingertips to her lips, and could still feel the tingling rush of feeling, the exquisite pressure of his kiss. No doubt about it; Derek knew how to kiss.

He was acting a part, Penelope, she scolded herself. Stop being stupid. You are not Laura, and he is not Broderick.

Wistfully, she reached for his coat. She gave it a quick hug, burying her face in the leather. It still had that faint woodsy scent of Derek. Sighing, she released her hold on it by hanging it up on her coat tree. Then she proceeded into her bedroom to start getting ready for bed.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! Derek thought as he walked down the street. How could he had been so stupid to finally give into temptation. He'd kissed the one woman who had always been forbidden to him, kissed her with everything he had in him...

And she'd thought he was playing a part.

Derek laughed bitterly. He was playing a part in a lot of ways. He'd been playing the part of best friend and colleague for six years. He played the part of teasing flirt, like it meant nothing more to him than passing fancy. Just lighthearted banter, a game between two friends.

Seriously, he deserved an academy award for his work. There was nothing lighthearted about his feelings for Penelope.

She meant everything to him. She was his best friend, his true confidant, the only person who really knew his secrets, the only person he was himself around. She was balm to his battered spirit, healing him when things became too bad, at work or in life in general. He loved her, and he was in love with her. Had been for quite some time now.

However, there was Lynch, and their friendship, and their work status. So many things that piled up on top of one another to make a relationship-to be her lover, her boyfriend, her husband-simply a pipe dream.

But what a beautiful dream it was!

He sighed and made it to his car, the cold, misty rain chilling him to his bones, and accepted the fact.

That was one role he was destined to never play.

Penelope flipped between three different shows on the TV, although there was seriously nothing good on Friday nights. Her favorite night to watch television was Wednesday. There were a lot of good shows on then. Right now, it was slim pickings. Probably because most folks were out partying, or out to eat, or doing something other than watching the boob tube.

As she tried become absorbed into a medical drama, she caught herself glancing for the umpteenth time at the video camera on her tripod. She forced herself to look back at the TV...just when they showed a very graphic, however not very real looking, pole sticking out of someone's chest.

"Oh, that's it," she said disgustedly, turning the channel. She gave up. There was nothing to see.

She looked up at the camera again.

Come on, you want to see that kiss, the devil on her left shoulder said.

No, you really just want to see the lines, the angel on her right said.

The kiss!

The lines!

"It's both," she admitted to herself with a sigh, standing up. She walked over to the tripod and procured the tape, then popped it into her video player.

She watched the tape play. Watched the magic unfold again. Watched the warmth in Derek's eyes, the heat of his words, the force of his emotion, and the chemistry that flowed between them. A chemistry so palpable, she could see it like water flowing back and forth, washing over them.

As she watched, it became abundantly clear to her: this was so much more than two people playing roles.

She stopped the tape and sat there, quiet and thoughtful, for a long time.

And then she picked up her cell phone and made a call.

Derek made it home and immediately changed his clothes, pulling on track pants and a sweatshirt to ward off the cold. He thought about going to bed, but it was only eight. He'd pictured himself going to bed that early when he was almost ninety, not almost forty. So, he watched a hockey game that was on the TV, where his favorite team was losing miserably. He suffered through it for awhile, before he made his way into his kitchen and started heating some water for a cup of instant soup.

A moment later, his cell phone rang. He flicked it open and answered, "Yeah, Baby Girl."

"Hi, ummm," she said rather nervously. "You left your coat."

He inwardly blanched. "I did. Can you bring it with you to work on Monday?"

"Actually, I'm on my way over there."

He frowned a bit. "Okaaaaay..."

"And Derek?" she continued. "I have a new part I want you to try out for."

For a moment, Derek stood stock still, wondering what she was talking about. Then he took a quick look at his house. It was kind of messy right now, but Penelope had seen it worse. She'd helped him clean up the place numerous times, even helped him organize his basement. Nevertheless, he made a quick trip around the house, picking up clothes and stuff. He was in the kitchen making a pot of coffee, when he heard Penelope's key in the door.

"Hey," he called out. "I'm putting on coffee."

"I'm hanging up your coat," she answered, and he had no doubt of that. Her voice sounded muffled. She made it into the kitchen. Her eyes were sparkling with a teasing glint when she said, "I bet you were cold on the way home."

"Froze my ass off," he replied honestly.

She laughed. "Poor baby."

The coffee started to percolate; he checked the drip settings, and then he turned to look at her. "So...what part do you want me to read for?"

She smiled crookedly. "Wow. No pussyfooting with you, now, is there?"

His response was just a grin in return.

"Well...ummm...I started watching our tape we made, and..." She paused for a second. He could've sworn she was deliberately stalling. "That coffee smells really good. Can I have a cup?"

Derek gave a short bark of laughter, but poured the coffee. "You're a torture artist," he said, handing her a mug.

She held the mug and blew on it a bit to cool it. He watched her perfect lips make a motion like a kiss, and had to fight pulling her into his arms...

"What, P?" he snapped irritatedly.

"I watched the tape, and I saw our chemistry, Derek. You could see it; it was real. Like an elephant in a room, impossible to ignore," she said in a rush. She took a sip of her coffee, and then said, "I watched it, and watched it. Then I watched the kiss..."

"And?"

She looked up at him again. "Derek, I don't think you were acting with that kiss any more than I was."

He wondered if he looked as shell shocked as he felt. "You weren't acting?"

"No," she answered honestly. "And neither were you."

He smiled, and every warm and tender feeling he'd ever had for her bubbled to the surface. "I wasn't."

She smiled back, but looked down. "I called Kevin after that kiss. Told him I needed to recast the role of Garcia's boyfriend. I've needed to do that for a long time." She looked up at him, her eyes shining with love. "Derek, will you play that part?"

He put his cup down and took hers out of her hands. "Oh, baby, that is one part I was born to play!"

He felt her tremors as she both laughed and cried in his arms. "Wow, Derek. I never expected this in a billion years."

"I never expected it, either," he whispered softly, as he brought his hands up to cup her face. He brushed a tear away from her cheek with his thumb, his own eyes glimmering with moisture. "But it is the best surprise I could ever have."

"I love you," she murmured. "I think I always have."

"I love you, too," he replied. "And I know I always have."

She smiled up at him, and then said teasingly, "Broderick?"

His eyes twinkled as he answered, "Yes, Laura?"

"Kiss me..."

And he did.

AN Postscript: Hope you enjoyed this happily ever after! Next story will be coming up pretty soon. If you are so inclined, please check out Naidoo's profile for a collaboration that is running in sync with this story called, "The Vacation."