Chapter Text
“Maybe, I could take you to dinner sometime.”
The words Luke told Penelope five weeks ago were on constant replay in his mind. It’s not that he hadn’t intended to keep that promise to her. The case they received had been time consuming. A network of serial bombers had appeared and the BAU had been one step behind since they’d received the first taunting letter. San Francisco, Chicago, Des Moines, Sioux Falls, Atlanta. The team had yet to put a connection between the cities or why they had been hit in that order. At this point, the team was playing damage control.
After Atlanta was targeted, Rossi suggested that one of them work from Quantico in case another Eastern city was hit. Luke volunteered instantly without a second thought. He would’ve promised his vacation days and Christmas bonus away for the chance to be in the same state as Garcia for more than six hours again.
When he slid his key in the lock, he heard Roxy’s excited whimpers from the other side. He braced himself for a jump that never came. Instead, he saw Penelope leaning down to scratch Roxy’s ears.
“Hold on, sweetie. I’m getting your food.”
And if you asked, Luke couldn’t deny how his heart swelled at the sight of his girls. Sliding his duffel bag down off his shoulder, he cleared his throat.
“Oh um, Newbie. Luke. Hey. I was just I-I-I… uh. Hi.”
Luke let out a soft chuckle, not understanding Garcia’s nervousness. He found it adorable, nonetheless. They had shared forehead kisses and quick hugs on the few occasions Luke had been sent back home to communicate with the director.
“You know, I gave you that key for a reason. Thank you for checking on her.” He reached his hand out and brought her in for hug. He placed a light kiss along her ear, before taking in the scene more fully.
Foil pans were on the stove and laundry folded on the couch. The kitchen floor had been freshly mopped minus a few pawprints that ran through a corner of the area. His eyes settled back on Garcia as he saw her expression flow from panic to nerves and resolve to finally speak.
“Funny thing. Not like haha funny or strange, but you know one of those…. Uhm.. those…”
“Penelope.”
“Alvez. Oh. Yeah, you know. It’s just… I…” Luke couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’ve been staying here,” and after a pause, “Everything okay?”
A tear gleamed in Garcia’s eyes as she spoke again. “Don’t be mad.” Luke nodded in response, not wanting to interrupt what she was about to say. She went to tell the story of how checking on Roxy became staying for hours to keep her company and then making dinner every night so he could eat if the team came home.
“Then by the end of week two, I just couldn’t imagine leaving her alone. I figure rather than disrupting her routine I could move some of my stuff here, and I should’ve asked fir-”
“You’re amazing.”
Luke was home in the mid-afternoon and Penelope was there waiting. How could he ask for more than this?