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#1: A Proposition
“So, sir, as you know, Luke and I are getting married in a little under a year,” Penelope started.
“Yes,” Rossi replied. “ Mille congratulazioni, again.”
“Thank you. And I know you’ve already agreed to host, which, again, thank you,”
“Penelope, there’s no reason to thank me, it is my absolute and undeniable pleasure.”
“Okay, well, thank you anyway, but there’s one more thing I want to ask you, and you can totally say no if you want—”
“Penelope.”
“I won’t hold it against you, I’ll completely understand—”
“ Penelope. ”
“I don’t want you to feel pressured into anything or—”
“ Penelope! You can just ask me.”
“Right. Sorry. So, um, I was wondering if you would like to walk me down the aisle? To give me away? I know you have a daughter and a step-daughter, and I’m just someone you used to work with, but you are the closest thing to a dad I have and— are you crying?”
David Rossi was, indeed, crying. He wrapped the young woman into his arms and held her tightly. “Penelope, you are so much more than just someone I used to work with. You are my friend, and for all intents and purposes, you are my daughter. I never got to walk Joy down the aisle, and I don’t know if I ever will with Portia, so it means the world to me that you consider me important enough to do this for you. It would be my absolute honor, sweetheart.”
She smiled into the hug, holding on to the best person she could have ever asked to replace her dad. “I kinda love you, David Rossi.”
“I kinda love you, Penelope Garcia.”
#2: Modeling
On a rare Saturday off, Penelope and Dave decided that it would be a great day to go shopping for his suit for the wedding. He suggested this store a friend of his owned, since it was naturally full of Italian suits, and David Rossi had an affinity for the finer things in life.
“ Ciao, Dave! ” His friend called as they entered the shop. “ Chi è questo con te? ”
Rossi glanced over at Penelope with a soft look on his face. “ Mia figlia. Si sposerà presto, quindi ho bisogno di uno abito. ”
“ Ah, vieni con me, ti mostro la mia migliore selezione. ” He waved them to the back of the store, pointed to the dressing rooms, and then left them alone to do their thing.
“So what on earth did you two say?” Penelope asked Rossi. “Because I did not understand a word of it.”
“Well, he asked me who I was with, and I told him I was with my daughter, and that you’re getting married soon, so I need a suit, and he pointed us towards his best selection.”
Penelope pulled her hands up to her heart, touched. “Aw, you told your friend that I’m your daughter?”
He gave her a small kiss on the forehead. “Because you are, cara mia. You are. Maybe not biologically or even legally, but when in the hell has that ever mattered to our family?”
She smiled. “Absolutely never, and it shall remain that way.”
“It absolutely shall. So which one should I try on first?”
By the end of their shopping trip, he had tried on twelve different suits and ‘modeled’ them for her, strutting up and down the aisles of the shop for her, posing here and there according to her direction as she snapped hundreds of pictures, no doubt to send to the family group chat later.
After they had finally settled on one suit and bought it, he took her back to his place to make lunch for the two of them. “Are you actually going to let me help this time?”
“Hmm?”
“Well, I figured since I’m your daughter now and I’m getting married soon, you better teach me how to cook.”
Fighting back tears, Rossi handed her a cutting board and knife. “Here, you start on the onions, I’ll do the tomatoes.”
Noticing the misty look in his eyes, Penelope smiled. “Rossi, I haven’t even started cutting the onions yet.”
“Oh, hush.”
#3: The First Look
Penelope had wanted to do a “first look” with Dave, figuring it would make a beautiful picture. He had obliged, of course, so now he was standing with his back to her and his eyes closed.
“Okay, you can turn around now.”
He turned and gasped at his absolute vision of a pseudo-daughter. Her gown (because this wasn’t a wedding dress, it was a wedding gown ) was mostly white and lacey, but under the skirt he could see a light blush of pink, because of course Penelope Garcia was going to get married in pink.
“ Cara mia, ” he whispered, the tears already falling down his face as he went to hug her.
“I take it I look great?”
“ Beautiful, ” he told her. “Absolutely stunning. ” He ghosted a kiss on both of her cheeks, so as to not smudge her makeup. “I’m so proud of you. So proud. I could not be happier for you, Penelope, truly, you deserve this.” He was barely able to whisper the words out through his tears, but he couldn’t help it. He’d known this woman for so long, and had taken to her instantly, because who couldn’t? He’d been a hardened stone when he first re-joined the BAU, but her charm and kindness had softened him into the dad of the group he found himself playing today. He extended an arm to her. “How about you and I take a walk?”
She looped her arm through his. “I’d love to.”
#4: The Walk Down the Aisle
There was not a dry eye in the audience as David Rossi walked Penelope Garcia down the aisle. It just made so much sense for them. The whole team was like a family but those two had formed such a close bond that there was almost no like at all. They were family.
Rossi had been determined to not cry as he walked her down the aisle, but it was proving very difficult. He was overcome with pride and joy for the woman on his arm.
He almost made it, though. They got to the end of the aisle and he handed her off to Luke with a look that said, “Hurt her and I will gut you like a fish,” to which Luke just smiled and shook his head. Dave smiled too. He knew he didn’t have anything to worry about. Luke loved Penelope more than anyone else in the world, you didn’t have to be a profiler to see that. He would be good to her.
The thing that broke him, however, was when Penelope turned back to Rossi, gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, “Thank you, Dad.”
He was crying before he even turned away.
+1: The Father-Daughter Dance
Penelope and Rossi were swaying on the dancefloor to You’ll be in my Heart by Phil Collins.
“Are you happy, darling?” He asked her.
“So happy,” she whispered back, tears in her eyes. “So, so happy. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, I’ll never be able to tell you how much it’s all meant to me.”
He was crying again too. “You don’t need to thank me, Penelope. It’s my pleasure. You are my daughter. I’d do anything for you.”
“You’re a wonderful man, Mr. Rossi.”
“And you’re a wonderful woman, Mrs. Alvez.”