Work Text:
Penelope’s Christmas Extravaganza: The Sweetest Things
Penelope finishes writing her invitations with a swish of her wrist and places her quill in the inkwell. She blows gently across the paper encouraging the ink to dry. She double checks her work for any errors.
My dearest Dave,
I humbly invite you to be my special guest for a Christmas Extravaganza. A night filled with holiday cheer, lots of laughs, and maybe a kiss or two under the mistletoe. I would be especially honored if you would come early and help bake cookies.
Sincerely your Christmas elf,
Penelope
She folds the paper carefully and slips it into a homemade envelope which she seals with a daub of wax and presses it with her personalized blotter. She carefully addresses the envelope then places it into the out-going mailbox.
“This is going to be the best Christmas ever,” she says cheerily to herself.
“The Christmas holidays suck!” Dave mutters as he stops shoveling and glares at the snow that keeps falling from the sky. “All the shopping and good will to mankind. Who can have goodwill when the weather sucks? Why couldn’t Christmas be in July?” Wisemen, my ass!”
An approaching vehicle caches his attention. He squints through the whiteness and spies an approaching mail truck.
“Ah fuck!” he grumbles. He drops the shovel and runs inside the garage, through the connecting door and into the house. His wet boots squeak on the hardwood floor as he rushes to the kitchen. He grabs the wrapped present on the counter and hurries back outside.
He exits the garage just as the mail truck stops in front of his house. Dave plunders through the amassed snow pile.
“Hey Harry,” Dave calls out to the older Asian man. He holds out the present in from of him. “Merry Christmas.”
“Dave! How are you?” Harry replies.
“Fucking cold!”
Harry laughs and takes the wrapped gift. “What’s this?”
“Just a little something for you and the wife,” Dave smiles.
“Thank you, Dave. You are always so good to us.”
“You take care of me all year round. It’s the least that I can do.”
Harry smiles in return. “It’s my pleasure. Here’s your mail for the day…”
He hands Dave a stack of envelopes, then twists in his seat and grabs something from the back.
He twists back and hands Dave a large cellophane wrapped bone with a bow on it. “For Mr. Mudgie. Where is Mudgie?”
“In the house,” Dave grouses. “Sleeping in front of the fireplace. You’d think he’d be out here helping.”
“If I had a choice, I’d be sleeping in front of the fire too,” Harry laughs.
“Apparently, I’m not that smart,” Dave says joining him in laughter.
Harry hands him another package wrapped in silver paper. “A little something to help keep you warm.”
“Very kind of you,” Dave replies warmly. “I’ll not keep you. Be safe and thanks again, Harry.”
“You’re welcome, Dave. I’m just glad that you’re home this year. I hate it when you, in particular are working, reminds me that the bad guys never take a break,” Harry says in parting.
Dave watches the grimy mail truck slip and slide to the next driveway. “Unfortunately, the bad guys don’t stop no matter what time of year,” Dave tells himself.
He sighs and looks back at the small patch of driveway that he had cleared on to see it covered in snow again.
“Time for a break.”
He grabs the shovel, shaking the snow off and carries it along with the presents into the garage. He hangs the shovel up and stomps the snow off his boots before slipping them off his feet. After punching the garage door remote, he waits for the door to close completely then slips into the house.
He takes two steps then stops and glares at the floor. “What the hell?!”
There are several cold, puddles of water on the wood floor and he stepped in one… or two.
“Where did those…” he trails off when he sees the packages in his hands. The snow must have fallen off his boots when he came inside for the Christmas present for Harry.
He lets out a sigh and rolls his eyes. He hobbles down the hallway to the kitchen being careful to A, not step in any more puddles and B, keep his already wet sock off the floor.
Setting the mail and the packages on the counter, he now slips the wet sock off his foot then the dry one off the other foot. He carries the socks to the laundry room, tosses them in the basket and then grabs his dry mop from the utility closet. It only takes a few minutes to clean up the floor.
After he tidies up the hallway and puts the mop away, he returns to the kitchen. Harry and his wife were special people whom had burrowed a place in Dave’s heart. Not long after Dave had moved into his current residence, Mudgie disappeared. Dave looked high and low for his four-legged friend but was having no luck when he came across Harry, having his lunch in the park.
It was three days later, after Dave was called away for a case that Harry called saying he had found Mudgie. Dave asked the man to take Mudgie to the kennel and Dave would pay for his time and gas. When Dave returned from the field, he found that Harry and his wife, Maggie had not taken Mudgie to the kennel.
Instead, they took care of Mudgie themselves. And when he went to pick up the dog, they insisted he have dinner with them. He left there as spoiled as Mudgie, with a Tupperware full of dumplings and a heart full of friendship. Harry and Maggie had refused Dave’s money as well. Saying that Mudgie had kept their dog company and insisted on future playdates. From then on, it wasn’t unusual for Mudgie to climb into Harry’s mail truck and leave for an overnight stay at the Cho’s.
Dave laughs to himself at the memory. He shakes himself out of his reverie and unwraps the large bone. The smell of beef brine fills the air. He tosses the wrapping in the trash then reaches for the other present. He opens the attached card, smiling at the heartfelt words and enclosed picture of Mudgie and Binky (Harry and Maggie’s dog) sitting with Santa, both wearing red Santa hats.
Inside his present, there is a large Tupperware container filled with dumplings and a bottle of ten-year old scotch. He opens the Tupperware lid and takes a deep sniff. “Guess what I’m having for dinner?”
Dave quickly heats up a large serving in a frying pan, pouring himself a generous serving of scotch to go with it. Once everything is ready, he grabs food, drink, the pile of mail and Mudgie’s bone and carries it into the living room. He sets his stuff on the table next to his recliner, then walks over to Mudgie.
“Seriously, dog, how long are you going to sleep?”
Mudgie opens one eye and groans causing Dave to laugh. Dave kneels down and gives the dog a few pets as he holds the bone in front of his snout. “You want this?”
Mudgie takes a sniff and swiftly rolls on to his belly as he reaches for the offered treat.
“Sure, you wake for treats!”
Dave pokes at the fire and places another log to keep it going then returns to his chair. He grabs a dumpling and pops it into his mouth as he sorts through his mail. A small, white envelope with an embellished scroll catches his eye.
He examines the envelope and realizes there is no return address. Curious, he spins it around and opens the flap. He pulls out a hand-written note.
My dearest Dave,
I humbly invite you to be my special guest for a Christmas Extravaganza. A night filled with holiday cheer, lots of laughs, and maybe a kiss or two under the mistletoe. I would be especially honored if you would come early and help bake cookies.
Sincerely your Christmas elf,
Penelope
Dave blinks and re-reads the note. Special guest? A kiss or two? Is she implying something more than friendship between them?
He picks up his glass of scotch and takes a sip. The smooth flavor makes him pause and savor it before letting his thoughts slip back to the note in his hand. There was no denying that there was some sort of chemistry between them, but he had never really given it much thought since she appeared to be with Morgan when Dave first arrived. And when it became clear, after a few months that the technical analyst and her Chocolate God of whatever were only good friends, life had become established and it seemed to be too late to start something.
But now, Morgan has moved on and Penelope… well maybe she was more available than he thought. She was younger than him, yes, but he had dated women even younger than her. Holding the hand-written note to his nose, he takes a sniff. Is that… cinnamon? He sniffs again.
Cookies, huh? She wants to bake cookies with him. “Why not,” he says aloud. “Let’s see what we can cook up together.”
Dave shifts the bag of groceries to his left hand and knocks sharply on the door. In less than a minute, the door opens. Penelope grins widely from under her Christmas chapeau a Santa hat with Mistletoe on the end.
“Welcome, my handsome Chef,” she grins.
“Actually, I’m the handsome baker today,” he corrects.
“Yes! Yes, you are,” she replies quickly. “Please come in.”
He steps inside the room and leans over to press a kiss upon her cheek. “Merry Christmas, Kitten.”
It warms him to see the flush that spreads across her cheeks. “Thank you, Super Agent. What’s in the bag?”
“I brought a few things I thought I might need,” he smiles. “I wasn’t certain what you would have on hand.”
“Ooh, I have so many things,” she gushes. She grabs his arm and drags him towards the kitchen. “Come, come.”
He follows her willingly. A pot of cider simmer on the stove. Next to the pot, sits the ingredients for hot chocolate. What really catches his eye though is the array of baking sheets, utensils and cookie making ingredients that are laid out on the island.
“How many cookies are we making,” he asks. His voice is full of wonder.
“I don’t know,” she shrugs. “A couple dozen?”
He sets his bag down and blinks at her. “A couple dozen? Of how many types?”
“Oh! I meant a couple dozen in total,” she frowns. “You can’t just do two or three of each type.”
Dave laughs. “Kitten, cookie recipes are designed to make batches. A match can make one or two dozen. There’s no way I can cut a recipe to make just a couple of cookies. How do you divide an egg?”
“I didn’t think about that.” He shoulders sag. “Now what?”
He smiles, places a hand on one shoulder and lifts her chin with his other hand. “What’s your favorite holiday cookie?”
“Sugar cookies,” she replies.
“Okay. I’ll start with those as they are the easiest,” he smiles. “And once they’ve cooled, you can help me decorate them.”
“Ooh, that would make an excellent group activity,” she beams. “Everyone can decorate their own cookies.
“Sure,” he smiles wanly. “That would be great.”
She claps her hands and bounces with a little giggle. “This is going to be so much fun. Can you get started without me? I’m going to go check on the others.”
“Sure,” Dave nods. He watches her prance out of the room then lets out the breath he had been holding. “So much for cooking together.”
He takes another look at the array before him and moves things around to make space. Based on the ingredients, he decides to make both pressed and cut-out cookies. He washes his hand sin the sink and gets to work.
The first of the cut-out cookies, an assortment of trees, snowmen, and Santa hats, begin cooling as Dave pulls them out of the oven. He scoops them off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack as Penelope waltzes back into the room.
“Wow, you’ve been busy,” she says.
“I told you, sugar cookies are easy,” he smiles. “Can you put that other baking sheet in the oven for me?”
“Yes!”
“Be careful, the oven’s hot,” he reminds her. “Just put them on the center rack.”
He watches her out of the corner of his eye as he finishes moving the cookies off the tray.
“Now what?” she asks.
“You can cut out the rest of the cookies from that dough there,” he tells her.
“Which cutter should I use?” she asks.
“Whatever you want to use,” he replies. “I made four of each using the hat, the snowman and the tree.”
“Hmm,” she hums. She looks over all the different cutters. “I think I will use the reindeer, the bells, and the mistletoe.”
“Good choices.”
Dave puts together another batch of dough as she cuts out her cookies and places them on the remaining baking sheet. “Do you want to make some of the reindeer noses red?”
She looks up at him. “How would I do that?”
He smiles and grabs the bottle of red sugar as he walks over to her. “Let me show you.”
He pours a small amount of the crystals into his left hand, then takes a pinch with his right hand and presses it into the nose area of one of the reindeer. Carefully moving the crystals around to form a circle, he continues to add more crystals. He steps back and admires his handy work. “What do you think?”
“Is it going to be okay to cook like that?”
“Yeah. My sisters and I use to make sugar cookies every Christmas growing up. We had contests for the best tasting, the best decorated, the best variety, and the best presentation,” he explains. He frowns. “Every year, we each would win a category. No one ever lost.”
“Sounds like fun,” Penelope says wistfully.
“Yeah, well it wasn’t always cookies and sunshine.”
She picks up the bottle of red sugar, then pours a generous amount in her hand. “Wish me luck.”
“Start off slowly,” he advises. “Sugar can be addictive.”
“Gotcha,” she replies as she squishes a large clump of sugar on the end of one cookies nose.
“Not so much,” he laughs. He reaches over and brushes off some of the overflow.
“Ooh! What if I add a collar? You know, kind like a harness or something.”
“Go for it, Sweetheart. It’s Christmas.”
He moves away from her to check on the cookies in the oven.
“Are they ready?”
He shakes his head. “Another couple of minutes.”
Dave goes back to the bowl of dough he just made and begins to roll out the dough into balls and placing them on the now cooled baking sheet. Once the sheet is full, he rolls each ball in white sugar and puts them back on the baking sheet.
“What are you making over there?” Penelope questions.
“More sugar cookies. Though these are going to be smashed,” he explains.
“Smashed?!” She raises an eyebrow at him.
“Watch,” he replies. She moves closer and stands next to him.
He grabs a paper towel, gets it wet, folds it in half and half again then sets it on the counter. He then grabs two paper plates and dumps red sugar on one plate and green sugar on the other. Picking up a water glass, he wets the bottom by placing it on the paper towel, then dips it onto the plate of green sugar. And finally, he presses the sugared glass onto one of the cookie balls.
“See?”
“Oh! My! Gawd!” she squeals. “You are a super GENIUS!!!”
He laughs. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
She places a hand on his arm and leans closer to place a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for coming early and helping with the baking.”
Dave’s cheeks flush. “Well, Kitten, you know I can’t leave a lady without Christmas cookies.”
“You say the sweetest things,” she says with a grin.
“Speaking of sweet things,” he begins. He takes her hand in his and pulls her a little closer. “I was wondering if you would be interested in having dinner with just me tomorrow.”
“Oh Super Agent,” she replies breathlessly. “I am …”
The doorbell rings stopping her mid-sentence.
“We should see who that is,” she says quickly.
Dave watches her as she scampers out of the kitchen. “Boy did you read that wrong,” he scolds himself.
He follows her hoping for a chance to apologize. He steps into the hallway and nods to Hotch and the others who have also stepped into the hallway.
The double doors open, and Spencer enters while balancing bags on his shoulders and packages in his hands. Along, fuzzy red hat with a cuff and pom-pom of white fur balances atop his head and his smile lights the room.
“Yuletide joy be every thine, all! Thy holidays most merry, the new year bright as the berry!” Spencer’s greeting trails off as he looks around the room at his teammates. His eyes land on Penelope. His face softens as he drops his packages to the floor.
Spencer approaches Penelope, ending an arm around her in an all-too-familiar way.
“Hey Sweet Pen,” Spence whispers and squeezes a kiss to her hairline. I’ve never looked forward to the holidays before. You’ve made my life better in so many ways. Thank you for being you and for being mine. This is the best Christmas ever.”
He reaches into her locks with the hand that is not on her waist. Bringing her towards him, he gently opens her lips with his and starts kissing her softly. It takes no time for it to deepen so their bodies are flush, and they are grabbing to be closer to one another. The sound of a throat clearing breaks the beat.
Grinning then looking around, Spencer answers by clearing his throat as well. He calls out to the room.
“This looks great everyone!” As he releases his claim on Penelope’s body. ”They all took their assignments to heart, Love. You must be happy!”
“Why yes, my adorable Man Genius…” Penelope echoes, keeping hold of Spencer’s hand. “Everything is coming together beautifully. And now that you’re here, it is truly the best Christmas ever.”