Chapter Text
Luke and Penelope Alvez had been married for 6 blissful months. They had been together just shy of 2 years when Luke had decided it was time to ask her what he had wanted to ask her for such a long time. From almost the minute he met her, he had been sure that she was his amor. His soulmate. His sun and stars. His gravity. He didn’t fall gradually in love with Penelope, he dropped in it. From a great height. He never knew he could feel so deeply for another person. There was before Penelope and there was after her. And after her, he couldn’t fathom what it was like or how he managed before her. As soon as he had met her he had felt the earth shattering way his life had changed. This woman who seemingly strongly disliked him, who was mean to him for no particular reason, who absolutely outranked him in beauty and intelligence; she was his wife and he never ever took for granted just how lucky he was to call her that.
Their married life had been just as gorgeous as their dating life. Loving looks across rooms, stolen glances in organised chaos, longing stares and burning touches. The butterflies that never diminished, the excitement of going home to one another at the end of every day. They still worked within the same unit of the FBI and when they had informed Emily of their budding romance, her migraine at the news was intense, but short lived. Her happiness usurped her headache and she accommodated them being able to work together and be together. They very rarely worked together in the field anyway, that was Lukes forte where Penelope was the brains behind the BAU back at the office. The banter they had always shared had never changed, just evolved with their relationship. Their teasing and bickering still there, just tinged with the romance they had finally decided to act on after years of dancing round each other.
‘Mrs Penelope Alvez, if you don’t get you’re sexy little ass out of that bathroom in 30 seconds I will be leaving without you !’ Luke shouted as he heard the hair dryer turn off and the door to the bathroom open.
She stood in the doorway and held his gaze as she huffed out an exasperated sigh and smiled at her husbands taunt. She stalked over to him, not taking her eyes off him as he dragged his eyes over her body, looking her up and down, admiring his beautiful wife like a rare painting, a precious jewel. Penelope reached him and let her hands wander over his upper body, over his shoulders and down his chest. Her touch still illicited a guttural reaction from Luke. His eyes closing as he took a deep breath to steady himself. She almost did it on purpose, his response to her touch never got old and she loved that she could provoke it, every time. Her hands continued their exploration of his body and settled on his ass. She waited for him to open his eyes, to be met by hers,
‘Mr Luke Garcia, you could never leave me and I’d never allow it. You know it, I know it, so you’re attempt at machismo has fallen on very pretty, deaf ears’ Penelope replied, Luke smiled at their inside joke. Ever since they married, Luke had referred to her as Mrs Alvez and Penelope had referred to Luke as Mr Garcia. Both as stubborn as mules when admitting who had changed their name to a marital one. It was, in fact, Penelope who changed her last name, but her glee at messing with Luke spurred her on to do it more, it annoyed him more than the Newbie moniker she had so playfully nicknamed him when they had first met and throughout their time knowing- and loving one another.
‘Oooofftt you are 100% correct there Mrs Alvez, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not’ he said, squeezing her hips and planting a firm, passionate kiss on her lips.
‘Oh I like it a lot, Mr Garcia. Forever and ever, baby-’ Penelope replied, rubbing her nose against his and tapping his arse ‘-come on, we’ll be late !’ Luke threw his arms up and laughed in frustration.
'Wasn’t I the one telling you we were gonna be late because I’m pretty sure I was ? How have you turned this round on me ?’ he raised his eyebrows at her as she threw her arm up and brushed it threw the air.
‘Newbie, that’s neither here nor there, doesn’t matter who made us late, the point is we are, let’s goooo’ she said in a hurried tone, shooing him out the front door as he laughed at her ridiculousness.
He followed her out of their front door and locked it behind them, turning and holding his hand out he found hers already waiting to be held. Their hands slotted together perfectly, his enveloped hers, making her feel safe, protected. One of Lukes favourite parts of being married to Penelope was touching her. Even in the most casual of ways, the fact that he could now touch her whenever he wanted, in front of whoever he wanted after holding himself back from touching her for so many years, it felt good, more than good, it felt amazing.
They were both busy with separate tasks today, Penelope was mainly based in her cave doing system updates and Luke was catching up on paperwork. No new cases meant mundane tasks, but sometimes it was nice to just be office based, excited in the knowledge that they’d definitely be sleeping in the same bed tonight. They were holding hands as the elevator slowly climbed to the 6th floor. They shared a kiss just before they reached their destination, a quick yet deep kiss filled with passion that had the potential to flourish into something more, especially when Penelope wrapped her free hand around Lukes waist, pushing her body against his and gently moaned into his mouth. He pinged his eyes open as the elevator stopped, pulling away from the kiss just as the doors drew open. Penelope scowled at the distance he had put between them and was met by sad, brown puppy eyes, his wet mouth whispering ‘I’m sorry’, his hand still clinging to hers as he lifted it to his mouth and kissed it. She turned her hand over so it was cupping his cheek and rubbed her thumb over his lips, smiling at him as they stepped out of the elevator, ready to start their respective days.
They had always managed to keep everything professional at work. Their banter was the same as it had always been and they both relished winding the other up whenever they could. Luke had been sat at his desk for 2 hours, completing his paper work, when his phone rang; he looked at the caller ID and smiled, as he put the phone to his ear and listened
‘Mr Garcia, it’s the light of your life and your raison d’etre calling, how are you this fine Monday morning ?’
Luke smirked into the phone and looped his finger through the wire, playing with it absentmindedly.
‘I’m very well, thankyou Mrs Alvez, better for hearing your voice’ he could feel Penelope blushing through the phone. What him and her had was magic. They could sense each others emotions, even if they weren’t in the same room, such was the strength of their connection as husband and wife.
'What are you upto ?-‘ Luke continued when Penelope didn’t answer, ‘-Can I help you with anything ?’
‘-Oh, yeah, yeah- thats why I called’ Penelope replied, snapping out of her blushes. This man was something else. She phoned him to distract him, and he’d manage to do an uno reverse and distract her more.
‘- uh- huh-‘ she cleared her throat before continuing to speak ‘-do me a favour and look up *lucky man* on that computer of yours and tell me what you find’ she waited for his response, listening to him typing what she had asked him to, a smile creeping over her face at the inevitable laugh she would hear when he found what he was going to find.
'Uhhhhh, its a picture of me’
‘Exactly’ Penelope answered in a sultry voice, a triumphant look on her face.
‘Why is there a picture of me in a Google search bar, Penelope ? How the hell did you manage that ?’
'Luke, come on I’ve hacked into government bodies for years and you think I can’t do it to Google? Please, childs play !’ She teased as she heard the laugh that she’d been waiting for erupt from his belly.
‘So you just decided to put my face all over the Internet so I’d know for sure, not that I don’t already, how insanely lucky I am ?’ he said, God, he loved this woman so much. She was brilliant and hilarious, the teasing that made him fall so deeply in love with her had never disappeared, it had grown into something more; keeping the sparks flying in their relationship even on the most mundane days.
‘Thats precisely what I did, Newbie, and, as the per the search engine suggests, you are most definitely a lucky man !’
‘Never going to argue with that fact, Penelope. I’m the luckiest. Anyway, I’ll see you at lunch, what should we eat, any cravings ?’
Penelope stopped in her tracks, eyes wide with intrigued as she blinked and second guessed herself. He didn’t know, he definitely didn’t, she had only just found out herself this morning, standing in their bathroom holding back her tears of happiness. Shocked at the 2 little lines that had presented themselves, her mind not accepting the result in front of her. Lukes voice shouting her to hurry up crashing her back to reality as she hid the test in her makeup bag and tried to calm herself down. No. He didn’t know. It was impossible. It was just a turn of phrase.
‘Penelope ?’ Luke repeated, bringing her back to the present and out of her inner monologue.
‘Yeah, no, nothing in particular’ she replied not wanting to repeat the word craving, in case he put 2 and 2 together.
‘I’ll text you later I’m still thinking about what I want for lunch’ she quickly said ‘Speak later- hey- I love you baby’
Luke was worried by the silence, which was quickly replaced by a warmth at her words, he’d never get tired of hearing her amorous declarations.
‘I love you too, mi amor’
She hung up the phone and let out the long breath she’d been holding in putting both hands on either side of her head and rubbing her temples. She stayed like that for a minute before her attention was drawn to the news only she was privy to this morning. She placed her hands on her stomach and gently stroked it over her clothes. Whispering gently to the little life made with such a big love.
'Hey, you. So, you’re new, huh ? I’m your mommy and I’m going to keep you safe and warm and comfy until you’re ready to come meet us. We’re going to tell your daddy all about you tonight. He’s going to be sooo excited. You’ll be his greatest love.’ She tilted her head and a tear fell from her eye as she spoke. She knew Luke loved her. Fiercely, deeply, unconditionally. His devotion to her all consuming, as was hers to him. But to fathom how he would love the child that came from their commitment, was too much for Penelope to process. She didn’t think she would ever be ready to witness the level of adoration Luke would bestow on their child. She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to pull herself together, taking a pocket mirror out of her purse, she looked at her reflection and corrected some mascara that had ran down her face. Satisfied with the quick fix of her makeup, she put the mirror back in her purse and pulled her cell phone out, opening Lukes messages she composed her text.
Husband: Hey, I’m thinking I want a sub from Lous diner if you’re game ? That fluffy, warm, crusty bread is making me salivate 😋 what do you think ? Shall I get you one too ?
Luke text back almost immediately, Penelope knew it was one of his favourite places for lunch and so she guessed his order before she opened his text.
Husband- HELL YES I’M GAME FOR LOUS, I’ll have a meatball sub, extra cheese on wholemeal bread, you know, for health.. I can swing by and pick it up if you want me to ? Love you
Husband: Its fine Luke, I need a walk out of this cave anyway, kinda going stir crazy in here.. meatball sub, extra cheese, wholemeal bread for the figure, got it. I’m leaving now, should be back in 30 minutes. See you soon. I love you too
Luke was too preoccupied with work to notice the time. When he’d finished his report he closed the file and the grumble of his stomach made him lift his head to look at the clock. Penelope had been gone for 40 minutes and whilst it wasn’t out of the ordinary for his whimsical wife to get easily distracted; when it came to food- she was serious about the purchasing of, and consumption of said items. Plus it was the time in the day they could spend together so he knew she would be as fast as she could to conserve the time they had together on their lunch break. The niggle lingered as he got up from his desk to make them both coffee, so it would be hot and ready for her when she got back. He made the drinks and went to the bathroom, hoping that when he returned she would be sitting there sipping her coffee, impatiently waiting for him to come sit and eat with her. When he returned to the coffee area and she was still no where in sight, a beat pulsed through his body- she had been gone for 50 minutes now and that niggle became an itch. He pulled out his cell phone and dialled her number, putting the phone to his ear, he heard her voice mail message, her voice making him worry even more
‘Hey you’ve reached the voicemail of Special agent Penelope Alvez, I can’t come to the phone right now, but please leave me a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible’ *beep*
Penelope never turned her phone off. Ever. Luke tried not to look panicked as he made his way to the elevator where he last saw his wife this morning. He made his way down to the parking garage. As soon as the elevator doors opened, he sensed something was off. That’s when he saw the discarded sub sandwiches on the floor. That’s when he saw the 2 faint lines running parallel to each other about a foot apart- drag marks ? From heeled shoes ? He drew his gun as he called Penelopes name, his mind was doing backflips as he walked himself through every possible scenario, his tentative footsteps were interrupted when he kicked something across the floor. He hadn’t seen it initially and so when it stopped moving, his heart sank to the pit of his stomach. He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and dialled a number, an authoritative voice answered the phone and Luke spoke into it clearly, trying to form his words into a complete sentence.
‘This is SSA Luke Alvez with the behavioirial analysis unit. I need a full forensic team here in the parking garage at Quantico straight away. Possible abduction of an FBI agent. The area needs to be cordoned off as a crime scene’ he hung up the phone and dropped to his knees, picking up Penelopes cell phone in his shaking hands. The screen was cracked but it still lit up at his touch. He could see the missed call he had made to her and the screen saver of the 2 of them from a couple of years ago. Her favourite photograph of the 2 of them. His hands balled together into fists as he struggle to control his emotions. He pulled his cell phone out again and punched Emily’s number into it.
‘Hey Luke-‘ Prentiss could hear Lukes breathing on the other end of the phone and knew immediately something was wrong ‘-Luke ? Luke, talk to me, whats wrong ?’
Luke couldn’t bring himself to say the words, like saying them out loud would make it true and he wasn’t ready to admit it. But he needed to tell Emily so they could find his wife as soon as possible. He raised his voice just louder than a whisper,
'Something has happened to Penelope’
He didn’t remember what happened after that.