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Penelope went furious after Luke the moment the team finished the meeting in which Luke pointed out that Tyler might be able to help to figure out Bertoli’s connection to Goldstar. "Why did you have to bring Tyler in play? After all we talked about in the past weeks?" she questioned after arriving at his colleague’s desk.
Luke shook his head slowly but said "He can help, and we need all the help we can get to solve that. Bertoli is dead, he can’t tell us anything anymore, but maybe Tyler sees something we missed. We need to figure that out and make sure Sicarius stays forever in prison, you know that." He halted a moment before he continued "But I thought you might want to see him again. After your reaction at your birthday party.. Was I wrong?"
Penelope looked like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "You thought I really want to see him again? Because I was glad, he wrote me a birthday message, with a spicy callback?"
Lukes’s face scrunched up a bit about the last remark. "I don't know. I thought, maybe you realized you were wrong letting him go. And if he could make you happy and would be your person, you should probably give him a second chance. If he really did change and is now serious about you." Penelope saw honest affirmation in his expression that made her question the things she realized on the evening of her birthday party when she was alone again.
"What if he is not my person? I thought he might be and I really wished for it, because I was searching for it for so long but .. But I guess I understand why you had to bring him in and yes, he might know something that can help with the case. I just don't want to have anything to do with him, beside solving that crime and keeping Sicarius in prison." She stated sincerely.
A moment went by and Luke didn’t know how to respond to her words, so she continued in a low toned voice "Also I know now what I was searching for and I don’t think it is him because the qualities in my person that I'm looking for is honesty, that I can rely on that person and to be taken serious, to be cared for and not to have to worry that my partner stabs me in the back or just uses me for his own advantage and Tyler surely doesn't have those qualities. But I know there are men out there with those qualities and maybe I get such a boyfriend at some point, maybe if I don’t miss my chance."
Penelope saw some new people entering the office and stood up straight "But for now, we have to work, crime never sleeps." With these words she walks off to her office and leaves Luke a little puzzled behind thinking about her words and if he should not think too much about it.
Tara couldn't help herself. She wasn't trying to listen in, but when she saw how Penelope moved closer to Luke to talk in a low voice her curiosity spiked, and she was pleased when she could still hear most of what was said.
She got more and more frustrated with those two. So she walked over to Luke and blurred out "You do realize she could be talking about you, hm? I mean, what do you think the qualities she named were? If you think hard enough, you do realize that maybe that was just a little hint that you shouldn't give up yet." With that she turned to leave Lukes’s desk since she didn’t expect a reply.
Then she just added to make it crystal clear "You really should try again."
Luke huffed out "You think? I know that I have those qualities too." and obviously wanted to leave it with that, since he turned back to his screen.
Tara rolled her eyes dramatically "Ok, if you don't go right now to her and talk to her, I swear to you I post those ridiculously funny pictures I took last time when we went on a drinking spree and the barkeeper mixed your second tequila too strong. You do not want to have them on the internet and explain that to your family, believe me."
Luke pulled his head abruptly back to her. "Wait, what? You wouldn’t?"
"Watch me!" Tara challenged her friend not backing down an inch.
The panic on Lukes’s face grew bigger and bigger realizing she was not joking. "OK, ok I will talk to her, but please delete those pictures now, okay?" He demanded defeat.
"I will, when you two are finally together." Not leaving him to answer she turned away to her own desk and made a point to ignore him.
~~~~~
Luke hesitated when he was about to enter Penelope’s layer.
He thought he could just wait a little while and then go back and say they did talk, but Tara would probably see right through his sad lie.
Before he could except that he shouldn’t play chicken with his older colleague, the door opened on its own and Penelope nearly ran into him. "Luke? What are you doing here? Did I forget something at your desk?"
"Yes." That was all he said and gestured her to go back inside her office.
After the door closed behind them, she checked both his hands and saw that they were empty. "So.. I guess it is invisible?"
"No, I mean yes." He breathed out heavily, not knowing how to start that conversation.
"We need to talk." had to do it.
Penelope’s face changed in a confused look "Did I say something wrong?"
"Were you testing me with what you just said back at my desk?" Way to go, he thought instantly. Maybe he could have phrased that less confronting?!
Penelope sighed and sat back down in her chair, searching for the right words for once speechless.
Luke got closer to her and looked at her comforting “I am Sorry, this is not how I wanted to start that. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just thought if Tyler could make you happy again then maybe you should give him a second chance to prove that he learned from his mistake.
I mean, everyone can make an mistake and if he is really sorry..” Luke exhaled slowly like it would cost him a lot of strength to say the next thing “..then he deserves a second chance. I guess he will never fail you like that again. And you.. you seemed really happy when you had been seeing him secretly behind the teams back.” He crouched down in front of her “I just want you to be happy, as your friend, I care for you.” His warm brown eyes seemed to pierce through her.
“Yes, I was happy when I saw him, but I know now I could be even happier.” Penelope whispers.
She slowly grabbed for his hands and took them in hers “But I agree that people deserve second chances.”
Lukes’s face drops a little until he tries to force it to a smile again. “So, you will give him that last chance to prove himself to you?”
Penelope smiled and shook her head “No, I will give my second chance to a man who, without asking: brings my trash down, deals with all my drama and is already my soulmate since many years, which I pushed away wrongly and which I hope can forgive me and wants a second chance too.” Her eyes are glowing full of hope, staring down on him still crouched in front of her.
Penelope’s hands start to shake a little bit, while he just stares back at her, frozen in place.
“Luke?” she whispers with tears forming in her eyes afraid of his reaction.
“Me? You are really talking about me?” he barely dares to ask, and she just nods shily.
“Will you give me this second chance?” she asks close to a whisper in the wind.
His frozen expression finally morphs in a heartfelt wide smile and he response “I thought you´d never ask.”
Both kept quiet for minutes looking into each other’s eyes and just gently pressing their hands like they would promise each other this second chance would not be for nothing and was so long overdue.