Thank you to everyone for your kind words along the way and for all the favs and follows. :)

The BAU had taken up residence in the waiting room the surgeon had told them the surgery would take about 5 to 6 hours and they had been waiting for over 8 hours. Derek's nerves were shot and his patience was long gone. He kept asking anybody who passed by in scrubs of any kind whether they were a janitor, a nurse, or doctor if they knew anything about what was happening with Penelope. Not one of them did but a few promised to find something out for him but nobody ever came back with any information and thus he continued to pace nervously. A few of the other team members told him to relax and sit down but quickly gave up because he kept snapping at them. Rossi had offered to take him for a walk, JJ and Emily had offered him coffee more times than anyone could count. Nobody had eaten, drank, or even left the room as they were all nervous and anxious especially since the 5-6 hour window had long gone. Derek was about to go to the nurse's station for about the 15th time when he saw a doctor who he recognized coming towards the waiting room.

"Guys, Penelope's surgeon is coming. We're about to find out how she did. Oh please Lord let everything be ok." The whole team gathered around Derek and waited anxiously as the surgeon approached them.

"Derek." The surgeon shook Derek's hand.

"How did it go?" Derek asked.

"The surgery took a lot longer than we expected because the one tumor was much larger than we had anticipated and it was putting a lot of pressure on her optical nerve. We were able to remove the all the tumors entirely but we won't know if there's any damage to the optical nerve for a few more days, but everything went well and I'm very optimistic about her recovery and the probability of her vision returning. She is in recovery right now and they will be taking her up to her room in about an hour. You can wait for her there if you'd like."

"Thank you Doctor," Derek said. He and the rest of the team all hugged each other, relieved to know that Penelope had made it safely through a very complicated surgery and the doctor held out a lot of hope for her vision to return.

"Looks like your support group is waiting on you," Nurse Jen said as she wheeled Penelope into her room to a group very anxious to see her.

"Hey baby girl, how you feeling?" Derek asked from the side of her bed.

"I made it," she answered sleepily.

"Yes you did," Derek said. He was also the first one to give her a big hug and then the rest of the team followed suit.

"I think it's going to work. I think I'm going to see again. The doctor was very hopeful."

"We know baby girl, he told us all downstairs. We are so happy for you. You'll be out of here in a few more days and hopefully you'll be out of here without your white cane."

"I'm sorry guys." Penelope was having a hard time staying awake. She was fighting the after effects of anesthesia and all the medicine she had been given post-op.

"It's OK P, you've had a long day," Emily said placing a kiss on Penelope's forehead. The team promised to return the following morning and that they did. Penelope stayed in the hospital for three days and at the end of three days she was sent home. She was glad to be going home but she was also disappointed that there seemed to be no change in her vision. The doctor told her to remain hopeful as the swelling from the surgery hadn't gone down and these things do take time.

Derek had taken some time off to spend time with Penelope who was glad for it as she still wasn't feeling great recovering from surgery and trying to hide the disappointment that her vision had yet to return.

The rest of the team have been called out of town on a case they but all kept checking in with Penelope hoping she would have good news. But the answer was always the same; feeling better every day, no vision change, be safe. Penelope was beginning to give up hope on her vision returning.

"Derek I don't think my vision's going to come back," she told him over dinner.

"Silly girl, don't give up hope so soon. The doctor said it could take a while and it hasn't been that long just have a little bit more patience. I know it's going to work out. I just know it is."

"I can't believe that you are more optimistic than me right now," she said laughing.

"Someone's got to be the optimist until you're up to the task. Okay baby girl?"

"Okay," Penelope answered.

The next morning Penelope woke up and when she opened her eyes she could make out shapes and forms and even some colors. Immediately she called Derek who came running. Penelope was in tears and he knew immediately without asking why she was crying. He pulled her into a hug and told her, "I'm so happy for you, baby girl."

"I'm so happy, it's not great vision but it's vision, Derek!"

"We need to call the team and let them know and I'll have to call the doctor."

Later in the day, Penelope found herself sitting in the doctor's examining room while he examined her eyes. He told her it was definite improvement and that he doubted her vision would be the same as before but the surgery was definitely a success.

A few weeks later found Derek waiting for Penelope as she picked up a couple of pairs of new glasses she had bought. The doctor had told her that her current vision was as good as it was going to get. But it was good enough that with stronger glasses she could do everything she used to do and ecstatic, Penelope purchased new glasses, probably more pairs then she needed, but Derek wasn't saying a word. He loved seeing Penelope so happy.

Penelope had asked if they could watch the sunrise the next morning and Derek had found them a beautiful spot on the beach to wait for the sun to come up. They sat quietly side by side, watching the sky change. Derek had never seen Penelope look more beautiful, her new glasses brightening her face.

"Penelope now that everything is done and back to normal, I would be honored if you would let me take you on a date."

"Isn't this a date?"

"No, silly, a date date," Derek said with serious tone.

Penelope looked at him intently, "You really want to take me on a date date?"

"I do. Seeing you go through all of this and how strong you were made me realize how much I care about you and how traumatized I would have been if anything happened to you. I truly care for you and love you Penelope."

Penelope started to cry. "We've been through a lot together, we may have had some rifts along the way, but I thank you for standing by me, I don't know what I would've done without you. I love you too, and I'd love to go on a date date with you, Derek."

"Thank you, baby girl." He said as he placed a kiss on top of her head.

Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they watched the sun continue to

rise together.

The End.