"Garcia?" Luke knocks before entering her office, shutting the door behind him quickly. He stops when he looks at her, his breath catching in his throat when she turns around to smile at him. For a moment he forgets why he's here, getting lost in her eyes as she looks at him. She's got this way about her, he realizes, this bright aura shines wherever she goes and he finds himself addicted to looking at her.

"Whatcha need, Luke?" He finds that he can't form words when she looks directly at him. His mind always seems to go blank around her, words, thoughts, common sense all leaving him. In their wake, they leave one directive and it's always to kiss her, and most times he ignores it. Shaking his head he glances at the cat he bought for her desk, letting his eyes slide across her face in order to keep his wits about him.

"Are you busy this afternoon?" Luke rushes the words out, almost stumbling over the last syllable. He looks at her face, hopeful for an answer that he wants to hear, and relaxes when she smiles at him. He couldn't pinpoint exactly when he had fallen for the blonde haired beauty sitting before him, but he could admit that he never wanted the thudding of his heart to dull. She made him feel alive in ways that he thought were long gone. It was exhilarating just to be near her. "I need help with something."

"I'm never too busy for you," she whispers. Luke's heart stops in this moment. He trails his eyes over her face with a soft smile. They had only been dating for a few short weeks, neither one of them ready to really discuss the tentative relationship with the other. He's not sure why she's whispering now, wondering if maybe it was because this is the first time he sought her out at work. Bravely, which is something that he wasn't feeling at the moment, Luke steps forward and drops his backpack in the process. Pulling her to her feet, he admires the long lines of her legs in the green heels she was wearing and drags her closer to him. Before she can protest he's cupped her face in his hands and brought her mouth to his in a slow kiss. He drinks her in, making up for lost time with the days that he's been gone on this case, as he moves his lips against hers.

"I've missed you," he tells her when he pulls away from her mouth and leans his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry if that's too bold." She silences him with another kiss, crashing her lips back onto his with a whimper, her fist curling into the short hair at the back of his head. He allows himself to get lost in her embrace as he closes his eyes, the feeling of her body pressed delicately against his causes the man to sigh as he relaxes. His hands trail down her body to grip her waist, pulling her waist against his. Luke lets out a low whine when he pulls away from her again, wrapping her into a hug and nestling his face in the crook of her neck, he whispers: "We have to get to the animal shelter before they close."

Luke realizes he loves Penelope when she's kneeling on the floor surrounded by shelter puppies. He's sure the cold tile is hell on her knees but she's smiling at the dogs, oblivious to her obvious discomfort. She has asked a total of four times if they could adopt them all, and four times Luke has had to watch her face fall when he gently told her no. And he'd be damned if each time it got harder to tell her that she couldn't have something she wanted. He realizes then that he's in trouble, knowing that if she asked for anything he would do whatever he could to make sure that she was happy.

"This little guy seems friendly enough," Penelope says holding up a small golden retriever with bright brown eyes. But Luke wasn't paying attention to her, his eyes far off on the other side of the area where a puppy was watching them wistfully, his tail wagging so fast Luke thought he might wear a hole in the floor. He blinks, his eyes flicking back to Penelope before pointing across the room. He watches as her face lights up, her mouth dropping open with a soft oh as she gently called the puppy forward. They laugh as he jumps up, taking a few steps before flopping over his front paws in his excitement to get to them.

Luke knew, the second she picked the dog up from the tile and pressed her face into his soft fur, that this was the puppy meant for someone who he'd give everything for. He watches her play with the puppies for a while longer, waiting until the shelter drafted the paperwork and ran his credit card. When she asks for a fifth time if they could adopt all of the animals he ignores her because it's too hard to tell her no and watch the smile slip from her face. He presses a kiss to her lips before depositing the puppy into her arms, distracting her long enough to shuffle her into his truck. Her sniffling as they drive away causes his heart to constrict in his chest, much like it did months before, and he reaches out to grip her hand in his.

"What's the matter?" He doesn't need to look over at her to know that she's staring out the window as they exit the parking lot, knowing that she wants to be back inside with all of the animals.

"I hate to leave them," she whispers, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "Are they going to be happy?" Luke nods, a smile breaking out across his face as he looks over at her.

Penelope looks over at Luke as he pulled into the parking space. It was unknown to her that her heart wasn't the only one beating erratically fast when in the presence of the other person. She tried to calm herself, using the technique that she shared with Stephen months ago, but the thought of him cause a wave of sadness to flow through her. Shaking her head she turns her attention back to the puppy in her lap, her fingers scratching idly behind his ears. "What's the plan again?"

"You come into the room when I say in that spirit." Penelope nods, letting his deep voice wash over her. There's a fluttering in her stomach when he looks at her, and she can swear it makes her nauseous every single time. But in a good way, if that made any bit of sense. Because it doesn't to her. There were so many other people that could be here with him right now, other people who understood his sacrifice better than she did, other people who understood his partner's sacrifice more than she did. But he chose her and she couldn't understand why. He holds her hand as they walk into the building, his thumb rubbing across the skin on the back of it, and that action alone sends a shockwave through her system. She's not sure that she can speak when he touches her, hell, she's not even sure that she can breathe when he touches her.

He presses his lips to hers in the corridor before he disappears around the corner, the baritone vibrations of his voice the only thing she can hear as the conversation continues. It's deep, she surmises as she listens to him recount how Roxy gave him something to live for when he returned from Iraq, how if it weren't for her he may not be here. The admission strikes her in a way she's not sure she's ready to face because he's just her co-worker is he not? Sure, they had shared several mind-blowing kisses, usually with her body pressed firmly against some surface and him engulfing her like a flame. They'd eaten dinner together, their chopsticks feeding the other as a movie play on the television, where it usually went unwatched. There was no label on what they were, and while it frustrated her to no end most days, today seemed to be frustrating her worse than others.

"So, in that spirit..." she's missed her cue, she realizes when she whispers back 'now' and he repeats his sentence. She nearly stops short when she walks into the room at the sight of him. The sunlight from the window illuminates around him, and she finds that she's even more grateful for Roxy than she was before. She knows without a doubt that if it weren't for that dog, Penelope wouldn't have found the love of her life. The thought strikes her for a moment as she feels his hands come up to settle on her waist after she handed the dog to Phil. She leans into his embrace, feeling her heartbeat settle as she places her head on his shoulder, a warm smile etched on her face. His fingers curl into her hip, drawing her closer to him and she obliges his silent question by wrapping her arms around his waist.

"So, is this your girl? The one you told me about?" Phil's question hangs in the air between them as he continues petting Lou. Penelope pulls herself away from Luke, suddenly very aware that she had settled herself comfortably in his arms. Luke touching her was normal, she told herself. It was nothing. They had some dinners together, a few stolen kisses, several hushed conversations, and over a hundred lingering gazes. But they, they were nothing, right? Penelope recalls the late-night phone calls that she tells herself he made for the simple exchange of information, but in the late night hours, while he's out with the team on a case, he calls to talk about her. Is she sleeping enough? Is his bed comfortable enough for her since she's been staying at his place to watch Roxy? Did he pick up the right type of body wash that she used? What would she like to do when he got back? Penelope remembers answering that there was a new bistro down the street from her apartment, and when he returned they went the following day.

She shakes her head. Trying to articulate the words needed to tell Phil that they're not dating, that they're just co-workers when the world can see that they are so much more than that. He touches all of the women on the team, she tells herself as he pulls her back into his embrace. His hands are warm on her waist, and his heart is beating wildly under her hand when she lays it on his chest. Yes, he wraps his arms around all the women on the team. He carried JJ out of a burning building the year before… But he doesn't, she realizes. Touch them at all that is. Except her. His hands are carefree when it comes to her, sliding across her shoulders, her waist, darting out to make sure that she is safe as he speeds down a Florida highway. His hands are soft when they grip her face, pulling her closer to him in order to capture her lips.

What were they exactly? She thinks to herself as she looks up at the man. Trying endlessly to search his face for the answer to Phil's lingering question. Her heart is thumping wildly against her chest now, and she's not sure if everyone in the room can hear it, but she's sure that they can see the blush creeping into her cheeks. She had been dying to ask him the same question, wanting to know what he classified their relationship as, but being too scared to voice the words needed to gain the answer. Luke pulls her closer to him, and as naturally as breathing she slides her hands around his waist again.

"Yeah, this is my girl," Luke whispers, pressing a kiss to her temple.