TITLE: Thoughts in Shades of Grey (Part 1)
AUTHOR: Trista Groulx
RATING: T, TV14, PG13 aka same as the show
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters. I am borrowing them to play with then returning the network, creator, writers and actors who respectively own them.
SUMMARY: A Garcia and Morgan fic, there's some drama, there's a case, there's some more drama, and there's an ending.
NOTES: this is my first criminal minds fic. I just started watching the show. Please bear with any inconsistencies. I am evil. I like to have cliff-hangers for my own evil purposes. But I no longer post stories before they are more or less done, so I promise all is answered by the end.
Special thanks to Bonnie for her help being my personal gammar-buster aka bata.

Morgan smiled when he woke, he always liked the mornings when he woke up to discover he wasn't alone. Garcia was curled up next to him he reached over and ran his hand along Garcia's face gently. She opened her eyes, smiling at him.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," he said.

"Morning," she whispered. "Always the flatterer, Sweet Cheeks."

He smiled at her, then leaned in to kiss her. She moved her hands into his hair, and pulled him closer. She began to run her hand along his bare chest, he sighed happily. She loved waking up with him next to her. She never thought that it would actually happen, and every time that it did she worried it would be the last time, but he always came back to her.

"A girl could get used to this," she sighed, as his lips moved down her collar bone.

"So can a guy," he assured her. "So when are you gonna let me make an honest woman of you?"

Garcia immediately jumped out of the bed, and grabbed the first thing she found to cover herself, which happened to be Morgan's navy blue terry cloth robe. As much as she didn't want this, between them, to end, she wasn't ready to be married. She didn't want to have to see everyone stare at them when they were together, and wonder why a guy like him would be saddled with a woman like her. She just couldn't tell him that, because he would try to reassure her that he didn't see the problem, but she did, and she was worried she always would.

"Come on Penny," Morgan said, getting up, pulling on a pair of boxers. "I think a guy is entitled to ask a woman after he's been – whatever you want to call this, for over a year."

"Derek, I've told you before, I'm not the marrying type."

"What does that mean, exactly?"

Every time he brought it up she would have a different excuse for him. He thought he would be able to understand it better if she would just tell him the truth. He could read a lot of people but Garcia was not one of them, he just knew when she wasn't telling the truth, because she didn't look right at him.

"It means, I was raised by a couple of hippies, who never got married. I wasn't one of those girls that threw a table cloth over my head and dreamed about the guy who would whisk me away from all my troubles."

"That's not what I'm asking of you. I just want to know that we're committed to each other here. Come on Baby Girl there's gotta be a small part of you that thinks about wedding dresses and honeymoons."

"Maybe, but I'm not ready for that yet," she sighed, taking his hand.

"Then can we at least go public with this? I hate lying to our friends like this."

"I'm just not ready for the consequences, soon, okay Sweet Cheeks?"

He nodded. "I don't think it's going to be as bad as you think, but I respect your feelings about this."

"That's one of the things I love about you Derek. You respect me, probably more than I deserve."

"Don't be saying that, I never want to hear those words coming out of those pretty lips again, you hear me? You deserve the world Penny, and when you're ready I'm gonna give it to you."

"You know the only person who I don't want hurt when you call me that."

"You've mentioned that before, but you still let me get away with it."

"You must be someone pretty special then."

As much as he wanted to call her one what she had just said. To ask her why if he was so special she couldn't let everyone know. He decided to drop it, and just play it cool. He didn't want to upset her. It did not need to be brought to a head just then. He pulled her into his arms, playing with the tie of the robe she was wearing.

"Now how about you give me some of that sugar that gets me through the day?" She moved closer to him.

"I thought you'd never ask, Baby Girl," he groaned, pulling her with him back toward the bed, making sure his robe was on the floor again before they got there.

End part 1

a/n: I am aware they could not keep this from the team, but I needed to let the plot bunny work it's way through my brain for sanity's sake. it gets better i promise. reviews make me smile. the parts also get longer.