Her

Penelope Garcia had always considered herself a very compartmentalized person… mentally at least. If she ever had a problem, she put it into a subconscious category and solved it with precision and rationality. But recently, something seemed to be messing with her personal hard-drive, and throwing everything out of whack.

Kevin. He seemed to be taking up most of her thoughts recently… and not in a good way. She was starting to get the feeling that it was time to end things. At first his surprises- the random turn-off-the-breaker romantic dinners; the sneaking up behind her at work- had seemed sweet, fun even. But it was starting to go a little too far. Like finding him on her laptop while he waited for her after setting up one of the afore-mentioned dinners. She had seen her e-mail page on the screen before he quickly shut it off and distracted her with exotic fruit. As far as she could tell afterwards, he hadn't gotten the chance to read any of them, but she didn't like the possibility that he was about to. It wasn't that she had anything bad she had to hide from him or anything, but it was her e-mail for God's sake- it was supposed to be private. Being who she was, she knew the irony behind that thought, but the work she did was to catch murderers, not spy on her lovers.

Kevin's crazy rants about a certain Derek Morgan had also not been much of an issue with them in the beginning. Then, Penelope had thought it was kind of cute to have someone feel jealous about her for once in her life. Now it had turned possessive. Like she was an object only he could touch, or even look at. Derek had, of course, been oblivious to the male-tech's glares whenever they were in the same room together, but it was hard not to notice the sometimes very loud monologues Kevin would put on, listing all and more of the agent's vices, when he and Penelope were leaving the office together. Fortunately, or unfortunately for him, Derek liked blasting his I-pod while working on files. Coincidentally, this was always the same time Garcia left work.

Penelope was just contemplating on this last tidbit of coincidence when the phone rang. Making sure as to not lose her train of thought, she answered with a distracted 'Garcia. How can I help you?" and was greeted with silence. And then;

"Garcia? You switch personalities with a secretary or something while I've been away baby-girl?" Morgan's slightly concerned voice floated through the room from the speakerphone. She turned her head to the source.

"Hmm? Oh, no. Just got a little distracted. So what did you need? Hit me with it." She replied.

"Garcia, we just finished a case. What would I need to hit you with?" came Morgan's slightly confused retort.

"Oh I could name a few things Sugar, but really, what do you need?" her weak grin matched her attempt at normalcy. Well, normal at least for the two of them.

"That was weak baby-girl. Everything alright?" Garcia sighed heavily.

"Yes, fine. Just stuff on my mind, that's all." She assured him.

"Well if you ever need to talk…" he left the sentence hanging, expecting the message to get through that he would be there. Garcia had to forcibly hold herself back from blurting out everything she was feeling about her problems with Kevin right then and there. She remembered what had happened the last time she had talked to Morgan about another man in her life. She also remembered how his words then had hurt her more than the bullet that had been a result of the disastrous conversation six months back.

"I've always got Reid. I know." She forced herself to joke, finishing his incomplete sentence and trying to lighten the mood.

"You would me Garcia." Morgan sighed in mock hurt, obviously won over by the act.

"Anyways, the team and I are getting back around 6 tonight, and we were thinking of grabbing some drinks at our usual spot before heading home. You in?"

She was about to answer when she heard a throat cleared behind her, and spun around to see Kevin standing in the doorway. He walked in and hit the 'mute' button on the speakerphone, leaning over her.

"We're going out tonight." He said levelly, staring into her eyes, which widened dramatically. "Tell your 'friends' no." He ordered and pushed himself back up, releasing the mute button.

"Penelope? You still there?" Garcia stared at her boyfriend in shock.

"I'm here. And yes, I'm in. See you tonight." She said and hung up the phone, her eyes never leaving Kevin's.

"Why did you say that? I told you we had plans!" Kevin demanded, his anger visibly simmering close to the surface.

"We've gone out all week since the team has been gone. I want to spend at least some time with them before they have to run off to God-knows-where again. I told you I would." She reasoned.

"Will Morgan be there?" he asked venomously. Penelope leaned back in her chair in shock.

"Well seeing as how he invited me in the first place, I would think he would be." She retorted.

"Why does it matter if he's there or not?" she demanded. Kevin crossed his arms defensively.

"I don't trust him with you. I see the way you two flirt shamelessly whenever you're together. I don't have to be a genius to figure out what's going on here." He accused. Garcia stared at him in open-mouthed horror.

"I cannot believe you! You're still on this! Kevin, Morgan and I have flirted for years, and it's always been just that- flirting. It's not like we ever do anything! We're not going to change our habits just because I'm seeing someone. How many times do I have to tell you?" she stated in disbelief, realizing that she was basically replaying the same fight they had had last week.

"I still don't trust him." Scowled Kevin. Garcia stiffened and stood up straight.

"Well if you don't trust him, then you obviously don't trust me. And I can't be in a relationship with no trust." She said, staring right into his eyes, which were now blazing in fury. Kevin unfolded his arms and loomed towards her, but she didn't back down.

"What are you saying?" he asked quietly, through clenched teeth.

"I can't see you anymore Lynch. I'm sorry, but it's just not going to work out." He just stared at her, with a mix of incredulity and anger, before stomping out the door and slamming it behind him. Penelope stared at the place he had been standing moments earlier and sat down slowly. She felt…

good.

And that didn't sound like what someone was supposed to feel after breaking up with a long-term boyfriend. But the sense of relief- as if the world had been lifted off her shoulders- couldn't be denied. She was genuinely glad that her and Kevin's affiliation was over. It seemed strange to her, but looking back on their relationship, all those things he had done which she had thought to be endearing once, now started to look a little creepy. Stalker-esque even. She made herself a mental note to change the locks on her doors, get a new alarm system and change all her passwords… just in case. With this in mind, she packed up her things from her office and headed home to get ready for that night.

Author's Note: For Christmas this year, I got the entire first three seasons of criminal minds (among other things). It has recently become my obsession; much like McFly was for quite a while after I watched Just My Luck. Anyways, I haven't gotten past the first season, but I already love the idea of Morgan and Garcia. Absolutely adore the witty flirting and comebacks. So if some stuff is out of whack or whatever, please let me know. Also, this happens after season 3 episodes 08 and 09 because they were pretty much the only ones I got the chance to watch on TV during the regular show time. Lucky me I guess, because they're definitely 2 of my fave episodes. So to cut to the chase; thanks for reading my first Criminal Minds fic. Hopefully there will be another chapter up soon once my exams are over and I start a (in my opinion) well-deserved, relatively easy semester. Thanks again, and please review!