"Are you Derek Morgan." She asked.

"Yeah, how can I help you." She looked at Emily who had stopped working on her files to pay attention to the exchange.

"My name is Brenda," she extended her hand for him to shake. "I'm from Child Protective Services, is there somewhere privet we can speak?" Derek's brows raised in confusion.

"Can I ask what this is regarding?"

"I think it's best if we talk in privet." She said carefully.

"The briefing room should be empty." Emily offered. Derek nodded, pushing against the arm rests to stand, and gestured for her to follow him. He didn't have any idea why someone from CPS would be contacting him. He didn't have any kids and he couldn't think of a reason someone he knew would be having problems with them.

Emily had been right; the room was empty with the light off. He flicked it on and waved a hand for her to take a seat. She set her bag onto the table, doing so as he gestured for her to do. Derek sunk into the chair next to her, turning it so it was facing her. She opened her bag and pulled out a rather large file, setting it down so it was upside-down to Derek. She moved her bag to the floor and opened the folder.

"I have a few papers I need you to sign concerning your daughter that you and a…" she looked down at one of the papers, "…Margret Grace gave up to adoption about eight years ago." Derek's eyes widened into saucers, shaking his head.

"I think you've got the wrong man. I don't have a daughter, let alone gave one to the system." Brenda tilted her head and gave him a slightly confused look as well before one of understanding took over.

"I promise I have the right Derek Morgan. This…. this isn't an uncommon situation. Your name was on her birth certificate and it seems that your Termination of Paternal Rights was never signed." She said slowly. She grabbed a paper from the top and slid it towards him. It was exactly what she said earlier. "This document should have been delivered to you around the time she was given up, but it seems that no one properly followed up on the paperwork like they were supposed to." Derek still wasn't sure what to say.

"I don't think you have the right person." He looked down at the paper, narrowing his eyes at it. "Margret?" The name rung a bell, but he couldn't remember a face to go with the name. "You said Eight years?"

"She's been in the system for eight years, Ava is 15-years-old." She set a picture of a girl onto the paper he was looking at. She wasn't smiling in the photo, it looked like she didn't want to be there. Her hair was a bright blue, her eyebrows dark brown, they were the only way he could figure out her natural color. She wasn't pale, but she was that tan either. Her face reminded him of his sisters. "All you need to do is sign the papers and you won't have to worry about anything after that." He looked up at Brenda.

"You mean leave her in the system." Derek still wasn't completely convinced that this was his kid but at the same time he knew that if she was, then leaving her in foster care wasn't the right way to handle it, it was the easy way.

"Ava is very troubled. She's already been arrested four times in the last year, she just got out of a Correctional Facility. We have her in a home that has taken on some of our more…. difficult children. I promise you we are providing the best care for her, the care that she needs to become a productive member of society.

"Why was she arrested?"

"She was caught with some drugs at school one time. Another was for getting into a fight with some other kids off school property. She was caught drinking. She needs stability." Brenda gave him a tight smile. Derek's time in Chicago came to mind, back when he was trying to fit in with the neighborhood kids. "I understand you want to do what's best but leaving her in our care is what's best."

"I'm not signing this." He pushed the paper back towards her while shaking his head. "I want a paternity test. I'll decide what to do after I get the results." Brenda's smile became more forced.

"I know that this is all very shocking to you,"

"My name is on her birth certificate, whether on not she's biologically mine doesn't matter until I sign this paper. I want a paternity test." She took a deep breath while putting the papers back into the folder. "What did you say her name was?"

"Ava, Ava Morgan. I'll contact you with the details of the test if you would give me your card." Derek led her back to his desk and they exchanged cards. He wanted to make sure he had a full name and number in case she took to long with the information. The second Brenda was out of hearing range, Emily leaned over towards him, he could hear the questions before she even opened her mouth.

"What was that about?" She glanced to the retreating woman. He thought about not telling her, waiting until he found out all the information before sharing. Then again, he knew that not telling her would just cause more of a problem. She would probably go to Garcia and he knew she already had the connection of CPS. They would find out on their own. Sometimes he hated just how close the whole team was, there wasn't any kind of privacy. Not with the profilers, and not with Garcia who could find anything she needed to know with nothing more then a name and some time.

"Apparently, I have a kid." Her eyes raised into her hair. "At least my name is on a birth certificate. I'm getting a paternity test."

"What did she want?"

"She wanted me to sign my rights away. It took them eight years to realize there was a gap in her paper work. Their trying to cover their asses." When he thought about it that way, her reaction made more sense. This kind of error could look very bad on their part, but if he had just signed then they could just sweep it under the rug.

"Eight years? How old are they?"

"She's 15. Her name is Ava."

"15? What are you going to do if the test comes back positive? 15 years is a long time to try and make up….and she's a foster kid…." Derek was a little put off on Emily's reaction but at the same time he understood it.

"I don't know…. from what her social worker said, she's a trouble maker. I…I guess if it comes back positive…. I can't leave her in foster care. That's not fair to her." The words sounded alien coming out of his mouth. This was not how he was expecting his day to go. He couldn't see himself with a teenage daughter and was wishing that they had contacted him when she had been dropped off, hell her mother should have told him. If she was sure enough to put his name on a legal document, then she could have picked up the damn phone.

"What about her mother?" Emily asked.

"I don't know. I didn't ask. I wasn't thinking clear enough to really ask anything. I'll figure it out when I get the DNA test." He was going to have to write them all down. He should probably talk to a lawyer, make sure he knew what his rights were. He put his head in his hands.

"Well, if she's been in there for eight years, then she's been in there since she was seven." Derek lifted his head up, running a hand down his face. They spoke about it for a little bit longer, but Derek decided that he needed to think about something else, like work. Emily reluctantly left him alone, both going back to their respective cases.

000

Ava moved down the alleyway on the tips of her toes. She could still hear the footsteps running down the road, their flashlights shining against the buildings and cars that lined the roadsides. She attempted to quietly catch her breath as they searched for her. She could hear her heart in her chest and she was scared they could hear it to. It nearly popped out when one of them walked right past the narrow opening between the two storefronts. It wasn't until the flashlights disappeared that she let herself calm down a little. Her shoulders sagged, and she leaned against the wall. Well she tried, an arm was in her way.

"Ah-"Her mouth was quickly covered by a hand and they turned her around, pressing her against the front of their body.

"Calm down." He breathed into her ear. "They're gone." She could smell the booze on his breath, it made her smile. He dropped the hand.

"Did you get it?" She whipped around, throwing her hands over his shoulders. His buzzed hair felt nice underneath her fingers.

"Did I get it…." He scoffed, shrugging off his backpack and unzipping it so she could see inside. The glass bottles clanged together, music to her ears. She squealed jumping up, wrapping her legs around his waist. He chuckled. "I say we put these to good use." He swung the bag back over his shoulder. Carrying her out of the ally, back towards his apartment.

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