February 6- Criminal Minds, Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia: hurt/comfort, nursing back to health

It's been three weeks since she came home from the hospital and he's still sleeping on her couch.

No, that's not quite true. He goes to sleep on the couch, stays there until her first nightmare (she usually has at least two during the night) and then he joins her on her bed.

And she's not exactly sure what's going on with that. She's happy, blissful actually that he's there with her. Even if sometimes he's too overbearing and she feels like she's going to crazy without a few minutes alone. Even that fact doesn't take away from how her entire body relaxes when he pulls her against him so her head is resting on his chest.

Still, how long can it last? Is this just a favor he's doing for a friend? Does he feel bad for her? Guilty? He said he loved her, she loved him, but did he mean it the way she did? How could she know? How could she ask him without risk losing him completely?

She sighed from her comfy chair as she considered all of this. She was just too tired to try to figure it out right now.

"Hey baby girl," the man who consumed most of her waking thoughts came up behind her and kissed her head, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she said, standing and pacing in the small room, she was suddenly annoyed he was there...plopping down in her seat all...gorgeous and comforting and... uncertain.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said.

He grabbed her hand, pulling her closer. She winced a little at the pressure on her stomach, trying to hide it.

But he saw, she could see from his face and then...then his hand came up, over her stomach, sliding to her side, his fingers pressing against the slowly healing wound.

He looked up at her; she looked down, their eyes meeting in a way that made her breath catch, "Derek."

He didn't smile, barely even moved, and then he said the best words she'd ever heard before, "I don't know what's going on Pen, I don't know how to deal with it, but...I do know...that I'm not going anywhere. Are you?"

She shook her head very slowly, no, she wasn't going anywhere.

Then he did smile as he pulled her onto his lap, "Good." He kissed her cheek and she was still confused and unsure.

But she had Derek with her and that was all she needed to ease the pain inside of her.