So...it's been, um, years...since I last posted. Ooops?

A quick summary of where I've been - I graduated, got a 'real' job, got engaged, bought a house, had a baby…

There's really no excuse for the absence other than life and family illness got in the way. And I locked myself out this account. I started writing again during maternity leave to cope with my sudden influx of free time. But in true me to form, I started four and it's taken me six months to finish one.

My old laptop gave up the ghost mid-way through my dissertation (about three years ago) and I still haven't managed to get the files (i.e. all my old fics) off it.

My current thing is binge (re)watching criminal minds, so this is just a little thing that popped into my head

Anything recognisable is from season 5 episode 5, Cradle to Grave.

-CM-

"Okay, know this, most adoption folk are like the nicest most dedicated people in the world. There are however, one or two skeezy ones." Penelope Garcia chirped from the speaker in the centre of the table.

Reid leaned back in his chair, frowning. It didn't sound like a promising lead, "How skeezy?"

"Super skeezy." The typing of keys intensified in line with her words per minute as Garcia continued, "I've got a spreadsheet from one of them expecting compensations for the baby I'm having."

The air in the room froze for a moment. Emily's and JJ's eyes darted to the phone. Reid raised an eyebrow. Hotch paused almost imperceptibly.

Morgan was the one to break the silence, completely unfazed, meaning Garcia didn't notice the impact her words had on the room. "Something you wanna tell me, Garcia?"

Garcia sighed wistfully, and the team returned to normal. It was her usual banter with Morgan. "That's the sad part, my Prince. The genetically perfect offspring of Penelope Garcia and Derek Morgan wouldn't fetch top dollar."

A little closer to the bone than her usual innuendos, but banter all the same.

…

Later, once the case was closed and they were heading home, Derek Morgan found himself sitting in the single chair of the jet. The only one awake.

Something had been bothering him for the last few days, but he couldn't put his finger on it. So he'd tried to lock it away in the back of his mind until he had time to think about it.

He knew what was bothering him. That wasn't the issue. The issue was why.

"I've got a spreadsheet from one of them expecting compensations for the baby I'm having."

He'd be lying if he said those words hadn't made his stomach drop. Hadn't made him fix his features in place because Reid would look to him for any tell. Hadn't pulled the image of a little blonde boy, or a little girl with dark curly hair, straight to the forefront of his mind.

That part didn't surprise him. He knew his babygirl. She was bold and brash and out there. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She was an open book.

She also did not deal with change 'well'.

So as much as he could think about toddlers with her hair, and little girls with their noses in a programming book before the age of six, she was still trying to process the recent upheaval in her life.

Leaving Kevin. Ending up on his doorstep. Joining him in bed (for a cuddle). Staying in his bed for a week (still just for a cuddle). Trapping him in her hotel room after a difficult case (for definitely more than a cuddle).

These were not things Penelope Garcia handled 'well'.

He was taking things slow. Going at her pace. God knew he'd waited this long to get behind her last defences that he was willing to take his time.

Which was why what she'd said didn't bother him.

Looking out the window, those images swirling in his mind's eye, he knew what made him uneasy.

It wasn't what she'd said.

It was what she didn't say.

And now the tingling feeling in his stomach had returned tenfold.

…

"You didn't say no."

Derek had entered her lair and quietly closed the door behind him before he'd spoken. It was testament to how distracted Garcia was that she didn't notice. She was standing in the middle of the room, staring at a map for their newest case.

It had dropped while they were flying home, and they had gone straight to the briefing. But there was no way he was leaving again without addressing the elephant in the room.

Penelope jumped at his words, before slowly turning to face him. Her body language was deliberately blank, as if she was trying to keep from influencing his reaction. The only giveaway was her death grip on her fluffy pen.

"I did not say no." She agreed hesitantly, eyes darting across his expression looking for any kind of hint as to how he was taking it.

"You're sure?" Derek stepped towards Penelope slowly, making sure he didn't startle her.

"Of course I'm sure." Garcia huffed and turned back towards her map, ignoring the fact that Derek was right behind her. She picked up the papers from her desk, if only to have something to do with her hands. "I did sixteen tests. Two from each of the top five brands…and then I panicked. And I may have taken a test from the rest of the brands in the top ten. One was a two pack."

Derek reached forward to rest his hands on her hips and pull her back against him. When he felt her relax against him, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder and asked, "When?"

She sighed and threw her head backwards so it was resting on Derek's shoulder as she studied the ceiling tiles. "Just after you guys left for the case. I had the tests in my bag then got more on my lunch break."

Derek smiled as the image of Penelope in the drug store with armfuls of pregnancy tests entered his mind. Giving in to the temptation, he wound his arms around her middle. His smile stayed put when she didn't flinch. "This isn't a bad thing, mama."

After a few moments of silence, Derek started to worry that she hadn't heard him. He made a noise of question, and nuzzled her cheek softly. After another moment, Penelope rolled her head to meet his gaze for the first time since he entered the room. "You haven't even me asked if it's yours."

Derek shrugged. The question had never crossed his mind. Realising she needed an answer, he opted for "If it could have been Kevin's, you'd have sent me to buy the extra tests."

"True." She agreed before tensing. Derek wasn't sure what he'd said, but he tightened his grip on her regardless. He didn't need her running away from the change now. "No. I'm not that cruel. Maybe before I'd have called on my knight in shining armour to save me the horror that is the local pharmacy...but I wouldn't send my boyfriend...to get me tests...for a baby that might not be his."

This time, Derek didn't try to hide his grin as he spun her around to face him.

"What?"

His grin got wider. "You said boyfriend. You've never said that before."

Garcia frowned, "I have…"

"Nope." He was still grinning as he shook his head. "But I am not complaining at my sudden elevation in status."

There was a moment of silence and Garcia furrowed her brow in confusion. This entire scene was blowing her mind.

She had expected anything but this. She'd feared the return of the Derek she'd seen date countless women. The Derek who would cut and run in the middle of the night. The Derek who avoided commitment like the plague.

Sure, she had been the only constant in his life. She was the one he took to dinner with his mom, not the revolving door of girls.

But now she was one of those girls.

Now she was pregnant with his baby.

And instead of dealing with a dust cloud, she was faced with grinning and laughing and happy.

She had prepared to deal with him backing away.

She hadn't prepared for him to stay.

"Why aren't you freaking out. I'm freaking out!" Penelope stepped back from him, hoping that the physical space would help this all make sense. "The girl you've been dating for like five minutes is pregnant and you're sitting here grinning like it's nothing."

Morgan didn't let her put much distance between them, matching her many tiny steps with one stride. "Babygirl, relax." He paused as he reached up to cup her cheek, "Okay I'll admit the timing could have been better. But -"

"Better?" She was climbing through the octaves now, desperate trying not to lose control of the situation, "Derek we chase bad guys for a living, the timing is terrible."

Sure, he was happy now. But what about when he realised what this meant, and then he ran. She'd rather he got there as quickly as possible so she could start dealing with it.

"So what?" Derek laughed, and he began to see Penelope's mask crack. She was beginning to hope, and that he could work with. "Is there going to be a time where we don't chase bad guys? We can make it work."

"But…"

"No buts, babygirl." Derek paused, Garcia was starting to relax now, and when he saw the hint of a smile creeping in he continued, "The question is what do we do now. You know I'll support whatever decision you make, but I know you well enough to know that you'd raise a baby without me in the picture before you'd go for the other option." Another pause. She looked away. "You've already made up your mind princess."

There was a long moment where she refused to look at him, instead focusing on the stack of paper off to her left. This was one of those moments where he knew, regardless of how far they'd come, there were still some secrets she wasn't ready to share.

"The baby...a baby isn't something I can just…'deal with'. I want it."

She looked back at him, and for the first time since the conversation began, Derek saw his Penelope enter the room. The one who knew what she wanted and damn anyone who thought differently.

The woman standing in front of him, frills and all, was the only person he'd ever considered doing this with.

Mid-thought, he caught a glimpse of something dangerous flash across her eyes. The kind of thing that usually hit him in the bank account. "You've already started a Pinterest board haven't you."

"Maybe…"

He sighed, leaning back against the desk as the next eighteen years flashed before his eyes. He was screwed. He might need to start writing books. "Which tenant am I kicking out?"

"Well, I'd actually thought about the house out by the Cathedral….but then I did some research," As if their previous conversation had never happened, Garcia spun around to grab a folder from her desk and pushed it into Derek's hands, followed by her tablet.

She started pulling up various tabs as she explained, "and actually, we'd be better if we bought a house in this area of town because it has a better school district. And there are actually six properties up for sale. Three of which are fixer-uppers, and all are in our price range."

She handed him a quote from his financial advisor - he wasn't going to ask how she's organised that one - and an email from the estate agent, "That's assuming we keep your apartment to rent out rather than sell it. My lease isn't up for another six months and there's a penalty for early exits." He was handed a copy of her contract with her landlord, "So if you find a place and do it up before then, we can always look at sub-letting. I really like this place, I mean look at the potential in those arches…."