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It looked so innocent sitting there in front of her door that Penelope Garcia felt rather silly about the fear it evoked. It wasn't normal. Whose heart quickened in terror, whose pulse raced with horror when they say a simple lily? How sad, she thought to herself.

Why was she driven to such a fright at the sight of an innocuous flower? Because it was the sixth such flower mysteriously left for her in three weeks.

At first, she had imagined that they were simply presents from a secret admirer. The first two flowers were on her car when she left for work. There was easy access to the parking garage for anyone in the FBI. Part of her even thought that maybe it was Kevin trying to win her back. She even thought that they could be from Derek, trying to cheer her up after her breakup. She hadn't even thought twice about the first flowers.

When they started appearing in front of the door to her apartment, Penelope began to get nervous.

The only way to get inside her apartment building was with a key or to be buzzed in by a resident. Kevin and Derek didn't have keys and after she had been shot a few years ago just in front of their door, the residents were extremely cautious about buzzing people into the building.

After the second lily appeared in front of her door, she decided to hack into the building's video surveillance. What she saw sent chills up her spine. She could see the man who left the flower, but he kept his face hidden with his hood each and every time he passed a camera. What bothered her the most was that after he dropped off the flower, he turned to the camera closest to her door and waved. This meant he knew where the cameras were in her building. She didn't even know where all of the cameras were.

And here, yet again, was another flower. She knew hacking the surveillance system would only show the same hooded figure. After each flower in front of her apartment, she had checked and seen the exact same thing. She even went back and checked the FBI garage surveillance only to see nothing helpful.

Penelope grabbed the most recent offending flower and quickly made her way into her apartment. When she shut the door behind her, she locked the four recently added deadbolt locks and breathed a sigh of relief.

Penelope hated the feeling of terror that was running rampant through her body. Only after her shooting had she felt this unsafe in her own home. For months, she could barely fall asleep without checking her door and windows were locked several times. Her apartment had just been beginning to feel like her home again.

And, here it was, starting again. Just knowing that someone was repeatedly coming into her building, someone who didn't belong, sent shivers of panic up her spine. Every flower made her even more nervous and more tempted to ask someone for help.

Why white lilies, she randomly thought to herself. She didn't even like them; they were too boring, too uninteresting for her tastes. She preferred bright colors, wild shapes like alliums, birds of paradise, and peonies. If Reed knew about the flowers showing up, he would likely talk about the symbolism of white lilies. Penelope knew enough to know they symbolized purity and chastity, which didn't really describe her.

Seeing the four deadbolts on her door reminded her of the potential seriousness of the matter. She was at a loss for what she should do. She had seen enough cases through the BAU to know that behavior like this could easily escalate. How many times had she heard women tell tales that began just like this and ended in violence? Too many to count. It was imperative that she do something, but what?

At the same time, part of her felt like she was just overreacting. They were just flowers. Its not like he was threatening her, she rationalized to herself. Flowers were a symbol of affection. How silly would she feel if she got someone involved and it just turned out to be Kevin? She would never live it down if Derek heard about it.

The shrill ring of her phone suddenly broke through the heavy silence causing Penelope to let out a gasp of surprise. She fumbled through her purse as she made her way to her kitchen. Once she had her phone in her hand, a quick glance at her caller ID told her it was Derek Morgan. A sigh of relief flooded through her as she flipped her phone open.

"Hey Derek," she said, her relief obvious in her voice.

His masculine voice floated through the phone, instantly filling her with comfort. "You alright? You sound weird."

"I'm fine, hot stuff," she cooed. As much as she wanted to tell someone about the flowers and her fears, she absolutely knew she could never tell Derek. He was too protective of her to just listen. He would turn over every stone, follow any lead he could find until he found out who was behind it. And once he did find out, he would overreact.

Even if it turned out to be something, she couldn't tell him. Her mind, once again, flashed back to her shooting. People had died, she had almost died. That policeman had been shot because he was trying to protect her. She still couldn't get over the guilt of that. No, she would never tell Derek about the flowers. She would handle it herself.

"Okay." He didn't sound like he believed her but he dropped it. "Listen, what are you up to tonight?"

She had been planned on having a few glasses of wine, taking a long bubble bath and watching a chick flick, until she found the flower. Now she wasn't too sure she wanted to be in her apartment. "I haven't decided yet," she eventually said.

"I was planning on heading out to get a few drinks." His smile came through in his voice and it brought a smile to her face. "Feel like coming with?"

Penelope pondered the offer. She hadn't been out in a long time. She had been working long hours lately in the hope of finally catching up with the multitude of paperwork that had been piling up and by the time she got home, she just crashed. And alcohol would be a wonderful way to drown her worries. "Sure," she said.

"Great. I'll pick you up in an hour."

That would give her enough time to take a quick shower and grab something to eat. "See you then."

Penelope looked at the lily for a moment before throwing it into the garbage. She deserved this night out. She would drink, have fun with her best friend and forget this whole thing.

A/N: What do you think? Do you love it? Hate it? Let me know.