Penelope Garcia had just gabbed the first box to start packing her apartment when the buzzed paged her and Derek Morgan's smooth voice sounded through the room. "Penelope, buzz me in, I need to talk to you!" She sighed and reluctantly pressed the button to allow him entrance to the building. Three minutes later, a panting special agent appeared at her door. As she ushered him in, Garcia joked about his physical state.

"You do realize they make elevators, right? I believe they were actually put in especially for special agents who couldn't run up a few flights of stairs without getting winded." Derek shook his head and escorted himself to her kitchen to get water. When he reentered the room, his breathing had slowed considerably and he was ready to defend himself from her teasing.

"For the record," he said, "I was only out of breath when I got here because those are some steep stairs and I had an important reason to get here so I took them at top speed."

"Oh really?" Garcia smirked, "then what is so important?"

Morgan shook his head. "I want my hug first baby girl."

The sassy woman raised an eyebrow at him. "And what hug would that be?" A teasing smile played on her lips and her eyes twinkled happily.

"Oh, so that's how you wanna play?" He asked in a mock-frustrated tone. "That's how we'll do it then…" Quickly he moved closer to her. "That would be this hug!" He laughed as he wrapped his long, muscular arms around her.

"Cheater…" she muttered as she surrendered and wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head against his chest. Derek leaned his chin on the top of her head and sighed.

"So…" he said quietly, "what is this I hear about you leaving?"

Immediately she tensed up, but made no attempts to move. "Dammit Reid!"

"If it makes you feel better," he offered, "I did have to bribe him."

She shook her head. "It doesn't. But I'm leaving. And you won't change my mind."

"And why is that? Why are you leaving?"

"Need to live like a gypsy." She said, as if stating an obvious fact.

"Okay…And what is so good about living like a gypsy – moving from place to place, not really having a home?" Derek watched her intently as he waited for an answer. But he didn't receive one, as Garcia just shook her head. "C'mon, goddess. Let me in on this…"

She sighed but gave into his pleading chocolate eyes. "Gypsiesdon'tgettieddown." She mumbled quickly.

"Pen." He said as he caught her eye. "Say it again, slower and louder…Please?"

Penelope drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Gypsies don't get tied down."

Derek held her closer as he though. After a moment, he posed a question. "Why is getting tied down such a bad thing?"

"When you get tied down, it means you're attached to people; people who could leave you, or die, in the blink of an eye. Being a gypsy saves heartache."

He nodded and sighed. "This is about losing Prentiss, isn't it?" A muffled "yes" came from where Penelope's face was pressed into his chest. "Look at me…" He said gently. "Losing her hurts, I know. But running from the pain won't help. You may get away from future heartaches, but you'll miss out on things too. Like falling in love, settling down, having kids. You'd leave so much behind. Plus, do you really think this is what she would have wanted?" Derek paused to make sure she was still with him. "But if you stay, you'll still have me, Reid, Hotch, Rossi, and Seaver. You could meet someone, fall in love, get married, buy a house. All things a gypsy can't do."

Penelope peered up at him through watery eyes. "What would I do without you?"

He wiped the tears from her face, "You'll never find out. You're not getting rid of me. Ever."

She laughed quietly and then stepped out from his embrace to inspect her appearance. "Look at me, I'm such a mess. Who would fall in love with this?" she joked.

"I did…" Derek whispered. Penelope's eyes grew wide and her breath caught in her throat.

Shocked and confused, she asked "Why would such an amazing, gorgeous, smart man like you do something so insane?"

"Because you are my oracle, my baby girl, my beautiful, smart goddess. Lynch didn't know what he had and it took a lot for me to not go make him understand what he was leaving.

She stood unmoving, listening with a stunned expression, so he continued. "All you have to do is say you love me too, and I promise you, I will never ever leave. I will show you exactly how well you deserve to be treated. Just say the words and you won't have to hurt anymore."

"I…I love you too." She said breathlessly. Before the words had fully left her mouth, Derek was holding her once again, his face mere inches from hers.

"Now…" he said, "tell me, my marvelous woman, is being tied down really that bad?"

She smiled and shook her head before pressing her lips to his briefly. "I guess it's a good thing I didn't turn in my notice at work yet…"

"It certainly is. But I think we'd better go talk to Reid before he gets the whole team up here to stop you."

"Okay." She agreed. "Hey Derek?"

"Mhm?"

"What would you have done if I left?"

Without a second's hesitation, he responded. "I would have gone with you."