Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds…I just dabble with it.
Here's my sequel to "A Forever Kind of Love". Just for reference, this takes place when Eden is 16 and Morgan and Garcia now have three other children. Let me know what you think!
"Wake up, Baby Doll," Derek boomed as he flipped the light to Eden's room on. "Rise and shine! It's the first day of school." He grinned at his daughter's sleeping form. He went over to sit down on the edge of her bed and shook her shoulders gently. "Up sleepyhead."
A groan came from beneath the mass of curly black hair that covered Eden's head. "Lemme 'lone," she grumbled, pushing her father tiredly. It was amusing how much like Penelope Eden was. Among their numerous similarities, the hatred of mornings was also there.
It was probably because they were so alike that they were having trouble getting along lately.
Chuckling, Derek shook his head and said, "No can do, Your Highness. First day of junior year. Aren't you excited?"
"I'd be more excited if you didn't come ramming in here at the crack of friggin' dawn." She sat up and yawned, rubbing her large brown eyes tiredly. They were very clearly still misted over with sleep. "Am I driving the twins today?" she asked.
Derek shook his head. "Nope. Your mom wants to take them and Haley to school because it's they're first day of high school and middle school. But you're bringing them home."
Eden just nodded and bit her lip, another thing she took from her mother. At sixteen, Eden was a darker skinned, black haired version of Penelope Morgan. Like their personalities, it was frightening how similar they looked. Derek wasn't looking for the days of school where boys were likely to come beating at their door. Last year two of her classmates were in a fight over who could take her to Homecoming.
Kissing her forehead, Derek got up and said, "Start getting ready, Baby Doll. If I come up here again and you're passed out I'm sending your Uncle Spencer to school and he'll make sure to embarrass you thoroughly." Listening to Eden scurry out of bed, he moved to knock on his son Asher's door. "You up in there?" he called. Opening the door, Asher poked his head out and grinned.
"You bet, Dad," he said. "Let my dumbass twin know Mom is going to come up and toss a bucket of ice on him again if he doesn't get up." He was referring to the day over the summer when they were supposed to be attending Spencer Reid's wedding to Lila Archer that the other one of the twins had refused to get out of bed on time and Penelope finally got so fed up she tossed ice under his blankets to get him up.
"You got it," Derek said with a smirk, holding out his fist to bump with Asher's. He moved on to Aiden's room to deliver the message. Rapping on the door, he bellowed, "Aiden, if you're not up, your mother is going to throw ice on you!" He snickered when he heard Aiden scurrying around. His son knew Penelope would follow through.
"I'm up, I'm up!" he hollered.
Sighing, Derek rubbed his forehead. Where had all the time gone when his children were younger and he could pick them up still? His youngest daughter, Haley, was already twelve years old. Proof that he himself was getting way too old. He began to head back downstairs. There was no need to wake up Haley as she was already downstairs munching on her cereal. She'd come into his and Penelope's room at five am requesting that her mother help her straighten her hair for her first day of sixth grade. At some point she'd tried to get Penelope to do her makeup for her, but her mother had refused to do anything but put lipgloss on.
When he got into the kitchen, he brought his finger up to his lips to tell Haley to be quiet so he could sneak up behind Penelope, who was busy at the sink, putting dishes in the dishwasher. Haley grinned and watched as Derek wrapped his arms around her mother. Penelope gave a small yelp and Derek laughed, burying his face in her neck. He placed a gentle kiss on her sweet smelling skin.
"Derek Morgan!" she said sternly.
"Hey Baby Girl," he said, still holding her tightly. They were coming up on fourteen years of marriage and life had been filled with joy for them. After Eden had been born, they had Asher and Aiden. Just when they thought they would be done having kids, Haley had popped on the scene and surprised them both. He specifically remembered the day Penelope had found out she was pregnant with her and smiled. She'd come storming into his office at the BAU before they were supposed to head home and dropped the positive test on his desk.
"You knocked me up again!" she'd hollered. After she'd calmed down, Derek had locked the door to his office and they had sex on his desk.
"Guys!" Haley whined, finishing her orange juice. "Stop being gross." She stuck her tongue out to emphasize she thought her parents' affectionate behavior was nauseating.
Penelope laughed, turned her head to drop a kiss on Derek's lips, and then went back to getting things ready for her three older children. Derek went to pour himself a cup of coffee and turned when he heard his sons thundering down the stairs. Asher grabbed his twin and was attempting to hold him in a headlock while Aiden was struggling to push him off.
"Boys, knock it off," Penelope scolded. "Save it for practice." She tried hiding a smile at her fourteen year old sons who were already as rowdy as their father had once been.
Eden was usually last to come down and today was no exception. She was towing her backpack with her and she'd done her hair and makeup meticulously. Dropping her bag on the table, she went to pour a travel mug of coffee and make toast.
"I'm making pancakes if you want some, honey," Penelope said to Eden.
"I'm fine," Eden grumbled, not bothering to look at her mother, whom she was still furious with.
"Mom, why does Eden get to wear makeup and I don't?" Haley asked. She pouted as she looked at her mother.
Smiling and ignoring her older daughter's animosity, Penelope imitated Haley's pout and placed a kiss on the top of her head. 'Because Eden's old enough," she said.
"Trust me, Haley," Eden said, twisting the lid on her mug. "It all becomes a hassle." She smiled at her little sister and went to hug her. "You look great without it anyway."
Penelope's heart softened as she watched her older daughter interacting with her younger one. She was so used to being on the receiving end of Eden's temper that she relished being able to see her not looking hostile. Lately it had become a common occurrence for her and her daughter to butt heads. She hoped they would get past it soon. She missed the days when she could just be with her and not have to worry about them fighting.
As Eden went back to the toaster to get her newly popped up toast, Penelope asked, "Eden, baby, do you have anything going on after school?" she asked. It stung when she just glared at her, but she kept her face neutral and looked at her expectantly.
"No," Eden snapped, biting into her toast. "I'm coming home, doing my homework, then going to watch a DVD. No worries, Mom."
Derek turned to Eden and his face became stern. "Eden Jennifer Morgan, knock it off! I get that you're mad at your mother and I for not letting you go to Ashley's party tonight, but it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise to you. After the last time when you decided to try alcohol, it should have been clear to you that there would be no more parties for a long while for you."
Glaring at her father, she growled, "Take her side again. You always do! God, I hate you both sometimes." She grabbed her bag and her breakfast before storming out the door, leaving an awkward silence in her wake. When Eden Morgan was angry, the whole Morgan household knew it.
Derek glanced at Penelope and saw that she was fighting tears. He didn't understand why his daughter constantly fought with her mother. Penelope would do anything for her children, yet Eden was convince she was out to sabotage her entire life.
"Mom," Asher said, "we've got to get going." He nodded his head at the clock as he finished his last bite of pancake.
Snapping out of her daze, Penelope smiled brightly and nodded. "Boys, Haley, let's get rolling," she said, beginning to usher her remaining children out the door.
"Baby Girl," Derek called. He moved to hold her in his arms. "It'll be okay," he murmured. "She'll get over it."
Smiling, Penelope leaned up to kiss him again and whispered, "I hope so."
