Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters.

Out of the Darkness

Chapter 1

Penelope Garcia was usually the first to grumble at the cold weather. This year, however, had been different. With the coldness came a good excuse to bring out the long sleeves, dark tights and other items of clothing that could be used to cover the ever growing number of bruises on her body without people questioning her. She welcomed the chance to wrap herself in the soft feel of cashmere and fluffy cotton sweaters, it brought her comfort and made her feel protected, at least for a little while; things she had not felt much of in the last couple of months.

She hadn't even realized when the physical abuse had started happening. The first time genuinely seemed like an accident. Kevin felt so bad afterwards and helped her treat her wounds with such care. She never even gave a second thought to the possibility that he had tripped her on purpose. Why should she? There had been no signs that he was capable of such things before. Sure, there had been the times when he would sneak up on her and scare her or he might let something nasty slip when they were arguing about the time she spent with the team…and Derek Morgan. But they were just things said in the heat of the moment. All couples argued at some point, right?

That first injury had been a nasty one, a severe cut above her eye that required stitches and had caused severe bruising to her face. It had happened during an argument at Kevin's apartment after she had missed dinner because Derek had called while on a case and had needed her to get some information for the team, causing her to have to stay late at the BAU. Nothing out of the ordinary but by the time she made it to Kevin's he was furious and had started yelling the minute she walked in the door. After a few minutes, Penelope had decided she wanted to leave rather than have the same old argument again so she had sidestepped Kevin trying to get around him to the door. Her foot caught against something, what she thought was the rug at the time, and it sent her sprawling face-first into the coffee table. Kevin had immediately come to her aid and took her to the ER to get stitches and lavished her with love and apologies for the next few days. Penelope hadn't even bothered to try and hide the bruises from her colleagues, explaining that she had done something really stupid and clumsy, actually believing it herself at first.

That was until these little 'accidents' seemed to start happening every time she was with Kevin. A trip here, a bump there, suddenly she realized that there was more to it than just being clumsy. Kevin seemed to somehow be orchestrating her bouts of clumsiness, although she could never prove anything, she knew in her heart, it was true. The progression had been so gradual and the bruises no big deal so that at first, she didn't say anything. She knew she should just leave him but every time she got up the courage to tell him she was going to, he would say that he couldn't live without her and if she left, he wouldn't be able to go on, dropping not-so-veiled hints that he would do something drastic. She couldn't be responsible for Kevin hurting himself, and things weren't really so bad, were they? So she had stayed, and now it seemed like she had passed a point of no return. So she had learned to live with her decision and the consequences it brought. She was sure, if she just waited it out, things would change and Kevin would come to his senses again and everything would be all right. She just hoped it was soon.

Derek had begun to sense a slight change in his best friend, Penelope Garcia, over the last few months and it worried him. Trouble was, he couldn't seem to put his finger on what the problem was and since he had started dating Tamara Barnes and he had become temporary Unit Chief, he and Penelope's bond seemed to have been somewhat strained. Unfortunately, he didn't feel as comfortable as he used to with confronting her about her private life.

But that didn't mean he still didn't care about her. Actually, he cared more than he could even admit to himself. Every time she would walk by lately, he would notice some of her usual sparkle and shine seemed to have dimmed and he would get a sudden urge to fold her into his arms and protect her from whatever was bringing her down. But in his position as Unit Chief he had to keep things professional at work and by the time work was done, he knew she would be going home to Kevin. She didn't need him intruding on her relationship. He had let his chance with her slip by when she first started seeing Kevin and he hadn't said anything, now he had to live with that choice and let her have her space.

Fortunately, he had found out a few days earlier that Hotch had decided to return to the team after the horrible murder of his wife. For Derek, that meant he could go back to being a regular agent as opposed to the Unit Chief. At first, chief is what he thought he wanted but soon realized that he needed to be a part of the action, not doing paperwork every night until midnight. He wanted to be a part of the team again, not their leader. That was Hotch's role, and as far as Derek was concerned, always would be. It would also give him a chance to work his way back into a more comfortable role in Penelope's life. How he had missed calling her "Baby Girl" and "Sweetheart" and flirting over the phone with her when they were on a case. He needed that again, he needed her.

Derek also knew that in order to get her friendship back, a few changes would have to be made. Not the least of which being his relationship with Tamara would have to end. He knew that Penelope had been right when she told him it was inappropriate for him to date a victim's sister but he had been hard headed and done it anyways. He knew even at the time that it hurt Penelope when he ignored her advice, but he had felt hurt too. How dare she tell him who to date when there she was with Kevin right under his nose. He realized that he was being petty but for some reason he couldn't stop himself even though Tamara never really filled the hole in his heart that Penelope had left.

Now he would have to fix things. He would let Tamara down easy, it wasn't her fault, but it had to be done. After that, he would go and talk to Penelope, tell her he was sorry and beg her forgiveness if he had to…he just knew he needed his best friend and confidant back in his life and he would do whatever it took to do that. The next day was Saturday and he decided he would pick up some of Penelope's favorite pastries and coffee and arrive at her apartment bright and early in the morning and have the discussion with her that was long overdue.

Friday Night, 9:00 pm, Penelope's apartment.

It had been a long week at work and Penelope was ready for a restful weekend. She would have preferred just going home and cuddling up with a big bowl of cheese popcorn and some old movies but Kevin was hell bent on going out.

"Kevin, I appreciate you wanting to take me out, really, but can't we just stay in tonight?" she asked as they walked in the door of her apartment.

"Well, of course, you have all the time in the world for those people at work but I ask you to do one thing during the week and you don't want to!" he snapped back at her.

"Okay, okay, I'll go get ready, " she sighed as she put down her bag and headed towards the bedroom. She had come to realize that to fight with Kevin when he was in this kind of mood could be dangerous to her health. How had she ever let things get this far, she wondered as she opened her closet. She so missed her simple movie nights with Derek that they used to share. When had she lost her best friend and when had she let her life get so complicated? Things needed to change and she knew it but she had been afraid to talk to anyone at the BAU, afraid of the repercussions from Kevin but maybe it was time. Derek would understand if she could just talk to him.

But he hadn't seemed very perceptive to her lately between his job and Tamara Barnes. Perhaps that was partly her fault, too and maybe it was time to change things. As she stood in her closet deciding what to wear, she made up her mind that tomorrow she would call Derek and talk to him. Maybe she wouldn't tell him about Kevin but at least talking to her friend would help and starting to get things back on track would bring some joy into what had become a dreadful existence.

"What the hell, you're not even dressed yet?" Kevin abruptly interrupted her thoughts. She didn't know how long she had been standing in the closet thinking but it was evidently too long for Kevin's liking. Reaching over he roughly grabbed her by the shoulders and slapped her across the face.

"Ow, Kevin, what…" she started to protest as tears streamed down her cheeks and her hand rose to the sting of her cheek.

"Shut up, Penny! I've had enough and I'm through waiting for you! I'm tired of always coming second in your little world and I'm not going to take it anymore!" he screamed as he shook her violently. Kevin had finally gone over the edge and Penelope could see it in his eyes. She tried her best to jerk herself out of his grip but it didn't work. Before she knew what was happening he had drug her out of the closet and had thrown her violently against the exposed brick wall of her bedroom. Her head slammed against the wall and she could feel the consciousness begin to drain from her as Kevin continued to rant and rave. Suddenly she could feel Kevin's boots as they kicked her repeatedly in the stomach.

"My God, he's going to kill me," she thought as she struggled to squirm away from his oncoming foot without success. As she succumbed to the darkness, a faint smile crossed her lips as an image of first her parents, and then Derek, crossed before her eyes.

TBC

Ok so the muse is at it again. I know this is an intense beginning but I promise the muse has better things in store (she better!). Please R&R.