Chapter one:
Derek Morgan frowned as he hung up the phone after talking to Garcia. Something was definitely wrong. In a voice aiming to be cheerful she had asked him out for coffee. At first she'd managed to appear happy and untroubled but soon her demeanor changed. He'd gotten an idea of how bad things with her really were.
At first he hadn't been able put his finger on it, but something was without doubt bothering the resident tech goddess. Whatever it was, she wasn't sharing her thoughts with anyone. And that fact made Morgan worried. Hell, it was usually Garcia that would tell others to talk about their problems and thoughts.
It wasn't a big change in her demeanor that had caught Morgan's attention to it in the beginning. It had been the small details, like the hint of sadness in her voice she wasn't able to cover despite her frequent use of affectionately nicknames and her usual arsenal of witty comments. Or the defeated look present in her eyes, when she thought no one was watching her.
Morgan had had a difficult time trying to figure out what was wrong. Or if he had just imagined it all.
But after that phone call he was sure. He was eager to finish this case, so they could talk. Morgan couldn't stand seeing his baby girl like this.
Soft jazz music was coming from the jukebox in the corner of the coffee shop. A number of red leather booths were placed along the one wall of the café. A counter with stools took up the other long wall of the café. The walls were plastered with photographs of famous singers and actors, some of which were signed. The coffee shop was well-visited today, but Morgan and Garcia had managed to get a booth for themselves. They sat opposite to each other. In silence at first, but eventually Morgan broke it with the first question.
"Come on baby girl, talk to me. What's eating you?" Morgan asked with concern in his voice.
Garcia couldn't look Morgan in the eye, so instead she kept a steady gaze at the coffee cup she clutched in her one hand.
"Come on Penelope. You were the one who wanted me here. I'm here, now talk to me." Morgan gently tried to get Garcia to talk about her thoughts.
Finally Garcia looked up at Morgan. The defeated look was clearly present in her gaze, as she had dropped all pretend to be her usually happy self. As they sat there, Morgan really noticed how fragile and tired Garcia was. But it wasn't her appearance that gave her away. She was dressed in her usual colorful way in a skirt and a fancy top. Her blonde hair had bright pink highlights and from her ears hung dark red chili shaped ornaments. Her nails were painted in different colors, almost like the rainbow. And Garcia's makeup was as bright and colorful as ever.
It was her eyes that gave her away. In those Morgan saw just how tired she was. It was if all the usual happiness those eyes held was gone. They didn't sparkle with joy and mischief as they normally did. Without that, Garcia seemed like only a weak shadow of herself. It was as if all joy had been drained from her, and had left only a shell of the Garcia that Morgan used to know.
When Garcia finally spoke, it was in a hoarse voice at first. A voice drained of energy and happiness.
"Kevin proposed to me some time ago." Garcia began. Morgan looked at her with surprise, but didn't interrupt.
"And I know that's something I'm supposed to be happy about, but I just can't." Garcia continued. She sipped some of her coffee before she continued. "The thing is that I don't love him anymore." Those words she said very fast, as if she was afraid she wouldn't speak them out loud unless she hurried.
"Okay, that's perfectly alright baby girl. People change." Morgan said understandingly.
"Yeah, I know. I found out some months ago. One day I just realized that I somehow along the road had stopped loving him." she replied.
"Come on baby girl. There is something else that's bothering you, right?" Morgan asked, sensing that this was not the whole story.
Garcia looked down at her coffee again, refusing to look Morgan in the eye.
"Yes" she replied in a small voice.
"Lately I…I have thought about other things as well." Garcia began. She couldn't believe she was about to tell Morgan about this. Thinking about him was one thing, but admitting it out loud would… would make it real and tangible.
"Like what Penelope?" Morgan asked patiently.
"Like Reid." Garcia said plain and simple.
"Reid?" Morgan asked surprised, unable to mask his confusion with this twist in the conversation.
"Morgan, I- I'm falling for Reid. And I don't just mean the teenage crush thing. I'm falling hard for Reid. L-Like big time Aragon and Arwen love." Garcia said, slightly panicking at this confession.
Morgan's eyes widened with surprise. This wasn't what he'd expected to learn about the resident tech goddess. "Baby girl. You've got the hots for the young doctor, huh?" Morgan said with a big smile.
Garcia seemed astounded by his reaction. He couldn't help himself. Morgan laughed heartily at the serious expression that dominated her face.
"Morgan! How can you laugh in a time like this?" Garcia demanded to know.
"Oh, come on Penelope. A little lovin' never hurt anybody." Morgan said cheerfully. "So you and the young doctor, huh? ", he added thoughtfully. "Hmm… I bet your kids will turn out both smart and pretty." Morgan said with a hint of mischief in his voice.
"Morgan! How can you say that? It's Reid for God's sake!" Garcia said in shock.
"Yeah, and you're the one in love with him baby girl. It's perfectly alright." Morgan assured her.
"No Morgan, it's not!" Garcia said firmly. "It's Reid. It's my angel cake. I can't be in love with him. He's off limits."
"He's just like any other guy Penelope. It's okay." Morgan tried to point out.
"No, he's not. He's Reid. The genius, the wonder child… the fragile mind." Garcia explained. "I can't let my mind do naughty things to him. It's wrong."
"Why baby girl?" Morgan asked, trying to understand.
"It's Reid." Garcia offered as her only explanation. Truth be told that was the main reason. But then came all the rest. Like the age difference. And the fact that he was super smart.
"Are you gonna tell him?" Morgan asked.
"NO!" Garcia said a little too loud. "And you are going to keep your cute little lips sealed. I don't want to freak him out by telling him." Garcia said in a firm voice.
"Okay." Morgan said "But have you concerned that he might have feelings for you too? Morgan asked.
"Oh, come on Morgan. It's Reid. He'll need some super smart and gorgeous girl with an IQ matching his. No, this will pass. I just need to give it some time." Garcia said.
"Penelope. Don't do this to yourself. You know you're both smart and beautiful." Morgan answered with affection in his voice.
"I love you Derek Morgan, but sometimes you just don't get it." Garcia answered resignedly.
Morgan shook his head as he answered "You need to do something about this Penelope. It's eating you up."
"Yeah, but I- ", Garcia cut off her own sentence as she spotted Reid walking towards their booth a cup of coffee in his one hand.
Taking from his appearance, it was getting windy outside. His long curly hair was in a slight mess and there was a faint red blush on his cheeks from the cold, fresh air outside. He was dressed in a brown jacket, and had a purple knitted scarf draped around his neck. He wore dark brown velvet pants and black leather shoes. Over his shoulder hung his ever present messenger bag and in his free hand he carried a bag from a book shop.
"Hey guys!" he greeted them happily, as he sat down next to Morgan. "What are you doing here?" Reid asked.
"Hey kid. We're just getting some coffee, enjoying its Friday and that the weekend is coming up." Morgan answered. "Hopefully we won't be called away. I have big plans this weekend.", he said smugly. "What about you guys. What are your plans?" Morgan asked, while looking directly at Garcia. In return Garcia looked daggers at him, but Morgan pretended not to notice.
Reid was oblivious to all this as he answered, "I'm going to read these new books I've bought today. And I've got some new music to listen to also."
"What about you, baby girl?" Morgan asked.
"I don't know, probably going to watch some movies or something." Garcia answered. "Look, I got to go. Thanks for the talk, Morgan. Enjoy your weekend my furry friends.", she said as she hurried out the café.
Reid had a puzzled look on his face as he spoke up. "Is Garcia alright?"
"She's got a lot on her mind right now." Morgan answered.