AN: Thank you all for the kind reviews! I'm not sure if this is the end or not but I hope you enjoy it! :)

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Penelope yawned as she stood in the break room waiting for water to warm up for a cup of tea, her third cup of the day after the two coffees. It was noon. As she yawned again, even bigger this time, Rossi walked in.

"Long night with your, what do you call him? Chocolate Thunder?" He asked with a smirk as he grabbed a water bottle. Just as he finished his question Derek walked in yawning. "Never mind," Rossi chuckled as he left "I think I have my answer."

"What was that about?" Derek asked as he went and stood next to Penelope, resting against the counter top.

"Don't ask. You know you guys think I'm out there but Rossi should be watched… closely." Penelope said with a mock suspicious look. "You want some tea?"

"Sure, thanks!"

They were both quiet for a minute, both zoning out in their own worlds. Penelope yawned again.

"Did you manage to get any sleep last night?" Derek asked.

She shrugged and nodded slightly. "I think a little bit, I closed my eyes and when I opened them it was light so I must have gotten at least a half hour."

"Are you sure you are up for all this?" he said motioning to their surroundings and clearly indicating working on the case.

"Derek, I can handle it. I've been running on barely enough sleep for a few weeks. I know what I'm doing." She stated defensively as she turned her attention to the tea. He could tell he hit a nerve.

"Hey, baby girl I know you know what you're doing. I just wanna make sure you're alright."

She sighed and looked back at him. "I'm sorry. I know, one of the many reasons you're the best. Thank you." She said sincerely as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm alright." A second later JJ poked her head in and told them Hotch needed all of them ASAP. There was a break on the case.

The team spent the rest of the day following leads and questioning potential suspects. Penelope had found several suspects through her online sleuthing. All of them being security of some sort or another, mall security, bouncer at a club, or home security, giving them major access to the women. The rest of the day was spent questioning the suspects in custody. At around midnight, when they came to the conclusion that their lead suspect wasn't their UNSUB they went back to the hotel. Penelope had gone back earlier than the rest of the team. Hotch noticed that something was up with her, she seemed a bit more run down and tired than she normally was, so he told her she could leave a bit early. She had done all she could for them that day anyway.

When the team walked in the clerk at the check in desk motioned Hotch over. She told him that they had four more rooms available and apologized again for the mix up the night before.

"What was that all about?" Kate asked as their boss joined his awaiting team.

"She just told me they have the extra rooms we need." He said as he passed out room keys and they decided who would move where.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" Derek asked Hotch as the rest of the group started to the elevators. Hotch nodded and they stepped a bit further away from the group before Derek spoke.

"I'm gonna stick with Penelope." He said as he handed the room key back.

"Is everything okay?" Hotch asked knowing something was off before he even asked.

"Yeah, Garcia has been having pretty bad nightmares. Last night I had to wake her up in the middle of one. I just think it's better if she's not alone."

Aaron nodded "You're a good friend, Morgan. If this gets to be too much for her let me know."

"Thanks, Hotch." Derek said as he turned to make his way to his room. When he got up to their room he tried to go in as quietly as possible incase Penelope was sleeping. When he got in the room lights were dim and the TV was on. Penelope was sitting in bed already in her PJs.

"Hey!" Penelope said as she muted the TV. "Did you guys make an arrest?"

"No," Derek sighed "that last guy we were talking to couldn't have done it. His alibi was air tight."

"Sorry, babe. Maybe tomorrow will be the day."

"Yeah." He said as he went to go change. When he came back a few minutes later she was watching some show about baby animals. There was a puppy playing with a litter of kittens on screen.

"I don't think that dogs and cats actually hate each other. I'm pretty sure that's a social stereotype that they've just adjusted to." She said absentmindedly.

"You're probably right, you should do a study." He said, falling onto his bed.

"Alright, I'm going to keep all the cats and dogs at your place though, no animals at my building." She teased as she shut off the television and turned to face him.

"Only if you're gonna pick up the dry cleaning bill when they inevitably go to the bathroom all over the place."

"Fair enough." She smiled before turning to lie on her back. They were both very quiet. The only sound in the room was the traffic outside and their quiet breathing.

"Are you sure you're alright, Penelope?" Derek asked softly. When she didn't answer he turned to look at her. She was sleeping. "Sweet dreams baby girl" he half whispered as he shut the light off and turned over to sleep. Again, he fell asleep relatively quickly. A few hours later he woke up suddenly and instinctively sat up. After a second he heard noises coming from Penelope's bed. Not as loud or as panicked as the night before but they weren't happy either. Just as soon as he heard her she was still and quiet again. He lay back down again, relieved that she was okay. A second later he heard some sniffling and soft crying from her. He wasn't sure what to do but his heart hurt for her.

"Penelope?" he whispered through the dark.

"I'm sorry Derek. I'm okay. Go back to sleep." She whispered back, clearly trying to sound like she wasn't crying.

"If you need me I'm here okay? I'm right here."

"Thank you." She whispered back before taking a deep breath and becoming quiet again.

Derek had to try his best not to just get up and go comfort her. He didn't want to overstep, and he knew that if she needed or wanted him she would let him know. So he laid there, in the dark, and listened until her breathing became steady and he was sure she was asleep. Then he let himself drift back to sleep as well.

Penelope woke up early again, about five thirty. As she let her body acclimate to the light and being awake she tried to remember what her nightmare was about last night. She couldn't fully remember but she knew she definitely had one. Then she remembered what happened after whatever nasty dream plagued her. She remembered waking up in the dark and feeling so incredibly helpless and hopeless. She remembered she started involuntarily crying. She remembered how sweet Derek was. She thought about how hard it must have been for him to not be able to just fix it. He was her noir hero after all. She really appreciated him giving her space these last two nights. She looked over at him still sleeping peacefully. As long as they didn't get called in early they still had about an hour and a half before they had to go in to the station.

Derek slowly woke and glanced at the clock. It was six fifteen. He normally didn't sleep past five, but he was thankful for the extra time. As he came too he heard Penelope thanking someone as she closed the door.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" she said cheerfully as she came into the room already completely primped and full of color and life.

"Morning." He said as he stretched out and yawned, still lying down. "Why do I smell waffles?"

"Because I ordered waffles, and some extra fruit for you mister fitness." She smiled over at him as she brought a tray full of food over to his bed.

"You are the best, baby." He told her, sitting up and making room for her.

She sat down next to him and put a tray of food in-between them. Things got quiet as they ate, with a few comments here and there.

"I know I don't say it enough, Derek but you're a really great friend. Thanks." She said seemingly out of nowhere.

She never really used his first name so he knew she was being serious. "You're a really great friend too, Pen."

"And I'm really sorry for waking you up these past couple of nights." She looked away from him and seemed to be concentrating pretty hard on what was left on her plate.

"You don't need to apologize for that. It's something completely out of your control. If anybody knows that, I do." She nodded but continued to look at her plate. "Penelope, I get it." The way he said her name caused her to look up from her plate. She nodded again, but this time she had a hopeful smile on her face. He knew how she was feeling and she knew he did.

Shortly after they finished their food they headed into the station for another day of crime fighting. Penelope wasn't sure how much longer she could work like this. She just could not get enough sleep. No matter what she did she kept waking up with those nightmares, not every night but too many for her liking. It threw off her whole sleep schedule. She didn't want to do anything to put any one in danger and wondered how long it would take until she completely broke down and had to leave the team. The mere thought of that was unimaginable. She could never do that. Although if she couldn't do her best it just wasn't right to stay. She could always come visit. Every day?

"Are you alright?" Spencer asked as he walked up to her desk.

She didn't realize that she had tears in her eyes until she was snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah," she said wiping the few stray tears away quickly before giving him her best smile. "I'm great, Boy Wonder!"

"Okay," he said reluctantly, her smile was obviously not as convincing as she had hoped. "If you need something let me know."

As he walked away she sighed and decided she needed to work now and think later. After some very focused digging she found something that she was almost positive would help her team track down this scum bag. She immediately called Hotch over and showed him what she found. The team left within a matter of minutes to go bring in who they knew was their guy.

They came back just under an hour later with a very handsome, but eerily creepy man in handcuffs. He reminded her ever so slightly of Jason Clark Battle. Within two hours they had questioned him, concluded he was their UNSUB, gotten a full confession, and were ready to leave.

They were all boarding the plane when Penelope pulled Derek aside.

"Can you do me a favor?" she asked him in a whisper with an anxious look.

"Anything. What's up?" he answered in the same hushed tone.

"If you see me nodding off can you wake me up? The nightmares are the worst after a case and I-"

He didn't let her finish but only because he knew exactly what she was going to say. "I've got you, Baby Girl."

"Thanks, Hot Stuff." She said as she kissed him on the cheek.

He took her hand and they got on the plane. Penelope was immensely thankful and a lot let anxious knowing she had her best friend at her side.