Chapter 2
AN: Thank you for the reviews and for reading this story!...
Highways and Howdys
Derek's ass was falling asleep again.
He'd known it was a long distance to Fortune City, Wyoming, but he hadn't anticipated quite that long. He took a flight first, and then rented a compact car at the local Hertz® to get to Penelope's sheep farm. He knew P and Lynch were in the sticks—no cell service and no internet equaled the sticks to him—but this was really ridiculous. Still, he knew he needed to get there.
His baby girl needed him.
She hadn't said so in so many words. Her letter was blander than how she'd usually sounded to him—to the team, actually. She'd written to the team as a whole—but she still had her sense of humor. However, something was terribly off. Something that screamed to him, I'm lonely, D, and I need you.
He really shouldn't care anymore. She was a married woman, and her husband, bumbling fool that he was, was indeed her husband. He'd stood between her and Kevin for so many years—being her support, her strength, the first person she went to when she was in trouble. That wasn't his job anymore; her making it legal with the man changed it for him.
However, he couldn't deny a distress call. It didn't matter if she'd moved to Antarctica with her husband; he'd make things better for her. It was only fair... She'd been his God given solace for so many years.
She still was. No one else could fill those shoes.
He didn't fault her for leaving. Hell, no. All of them were looking, reevaluating their lives, because of what happened with Prentiss. He wished to God every single day that Garcia hadn't left, and even wished to the devil a few times, because he'd lost a whole lot of his faith—which he'd been a bit short of to begin with—when she'd gone. The sun didn't seem to shine so brightly this last summer, and the winter was a lot colder without her.
He loved her that Goddamned much.
Now, it was spring, and they'd received their second snail mail from her—just a friendly note with some pictures of some lambs ("Lambies" she called them) in the letter. He had to admit, they were very cute.
She'd never sent a picture of herself. He'd pictured her in a red checkered shirt that matched her lipstick and overalls. She'd be barefoot, her long hair in twin braids, and she'd have a straw hat on, along with a piece of straw between her teeth. Oh, yeah...a naughty Midwest farmer's daughter, like one that had been on the calendars in one of his old dorm rooms.
He stopped smiling then. No, she was a Midwest farmer's wife...Big fucking difference.
He pulled in front of a diner right off the county road. There weren't many interstates where he had to travel. What the hell had Lynch been thinking, moving her way the hell to the middle of nowhere? His P was a city girl, born and raised. She'd had hippie parents, but she'd also had designer reusable bags and natural granola she'd purchased from the specialty part of the co-op. This did not seem like his girl.
But she hadn't been his girl really...had she?
Derek plopped down at the counter, where only two other rather smelly truck drivers were sitting. It felt good to stretch his legs and get the blood flowing to his extremities. Next time, he was renting a luxury car—piss on the fees; he'd pay 'em.
"Howdy, handsome," the plump, older waitress said, standing in front of him. "What can I do you for?"
"Just a burger and fries," he said. "And coffee. Lots and lots of coffee."
She laughed. "How you like it?"
"Black."
"Strong man...strong coffee," she commented, before swaying her ample hips toward the order window.
As he sat there, he checked his phone. There were a few texts. One was JJ. Did u c her yet?
JJ had returned to the BAU just after Penelope left. They'd passed like ships in the night. Penelope wouldn't have known until he'd written to her a few months ago. She hadn't commented on it in this latest letter, which had surprised him. He'd thought she'd have something to say; Jayje and P were almost as close as he was with her.
The waitress filled his cup as he texted back a negative answer, and then he grimaced. It wasn't going through. Cell service was already spotty. He took a sip of the piping hot coffee and let his thoughts wander again...
"Derek, I can't take change. I can't take anymore people leaving me," she'd said earlier that day.
He'd known she was talking about Prentiss, talking about JJ, talking about Hotch and the meeting they'd had. He'd known she was scared...and he still hadn't given her a positive response, one that would've made her stay.
The truth was, after Prentiss dying, after all the turmoil, he hadn't known what was going to happen with him. He'd wanted more, wanted to advance his career, and having his own team was a huge step toward that. He'd been just as scared as she was, but he'd kept it all inside like he usually did. That was part of the beauty of their friendship; she'd externalized what he'd felt inside.
She bravely lived the emotions. He was more of a coward.
"I let you down, baby," he said to himself, looking into his cup of coffee.
The waitress laid the food in front of him, and he smiled up at her. "Thanks."
"You okay there, sug?" she asked. "You look a bit peaked."
He chuckled a little. No one had flirted with him in a long time. Not since...
"I'm fine, really." He pulled out a map from his back pocket. "But maybe you could help me? I'm looking for a friend in Fortune City."
"Well, hon, you're about a hundred and fifty miles from there," she said, shaking her head. "Ain't nothin' but sheep farms and dirt out there."
Derek smiled sadly, thinking about all those lambies. "Yeah, I heard."
"If you take 95 to 64, you will get to the town center. There's another diner like this there," she said with a smile. "Ask for Shirl. She's my sister. She knows everyone in that town."
Chuckling, Derek winked and said, "Thanks, beautiful."
Blushing, the waitress walked away, looking very pleased with herself.
Derek took a big bite of his burger, hoping to finish his sandwich quickly. It was only five pm. If he hurried, he'd see his best friend before nightfall.
Driving down the longest dirt road Derek had ever seen, he weaved a way in the glare from the sunset until he reached a colorful mailbox—20457 Cherry Tree Road... the home of Penelope Garcia-Lynch.
The house looked big and looming, even in his headlights. It was massive, white, and rather dilapidated. Most of the houses in the town looked that way. He guessed that the home was at least one hundred years old and not showing its age well. He pulled up the long drive and parked to the side of the house, exiting quickly.
He had written that he was coming to visit, and he wished to God that he could've called her. He felt so nervous; his heart was beating a million miles an hour in his chest. He could smell sweet hay and the remnants of sunshine on the air. No wonder Penelope loved it here.
As he neared the front of the house, he swore he caught the hint of fresh bread and the gentle smell of peaches and roses...Penelope's perfume.
Looking up at the front porch, he saw her standing there. She was wearing a long dress with flowers, and her hair was darker honey colored, with natural, sun kissed blonde streaks. Her cheeks were sprinkled with freckles from being in the sun, and the tip of her nose was reddened. He couldn't move a step; he just stared at her and drank her in, like a man dying of thirst finally reaching an oasis.
She must've felt the stare like a palpable feeling, because she frowned slightly, and then looked up in his direction. Her huge blue eyes widened in disbelief, and then one hand flew to her mouth, while the other flew to her chest.
"Howdy," he said, in the local way of greeting.
And then she was off the porch, nearly jumping into his open arms as he caught her in a fierce embrace, picking her up and twirling her in a circle. They held onto each other for a long time, just standing there. She began to cry, and he knew that he was crying, too; her hair was sticking to his wet cheek.
"Oh, how I missed you!" she cried, holding him tightly, her face buried in his neck.
"Not anywhere near as much as I missed you," he answered honestly.
And as he held her, he realized he'd travel a thousand miles more, down so many more highways, just to hold her again.
