"Are you almost ready?" Penelope asked the next morning as she came running down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Morgan froze at her question. "Ready for what?" he asked carefully. He put the coffee pot back onto the hot plate.
"To leave for work. For obvious reasons, I don't want to take my own car," she explained.
He laughed. "You're not going to work today."
"Yes, I am," she said with conviction.
"No." He said with just as much conviction. "You're not." She'd just been questioned by the police yesterday, and the recounting of events had been exhausting for her.
"OK, Morgan, don't go getting all alpha-male on me," she warned. "I am going to work today and that's all there is to it."
"We'll see," he said smugly.
Her eyes widened. "The doctor said I was fine to work and I swear to God Morgan, if you leave without me, I'm just going to call a cab."
"Damn!" he said. "Garcia, are you sure ready…"
"I'm sure," she told him. Her face softened. "Do you think I'm ready to sit around all day feeling sorry for myself?"
"No," admitted begrudgingly.
She nodded. "Then this is the obvious thing to do."
He took a deep breath. "OK. But promise me you'll take it easy. If things get too tough, you just call me and I'll get you out of there."
She grinned at him. "My knight in shining armor?" she teased.
"Always," he told her.
She nodded. "Will do."
"Good," he said. "What are you having for breakfast?"
She wrinkled her nose. "I don't eat before noon," she told him.
He threw his hands in the air. "Do you know how bad that is for you?"
"Not as bad as a kick in the family jewels would be for you," she said cheerfully.
"And on that note," he said as he wrapped an arm around her neck. "What do you say we hit the road?"
They made their way to Morgan's vehicle, and it didn't escape her attention that he took the long way to get there—avoiding the convenience store where she'd been assaulted. The man's thoughtfulness never ceased to amaze her.
___
"You don't have to walk me to my office," she said as they made their way onto the floor that housed the BAU.
Morgan sighed. "Garcia, you're ridiculously stubborn."
She grinned at him. "I love you, too," she said.
He sighed and made his way to his own desk while she made her way to her office. She'd just put her purse down when she heard the door open behind her. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" she asked.
At the sound of a clearing throat, she turned around. "Hey," Reid said.
"Hey, Reid," she said as she sat down.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come visit," he said quietly.
Penelope waved a hand. "Don't even worry about it."
"OK," he said as he put his hands in his pants pockets. "Except here's the thing. I do worry about it. See, if I had come to visit you, it wouldn't have been me."
She looked at him quizzically.
"Well, it would have been me, but I wouldn't have known what to say. I would have started quoting textbooks and—"
"You're really bad at this," she said laughing.
He nodded. "Yeah."
She tilted her head to the side. "Thanks for being here now." After giving him a wink, she spun around in her chair so she was facing her monitors.
"Garcia?"
She spun back around "Yeah?"
"I'm really glad you're OK."
"Awww…" she said, getting to her feet. She walked over and put her arms around him. "Thanks, Reid."
He awkwardly hugged her back, and when she pulled away, he practically darted from her office.
Penelope couldn't help it. As soon as she was alone and logged into her system, she searched for men in the area between the ages of 25-40 with prior sexual assaults. The number was staggering, so she narrowed it to men over six feet tall. That number wasn't so overwhelming. So she began to sift through their mug shots.
---
JJ had started briefing them about fifteen minutes ago, but Morgan hadn't heard a single word. It was too soon for her to be back to work. He knew it, and he knew she knew it. She was just too stubborn to admit it. He abruptly pushed his chair back and stood. All eyes flew to him.
"Morgan?" Hotch inquired.
"I'll be right back," Morgan said as he strode from the room. He could see the crystal clear doors from all the way across the office and inside, he could see her shoulders shaking. He broke into a sprint and barely slowed down to open the doors. "Penelope?" he said softly.
She spun around in her chair and his heart nearly fell to his knees at her mascara stained cheeks.
"Oh, baby," he said, kneeling down in front of her. He used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "What's wrong?"
"We're never…" She hiccupped on a sob. "Gonna find him!" she finished.
"Yes, we will," he promised her.
She shook her head. "But what if he loses weight? Or what if he dyes his hair a different color? If he changes his appearance—"
"I don't care what that bastard does to himself!" Morgan said with a feral look in his eyes. "I. Will. Catch. Him." His eyes softened. "OK?"
"OK," she said softly, swiping at her cheeks.
"Come here, baby girl," Morgan said, gathering her in his arms. "We need to get you home."
She immediately stiffened and then pulled away. "No we don't."
"Penelope—"
"He's right, Garcia."
They both turned around at the sound of Hotch's voice.
"I am fine," she insisted.
"I admire your determination, Garcia, but I don't believe it for a second. Take two weeks."
"But I—"
"That's not a request, Garcia. I expect you to be off the premises within fifteen minutes," he said as he left her office.
Morgan was right behind him. "Good move, Hotch."
Hotch spun around. "You, too."
"Thanks," Morgan said.
Hotch shook his head. "No. Time off. Take some."
"Hotch, the team can't be down by two!" he argued.
"Did you see her in there?" Hotch asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, you're worse. I'm sure it's awful for her, Morgan. Her insides must be a wreck right now. But on the outside, you have her beat in spades."
"That's not true!" Morgan sighed. "She doesn't even eat breakfast, Hotch. Everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!"
Hotch took a deep breath, put his hand on his hip, and then studied Morgan's face for a minute. "Tell me one thing that JJ said in there."
Morgan sighed and ran a hand over his head, then crossed his arms over his chest. "I can't," he admitted.
Hotch nodded. "Exactly my point. I can't have two people who aren't one hundred percent. You're a liability right now."
"Hotch—"
But he'd already turned around and started to walk away. He threw an arm in the air and held two fingers up. "Two weeks!" he ordered.
Morgan ran to catch up with him. "And if I don't?"
Hotch stopped and faced him. "Right now, it's voluntary. Wanna go for suspension?"
"On what grounds?" Morgan asked furiously.
Hotch shrugged. "Depends on my mood."
Knowing he was defeated, Morgan turned around with a sigh and headed for Garcia's office. When he walked in, she was throwing stuff into her bag. "Two weeks!" he heard her mutter.
"You OK?" he asked.
She spun around and pointed a finger at his chest. He stumbled backwards in surprise. "This is all your fault," she said, seething.
"Me?" he asked, puzzled.
"I would've been just fine if you hadn't come in!"
"Like hell!" he exploded. "You've been nothing but silent for the last two days!" he reminded her. "And that is not the Penelope Garcia that I know!"
"And what makes you think you are such an expert on me?" she roared.
He shook his head. "Not expert," he said softly. "Just friend."
Penelope laughed sarcastically. "How am I supposed to argue with that?"she asked.
"You're not."
"I'm a bitch," she said.
"You're not," he repeated, and then smiled tenderly at her. "You almost ready?"
"Morgan, go back to work. I'll call a cab."
"I can't," he said.
"Morgan—"
"I really can't. Hotch ordered me to take some time off, too. Looks like you're stuck with me."
"Lucky me."
"Two peas in a pod, Garcia." He winked at her. "That's you and me."
---
"Can he even do that?" Penelope asked once they were on their way to her apartment.
Morgan shrugged. "Hotch doesn't strike me as an empty threat kind of guy."
"Yeah, me, neither," Penelope agreed. "What am I gonna do for two weeks?"
"And me!" he joined in.
Penelope sighed. "This would be so much easier if we were sleeping together."
Morgan's eyes widened as he looked at her.
"Well, you have to admit—it'd be a hell of a way to pass the time."
"Baby girl is a tease," he scoffed. But he wasn't going to complain. This was the most like herself he'd seen her in the past few days.
---
"Gin," Penelope said, placing her cards on the coffee table with a grin.
"Dammitt!" Morgan said.
"I told you not to play cards with me!" she reminded him. "I'm ruler of the deck!"
"I'll deck you," he warned.
"You'd try," she corrected him.
He bit back his retort as his cell phone started ringing. He looked at the caller ID and then put the phone back down.
"Who is that?" Penelope asked.
"My sister," he said.
"You need to answer her call!" she told him.
"No," he said. "I do not."
She met his eyes with challenge and snatched up the phone.
"Garcia!" he yelled. But it was too late.
"Hot chocolate's answering service," she said with a wink.
Morgan groaned. Oh, the questions that was going to bring.
"I'm sorry. I was looking for Derek Morgan."
"Then you have called the right number. Please hold while I transfer you."
He glared at her as he took the phone from her. "You're gonna pay for this," he warned. "Morgan," he said into the phone as he got to his feet. He looked pointedly at Penelope. "That' was our secretary, Lucy," he lied. "She's a little crazy. We call her Loopy behind her back." He narrowed his eyes as she began roaring laughing while he made his way from the room. About ten minutes later, he came back in. "Well, I found a way to pass the time," he told her.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I haven't been home for three years."
"Naughty boy," she said.
He nodded. "Yeah, well, if I'm going to be off anyway, I might as well go now so I don't have to go back for another three years. A visit and a holiday all in one."
She shook her head. "What is wrong with you?" she asked.
"What?"
"I'd kill to have family." She wrinkled her nose. "Besides crazy Aunt Daisy."
Morgan grinned at her. "You've got mine," he told her. "Pack a bag, baby girl. We're goin' to Chicago."
Penelope's eyes lit up. "You're bringin' me home to Momma?" she asked dramatically.
He nodded. "I'm bringin' you home to Momma."