Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

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'The beach is special to you because you proposed there?' Morgan and Garcia nodded their response and Emily and JJ melted.

It had taken a couple of days but now the team were on their way to a restaurant known to them, Morgan and Garcia would be in one SUV and the others in another as to make it less obvious. They had planned to leave at staggered timing, Garcia wanted to be there before the initial meeting of her parents and everyone understood, so now the rollercoaster began.

20 minutes later they found themselves sitting in the restaurant, Garcia was getting exceedingly nervous never did she think this day would happen, she thought she had buried her parents when she was 18. Now that just started a whole load of new questions.

'You ready baby girl?'

'No... I could easily bolt now.' She looked at him. 'I have one worry.'

'What's that?'

'My stepdad... he was never one for the black men...' She looked down.

'Hey you've proven you didn't take that stand in life.'

'And I would easily choose you over them... I just want you to know that.' She looked in his eyes, pleading that he would believe her, she breathed out when he smiled. 'You've made me happy; I wouldn't care if you were white, black, green or purple with yellow polka dots.'

He chuckled. 'Good to hear goddess.' He leant in and stole a kiss, everyone of their team started to wolf whistle at them from close by. 'I think they agree.'

'I'd say that's a strong possibility handsome.' She laughed and then heard the door open, she looked round and saw to figures go to a waitress, Garcia knew them anywhere. 'I really can't do this.'

'Baby girl, take my hand, I'm not going anywhere.' He looked where her eyes stared wide. 'Is that them?' He then watched Garcia swallow hard and then nod.

The waitress led the pair to the table and they looked at Garcia, who was now completely flushed of colour. She tightened her grip on Morgan's hand under the table. The two figures smiled apologetically.

'Penelope.' Her mother said. 'I don't know where to start.' Penelope remained silent, her mother saw the nerves and felt ashamed that her daughter would ever fell them towards her. She looked at Morgan. 'Who are you? I would prefer to meet with my daughter alone with my husband.'

Penelope laughed at that, shocking Morgan, and her 'parents'. 'That's a really big cheek to say that.'

'Excuse me?' Her mother said taken back.

'Why didn't you just take us with you?' Garcia said void of all emotion, nervousness gone, she didn't need to take criticism off the people that hardly knew her. 'You left us, made us mourn you, made us split.'

'Excuse me young lady... how dare you speak to me like that... I'm your mother.'

'I think you lost that right.' Was all Garcia said, in her peripheral she saw both Hotch and Morgan wince at her truthful words.

'I will always be your mother.'

'In one way maybe but in all other ways it's kind of nonexistent.'

'What happened to my little girl?'

'She died the day I was told my parents were dead.' Garcia said angrily, not expecting this emotion at all. Now Morgan was squeezing her hand. 'I'm sorry but I built a life parentless, I went through life, the good and the bad parentless, I changed into me parentless.'

Her mother looked hurt. 'I'm sorry but if we had taken you with us it would have looked suspicious, we had to go, me and your father had to go.'

'Penelope, we did it for you to have a life.'

'I would have had a life either way.'

'Not a life we wanted for you...'

'Shouldn't that have been my choice?' Garcia replied, ignorant of parental relationships. 'Shouldn't I have been given the choice to go with my parents?'

'Maybe but it was safer for us to just... go.'

'Well it worked... I'm still here still parentless.'

'Penelope please...'

'What you cannot expect me to just get something like this and go, or yeah okay I have parents again. 14 years! 14 years I adapted to life without my mom to help me with problems, 14 years I coped without a father to help me out... 14 years and now you think I will let you in with open arms.'

'No not at all.' She saw Garcia was about to argue back. 'But I didn't expect a welcome like this.'

'Hardly a welcome.'

'Penelope Garcia, I thought we brought you up differently to this.'

'You did.' She replied politely. 'But I embraced new things, new experience, new people.' She squeezed Derek's hand.

'And changed.'

'You seriously didn't expect me to stay the same did you?' She looked at them in eyes. 'Have you see the others? Do they know?'

'No not yet...'

'Have you been following them?'

'Not as much as you.'

'Why me more?'

'Because you are the baby of the family.'

'Was the baby of the family... I'm not a part of that anymore.'

'Well, of course you are... we are family.'

'I have a family.'

'Nonsense.' Her step father sat forward and said. 'Who is this family?'

Garcia looked to her side, straight at Morgan. 'I'm going off route here handsome.'

'Go for it baby girl.'

'Baby girl? How insulting.' Her father said with utter disgust.

'DON'T you dare!' Garcia said. 'This man here is my best friend, my fiancée, my rock and more importantly he took me into his family.'

Garcia's mom smiled slightly, happy her daughter had found a happy ending at last. 'Do we get a name?'

'Derek Morgan.' Morgan said smoothly, and confidently, adding an award winning smile at the end.

'He's black.'

Penelope sighed. 'How observant of you.' Garcia said evoking a stifled laugh out of Morgan. 'That teaching, that attitude did not rub off on me...' Garcia said with so much force that you would have been a fool to disbelieve her. 'I don't care about races, nationalities, colour of the skin... none of that matters to me... I do NOT need your blessing to marry someone... I have a family that look out for me, one that I listen to, one that helps me and loves me regardless.' Morgan placed an arm around the back of Penelope's chair.

'Who else is part of this family then?' Her step father said sarcastically.

'Well look behind you at the group of 3 men, 2 women... that's my family.'