Disclaimer: As ever I do not own Criminal Minds!
'Okay! Will you please stop that?!' Penelope said standing up, realising it was too hastily and put her hand to the wall to steady herself.
'Pen?'
'I'm a little light headed but you pacing and venting is not helping my already pounding head, it's self induced I get that but I should be able to go home and have a poxy shower without finding some man standing in my kitchen!'
'I know that baby girl, and it isn't your fault at all, I get that you should feel safe there.' Derek said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.
'Well I think they've reunited one another.' Emily said almost bored. 'So let me get this straight, he was in, like right inside, Penelope's apartment?'
'Yeah, apparently he got her pinned to wall and she got out but he grabbed her and she feel and her head connected with the coffee table.'
'Ouch.'
'No you're ouch, Penelope's ow.'
'I'm sure cutting your head open is ouch for Penelope.' Emily said getting comfortable as she slid up. 'So I have new permanent residents do I?'
'Yeah, I think when we leave we'll have certain men glued to our hip.' JJ said sagging into the uncomfortable chair more so than she was. 'So that's off putting I guess.'
'Well you could tell Reid how you feel about him, you know one of those nights he's sleeping on your couch, just give in.'
'Uh huh... so magically woman, what's happened with you and Hotch?'
'Everything.' Emily told her with a bright smile. 'I never thought I'd finally give in but God I'm glad I did. In a way this stalker stuff helped except for the broken leg and whatever happened to the rest of me.'
'Well that's an upside I suppose.' JJ told her worriedly and Emily went to question the look. 'I just hate it whenever one of you is hurt, its like when Pen was shot, I feel helpless and I don't like feeling helpless.'
'Just be here JJ, that's all you can do, just be you.'
Penelope found herself being pushed into the room by Derek and sat down forcefully. 'Now gonna let me look at it?'
'I'd rather not.'
'Lemme look.'
'No.' Penelope said shying away, his eyes were still accusatory and she didn't need him looking at her war wound to make her feel guiltier for going home. 'It's a cut, a long nasty arse cut.'
'Baby girl...' Penelope huffed she was not in the mood to keep a circular argument going. She felt Derek gently move her fringe aside and he looked over the long gash on her forehead. 'How many stitches?'
'24.'
'And you managed it?' He joked and she smiled meekly at him from beneath his hand as it stayed settled on her head.
She shifted and moved her head from under his hand. 'I did but as you can tell from my paleness I did almost cave.'
'She was doing good, last stitch got her.' JJ chucked in knowing she'd have felt the same. 'So dad, what's our sentence?'
'Oh I'm not dad; I'm big bro to you, dad's on his way here now.' JJ and Penelope both gulped at that idea. 'Yeah JJ, Reid's not going to be impressed, give the kid a heart attack.'
'Shut up Morgan.' JJ said crossing her arms and looked over at Penelope as she rubbed her head, she knew she was worrying about the fact she'd let the man go, didn't even try to keep him to get him once and for all, she'd just shoved him out and let him run. 'Pen, you okay?' She nodded. 'Sure?' She nodded again and kept her head down.
'Hey baby girl...' Derek said crouching down and lifting her head up, seeing her eyes glisten with the unshed tears she was holding in. 'What's a matter mamma?'
'We could've had him by now.'
'Don't blame yourself for this.'
'No, I will, he was in my apartment, I could've tried my hardest to keep him there and get this over with.'
'You got hurt in the process.' Derek reminded her.
'Yeah but he's hurt Emily, and me, what next? He was there, if I'd just acted differently, he'd be caught.'
'He will be caught.' Derek said adamantly. 'Want me to take you home?'
'No, I might as well get the bollocking of a lifetime and then take the urge to sleep.'
'You aren't allowed to sleep for 6 hours.' JJ reminded her and Penelope groaned and put her head against the wall behind her. 'So let's keep you awake.'
'Let's not.' Penelope mumbled back making Emily laugh. 'I'm glad someone finds it funny.'
'I need humour in this place! There's a nurse with the biggest frown ever, and she grumbles all the time, sucks the life out of the party everytime.' Emily told her and as she finished said nurse came in and they all had to hold in the bubble of laughter that was threatening to burst, as soon as the nurse left, the laughter erupted.
'I'm glad you're having fun but some people do what to rest.' Hotch said as he entered the room, they all stopped and watched him, Rossi and Reid come in. 'How you doing?'
'Better thank you.' She told him with a smile, she then shrugged her shoulder as a prompt and Hotch nodded and turned round.
'We were going to wait but with everything that's happened we thought you lot needed to know.'
'You two buttercups are together.' Penelope finished out as she rested her head on Derek's shoulder, her eyes closed her mouth in a wide smile.
'How did you know?'
'I'm Penelope, I know when my turtledoves are in love.'
'Penelope...' Rossi warned as she finished and she knew they'd noticed the fact she was drowsy and not normal.
'I went home.'
'At my insistence.' JJ continued, feeling the major need to defuse the situation. 'We wanted to get cleaned up and Pen was going to wait for you to come home but Em was sleeping and I said we could do it and get back in time but then...'
'Then I came out of my shower to find a man standing in my kitchen, he pinned me to wall before I was able to get away, he grabbed me I fell and my head connected nicely with the coffee table.' Penelope finished off what J was getting to as she sat up. 'Now can you save whatever telling off about how stupid it was and how much of a letdown I am when my head is not pounding 50 million beats a minute yeah?'
'Why would you be a letdown?'
'Because the man that's doing this was in my apartment and I let him get away.'
'Penelope you were hurt and scared, hang on, was he wearing gloves or a mask?'
'No...' Penelope told them and looked up.
'Well then there's gotta be DNA, is your place left how it was?'
'Yeah it is.' JJ stepped in. 'She called me, I went round, we changed her top and grabbed her go bag and came straight here, we didn't touch anything.'
'Well Garcia, I say you come with us, show us what he touched while you were there and then Morgan can you take her back to yours for some proper rest?'
'I can.'
'And Reid take JJ to yours.' He turned to Emily and smiled. 'You be okay on your own?'
'It's drug time so yeah I'll be perfectly fine.' She joked breaking some tension.
'Okay, well I'll get back as soon as possible.' He said and kissed Emily for the first time in front of the team and they both smiled.
'There's no rush.' She told him relaxed. 'Just go and kick some bad guys arse yeah?'
'We'll try.' They all quipped and left the room. Derek's arm going around Penelope's arm protectively, he had to tell her now what he was feeling and Reid awkwardly did the same, JJ accepted it willingly, she had to sort the mess out and tell him all.
