AN: I am just gonna say I love Derek and Garcia... (I own nothing!)
Derek's blood was boiling when he finally spoke. Between listening to Agent Jordan unprofessionally, in Derek's opinion, going on and on about how amazing Penelope was and watching his baby girl stammering like a love struck teenager to JJ he just couldn't take it anymore.
Her beautiful eyes were deer in the headlights wide and she opened her mouth several times before closing it again as if having no real idea of what to say. This, for reasons even Derek couldn't be sure of, angered him even more.
"I just don't get it Garcia. You are smarter than this. You're unfocused, acting weird, we have barely talked…"
"I," she started her voice barely above a whisper. "Can we take this into my office?" She sensed the majority of the bullpen would be doing anything short of holding a glass to the door to hear what was being said.
"Are you embarrassed to tell your coworkers that you're leaving?" He said mildly louder. "Or perhaps how happy the idea of it makes you?"
"Wait?! What? How?" she asked shocked and alarmed.
"We are family P! Isn't that what you have always said?"
"Of course! I haven't even…" she tried to interject.
"You've barely been back. Though you've been so caught up with Agent who-ever-he-is its no wonder you haven't spoke to any of us."
"That's not…" another attempt but Derek's rant continued.
"Do you have any idea how it looks? And Sam! Did you even think about him in all this?"
Pen sighed and leaned against the table, "Sam and I broke up two months prior to my trip to California."
That stopped his rant dead. A few seconds passed and he finally asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "You were so happy with Savannah and we hadn't really talked outside of work for a long time so I just…didn't."
"You didn't trust me to be there?" he asked sounding my hurt then angry.
"No…I… " she took a deep breath before she continued, "Derek, I'm not like you. I can't compartmentalize like you can. You kind of have a set for each aspect of your life. There's Derek Morgan the FBI agent, there's Derek Morgan and his family, and there's Derek Morgan and his girlfriend. Derek Morgan and Penelope just got backburnered is all. It happens."
"I'd never purposely do that baby girl."
"I know," she shrugged. "But I'm not sure that makes me feel better about it. I just didn't feel right coming to you at that time."
"And after?"
"After your aunt died? It didn't seem all that important."
"Okay," he said a little more calmly. "I can understand all of that. But what I don't understand is why when you haven't been home in almost two months you would rather curl up with some California cupcake then talk to any of us, especially from what I overheard Cruz saying this morning. I didn't even know you were back yet until I saw you this morning and usually I'm the one you call for rides from the airport."
"I just needed time to relax when I got home. And I'm not curling up to…" she rambled before scowling at herself. "And he's not from California, he's from here in Virginia and I know that wasn't your point… "
"Did you even think about how this might affect the rest of us? Or is Bryce all you truly think about now? Do you even care at all?"
Now she was angry, "You know what Agent Morgan? I haven't had a chance to even think this morning let alone process any of it. As far as caring? I care too much right now. Like I said I cant compartmentalize like you so a kiss is never just a simple kiss and I didn't have the fortune of being so full of whiskey that I could forget about it so I'm doing the best that I can right now. As for Bryce…Bryce is…"
"Bryce is her fiancé," Agent Jordan interjected walking up and wrapping his arm around Penelope's waist.
It was as though someone had punched Morgan in the face and Penelope went from angry to shocked, her eyes wider then ever. She went to speak but Bryce continued, "I'm sorry Pen I know you wanted to wait and I know you can stand up for yourself but I couldn't listen to him belittle you any further. She is the most amazing, caring woman I have ever met and it isn't like she asked for this position. This amazing opportunity is something she earned and she would not have to abandon anyone. She'd be in the same building for crying out loud. Maybe instead of thinking so much about how this might affect you, you could see what this could mean for her. This is the girl who has to marathon puppy videos just to sleep at night, imagine if she didn't have to look at violent images all day every day anymore."
The silence was deafening. Penelope couldn't tear her eyes away from Derek. Between the hurt and confusion in his face she barely recognized him. She thought he'd been broken the night he lost Savannah but she couldn't even quantify the pain she saw now.
