Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Here's chapter 9! It's only got a few chapters left…I don't know the exact amount yet, but I do know it's only a few. Thank you again for all the amazing feedback! You guys rock :)
Penelope woke up early the next morning, excited because Joe was going to let her outside. She didn't know where the place she was being kept was, but if she had a chance to get away, she would seize it. Everything in her was burning to find a way out and get back to safety. There was no way in hell she would let her baby be raised by Zoe. The very thought of it made her shudder and she shook her head. If Zoe stooped to kidnap and murder, she clearly wasn't fit for motherhood.
Sitting up, she yawned and stood up to go to the small bathroom connected to her prison. When she saw herself in the mirror, she pulled her shirt up to look at her baby bump. It wasn't huge, but it was clear to anyone who looked at her that she was pregnant. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes and she stifled a sob. If she couldn't make an escape, she would never meet the child growing inside her.
Her baby.
Derek's baby.
Joe may have been the only person she'd spoken to in months, but her best friend and confidant would always remain Derek. The last few months, whenever Joe wasn't in the room, she would let her hormones take control of her and break down. She would sob into her pillow, wishing she was home or with Derek and the rest of the team. She missed Reid and his rattling off of facts no one needed; JJ and Emily and all the nights the three of them spent having girl time; Hotch and his stoic leadership; Rossi and his ability to make her smile. But most of all she missed Derek with his gentle arms, his uniquely-him humor, and the feeling of his lips against her temple.
She blew her nose with a piece of toilet paper and let out a shaky sigh. She would reminisce later. Later when she was free.
When she opened the door again, Joe was already there with her breakfast. Hurriedly she wiped her tears away and smiled. "Hi," she said, trying to make her voice bright.
"Hello," he said simply, handing her a glass of juice. "When you finish breakfast we can go outside. It's a nice day. Sunny and warm."
She smiled brighter, just thinking about the sun hitting her skin. The warmth of the sun was one of the things she'd missed being inside for months on end. Gobbling down her cereal as hastily as she could, she wiped her lips of the last remnants of orange juice and said, "Okay. I'm ready to go."
He nodded and said, "Follow me."
And then he unlocked the door, bidding her to follow him into the hallway. Excitedly she followed him. The hall was a narrow walkway, big enough only for them to walk single file. At the farthest end there was a stairwell. They went up and out of the basement, entering into a brightly lit house. It shocked Penelope at how normal it looked compared to some of the other lairs unsubs she'd seen in her job used. To think the entire time she'd been right where people could easily find her was shocking. Out the windows she could see the typical suburban street where the house was.
"Who does this house belong to?" Penelope asked.
"It's mine," Joe said. "Zoe bought it for me after she told me I had to move out from her apartment." Not saying anymore, he motioned for her to come with him and they stepped outside into the bright morning.
The light burned Penelope's eyes after months of no exposure to sun in the dim windowless room of her prison. All around her, the noises of the neighborhood filled her ears. Birds chirped in the trees, cars started as people got ready to leave for work, kids were rushing out the door to catch buses.
Anticipation was thundering in her heart. Here was where she would make her escape. There were witnesses, it would be so easy. She would be home soon. Home to Derek.
Glancing over at Joe, she instantly felt guilty, however. He looked so happy at that moment and Penelope realized that it wasn't just her locked up at that moment. If she abandoned Joe now, she would be doing exactly what Zoe did to him. And for some reason, even all the thoughts of home and her family couldn't bring her to do that.
So instead of running, she stood in the middle of the sun-bathed yard and soaked up the rays of light. Later she would hatch a new plan and find a way for both her and Joe to escape from Zoe's tyranny.
XXXXX
Derek stood in line at the coffee shop, his head pounding with his latest hangover. He'd been up since two in the morning the previous evening, drowning himself in whiskey. Hotch was going to kill him when he got to the office, but he figured his boss would prefer he'd be slightly sobered up and late as opposed to nursing a hangover and still late. As he was paying for his coffee, he felt someone tap his shoulder and heard his name.
"Derek?"
Turning around, he saw Zoe, the woman who'd essentially ended his life and felt his stomach drop ten feet. He definitely didn't want to see this woman. Not now, not ever again.
"Oh, hi Zoe," he said lamely, raising his hand in a slight wave. "How's it going?"
"Good!" she chirped. "Actually really good! I'm planning on adopting a child in a few months. I still have a lot to work out, but I think I found a mother who'd be willing to do a closed adoption with me." Her eyes glittered as she babbled on.
Derek had to stop himself from making some snappy comment about her and comments about children. The last time he'd truly seen her she'd been telling Penelope to get rid of his child. "Oh, that's great, Zoe," he said grudgingly.
Raising a brow and smirking, she asked, "Speaking of children, how's Penelope? You two are still expecting I'm assuming?"
Glaring, he growled, "Penelope went missing a few months ago. Someone kidnapped her." He didn't know if the last statement was true or not, but he couldn't see Penelope, the person he knew better than anyone else, doing such a thing. Especially after she'd agreed to get together with him and talk after a period of uncomfortable silence between the two of them.
Sticking out her lower lip, Zoe gasped, "Oh! That's awful. I'm so sorry, Derek. I know how much she meant to you." She put her hand on his arm.
Yanking his arm back, Derek replied, "No, you didn't."
Zoe's eyes flashed maliciously for a moment and as she opened her mouth to speak, Derek's phone buzzed from his pocket and he pulled it out. It was Hotch. Thanking whoever would listen silently, he turned to Zoe hardly and said, "Nice talking to you, Zoe." As he walked away, he answered the phone. "Morgan," he said gruffly.
"Morgan, it's Hotch," his unit chief said.
Groaning, Derek said, "Listen, Hotch, I know I'm late again –"
"No, Morgan, shut up," Hotch said. "You need to get in here immediately. We have someone who says they've seen Penelope."
"WHAT?"
The entire coffee shop silenced and they looked at Derek with an entire range of looks on their faces, most of them surprised or irritated. He specifically noticed Zoe watching him carefully. Lowering his voice, Derek asked, "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Hotch replied. "He's at the BAU now. We're just waiting on you."
"I'll be there in three," Derek said brusquely, hanging up and dumping his coffee. He didn't need it anymore; he was sobered up immediately when he heard news about Penelope.
Zoe sauntered up behind him as he rushed for the door and said, "Got a big case?"
Shaking his head, Derek said, "No. Someone's seen Penelope."
He didn't see the look of shock and anger on Zoe's face as he ran out the door and sped away in his SUV.
XXXXX
"Who saw her? I want to speak with him now!" Derek demanded, sprinting into the round table room. He didn't bother saying hello to anyone; he just looked for the witness Hotch had promised on the phone. A police officer rose from a chair and he asked, "Was it you?"
The officer nodded. "Officer Daniels," he said, sticking his hand out to shake Derek's. "I'm the one who saw Ms. Garcia."
Running his hand over his head, Derek asked, "Did – did she look okay?"
Daniels nodded and said, "Yes. In fact, she looked extremely well." Seeing the looks of confusion on their faces, he clarified. "Well, other than looking like she hasn't been outside in a very long time. I was leaving for work when I saw her coming outside from one of my neighbor's houses."
"What can you tell us about this neighbor?" Reid asked.
"Well, his name's Joe. That's about all I know regarding his name, but he's a really big guy. Taller than you," he said, nodding in Derek's direction. "Come to think of it, I haven't been seeing him too often either. He stays in the house a lot because he's got some mental problems. He's real simple, works odd jobs most of the time."
"Penelope?" Derek asked desperately. "Is – is she pregnant?" He was all the sudden having terrible thoughts that maybe the man holding her captive had caused her to miscarry.
Again, the officer confirmed. "Yeah, she looks about four or five months right now," he said, looking oddly at Derek. "Why? Do you know who the father is? Has anyone told him that she's been spotted?"
Not able to contain them anymore, Derek felt tears coursing down his cheeks and he said, "Yeah. Yeah, someone's told him." He looked at Hotch and nodded, thanking him for calling. Hotch merely clapped Derek on the shoulder to show his support.
Daniels understood and said, "Well, I can take you there now. I just remember seeing her face on the Missing Persons database in the precinct I work at and when I saw her I knew I needed to call the number. Plus, that was the first time I'd ever seen her there, so he must've gotten her there in the middle of the night all those months ago. No one's seen her before in our neighborhood."
"Tell me, Officer, is this man someone you would consider dangerous?" Rossi asked, turning the conversation back to their unsub.
Daniels shook his head. "No! Not at all. That's part of the reason I'm so shocked. Joe only looks scary, but he's really helpful and a nice guy. Not many people hang around him, but whenever I've talked to him he's always been pleasant."
"Any relatives or friends that do hang around his house?" Emily added. "Anyone who might know he's holding someone captive in his home?"
Daniels was silent for a moment as he thought. "There's only one person in particular I can think of that spends any amount of time there, but she hasn't shown up in a while."
"Girlfriend?"
"No, no. I think it might be his sister," Daniels said. "But, like I said, I haven't seen her around in months." Lowering his voice, he added, "If you want my opinion, I don't think she's all that nice to him. He follows her around like a puppy dog, but I think she uses that against him because he has no one else."
Derek's voice rose impatiently. "So why would he take Penelope?" he asked angrily. "He just wanted a friend?"
Rossi put a hand on his shoulder to calm him and said, "Derek, you need to chill. Officer Daniels, can you please get us to your neighborhood once we make the proper arrangements? We believe you when you say this man isn't dangerous, but we need to cover all our bases and get SWAT and local police involved. Just as a precaution."
"Absolutely," Daniels said. "I'll head back to the station. It's the police for the area where my neighborhood is. I'll let them know you're arriving." Getting out a piece of paper, he scribbled something down and handed it over. "Here's my address if you want to send someone over just to take a look. The house to the left is Joe's."
As Derek made a grab for the paper, Reid snatched at it first and earned himself a glare from his friend. "Sorry, Morgan," he said sympathetically. "But I think you're not coming to scope it out. Am I right?" he asked, looking to Hotch.
"One hundred percent, Reid," Hotch said. "Morgan, you're staying with me at all times. I don't want you staying here because I know you'll bully someone into looking up the address and go there yourself." Derek grumbled, but didn't say anything. Hotch looked around the anxiety ridden room and said, "Alright guys. Let's go get Garcia back."
