"That which is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil." Friedrich Nietzsche

The hours passed by with an almost expected slowness. He tried to occupy himself with something, anything, but found himself returning to stare at his cell phone, willing it to ring. Finally, just before midnight, it did.

"Hotch, the SWAT team has the house surrounded. You need to get down here right away."

"Where's here?"

"His mother's house, actually, 8264 North Delaware. We're going in as soon as you get here."

"I'll be right there." He shut his phone and picked Jack up off the couch. He quickly carried him out to the car and got him buckled in without waking him. Then, he plugged the address into his GPS and began to drive.

He made it to the address in record time. As soon as he got out of the car, his team surrounded him. "Do we have any idea what's going on inside?" he asked.

"She's unharmed, we know that much. Bartlett was still counting the money when we pulled up to his mother's house. We'll be going inside in just a few minutes," Morgan replied.

"Daddy?"

"Just a second, Jack," he called. "I had to bring him with me. I didn't want to leave him alone at home, wondering where I went. He already thinks Penelope left like Haley did."

"I would have done the same," Rossi replied. "JJ, why don't you stay back here with them?" JJ looked ready to protest when Rossi added, "We can't all go in, it would be mass confusion. I only want to be looking out for one blonde, should anything go wrong." She nodded reluctantly and moved closer to Hotch.

"Daddy!" Jack's voice came once more from the car, more insistent this time.

"Go," he whispered to Rossi, then turned to get his son. JJ trailed behind him, turning back to watch the team like he did. "Jack, what's wrong?"

"I woke up and you weren't there! All I could see were the flashing lights, and, and, I want Aunt Penny! I want Mommy!" He began to cry and Aaron unbuckled him and picked him up, holding on tight.

"We'll have Aunt Penny back soon, I promise. My friends just went in to go get her. Do you want to give her the ring as soon as she gets to us?" Jack nodded against his shoulder. "All right, let's sit down then and wait." Carefully, he maneuvered them down to the ground and then pulled out the ring box.

"Is that an engagement ring?" JJ asked as she sat down next to them.

Hotch nodded and opened the box. "What do you think? Will she like it?"

She gasped. "Hotch, she'll love it! It's so perfect!"

He smiled and closed the box. Then, he turned his attention to the front door of the house. He flinched at the amount of noise that was being made, clenching his fists so as not to hit anything around him. "Does it always take this long when we do it?" he asked quietly.

"It seems longer when you're on the outside, waiting. Everything is going as it should." JJ touched her ear and hurriedly stood up. "Morgan's bringing her out now, Hotch."

He got to his feet and helped Jack stand up. "Watch the door," he told his son, holding on to his hand. The door opened and there she was, tired looking but beautiful all the same.

Jack wiggled out of his grasp and ran to Penelope. "Aunt Penny!" he cried as he wrapped his arms around her legs. She bent down and picked him up, hugging him close to her. Aaron began walking towards her, and quickly closed the distance between them.

Gently, he reached out and stroked her cheek, relishing the feel of her skin against his once more. Then, he was pulling them into his arms, holding her tight to him, feeling the sobs wracking her body.

"Excuse me, sir, we need to check out Ms Garcia, make certain that she's all right," an EMT said as he tapped Hotch on the shoulder. Reluctantly he let go of Penelope and followed them over to a waiting ambulance. He helped Penny sit on the back of the vehicle. As he watched, the EMT took all her vitals. "Everything looks fine, just keep an eye on her for the next forty-eight hours and if you notice anything out of the ordinary bring her in to the hospital."

Jack tugged on his coat sleeve. "The ring now, Daddy?" he whispered. Aaron nodded, and took out the box, handing it to his son. "Aunt Penny, we got this for you today," he said, holding out the box.

Penelope took it from him and opened it. "Oh, Aaron," she gasped. "Is this?"

"I can't live without you, Penny-love. Will you marry me?"

"Of course! I love you, Aaron!" She threw her arms around him, kissing him on the lips. He took the box from her hand and placed the ring on her finger. "Can we go home now? I need a shower, badly, and then a nice long sleep in your arms."

"Of course," he replied, wrapping an arm around her waist. "And you should probably know, I kind of promised Jack you'd move in with us once you got back from your 'trip'. Hope you don't mind."

"Of course not! I spend enough time at your place anyway. Have I told you I love you?"

"Twice now tonight," he replied as he buckled Jack back into his booster seat. He kissed Penelope on her forehead, closing the car door. Once they were under way, he took Penelope's hand in his. By the time he pulled into the driveway, Jack had fallen asleep again. "I'll put him to bed while you take a shower," he said, picking Jack up carefully. She nodded and disappeared inside while he headed up to Jack's room. After he'd tucked Jack in, he went to his, their, room and slipped into a pair of sweat pants. He turned down the covers and waited for her for a few minutes. When she didn't appear, he decided to go see if she was all right.

He opened the bathroom door, and saw the shower still running. Penelope was standing beneath the stream of water, and through the haze, he could she her shoulders shaking. Without a second thought, he skimmed his sweats off and entered the shower, not caring about the water that got on the floor. He wrapped his arms around her, and she sunk back against him. With her clothes off, he could just begin to make out the gentle swell of their baby.

"So, you really think it's a girl?" he asked softy.

She nodded. "I just started to feel flutterings in my stomach. It's so weird, Aaron."

"When Haley was pregnant with Jack that was the same thing she said. I always wanted another child, you know, but things just always seemed to get in the way." He reached around to turn off the water. Helping her out of the shower, he gently toweled her off, then let her get dressed in her pajamas while he dried off and put his sweats back on. "I love you, Penelope, and our child. We'll make this work, no matter what."

As they entered the bedroom, she suddenly turned to him. "Why?"

"Why what, Penny-love?"

"Why did Morgan bring me out of that house? Where were you? I wanted it to be you."

He sighed, crawling into bed. "Rossi wouldn't let me go in. I wanted to be in there more than anything in the world, but he must have realized that if I got my hands on Bartlett, I wouldn't have been able to control myself. I'm sorry if that hurt you."

She got in bed and snuggled up close to him. "Oh. You know, that's one of the reasons I love you. You're my knight in shining armor. So willing to do whatever it takes to protect those you love. How did I ever get to be so lucky as to get you in my life?"

"I should ask you the same thing. Now, get to sleep, you need a good night's rest after everything you've been through." He kissed the top of her head, then flipped the bedside lamp off.

A few hours later, he woke to her screaming. "Penelope, wake up!" He gently shook her, and she sat up crying. Turning towards him, she buried her face in his neck, clinging to him. "Shh, it's all right. I'm here; nothing can hurt you right now. Was it a nightmare?" She nodded, and he kissed her forehead gently. "Will you tell me about it?"

She drew a shuddery breath, trying to calm herself. "It was awful. I dreamt that you had tried to rescue me, and he ended up shooting you. You d-died in my arms. There was so much blood everywhere, I couldn't stop it. I was helpless and you were gone."

He squeezed her close to him. "But I'm right here. Nothing happened to me." He took her hand and placed it on his neck. "See, there's my pulse, beating for you. Try to get back to sleep. I'll stay awake until you do."

She sunk back down on the bed, facing him, her head on his chest. As he watched, her breathing evened out, and her face relaxed. He fell back asleep, a contented smile on his lips.

"Daddy, Daddy! There's someone at the door!" Aaron opened one eye and saw Jack standing over him. "Daddy, come on, someone's knocking!" Jack pulled on his arm and he reluctantly sat up. Looking over, he saw Penelope was still sleeping soundly. He slipped out of bed and pulled out a t-shirt, putting it on as he walked down the stairs. Opening the door, he saw the team standing on the stoop. "Come in," he said, stepping back from the door.

"We still have a free day before Strauss wants us back in the office," JJ said, smiling. "So, we thought we'd spend the morning with you. Here's your newspaper." She handed it over to him, then moved on into the house with the rest of the team.

He looked at the front page, and groaned. "Did you guys look at this?"

"No, why?" Rossi asked, and Hotch handed the paper over. "Oh, well, you were going to have to tell Strauss sometime."

"Tell Strauss what?" Penelope asked, stepping into the room. Hotch moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Your rescue made the front page. So did a picture of us. Not that that's a bad thing, per se, I just wish I had been able to talk to her before something like this happened. She's not going to react well now."

"Like she would have reacted well if our picture hadn't made the front page. But, it's a good picture of us," she replied. "So, everyone's here for breakfast, I assume. What can I get for everyone?"

"I don't think so, Baby Girl. We'll make it for you guys," Morgan said, smiling, steering them out into the living room.

As Hotch looked on, Penelope whispered something in Morgan's ear, then hugged him tightly. He looked into Hotch's eyes and said, "I'm beginning to see what I let slip through my fingers, but I'm glad you've both found the happiness you deserve. I have to get in the kitchen before they think I'm trying to get out of helping them." He let Penelope go and she sat next to Aaron on the sofa.

Grabbing his hand, she placed it on her stomach. Absently, he rubbed the gentle swell, smiling slightly. "Do you think I'll make a good mother?" she suddenly asked.

"The best. You're wonderful with Jack. I hope she's like you, I really do," he said, pulling her close to him. "A sweet little girl with blonde hair, a bright smile,"

"And eyes as kind as yours," she interrupted, grinning up at him.

He leaned down and kissed her gently. "As long as she's like you, she'll be perfect," he whispered.

"That's sweet," she whispered back, moving to straddle him on the couch, placing her hands on either side of his shoulders to brace herself. "Now, kiss me proper, Boss Man." She giggled as he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to him, capturing her lips with his.

"Break it up, you two. Breakfast is ready." Aaron net JJ's look and shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose I should be grateful that the two of you are still dressed."

Penelope laughed and climbed off him, pulling him up to stand. He let her lead him out to the dining room and as he looked around at their family, he realized that for the first time in months, he was truly content, even if a more difficult hurdle awaited them at work.