St. Mary's Community Church – Friday Morning

Morgan stood in a far corner of the small prayer chapel looking blankly out of the window. The chapel had been offered as a gathering place for the family while waiting for the services to begin. Morgan had spoken very few words to his sisters since finding out about his mother and Gordinski; if it didn't relate to her services then he remained detached from them. Gordinski had kept in contact with Sarah and Desiree and it had become apparent to Morgan that even his two siblings had grown fond of the older man and if he didn't know better he'd swear the world had gone mad.

Wisely, Gordinski arrived alone and took a seat near the rear of the chapel. He'd had an opportunity to officially say goodbye at the viewing the evening before and it was difficult. His life already felt empty and he couldn't imagine the rest of his days without Fran Morgan. He was also thankful that he had not run into her son there had already been enough drama between the two of them to last a lifetime. He hated funerals and over the years he'd attended far too many for his liking.

A light knock mercifully broke the quietness of the room. Desiree quickly opened the door and smiled in relief to see that it was Derek's family from Virginia. Morgan never reacted to the knock he simply stood motionless staring at nothing in particular outside the paned window. The light touch on his shoulder startled him causing him to jump before turning to face the person he needed to see the most.

"Hey, Handsome."

Without saying a word he gently took her in his arms and held her for what seemed like an eternity. Then one by one the others, Hotch, JJ, Reid and Rossi embraced him warmly.

Tara entered the chapel as the last of the family took their seats. She'd taken care in concealing her face behind large dark glasses and an oversized black hat. She hadn't seen Stan Gordinski since she was a small child and other than a few extra pounds he hadn't change much. She took the seat next to him forcing the already crowded row to shift slightly to make room for her. She knew he wouldn't recognize her she was nothing like the quiet ten year-old girl that he'd sit on his knee when he and her father would meet for lunch.

The service was emotional with lots of friends and family taking turns talking about the woman that seemed almost saintly. Derek was the last to speak and he stood trying so hard to be strong, no tears…but he seemed so lost and fragile that Tara almost felt something inside but she pushed it aside he didn't deserve her compassion besides this was only the beginning of his sorrow…she wasn't going to stop until he lost everyone and everything he loved.

Home of Fran Morgan –

Garcia and JJ were busy setting out food and setting out all the necessities for the guests who would be arriving soon to pay their respects to the family. They welcomed the distraction because it was too painful to watch as their friend wandered aimlessly through the house. None of them had denied the fact that he was the strongest of all of them refusing to let emotions weaken his focus from the matters at hand and he had the ability to use his anger as a catalyst that drove him to be even more focused.

One by one mourners dressed in black descended upon the small family home. Derek quietly retreated to the backyard and with beer in hand found a seat on the porch that spanned the entire backside of the house. He couldn't bare shaking another hand, couldn't stand the sound of the standard, 'sorry for your loss' that seemed to be like nails being drawn slowly down a blackboard, so he sat drinking and not caring what anyone thought of his self-imposed exile.

"How you holding up, Kid?"

He didn't have to look around he knew who it was. Rossi didn't ask or wait for an invitation he merely sat, a beer in both hands; one he sat next to Derek the other he held for himself taking a long sip as he looked out into the yard at the exact imaginary object that had captured his younger friend's attention.

"Thanks." He said glancing at the fresh beer next to him. "How am I supposed to get through this, Rossi?"

"One day at a time, Kid. One day at a time."

"We've made a lot of enemies doing this job but to kill my mother in her own home? Who could be that determined?"

"That's what were going to find out."

Morgan drained his first beer and without missing a beat picked up the other and took a long gulp.

"Slow down, my friend."

"She was dating, Stan Gordinski…"

"Excuse me?"

"My mother was dating Stan Gordinski…six months, six months. My sisters knew and nobody thought enough to tell me. I had to learn about it when I was packing her things away."

"Ah, so that's why you haven't said two words to Sarah and Dez all day."

"I don't have anything to say, Rossi. Anything I had to say died when a killer put a bullet in my mother's chest!"

He drained the beer and set the empty near his feet next to the other. Rossi waited patiently for the right moment to proceed.

"Was she happy?"

"What?"

"Your mother was she happy with Gordinski?"

"I don't know I'm still trying to understand why she would even give him the time of day. Just the thought of them together makes me gag."

"Derek, you knew your mother better than anyone."

"I thought I did but now I don't think I knew her at all."

"She knew how you would react if you knew about her and Stan. Considering your history, she must of fell for him pretty hard. She saw something in him that made it okay to forgive him."

"Rossi, please, I don't want to talk about this."

"I know you don't, Derek but you have to trust that what they had was pure and real and had nothing to do with you."

"Yeah, I keep hearing that so it must be true, right?"

Rossi smiled and nodded his head as he drained what was left of his beer.

Tara made her way to the airport she had a late afternoon flight back to Virginia. She still had a lot of work to do before Derek and his friends returned home and she didn't want to waste any time in preparing for his homecoming.

It was too bad that the woman who'd so easily befriended her had to die she hadn't expected to like her so much. It wasn't fair really that he found a woman like her to love him. She wondered what had made him so special; special enough that her father chose him to spend special time with at their family cabin and invest long hours teaching him football while she sat at home wanting desperately to be included. She wondered what her father would think now of the little boy who had betrayed him with his lies and ungratefulness. No matter now, she'd prove to her father that she was the only one who really loved and believed in him.

Tara had grown fond of Penelope Garcia and under other circumstances they'd make great friends. She'd broken the first rule of revenge; she'd gotten personally involved with her target and now she was second-guessing herself and what had to be done. She'd come too far to get soft now and as she boarded the plane she resolved that by this time tomorrow, Penelope Garcia would be dead.