The plane touched down promptly at two, and Penelope stepped off onto the tarmac, shielding her eyes from the sun. She looked around and saw Aaron standing next to Spencer, his hands on Jack's shoulders. She took a few hesitant steps forward and Jack wiggled from his father's hold and ran over to her. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder.
Aaron joined them moments later and pulled her into his arms, kissing her forehead. They stood like that for minutes, neither wanting to let the other go. Finally, he released her, and Spencer wrapped her up in a hug. "You're home. I've missed you, a lot. Things just haven't been the same without you, he said as he guided her away from the plane to the waiting SUV.
"My things are still on the plane," she began, trying to turn back, but he just kept walking, not letting her take a look back. "Reid, wait, I need to get my bag." She pulled free of him and turned back in time to see Aaron and Dave take an impossibly small casket from the plane. She gasped and would have fallen to her knees had Reid not wrapped his arm around her waist and held her up.
"Please, Penelope, let's go to the car. You don't want to watch this." She nodded and let Spencer turn her and take her to the vehicle. She climbed in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt, letting Reid help Jack into the back. He dug around for Jack's belt buckle that had somehow buried itself in the seat and then strapped himself in. His phone went off, and he pulled it out, frowning slightly when he saw the caller id. "Hello?"
"Hey, Reid, where did you and Hotch disappear to?" Morgan asked.
"We had to meet some people at the airstrip, give them a proper homecoming. We'll be back in the office in about another hour or so. Why?"
"There's a new case, and JJ wants to brief us right away. Listen, what's going on with Hotch? He got that weird phone call the other day and has been acting odd ever since."
"That's not my place to say, Morgan. He'll tell you when he's ready." A hard edge appeared in his voice that he couldn't quite mask. "You've all done enough damage already."
"Is this about Penelope?"
"No shit, Sherlock," he answered before hanging up on the other man. He sent the next two calls from his straight to voicemail, not wanting to deal with him any longer.
"Was that Derek?" Penelope asked without turning around.
"Yeah. I guess there's a new case waiting for us when we get back to the office."
"That's going to have to wait," Aaron said as he climbed in the driver's seat. Strauss and Rossi got in the middle and buckled up. "We have a few stops to make first." He plugged an address into the GPS device and then took off. About twenty minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of Hewitt Brothers Funeral Home.
He got out and went over to the passenger side door, opening it and helping Penelope out. "Please watch Jack while we're inside. He said it shouldn't take more than half an hour to finalize everything."
They walked into the building together, Aaron's arm around her waist. She leaned into him, her eyes cloudy with unshed tears. A young man came up to them, and held out his hand. "I'm David Hewitt, and I'll be finishing up the minor details with you today, Mr. and Mrs. Hotchner. Please, follow me into my office," He led them through the building into a warm, muted office. Aaron helped Penelope down on the couch, sitting next to her. "I've arranged to have the service held at the Baptist church just up the road from here. The pastor has agreed to officiate, and the social committee will hold a light luncheon following the graveside service. Do you have any family from out of state that would need to come in?"
"My brother, Sean, lives in New York, but that's only a train ride away. Penny, is there anyone we need to call in for you?"
She shook her head. "I haven't spoken with my brothers since I went underground. There's no point in opening a line of communication now."
"What about Beth?"
"No. That part of my life is over, and I want no reminder of it, Aaron. You are the only thing I am holding on to from there."
"Okay, that's okay. I should be able to have Sean here tomorrow," he told Hewitt.
"We can hold the service the day after, then, about six in the evening. Did you want any solos, any special scriptures read?"
"No, whatever the pastor would like to do is fine," Penelope said softly, looking at her hand entwined with Aaron's.
"No problem, I'll let him know. I believe that's all the questions I have, but I'll call if anything else come up." He looked at Aaron. "Is he still with you?"
"Yes, he's still in the SUV."
"I'll come out with you, then, and take him in." Hewitt got up and followed the two out. While Aaron led Penelope to her side of the car, Hewitt opened the back hatch and removed the casket, closing the hatch with his elbow. Hotch waved to him and then started the car, pulling out of the half-moon drive.
Penelope stared out the window, trying to readjust to the Virginia countryside. Soon, Aaron was pulling into the drive of his house. "Jessica's here, she'll watch Jack for the rest of the day, until I'm home. I want you to rest, I'll need you in the office tomorrow, especially since we need the day after off. If you need anything, anything at all, you call me." She nodded and opened the door, stepping out of the car and onto home ground. Jack clambered out and ran past her into the house. "Penny?"
She turned and looked at him, a sad smile on her face. "Yes?"
He got out and jogged up to her. "I love you and I'm glad you're home and healthy. We can always try again, if you want, when you want." He kissed her gently, hugging her close for a brief moment.
"I love you, too, Boss Man," she replied, a ghost of her normal sunny smile on her face. He watched her enter the house and then got back in and went to work.
The trio parted ways with Strauss in the elevator, and the minute they entered the bullpen, Morgan waved them up to the conference room. "Didn't expect to see you back so soon, Rossi. You took three weeks of personal time."
"Things change, Morgan."
"Where'd you go anyway?"
"I had unfinished business to attend to for a friend." He shot Morgan a look. "Now, what's this about a new case?"
"Yeah, it's close to home. JJ has more details than I do, though, and she and Emily are waiting on us." They entered the conference room and the two women looked up, nodding at Morgan.
"Glad you guys could finally make it. Nice to see you back, Rossi," JJ said a bit stiffly as she handed out folders with the briefing material inside. Hotch took a look and gasped at the photos, knowing Penelope would have an extremely difficult time with this case.
"How many?" he managed to choke out, not able to tear his eyes from the top photo.
"Twelve that we know of. The unsub is posing as a nanny and then after a few days, the child ends up dead. When the parents try the number she gave them, it's been disconnected. The name she gives each client is different, along with all identifying characteristics changing between jobs. The only constant is her gender."
"Then how did the police catch on to something being wrong?"
"How the children died," JJ replied. "It was the same method every time."
"So they want us to profile this unsub to try and figure out who she is before she kills again. All right, let's get everything up on the boards and start working on a timeline." Aaron flipped through the files and noticed that all of the children were between two and three years old. Still young enough to hit too close to home. He shut the folder quickly and stood, his face a grim mask. He stalked from the room, followed by Rossi.
"All right, Reid, spill. What's wrong with Hotch and why is Rossi back early?" Morgan asked, blocking the door so Reid couldn't get out. JJ and Emily both looked at him and he swallowed hard.
"It's not really my place to say if he hasn't told you. Have you ever thought there might be a reason for that?" He turned from Morgan, going to the whiteboard and beginning the timeline, starting with the most recent death. The child's name had been Mark, just like Aaron's son, and he had to blink hard so as not to cry.
"Kid, what's wrong?" Morgan asked, quietly this time, trying to root an answer from Reid's eyes. "Is something wrong with Penelope?"
Reid shook his head. "No, it's not Penelope. Will you help me get these up, please?"
Morgan's mind raced, trying to come up with a reason for what was going on, He was a profiler, dammit, he should be able to put these pieces together. Soon after Strauss went to England to relieve Hotch, Rossi had up and decided to take some personal time as well. He hadn't told the others where he was going, just that he had to help out a friend. Then this abrupt return and an air of sadness hanging over his head, the same air Reid and Hotch had about them as well. All the pieces but the most important one were there, he was sure of it.
Rossi and Hotch came back in the room, and Hotch came over to Reid, helping him arrange the photos. "I'll be taking off early the day after tomorrow, remember. We'll see you a little before six, all right? Rossi and I are going to head out and speak with some of the parents now, try and find something unique to this unsub beyond her chameleon-like ability."
"Sounds good, Aaron. See you tomorrow."
"Let's ride," he said and Rossi followed him back out of the room.
Another clue, and yet Morgan was more confused than ever. "I thought Hotch was out of personal days?"
"He is."
"Strauss is going to be all over him when she gets back."
"She won't."
"How can you be so certain of that?"
"I just am. Now, back to the case."
The next day, Aaron and Penelope left for work early. She wanted to get into her office before too many people saw her and asked questions. "Remember, I'm only a phone call away at all times. This case is going to be difficult for us to get through, Penny. And that's okay. We know where these parents are coming from, but we have to keep our professionalism. It'll be a little easier for you to wear that façade, since you can call us back, when necessary."
"Calling goes both ways, though. My line is always open to you, my love." She hugged him tightly, drawing in a few deep breaths. "I don't want to let go of you."
"You have to, though. I have to get out on the field."
"I know, I know. Duty calls." She let go of him and he kissed her forehead.
"I'll be back for you promptly at five. Sean will be here in the office at four. I've told him where your office is, so he'll most likely just come right in. He knows to be discreet, but you might have to field questions from the team as to why he's here."
"Understood. Now, go out and save lives." She smiled slightly and then got settled in her office, waiting for the door to click shut before pulling out the SD card with their son's last pictures on it. She plugged it into a digital photo frame and set it up so she could see it at all times.
Soon after nine, she received an in-building call and she picked it up. "Penelope speaking."
"Hello, Penny. I was just calling to confirm the details for tomorrow. You and Aaron are leaving around two, correct?"
"Yes, Director."
"And the funereal is at six."
"At Woodlawn Baptist, yes."
"I'll make certain we're there. Oh, and Penelope?"
"Yes?"
"Never hesitate to call me. I know, far too well, what you are going through."
"Thank you, Erin. I'll keep that in mind." She hung up and thought about what Erin had said. It warmed her heart to know that the woman was not going to just cut off the strange friendship that had been forged between them. That led her to thoughts of Beth. Would she have been someone she could have called, no matter what? Their entire friendship had been based on a lie, but she had seemed concerned after all that had come out. Sighing, she began to dig through the records database, looking for some trace of Beth. She turned up nothing in Michigan or Connecticut. After some fruitless searches, she gave up, focusing instead on getting her teams their information.
At noon, she pulled out the lunch she had brought, eating on her couch and playing a game to pass the time. When she'd finished, she went back to her work. "Oracle of Supreme Genius, what's your query?"
"Penelope?"
"Derek?"
"When'd you get back? I thought it was too risky to move Mark yet?"
"Yesterday. And it was. What did you need?"
"I need you to run this license plate for me, see who it's registered to." He rattled off the number-letter combination and she entered them into the DMV database.
"The care is registered to a Karl Johnson. He lives on 118 West Elm Drive."
"Thanks Penelope. Are you okay, though? You sound off."
"I'm going to be fine." She disconnected the call and went back to her work. A soft knocking came at her door about ten minutes to four. "Enter!"
"This is Penelope Hotchner's office, right?"
"Sean! Right on time. There's about an hour left until Aaron comes and picks us up. Thankfully, this case he's working is local, so he can come home in the evening. Come in, sit down. This must be quite a shock to you."
He did just that, stretching his legs out in front of him. "I thought Aaron would never get one over on me. I'm usually the one with all the surprises up my sleeve. From what he's told me, you're very good for him, and that's what he needs. I'm sorry about the baby, though, and that we had to get acquainted under such circumstances."
"At least I'm not making things difficult for you."
"You're family. There's no difficulty among family."
"Thanks, Sean. Listen, it's going to be a boring hour. I have some searched to finish running and what not. I hope you brought something to do."
He pulled out a book from his travel bag. "I can keep myself occupied, no worries." He opened the book and began to read, and Penelope turned back to her work.
The hour passed swiftly and soon Penelope was powering things down for the day. She took out her work laptop from her desk and put it in her bag and had the calls to her office routed to her personal phone just in case one of her teams needed her to look something up later that evening. She opened the door and Sean followed her out into the bullpen. She spotted Aaron across the room and she smiled gently as she made her way down to him, ignoring everyone else.
"Are you ready to head home?"
"Yes."
"I hope your kitchen is stocked. I'm making dinner for you tonight," Sean said, slapping his brother on the back. "It's the least I can do since you're putting me up for the next two nights."
"Well, then, let's go. I've been waiting to try more of your food for a while." He put his arm through Penelope's and led them out to his car. Morgan tried to get their attention, but he just kept walking, not wanting to deal with him at the moment.
Morgan stared after the trio, and then cornered Reid. "Okay, you are going to tell me what's going on. Why is Sean here?"
"Do you need a reason to visit your brother?"
"Reid, he lives in New York. You don't just drop in for a visit. And Penelope's home. She wouldn't come home without Mark." The blood drained from his face as he suddenly put all the pieces together. "He died, didn't he? You're going to the funeral tomorrow, but no one else is. She doesn't even want me there."
"They wanted it to be a small service. Besides me and Rossi, there'll only be a few more there."
"I want to go." Reid shook his head. "She's my best friend; I have to be there for her."
Reid sighed, knowing he would lose in the end. "Woodlawn Baptist, at six tomorrow evening." He glared at the other man. "And don't you dare do something to create a scene. There's a reason you, Emily, and JJ were not invited."
"I know. I turned my back on her and hurt her deeply when Mark was struggling to survive. I can't change what I did, but I can do better in the future. Do you know, did he suffer at all?"
"No, he just slipped away. Penelope said a photographer came and took pictures of them, and that it was all really peaceful. Here one moment, gone the next."
"I should have been there for her, should have been a better friend." He shook his head, running his hand along it as he did.
"What's wrong, Morgan?" JJ asked, coming up to the two of them.
"Penelope's back."
"Oh. Does Emily know?"
"I don't think so. It might be better if she didn't, at least until after tomorrow." Reid shot him a look of warning.
"What's tomorrow?"
"Nothing important. Reid and I are taking them out to supper tomorrow evening, and figured it would be better if we kept it quiet, you know what I mean."
"Of course. Wait, if Penelope's back, does that mean the baby's here, too?"
"In a way," Morgan answered.
"Morgan," Reid hissed, tugging on his arm.
JJ looked at them weirdly, her mind going a mile a minute trying to figure out what was going on. They were keeping something from her, something huge. "Wait, the only way Penelope would come home was if one of two things happened. First, the baby was strong enough to be released from the hospital; second, the baby didn't make it. Oh, god, Penelope." She raised her hand to her mouth, quick tears springing to her eyes. "Please, please tell me that Mark is okay. Spence?"
He averted his eyes from hers, looking at the floor. "I wish I could Jayje."
"And the funeral is tomorrow, isn't it? That's why Hotch and Penelope are leaving early." She grabbed Reid's hand and he looked up into her eyes. "You're taking me, and I won't take no for an answer."
Reid nodded. "Tomorrow, at six p.m. Morgan knows where to be. I'm going to take off now." He picked up his bag and left the bullpen, going to the ground floor and out onto the streets. He wandered aimlessly, wondering what to get friends who were going through something like this. He stepped in an open florist and began to look at the arrangements.
"May I help you?"
Reid looked at the older woman and nodded. "I need an arrangement for tomorrow evening. It has to be delivered to Woodlawn Baptist."
"A funeral or a wedding?"
"A funeral. Some dear friends of mine lost their baby. I need something that's both whimsical and elegant. A mix of both parents."
"It's always so sad when a child passes. Do you have any flower preferences?"
"Lilies, I want there to be lilies. No carnations, though."
"All right, I can create an arrangement around lilies. What time is the funeral?"
"Six. There's no visitation beforehand, just the service."
The clerk rang him up and handed him the receipt and his change. "Your arrangement will be there tomorrow, I promise."
He nodded and left, walking home slowly. Tomorrow was going to be a difficult day for all of them. He couldn't believe that he had caved so quickly to Morgan and wondered how Penelope would react to both Morgan and JJ showing up at the service. At least they wanted to be there, though. Maybe they'd finally accepted Penelope and Aaron together.
Spencer turned up his walkway and was surprised to see Morgan standing on his stoop. "Hey, I thought you were headed home?"
"I didn't want to, yet."
He opened the door and let Morgan in. "So, what's up?"
"I don't know. I just, do they really love each other?" he asked as he took a seat on the couch.
"Yes, they do, Morgan. You can't help who you fall in love with. It just happens."
"Then why didn't it happen with me?" he asked quietly.
"Look at who you date, Derek. She might have been in love with you for a time, but you never showed her that she would even remotely be your type."
"Oh, and Hotch did?"
"Obviously, he did. They found something precious in Michigan, and I don't begrudge them that. Why would you let Emily do that to you and JJ? You guys really hurt them, and for no good reason other than her jealousy."
Morgan hung his head, looking at his clasped hands. "I was surprised by what happened, and a little hurt. My best friend could not even tell me about one of the happiest events in her life."
"And she could have died on us, and she would never have known how badly you feel. Do your best tomorrow to not upset them in any way. Be there to support her and whatever you do, don't mention Emily or things being difficult for you in the office. That won't help anything. If you really love her as a friend, you won't even say a word; you'll let her do the talking." Morgan nodded. "Now go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
Morgan left the building and began walking the streets, trying to make sense of what was going on. He knew he had a lot to make up for, and no idea where to begin.
Throughout the next day, Aaron kept checking his watch. Shortly after two, he looked at Morgan. "I have to go know. I'll see you tomorrow."
"I know. I'll see you later, Hotch." He watched him walk off to his car and then turned back to the parents they were interviewing. Once he'd gotten the necessary information, he went back to the SUV, compiling the data with what the others had told them. Then he drove back to the office, meeting up with the others.
"Where's Hotch?" Emily asked a bit hostilely.
"He and Penelope have something to attend to," he replied as evenly as he could.
"What could be more important than this case?"
"A lot of things, Em," JJ said as she walked into the conference room with a stack of files. "You're still picking us up at 5:30 at the house, right, Morgan?"
"Of course, JJ."
"Good, I'll make sure Will and Henry are ready to go when you get to us." She put the files on the table. "Those are more interviews with the parents who lost children. I talked to as many as I could." She turned and left the room.
"Where are you guys going tonight?"
"Out to dinner."
"Oh, okay, I take it I'm not invited to this little party?"
"Not tonight, Emily. Maybe sometime later we can go out and talk Vonnegut."
She looked somewhat mollified by his response and nodded. "Well, let's sift through these interviews, see if we can't find some common factor amongst them that will break this case before another child dies."
Morgan looked around at the pictures of the smiling families, their children obviously well loved. He began to choke up a little, thinking about how Hotch and Penelope didn't even have someone to bring to justice. Cox was dead and there was no way to convict him from the grave.
"An accent."
"Huh?" he asked, trying to focus on what she was saying.
"All six of these parents say that the unsub has an accent."
"So does this set. I have a slightly posh accent here, so what do you think, British?"
"Maybe. Could be French though, or Irish, or even Swedish. The accent's slippery; each person describes it differently, even among the couples. So, maybe, the unsub wants to appear foreign when she's not."
"Great, another chameleon trait to add to her profile. It's like she doesn't even know who she is anymore, like she's trying on different personas until she finds one that fits her."
"But why kill the children? What's her motivation for that?"
"Maybe she lost her child at that age. Have you noticed? They're all between two and three years old, and only children."
"Do you think she might have worked for other families, once that had more than one child, who might be able to recognize her?"
"Based on what, Em? All we know is that she's white and has an accent. That probably describes half the nannies out there, if not more."
"We could always try, though. What else do we have to go on?"
"Not a whole lot. You're right, it is something to go on." He looked up from the file he was holding and down into the bullpen. Strauss was talking to Reid about something, and he looked quickly away when she caught his eye. She was one person he did not want to piss off, especially after dealing with her for two months. He knew how she worked.
He turned back to his file, but was not surprised to hear her voice minutes later. "Agent Morgan, how's the case going so far?"
"We're at an impasse, Ma'am. She's not making it easy for us, at all, what with her changing looks and accents like they were shoes. We need more info on her."
"And none of these parents had a nanny cam?" she asked a bit incredulously.
He looked up from the file in surprise. "I never thought to ask that, not having kids myself. Do a lot of parents use them?"
"I did. My children mean everything to me, Agent Morgan, and I would do whatever it took to keep them safe. I'm certain there are some parents in these twelve who took the same measures, it never hurts to ask."
She turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. "I didn't know she was back," Emily hissed, looking a bit panicked.
"Yeah, she just got back, I heard."
"So, is Penelope in England by herself, then? Pretty swanky maternity leave."
"Because 'baby fighting for life' and 'swanky' go hand in hand, right, Prentiss?" He threw up a hand, "I'm going to call these parents back, like Strauss suggested. Excuse me." He picked up most of the files and then stalked from the room. He spent the next hour calling back parents until he finally reached one that had used a nanny cam. "Great! Can I stop by and get the footage from you today?" he asked.
"Of course, Agent Morgan, that would be no problem. I'll have it ready for you when you get here."
He hung up the phone and headed out. He passed JJ on his way. "Hey, I'm following up on a new lead in the case, but I'll have to pick you guys up here. Can Will bring Henry?"
"Of course. We'll be here and ready to go when you get back."
He drove quickly, getting to the house in record time. The mother eagerly handed over a small stack of tapes. "These are all the tapes from the time she was with us. I hope whatever is on here can help out your investigation, bring her to justice." She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I'm certain that it will, Mrs. Whilden. Thank you for giving them to me." He put them on the passenger seat of his car and then got in. He was running a little late, encountering more traffic than he'd expected. He pulled into a parking spot and grabbed out his suit from the back of his vehicle.
He changed and went into the bullpen. JJ and Will were talking to Spencer, who was holding Henry. "Are you guys ready to head out, then?"
They nodded and followed him out. "Morgan, I think I'll just ride with you. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?" Reid said. He nodded and they all climbed into his car, Will setting up the booster for Henry. The ride was silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Morgan pulled into the church parking lot, and found a spot next to Aaron's car.
Reid got out and jogged into the church while the others trailed behind. As Morgan entered, he saw Rossi there, talking to Sean. He approached them, and was glad to see Rossi smile when he looked at him. "Glad to see you could make it today, Derek. I'm sure Penelope will be glad to see you. She and Aaron are with the pastor right now, though."
"I just want to be there for them. I've been a jerk lately and I'll do anything to make it up to her."
"We should go take a seat," JJ said, coming up on Morgan's right. "Strauss and her family are already in there."
Morgan nodded and followed her and Will inside. They sat in the pew behind Director Strauss, who turned to look at them. "I'm glad you're here. How did the nanny cam angle work?"
"I found one family that used them. I'll start analyzing them tomorrow with Gar-Penelope, if she'll work with me."
"I'm certain she will." Strauss turned back around and her husband placed his arm around her shoulders. The organist began to play a hymn that Derek recognized but couldn't name, and after a few minutes, Rossi, Sean, and Reid came up the aisle carrying the casket. He saw Strauss shudder slightly as the casket was placed on the communion table and watched her bring a handkerchief up to her eyes, dabbing lightly.
Reid took a seat next to him, with Rossi on the outside. Sean disappeared up the aisle and then came back with Penelope and Aaron. The preacher led them in an opening prayer, and then had a soloist come and sing 'Even the Darkness is Light to Him'. Morgan found his eyes misting up as he listened to the words the woman sung, and bent his head, wiping his eyes.
When the pastor got up to speak, he found he could only focus on the tiny casket, the words of hope and encouragement being spoken falling on his suddenly deaf ears. It wasn't fair, that someone so young had to die, he should have had faster reflexes that day, should have anticipated that Cox would pull a move like that. The pastor closed the funeral by leading them in singing the hymn 'Children of the Heavenly Father'.
After the closing prayer, Reid, Rossi, and Sean stood once more and took the casket out. The pastor followed with Aaron and Penelope. Then Jessica and Jack followed them, along with Strauss and her family. Once they had passed, Morgan got up and went into the narthex, with JJ and her family close behind.
"The graveside service is going to be Aaron, Penelope, and Jack only. They'll join you in about fifteen minutes for the meal. If you go downstairs," the pastor said as he came up to them, "feel free to get something to drink while you wait."
Morgan nodded and followed the others downstairs. He grabbed a glass of punch off the food table and sat at one of the tables that were set up. He watched the others mingle, talking amongst themselves, but he couldn't find it in his heart to speak with anyone. After an interminable amount of time, he heard feet on the stairs and he stood, suddenly anxious about how Penelope would receive his being there.
Aaron saw him first and nodded, relief in his eyes. He moved over to the punch table and then Morgan saw Penelope. "Derek, you came."
"I had to, I couldn't let you go through this without your best friend, even if I have been a bit of an ass lately." He tried to smile, but found himself crying. He held out his hand and Penelope moved closer to him, taking his hand in hers. He squeezed her hand and she reached up, wiping his tears away with her other hand.
"Things happen for a reason, right?" she whispered.
"Even if we don't know what that reason is right away," he replied. He pulled her into a tight hug and she cried on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Baby Girl."
She pulled away from him, looking up into his face. "But I'm not your Baby Girl anymore, I'm his." She left his side and went over to Aaron, who instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. As Morgan watched, Penelope relaxed into him, seeming almost to melt into him.
He turned to leave, feeling suddenly out of place, when Reid came up to him. "It's not going to be automatic, Morgan. Be glad that she was okay with seeing you here today. If you want to have a friendship with her, you'll have to work for it. This pain and hurt just doesn't go away overnight. I should know."
"Thanks, Reid. I'm going to be leaving now. See you tomorrow."
Reid watched him leave, noting the slumped shoulders. This was just the first step in restoring the friendship, and Reid hoped it wouldn't be the last. It would be a shame if he threw away the gift Penelope had given him. A hand on his shoulder caused him to turn and see who wanted him. JJ was standing there, Henry in her arms.
"We're going to take off now. Henry's getting cranky, and Morgan's leaving, too. Can you get a ride from someone?"
"I should be able to."
"Great, see you tomorrow." She side hugged him and then took Will's hand, going out the door. Reid moved over to Rossi's table and took a seat. Strauss and her family were already seated there are well, and she smiled slightly at him.
"So, in the end, it's still the three of us who are there for them," she commented.
"At least JJ and Morgan wanted to come to the funeral at all."
"And Agent Prentiss?"
"We didn't tell her about this. I figured she would be a disruptive force on a day like today. I'm sure one of us will tell her soon, though."
"Hopefully that gets through to her. I don't know what else will," Rossi said lowly, staring pensively at Aaron and Penelope. He got up and went over to them, putting his hand on Penelope's shoulder. Reid couldn't hear what he was saying, but he watched Penelope nod and lean into him.
After a few minutes, Penelope broke away from them and came over to their table. She took a seat between Reid and Erin and sighed. "Thank you for coming. I wish the others had been able to stay longer, but I understand. At least they came."
"I know you've come back to the office, Penelope, but if you or Aaron need any time, just ask for it. I'll work something out with HR," Erin said, taking hold of Penelope's hand.
"I appreciate that, Erin. But I think it's going to be better if we are at work. It will keep me focused," Penelope answered. "When you're going through Hell…"
"Keep going," Erin and Reid finished at the same time. All three smiled at each other and Penelope grabbed Reid's hand in hers. The connection made him happy in an indescribable way, as if by that action, he knew things would be all right.