The cloud began to lift and Derek tried desperately to fight through the pain everything was spinning around him his arms and legs felt lifeless as he lifted his head to see Penelope laying still on the floor. The sounds of sirens in the distance didn't quite register as he tried again to find the strength to pull himself to his feet. The sight of her blood unnerved him as he began to finally find enough stability to stand.

"DON'T MOVE!"

He was relieved to see the officers rush through the open front door as he waved them in.

"I SAID, DON'T MOVE!"

"Help her! She's been shot!"

Why were they focused on him? He was fine but Penelope hadn't moved and he didn't want to face the possibility that she was dead.

"DROP THE GUN OR I'LL SHOOT!"

Gun? What gun…wait what was he doing with a gun…his gun? Something wasn't right he couldn't explain it all he knew was Garcia was lying in a pool of blood and his head hurt like hell.

"I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU AGAIN…"

"Okay, okay…"

He placed the gun on the floor and began to rise but was immediately forced to the ground by the hands of two of the armed men. His arms were jerked behind his back and cuffed. Then he was jerked to his feet.

"What are you doing?"

Paramedics had already begun working on her as he was being dragged from the house. He wanted to explain what had happened that there had been another person in the house but no one was interested in hearing anything he had to say.

"Penelope! Hang on, Baby Girl! Penelope, don't leave me!"

"Let's go!"

"No! I didn't do this! I need to stay with her! Please! I didn't do this!"

"You're under arrest! You have the right to remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney if you can't afford one, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand your rights?"

"Penelope! I love you Baby! Please hang on! I'm here! I'm right here!"

He continued to struggle against the officers, hell bent on getting him out of the house. He strained to see her as he was pulled further and further away.

"You're making a mistake! Please you don't understand!"

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS?"

Quantico Police Department – One hour later…

Aaron Hotchner and David Rossi burst through the doors frantically looking for anyone in charge. JJ and Reid had been ordered to Potomac General to check on Garcia. Just when they didn't think things could get any worse it did. None of them had gotten any rest since returning from Chicago earlier and now this. Hotch had expected to hear that they had gotten a new case when his phone rang twenty minutes earlier but instead it was the Director himself ordering him to head to the police department immediately.

Detective Rudolph Grant met the two men as they made their way toward the back of the room. He'd dealt with the BAU on many occasions before and so he was well acquainted with the men before him.

"Agent Hotchner, Agent Rossi, thanks for coming so quickly."

"What happened, Detective?"

"We received a 9-1-1 call from the residence with a report of gunshots and a report that a woman had been shot by a male occupant." He began before being interrupted.

"Who made the call?" Hotch asked.

"A woman who said she witnessed everything."

"Where's is he?" Rossi asked.

"We have him in a holding cell he's pretty out of it."

"Something's not right it's no way in hell Morgan would hurt Garcia!" Rossi added.

"We need to see him, Detective." Hotch insisted.

"I'm only doing this out of professional courtesy and the fact that we owe the BAU."

"Thanks. We know we can't work the case we're just here to check on a friend."

Detective Grant motioned them toward the back of the room. Before they got too far, Rossi stopped to ask another question.

"Detective Grant, you said a woman made the 9-1-1 call. Do you know who she is?"

The detective looked across the room to a desk near the door.

"Yes, she came in a few minutes before you arrived."

Tara looked up as if she had heard the three talking about her. She glanced at them and then back at the detective assigned to take her statement. She'd seen them both at the funeral services. The two watched her profiling her carefully checking for something in her body language that would tell them more than they knew right now. They knew there would be no chance in hell they'd be allowed to question her, so they continued to follow the detective to where they were holding Morgan.

Potomac General Hospital –

JJ and Reid waited impatiently in the surgical waiting room. It was a blessing that they had the room to themselves because their nonstop pacing would surely have driven anyone else in the room mad.

Garcia had been taken immediately into surgery and they both had already been told that things looked grim. Each of them had spent far too much time pacing and waiting in this place. They'd often joked to ease the tension of the latest traumatic event that the hospital should name a wing after them. They couldn't make sense of what they had been told; that an eyewitness had called the police saying that she'd watched as Morgan shot Garcia and that she'd hit him in an attempt to save Penelope and herself from any more attacks from him. None of it made sense, their friend would never hurt Garcia and he'd kill anyone else who as much as thought about harming her.

For now there was nothing they could do but wait for the doctors to do what they'd been trained to do. JJ wanted to call Hotch and Rossi but she had nothing to tell them and she knew he'd call once he knew more. So, back and forth they paced wearing a permanent path on the already worn linoleum tile. Reid had already calculated the exact number of tiles and counted the number of steps it took to walk the small twenty-by-twenty room. Then the door swung open and the pacing and counting instantly came to a halt as an older white-haired man approached them.

"Penelope Garcia?"

"Yes!" The two answered in unison.

"I'm Doctor Barry Hazleton. I'm the attending on call this evening. I wanted to give you an update on Ms. Garcia's condition."

"Thank you, Doctor. How is she?"

He exhaled before beginning."

"She's still in surgery and I expect she'll be in for at least two more hours. Her injuries are extensive and she's lost a lot of blood." He began. "Because of the extreme blood loss, the surgeons are having a hard time keeping her stable; she's already coded twice but we managed to get her back both times."

"What are her chances?" Reid asked.

"It's too early to tell and even if she makes it out of surgery, we can't guarantee she'll survive but she's young and otherwise healthy…all things in her favor."

The two looked at each other not knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry I don't have better news. I wanted to at least give you an update…I'll let you know more once I know anything."

"Thanks, we appreciate it." JJ answered.

The doctor nodded and quickly left the room. JJ and Reid embraced each other fighting the tears and feelings of hopelessness that seemed to take hold of their bodies. How could all this have happened? How much more could any of them take? They couldn't lose Garcia or Morgan they were family and they needed each other.

JJ couldn't delay the call to Hotch any longer. As much as she loved her job she hated it as much especially moments like this when evil had been bold enough to climb the steps of their homes and insist on barging into the safety of the one place they were supposed to be safe.

Quantico Police Department –

Tara watched as the two older men rounded the corner. She was almost giddy with the thought of what Morgan was going through. She'd watched as they dragged him from his home cuffed and yelling for Penelope at the top of his lungs. This is what she'd worked and planned for over the last several months and dreamt about since her father was accused of the unthinkable.

"Now you know what it feels like to lose someone you love! Oh, but I'm just getting started, Derek Morgan! I won't rest until you're behind bars for the rest of your life! Her blood is on your hands! Yeah, that's right! I'm just getting started…"