Sorry it's been so long. Hope you all are still interested. Here we go.
Chapter 12
They were coming up to their town; it was nearly sunset by the time they got there. Hotch could feel anxiety and nervousness radiating off of her. He moved his hand from her stomach to her shoulder to reassure and comfort her.
"It will be all right, Penelope," he told her.
"What if they don't want me back? What if they can't forgive me?" She questioned him, her voice cracking with emotion.
"That won't happen. THey are your family, and no matter what happened, they will always want you back." he comforted her.
"But- but I can't expect everything to be like it was before. What is nothing is like it was before?" She doubted. They were pulling up to his house, and he put the car in park.
"Listen to me, no matter what has changed you still love them, right?" he questioned. She nodded in response. "And I know they still love you. You want to be here, with them in your life, right?" Again, she nodded. "Okay, than, they will still be your friends and family, and that's no different then before, now is it?" he questioned one last time.
"No, you're right. I am just being silly. But, what if-" she was cut of by his warning glare, telling her to stop with the 'what if's.'
"Do you want to head over there today or tomorrow?" he asked, wanting her to be comfortable when she saw her family again.
"Tomorrow" she said with determination, "It has been a long day and I think it is time to get some rest."
He smiled in response, and led her inside. He was then ambushed by a little flying body. "Daddy," Jack squealed in delight. "Auntie Penny!" He screamed even louder, a new smile breaking wider on his face.
"Hey buddy," Hotch smiled, "You been good for your aunt Jess?" he questioned, lifting an eyebrow at his little boy.
"Of course he has," Hotch heard as he stood up to see Jessica come through the hallway. She winked at Jack. "Your friends have been calling. They are worried." She told him.
"Yes, well I am back now, and I plan on seeing them tomorrow." he confided in her. "Uh, Jess you know Penelope Garcia, Penelope, this is Jess, Jack's aunt, Haley's sister,' he turned to Penelope.
Pen stretched out her hand to greet the woman, a soft blush creeping on her face at the situation. "Hi, it's good to officially meet you," Penelope told her.
Jess reached out to meet her hand. "Same to you," she replied, "Well I've got to get going. I'll see you later Jack, and you Aaron." she said before leaving.
"Well, how about we get you two fed and ready for bed?" Hotch asked the two of them.
"That sounds like a great idea. What do you say Jackers?" Penelope asked the boy.
"Okay aunt Penny...Are you gonna go away again? he asked, his voice becoming small.
"oh, no Jack, I won't be leaving any time soon, don't you worry," she comforted him, watching as a new smile grew on his face, and his posture straightened up a little.
"Hey, Jack, how do you feel about aunt Penny staying with us for a little while?" Hotch asked his son.
"Really?" he asked incredulously, "That would be the best!" he exclaimed and went running toward Penelope.
"Good, now you go wash up for dinner," Hotch ordered.
"One down, five to go," Penelope muttered, and then sighed.
"Hey, I warned you to stop it with that attitude." he scolded her.
"I know, and I will after everything gets settled and mended," she explained. They smiled and he pulled her in for a warm and comforting embrace.
"Now, time for food," and this earned him a huge smile from her.
It was about 2:00 pm, and Hotch and Penelope were in his office with the blinds drawn. The got there during lunch, and decided to wait until everyone came back for the reveal. She wrung her hand around her purse strap the whole time, nerves wracking her. She didn't know how much longer she could wait for them to get back. As if, for once, the Heavens above were on her side, she heard the distinctive murmuring of her family as they entered in to the bull pen. Then she heard the familiar, "Everyone in the war room in 10," and the complaints of everyone else. It was almost time and she could feel her heart pounding.
Hotch walked in then and saw her expression and body language. Without hesitation he went to her and held her tight.
"Hey, hey, don't worry Penelope, pretty soon you will have your family back. It'll all be all right." he reassured her.
She sighed contentedly in his arms. Here she felt safe. "I know, I just keep over thinking everything, and over reacting to my hormones. Should we even tell them about the baby, you, me, us? It might all be too much right now." she confided. she didn't want to scare anyone off in such a crucial moment.
"Of course we do. We don't have to go in to full detail about everything with each other, just an overview and an update. They should know, especially so that they can be there for you, for us." he replied in a soft, sure tone.
"Okay, okay, you're right. How should we do this?" she asked.
"Well, how about I get everyone in to the room, and give them heads up, and then you can come in, and we can explain things together?" he asked her. All he wanted was for her to be ready for this. He knew she could do it.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan," she replied. "Let's do this." she said and smiled.
Hotch walked in to the meeting room and immediately started going over expressions. They knew there was no new case, or they would have had case files already, so they knew something was up.
Rossi. He had a faint smile on his face, and his body language spoke of knowing and joy. He knew that Hotch would only be back for one reason. He got Penelope.
Reid. He was hunched over i his seat. A little closed off, but calm. Maybe even a little nervous for what was to come.
Emily. She was the epitome of calm and collected. Although on the inside he was sure she was a mess. She took it hard when Penelope left, but she didn't show it. She tried everything to find her, and Pen's updates were never enough.
Derek. Derek was stiff. He didn't like news that came from this room. It was never good. He had started to close himself off when Penelope left. Aside from Hotch, he took it the worst, although he tried to hide it the most.
Last was JJ. She was distraught when she came back to find her best friend, her sister gone. The updates were not enough for her either, but she knew that if Penelope left, there was a good reason for it. It just made her sad that Penelope thought that she couldn't talk to her about her problems.
Hotch stood in front of them, and they saw the real difference from the man he was when he left. Instead of unshaven, slumped over, and stiff, he was smooth-faced, stood with confidence, and relaxed. He even looked happy, which shocked them. They all, except for Rossi, wondered what could have made him change in the few day he was gone.
"Good afternoon everyone. As you know, Penelope had left us a few months back. I know you have all been in contact with her. I know you all miss her. I have missed her, too. But, we are going to be getting a new technical analyst because she won't be back to work anytime soon." he exclaimed. Penelope and Hotch talked about this last night. She was due in a couple of months, and would need to be on maternity leave after that, so she gave him the go ahead for a new, sort-of temporary TA.
"Whoa! Hotch, you can't be serious. She could come back us any day. We can't give up on her." Derek spoke up. He was saddened when his Baby Girl left. She was his best friend. His confidant. But he still thought that no matter what happened to make her run, she would return to her family.
"Derek, calm down." Rossi urged, knowing what was coming next.
"Morgan, I am not saying that she is not coming back to us, I am saying that she is not coming back to work for a while." Hotch clarified.
"Wait! What do you mean?" JJ and Emily questioned together.
The only ones who stood quietly in the background was Reid. He had some idea as to what could heal Hotch like he was, and when he started talking he knew it. "Garcia is back." he whispered. This got the room to quiet down, everyone looking at Hotch for confirmation. However, he was busy looking at Penelope standing in the door way.
"Sure am, Junior G-Man," she said, walking in to the room. Everyone seemed frozen for a second, taking in her presence. Then they all got up and flocked to her, giving her heart warming hugs and words of reassurance. By the time the scene was done, Penelope was standing by Hotch. She looked at each member of her family, and instead of seeing the contempt and anger she imagined, all she saw was warmth, love, and longing. It wasn't until she was properly in front of them that her full body was open for everyone to see.
"Oh My God, Garcie you're pregnant!" JJ squealed. "When. How. Is this why you left?" she questioned in rapid succession.
"How about everyone sits down and me and Penelope will explain everything?" Hotch asserted.
"No way!" Prentiss, Morgan, and JJ shouted simultaneously. They were happy for their friends, although the middle part of this story confused them.
"Yes, and this is what went down" Penelope told them. She told them about the night. She told them about the misunderstandings and misinterpreting. She told them about the angst and fighting. She explained that she didn't want to pin family against family. How she felt lost. How she needed to get away. How she made mistakes. Then she talked about the mugging and finding out about the baby. Then she talked about Maine, and finding Hotch at her doorstep, and how they found each other again.
By the time she was done, some of her friends had tears, others had smiles, and some were just taking everything in. It was a tough story, but it had a happy ending, so far.
Oh, I did it again with the cliffhangers. Sorry, hope you enjoy, and I PROMISE to update sooner this time! :)
