Author Note – Some interesting feedback for the cliff hanger at the end of the last chapter, but it was going too smoothly, wasn't it? No matter when Penelope found out about her Chocolate Thunder she was always going to be upset. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and the way I've dealt with what would always be a horrible conversation. I love reading all of your comments; let me know what you think of the way I've dealt with such a difficult situation.

Distance – chapter twelve

She stood in the doorway of the living room trembling as she heard the words tumble from Emily's mouth. s"What job?" She asked completely confused.

They spun to face her, stunned by her presence. A small pang of guilt hit her but she was too focused on finding out what they were talking about to worry about intruding on their quiet talk. Penelope had only come back into the living room because she wanted the guide book to ask Kevin about a place in London he'd mentioned the day before, only pausing in the doorway when she heard their quiet conversation as they snuggled on the sofa together.

Neither of them offered an answer, just continued to stare bug eyed at her. "What job?" She repeated.

The reminder of the question spurred Morgan to move to sit sideways on the sofa to make room for her sit beside them. "Come and sit down Garcia, we need to talk."

Like everyone else on the planet, Penelope hated that phrase. She was quickly losing grip on the tight reign she had on her emotions. She only heard the tail end of their conversation and it was causing her heart to thunder wildly in her chest. She acknowledged the invitation to sit by moving from the door way but she bypassed the sofa and positioned herself on the window seat opposite them.

Immediately Penelope saw their guilt and knew this must have been a difficult conversation they had been having. Her heart went out to them and she would give them a chance to explain. She watched them exchange a worried glance as they turned to face her, both of them leaning forward, their elbows resting on their knees.

For a long moment she waited for them to start, but they were silently staring back at her before Morgan took a deep breath. "I've been offered a job, here in London," he told her.

"I got that part," Penelope replied, unable to stop herself. She hated the whine in her voice. "And you're considering it," she stated, looking between them.

Morgan nodded. "Yes," he replied honestly.

"With the bomb squad?" She questioned. At his nod the tears that had been threatening to spill over ran down her face. "You're moving too?" Penelope asked her voice cracking.

"I haven't said yes yet," he reminded her gently.

"But you're considering it," she reiterated.

Morgan fell silent and Penelope glanced at Emily who opened her mouth a couple of times before speaking. "Pen, we haven't decided anything yet."

Penelope blinked at the empathy in Emily's eyes. "You know, I thought you two being together would make it easier to convince you to come home. Not mean that you both move to London."

Penelope saw Emily's eyes fill with tears and she felt like they were back in the conference room when Emily told them she was leaving. She desperately wanted to hug the brunette, wanted to comfort her as well as be comforted. But she needed more answers before that could happen.

"I'm not ready to go back, Pen," Emily said gently, shaking her head.

"But no one blames you for what happened," Penelope said as more tears escaped.

"But I blame myself," Emily said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "It's something I need to deal with in my own time."

That made Penelope pause, and their gazes locked for a moment. She wanted to reach out to Emily but she restrained herself, determined to get all of the answers. She saw Morgan hand twitch as he looked at Emily and realised he wanted to do the same thing she did. Her gut twisted when she realised he was holding back because of her. "Do you want to leave the BAU?"

Morgan was wide eyed as he turned back to her. He rubbed the back of her head, and Penelope could see the uncertainty in his expression. Morgan sighed and glanced at Emily briefly, sharing a look with her. Emily looked as scared as Penelope felt. They hadn't discussed this part, she realised.

"There's a big part of me that wants to," he confessed.

Penelope felt her heart drop and the lump form in her throat. Emily sat up a little straighter at his admission, a mixture of surprise and worry on her face.

"Why?" Penelope was finally able to ask.

"Because it's not the same anymore," he said.

"Don't make the decision because I'm here Morgan," Emily said quietly.

Morgan clasped his hands together at their apex and looked at her. "I'm not. I realised over a year ago that I didn't want to be in the BAU without you."

Emily's head tilted to the side as she acknowledged what he admitted. "Really?" She asked timidly.

Penelope would never forget his devastation at losing Emily. Outwardly Morgan had stayed strong for her and Spencer, offering comfort when he could. He never shared his grief, but Penelope had seen the faraway look in his eyes when he looked at her picture of fallen agents. It had only been replaced by determination when they had scoured their sources for the man who had killed their friend. Morgan had been a shell of the man he was, only focusing when they had a case.

She had seen his mask slip once. The anger and frustration had been pouring after he came back from his counselling session with Hotch as he sat on her couch and asked for her help to find Doyle.

He nodded uncomfortably. "I only stayed because I needed the resources to find Doyle."

Penelope looked to the floor briefly as she knew he was right, but it didn't make her feel any better. She knew he'd been miserable for the last two months while Emily had been in London. But she had no idea he'd consider taking another job.

"You could have told me," Penelope told them as she returned her gaze to them.

"That was my call," Morgan said. "You're still dealing with Emily leaving, and I didn't want to worry you till we had made a decision. I didn't want to make you anxious about something that may not happen."

Penelope could understand his reasoning and wondered if she would have felt better if she had been told like Emily had told them two short months ago rather than listening in on their conversation. A huge part of her still wanted to be in the dark, that she should have turned around and gone back into the guest room to phone Kevin and be blissfully unaware of what they were discussing. But she wasn't able to do that now.

"I wish that I hadn't overheard you," she whispered. It would have been easier that way, and they had her best intentions at heart by not telling her sooner.

Emily pushed herself up off the sofa and the window seat cushions dipped as she sat next to Penelope. Immediately Penelope wrapped her arms around the brunette, who clung to her in return. "I'm so sorry Pen," she mumbled into her shoulder.

Penelope shook her head. "No, you had the best intentions and I'm grateful for that." They held each other for a long time, and they both had wet patches on their shirts from the other's silent tears.

A few minutes later Morgan appeared at the side of them, and they drew apart. He offered them a box of tissues with a sad smile. They both thanked him as they lifted a hand to take one each and he returned to the sofa as they dabbed at their eyes. As Penelope removed her glasses to dry to rim of them, she recalled the other conversation they'd had after dinner.

Pinning Morgan with a look she replaced her glasses. "You called your mom today," she told him.

"Yeah," he confirmed, already knowing what the next question was going to be.

"And you told her?"

"Yeah," Morgan said again. "She encouraged me to take the job," he offered before Penelope prompted him.

Penelope blinked back the surprise. "She's okay with you moving to another country?"

"Yeah, she doesn't think it'll change much because I don't get to go home that much now," he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "She may also be trying to use it to blackmail grandchildren out of me." He threw a cautious glance in Emily's direction. Penelope followed his gaze to Emily and saw the deer-in-headlights expression on her face. "I also told her that talk about children wasn't even on the horizon yet," he added mostly for Emily's benefit.

Emily relaxed visibly and sat back against the window seat. Leaning back next to her Penelope pondered that titbit. "But they would be so adorable," she told them somewhat dreamily. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Emily nod almost imperceptibly and she realised her gaze was locked with Morgan's. A sense of intruding came over her again as she watched their silent communication that had always fascinated her. "Well if your mom can use this to bargain for grandchildren, can I petition for the part of fairy godmother when they arrive?"

"They?" Emily laughed nervously.

"Um, I hate to tell you but your walls are quite thin. With the lack of sleep I'm getting, I doubt that two children would be a stretch for you two," Penelope replied making Emily blush.

"First thing in the morning, I'm buying you ear plugs Baby Girl," Morgan told her rising from the sofa to grab the glasses from the table and the bottle. He poured each of them a glass.

They all drank, and Penelope contemplated them and the huge decision they were faced with. "I'm not saying that I'm happy that you're considering leaving, but you know that I'll always love both of you," she told them. "Whatever you finally decide, I'll support you."

Morgan looked grateful as he looked up at her admission. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"We both do," Emily added.

Her phone beeped, signalling a message. Checking the phone, she saw a message from Kevin telling her he was free to talk. "As much as I don't like London at the moment, I still want to explore it. I'm going to phone Kevin and get an early night. I'll see you in the morning my Loves."

"See you in the morning Pen," Emily told her, kissing her cheek.

Morgan stood when she did, opening his arms to her when she approached. "Good night Baby Girl," he told her encircling in his arms. "Thank you," he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

She gave him a watery smile as she pulled back, lifting her hand to caress his cheek. "Promise me that whatever you decide, you'll both be happy."

"We'll give it our best shot," he assured her with a smile.

Penelope accepted his answer with a nod and with a small wave of her hand she returned to her room. Leaning on her door to shut it, she sighed. She hoped she was strong enough to support them as promised. 'I hate change,' she thought to herself.

The ringing of her phone cut through her thoughts. Pressing connect she put it to her ear. "Boy am I glad you called Kevin…"