Deep Space
Garcia was still holding Bethany when Derek came out an hour later, once Mirsky and his mother signed their bizarre confessions.
"Child Services is coming," Derek said.
Bethany was still asleep, too. "I know. Derek-"
He put an arm around her. "I know, Baby Girl. But we can't keep her."
"Actually," she took a deep breath. "If we went and got the license today, we could get temporary custody of her, and later we could adopt her. I can't just send her away, poor baby. I'm sorry, I just can't."
Derek looked at his fiancée and the little girl in her arms. "You can make this all happen, right?"
She nodded.
Derek thought in maddening silence, then he smiled. "You get to tell Mom. Not me. She likes you. I might get eaten."
"Why? Fran gets a beautiful grandbaby out of this."
He kissed her head, and then Bethany's. "Penelope, this is probably the oddest relationship in the Bureau, you know? We haven't been on our first official date, and we're going to adopt a baby."
Garcia sighed hugely. "Thank you, Derek."
"We need witnesses."
"Just bring all of them," she indicated the team. "If we leave anyone out I'll have to smooth it all over. Just tell them to all get into the SUVs and follow us to City Hall. Since it's open now, anyway."
"God, it's seven AM? I didn't even sleep last night."
"Me either. Go on, get them."
Bethany stirred. "Ma," she murmured in her sleep.
"Here, honey. Sleep," Garcia smiled at her new daughter.
"You're going to hack into something, aren't you?"
"Absolutely. You think I'm going to let some snotty child protective services woman turn her nose up at us and write little notes? Between me and Rossi, we'll have this sewed up by Thursday."
"Probably," Rossi walked up, looking just a little frazzled. "What am I helping with?"
"Derek and I adopting Bethany."
"Don't you have to be married for that, in Virginia? Wait, are we going to City Hall?"
Rossi smiled at Garcia and she returned it. "Shut up, Dave," she told him, blushing.
"When did this happen? And am I hearing about it before your girlfriends?"
"After I talked to you and JJ about the nursery, and yes. So shut up, Dave."
He nodded. "I have a very expensive, very good lawyer on retainer. I'll get everyone and we'll go."
Rossi left. Derek looked from his soon-to-be-wife to the Italian's retreating back. "You two are a scary combination."
"We know," she shifted Bethany closer. "Didn't you? Between the two of us, we run the whole wide world."
. . . . . . . . . . .
It was a tired but happy troop that marched out to the SUVs. JJ and Emily had picked some of the mums and pansies growing around the police station to make a little bouquet for Garcia, and another for a now-awake Bethany, who pressed them into her palms where they would wilt from sweat.
The ceremony at City Hall was quick. Rossi and JJ signed as witnesses, and once they were done, Garcia got out her laptop and did things of a questionable nature to the legal system, while Rossi made a phone call to his lawyer and gave him names.
Hotch, being in charge, took everyone to Waffle House to celebrate.
Bethany sat between Derek and Penelope, wide-eyed. "Pancakes?"
"What's your favorite kind, Princess?" Derek asked.
"Choc'ate chip."
"With whipped cream?"
Bethany nodded. "Lots."
Garcia cut up the pancakes for her, while Derek talked her into drinking some of her milk. Rossi raised a toast with his coffee "To the Morgans, God help us all."
Garcia kicked him under the table, smiling sweetly. He yelped and rubbed his shin.
It was Reid who brought up living arrangements. "Do either of you have room?"
"I've got some properties, good houses I fix up," Derek said. "We can move into one of those and get out of our apartments. Course, all of us get to be at Penelope's for awhile."
"Bethany, do you like dogs?" Hotch asked. Bethany nodded seriously. "Good. Derek has a dog."
"Good dog?" Bethany asked.
"Very," Hotch promised.
Bethany nodded and scooped up more pancake and cream, getting it all over her nose and face.
Behind her shoulders, Derek and Garcia had there arms mixed up like octopus legs. They smiled over her head. She thought about names. Penelope Garcia Morgan. Bethany Morgan. The Morgans, with a nice little house where they had kids and a dog. And their day jobs as scum-ass-kickers supreme.
Of course, it would be awhile before Bethany was okay, and there would be other cases, and they wouldn't always want to like each other. There would be fights, challenges.
But they were okay.
Author's Note: Do I end it here? Or keep going with the story? There is still telling Fran, and Thanksgiving, JJ's baby, getting Emily more then one date with Lynch (sorry, my evil mind at work), and getting Hotch a friend. This is all Season 4 spoilers, BTW. I haven't included much of season 5 because I haven't see all of it yet!