Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds...just the plot bunnies.

Okay, so here's the next chapter. I wanted to thank you all for your reviews...I'm glad you're all pissed at Derek. Trust me, I am too. This is just the direction my muse decided to take. More on Derek in this one and a return of an old enemy. ENJOY AND PLEASE REVIEW!

1 Week Later

Brad sat in his rental car outside Penelope's apartment building. He had been waiting for months for her to return and now she finally had. He wanted revenge. Brutal revenge. And he mostly wanted it against the man who had saved her, not once, but twice from him. Based on the way he had protected Penelope, he knew there was something more there. She may not have known who he was, but he certainly knew who she was.

There was the possibility that she would call the police, but no one came for him. She had taken his threat seriously. The fear she had displayed when he tried to kill her months before gave him a rush. It was exhilarating. The feeling was the same one as when he had rammed his car into Ashley's and before fleeing the scene before anyone could react. One might consider him a sociopath. He felt absolutely nothing. Except for maybe satisfaction.

He watched as Penelope exited the building, a worried expression on her face. She hurried to her car and started it, backing out of its parking spot and speeding down the street. He grinned maniacally and started his own engine, tailing her to wherever she may be headed.

XXXXX

"I don't care if he's upset!" Rossi shouted as he and the rest of the team were gathered in the kitchen one night. "He needs to go to DC and tell Penelope how he feels so this curse will be over! We've only got a week left!"

Emily rolled her eyes and muttered, "We all know that, Rossi. We've got a calendar telling us this." She gestured to the calendar stuck to the fridge that reminded them they only had one week left before Memorial Day.

"Shut up, Prentiss," he growled.

"Excuse me?" she snapped.

JJ went up behind them and knocked them both upside their heads. "Knock it off, both of you!" she said. "This is helping no one!"

"No...Morgan is helping no one," Prentiss said snootily. "He's just laying in bed when he should be breaking the curse!"

Reid shook his head. "Guys, I've been up to visit him...JJ has too," he said softly. I don't think this is a matter of being lazy. I think - I think he's really ill. I don't want to say it because it's not possible, but it might be from a broken heart. Maybe he -"

"Do you think the spell is draining his life?" Hotch asked gravely. "Would Strauss really kill him?"

"I don't know what it is, but the last time I saw him he looked God awful," he reported. "He was pale, sweaty, clammy. The lot of it. He's so weak he can't even lift a glass of water."

JJ paled. "Oh my God," she murmured. "Is he - is he dying?"

Reid was silent for a moment. "I - I don't know. It could just be a bug, but this seems different."

"We need to get Penelope here, right away," Prentiss said. "It may be the only thing we can do to fix this."

JJ nodded. "I'll call her."

Hotch started for the door to the grand entrance. "I'll go see Morgan," he said. "I want to check on his condition. Reid, will you come with me?"

Reid nodded. "Of course," he said hastily, going to follow him.

The two of them made it up the stairs and knocked on the door to Derek's room. A very hoarse "come in" was called out and Hotch and Reid exchanged worried glances. Hotch turned the door knob and opened it into the room. The whole room was dimly lit and they looked towards the bed where Derek was lying on the bed. He tried sitting up, but wasn't able to. "Hi guys," he said with a hoarse voice. "What's up?"

"We came to check on you," Reid said delicately. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a ton of bricks is weighing me down," he said. "Weak. Chilly. Feverish."

They went to his side. Reid sat in the chair and Hotch stood with his arms crossed. "What can we do?" Hotch asked. "Other than get you medicine."

"JJ already tried giving me food, water, and medicine," he said. "We should just face it...I'm not getting any better. It feels like I'm...not to sound cliche or anything, but like I'm dying. So I need you to do me a favor."

"No, no," Reid said with a vigorous shake of his head. "You'll be fine. So we don't have to do any favors for you because you'll be able to take care of it yourself."

Derek laughed. "Reid, you're wrong," he said. "So I need you to do two things for me. Tell my mother and my sisters that it will be okay and that I thought about them until the end. Then, I need you -" He coughed loudly and a small amount of blood dribbled down his chin. "Then I need you to tell Penelope that I love her. And I need you to tell her how much I did. Tell her everything that I didn't and that I was too scared to tell her." His face was dead serious. "I mean it, Reid. I want you to do that for me."

Seeing the severity of his condition and the plea in his eyes, Reid nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I'll do it."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he said sadly.

XXXXX

"Natasha?" Penelope said when she answered her phone. Her voice was desperate and she knew she sounded that way. But she didn't care. She wanted to know if anything had changed with Greyson. Next to her Ashley looked up at her and she mouthed, Everything okay? Penelope nodded. "What's going on?"

Natasha's voice was shaking as she spoke. "Penelope," she sniffled. "I - I don't know how to tell you this, but..." Her voice trailed off and she started to cry on the other side of the line.

Penelope's gut dropped and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, God, what is it?" she said with fright.

"It's Greyson," Natasha said. "He's very sick."

Tears filled Penelope's eyes and Ashley looked at her with wide eyes. "What is it?" she whispered, trying to find out what Penelope was hearing over the phone. "Is everything okay?"

Penelope held up her hand to quiet her and said, "Natasha, what is happening with him? Please tell me he's okay!"

"I can't tell you that," Natasha said. "I'm so sorry Penelope. He's really sick. You - you should come see him."

"I'm getting in the car in five minutes," Penelope said, tears filling her eyes. "I'll be there as fast as I can."

Natasha sighed. "Drive safely," she murmured before hanging up the phone.

"Sweetie, what's the matter?" Ashley demanded worriedly. "Is something wrong with Greyson?"

Penelope nodded dumbly. "He's sick," she said in a terrified voice. "Natasha said I need to come see him...which makes me think..." She couldn't even continue her sentence. The words would be too painful to even utter. "I have to go see him," she murmured, looking to her best friend. "Do you think you'll be okay here by yourself?"

"Absolutely," Ashely said firmly. "I'll be fine. Just go see him. Make him better."

Penelope looked at her gratefully and rose to her feet. She slid into her shoes and grabbed her keys, rushing out the door. "I'll call you on my way back."

"Stay safe, sweetie!" Ashley called as she headed out the door.

Swiftly, Penelope hurried down the stairs and rushed towards her car. She had to get to Greyson as quickly as possible. She would drive ninety miles an hour if she had to. By the way Natasha was talking it sounded like he was dying. The thought settled in her gut and she felt physically ill all of the sudden. What if he was dying? Unconsciously her eyes filled with tears and she hurriedly wiped them away. She unlocked her car and slid in, starting the engine without a moment's hesitation. Pulling out of her parking spot, she sped down the street, hoping to be at the mansion sooner than the normal time it took to get there.

Forty minutes later, after driving like a maniac over the highway, she pulled into the long driveway. A vicious rainstorm had begun to pour down and she cursed. Thunder and lightning. Not exactly the weather she wanted for such a terrible moment. As she was pulling up slowly, squinting through her windshield to see through the pounding droplets, her car was suddenly shaken viciously and she let out a scream. Another car that had turned its headlights off rammed into her and sent her spiraling off the driveway. She slammed on her brakes, but she couldn't stop her car from slamming into the tree in front of her.