Lankershim Institute – Morning –

Reid had managed to call in a favor from an old Caltech friend to help with Emily's deprogramming. She'd readily agreed to go for however long it took to get better and to get her life back. The nearly two hour drive was relatively quiet and Emily was happy that Reid didn't insist on engaging in idle chatter; she was having enough trouble keeping her nerves calm as her mind seemed muddled with so many thoughts of the past months that had somehow caused her life to spin out of control. She was happy that Reid had agreed to come and stay and work with the doctors on untangling the mess that was her mind; he explained it as being another fascinating field of study that he could add to his already long resume. She knew he was doing it because he wanted to make sure she got better; that's what family did and he and the rest of the team had promised that that would never change.

The SUV turned down a quiet tree-lined private road that was just wide enough for one vehicle to travel and he assumed traffic was not an issue for the small private facility. The intercom buzzed and the gate opened after Reid introduced himself. As they pulled through the large wrought iron gate Emily shot an apprehensive look at her friend who smiled in return without taking his eyes off the road.

"It's going to be okay Emily, you'll see."

"I hope you're right."

Without another word the journey continued towards the main building about a half-mile in front of them. The lush grounds seemed peaceful with large trees and tropical foliage lining the perimeter. Several small man-made ponds sprinkled the property and Emily secretly picked one as her future spot of solitude. Reid pulled into a parking spot and hopped out of the car. Reluctantly, Emily did so too and met Reid near the rear of the SUV as he pulled out their bags. Both exhaled and turned heading up the walkway toward the old two-story brick building.

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Potomac General Hospital –

Derek had just begun to stir when Penelope walked into his room with two large cups of coffee from the corner deli. Their smiles met and silently said, "hello". It was early but they'd both managed to get some decent sleep the night before. Both of them had been exhausted from the events of the day before and the memory of the nurse and Emily vying for the chance to kill Derek still seemed to be a bright stain on their memories but with Emily away at the Lankershim Institute and Clyde and Strauss' Criminal Network in shambles they finally felt hopeful that their lives had a chance of returning to normalcy.

Penelope handed Derek a cup and kissed him lightly on the lips as she took her seat next to his bed. Just as she got comfortable the door opened and Dr. Amundson stepped into the room.

"Good Morning! How's our patient this morning?"

"Ready to go home, Doc." Morgan answered quickly.

"Well if you continue to improve then I don't see any problems with you being released tomorrow."

"Come on doctor, I feel fine!"

"Handsome, the doctor knows best."

"Thank you." He said shooting a smile at Garcia. "I'm releasing you tomorrow but you've got to take it easy for at least two weeks then light duty after that."

Morgan leaned back on the pillows defeated as the doctor checked his monitors and then his vitals. Garcia knew he was going to be in a foul mood for the rest of the day but she was just glad he was going to recover.

"Thank you, Doctor Amundson." Penelope responded.

"You're quite welcome."

As soon as the doctor left and the door closed she saw him getting ready to protest and with a soft placement of her index finger on his lips she silenced him.

"Shh…not a word Derek Morgan!"

"But Ba-"

"Not a word!"

He surrendered looking into her eyes and relaxing against the bed.

"I almost lost you and I won't let you do anything to jeopardize your recovery, am I clear?"

There was no arguing with her right now they'd both almost lost each other and even now he couldn't believe either of them were alive. He pulled her down and kissed her passionately until the need to breathe interrupted them.

"I love you, Penelope Garcia!"

"I love you too, Derek Morgan."

"I was afraid that I wouldn't get there in time and Easter would…"

"Let's not talk about that right now, okay?"

"Yeah."

He shifted and made room for her to join him on the bed and she carefully stretched out next to him and he wrapped his arm tightly around her. For the next few minutes it was quiet except for the muffled busy noises of the hospital on the other side of the door.

"What about Emily?"

"Spencer took her to Lankershim."

"Wow! You've got to be a damn world leader to get in that place!"

"Yeah well, our boy genius called in a favor."

"I'm impressed. Emily deserves the best…"

"I can't imagine going through what she's been through."

"I hear you."

"Reid's going to stay for a while to work with the doctors on her deprogramming."

"Good. I'm glad one of us is with her."

Then it was quiet again as Derek deep in thought began to run his fingers through her hair. There was something about the truth that always demanded an audience and he foolishly thought he could ignore his truths but he couldn't. He should have learned that when he'd tried hiding his past with Carl Buford Now once again truth was making demands for attention and the closet door was threatening to break at its hinges and spill his secrets all over his present reality. After all, it was a part of his reality too and it was refusing to be ignored or locked away any longer. Denial and silence had proven a poor defense against those things that would unexpectantly and inconveniently show up unannounced at our doorsteps. This was one of those times and he heard the persistent knocking and he could foresee the consequences if he didn't open his mouth and let truth have its day.

What would it mean to all that he'd finally gained with Penelope? He'd watched her in and out of serious relationships and he felt his heart break each time; he couldn't lose her and living without her now was not an acceptable option for him but he loved her too much to not share with her his truth…all of it and pray she would still love him and understand. He promised her that he would never hurt her never lie to her and so as they lay in each other's arms he felt a surge of panic race through his body and he closed his eyes but he was too late to stop the lone tear that had escaped and was now running down his face.

Penelope felt his breathing change and his heart beat speed up. Panicked she lifted her head from his chest and turned to look at him. Something was wrong she could see the pain in his eyes…and the tears…

"Baby, what's wrong?"

Lankershim Institute – Afternoon –

The morning had been consumed with tests after tests and finally Emily was free to get settled into her room that would be home for the next several weeks. The room was spotless but the sparse décor did nothing to make her want to stay and perhaps that was the point. At least Reid was there too even though he was in another building set aside for staff but it was good to know that if she needed him he was just a call away.

Being a call away…her mind flashed back to JJ and Will's wedding when she revealed to Morgan that she'd been offered the job in London. She tried to pretend that she didn't see the disappointment in his eyes. She remembered trying to explain and weakly telling him that she loved him knowing that he wouldn't get her real meaning. Still, she waited desperately hoping he'd try to change her mind and ask her to stay but he didn't. Her feelings had begun to change toward him over that last year and she'd fought hard to deny them and control them but it was hopeless. She'd come to lean heavily on him and felt herself letting down her wall around him but these feelings were too much and too dangerous.

She knew he loved Penelope with his whole heart even though he hadn't admitted it even to himself but it didn't change what she wanted from him. Maybe it was the wedding of two close friends that had sent her spiraling out of control…that and the wine, lots of wine, too much wine. Rossi's home was beautiful and the atmosphere conjured unrealistic feelings of fairytales and knights-in-shining armor. Then there he was standing in front of her waiting for an explanation for not buying the DC apartment. He was one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen and that wasn't the wine talking. Dancing in his arms for a moment felt like heaven and she wasn't ready for the evening to end.

She was feeling lost and homesick already. He'd offered to take her home in fact he had insisted she was in no shape to drive. No one had seen them leave together and it was for the best…no questions from nosey co-workers and profilers were the worst, luckily they'd been able to keep the details of their evening a secret from them and she was grateful that Derek was a gentleman and he'd never kiss and tell. Still she couldn't shake the feeling that there was a dark shadow looming over her waiting to pounce and even if and when she regained full control of her mind, that shadow would still prove a threat not only to her but to Derek and Penelope as well.

There was one annoying thing about the truth…it was so damn inconvenient.