Part twenty-five:

Kitty bounced into the living room, shrieking, "Mommy, we're going to the zoo tomorrow – Mr. Gregson said it's called a field trip!"

"Katherine," Penelope said warningly, "stop yelling."

Kitty reacted as if she'd been slapped, immediately sinking into the recliner and warily eyeing her mother. "Who's that?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Be nice," Penelope warned. "This is my brother – your Uncle Devon."

"I don't have no uncle," Kitty said. "I've just got Auntie Sarah and Auntie Desi."

Rose swung into the room on her crutches and grunted, "Up, Kit-Kat – I need to get off my feet."

"I don't wanna," Kitty retorted. "You find another place to sit."

"Don't make me whack your butt with my crutches," Rose growled. Kitty flew from the chair and sat on the floor, watching Devon suspiciously, as her sister collapsed. "Mom, please tell me you still have painkillers – I lost my balance and fell down half a flight of stairs between fourth and fifth period."

"Yeah, I'll go get them," Penelope said, getting up and leaving the room. She ran into Jess and James making a snack in the kitchen under the watchful eye of Rossi. "Okay, you two, you're being awfully quiet –"

"Uncle Rossi said you've got company," Jess said. "We're trying to stay out of the way."

"He's staying for dinner," Penelope said. "So you might as well come in and introduce yourselves."

James made a face. "No thanks, Mom," he said. "I've got pre-algebra homework."

Penelope retrieved the painkillers from the top shelf and sighed. "Okay, but –"

"Who is he, anyway?" Jess asked, her curiosity clearly getting the better of her.

"My brother," Penelope said softly. "I haven't seen him since Eva was two and a half."

"Wow," James said. "That's a really long time – is he a butthole or what? Do I need to hurt him, Mom?"

Penelope bit back a laugh. "Honey, trust me – you don't need to hurt him. He's a lawyer. He'll hurt himself."

Rossi cleared his throat. "So, what does everyone think about lasagna tonight?"

"Make it cheese and we've got a deal," Jess said with a grin. "Can I help?"

"Sure thing, kiddo," Rossi said.

Penelope left them devising a grocery list as she grabbed a bottle of water and brought the pills out to Rose. "Uncle Devon was just regaling Kitty with a tale of going on safari in Kenya last winter," Rose said dryly. "Kitty thinks he's the coolest person alive now because he was dumb enough to get close to a lion."

Penelope glanced over at Devon. "Did you really go to Kenya?" she asked.

"Yeah," Devon replied, shrugging. "Seemed like a good idea at the time." He held up his hand. "That's how I got these – I got bit by a warthog."

"What's a warthog?" Kitty asked.

"Puumbah," Rose replied.

Kitty gasped. "Puumbah bit you?" she asked, horrified. "What about Timone – didn't he stop Puumbah?"

"Because animals don't talk, stupid," Rose sighed, closing her eyes and waiting for the painkillers to kick in. "Mom, can you wake me up when dinner's ready?"

"Of course," Penelope replied, giving her a kiss. "You just rest and relax."

Kitty was looking up at Davon with wide eyes. "Are you going back to Kenya?" she asked.

"Not any time soon," Devon said. "But I'm going to London next week."

"Where's that?" Kitty asked.

"That's where Aunt Emily lives," Rose mumbled.

"Oh," Kitty said. "I've never met Aunt Emily. Mommy just tells stories about her – but she never talked about you, Uncle Devon."

Devon gave Penelope a telling look, but she merely shrugged and settled back onto the couch. "What can I say?" she said mildly. "You never exactly came up in the course of conversation. There wasn't a point in telling my kids about family they'd never meet."

"Kit-Kat," Rossi called, "do you want to go to the store with Jess and me? We need help picking ice cream."

Kitty took off like a shot, pausing only long enough to give Penelope a kiss. "Bye, Mommy," she said cheerfully.

"So you didn't even tell Eva about your family?" Devon asked.

"Don't make me out to be a monster," Penelope said. "I did what I had to do to keep my family safe, all right? You got my name changed and we hid."

"Not too well if you got caught by the Feds," Devon growled.

She sighed and nodded. "No, you're right – hacking for hire could have gotten me into even more trouble than I already was in. Especially when Kevin found us."

Devon's fists clenched. "I can't believe you got neck deep with that man in the first place – we would gladly have welcomed you back at any time, Penelope –"

"Enough," she said warningly, shooting a look at Rose. "The point being that that part of my life is over now. For good. Kevin is dead – and so help me, if you look down your nose at Derek like you did Kevin, I won't be held responsible for my actions. You're my big brother, but I can deal with my own decisions. I don't need you holding my hand."

"Someone needs to hold your hand –"

"I have a husband for that," she said. "And he does a damn good job of it."

The front door slammed. "Baby, Hotch sent me home early – "

"Speaking of the devil," she said, heading to the foyer. "Hey," she said, stopping short when she saw the armload of roses. "Derek, what's all this?"

He grinned and said, "Me showing my wife how happy I am that she married me. Now come here and give Daddy a little sugar."

"You're insane," she whispered, coming closer and fingering the roses. "I'm as big as a house and we have a house full of kids and you still love me?"

"Always," he murmured, giving her a tender, lingering kiss. "Now, I'm going to go put these in water – where is everyone?"

"Rossi, Jess, and Kitty went to the store," Penelope said, "James is upstairs working on his homework, and Rosie is taking a nap. And – Hot Stuff?"

"Yeah?"

"My brother decided to stop by," she said very quickly.

"The lawyer brother?" he asked as they went into the kitchen to get a vase.

"Yeah," she said.

"What does he want?" Derek inquired. "He couldn't even be bothered to show up when you needed him, so why show up now?"

Penelope waited till he was done arranging the roses before she said, "I don't know, really. He's just… here. And he's staying for dinner."

Derek's fists clenched. "From what you told me –"

"Baby," she said softly, "he's the only brother I have left who will even talk to me. John and Michael – my step-brothers – god knows they hate me almost as much as I hated them. Michael used to push me around at school in front of everyone just to prove he was superior. Okay? That's what my life was like. John and Michael would fuck me up and Devon would pick up the pieces for Charlie and me." She shook her head and tried to force back her tears. "But Charlie rejecting me? Fuck, that hurts, Derek. You don't have any idea. I just – I want my family back, even as fucked up as we were."

"Fine," he muttered, "but if that asshole so much as –"

"I'll shoot him myself," she assured him. "Come on… time to meet the in-laws."

"You're late," Penelope said as Eva rushed in.

"Sorry, I was looking at a place," Eva said, kissing her mom on the top of the head as she flung her purse across the way and slid into her seat at the table, oblivious to the stranger across the table from her. "It's not far from school and the rent is reasonable, I think, but I want you and Daddy to look at it, too."

"Evie," Kitty said, "Uncle Devon went to Kenya and saw lions and got bitten by a Puumbah."

Eva's brow furrowed. "What?"

Rossi passed her a plate of lasagna and a bowl of salad, gesturing at the man at the head of the table.

Eva jumped. "Holy crap," she said.

"Dev, Eva, Eva, Devon Davenport," Penelope said. "My brother."

Eva blinked, then turned toward her mother. "But your last name was Garcia –"

"After the FBI arrested me and changed my identity," Penelope said. "Yes, it was Garcia."

Jess and James were looking back and forth like it was a tennis match.

Eva glanced back at Devon. "Hi," she said. Her face changed, then she added, "I remember you. A little. You had all those books – and dolls."

"You were just a little thing then," Devon said with a smile. "Doesn't she look like Mom?"

"Yes," Penelope agreed. "Now, can we get off this trip down Memory Lane – I want to hear about this apartment, missy."

Eva said, "It's a studio, but it's big enough for me and Henry – when he transfers, I mean."

"Studio apartments aren't fun," Derek said. "You'll get too close and tempers will flare because there's nowhere else to go."

Eva shrugged. "There's always his parents' place – and here," she said. "I don't mind sleeping on the couch."

"Uncle Rossi sleeps on the couch," Kitty reminded her.

"You need to be looking for at least a one-bedroom," Derek said.

Eva sighed. "Okay, well, I'm going to be making peanuts, Dad – so you find something in my budget in the city that suits you. Good luck. Because this is the best I've come up with." She stabbed her salad viciously.

"Okay," Devon said. "Maybe this wasn't a good night to stay for dinner –"

"Every night is like this," Rose said unhelpfully. "Wait till the twins get started."

Devon paused, then smiled. "I remember another pair of hell-raising twins –"

Penelope pointed her fork at him. "Shut up," she said very quietly. She pushed back from the table abruptly and got up to leave, but got stuck. She had to get help from Derek so she could go outside and escape.

Truth told, the betrayal of her twin brother had always hurt the worst. And as she wandered the neighborhood in the dark, her heart hurt more and more. She'd always feared the worst, that he'd gone off and gotten himself killed. Charles Davenport had always been the brash, fearless one. The night after their mother and step-father had died, he'd disappeared into the night. And ever since, she'd been lost. He'd been the one she'd been able to turn to, and without him, she was alone.

But she wasn't alone anymore. She had her family, the kids, Derek, everything she'd built up for herself out of blood, sweat, and tears.

She didn't need him anymore.

But some small, tiny part of her wanted him anyway.

A car pulled up alongside her and the window rolled down. "Penny," Devon said, "Derek said you'd be out here walking and that I should come get you when you're tired."

"I'm always tired," Penelope said. "Why are you here, Devon? I mean, really. You didn't just 'find' me, did you – you've known where I was for a while. You've been keeping your distance so you don't spook me too badly because I'm in the FBI and I have a gun. Right? Penny's not a pushover anymore."

Devon sighed. "Just get in the car and tell me how to get to the nearest coffee shop, will you? It doesn't even have to be Starbucks."

"What, you can't deal with my family?" she asked sarcastically.

"I need to talk to you alone," he snapped.

She hesitated a moment, then rounded the nose of the car and climbed into the passenger seat. "I have no wallet, no ID, no gun – so if you're going to off me, at least be decent and make it quick," she muttered. "And dump me in the park. I like to watch the ducks."

"I'm not going to kill you," Devon sighed. "I'm going to ask you for help. But with your kids looking at me like a fresh piece of meat and your husband sharpening his knife under the table, it wasn't going to happen at dinner."

"But you're admitting that you've known where I was for a while," she said quietly. "Go to the light, then hang a right, and a left, and it's a Starbucks."

"I've known where you were for about a year," Devon said quietly. "I didn't want to spook you."

"So, just… showing up on my doorstep was just a bonus?" she asked.

"Penny," he said very quietly, "I've been looking for you for so long that I just want to stop and enjoy having you around, okay? I even moved my practice to New York so I could be closer if I ever got the courage to come down and knock on your door. This wasn't just a passing thing, kiddo. You're my little sister and I'd move heaven and earth to protect you."

"I have a husband for that," she reminded him. "And a gun of my own."

Devon sighed. "Okay, fine – I can't find Charlie," he said. "I've been looking and –"

Penelope went quiet, fidgeting as they pulled into the parking lot and parked. "After this long, he's probably dead," she finally said. "He didn't have any street smarts. Neither did I – look what I got myself into." She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "If he wanted to be found, Devon, he would have come home. Okay? It's that simple. So stop looking."

Devon reached out and took her hand. "Penelope, I came to you for help because you work for an elite team of profilers – you solve missing persons cases years after the fact –"

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I didn't want to be found," she said quietly. "Ever. Not by you, and not by the others."

"Tough shit, princess," Devon said. "We don't always get what we want. Come on – let's get you something to drink."

Ten minutes later, they were holed up on a couch in the corner. "Haven't you ever wondered what happened to him?" Devon asked as he sipped his coffee.

"I'm scared to find out," she replied. "Life is hard, Devon – but you're too busy going to Kenya to really find that out."

"That's not fair, Penelope."

"Life isn't fair," she snapped. "I have a hard time letting my husband love me because my ex hurt me so deeply that I wanted to kill myself. I did – Kevin made me suicidal. And Derek and the kids pull me back from the edge every day. I don't want to think about what pain Charlie has endured out there – if he's even still alive. Because god knows I don't know anything anymore. Why do you think I was on drugs? I wanted to stop feeling things, Dev. I hurt so fucking much, I just wanted it to stop. I know you all blamed me for it – especially Charlie. Why would he want to see me now? Even if I could find him, why would I want to open those wounds again?"

"Because he's your family."

"My family," she spat, "is sitting back in my house, wondering why I'm so damn upset. They're wondering why I never told them about you. Everything I've built is suddenly crumbling because of you – why do you want to find Charlie?"

"Because Dad's estate is split between you two," Devon sighed. "He seemed to think you both were alive and kicking somewhere – and made me write it out. I didn't want his money – I earn my own. But… you two. You need it. And him? I don't know."

"So you want an address or a death certificate, so you can be done with the will?" she asked. "That's it – that's what you want?"

"I want to be able to call my brother and my sister and say, hey, wanna have Thanksgiving at mine this year?" Devon said quietly. "I want to be proud of my nieces and nephew – nephews? – when they do something excellently. God, Penny, I'm not some cold heartless bastard."

She inhaled heavily, then exhaled a sigh that shook her to the soul. "No, you aren't a heartless bastard," she agreed. "I've known a few too many of them in my time," she reminded him. "I don't know how long it will take – "

"I don't care how long it takes," Devon said. "Just that you find him, one way or the other."

She nodded and closed her eyes. "I'll do it – for Mom and Dad," she whispered. "Because I miss the hell out of them… and they never knew, did they? That I had the best family –"

"Dad knew. I told him about you when I found you," Devon confessed. "But he was sick and all that mattered to him was that you were still alive."

"It was my fault that Mom and Roger died," Penelope said quietly. "Mine and no one else's."

"That isn't true, Penny –"

"I skipped curfew, and it wasn't even for anything good – I was just studying with Marcy…" Penelope sighed. "It's my fault that they had to go out in the first place."

"You weren't the guy who got plastered and ran a red light," Devon said, sighing. "So stop it. Maybe, yes, you were the reason they went out, but you weren't the reason they died. Stop punishing yourself. Okay?"

She smiled sadly at him. "Easier said than done – I have many government-issued therapists, and no one's ever said that to me. They just write things down and tell me that my issues are deep-seated in the fear of horrific rejections – which is laughable, because I'm the one doing the rejecting. I just… I've felt so much guilt for so long that it's become a part of me now, Devon. The few things that are constant in my life are that Kevin was a murderer and an asshole and that I contributed a major factor in Mom and Roger getting killed."

The door to the coffee shop opened and Derek walked over, looking worried. "Baby, please tell me that's not your usual caffeine fest –"

"No, it's just caramel cider," she assured him. "How did you know we'd be here?"

"I just assumed," Derek said, smiling wanly. "This is where you go when we fight. I figured you were upset and this seemed like the most logical place to start looking for you."

Devon looked between them and said, "You really did find a keeper, Penny."

She smiled over at him and said, "I did – thanks to you."

Devon nodded and said, "I'm going to try to catch the 9:15 train back to New York. Will you call me if you find anything – anything at all?"

Penelope nodded and Derek helped her to her feet. "I will," she promised. "Give my love to everyone, okay? I… I don't know if I'll ever be ready to see them. But I do love them – I never stopped loving all of you."

"I know," Devon said. "Mr. Morgan, will you please take care of my sister?"

Derek glared at him for a moment, still suspicious, then relaxed a little. "Of course," he grunted. "I always do."

She reached up and caressed his cheek. "Yes, you do," she murmured. "Did you bring the car? I'm not sure I can waddle my way home."

They were most of the way back to the house when her water broke. "We have a small problem," Penelope sighed.