I do not own Criminal Minds...Sadly
Curly-Melinda and Rascal-Kasey are from my imagination and so unfortunately is Topper-Henderson, Peterson and the evil Lucy.
Derek stood in the doorway of Kasey's quietly. He kept going over the story Penelope had told him about Kasey's foster parents. About all the abuse she had endured and about the childhood she was entitled to but was taken away from her. He knew that feeling all too well. Carl had robbed him of so many things. Some he was able to regain but others like his childhood you never got back. It hurt him to think about the things she had gone through. The emotion so strong inside him that tears were forming. He wiped his eyes dry and reminded himself that he needed to be strong for Penelope. He knew how she felt about Kasey and had to be supportive for her. He didn't have the heart to tell Penelope that Hotch had already spoken to Social Services and they had granted special permission for Kasey to stay one more night. With Topper under arrest and all the players in custody, there was no justifying Kasey's absence from the system. Hotch had made it very clear to him that he had pulled some strings but he was adamant that Kasey needed to be returned tomorrow.
Derek heard the front door open and quickly wiped his eyes again. Curly had come inside from saying good night to Reid and he knew she'd be headed to the room.
"Hey Derek, is Kasey alright?" she asked.
"Yeah, she's fine I was just watching her sleep" Derek answered.
"Where's Pen?" Curly said.
"She was going to shower, she's probably out by now" Derek said. "I'll get out of your way, I'm sure you want to go to sleep"
"It's OK I think I'm going to watch a little TV instead. I'm not very sleepy" Curly replied. "Besides, Reid said he'd call me when he got home so we could continue our conversation"
"Oh yeah? You and Reid hit it off huh?" Derek said smiling.
"He's a real nice guy, a little brainy for me but he's very sweet." Curly said with a smile so big her eyes twinkled.
"Yeah he's definitely one of the good ones. And if you EVER tell him I said that I'll deny it!" Derek said laughing.
Curly laughed. She couldn't help but think about how they all interacted. She'd witnessed a piece of that at the office. There was so much love and respect between all of them. It was genuine too! She'd never been a part of something like that. As individuals they were all incredible but together they were amazing! The sound of her cell phone brought her back to the moment and a smile appeared on her face confirming that the call was from Reid.
Curly pointed to the phone and walked back to the living room. Derek took one more look at Kasey and went to his room.
Penelope had just gotten out of the shower when Derek walked in.
"Mmm Mmm Mmm" Derek said.
"Hey sexy good timing. Will you rub this on me?" Penelope asked holding up the cream the paramedic had given her.
Derek grabbed the cream to rub it on Penelope's back and when she turned around he saw for the first time the evidence of the lashing Topper had given her. "Tell me if I hurt you baby" Derek said softly.
"Its OK angel, they don't hurt as much as you'd think." Penelope said.
"Hopefully the doctor will have something that will ease some the discomfort." He said.
"Do I really have to go to a doctor?" she said.
Derek raised an eyebrow and glared at Penelope. "Don't make me spank you."He said pretending to be mad.
"Ohhh now this is promising." She said winking at him.
Derek laughed. "Silly girl! You need to stay still so I can put this on. And yes, you're GOING tomorrow! Now let it rest!" he said
When he finished applying the cream he grabbed one of his T-shirts for her to wear. She put it on slowly then placing her hands on his face she reached up and kissed him."Thank you sweetness that didn't hurt at all." Penelope said.
Derek wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. "Baby, I'm so sorry he did this to you. I would have given anything for it to be me instead." He said.
She looked up at him and could see the pain in his eyes. She placed her hand on his face positioning her thumb over his lips. "Shhh all that matters is that it's over and we're together." She said.
"I swear baby girl he will never hurt you again" Derek said placing a strand of hair behind her ear with his finger.
"Thanks to you and the team. I have to admit I was scared but Kasey helped me realize it would be alright. She knew you were coming and she reassured me." Penelope said.
"Speaking of Kasey Baby" but before Derek could finish the sentence Penelope said "When do we have to call them?"
"Tomorrow." Derek said as his voice cracked.
"Why so soon? Can't we keep her until they find a home? Tomorrow is too soon! She said and she began to sob. She covered her face with both hands and Derek wrapped her in his arms. Her body shook as she sobbed uncontrollably. Derek rocked Penelope back and forth trying to console her.
"It's too soon, she needs time to heal, and she needs to feel loved. She's going to be so scared and alone." Penelope kept repeating this over and over crying so hard she was having difficulty breathing.
All Derek could do was hold her tight against his body. No words or actions would be able to take away her pain. For the second time that day he felt helpless. More than anything in the world he wanted to take the pain away from her, he wanted to make it all go away but he couldn't fix this. He placed kisses on her forehead and made soft shh'g sounds in his attempt to console her. He closed his eyes as the tears began to roll down his cheeks.