On The Job

Chapter Four

May 2010

"Baby girl?" Derek called out as he tried to open the door to their room but it seemed to be jammed closed. He didn't want to force it and cause the door to break.

He heard noise inside of the room and then the door opened. She stood there in her pajamas with her hair in pigtails, looking very worn down. Not saying a word to him she moved back into the room.

Walking in he said "I just need to grab some socks and my jacket. We're meeting with the cops to give them our profile." Derek took out the socks. He sat on the end of the bed to put them on and then put back on his shoes. He let out a long breath as his eyes met Penelope's. "I'm sorry I snapped at you when I first got outside but, Penelope, you can't do stuff like that. You can't run into dangerous situations. Baby, you don't have a gun. You have no way to protect yourself."

"I wasn't thinking about myself. That man needed help and I was the only one there. He needed me. I won't apologize for helping a fellow human being who was in trouble, Derek."

In a grave tone he said "I can not see you hurt again. I can not lose you. I don't want you ever running straight into danger again, you feel me?"

"Yeah, I do, but I'd do it all the same again. That moment wasn't about me. It was about reaching out to someone who needed me. I will always do that. The moment I stop is when I lose what makes me me."

"When I heard you screaming for help," his eyes broke away from her. Derek looked down and let out a breath.

Penelope sat next to him and rubbed his arm. "I'm sorry I scared you."

Cupping her face he said "Do you understand, woman, that if anything happened to you I couldn't go on without you? You don't wanna run from danger for your own sake? Do it for mine then. I am so proud of you for being brave and selfless but, when it comes to stuff like tonight, next time please just be a chicken and call me. I will come right away, no matter where I am, and help you."

"That's a deal."

Waggling his head at her he said "Thank you very much." He kissed her forehead. "I need to catch up with everyone at the station. But you should be safe here, baby. There's a cop in the hallway, just in case."

"But the police force is so small and you guys need all of them to look for this bastard."

"Hard head, don't tell me how to do my job." He gave her a loving grin as he headed for the door.

She watched him leave and then lay back down, holding the pillow again and staring out the window at the sun that was just starting to rise in the Alaskan sky.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Penelope knew she couldn't hide away in the room all day. The hours had passed and she had no luck sleeping. Finally she rose, showered, dressed and went downstairs to fire up her laptop again and do what she could to help her family catch this unsub.

Then she could get the hell out of Alaska. It was undeniably beautiful and maybe she would like to come back someday to a different area for a visit but she was more than ready to bid adieu to Franklin. Just stepping outside the inn brought back the memories of that man dying in her arms, and that brought back the memory of her laying on the ground in front of her apartment bleeding.

The years had made her stronger than she was back then. It wasn't until today that she knew how truly strong she had became though. Her stubborn will did not let her down or allow her to cower and hide.

Downstairs she found Reid, Emily and JJ all working together to do her job without much luck. That made her smile a little.

There was truly only one Oracle. Could the BAU do without her? She hadn't transferred to a less stressful unit before cause she didn't want to leave her family but only now did her eyes truly open all the way and she saw that it wasn't just talk when they said her skills were needed.

She was a vital part of this team. Their tech kitten couldn't let them down, no matter how much her heart hurt over seeing a stranger die only hours before. She got back down to work with as much cheer as she could muster.

This would not break Penelope. She was way too strong now to let anything like this steal away her will to fight darkness and catch bad guys.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

By that night the mood of the team was vastly improved. They had caught their unsub and would head home in the morning. They all gathered at a local restaurant for dinner. While everyone was sitting around afterwards, drinking coffee and having pie, Derek noticed how exhausted Penelope looked.

He took a moment to sneak a long look at her. His baby girl was so tired and still very sad. He needed to take care of her tonight. To get her through this the best he could. "Guys, I'm wiped out. Me and Garcia are gonna head back to the inn. You ready, sweetheart?"

"More than ready to have a soft bed under my head and your hard body next to me. Whisk me away with your magic carpet, my handsome prince."

Rossi joked "His magic carpet? So that's their nickname for his-"

Hotch gave him a stern look. "Dave."

Rossi chuckled. "You know you were thinking the same thing."

"I most certainly was not," Hotch said, with the smallest of smiles on his lips before he looked at Penelope and Derek, who had stood up.

Derek was slipping Penelope's coat on her.

Hotch added "Get some rest, both of you, and that's an order."

Emily joked "Morgan, there goes your best chance to get with her. You've been ordered to stand down. Sucks for you."

"Prentiss," Derek said, rolling his eyes. He placed his hand on Penelope's back "Lets get you to bed, baby girl. You earned a break."

Penelope flirted with him "Did I earn a reward too?" For a moment her eyes flared with lust.

Derek chuckled and shook his head at her before leading her outside and into one of the borrowed SUVs.

XXXXXXXXX

After they were back in the room, and had stripped off their coats, Derek went in the bathroom. Penelope could hear the water start. But the bathroom door was open.

She smirked. In a teasing tone she called out "Oh, are you going to cheer me up with a free peep show? Let me call room service for some popcorn first."

Coming out of the bathroom he wore a small grin. "Silly girl, I'm drawing you a bath. You need to relax before bed, woman. Soak your troubles away."

Her face showed that she thought his gesture was very sweet. One hand covered her heart. "Derek Morgan, you are a prince among mere peasants. How did I get so lucky to have you as my best friend?"

With a grin on his lips he teased "I'm pretty sure it has something to do with your sexy motor mouth."

She chuckled. Penelope got out her pajamas, and a book to read, and then headed for the bathroom.

Derek waggled his head at her. "Enjoy, Red Delicious."

At the bathroom door she looked back at him. "You know I would enjoy it so much more if your chocolate God body were my bath toy."

Derek laughed. Penelope went into the bathroom and closed the door.