Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters. Some "guest stars" are based on or named after people in my life while others are totally made up, as are some places and events

Chapter 37

"Your lawyer's here," the burly, sour-faced guard grumbled as he led the prisoner out of his cell. The prisoner rolled his eyes. He had detested every lawyer that had come in, from the public defender to the arrogant sleaze another inmate suggested.

The prisoner stopped in the doorway of the interview room. The petite blonde sitting at the table rose. They stared, each sizing the other one up, before a gentle push from the guard forced the prisoner forward. He slowly walked to the table and sat down.

"Mr. Jackson? I'm Alice Avery," the blonde introduced herself as she sat back down.

"How are you going to get me out on bail?" Grant asked bluntly as he shifted, trying to get comfortable on the hard stool.

Alice Avery laughed. "Bail?" She flipped through the file in front of her. "You have been charged with, among other things, the kidnapping and attempted murder of a federal agent! Do you actually think they are going to let you out of here?"

"What kind of lawyer are you?" Grant snapped. "Who speaks to their client like that?"

"I'm not here just for you, Grant Jackson, and I am not just any attorney. My full name is Alice Avery-Garcia. You may know my sister-in-law, Penelope." Alice grinned.

"What kind of game is this?" Grant snarled. "I could report you, you know."

"I assure you, this is no game. And I don't believe you'll breathe a word of our conversation to anyone because I'm here to help you get acquitted."

"Acquitted?" Grant laughed. "You want to get me off, even though the victim," he signaled quotation marks with his hands, "is your family?"

"She is not my family," Alice raised her voice. "She was never my family. She ruined my life and I want her to pay."

"What did she do to you?" Grant asked. His interests were perked but he was still distrustful.

Alice sighed. She knew she'd have to divulge everything in order for Jackson to trust her. She reached into the bag at her feet and withdrew a binder. She thrust it across the table to Grant. He flipped through the pages and looked up after the last page. He slid the binder back to Alice. "OK, I'm listening. What's your plan?"

"Are you ready?" Derek asked as he helped Penelope slip on a sweater over her hospital gown. He moved the blankets away while Nurse Jen placed a pillow on the seat and a second pillow on the raised footrest. At her nod of consent Derek picked Penelope up from the bed and eased her onto the wheelchair. Penelope grunted in pain when she shifted and put too much pressure on her pelvis. She shifted again and the pressure eased off. Nurse Jen raised the leg rest slightly and Penelope's broken leg was resting parallel to the ground. The nurse then took the IV bag and line and attached them to the wheelchair.

"You have physical therapy in forty-five minutes," Nurse Jen explained to Penelope. "You're going to go down there for your session this time. Someone will be here to show you down to the physical therapy wing in a little while."

"Can we just wander, then, until it's time to go?" Penelope asked hopefully.

"Sure. Just let me or the other nurses know if you all need any help. Don't forget your water," the friendly nurse said. She grabbed the lidded cup and tucked it into the chair next to Penelope's good leg.

"Where to, Baby Girl? Derek asked.

"I don't care, as long as it's out of this room."

"OK," he agreed. He wheeled her to the elevator and took her to the eighth floor.

"Wow, what a view!" Penelope gasped in awe as he pushed her into the sun room. The sky was mostly cloudy but the sun peaked out as Derek and Penelope approached the windows. She closed her eyes and tilted her face towards the sun. She basked in its warmth and sighed.

Derek gazed at Penelope. She looked radiant as the sun's rays made her skin glow and hair shine. He loved that it was the little things in life that made her happy and was pleased to see her relax without the help of pain medication.

"Can we just stay here until therapy?" she whispered.

"Sure."

"And can we come back after it's done?"

"I will take you wherever you wanna go, Baby Girl," he replied.

"I think we can send you home tomorrow," Dr. Davis announced later that afternoon. "You'll need to have physical therapy twice a week but that can be done on an outpatient basis. I've referred you to a doctor close to where you live and to an OB who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. No going back to work. The doctor in Virginia can give you a better timeline for returning to work and other activities once he evaluates you and sees how well you're healing."

"Thank you Jesus!" Penelope sighed as Derek picked her up and put her back into the bed after the doctor left. "Who are you texting?"

"Hotch," Derek answered. "He texted me when the doctor was talking. He said he needs to discuss the case with us."

"Have him bring everyone," she suggested. "We can tell them all the good news."

"Are you sure you're OK with staying with me and me taking time off?" he asked.

"I don't have a whole lot of choice, do I?" she said sadly. "I'm completely useless for awhile."

"You are not useless and I won't have you thinking like that. You need to heal and not rush things." He put his ear to her belly and smiled. "And you," he said to the baby, "don't give your mommy a hard time." He kissed the bump and sighed. It still amazed him that a child... his child... was right there and doing well.

"I'm trying not to be stubborn but I've been on my own for so long. It's hard to accept I can't do even the basics of taking care of myself. Not to mention frustrating . I know it's only going to be worse when we go home."

"I know, Baby Girl. I'm honored that you've let me help you."

"Derek, you don't understand. You're the only person I'd ever allow to help me like this. I love you and trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone. I don't like the others seeing me so... helpless. I hated it when I got shot and I really, really hate it now.

"They don't care, Sweetheart. They love you and they're just glad you're going to be OK. They want to help you, too."

"I'm just not ready. Maybe, after we get home and settled in..." She was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Derek kissed her and got up to answer the knock. He grinned and let the visitor in. "Surprise!" Reid called as he walked in the room. He was holding up a styrofoam cup with a straw.

"Is that for me?" Penelope asked.

"Of course," Reid replied.

"Oh, Spencer Reid, you DO love me!" Penelope grinned when she saw that it was a chocolate shake. "This is almost as good as Patty's," she sighed as she slurped the ice cream. Derek smiled as she allowed Reid to hold the cup for her.

"Guess what!" Penelope said as everyone else filed into the room a few minutes later. "I'm getting out of here tomorrow!"

"That's great, Pen!" Emily exclaimed.

The team and Fran spoke and joked but Hotch looked serious after returning to the room. He had excused himself after his phone rang shortly after they arrived.

"What is it, Hotch?" Penelope asked.

"Penelope, we've been ordered to classify your case as inactive. There's been no threats made since you've been here and almost all the online threats have stopped," Hotch said.

"I see. I still don't remember everything but from what I understand you still think someone else was involved in the... attack." Penelope looked away.

"I'll still be with you, Baby Girl, when we go home, as long as you need me." Derek assured her.

"I'm scared," she whispered as her eyes welled up.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Hotch said unhappily.

"I'm still getting out of here tomorrow," Penelope sniffed and smiled.

"That's right," Fran said. "And you'll be able to get better quicker when you're at home."

A/N: This has not been a good week. I ended up not only smashing my hand but getting a nail driven through part of my index finger. I also had to get a tetanus shot because ironically my last one was 10 years ago last week. Two fingers are broken from the smash and they're on my dominant hand so writing is out and typing is taking forever. My other story is in the works but not sure when the next chapter will be done.

I want to clarify something. I don't have a beta. I do my own editing and I know it's not perfect but I try my best. I also do my best to write the dialogue the way the characters speak. My goal is for my readers to read the dialogue and think of the actors' voices as they read. However, I'm a country kid and sometimes that comes out because I really only have the TV as a reference as to how people from different regions speak.

Thanks for the support.

Xoxo,

Pita(not ambidextrous)Cake