Something Like a Star

by recollins

Aria DiMaggio hadn't planned on uprooting her life to move to Quantico, but those things just sort of happen when Jason Gideon sets his mind to something. Life as the BAU's intern is a whirlwind of chaos and crime, but with her unique set of skills and a fiery temper, Aria has no problem fitting in with the team, but no matter how far she goes she can't outrun her past. [ReidxOC]

22. Wildfire

Follows along with episode 3x09 - Penelope

---

A gentle hand settled on my shoulder, gently shaking me as a soft voice murmured,

"Aria? Aria, wake up…" With a grumble, I shook my head and burrowed deeper down against the warm, soft pillow I was curled against. The same voice chuckled and the hand tightened a hint. "Penelope's starting to wake up. Do you want to go and see her?"

Well that shoved the exhaustion straight out of me. Instantly I was blinking my eyes open, scrambling to right myself. It had apparently been JJ's lap I was dozing in; she gave me a warm smile as I stifled a yawn and stretched.

As I did so, something slipped down my shoulders and pooled on the couch beside me. Curious, I grabbed it and held it up, staring in surprise at Reid's sweater. Someone shuffled up to me and converse peeked into my vision.

"You looked cold, so I um…" he shrugged shyly as I held the sweater up to him. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, no. That's – that's really sweet. Thank you," I assured him with a small smile. He gave one back as I pushed to my feet, grimacing in the aches that blossomed through my body. "I'm way too old to be sleeping on couches."

Emily snorted beside me and gave a dubious look down at me. "You're in college. You are not old."

"My sore bones beg to differ," I informed her, all but hobbling after her and JJ down the hall. In my sleep-muddled state, it took nearly the whole walk to Penelope's room to realize we were missing one of our group.

The events of last night started to come back to me with each step, and dread filled me slowly as I recalled what had happened. My fight with Morgan, Reid's talk – the hug that brought a blush to my cheeks now – and then coming back to the break area.

Morgan had been talking with the girls, but as soon as he saw me he mumbled something and slipped off down the hall before Reid and I even reached them. They'd assured he was just clearing his head, but I didn't see him the rest of the night. Well, at least for the short time I'd managed to stay awake.

Despite insisting I wasn't absolutely exhausted, I didn't really remember anything after JJ had convinced me to sit with her. At least Hotch would be happy to know I did get a little rest in like he'd asked.

As we rounded the corner, I spotted Morgan already inside Pen's room, smiling down at her and talking softly. My steps slowed with apprehension, not having any idea how to handle the man that had refused to even look at me less than six hours ago.

Hearing us approach, both of them looked up and my eyes instantly met with my best friend's. She gave a watery laugh and instantly beckoned me to her. Tears instantly welled in my eyes and I rushed to her side, my hesitancy with Morgan instantly forgotten. Penny was more important than anything going on with he and I.

Carefully I leaned down, hugging Penelope delicately to me and giving a shaky laugh of relief to finally see her awake and alright. One of her hands reached up and feebly patted my arm as I pulled back; I pressed a soft kiss to her cheek as I stood.

Morgan came up on her other side as JJ stood beside me, wrapping an arm around my back to tuck me to her side as she reached out and gave Penelope's hand a squeeze. Reid and Emily smiled at her from the foot of the bed as she looked around at us all.

"No tears," she warned, catching the tremble of my lower lip. "I'm afraid if I start crying I'll come unstapled."

My best friend is stapled together. Stapled. Together. And it's all my fault.

"How're you feelin'?" Morgan asked her softly, and Penelope gave a heavy sigh.

"Confused, stupid, and in pain," she admitted, shaking her head just a hint. JJ shifted a little closer and asked,

"Are you up for some questions?"

Penelope nodded, swallowed hard, and then whispered, "I never saw it coming. He was just as deliciously normal and sweet as I'd thought he'd be."

My heart instantly plummeted straight to my stomach as her words registered. It had been him. It had been Chris. If Penelope hadn't been holding tight to me I probably would've bolted out of the room.

"You know him?" Reid pressed, and Penelope gave a small nod as she rolled her head to the side to look up at Morgan.

"You were right. I knew it, and I just – I hadn't wanted to believe it," she admitted, and the guilt tore straight through me, nearly pulling a sob out of me right there and then. JJ felt me tense and her arm tightened around me.

"So it washim," Morgan realized; I couldn't look up at him. I couldn't even look at Penelope.

"Wait, okay. Your date?" Emily clarified, and Penelope nodded again. "Who was your –"

"First-Floor Hottie," I managed, the words bitter in my mouth. Emily oh'd, completely taken aback, as JJ and Reid stirred in surprise at what I said. It only just now occurred to me that only Morgan, Emily, Penelope, and I had talked about this guy. Well, everyone else is about to get a crash-course on the murderous, chiseled Adonis hunk. And then they can all remind me how stupid I'd been to let Penelope near him, I thought bitterly to myself. I felt Morgan's eyes burning into me, but there was no way I could meet his gaze.

Penelope rolled her head to me now and she pulled her hand from JJ's to take hold of mine. I almost wanted to pull away; I didn't deserve her comforting me. It was my fault she was here.

"You got me all dolled up and it was wasted on him. I just wanted to believe he was actually interested in me."

"Penny –" I tried, and she gave an airy chuckle, shaking her head.

"I never should've let my guard down. And y'know? I'm so glad he wasn't your type," she joked softly, and more tears welled in my eyes. My best friend was stapled together, lying in a hospital bed having just narrowly avoided death, and she was relieved it had been her instead of me.

I did not deserve Penelope Garcia.

"Do you have any idea why he would've done this?" Reid asked her gently. "Did he threaten you? Did he want something?"

Penelope's lower lip trembled and she shrugged, then almost instantly winced at the movement. "I just – I thought he liked me…"

She sniffed and took a shaky breath, her face tight with distress. JJ cleared her throat, reaching out to pat her arm gently as she said, "Alright. I think it's time you got some more rest."

"We'll start digging," Emily assured, and her eyes flicked to me. "His name was Chris, right?"

"Christopher Michael Reynolds. He told me he worked in HR," I told her softly. Emily nodded, and she led Reid and JJ out into the hall. Morgan lingered, leaning down to kiss Penelope's cheek like I had. I felt his eyes on me again, but I still didn't look up.

Only once he started to leave did I begin to follow; Pen's hand in mine tightened, and I paused. "Aria? Could… could you stay? Just for a bit?"

My aching heart softened and I nodded instantly, moving back to her side again. Emily caught my eye and gave a quick nod before leading the others a little further out. My best friend smiled softly up at me when I turned back to her and I began,

"Penny, I'm so, so –"

A bang from the hallway made both of us jump, and Penelope winced as we both looked out into the hall. Morgan had his hands on his head, rigid back to us, breathing hard. There was a lingering mark on the wall from his hand and for a heartbeat I was back in Connor's apartment.

"You need to stay calm –" Reid began, pulling me back to the here-and-now. Morgan whirled on him just like he'd done to me last night.

"Don't tell me what to be," he snarled, and Penelope sighed heavily.

"You know, right when it happened… you two were the first people I thought about. Before I even hit the ground, I was all, there's no way I can die like this. If this jerk-wad kills me, those two are gonna drown themselves in guilt."

When I didn't answer – lips pressed tight to fight back the tears – Penny squeezed my hand. I shook my head and managed to choke out,

"Morgan's hunch was right. I should've listened to him too."

Penelope was quiet, her soft chocolate eyes blinking up at me slowly for a moment as she began slowly, "before Mr. Macho started punching walls, I know you weren't about to apologize. Because you know you have absolutely nothing to be sorry about, my sweet little honeybee."

"Pen, I all but pushed you out the door last night," I whispered; if I tried to talk any louder I was seriously gonna cry. "If I'd just listened to –"

"Aria, no. There was no way you could've known the First-Floor Hottie was a creepy, trigger-happy psycho. You did absolutely nothing wrong, my love," she promised me, squeezing my hand. She nodded out to the hallway and added, "it looks like they all need you right now. You know as much about this scumbag as I do, and you can help find him."

"I'm not leaving you –"

"I'll be just fine. Really. I'm probably just gonna sleep anyways. You go be the brilliant little mind-reader you are. And… do me a favor." When I raised my brows, she said softly, "don't you dare talk about me like a victim, and do not let yourself or Morgan blame yourselves. Okay?"

Fine. Morgan can blame me in my place, I reasoned as I gave her a nod. "Alright mama bear. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Alright, honeybunch. I love you."

"I love you too, Penny." I swooped and gave her a goodbye cheek-kiss before I slowly left the room, approaching Morgan and Reid reluctantly. Reid turned to me and he gave a gentle, encouraging nod to invite me forward.

"What did she say?" he asked, getting Morgan's attention. He turned and I stilled at Reid's side, eyes locked on the handsome, scruffy profiler instead.

"She doesn't want us talking about her like a victim. And…" I paused, looking over as Emily and JJ joined us. Finally, slowly, I looked up to meet Morgan's gaze. I couldn't read the expression in his eyes; he was shutting himself off from me. That hurt almost more than the anger. "And she doesn't want you blaming yourself for this."

Morgan looked away wordlessly as Emily and JJ shared a look, seeing right through my half-truth. JJ turned to me and started, "just Morgan? Is that all she –"

"Did you get his name to Hotch and Rossi?" I segued, getting a sigh from Emily and a pointed look from JJ. Seeing that I wasn't about to go back to the question she'd been trying to ask, she reluctantly told me,

"Yeah. I just called them. They said they'll get started on it. Emily and I are going to meet them now. Hotch asked if the three of you could stay here with Garcia, see what more you can find out." As we all nodded, JJ's gaze went back to me. "Aria, do you remember anything else about this guy?"

I quickly shook my head. "No. Nothing at all. He just – he let me in when I couldn't get to my badge. We introduced ourselves, and that was it. I mean, Penny looked him up but she didn't –"

"She was lookin' stuff up on him?" Morgan asked in surprise, concern and confusion flitting over his face, arms folding over his chest. "Like what?"

I shrunk just a hint under his unwavering stare. "Just – she just found little things. He was an Eagle Scout. He, um, he has a credit score of 780 –"

JJ rested a hand on my arm to gently cut off my nervous rambling. "Alright. That's great. You think on it, see if you can come up with anything that might help, and give Hotch a call if you do. Okay?"

"Okay," I promised softly, trying to return the smile she and Emily gave before heading down the hall. Morgan also started to back away, and Reid frowned after him.

"Where're you going?"

He held up his phone, already putting his back to us as he headed down the hall. "I'm callin' Hotch, figure he and Rossi can start lookin' into this guy while Prentiss and JJ head over."

Reid frowned after him until he disappeared around the corner. The two of us fell into a heavy silence, both leaning back against the wall just outside Penelope's room. Instantly my mind went back to the night before.

The warmth of his arms around me, the tight hold he'd given that had soothed all the pain inside me and made me feel instantly like things were gonna be okay… that's what I needed now. It felt like the pieces of myself I'd been holding onto were slipping out of my grasp and I needed Reid to help me keep everything together. I was so tempted to turn and hug him again just then that I actually had to tangle my fingers in my skirt to keep myself from reaching out to him –

"Why was Garcia looking up Chris Reynolds' credit score?"

Reid's question caught me off guard and I blinked, processing what he'd just asked, turning to look up at him and meeting his questioning gaze. Was he just trying to distract me, like he usually did when I was upset? Was he trying to follow up with what Morgan had started in on me for?

"Oh. She –" my words caught in my throat. She wanted to hook me up with him but I was too busy crushing on you to care. "She thought I should ask him out and she was looking into him to make sure he'd be a good fit. You know, doing the whole overprotective-matchmaking-friend thing."

For a few seconds he was fully silent, studying my expression purposefully before giving a hmm and turning to stare straight ahead. There was the hint of a frown on his face, and for a moment I let my mind start to get carried away. He looked just this side of upset with what I'd told him…

Was he jealous?

"What else did she find on him?" he finally continued, though he stayed looking forward. Unlike him, I didn't have an eidetic memory. That conversation was almost two months ago and I hadn't really been paying attention when she first told me about him.

"Honestly? She had a whole list of stuff but what I told Morgan is all I remember her saying," I admitted, and at that Reid turned to stare down at me in question. I didn't know what it was that pushed me to tell him, but the next moment I gave him a shrug and said, "I wasn't committed to memorizing facts on him. He wasn't my type so I really didn't care."

For just a heartbeat there was a small, pleased smile on Reid's face. Almost instantly it was interrupted by Morgan all but materializing beside us so unexpectedly even Reid gave a start. I, of course, barely stifled a scream and jumped back, hand flying to my chest as I sucked in a breath.

"Jesus Morgan don't do that –"

"Is this the guy?" he rushed out, pushing his phone towards me. The man on the screen certainly was handsome, but he wasn't Chris. This guy had dark, wavy hair, deep brown eyes, and a thick, black beard. Almost opposite of the man I'd see in the lobby.

When I looked up at Morgan and shook my head, ready to answer, he cut me off with a noise of disbelief. "You're kiddin' me."

"I – no, this isn't Chris –"

"Hotch just pulled his file. This is Christopher Michael Reynolds, he works payroll in HR. You're tellin' me this isn't who you met?"

Again I shook my head, and before he could speak I said quickly, "he was about your height, dark blonde hair, blue eyes –"

"So this dude lied about his name. We don't even know who she was actually with!?"

Before I could answer Morgan let out an actual snarl, fist slamming the wall again like he'd done earlier. I flinched away from the movement and skittered back, eyes wide and heart in my throat as I stared up at him.

"Next time you do somethin' that fucking stupid it's gonna be your face, not this fucking wall," Connor had spat at me as I'd dropped to my knees, desperately wiping up the spilt water from the cup I'd knocked off the counter.

For a heartbeat it was his furious, dark blue eyes burning into me now. I backed up until I bumped into something – someone. Reid gently took hold of my arms to steady me as I all but shrank back into him, unable to look away from Connor –

It's not Connor. It's okay, you're okay. This isn't Connor. This is -

"Morgan," Reid spoke up, voice just a hint this side of sharp. I blinked the tears out of my eyes, and Morgan's dark, puzzled gaze was looking down at me instead. "You should go tell Hotch that this isn't who we're looking for."

Morgan held my stare for several long, silent moments. His eyes flickered between my own as he registered the genuine fear on my face. As he gave a curt nod and turned to head down the hall again, I caught the tail end of a regretful on his face.

My eyes fell to my shoes, fingers twisting in the hem of the dress. At least until I remembered how damn expensive this thing was; I brought my hands up to my chest, toying with a few wayward curls instead.

"Morgan's just frustrated," Reid spoke up, voice soft and welcomed against the harsh ones rising up inside me again. Though we stepped apart, his hands gave me a gentle squeeze before they slid away. "He feels helpless right now and –"

"He hates me," I corrected, the bitterness in my own words pulling a grimace from me. He wouldn't be feeling helpless if I hadn't pushed Penelope into the date. If I hadn't been so stupid none of this would be happening.

"Aria," Reid murmured, genuinely crestfallen as he stepped around to stand in front of me; I kept my eyes trained on the floor. "He doesn't hate you."

"Well he should," I admitted; tears pricked my eyes again and I tucked my chin tighter to my chest, needing to look away. I certainly do.

I hadn't said the words out loud but I knew that somehow Reid had heard them. He reached out and caught my fidgeting hands; his was big enough to cover both of mine. His fingers curled tighter over them, prompting me to look up at him.

His face softened seeing my teary eyes and his thumb brushed gently across the back of one of my hands. As he went to say something, though, the nurse in Penelope's room stepped out.

"Agents?" well, I didn't want to go through the correction of actually no I'm just the intern that messes things up around here so I just nodded with Reid. "She's asking for you."

The two of us exchanged a quick glance as Reid stepped back, hand withdrawing from mine. He nodded me in ahead of him and I shuffled around the corner into Penelope's room. She blinked wearily up at us as we approached, and at seeing my face her hand lifted and she made a grabbing-motion, beckoning me to her once again.

Giving a small smile, I obliged and moved closer, reaching out and letting her take hold of my hand. She held mine between both of hers, toying with my fingers as Reid came up on her other side.

"Hey now, I thought I said no tears," she teased, and I managed to give her a small smile.

"I'm not crying. I just naturally have very shiny eyes."

"Right," Penelope snorted, giving me a playful look. "You know, when I was in the ambulance, I could hear that song Heroes playing in my head. You know, that one I always get stuck in yours?" she teased, peeking up at me. My smile widened and I nodded, encouraging her to keep going. "I remember, I kept thinking, is David Bowie really God? Aria's never gonna believe me. I couldn't wait to tell you."

I actually snorted, grin breaking out over my face for the first time in God – or, David Bowie? – knows how long. Reid chuckled and smiled down at Penelope as she giggled to herself, patting my hand sweetly.

"I don't believe you, for the record," I teased her, shaking my head. "We both know Bowie transcends God."

Giggling more, she gave my hand a squeeze as she cleared her throat and asked, "have you guys found anything on my date from hell?"

I know she was expecting a laugh, or a smile at the very least, but her words instantly reminded me of the look on Morgan's face as he'd thrown out, we don't even know who she was actually with?. When I swallowed hard and looked away, Penelope's hands tightened around mine.

"Um, it uh, it turns out that First-Floor Hottie isn't actually Chris Reynolds. He lied about his name," I admitted, guilt gnawing at my chest, making it hard to even take a shaky breath. My best friend knew exactly where my head was at, because instantly she promised,

"Honeybee, don't. You had no way to know he was lying. I mean, I even looked the man up!"

"Did you ever see a picture of him?" Reid asked her, and Penelope shook her head.

"I mean, honestly, I never thought to check for one. We already knew what he looked like, so I wasn't even thinking about it," she rushed out, sounding just as shocked as I'd felt.

"We got a sketch artist comin' in later to help with that," Morgan announced from the doorway. Penelope and Reid looked over at him; I focused on watching the drip of the IV beside me. "Prentiss and JJ are goin' over footage from Quantico. Guy's gotta be on video somewhere if he was in that buildin'."

Penelope nodded in relief. "Good. That's good. I mean, that's good, right?"

Morgan walked up and took a spot beside Reid, reaching out and resting a hand on her leg in comfort. "Yes and no. If we got his face somewhere it might help. But if this dude was callin' himself Chris Reynolds and passin' a bold-faced lie in FBI headquarters to FBI agents, I doubt he was sloppy enough to leave us an easy trail to follow."

When Penelope's face fell, Reid spoke up and asked, "did he happen to tell you about himself? Did he say what he did besides working for the FBI?"

"I – I don't know," she started; I could feel her hand tightening around mine. "I'm still hazy, I don't think I'll be any help –"

"Anything will help," I promised her, lacing our fingers and squeezing back in reassurance. "Any little detail, anything you can think of."

She gave a shaky nod, took a breath, and then shut her eyes. She was quiet for a few moments, struggling through the events of last night.

"He… he said he was a lawyer before. He'd just started working for the FBI recently for a change of pace."

"Good. That's good," I reassured. Reid nodded to me and then pressed gently,

"Did he take you somewhere familiar for either of you?"

Penelope shook her head and frowned. "No… he said he wanted to show me a place. He said he'd never been there before and wanted to try it out with me."

"You two drove together?" Morgan frowned, and Penelope nodded slowly.

"Mhmm. He told me he wanted to be chivalrous and pick me up."

My heart twisted as the hint of a small, wishful smile flickered over her lips. She'd been so hopeful, so excited… God, why couldn't he have just been a nice guy? Why couldn't she have just had a nice freakin' date and that had been that? Why did the universe have to strike out at the people who deserved the most?

"What kind of car was it?" Morgan asked, pulling me back to the present again. Penelope frowned.

"Um, white?" I actually almost snorted and quickly smothered it at the look I felt Morgan giving me. "Four-door. Sedan, I guess. American? Um… it smelled new? I guess? I don't – I really don't know."

"A rental car, maybe?" Reid prompted; the smile of assurance he gave her melted my heart. He always said he was no good with comforting others, but he always seemed to do so effortlessly. Hell, this time he even got a smile out of Penelope.

"Maybe, it could've been."

"You happen to catch a license plate? Or maybe even the model of the car?" Morgan pressed again, and Penelope shrugged.

"I don't – I really don't know. I'm sorry. I just, I don't look at things like you guys do. I've never needed to. I've never looked for the danger –"

Her voice caught and as she took a shaky breath she winced. My free hand came up to cup her cheek, and I swept her curls back from her face as I soothed, "hey, it's okay. It's alright Penny. You're doing really, really well."

"You're just being nice to me because you like me," she argued with a small smile. I gave a soft laugh, curling her hair back around her ear and then letting my hand linger against her cheek.

"I do, but I'm not being biased. You really are doing well," I promised, and she gave a small nod. "Is there anything else you can remember?"

A small smile tugged at her lips as she stared up at me. "He smelled really good. And he gave a really good hug."

"Did he seem nervous at all? On edge?" Reid asked her, and Penelope gave a small shrug.

"I mean, he did, but… I just… I thought he was just nervous to kiss me goodnight…"

Her voice caught once more at the memory and this time a tear rolled down her cheek. My thumb instantly swept it away and I gave our linked hands a gentle squeeze. "Hey. If I can't cry, you can't cry."

Penelope gave a shaky smile as Morgan asked softly, "what happened next?"

"I… it's all blurry. I don't remember. I know he said something, I just…" she frowned, and instantly I forced myself back to last night. As much as I never wanted to ever think about all of that ever again, I had to for her. It took a second to sort through my sleep-deprived, angst-ridden thoughts but his words drifted to the front of my mind.

"I've been thinking about doing this all night." All three of them looked up at me in question as I explained, "I heard him say that. There was a pause, and then I heard the gun shot."

"Did you go straight down?" Morgan asked me, and for the first time I felt something other than guilt and shame when he spoke to me. Indignation rose up and I lifted my gaze to give him a frown.

"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"

Morgan went to answer but Reid spoke up before he got the chance to. "Do either of you remember anything after that? Garcia, was there anything else that happened before Aria reached you?"

"I… I could hear him walking towards me," she whispered; the hand in my own squeezed harder as her eyes shut tight. "He – he leaned over me, and I held my breath so he'd think I was dead –"

Her words landed hard and I felt myself actually sink down at the weight of them. Instantly, Penelope's lifeless body was right at the front of my mind, picturing her like I'd found her. Collapsed on the stairs, blood pooling beneath her, all alone. She had laid there, all by herself as she bled out, using what she thought were her last moments to fake her death.

It was just too much.

Maybe it was Morgan's hardly-veiled accusation just now, or the vivid imagery of Penelope dying, or the last forty-eight hours filled with cannibalism and gunshots and near-death… I just couldn't take it.

Penelope's eyes snapped to me the second she felt me pulling back, and her hands fought to keep mine between them. As I curled into myself and took another step back she asked quickly,

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I've just – I gotta," I took a breath as I felt the tears welling up – these damn tears – and pointed a shaky finger at the hall. "Um, I just need to… I um…"

With that eloquent, super-convincing excuse I all but spun on my heel and rushed out of her room. The tears fell hard as soon as I was on my own and I a choked sob broke through. Okay, maybe Hotch had a point; after that last case and now this, I was emotionally worn through.

Realistically, I knew I wouldn't get very far. Leaving like that wouldn't allow me solitude – not with Penelope awake and aware I was upset. She couldn't follow me (though there wasn't a single doubt in my mind that she'd tried vehemently), but I'd fully expected Reid to be less than two steps behind.

When a hand that most decidedly wasn't his grabbed my arm, I instantly whirled around and pulled myself free. For a heartbeat I relaxed seeing it was Morgan, until I realized it was Morgan. My heart really, really couldn't take his anger right then. I mean, not that last night had been any better, but today…

"Please yell at me later," I all but begged, curling my arms defensively against my chest when he tried to reach for me again. He saw me pull back and he instantly retreated, catching the flicker of alarm on my face. "I know I screwed up, okay? I do. I just – right now I really can't –"

"Ay, ay, woah," he said softly. He didn't reach for me again, but he took a step closer. Involuntarily I took one back; it was habit to keep out of reach when I was scared. He caught the shift again and slowly he lifted his hands in mock surrender. "Don't look like that, okay? I'm not – I'd never hurt you, kid."

That's what Connor promised, my mind threw out before I could push it back. I knew – I knew – it wasn't right to look at Morgan like I looked at Connor. He was nothing like him. It wasn't rational, and it wasn't fair... But I couldn't help it.

The fury in his voice, the anger burning in his eyes, hitting the wall… harsh, wild tempers like that were unpredictable. They could grow out of control in the blink of an eye, like fire catching dry brush. They erupted without warning and tore through everything in their path mercilessly, unstoppable until they'd run their course.

I'd been burnt before and I wasn't letting it happen again.

Morgan was a profiler, and I knew he understood my fear, my self-defense. I could see the realization on his face, in the way he took a step back from me and lowered his hands as he softened his voice. Morse so, though, it was the ache of guilt in the gaze that swept me over before he finally took a breath and spoke.

"I know I was upset with you last night and I know I got a temper, but I swear to you I would never hurt you, Aria. I need you to know that. Even if you don't wanna believe it right now, it's important to me that you know. Okay?"

His voice actually cracked on the last word and he swallowed hard, his dark eyes glinting under the fluorescents with the tears he was trying to fight back. I could hear his honesty and see the regret. He wasn't just trying to placate me like Connor always did. He was genuinely sorry.

"Okay," I whispered, giving him a small nod as I tried to make myself relax. I already knew it, I really did. Morgan was nothing like Connor, even with his temper. I knew I was safe with him, and I hated my instinct reaction to him as much as I'm sure he did.

"Good, okay," he said softly, nodding slowly as he took another breath, like he was settling himself. "I also need you to know that Garcia gettin' shot is not on you."

A humorless chuckle left me and Morgan frowned as I shook my head. "Now you're pushing it."

"I'm serious," he insisted; I leveled a heavy look at him. "Aria you're not the one that shot her –"

The tears that I'd barely gotten a handle on started up again, and I gave him an incredulous look as I cried, "you know, people keep saying that, but her blood is still on my hands. It literally was on my hands, and it's because I was stupid and ignored all the warning signs I saw. I pushed her right into the path of a psychopath and she almost lost her life because I wanted to be a good friend."

"No." his tone was firm, and he took a step towards me again. I tensed but managed not to back up from him. "It's not fair to play that game with yourself, kid, an' it wasn't right of me to say all that I said to you, or to put that kinda guilt on you. We had no way to know anything like this was gonna happen."

"But you even said –"

Morgan held up a hand and shook his head. "I was worried, yeah. But I'm tellin' you right now, this wasn't anything I'd actually considered. Really, I mean it. Garcia nearly dyin' wasn't one of the things that I'd been nervous about."

"You were worried about her safety –" I tried again, and Morgan scoffed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I was. I was worried about him muggin' her, or takin' advantage of her. Not shootin' her. I was bein' overprotective with her, but I wasn't even thinkin' this could happen. And… I felt guilty."

His last words fell softer than the rest and I blinked up at him in surprise. He gave a heavy sigh as I asked gently, "you were guilty? Why?"

"'Cause even with how paranoid I was about this, I wasn't ready for what happened. I didn't let myself think through all that could go wrong and I let Garcia slip through the cracks. If I'd have thought – even for one second – that somethin' like this could'a happened, I never would'a let her go. Regardless of you, or her, or any of the rest of this team. If I'd have thought she could've gotten hurt like this…"

He cut off and looked away, pressing his lips together as he let out a shaky breath. Seeing him looking so vulnerable finally pushed what Reid had told me into perspective: he wasn't mad at me. He'd used his anger as a way to hide his own guilt; he felt just as bad as I did.

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself," I argued gently, acutely aware of just how hypocritical it was of me to be saying that. "I mean, things could potentially go wrong every day, and there's no way to account for that. There's just no way to protect her from everything, short of locking Penelope in her apartment and guarding her 24/7. And I think we both know how well that would go over."

Morgan gave a quiet snort and managed a small smile as he nodded. We fell into a brief silence, both reflecting on what had been said, and finally he met my eyes once more as he admitted, "hearin' she was shot, that she could've died, I just… I felt helpless, and that made me defensive. I felt so responsible but instead of acceptin' that and workin' through it, I pushed the blame onto you, and I never should'a done that."

"I know you didn't mean it," I offered with a small smile, and he gave another soft chuckle. "We both feel guilty and we just dealt with it in different ways. We were both just trying to help Penelope the best way we could, and what happened just… happened."

"You're way too nice to me, sunshine," he sighed, shaking his head as I felt a bubble of warmth rising in my chest. I hadn't realized how much I liked my nicknames until he'd stopped using them. How 'bout this, then. We both gotta agree not to bury ourselves in this guilt. We keep goin' at this rate and it's gonna crush us. Garcia needs us to find that son of a bitch, and we can't do that weighin' ourselves down like this."

"Will you actually take your own advice, though?" I asked him pointedly, and to my surprise he gave me a smirk in return.

"Are you? I know the rest'a the team's been tellin' you all this too, and if you runnin' outta the room's any indication, I don't think you're takin' it to heart."

After leveling with each other, I didn't want to drag him back down by saying yeah, because you insisted it was my fault not twelve hours ago. His words had hurt, but I knew he hadn't meant them. Instead I held out my hand and stuck up my pinky.

"We both need to promise we're not going to blame ourselves."

"Are you really suggestin' a pinky promise?"

"Nope," I told him, wiggling my pinky. "I'm insisting on one. You game, Mr. Clean?"

There was the same spark of warmth in his eyes at my nickname for him; we'd both apparently missed each other's teasing. Looking more put off than I knew he was, he begrudgingly reached out and linked out pinkies.

"Alright. No blamin' ourselves."

Smiling at one another, our hands dropped and he jerked his head back towards the room. When I reached his side, he slowly lifted his arm and wrapped it around my shoulders, hesitantly tucking me to his side.

The lingering unease with his temper still sat fresh in my mind, but I forced it aside and wrapped my arms around his waist. After the last couple of days, the last thing I wanted to do right now was hold a grudge.

What mattered now was finding that stupid 'Adonis hunk' and making sure he'd pay for what he did to Penelope.

---

"Is everything alright?" an exhausted voice asked me on the other end of the phone. As I paced past Penelope's new room again, she waved and went back to shuffling the cards in her lap.

"You sound like crap," I chirped to Hotch, getting a huff of laughter as I bit back a smile.

"Four days, no leads? I feel like crap," he agreed, and I let out a groan.

"Nothing? Still? Did the police take the sketch we did down to the coffee shop?"

"The employees remembered Garcia, and recall the man she spoke to, but no one remembers him coming in before or after that morning."

"And they wouldn't recognize him because it's not a place he frequented," I muttered, scrubbing a hand down my face in frustration.

Hotch made a noise of agreement before asking, "did they move Garcia from the ICU yet?"

I mhmm'd to hide the yawn I stifled, then added, "Reid and I just got her settled. The doctor even said she could go home in a day or two, as long as she's feeling up for it."

"Good. Has she remembered anything else?"

"Nothing so far," I sighed, pacing past the room again, studying my best friend. Though she was feeling better and the staples were even close to coming out, I was still concerned. Honestly, it was more to do with what Hotch had said – there were no leads. The first-floor hottie was still on the loose and I half expected him to turn up at the hospital, guns blazing.

"Alright. You and Reid keep replaying it with her, see what you can find," Hotch instructed. I heard Rossi say something to him in the background, and a moment later he said, "I need to go. One of us will call you or Reid if we come across anything. If Garcia recalls anything else, let me know right away."

"Will do, boss-man," I promised. As I went to say goodbye he cut in,

"Have you gone home to rest yet?"

Ope. Thought he'd forgotten about telling me that yesterday. Or… had it been the day before? Three days ago? I didn't know; time had no meaning in the hospital. "Well, not exactly…"

"Aria," he sighed, a tone of firm concern taking over. "You need to give yourself a break. You haven't left the hospital all week, you're not letting yourself rest –"

"I rested!" I piped up indignantly; I could feel the unamused frown he was giving.

"A couple hours dozing in an armchair doesn't count. I mean it, I want you home tonight."

The whine left me before I could stop it. "Hotch, we gotta catch this guy! I can find a couch in the break room to nap on –"

"I don't want to have to go to the hospital to drag you out, but I will if you don't leave tonight," he threatened. Before I could respond, I heard Emily and JJ sing-song in the background,

"Ooh, Aria's in trouble!"

"Smack them for me."

"If you go home tonight I'll see what I can do," he chuckled, getting a smile on my face. "Call me if anything comes up, and stay safe."

"You too, Hotch. I'll talk to you later," I promised as we hung up. Tucking my phone away, I scampered back into the room and gave Penelope a smile. "Did you finally manage to get them shuffled?"

"I did, don't give me that look!" she giggled, shrugging and holding the cards out to me. "I mean, how shuffled do they need to be for Go Fish?"

"Better than last time," I teased as she started to deal them out. When she made a noise of offense I pointed out, "you got like three sets right off the bat! That's so not fair!"

Penelope rolled her eyes and pointed out, "well excuse me, not all of us are as gifted with cards as the handsome doctor you're crushing on –"

"Penny!" I squeaked, instantly whipping around to make sure Reid hadn't come back from the cafeteria yet. My best friend snickered behind her cards and gave me a teasing wiggle of her brows. "Jeeze. Do you have any four's?"

"Go fish," she teased, and as I drew my card she asked, "so, are you actually leaving tonight or is Hotch gonna have to come march you out?"

My eyes narrowed at her and she gave me a wide grin, holding up her phone. "JJ says hi. Got any kings?"

Grumbling, I passed her my card and informed her, "I haven't made up my mind –"

Penelope sat all four kings down on her lap and I gaped at her; it was just like last time! She peeked up at me and asked slowly, "Um… got any nine's?"

"I swear to God," I warned her, slowly passing over the one I had. She took it, paused, and then laid all four of them out as well. "Penelope! You said you shuffled!"

"I tried!" she defended through her giggles. "Some of them just stuck together!"

"Not for me! You're totally cheating," I accused, trying to hide my smile and failing miserably. "That's it, you're not shuffling anymore!"

Movement in the doorway caught my eye and I glanced over, heart somersaulting when I met Reid's eyes. He was watching us with a bemused smile, a tray of food in his hands and Morgan at his shoulder.

Though he'd apologized and we were talking again, things were still a little rocky. Both of us were still on edge with Penelope's attacker in the wind, and - though I wouldn't admit it to anyone – I was really freakin' tired. Between my exhaustion and Morgan's frustration, we were both a little testy.

"Oh good, you're back! Aria needs your magical hands," Penelope told Reid as he walked into the room. He came to a full-on stop in the doorway – Morgan running into him – as he stammered out,

"I – wh-what? She needs – you need my –"

"To shuffle the cards," I said quickly, snatching them from Penelope's lap and quickly holding them out to him, my face ten thousand shades of red. "She can't shuffle and she's cheating at Go Fish."

Morgan actually snorted as he side-stepped Reid, taking the tray of food and setting it on Penelope's lap. Reid took the cards and cleared his throat, standing at the foot of Penelope's bed as Morgan settled into the chair across from me on her other side.

"The chicken wrap is for you," Reid told me, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck as he added, "it's not too high in carbs and you need the protein. All you've had is vending machine food."

"Emily brought me nuggets the other day," I pointed out, taking a bite of the wrap; my taste buds melted. If hospital food was tasting this good, maybe I did need to get out of here for a bit…

"Hotch said you were argumentative," Morgan mused, and I threw him a glare. "Told me you still haven't gone home either."

"She hasn't," Penelope confirmed before I could swallow my bite and speak up. The three of them gave me pointed looks and finally as I finished chewing I mumbled,

"We're not here to gang up on me."

"Nah, but it's fun," Morgan chuckled; if I wasn't so hungry I would've thrown my food at him. "But okay, okay. We'll torment the gremlin later. Garcia, you up for another round?"

My best friend gave a heavy sigh and sunk back against the pillows. "I mean, I guess. I just, I don't know what else there even is to remember. We've beaten this horse to death, so to speak."

Reid and I caught each other's eye for a moment, both on the same brainwave. Penelope didn't like going back over the date. It wasn't that she didn't think it would help, it was that she didn't like being back with that creep.

"Let's just go over behavior for now then," he offered her, giving a small shrug. "That's all profiling really is. Just noticing behavior."

"We've been focusin' on the actions, so let's switch it up. You know as well as we do, any details you can remember will help tell us who he is," Morgan said, reaching out and resting a hand on her leg.

"We'll be right here with you, too," I promised as I sat my food aside, reaching out and taking her hand gently. She gave it a tight squeeze and I prompted, "can we go back one more time?"

Penelope took a deep breath, looked around at the three of us, and then gave a small nod. Morgan cleared his throat and sat forward.

"Alright. Let's go back to when you first arrived at the restaurant. Was this guy nervous?"

"No," she said slowly, and her eyes fluttered shut. I kept her hand clutched tight. "He was the opposite, actually. I mean, right when we sat down he ordered wine for us. I told him I only drank red, and he told me to trust him, I'd love this one."

"So he was trying to impress you," I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Trying to be all manly-man and show you he can take charge."

"Yeah, definitely," she chuckled, shaking her head. Reid leaned forward on the end of the bed and asked,

"You said yesterday you noticed his watch, right?" when she nodded he pressed, "tell me about it. Why did it catch your eye?"

She smirked just a hint and said, "it was a fake rolex. He kept flashing it and messing with the clasp all night like it was something special, though."

"Clearly he was playing with it 'cause he wanted you to notice," Reid mused; as he spoke, I felt Penelope's hand tightening in my own, and I didn't miss the way she'd started to shrink back against the pillows. "He wanted you to think it was real –"

"Penny?" I asked gently; she kept her eyes shut but turned her head towards me. "Are you okay?"

"I – I feel really exposed," she said in a small voice. "I feel alone here with him…"

Before either Reid or Morgan could say anything, I was up off the chair, moving the tray of food to the side table. Keeping her hand in mine, I maneuvered myself up and onto the bed beside her. She gave a small laugh, smile taking over her face as I snuggled up against her.

"You're not alone. You're right here with us, perfectly safe," I assured her, smiling as she sniffed and nodded, settling her cheek on the top of my head. "We're not letting anything happen to you, okay?"

She leaned completely against me and I felt her nod softly. I caught Morgan's eye and gave him a look to keep going. He rested his hand on her leg again in reassurance and asked,

"What'd you two talk about? It was just chit-chat, but did anything stand out?"

She began to shake her head, and then she paused. "He… he mentioned Aria."

Reid and Morgan both shared a startled gaze as I asked in surprise, "what? He did?"

"Yeah. We were talking about what I do for work, and he brought up said he remembered seeing me with you in the lobby –"

"Hold up," Morgan said instantly, frown taking over his face as he met my eyes. "Sunshine, tell us about the day you met him."

For a few moments I blinked in silence as I struggled to go back to that morning. I hadn't been lying when I told Reid I really didn't remember much about the guy. He hadn't stood out to me. "Um… well, I couldn't find my badge. I was at the main lobby and struggling to look through my purse, and he let me inside. I told him he shouldn't let just anyone in but he said he recognized me so it was –"

"Wait," Reid said this time, brow furrowed in concern as he stared down at me. "How did he recognize you? Had you ever seen him before?"

"No, never. He said he saw me all the time," I told him with a shrug. "I'd teased him about being creepy he said he worked in HR so he always saw me pass by –"

"And outta all the people that go through that lobby he just so happened to see you each time?" Morgan asked

"Aria's gorgeous. Of course she'd catch his eye," Penelope defended, and I didn't miss the sneaky glance she shot me before peeking up to Reid. Oh, she was so lucky she was injured right now…

Morgan made a noise of dismissal. "I'm not sayin' she isn't. I'm sayin' I don't think it's a coincidence he just so happed to be watchin' her and then miraculously run into you."

"So, what does that mean?" I asked him, admittedly lost in what he was trying to piece together.

"This dude was watchin' both of you," Morgan snapped, and even though we were better now, I still shrunk a hint into the pillows at his tone. Reid cleared his throat and I caught the tail end of a frown he gave Morgan before looking back to Penelope and I.

"Garcia, what else did he tell you? Did he give you any details when he mentioned he was a lawyer?"

Her face pinched into a frown as she struggled back through her memories. "He… he said he was a city attorney. He mentioned he pulled back from it because he was tired of having his murder cases released on things like judicial ineptitude or… it was something collateral…"

"Collateral estoppel?" Reid piped up, and Penelope nodded, ready to keep going, but Reid shook his head. "That's not right. City attorneys don't try murder cases."

"What?" Penelope asked him in surprise, opening her eyes to blink up at him in confusion. "Why would he say that then?"

"He knew you wouldn't notice that minor irregularity, and it was just another way to explain why he went to the FBI without raising red flags," he explained with a shake of his head. "Clearly he knows enough to use legal terminology, but I don't think he was ever actually a working lawyer."

Hope sparked in my chest and I sat up quickly. "So then it'd be someone who could've failed out of law school, or didn't pass the bar exam. Which means we might be able to start tracking through those records, right?"

"Right," he agreed, smiling when he realized I'd picked up his brainwave. "We can have Hotch and the others follow up on that for us."

"While they do that, we can keep goin' through the date," Morgan decided, and as I nodded in agreement he added, "and you can go home and rest."

Reid and Penelope were already nodding in agreement, and I gave all of them a wounded frown. "What?! No way! We're actually stating to get somewhere. I wanna stay and help!"

It was Penelope that shook her head and argued, "honeybee, you've been going full-speed since Friday. Almost a week now. You need to take a step back."

When I opened my mouth, argument ready on the tip of my tongue, Morgan leaned forward and held up his phone. "Don't make me call Hotch."

My eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."

He was six numbers deep by the time I scrambled off the bed. He nodded at me as I begrudgingly hoisted my purse onto my shoulder, staring him down the entire time. "Good. Now I better not see you back here until after 8am tomorrow. Got it, sunshine?"

"Yeah, yeah," I huffed, turning to my best friend. Penelope smiled sweetly up at me. "You'll be alright tonight?"

"I will be. I'm sure these two won't leave me alone, and you'll be back before you know it," she assured, and lifted her arms, beckoning me to her with a wiggle of her fingers. "Come on, I need a little sweetness before you leave."

Giggling and shaking my head, I leaned down and hugged her as tightly as I could without hurting her. She hugged back just as fiercely, giving me a kiss on the cheek as we pulled back. As I turned to go, Reid straightened up and quickly tucked his hair behind his ear as he came up beside me.

"I'll walk you out. One of the most dangerous spots for muggings and violent attacks at night are parking lots, especially at hospitals," he explained, and instantly my heart fluttered at his offer. He wanted to walk me out to make sure I got to my car okay? The touched, bashful smile on my face couldn't be helped. "In fact, reports show parking structures in general are the third most common sight of murders and attacks, with hospitals being the biggest risk. As most close-up spaces are reserved for emergency arrivals and medical vehicles, other guests have to park further away, often in poorly-lit areas. As well, most people coming and going from the hospital are preoccupied with thoughts of loved ones and other situations surrounding someone in the hospital so they're not fully focused on their surroundings. Combined with the risk of attacks at night, walking to a parked car is almost more dangerous than walking through a notoriously bad part of town."

Thankfully, he was so caught up in his rambling that he didn't notice the blush on my cheeks or the wide, teasing grins from Penelope and Morgan. I shot them both scowls as I hurried down the hall after Reid.

"If parking lots are third on the list, what are the first two?" I asked, staring up at him with a smile, knowing he'd continue his talks. I loved listening to him get lost in his facts. Reid, oblivious to my baiting, instantly launched into more statistics.

"Your home is the most common, with a friend or relative's being second. The places we feel most at ease are the easiest places to be targeted, simply because so many people let themselves relax and ignore the signs of danger or lack of security that they'd be more aware of in an unfamiliar setting," he explained, hands flying a mile a minute as he walked me through the details. We settled on the elevator and I hit the button for us; I was pretty certain he wasn't even fully aware of where we were.

In fact, when he rambled, he essentially fell into autopilot, probably not even fully aware of what he was doing. Like the fact that as the elevator doors slid open, his hand settled lightly against the small of my back, ushering me out ahead of him. Seriously, for a guy that didn't like touch – he didn't even like Morgan grabbing onto him – he never seemed to mind with me.

Not that I minded one bit; I let myself get carried away each time. If he allowed me to sleep on his shoulder, or ruffle his hair, or actually hug him, did that mean I was special to him? Was I an exception to his unspoken rules of physical contact?

As we crossed the parking lot, Reid kept himself at my side. Though his hand had regrettably left my back, he stayed close enough to me that our arms and hands brushed the whole way to my car.

"… but with new technology, it's becoming much less likely to _," Reid informed me; I felt a little bad. I'd been so caught up in overthinking the simple hand to my back that I'd missed the middle of his info-dump, and I had absolutely no clue what he was talking about now. Thankfully though, when he noticed we'd stopped walking, he blinked and cleared his throat. "Oh, I didn't notice we were already here. I'm sorry, I got carried away –"

"Hey, what do I always tell you?" I teased lightly, nudging his arm and giving a warm smile. "Don't apologize for talking, especially with me. I never mind hearing what you have to say."

His cheeks flushed just a hint as he ducked his head, nodding quickly as he said, "I'm glad you appreciate my information."

"I do. I also appreciate you walking me out," I said softly, gripping the strap of my purse like it was a lifeline, trying not to look as giddy as I felt when he met my gaze. "No one, um… no one's ever done that for me before, actually. It means a lot that you care enough to go out of your way for me."

Reid's face softened as he studied me, a mix of diffident surprise and a hint of concern mixing in his eyes. "I – of course. Making sure you're safe isn't an inconvenience to me."

His words settled over us, and as we stared at one another I felt a spark of hope in my chest that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't reading into things. Maybe Reid actually did have feelings for me past just being friends.

Or maybe he's just a gentleman and you're reading too much into someone just showing you simple decency and kindness, my inner cynicism voiced, instantly squashing my hope when I realized that was much more likely.

"Thank you. For like, everything you've done the last week. You've made all of this –" I waved my hand in the air like that would capture everything from near-cannibalism to attempted murder on a friend, " – so much more bearable."

He cracked a toothy smile – the one that left my heart fluttering in my chest – and nodded quickly. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"Right," I chuckled, ducking my head with a smile. Getting ready to say goodbye, I looked back up at him and blinked seeing that his smile was slowly sinking into a frown. When he caught my questioning gaze, he cleared his throat and asked,

"Did Morgan talk to you? About… um, about what happened the other night?"

"Yeah, he did. We're… I think we're alright. He said that you, Em, and JJ talked to him and I really appreciate you all looking out for me," I smiled, expecting his own to return. Reid's expression didn't change though, and nervousness flickered through me. Had I said something wrong? "What is it?"

"I'm glad you both talked about it. I just… I noticed how you reacted to his outbursts. I don't mean to pry, I know it's not really my place, but… you seemed genuinely frightened. I know Morgan's never hurt you, but… you're easily startled, especially by loud noises, and you had a visceral reaction to his aggression and temper. I know those signs, and I just… are you okay? You're not – no one's um…" he cleared his throat again and, after taking a breath, he rushed out, "I just want to make sure you're alright. Between your behavior and the call the other day, I just want to – if something's wrong, I want to help."

I wasn't sure whether to cry, or to panic. I was so touched that he'd taken notice of everything going on with Connor, even though I'd been doing my best to hide it. I had no way to explain how touched I felt knowing that he'd been keeping an eye on me without me even noticing.

It was time to tell him. With everything that had been going on, Connor had been pushed to the back of my mind, but Reid had asked. He'd noticed, he was worried, and I owed him my honesty. Maybe it wasn't the perfect time, but after all that had happened, I wanted him to know.

"Actually, I mean, I did want to talk to you about something," I admitted, and the concern on his face doubled immediately. "It's – I'm okay, I just –"

Reid's phone ringing made both of us jump and I actually let out a squeak of alarm, clutching at my chest as I let out a shaky breath. He mumbled out a quick sorry as he tugged the phone out quickly. "What is it, Morgan?... Okay. Yeah, I'll be right there."

He hung up while I could still hear Morgan talking, and he turned back to me instantly. Seeing the look on my face, he started off, "he just wants to run through more cognitive replays with Garcia. We can talk, really. I'm not rushing you off."

"I know," I assured him with a smile. "But this… it's not a quick thing to talk about and I don't want to just dump it on you and leave."

Reid was instantly shaking his head. "No, you wouldn't be. This is important, and if you really do feel like you're not safe, or if you're not alright, I want to know –"

Seriously, the world was against us right now. I was just beginning to relent and launch into the whole thing when his phone rang again. I'd never seen Reid annoyed, but the flicker of irritation couldn't be missed as he pulled his phone out again and snapped out, "what?... Oh, yeah, Hotch. Sorry. Everything's fine…"

I attempted to bite back a snort and failed miserably; he gave me a small, playfully-annoyed smile as he listened to whatever Hotch was running through. "Yeah, I'll let Morgan know. We'll call you in a bit."

He hung up, and though he went to insist I talk to him, I shook my head. This was going to take more than just a couple minutes, and I knew once I started in about Connor, Reid would have a thousand questions. Penelope needed us right now; Connor could wait.

"We'll talk later, alright?" I promised, giving him a small smile. He didn't look happy about that, and I could tell he felt like I was just brushing him off. It was the last thing I wanted him to think, especially when he was right, and especially when he was one of the few I genuinely wanted to talk to about all this. "We really will. We just need to help Penelope right now, and for the time being I'm okay. I promise."

Though he didn't look happy with that, he knew I had a point, and he pressed his lips together in silent defeat. As I unlocked my door and went to get inside, he asked softly,

"If… if that changes, if you're not okay, could you – could you tell me?"

His eyes flicked nervously between mine as he waited for my answer. Honestly, I was just exhausted enough that his genuine concern nearly got me crying. Swallowing down the emotions rising up inside me, I just gave a quick nod and tried to smile without letting any tears fall.

"I will. But um, I did have a favor to ask for," I hedged, tossing my purse in the car and turning to him. He was nodding eagerly before I'd even finished speaking. I gave him a timid smile and asked him meekly, "could I get another hug? For the road."

Honestly I'd never seen Reid so pleasantly, bashfully surprised. He took a few moments to process my question, but when it finally sank in he let a genuine smile take over and he nodded slowly.

Taking the lead, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him securely. His own encompassed me immediately and I sunk into his hold, burying my smile into his sweater. For someone who apparently didn't hug at all, he was surprisingly good at it. One arm was wrapped solidly around my shoulders, tucking me tight to his chest as the other went around my waist, fully engulfing me in his hold.

"You smell really good," I mumbled against him before we pulled back. He gave a timid laugh and blinked down at me curiously. "Sorry. That's weird. Just, um, what I meant was thanks."

Reid reached out and grabbed hold of my door for me, opening it the rest of the way as I got in. "You're welcome. Drive safe. The percentage of fatal accidents at night is nearly four times higher than those during the day."

"I'll keep it safe," I assured, giving him a thankful grin. "Have a good night, Reid. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," he said with a smile in return, shutting my door for me. He stood watching as I pulled out, holding up a hand as I drove away. By the time I got back to my dorm – almost an hour later – I was worn out to the point of near-collapse.

As I finally sunk into my bed for the first time in a week, the lingering warmth of Reid's hug stayed with me and kept the rest of the chaos in my mind at bay, letting me finally get the rest I needed.

---

Cards shff'd off to the side of Penelope's hospital bed, and I glanced over to Reid as I tugged out the lipstick from my purse. He let the cards flutter through his slim fingers, gliding over them effortlessly as he flicked them back together.

"With the overhand shuffle, like you did Garcia, it's not as effective as mixing up the cards from the order they start in. Typically, actually, most cards stay put. What you want to do is what's called the riffle shuffle…"

He held up half the cards in each and then let them sift together effortlessly. I was so caught up in watching him work I didn't notice Penelope nudging my knee. My eyes snapped back to her and she met my gaze with a smirk.

"Are you distracted? 'Cause I can finish my makeup if –"

Reid looked up and I uncapped the lipstick so fast I nearly dropped it, shuffling a little further up the hospital bed as I fought to keep my voice from squeaking. "No, no! Just – just hold still. I'm almost done!"

Giggling to herself as Reid lost himself to shuffling again, I glared at her as I swiped over her lips. "It's just so easy. Your blush is so cute –"

"I will fight you," I warned, leaning back to study my handy work. She and Reid snorted at that one and as I glared between the two of them, a knock at the door behind us caught our attention.

When I looked back to see Hotch, my greeting smile slowly slid off my face. I was proud to say I was slowly getting better at deciphering the many frowns and scowls of Aaron Hotchner, and the one he was wearing today told me this wasn't gonna be a pleasant visit.

"Hey," Penelope greeted, smiling up at him. For a moment his face softened as he asked her,

"How're you feeling?"

"Well, I've had better dates," she sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "But I'm alright."

In the silence that followed, I caught the look of regret in Hotch's dark gaze and my stomach churned. "Hotch, what's wrong?"

"We found an encrypted file on your computer," he began, and I felt Penelope deflate with his words. Reid and I looked back to her as Hotch asked firmly, "are you involved in something that I need to know about?"

"No," Penelope whispered immediately; Hotch's frown didn't shift.

"Hotch? What's going on?" I tried again; he ignored me still.

"Could this be connected in any way to who shot you?"

Penny shook her head slowly, but admitted, "I… maybe, but I really don't think so."

"I need the password," he ordered, and instantly I caught the unspoken implications of what he was saying.

"What, you think that Penelope's hiding something?"

"I don't," he told me, sparing a glance my direction for a moment. "But Internal Affairs thinks otherwise. Garcia, the password."

"It's Gilman Street," she told him immediately, trying to keep her lip from trembling. Reid caught the look on her face and looked to Hotch with a frown.

"They don't honestly think Garcia's a security risk, do they?"

Hotch gave a heavy sigh, and for a moment his stoic frown was broken into a look of genuine, regrettable frustration. "I don't know. Internal Affairs ordered us to stop working the case, and they won't go farther with an explanation right now."

"What?!" I asked incredulously, anger sparking through me. They couldn't keep us from helping Penelope! "Hotch, there's no way –"

"There's more," he cut in, eyes meeting Penelope's in a silent apology. "Until this is all cleared up, you've been suspended. I'm sorry."

The stunned silence fell like a blanket over the room and all three of us gaped up at Hotch. He pressed his lips together, gave a small nod, and was walking out of the room as Penelope finally squeaked out a soft, "right…"

The tears pooling in Penelope's eyes snapped me back to the situation and I was scrambling off the bed instantly, scurrying out of the room. Long-Legs Hotchner was already halfway down the hall by the time I rounded the corner.

"Hotch! Wait!" I called, and thankfully he paused his retreat to let me catch up. Admittedly out of breath, I panted to him, "you – they can't just suspend her. Hotch you know she's not a threat. We're the best people to find out who shot her, and until we do this guy's still out there! We can't just stop –"

"Internal Affairs ordered us to stop the morning after she was shot," he admitted to me, shaking his head. "We're already on thin ice, working this unauthorized as long as we did. I can't push back against the suspension."

"But Hotch, this isn't fair. She didn't do anything –"

"Aria," he cut in, voice leaving no room for me to continue arguing like I was more than ready to do. Frustration swirled through me and I dropped my eyes, going silent though I wanted to keep pushing. Hotch stepped up to me and sat a hand on my shoulder. "The sooner we can get this figured out the sooner we can prove she's not a security threat. I promise we're doing all we can for her, regardless of what I.A. wants or not."

I gave him a nod of understanding and mumbled, "I know it's not your call. I'm sorry. I just feel helpless enough as it is, and to have them just essentially slap us in the face like this –"

"I understand," he promised with a sigh. "We all feel the same way. I promise you we're not abandoning Garcia."

"Thank you," I told him genuinely, smiling up at him and nodding in understanding. Hotch nodded back and tugged me to him, hugging me briefly before pulling away and nodding back down the hall.

"Stay with Reid and Garcia. I'll call if anything else comes up."

"Got it," I sighed, reluctantly retreating back to Penelope's room. I'd been expecting tears from Penelope, so when I saw her hastily tugging wires off herself and trying to get out of bed I paused in surprise.

Reid was up and trying to pull her back, and he threw me a desperate look of help me please as he tried to keep her from ripping more wires and tubes out.

"Penny! Hey! No, no, no. You need rest," I said quickly, racing up and grabbing her shoulders, forcing her back into the bed as gently as I could. She gave a sharp shake of her head.

"I need to get out of here," she insisted, trying to sit up again. I knelt on the bed for leverage and leaned against her shoulders to pin her against the pillows. "Aria, let me –"

"No. You need to stay plugged up for now. You don't even have your staples out yet," I reminded her, keeping her in place as Reid thankfully began to hook her back up. Bless his brilliant memory. "Hey, Pen. Listen to me. We're gonna get this straightened out, okay? Hotch and the others aren't stopping, and you already know I don't give a damn what anyone else says. Whether it's Internal Affairs or Strauss or whoever else wants to try and stop me, I'm not backing down until we find out who did this to you."

She gave a watery sniff, looking up at me with a mixture of gratitude and concern. "Aria, one of the last things I told that jerkwad was that I believe everything happens for a reason. And right now – right now I don't know what this all means. I don't get it. It's like, like I tried to do the right thing and now it's all coming back at me. Why? What's the reason? This doesn't feel right but I just, if – if I lose faith in that, then nothing in my life makes sense."

Tears spilled down her cheeks and I moved my hands to cup her face, gently sweeping them away. "Penelope, what's this about?"

She sniffed and though I let go of her cheeks, I took her hands instead and let her toy with my fingers. Slowly, she took a few calming breaths and finally gathered what she wanted to say.

"I couldn't make sense of my parents dying the way they did. It felt like my life was derailed, and I lost sight of my future. I dropped out of CalTech and basically lived underground. I kept teaching myself code. It was like the one thing that kept me together. The FBI keeps track of hackers like me. I was flagged for what I was doing behind the scenes, and they came after me. They wanted me."

"They offered you a job?" I asked in surprise, and when she nodded Reid made a noise of intrigue. We both glanced at him and he explained,

"The FBI takes on those they think will benefit them, even if they don't necessarily meet all qualifications. Like Frank Abagnale. They figured if they can't beat 'em, just hire 'em.

"Yeah, something like that," Penelope confirmed, nodding up at him as she took a breath. "And so I told myself, this was why they died. They died to push me in the right direction. It's a little morbid, I guess, but I wanted their death to have meaning. Without it, it was just senseless, and it kills me thinking that they died for no reason. You know?"

"I do," I promised her, my mind going to Jude. "I thought the same way when my brother died. I felt like if there wasn't some bigger picture, everything was just wasted."

"Exactly," she whispered. "But now I just don't know. Because all this has done… all this has ended up leading me to is getting shot, and now I'm suspended over something so stupid…"

"What's on that encrypted file?" I asked gently. "It's nothing bad, right?"

She shook her head quickly and explained, "I have to keep record of everything the team does. Before you joined us, a few years back, my system got hacked and one of the team – her name was Elle – she got shot." Penelope took a breath and looked between Reid and I. "You guys are my family. I love you, and I didn't want anyone else being able to get at all of you. I wanted to protect you guys like you protect everyone else."

"Then Hotch and the others will prove that, and as soon as they do, we'll be okay," I assured her, smiling at her and shifting to hug her tight. "In the meantime, what can we do to make this better?"

"Just being here helps," she sniffled into my shoulder, squeezing me tight. "I just wanna go home. I'm tired of being plugged in and trapped in the world's most uncomfortable bed."

Well, her staples weren't out, but maybe… as we pulled back I peeked up at Reid and gave him a meek smile. He studied my face for a moment and gave a soft chuckle, getting to his feet.

"I'll see if I can get the doctor to clear you to leave," he told Penelope before he ducked out of the room. As I smiled after him I heard my best friend give a watery chuckle and say,

"With just a look you've got him at your mercy." Face instantly flooding with heat, I looked back at her and she teased, "he's got it baaaad for you, my little honey-nut cheerio."

"He's just trying to help you," I deflected, trying to bite back my hopeful grin. Penelope giggled at my expression and I gave her a gentle shove back into the pillows. The two of us teased each other lightly until Reid reappeared.

Morgan, again, was suddenly at his side, beaming at Penelope. "The Good Doctor worked some magic and got you an early release, baby girl. I'm here to escort the princess to her castle."

"I can go home?!" she asked excitedly, already scrambling to free herself. Morgan laughed and stepped up, taking over reigning in her excitement as I rolled off the bed to give them some space. I skirted back to the doorway, coming up to Reid's side and leaning against his arm.

"Thanks for working your magic, Houdini," I teased, getting his toothy grin as he ducked his head.

"Of course. I called Hotch, too. I'm going back to Quantico, but he said you and Morgan can bring Garcia home and get her settled in. He mentioned having you take the night off again, but I didn't make any promises on that…"

I gave a snort and shook my head. "At least you know me better than that."

Reid left a little while later, promising to update the rest of us as soon as he got caught up with the team. Within the hour, Morgan and I had Penelope discharged and back at her apartment. Morgan slung her bag over his shoulder and held the door for her as I took her hand and helped her out of the car.

As we made for the building, an officer crossed towards us, and Morgan stepped up. Though he was in uniform, I knew he was instantly wary and I stopped Penelope and I a few feet back, my hand falling to my holstered gun as a precaution.

"I'm Officer Fleming," the man said, holding out his credentials for Morgan to look over. "I'll be on until midnight, and Officer Cranbeck will take over. We'll have eyes out twenty-four seven."

"Thank you," Penelope said softly as Morgan gave a nod to me, giving the all-clear to keep going. I kept an arm linked with Penelope's as we shuffled for the steps. Morgan stayed directly behind us, and he and I kept our heads on a swivel, looking around us to make sure nothing took us by surprise. I nearly stumbled – and Morgan almost collided with us – as Penelope came to a sudden stop.

We both glanced at her, and then followed her gaze down to the steps. My heart plummeted at the stain on the concrete. The feeling of my best friend's blood spilling through my fingers, feeling her grow cold beneath my touch, watching her eyes glaze over… it came back to me in a painful, breathtaking ache and I held a little tighter to her arm.

"Come on," Morgan said softly, a hand settling on Penelope's arm as he looked between us. "That's gonna wash off, and it'll be nothin' but a bad memory. Alright?"

"Alright," Penelope managed, nodding as she allowed him to nudge her forward. I let her pull me along, my mind still wrapped around the painful memory that stain represented. We were all quiet as we gathered into Penelope's apartment, but once the door shut I pushed the angst to the back of my mind.

We weren't focusing on the bad. Penelope was okay, she was alive, and she was home now. That's what mattered.

"How about I make up your bed?" I offered, and she met my eyes with a grateful smile. Relieved to have something to do, I all but ran to the back of her apartment, ducking past her bead curtain and instantly diving into the task at hand.

In the background, I could hear Morgan and Penelope talking softly, and even heard the two of them giggling. Everything from the past week aside, even with Morgan's outburst and all that had happened that night, I felt closer to them. To the whole team, honestly. Penelope's words from earlier about being a family… that's exactly what this felt like.

Through all the fights and disagreements, the ups and downs, the tragedies and miracles we were all dragged through each day… these people weren't just my teammates, or my coworkers. They were my family.

Hell, they were more my family than anyone back in Colorado. With the exception of Aubrianna – and Jude, of course – I'd never been cared for the way these six people did. Nothing matched Hotch's fatherly concern, or the gruff affection from Rossi, or the sisterly bond I'd grown into with Penelope, Emily, and JJ. Morgan – all things considered – was just as brotherly to me as Jude had always been.

Reid, well… a smile tugged at my lips. He was more than all of that. Sure, we called it friendship, but I'd never had a friend like him. Okay, I'd never even had feelings for anyone as strongly as I did for him. I'd never been so giddy after just sharing a smile with anyone, let alone how I felt after hugging him…

Focus, Aria, I ordered, not wanting to get too carried away with anything. I had a point, after all. Reid was just showing me common decency and I was taking it and running with it, turning into something it just couldn't be –

"I take it you ain't leaving either," Morgan asked just inches from my ear.

"Derek Morgan I swear to God!" I gasped, slumping onto Penelope's bed and scrambling around to glare at him; he bit back a snicker – poorly, I might add – as I tried to will my heart back into a steady rhythm. "No, I'm not – wait, either?"

"Please. You really think I'm gonna leave the two'a you alone and unprotected," he laughed, giving me a look. I pointed at the window and reminded,

"There's an officer just outside –"

"Yeah, and there'll be an agent inside," he argued. I gave him a deadpan frown and crossed my arms.

"I'm here too. And I passed my weapons qualifications –"

"Yeah, and I still remember your deadly attack with a throw pillow, y'little gremlin," he snorted, shaking his head at me in amusement as I narrowed my eyes. "I ain't leavin' you two."

Penelope shuffled past him and patted my shoulder gently. "Trust me, I already tried to shake him. He's more stubborn than you, my dear."

"I'm not stubborn," I scoffed, admittedly not even believing that myself as the other two snorted in amusement. "Okay, whatever. Don't you have resting you need to be doing?"

"Yeah, yeah," she huffed, playfully nudging me along. "Come on. Morgan's stealing the couch so you and I can snuggle up. That way if Morgan tries to take advantage of me, you'll be right there to revive me."

The look of alarmed disgust on my face had her dissolving into giggles as Morgan busted out laughing behind us. As Penelope went to crawl into bed – and I went to follow – he called out,

"Hey, silly girls." We both looked back at him and his face softened into a gentle smile. "You know I love you two, right?"

"I love you too," Penelope murmured, grinning back at him. He flicked his eyes to me and as I went to answer he smirked and added,

"I mean, I'm sure I don't love you as much as a certain pretty doctor does, but –"

"That's it. I was gonna say I love you too, but I rescind my affection," I snapped, face lighting up and a full-body blush instantly taking over as Penelope cackled at my shoulder. "Everyone shut up and go to sleep."

"Yeah, yeah, lover girl. I'll see you pretty ladies in the morning."

Still chuckling to himself, Morgan made for the couch and shut off the living room light on the way. The soft glow of Penelope's bedside lamp settled over us as we both crawled under the covers, dissolving into sleep.

---

"I see you come through here all the time."

Terror trickled through my body and I turned slowly. The lobby of Quantico was empty, and his voice rang out around me, echoing off the walls and reminding me of just how alone we really were.

For a moment it was Connor grinning maliciously at me, but as I blinked his face shifted back to Chris – or, who I thought was Chris. He took a step towards me, pulling a gun from the waist of his pants.

"You know what, Aria? I've been thinking about doing this all night."

He lifted the gun, but he didn't point it at me. His aim slid to my right and I turned. Penelope was just getting off the elevator, crossing towards me, oblivious to the danger she was walking into.

"Penny, stop!" I cried, my voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper; she didn't hear my warning. First-Floor Hottie let out a cold laugh, and I heard him cock the gun. "Penelope! Stop, please!"

My words reached her this time and she paused, surprised, slowly turning to look at the man pointing a gun at her. She gasped, and instantly turned back to me in terror.

"Aria, help me!" she begged, starting to run for me. I tried to reach her but I couldn't move. I was cemented in my spot, desperately reaching for her.

"Penelope no –"

A gunshot rang out through the apartment and I jolted awake. For a moment, I thought it had just been in my dream, but before I could relax, another shot went off from outside. This wasn't a dream.

Penelope's attacker was here.

---

Hey guys! Happy Monday! Sorry this one was a little later in the day than usual, but I hope the longer chapter makes up for it! Sorry about the cliffhanger again (kind of... okay, not really...) but I hope you liked how this one went! So much happened, and I'd love to hear your thoughts! What do you think of her and Morgan's talk? What about Reid's concern? Does Aria just need to confess about Connor? What's gonna happen with First-Floor Hottie showing up now?!

Let me know your thoughts! I love hearing from you! I'd apologize for the giant update but you guys seem to enjoy the longer chapters so I hope this was okay! As always I appreciate all of you SO much and I love hearing from you each week. Honestly, I look forward to Monday because I'm excited to chat with you guys again!

I hope you guys liked the chapter, and I hope you have a wonderful week! I'll see y'all next Monday!