Derek woke up the next morning for the first time without any nightmares. Penelope was right by his side where they'd fallen asleep. Her hand was lightly placed on his chest and her head was resting on his shoulder. Derek pushed back the bangs from her eyes and kissed her temple. As much as he didn't want to wake his sleeping angel, he knew that the doctor would be in soon to discharge him.

He brushed his thumb over her cheek. Penelope began to stir and slowly woke up.

"Rise and shine, Doll Face," Derek said.

"You bet I will," Penelope said, drowsily. Derek smiled and laughed at her witty response. "What time is it? Did I really fall asleep?" Penelope sat up.

"The doctor's coming in to discharge me soon," Derek said.

"Yes! That's a good thing," Penelope said, grabbing her glasses from the table and putting them on. "We need to get you out of this petri dish. How are you feeling, Angelfish?"

"I feel great right now," Derek smiled. "A little headache is all. Doc said it was normal."

"Okay, well let me know if it gets worse, dear," Penelope said, grabbing Derek's hand.

"Yes, my lady," Derek said, kissing the back of Penelope's hand. Before he could get any farther, Derek's doctor walked into the room.

"Good morning, Agent Morgan. Ms. Garcia," The doctor said.

"Morning," The two of them said together.

"Is this the part where I leave and you make sure he's ready to go?" Penelope asked the doctor.

"Yes, ma'am. That's right."

"Oh, I'm good!" Penelope cheered, looking back at Derek. "I'll be right outside when you're done."

"I'll be waiting, Princess," Derek said with a massive grin on his face. Penelope rolled her eyes before planting a kiss on his lips and standing up from her spot.

"Be nice to him, Doc," Penelope said as she walked out of the room.

"Absolutely," the doctor said.

"He's ready now," Derek's doctor said, stepping out of his room about ten minutes later.

"Great!" Penelope said, walking in to see Derek sitting on the edge of the bed in a change of his own clothes that Fran left the night before and with no more wires attached to him. He still had a cast on his ankle and arm, as well as bondage on his chest, underneath his shirt.

"Hey, handsome. Ready to get out of here?" She asked as a nurse came in with a wheelchair.

"More than ready. Do I really need that thing though?" Derek asked, referring to the wheelchair.

"Yes. But if you'd like I can trade this out for the one that looks like a racecar. It's a little cooler," Penelope said.

"I think I'll be okay," Derek laughed as he was helped into the wheelchair.

Penelope took her place behind him at the handles. "Okay, let's get you out of here before they give you another reason to stay longer," Penelope said, before landing a kiss on the top of his head. "You got a little something there," Penelope laughed at the sight of the lipstick smudge she left behind.

She wheeled him out to the sidewalk before he got up. He used a crutch under one arm, and Penelope under the other to get to the SUV parked out front where Dave was standing.

"Hey, Rossi," Derek greeted as Dave opened the front passenger side door of the vehicle.

"Morning," He responded.

"Are we driving the whole way?" Penelope asked.

"Just to the airport. The jet is waiting there. As much of an inconvenience as a flight is, an hour and a half is a lot faster than seven," Dave said.

The three made their way to the airport and onto the plane, and got situated for taking off. About halfway through the flight, Penelope managed to fall asleep. All of the nights of little sleep were starting to add up.

"She must have been exhausted," Dave mentioned.

"Yeah," Derek said, glancing down at his shoulder where her head was laying. "How bad was she while I was gone?" Derek asked Dave.

Dave let out a long sigh. "She wasn't Penelope. She didn't sleep very well. She never admitted it, but we could all tell. She didn't slow down, but her demeanor changed. The names and jokes stopped. Her witty remarks ceased. The moment she lost you was the moment she lost herself. The whole team was beginning to think we had lost both of you.

"Some nights I would find her passed out in her office over your case files. She never stopped looking. It's pretty much the only thing that kept her going," Dave said. Derek was surprised. He couldn't imagine her so different. At the same time, though, he wasn't. He knew they were always there for each other. Sometimes there would be a case that was harder on her, and Derek would always be there for her. It's the least he could do, given that she would do the same for him. She also was the best person at snapping him back into reality aside from his mother.

"But the moment we found you," Dave continued, "she was back. It's like a switch was flipped and she went back into Penelope mode. She even back-talked Hotch when he told her she wasn't allowed to work the case once we found the video," Dave said.

Derek laughed at this. "That doesn't surprise me one bit," Derek said, placing the lightest kiss on her forehead, making sure not to wake her.

"Well, I'm glad you guys finally realized how good you are for each other. The team agreed that if you guys didn't do it, we'd lock you two in a room together and make you figure it out," Dave said, getting a laugh out of Derek.

"I always knew," Derek added. "It took me a little longer than necessary to tell her, but I knew I couldn't live a day without her the moment I met her. At the time I had no idea why I just knew."

"Save that one for the wedding," Dave joked, making Derek roll his eyes.

As much as Penelope wanted to smile at this, she didn't want to give away that she wasn't asleep.

They all pulled up to Derek's home after landing. When he got out, Derek had a crutch under one arm, and Penelope under the other as they walked up to his door. Penelope held his hand that was hanging over her shoulder. She knew that this place would bring back harsh memories for him, as well as for her. The last time she was here she discovered Derek was gone. It was truly the worst day of her life.

Dave walked in front of them to unlock and open the door so they could walk in. Derek looked around for a quick moment. It brought him back for a second before they continued walking to the room that was set up for him. Everyone knew that getting up and down the stairs wouldn't be easy and the memories would be too overwhelming for him right now, so they set up the downstairs bedroom. Penelope sat down with him on his bed.

"Alright, this is my stop," Dave said. "I've got to get back to the office. Hotch has got us in on another case."

"Alright, the Oracle is ready from here when you need it," Penelope said with a smile.

"Thanks, Rossi," Derek said as Dave left the house.

"Well, I got you here in one piece. I think that's a win if you ask me," Penelope said.

"Yeah," Derek said, cracking a smile. Penelope could tell it wasn't as sincere as he wanted her to believe it was.

"Spill, Sugar," Penelope said. "I know something is up."

"Can't get nothing past you, Baby Girl, can I?" Derek asked with a chuckle.

"Nope. So dish."

"I just don't feel good," Derek said.

"What kind of 'don't feel good'?" Penelope asked.

"I don't know. My head hurts, my hands are shaky, and I'm a little nauseous."

"Sounds like withdrawals. You should take your medicine, I'll get it from your bag. Oh! And water. I'll get you that too. Unless you want something that's not water," Penelope scrambled. Derek stopped her when he placed his hand over her wrist.

"Water is fine, Sweetness," Derek said.

"Okay…. I'm going to get it for you," Penelope said, getting up and walking out to the kitchen.

Derek stood up and used his crutch to stumble to the bathroom. He stood in front of his bathroom sink and steadied himself before turning it on and splashing cold water on his face. He turned off the water, grabbed the towel from above the sink, and looked up at the mirror as he dried his face. He stopped when he saw just how different his face looked. He could clearly see his cheekbones and he had bruises scattered on his face. He hobbled back to his bedroom and stood in front of a tall mirror that sat beside his dresser. For the first time, Derek truly saw what his body looked like.

He could clearly see every protruding joint on his body. He took off his shirt to see his ribs were sticking out and his abs had disappeared into his sunken torso. He turned slightly and saw the swollen scabs on his back from his torture. His chest was still wrapped and as he turned back to face the mirror he could more clearly see the bruising on his inner elbows and arms where his captor injected him with the drugs. Penelope was right, he had been badly hurt. More so than he thought, or could remember.

"Okay, water and medicine that only Boy Wonder could pronounce," Penelope said. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Derek standing in front of the mirror with his shirt off. She could see the scars on his back, and in the mirror could see how mistreated Derek had been. She gently set down the items in her hands and walked over to him. She placed her hand lightly on the back of his shoulder.

When she walked into the room, she could see his surprise. But when she touched him, she could feel his horror.

"Oh, Derek," She said, letting a couple of tears escape her eyes. She gently ran her fingers up and down his back.

"Just look at me," Derek said. "I… I'm broken."

"No, Derek. You're hurt, yes. But broken, I wouldn't call it that," Penelope said.

"I'm never going to be the way I was before."

"The doctor said you'll make a full recovery, Derek. It doesn't look like it now, but you'll get there, Hot Stuff. Really." Penelope said.

"Hot Stuff, huh?" Derek scoffed. "I don't know where you're getting that from."

"Hey!" Penelope said, stepping in between Derek and the mirror so he was forced to look her in the eyes. "Nothing and I mean nothing, Derek Morgan, could change how I see you! Not even some psycho, sicko, meanie like James Thomson could take away my Hot Stuff. Besides, it's not the muscles that made me fall in love with you. Don't get me wrong, they didn't hurt anything, but that's not why," Penelope said, placing her hands to his shoulders.

"Then why, Baby Girl?" Derek asked.

"Because I always knew that inside that big, crime-fighting body was a heart bigger than the state of Texas. You're a good man, Derek. Especially with me," Penelope said. She moved her hands to Derek's face.

She stood on her toes and pulled him into a kiss, with tears streaming down her face. This one was deeper than the last ones. Derek put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him before leaning in and closing the gap between her and the mirror. He placed a hand on her face, wiping away the moisture on her face as he felt emotions build up in his nose and eyes.

After a few long moments of this, they pulled away from each other, breathing heavily. Penelope's lipstick was smeared on her face, and half of it was on Derek's lips.

"Wow," Penelope said, catching her breath. "And when I say wow, I mean wow." This remark got Derek to crack a real smile as a few tears escaped his eyes. "Anyway," Penelope continued, making sure to catch Derek's tears with her thumbs, "the thing is, nothing will make me change my mind about you. Your scars don't scare me, Angelfish. You are going to get better and you are not going to get rid of me that easily."

Derek pulled Penelope into his embrace and they stayed there for another long moment. He was so lucky to have this stubborn, yet caring woman in his life.

"Did I mention that I love you, Sweetness?" Derek asked.

"Yes," Penelope said with her face against his chest.

"You know, it was pointless for that doctor to give me prescriptions," Derek said.

"Why is that?"

"Because you're the only thing I need to feel better."