Here is the next chapter boys and girls. Hope this finds you all well and enjoying the fine August weather. You know the drill I make no money and sorry this one isn't beta'd.
This one is a shared one with Karma 84.
Three months to the day, that is how long it took Margret to destroy her life and crush her dreams. Three short months was all it took for one woman to make the life she worked so very hard to achieve blow up in smoke. Penelope's hands are shaking so badly as she shifted into park, taking a deep breath she pulled out her cell phone and pressed speed dial 5. It only rang 1 ½ times before she heard his voice, "Penelope what's wrong?". She had to laugh, she called his work phone from her personal without realizing. "Sorry Tony, rough day. I picked up the wrong cell to call you, I need a favor. Please?" She heard a heavy exhale of breath before he responded, "What do you need?" she immediately started crying without any warning. "Penelope what's wrong?" She fought hard to gain her composer, "I was served divorce papers this morning, I need to talk to Sam. I need to make sure this is what he wants and not something my wicked mother in-law is enforcing. All I need you to do is stall her, I just pulled into the rehab center and she isn't here. If I go in there, she is going to show up within minutes like she always does, I just need her occupied long enough so I can to talk to him. I know I'm rambling, I'm sorry," She heard a very soft growl, "Penelope Garcia, shut up and breathe. It's done." There was a click and the line went dead. She knew Tony well enough to know there was no hostility aimed at her, and that they would talk later. He had become her sounding board lately, he knew what was going on, he had been keeping her sane and somewhat stable. She took several cleansing breaths before stepping out of the car and walking toward the building."
Tony, being Tony still keeps in touch with his old friends. So he smiles as he reached out to one on patrol. Mike knew he shouldn't but, knowing his very pregnant wife was due any day he answered as he drove.
"Mike, it's Tony DiNozzo. I have a friend who needs a favor and I know you are the man to go to when things need to get as sticky as possible."
Tony took under five minutes to explain the situation to Mike, and Mikes' response was the very same as Tony's. "It's done."
Officer Michael Flagg pulled his cruiser up behind a car that had just cut its engine, parked seriously crooked taking up part of a handicapped spot as well as it's own spot, the expired registration sticker on the car was just pure luck.
Mike couldn't help but laugh to himself as he grabbed his hat and citation book. Walking up to the car at the same time as Margret is opening her door.
"Why did you block me in? I here to see my son, he needs me! He can barely talk and there is no one there to help him. I demand that you move your car, now."
"License and registration, please." Mike asks her in his most professional voice.
She reached into her glove box and pulls out the registration, then she hands it to him in a huff. "Your license please ma'am."
She scowls then looks in the bag moving things around. " Here" she says shoving it at him wallet and all.
"Please remove the license from the wallet." He tells her his voice void of all emotion.
He takes the license and the registration back to his unit all the while watching as Margret huffed and puffed, he kept a straight face as she started to pace back and forth next to her car. Walking back toward her he hands her things back .
"I'm citing you for parking in a handicapped parking spot, also for driving with an expired registration. I've called a tow truck, you can bring your updated registration to the police impound lot to pick up your car. The last ticket is for diving with an obstructed view. You do realize that you aren't suppose to hang things from the rearview mirror? The lot charged fifty dollars a day storage fee, the tow truck is one hundred and eighty-five. Parking in the handicapped parking spot is five hundred dollar fine, I could have fined you the whole thousand but you only parked on half on it."
"But that's almost a thousand dollars in fines and fees." She whines.
"Yes ma'am." Have a good day. He tips his hat then quickly walks away holding in the laugh that is threatening to erupt any second. He stays in his car and waits for the tow truck to appear so he can hand off the needed paperwork.
He sends a quick text to Tony while he waits. Done nearly a grand in fines and fees. She seems like a real piece of work. Anytime you need a redo let me know, that was fun.
She sees him sitting by the window looking out in the patio of the hospital. "Sam." she calls out softy.
He looks at her with eyes filled with sadness. "Penelope." He says with only a slight stammer.
She kisses gently once before sitting in the chair in front of him. "I got the divorce papers this morning. I just have one question? Is this from you or your mother?"
"Me." he replies not looking directly at her.
"You shouldn't lie to me Sam. But why? I love you I told you when you first woke that that I was in it for the long haul, remember? I would never leave you. We made vows to each other."
"It's best. I want it."
She catches her breath before she sys anything. "Are you still being discharged on Friday?"
"Yes. My mother said. .."
"Please stop, I'll move out. I'll only take my things nothing else. I'll transfer my half of next months bills into the house account."
Standing she exhales softly. "Good bye Sam." she whispers leaving before the tears she is holding start to fall.
Margret walks into the room in a fury ranting about the stupid policeman, seeing her son sitting by the window with tears running down his face. She stops her outburst and comes closer to him. Seeing the lip print on his cheek she has an inkling of what happened.
"She agreed to the divorce." Sam tells her with a great bit of trouble as his words are jumbled and stuttered. " Are you happy now, mother?"
"Yes, you deserve better than her, I know just the right girl too."
She had a lot of comp time on the books so getting a day off was not a problem at all.
Her first stop was to the superstore for boxes and tape. And a bottle of caffeine infused drink.
It didn't take long to pack her things, clothes and computers and all the thing that go with them, were packed and placed in her car first. Bath supplies and her own towels were packed in a box along with her candles. Photo albums and her projector were next. In the kitchen she took her coffee mug, teapot, and her travel mug, she left the rest it just wasn't worth the effort, Sam and his mother could have all of the new things they had bought together. The last thing she did was take all the pictures of them as a couple, leaving no trace of them together in their, well his apartment. One last sweep of the apartment finding nothing else of hers, she takes off the opal ring and earring leaving them on his nightstand.
Finding an apartment wasn't as hard as she thought it was going to be. She had excellent references. She found one in a pet and smoke free apartment three days later, which was a blessing because she hated sleeping in hotels. She decided to furnish her new apartment when she had the time and inclination. Right now she just didn't care. A pullout love seat and recliner for the small living room would work two fold it would give her a place to sit and sleep. Matching tables and table lamps would finish the room. Keeping everything secret from the team was getting to be difficult along with everything else going on in her life.
She didn't have pull with the court system, what she did have was a friend that the made the schedules for the divorce judges. So she asked if her case could be fast tracked. Nothing to contest, there are no children and no one wanted support. It was a win/win for everyone.
Knocking on Hotch's door she waited until he looked up from the paper he was working on. "Penelope?"
"I need a few hours tomorrow afternoon? I have a court hearing for my divorce."
He puts his pen down. 'Who is representing you ?"
"No one, straight forward nothing is being contested, no support. I took what I brought in to the marriage and nothing else."
"Who is the judge?"
"McDonald."
When he nods his head in acceptance of her request, she smiled lightly before walking back out of his office.
As soon as she was out of ear shot he picked up his phone, "Yeah, I need you to do me a favor tomorrow morning. No, not business it's personal. Yes, come up to my office."
A few moments later Emily and Rossi walked into his office closing the door behind them. "I need you both to take lead tomorrow, I have somewhere I need to be, will that be a problem?" Both went on alert, Rossi stepped closer to the desk "Aaron what's wrong?" Hotch gave a glimmer of a smile, "I have been unwillingly obtained as legal representation for a divorce case that I am absolutely positive is going to become heated and ugly."
Rossi lowered himself into a chair growling slightly, "I am going to kill him." Hotch tapped a pencil on his desk, "It's not that easy Dave, it's my understanding that Sam is being pushed, bullied into this. Penelope is just giving him the divorce. She doesn't want to fight it or drag it out."
Emily sat next to Dave "So why would she need representation?"
Hotch huffed, "I've met Sam's mother, she is a vile woman. She will do whatever is within her power to make Penelope hurt in whatever capacity she can." Hearing that Emily swore.
Rossi, as always, kept his cool. "Alright Aaron, Emily and I will hold the fort while you keep Garcia calm." Hotch nodded his head in thanks as they made their leave of his office. His next call was to the judge's clerk he needed the file and that was easy enough to obtain. He began to utilize the downtime from a case to brush-up on some basics from law school, he wanted to make sure he knew every which way this could possibly go. Divorce law was not his purview he wanted to be prepared.
Penelope stopped in a courthouse bathroom to make sure she didn't look the way she felt right now. After being led to the truth that, yes she also looked as well as felt like she hadn't slept in days she washed her hands before walking out. Smoothing her dress with her hands, she took one last look in the mirror adjusting the beautiful necklace that Henry and Jack had given her. A lovely piece but it brought her heartache as well for it reminded her of the wedding ring and earrings that Sam had given her.
As she approached the assigned court room she saw the familiar outline of a man standing with a briefcase talking to the bailiff. When he saw her walking toward them he thanked the uniformed man and greeted her, "Ah Miss Garcia, it's a pleasure to see you again." She smiled, she had no choice in the matter. Because a wide genuine smile was spread across his face. "Mr. Hotchner, thank you for being here today." She offered him one of her hands to shake. When he shook her hand he shot her the smirk he knew all the women in the office loved.
"Oh, no Miss Garcia. The pleasure is mine. We have a few moments to go over the case, and I have reserved a conference room to do just that, shall we?" She shot him a knowing look and allowed Aaron to lead her to the room, once they were inside she dropped all pleasantries.
"Why Hotch? I told you this was going to be an open and shut divorce case, that I didn't need legal representation! And yet here you are in lawyer mode over something I already told you I didn't need help with except to have a few freaking hours off this morning." He pulled her to the small loveseat against the far wall and forced her to sit. Having to hide his laughter at her outburst.
"Penelope, I know. And I promise you, I am not here to cause waves. I am merely here to protected you. I am not going to let that woman take advantage of you or get you to agree to things just to get this whole thing over with. I am here as your friend, I just happen to be an amazing lawyer."
Penelope shot out a short burst of laughter before joining him at the table to go over what could possibly make this a dirty divorce.
She stood along with the rest of the people in the courtroom when the judge came in. Glancing over to where Sam was, she could see that even he was standing with a cane helping him. She felt so proud that he has accomplished so much in the last two months.
"Are all the parties here?" Judge McDonald asks, he is surprised to see Aaron Hotchner in his court, his reputation as a prosecutor is well known in the court circles.
Hotch and the other lawyer replied with a simple Yes your Honor.
While Margret smiled and batted her eyes at him. Penelope kept quite letting Hotch do what he does best.
"I understand that this divorce is not being contested. Is there anything that needs to be added to paperwork before I sign off."
"Your Honor, my client would like for her to return all the things that she took out of their shared apartment so they can go over them together before she lays claim to them."
"Just what is it that you think she laid claimed to that she wasn't entitled to?" the judge asks.
Margaret responded to the judge, letting sweetness coat every word, "Your Honor, my son would just like to know what it was she took when she left."
Hotch looked to Penelope and she nodded her head slightly, "Your Honor my client would like to answer the question, if it would please the court." The judge nodded his head before speaking "Miss Garcia, go ahead."
Garcia stood, smoothing out the front of her dress, "Your Honor, I removed my clothing and personal jewelry, the wedding band and matching earrings excluded. I left them on Sam's nightstand. I removed all of my personal and professional computers and their needed equipment. From the kitchen I took my coffee mug, a floral teapot and my pink travel mug with kittens all over it. Toiletries, two purple towel sets, leaving Sam the blue for his bathroom. My photo albums, a projector and all of the 8mm films that went with it. And that was all I took your Honor, I took very little out of the home, and didn't touch what wasn't mine."
"Does your client need or want any of the things that she took, or do you really need the purple towels?" The judge asks looking at Sam's lawyer and his mother.
"Your honor there is the question of the necklace that she is wearing it goes with the wedding ring and earrings a matching set. I would like my son to have it back." Margret said with malice.
"Excuse me your Honor the necklace was not bought by Sam it was a gift from my godson and my boss's son. They said the all the pretty colors reminded them of me."
"I think it would be a nice gesture for you to leave it sort of an remembrance for him." Margret tells her, all the while Penelope can see the hatred in her eyes.
"I will not order you to give the necklace to your former husband Miss Garcia." Judge McDonald tells her. All the while he can see the anger in Margret's face.
"Since there is to be no support of any kind from either party. I hereby grant this divorce. Effective immediately without the usual waiting periods" He tells them, the bailiff calls the room to order just before the judge leaves.
Penelope breathes out a long breath then closes her eyes for a second. "You shouldn't be such a bitch Penelope, just give Sam the necklace. It goes with the set."
She looks over Margret's shoulder to look at Sam but he has his head down, his body language is screaming defeat and surrender.
She looks at Hotch for a split second before she comes to a decision. She grabs the necklace from around her throat and rips it off. "Here you are Margret, to go with the earrings that you're wearing." She drops it on the table and walks out of the courtroom without looking back.
"Sorry about that display of theatrics." She tells Hotch once they are out of the building.
" Nothing to be sorry for, I'll replace the necklace so the boys don't find out."
Nodding her head she whispers a thank you. "I need cup of strong tea."
"How about a drink instead, I'll buy."
"You're the boss."
