Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds!

Thanks for the reviews. Don't worry. The beginning of the end for Kevin is coming

Chapter 4

Two hours later the whole BAU team and Kevin Lynch were still in the ER waiting room hoping to hear some news. Penelope had gotten progressively worse on the way in and by the time they had reached the hospital, she was nearly unconscious and the paramedics had had to put her on oxygen. Derek had done his best to stay with her but the doctors had insisted that he would have to wait with the others. He had spent the last two hours pacing, he couldn't believe this was happening again. The last time when she was shot, all had turned out fine in the end but he didn't have such a good feeling this time.

While waiting, the others were wracking their brains trying to figure out what had happened to their tech. Kevin, of course, offered no help on the subject. When questioned by Hotch about what he might know, he simply answered that she was fine when she left the house that morning. He couldn't understand what was happening either.

Slamming his hand against the wall, Derek's frustration was beginning to show through. "Damn it, why can't they tell us anything?" he demanded to know to anyone who would listen.

"C'mon, Derek, they'll tell us something as soon as they know anything," JJ said trying to calm him down. "Come and sit down with us," she urged as she led him over to where the rest of the team was sitting.

"I just don't understand it, man. If she was that sick, why didn't she tell me?" Derek moaned as he put his head in his hands. He felt guilty for the last several months and the distance that he had let come between them. He just knew that if he had been more attentive to her, things would have never have gotten to this point. Emily and JJ tried their best to console their friend.

Reid, in the meantime, had kept a careful eye on Kevin Lynch. Something about his reaction to the whole situation wasn't sitting right with him, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. Walking over to where Hotch and Rossi were talking he interrupted their conversation, "Excuse me Hotch, but can I talk to you guys for a second?"

"Sure Reid, what's on your mind?" Hotch responded.

"I'm not sure, really. I was just wondering, what do you make of Lynch?" he asked as he kept his eyes on Lynch who was thumbing through some news magazine.

"Well he's never been my favorite person, but I don't think that's what you mean is it Reid?" Rossi said.

"No. I can't put my finger on it but doesn't his reaction to all of this seem kind of off? I mean if that were my girlfriend in there, I would be much more upset than he appears to be. His body language isn't tense at all and he hasn't asked about her status once since we've been here and he seems awfully relaxed to me. I mean look at Morgan, his response is what I would expect out of a boyfriend or someone who at least cared about her," Reid observed.

"Actually, I was thinking along the same lines," agreed Hotch as he crossed his arms on his chest. "And, now that you mention it, when I first called him to tell him what was going on, he almost sounded like he had expected the call."

"What are you two, saying? You think he knows more than he's letting on?" Rossi asked.

"I don't know, but I think we should keep an eye on him for now." Hotch said. "Let's not say anything to the others. If Morgan catches wind of this and even thinks Lynch has something do with this, well, it's not a scene we need to have right now. We'll wait and see what the doctors have to say."

"Agreed." Rossi said with a nod of his head.

Another 30 minutes passed before a doctor finally came into the waiting room.

"Garcia?" he asked.

Immediately the six team members stepped forward. Lynch stood at the back of the pack looking almost bored with the whole situation.

"How is she, doc?" Morgan immediately demanded to know.

"Well, thank God you got her here when you did. She's in bad shape and I don't know if she would have lasted much longer without medical intervention," the doctor began. "But I think she's got a shot. She's strong and determined."

"What exactly is wrong with her doctor?" Hotch inquired.

"She's either been poisoned or she tried to commit suicide," the doctor stated succinctly.

"Suicide? You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Morgan quickly spoke up as he stepped towards the doctor. Hotch and Rossi quickly reached out to hold him back.

"We found fairly large amounts of antifreeze in her system. I'm guessing that didn't get there by accident," the doctor explained. "Whatever the method of ingestion, it almost killed her."

"So what's her current condition?" JJ asked now scared to death of the answer she might hear.

"She's in ICU. She's on a ventilator and we have her on dialysis because her kidneys have started to shut down. We're hoping we got her system flushed soon enough that the effects will be temporary. But really, right now, it's a waiting game."

"Oh my God, Baby Girl," Derek said under his breath trying to process what he had just been told. "I want to see her, Doc." he insisted.

"Wait a minute, Morgan!" Kevin finally spoke up as he became angry watching Morgan trying, once again, to take over his role. "That's my girlfriend in there and if anyone goes in, I do!" Kevin stated trying to sound forceful.

Derek just stared back at him, daring him with his eyes to get in between him and his Baby Girl.

"Gentlemen, it really doesn't matter at this point. There will be no visitors for the next 12 hours. We want to make sure she's stable first and she definitely doesn't need this kind of stress around her at the moment," the doctor interjected. "Is that understood?"

"Well, I'm not leaving this waiting room and I want hourly updates, you got it doc?" Derek demanded.

"Derek, back off, the man is doing his job. We'll all stay and I'll make sure we're kept notified of her condition," Hotch stepped in trying to calm the situation.

"Yeah, man, I got it," Derek conceded as Reid, JJ and Emily took him back over to the seating area.

As the doctor started to walk off and the others had dispersed around the waiting room, Kevin reached out and touched the doctor on his arm. "Hey doc," he said in a hushed tone, "So you think she's going to make it?" he asked.

"Well right now I'd say it's 70/30. We're doing all we can," the doctor informed him before heading back to the ICU to check on his patient.

"Then I better make sure those odds change," thought Kevin to himself. I'm sick and tired of this little dance between her and Morgan. It's time to show them who's really boss. It's time to let him know what it would be like without her…just like I feel everytime she's working late or out with him instead of home with me like she should be…"

TBC

Please, as always, keep those reviews coming. A quick note about the Antifreeze poisoning. I have no training in the medical field and while I did look up some of the symptoms I have no idea how the symptoms would progress. Please forgive all inaccuracies, they are all mine and just know I have made extensive use of poetic license on this subject. Thanks!