After their conversation, Penelope knew she had to do something. So she walked across the bullpen and up the steps to the level that sat just a little higher than the rest of the floor until she stood in front of Hotch's office. She took a deep breath, then knocked on his door.

"Come in," he called.

She pushed the door open, stepped in, and then closed it behind her.

Hotch knew something was off immediately. Aside from the fact that her body language screamed devastated, she never came to his office. "Have a seat," he said.

She pursed her lips as she shook her head. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment to gain her composure before coming to face him again.

"When I got back from…" She laughed bitterly. "What was supposed to be my honeymoon, you asked if I was OK."

Hotch nodded. "I remember," he said softly.

She cleared her throat. "I'm not. OK—I mean. I'm not OK." Her voice was shaky.

"What do you need, Garcia?" he asked gently.

"Umm…time. I need some time. Away from…here. Away from…" She'd almost said Derek, but stopped herself. "Everything," she said instead.

Hotch stood up and walked around his desk, putting a hand on Penelope's shoulder. "You don't have to tell me anymore than that. I trust your judgment, Penelope," he said sincerely.

"Thank-you," she said quietly, her voice almost breaking. Hotch never called her Penelope. "I have a few things that I'm working on. They'll take me a little while to finish up, and then I'll leave."

Hotch nodded. "Any plans on where you're going?" he asked.

"Yes."

___

Penelope made her flight arrangements; she'd be leaving Thursday morning. But first she had things around the house she wanted to do. And she was going to take two days to make sure it got done. Since getting back from her 'honeymoon,' she'd been wallowing. It had been fine for a little while, but Penelope decided it was time for it to come to a stop. When she came back, she wanted to come home to a clean house with a fresh mindset. She still had things of Rick's lying around. And for that matter, she still had a shirt of Derek's that he'd left behind. That she'd never washed. She suddenly wanted to burn the damn thing. Unfortunately, the trash would have to do.

What she really needed was a fresh start—away from Derek, away from the church where she'd almost made—arguably—the biggest mistake of her life, and away from the whispers at the bureau. Her friends were protective and did what they could to discourage the murmurs, but they couldn't stop them all.

Penelope sighed as she fell into bed Tuesday night. It was quite a drive to the airport, so she'd be leaving tomorrow night. She'd spend the night at a hotel, then drive to the airport Thursday morning, park her car, and take off from there.

___

When Penelope left work on Monday, he felt like maybe he'd pushed too hard. When she didn't show up on Tuesday, Derek felt an incredible amount of guilt.

So he'd driven by that night; her lights were on and he could see her through the kitchen window. That made him feel a little better.

But when she didn't show up on Wednesday, he was a nervous wreck. All he'd wanted to do was go to her, pound on her door, and force her to let him in. But he knew Penelope—and that would just infuriate her.

But he couldn't just let it go. So tonight—after he taught his self defense class—he was going to stop by to see if she needed anything. He felt better at the thought of seeing her with his own eyes.

That night, as Derek sat in his vehicle outside of her apartment, he was in a panic. The lights were out, her car was gone, and there was an insane amount of trash by the curb. Where in the hell was she?

___

Derek spent a sleepless night, which was spent examining his part in the mess that was Penelope's life. She'd wanted to marry him; he'd made it clear that marriage wasn't in the cards for him. But she'd stayed with him anyway, until he'd eventually broken up with her. He figured she was waiting him out, hoping that he'd decide he did want to get married and then they'd live—well, mostly happily ever after.

And he'd been afraid that if he was with her long enough, he would want to marry her. So he'd done what Derek Morgan did best when it came to relationships—he jumped ship. And not for the first time. Whenever he'd gotten too close to any woman, he'd cut and run. But with Penelope, he'd fallen in love; and he'd stayed. That had been a first for him. And it had scared the hell out of him. Because what if this was a long line of 'firsts?' Maybe he'd want to marry her one day—that would certainly be a first. And what if—God forbid—he decided he wanted to have kids with her—another first. At the time, it had overwhelmed him and the fear had made him push her away.

But now…the thought of marrying Penelope, and having kids with her…it didn't seem all that bad. In fact, it sounded pretty damn good.

___

When he walked into work the next morning, he headed straight for Hotch's office—if anyone knew what was going on, it would be him. He pounded on the door and didn't wait for an invitation, just walked in.

Hotch looked up at him. "I'll have to call you back," he said to whoever was on the other end of the phone. After putting the receiver back in it's' cradle, he lifted his angry eyes to the young man standing in front of him. "Can I help you?" he asked crossly.

"Do you know where Garcia is?" he asked.

Hotch sighed. "Yes, I know where Penelope is," he said.

"Tell me where she is," Derek demanded.

Hotch stared at him for a minute. "Last time I checked, I was your superior," he reminded Derek.

Derek ran a hand over his head. It was clear that he was worried, but Hotch wasn't at liberty to discuss another employees' personal information with anyone.

"I just need to know that she's OK," Derek said quietly.

"She's not OK, Morgan," Hotch informed him. "And truthfully, I don't think she has been for a long time. I'm not exactly sure what part you play in that, but from this display, I'm guessing it's pretty significant."

Derek sighed. "I need some time off," he finally said.

Hotch shook his head. "I won't authorize that."

"Then I'll go above you," Derek threatened.

"Don't make me pull rank here, Derek," Hotch said. "She left to get away from you. The last thing she needs is for you to go trekking across the country to find her!"

"Across the country? So she went to California, then. To Preston's," Derek said.

Hotch sighed. This was why he didn't like to get hot-headed. He always seemed to say the wrong thing. "Giver her some time, Derek."

"When is she coming back?" he demanded.

"I don't know," Hotch admitted.

___

Penelope was feeling pretty good as she walked off the plane. Apparently all she needed to get her life straightened out was a long flight alone with her thoughts—without Emily sitting beside her as if she were a chatterbox. This flight was way better than the one to Barbados.

She didn't need to be married to Derek—or any man for that matter. She'd been in love, and she'd been lucky. She had learned that it would only lead to heartbreak before she'd been settled down with anyone.

And as for kids—well she had that covered, too. She made good money where she was. She could certainly afford to adopt if she wanted to. And she made enough so that she wouldn't have to settle for just one child. She could afford to adopt two if she chose to, and it still wouldn't clear out her life savings. She'd be left with a pretty good nest egg.

So, yes. Penelope Garcia was feeling pretty damn good right about now.

And then she saw her brother, waving his arms so she could find him easily. She walked up to him, a big smile pasted on her face.

He grinned when she reached him. "Hey, Sweet P," Preston said softly.

And that was when she collapsed sobbing into his arms.