Prentiss sighed. "Morgan, you can hover all you want, but my answer will still be the same. I have not talked to Penelope, and I don't know how she's doing," she said angrily. She was in the conference room using the table so she could spread out her paperwork and prioritize. She'd also been hoping for some privacy, but that wasn't likely to happen if Morgan didn't get the hell out of there.

But he wouldn't budge.

Prentiss sighed again. She did a lot of sighing when Derek was around. "I'm guessing she's not OK, or she wouldn't have skipped the state."

"My fault, I'm sure," he said sarcastically.

"Well, you were the one who broke up her wedding," Prentiss reminded him.

"For good reason, Em! He was cheating on her."

Prentiss almost flinched. Morgan hadn't called her Em since he and Penelope had split up. Any sign of friendship had been revoked when all hell had broken loose with Penelope and Derek's break up. "Which you knew for months and neglected to tell her," she said. "So, yeah, Morgan. I'm guessing she's pissed at you. But…that alone isn't enough to get her to skip out like this. There has to be more."

Derek took a deep breath. If he expected Prentiss to give him any information at all, he was going to have to be straight with her. One of her strengths in the field was knowing when someone was lying or withholding information. The last thing he wanted was for her to know he was holding something back. "She…came to my house when you guys got back from her honeymoon," he said.

"For what?" Prentiss asked.

He sighed. "We ended up…in bed," he muttered. He didn't want to tell Prentiss that that was what Penelope had shown up for. He was afraid it wouldn't paint her in a very good light. He sent up a silent prayer that Prentiss wouldn't kill him.

"You…" He watched as she worked to control her temper. "You slept with her?" she hissed.

"Yes, Prentiss. I slept with her, OK?" he said. "Now you know everything."

"Oh, I highly doubt that," she disagreed. "Why would you fall into bed with her after she's finally over you?" Prentiss asked.

"She's not over me, Prentiss," he informed her. He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "She never loved Rick," he went on to tell her. "She was marrying him because she didn't want to be alone. She was marrying him because I wouldn't marry her."

Prentiss shook her head. "That is some ego you have there, Derek Morgan," she said. "You have really built yourself up in that head of yours, haven't you?"

"That came from her, Emily," he said. "I'm not making this up and it's not a guessing game." He took a deep breath. "She admitted it all to me. She even knew he was cheating on her."

Prentiss' eyes narrowed and she studied his face. "I don't believe you," she said. "Penelope wouldn't marry a man who was cheating on her. She's not that stupid."

"I fuckin' broke her!" he yelled.

Prentiss flew up out of her chair and slammed the conference room door, then leaned against it, eyes wide. "Morgan, what…"

"You should have seen her eyes, Emily." He shook his head. "When she left my house that night. They were…"

His voice trailed off, but Emily was hanging on his every word. This was the first time she'd heard Derek's side of anything, and while his break up with Penelope was long over and she'd probably never hear his side regarding that, she was surprised to find that she was curious as to why Derek Morgan was who he was.

Derek was still searching for the right word. "Empty," he finally said. "They were empty. I've never seen empty eyes on a living, breathing person before," he said quietly. It was a picture of Penelope that he didn't think he'd ever be able to get rid of.

Emily sighed. "Why are you telling me all of this?" she asked.

"Because I have to tell someone," he said. "I…"

Emily watched as he swallowed past the lump in his throat. She was surprised by his reaction to Penelope's absence. He may have broken Penelope, but something sure as hell had broken him.

"I apologized to her," he said softly. "And she got…mad at me."

"Why?" Emily asked quietly.

"I think she…thinks it's too late," he said.

Prentiss tilted her head to the side. "Is it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

___

"You haven't said a word since we got in the car," Preston said when they'd been riding for a while.

"That's because I don't have a lot to say," she told him as she gazed out the window. "I mostly have thinking to do."

"Well, can you think out loud? Because I'd really like to know what the hell is going on with my baby sister," he said sternly.

"Things just aren't going my way right now," she admitted.

"Rick?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Derek, actually," she said.

"No shit?" Preston said.

Penelope rolled her eyes. "That's a gross expression," she told him.

"What do you mean, it's Derek?" Preston asked.

She sighed. "I don't think I ever got over him," she told her brother.

He turned to her, a big grin on his face. "Want me to fly to Quantico? Beat the bastard up?"

Penelope laughed at the absurdity of his comment. "No," she said firmly. "I think I'm going to play like an adult."

Preston raised his eyebrows. "And run?" he asked doubtfully.

She wrinkled her nose, and then turned to look out the window. "I think I liked you better when we had lots of states in between us," she muttered.

Her brother grinned at her again. "There's the Sweet P I know and kind-of love," he teased.

She studied his face for a minute. "I missed you, Pres," she said.

___

When they got to her brothers house, Penelope opened the door and stepped out of the car, the wind blowing in her hair. "The Santa Ana's?" she asked in surprise.

Preston nodded as he pulled her suitcase out of the back of his vehicle.

"They're late this year," she said, wrapping her arms around her midsection.

"Yeah," he agreed.

Penelope closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I love the Santa Ana's," she said softly.

She felt her brother's arm come around her shoulders and he gave her a soft kiss on the temple. "You always have," he said amused. "You and mom. I never could figure out why you two were so crazy about the wind."

Penelope felt a lump swell in the back of her throat at the mention of her mother. She'd give just about anything to have her here with her right now.

"Are you coming?" Preston asked over his shoulder as he started towards the house with her suitcase.

She shook her head. "I think I'm gonna take a walk," she told him.

He nodded. "I'll see you in a bit."

Penelope smiled softly before heading for the beach.

___

Penelope strolled along the Pacific Ocean looking out at the waves. When she'd lived here, in California, things had seemed so complicated. But now, they seemed so calm. Away from work, away from Derek, and away from all of her problems.

But Penelope wasn't stupid. She knew she couldn't run away from her problems, and that wasn't what she was trying to do. She'd been trying to get over Derek for a long time—to no avail. The job made it difficult—it wasn't like they passed each other in the hallway once in a while. They worked in extremely close quarters—even when he was out in the field. For God's sake, there were times when his life had literally been in her hands. How was it even going to be possible for her to move on when she was worried about him every damn time the team went wheels up? She'd thought about transferring, but she loved her job. She felt like she was really making a difference in people's lives and she didn't want to have to give that up. And why should she?

And then there was the matter of Rick. How in the hell had she let things go so far with him? My God, had she really been willing to settle for that? When she'd been in the situation, it had seemed like the perfect solution. But now that she was out of it…she was pretty sure she'd gone a little mad.

She sighed as she turned around. One thing was for sure…she was never gonna be able to love another man after loving Derek Morgan. And where did that leave her?

Penelope looked up at the sky as her eyes filled with tears. "How did I let myself get so far gone, Mom?" she whispered.