Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Criminal Minds, although if CBS wanted to get me a really nice present...

Okay, so I know my last chapter was rather awful. I appreciate the reviews and although Derek only got three punches in, he'll get to do more. I promise!

"Eden and Penelope Morgan?"

Derek leapt from his seat and crossed the waiting room to the doctor who'd called out his wife and daughter's names. "Doctor," he said with a curt nod, not wanting to deal with formalities. "Are they alright?"

The doctor nodded, but her face was grim. "It depends on what you mean by 'alright.' Your daughter sustained some massive internal injuries, probably from a pretty awful beating. She's got two stab wounds to the abdomen, but we were able to patch those up without any trouble. We're going to have to give her skin grafts for the third degree burns on her back and arms, but right now she's got bandages on them and we've given her a lot of pain killers. She'll have some scars, but physically she'll heal nicely," she reported. "Your wife was severely sexually assaulted and from that she has some internal tears and bruising on her inner thighs."

She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Mr. Morgan, I'm not going to sugar coat this for you. While your wife and daughter will heal physically in a short amount of time, I'm more concerned about their mental states. It's going to be extremely rough. Since your daughter was forced to watch her mother's rape, she's going to be scarred in ways no one, except probably her mother, are going to understand. And Mrs. Morgan is going to need counselling. My guess is she's going to tell you she's fine, but you have to have her talk to someone, otherwise the memories are going to resurface in some nasty ways.

Derek stared stony-faced at the doctor and felt tears burning in the back of his eyes. He rubbed his jaw tiredly, his hand coming across the rough stubble he'd accumulated in the past seventy-two hours. "Can I see them, please?" he asked.

"Of course," she said gently. "Your wife refused to have a bed set up for her, so she's with your daughter. I allowed it because other than the injuries she received from the assault she's okay to be up and about. And your daughter was particularly upset when the nurses tried to take her away. She only calmed down when they let her mother in the room with her." She motioned for him to follow her down a hallway.

When she left him alone at the door to the room, he saw Penelope sitting on the hospital bed with Eden in her arms, chin resting on the top of her daughter's head. Eden had her face buried against her mother's chest. Neither of them noticed that he was there.

"I'm sorry about the way I've been acting," Eden sniffled into her mother's chest. "I was a shallow bitch."

Penelope stroked Eden's hair down the side of her shoulder and said, "Shh. Eden, you will never, ever lose me. No matter how much we fight and scream at each other. No matter how many nasty names we throw out at each other or how many times we tell the other to go to hell."

"But you were - he did - because of me!" she cried. She held Penelope tightly and kept mumbling incoherently and apologizing.

Penelope whispered, "Eden, baby, we're going to get better. And the only person who is to blame for what happened to me is Kevin. It's going to be okay." She kissed to top of Eden's head. "I love you Baby Doll," murmured into her hair.

"I love you, too, Mom," Eden sobbed.

Derek smiled sadly, glad that his wife and daughter were making up. He went further into the room, sitting in the chair next to the bed. "Hey Baby Girl and Baby Doll," he murmured, using their beloved nicknames. They looked at him and Eden hurried to wipe her face to hide her tears from Derek.

"Hi Dad," she sniffed.

Penelope held out her hand for Derek to hold and he was grateful that she wasn't closing herself off from him. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "How are you doing, Baby Girl?" he asked.

She looked close to tears when he asked and shook her head. Not in front of Eden, her eyes seemed to say. It pained Derek's heart that he'd been so thoughtless and he nodded.

"Eden, we're going to let you sleep for a little while," Penelope said in her ear. "We'll be right outside, okay?"

Her response was Eden clutching her tighter. "Please don't leave me by myself!" she said frantically, her eyes going wide.

"How about I sit with you?" JJ asked, coming in the room. In her hand she held a cup of coffee and a box of Sour Patch Kids, Eden's favorites. "I brought a deck of cards too, so you can kick my ass at poker."

Eden relaxed her grip on her mother and sat up, wincing slightly. "Okay," she said softly, smiling at JJ a little. "And thanks for the candy and coffee, Aunt JJ."

Leaning down to kiss her forehead, JJ said, "Of course."

Penelope rose from the bed and followed her husband out of the room, still hand-in-hand with him. They found a secluded area of the hospital and Derek grasped her by the shoulders, tilting her chin op for her to meet his eyes.

"Baby Girl, the doctor said you and Eden are going to need to see someone," he said softly. "She said talking is going to help you the most." He ran his hand through her hair. "I want you to know that you don't have to say anything to me. I'm not going to push you." The look in her eyes was filled with sadness and he wanted nothing more than to take all the pain on himself so she wouldn't have to suffer.

Penelope bent her head to look away from him, as if she was ashamed with herself. "I took a shower after they did my -" She paused before saying two of the hardest words she'd ever have to say about herself. "After they did my rape kit." Her voice was almost inaudible. "I stood in the water until it ran cold all over my body and I still feel dirty. It's like there's a layer of grime and filth on me that just won't go away! When I close my eyes, even just to blink, I feel him on top of me. I feel the pain again. And the worst part is I hear Eden's screaming at him to stop." She began to sob. "She never should've had to see that! That's something you never forget. I've wanted so badly to protect her from the things we see and fight against on a daily basis and there she was, trapped right in it!"

She looked back up at him and Derek felt his heart clench. He hated seeing Penelope in any form of pain, even when she was cursing about a paper cut. But this was much worse. It was something he couldn't help her escape and it killed him. "Derek," she said hoarsely. "Please don't think I'm dirty. Please. I'm so sorry about everything. I didn't want him to kill Eden. He had a gun pointed at her and he was-"

Derek put a finger to her lips and pulled her into his arms. Rubbing her back, he said, "You, Penelope Morgan, are the love of my life and I would never -I repeat, never - think you were dirty. This is nothing you have to apologize for, do you hear me? Kevin is the one who did this and he is the only one to blame. He is the one who's dirty. Heis the one who has to apologize. I hate that this happened to you and that I can't help you escape it. I want this to be easier for you. But I also want you to know that you are the strongest person I know. You'll get through this, and so will Eden." Pulling her lips up to his, he kissed her passionately. "And I'm going to be there with you. Every step of the way."

Penelope looked up at him with watery eyes and gave him a shaky smile filled with love. "I love you, Derek Morgan."

"And I love you, Penelope Morgan."